Chapter Three

I once again was wearing Dre's long shirt that hit me mid-thigh. It would have been comforting, seeing as I had more then once raided his closet for nightshirts, had it not been so hot outside. We were again trudging across the desert; thirsty, hungry, and irritated didn't even begin to describe how we felt. I had completely abandoned my bloodied shirt, now stuffed in one of Dre's many pockets, but unfortunately I had no way to clean off my stiff jeans. Dre was being smart and not mentioning the fact he got out of the fight without any souvenirs.

"You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, Dre. Just like I was fine 10 minutes ago. I'll tell you if I need to rest," I glanced around the sand dunes, "Not that there's much of a place to help us."

"Okay. I'll be quiet then." Dre had been checking up on me every few minutes since we had left the temple-place at dawn.

We continued in silence, except for the occasional comment on the uselessness of the situation, until the sun got unbearable. I halted Dre, and we lay in the shadow of one of the dunes. It was at least partly cool there, though that was relative.

"We need water, Dre." I rolled the sleeves up to my forearm, wiping my brow. I was beyond dehydrated, and I thought Dre had to be worse off.

He nodded, peering over the dune edge. We were heading in what we hoped was east; otherwise we were totally lost direction wise. "Cripes! Kismet, c'mere- you're not going to believe this!"

Dre's sudden cry caused me to startle, sliding down a few feet before he grabbed my arm and pulled me back up with a laugh. I glared, "That wasn't funny, the sand down there is hot. Now what's got you so excited?"

"That." He unceremoniously dragged me over the edge, pointing to something. It took a moment for my eyes to focus but once they had my legs almost gave away again.

Glinting in the sand was a seemingly harmless walking cane with a silver topped handle. It was buried up to that, but once Dre and I had scrambled down to unbury it we both yelped with delight. It was definitely Errols. Like Onyx and Diamond, the handle head of a jaguar with its jaws wrapped around the ebony wood. It was barely a foot long and skinny, collapsed as it was, but it was so Errol could carry it strapped to his leg without many people realizing it- including vampires that are in a hurry.

Dre gave a few expert swings with it until it came to full length. The staff was about 5 feet total, coming to a fine silver pointed edge. Small as it was, the stick was painful and usually deadly when Errol wielded it in combat. Dre chuckled, collapsing it again and tucking it under his arm.

"I doubt our boy could have come up with a better way of telling us where he is. Probably figured we're the only ones who would be stupid enough go walking around during the day."

I grinned, "You have to admit, it is kind of stupid...Put me down!" Dre had picked me up in a tight hug, now spinning me around. I slapped at his shoulders, not trying to hard because I was laughing. We were both sweaty, in need of a change of clothes and a good bath, but this news was too good not to celebrate.

Once he finally placed me back on the ground, he picked the cane up and we started out again. Adrenaline was pushing us on now, but if we didn't find some source of water we wouldn't make it much farther. Even were-animals can't last in the desert very long. Well, I guess if you're a were-camel you could.

"That was chance, though, finding Errol's stick." I mentioned as we walked along. Fatigue was beginning to hit. If I could only make it to evening maybe we could collect morning dew...A few more hours...

"Kismet?" Dre questioned. I stumbled. He caught me without another word, helping to keep me on my feet. Was that water I saw in the distance? I sighed, leaning against Dre with a blank grin. So close...it was just over there...

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"What the..." Dre looked ahead, seeing a lake that hadn't been there before. He placed Kismet gently on the sand, going to take a scoop of the water. Dre got a handful of sand. He looked back at the girl, who was coming back to life again. The coolness of the night's air seemed to be reviving her, though she wouldn't last much longer without water. Her face had already turned a tomato red.

Once Kismet sat up, the lake disappeared. She frowned, looking from Dre to where the water had been, "Wha' happened?"

He shrugged simply, "I'm not sure." Dre stood to look around and nodded in one direction. "There might be a city over there. I thought I saw lights a few times. We need to get you to water, can you still shift?"

