Alternate Chapter 2, Part Three: Mandrake

Moments after Jessica left Katrina’s house, Katrina and Wearwolf followed after her. She wasn’t very far down the vine-strewn street when they caught up with her. The streets weren’t the only thing vine-strewn in Wine Town. The stuff grew everywhere like a curious weed with a penchant for high places. Anything stationary long enough was eventually secured into position by the vines, including, so the old wives’ tale goes, lazy children who don’t get enough exercise. To visitors, it gives at the same time a sense of rustic charm and a eerie sense of foreboding, while the residents face the regular struggle of keeping the vines growing on the outside of the house from becoming the vines growing on the inside of the house. Perhaps it was just another consequence of living so close to Dionysus.

“What is suddenly so important?” Wearwolf asked, just slightly limping by Katrina‘s side.

“You‘ll see in a moment,” Katrina promised as they trotted up to Jessica. “Mrs. Chardonnay, wait!”

“Aye, lass, how many times do I have t’ tell ye, Mrs. Chardonnay is me mother-in-law’s name,” Jessica said as she turned to face them. “(Lord rest her soul if I ever meet her again) Jus’ call me Jess.”

“Right, Jess,” Katrina said, panting slightly. “Look, I’ve been wondering, about your MultiPet…”

“Aye, what of him?” Jessica asked. She crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

“Well,” Katrina continued, sticking one hand in her pocket as the other scratched the back of her head. “It’s just that you never talk about him, aside from the fact that you had to leave him behind in the sea…”

“Aye, I consider it a personal matter,” Jessica said. Her eyes narrowed a little.

“Yeah, but my parents’ MultiPets don’t become armor like Wearwolf,” Katrina said, gesturing out with one hand. “And I can’t think of anyone else in town with an Armor-type MultiPet, either, so I figured…”

“Ah, ye think I could train ye if my MultiPet also happened to be an Armor-type,” Jessica replied. She shook her head. “Aye, I could teach ye a thing or two about ‘em, but as far as Armor-type pets are concern I’m afraid yer barkin’ up the wrong tree, no pun intended.”

“I do not understand the joke,” Wearwolf said, tilting his head to the side.

“All right,” Katrina sighed, sagging slightly. “Thanks anyway.”

“Ach, I just remembered something,” Jessica said, snapping her fingers. She stuck her thumbs into her belt loops. “Rion and Jaime said they wanted to see ye right away. They said it was urgent, but wouldn’t tell me what it was. Not that I don’t already know. Ye of all people should know ye can’t hide nothin’ from yer mother.”

The Chardonnay’s house was probably the most out of place thing in all of Wine Town, after the world‘s largest neon sign. It was as if a particularly wicked storm at sea had caused a triple-masted schooner to run aground at the corner of Fifth and Albuquerque. The sails were always at full, making it look as if the only thing keeping it from sailing down the avenue were the vines anchoring it to the lawn.

The inside was quite the sight, as well. Mr. and Mrs. Chardonnay kept a large, and some would say tacky, collection of maritime paraphernalia. It was like walking into a live-in sailing museum. Even though they were miles from the shore, Katrina always felt a little seasick after spending any amount of time in their living room.

“Oh, man, am I glad you’re here,” Jaime said as she opened the front door. She was a bespectacled brunette only a few months younger than Katrina, wearing a long, blue skirt and a padded, orange vest. She grabbed Katrina by the wrist and yanked her inside before closing it quickly. Less than a moment later, Katrina opened it again to let Wearwolf in.

“Sorry about that,” Katrina apologized.

“I imagine my presence will take some getting used to,” Wearwolf said.

“It’s up here in our room,” Jaime said as she climbed some nearby rigging into the loft. “Your wolf will be fine down there, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Katrina replied. Turning to Wearwolf, she said, “Try not to break anything.”

Glancing at a nearby giant ship in a bottle that served as the coffee table, Wearwolf said, “I will do my best.”

Rion, Jaime’s lanky twin brother, looked up from something he had covered up on his bed as Katrina climbed into the loft. He immediately ran up to Katrina and took her by the hand.

“Listen,” he said urgently. “What we’re about to show you is top secret. You can’t say anything to anyone about it. And try not to scream or anything… You might… wake it.”

“What are you…” Katrina started before the twins shushed her. In a whisper, she said, “What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see in a moment,” Rion said. “Do you agree or not?”

“Fine, I won’t tell anybody,” Katrina said. “Now show it to me.”

Rion led Katrina over to his bed and threw back the covers. Snoozing peacefully was what looked like a little girl with skin like tree bark. Instead of hair, broad, green feathers grew out of its scalp. Katrina grabbed Rion and dragged him back to Jaime across the room.

“Are you crazy!?” Katrina exclaimed under her breath. “Do you have any idea what the Hell that thing is? It’s a freakin’ mandrake! A dryad child! You can’t keep this thing in your house! This thing is dangerous even if the other dryad don’t figure out where it is!”

“You think we don’t know that?” Rion replied. “We just couldn’t leave her there.”

“We found her, we think it’s a ‘her,’ unconscious in the forest about a week ago,” Jaime explained. “She was badly injured and alone. If we left her there, she would’ve died. So we hid her in our room and nursed