Kismet nodded, propping herself up on her elbows, "Pro'ly. How're you faring?"

"I'm doing ok. Remember, I spent much of my life living in the desert when my parents went to Libya." Kismet had forgotten that. He was used to desert life, his body remembering and adjusting to the familiar climate.

"C'mon. We have to get you to that place, whatever it is." He was about to help her up when he changed his mind, "You should probably shift like that. I'll stay human to make sure no one kills you, and so one of us won't be as tired."

Kismet nodded, closing her eyes. Dre turned his back so she could shed her clothes, listening for the telltale 'pop' of bones. He winced, hearing the human yelps of pain turn to the screams of a jaguar. The change was never easy; Kismet was one of the few who were able to control it, even if it exhausted her.

Kismet the jaguar tried curling up, but Dre nudged her with his shoes as he collected her clothes. "Lets get going girl. Its not far enough away that you can't make it." The spotted cat snapped tiredly at the offending foot, though she got up anyway.

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I tried to crack my eyes open, much to the protest of every other muscle in my body. They opened enough I could see the blurry outline of Dre, distinguishable because of his height, and another, shorter person whose sex I couldn't determine.

"Oh dear, she's awake..." A thickly accented voice got louder the closer it got until a friendly, if gaunt, face appeared over me.

"Thanks greatly for your help, Saraid. Would you mind if I talked to Kismet alone?" Dre kneeled at the side of the bed, or assumed that's what I was on.

"Wha-" I literally sounds like someone had drug something down my throat. I swallowed before trying again with the same results. It hurt too much to talk.

"It's the shift. I'm betting you feel like a piece of crap at the moment." Dre smiled at me. I just nodded. "Here's some water. Saraid, the healer for the town, says it should help with your throat. The people are treating us like royalty, they think we're god's of some sort."

After drinking the water, that tasted more like a mixture of eggs and honey, I could talk at just a whisper, "Why?"

"Because you decided to lay down in the center of town and shift back. Don't look so shocked- I covered you up. From what I've been able to gleam off the townsfolk a 'short dark man, and a taller silver man' passed through a few days ago. You can guess who those are."

"How long?" It was best I didn't strain my throat. Shifting is hard on every part of the body, and it doesn't help it's one of the most painful things.

"How long what?"

"Have I...been out?"

"About a day and a half. You're face is looking better; Sara put a balm on it. These people know their stuff."

"When...can we...follow...Errol?"

"Just rest. Sara is getting some packs together for us. Evidently Errol's 'traveling companion' was rather rude to the headwoman here, so they had to pass through without any help. We'll have the advantage now." Dre paused, before smiling again, "Oh, yes. We're also going to get to ride frew-style."

"What?" Now Dre was just being confusing.

"It's this big animal thing. To me, it looks like a cross between a camel, a bear, and a tiger. Quite sweet things once you get past the fangs...and the claws..."

I shook my head and lay back against the pillows. That drink the woman had given to me was putting me to sleep. "G'night..." Dre smiled one last time, giving my hand a squeeze before he softly closed the door behind him.

He was obviously beginning to enjoy this world, as we were both out of immediate danger at the moment, and were getting closer to Errol. I understood why he liked to be away from the real world for a while.

Dre's parents had found out about his 'disease', as they put it, and shunned him for lack of a better word. It was why my parents had yet to know about it. It was why I minimized my contact with them and all my old friends. It was why I knew we had to find Errol...He was our father now...

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Authors Note: Okay, I can't resist. If you can figure out why I am so excited about weaseling the word 'trudging' into a sentence I'll give you a sneak peek at Chapter Four. ((Hint: Here's a quote that might help you place the movie: 'To trudge, the slow determined yet depressing walk of a man who has nothing left to lose. It represents pride, pride and faith in the good Lord Almighty. Please God rescue me from my current trib....ulations.' ))

That's about it for this installment. I'll be alternating chapters of this and Touching Deep, hopefully once a week if I'm able to stick to that...^_^

Cheers,

Pet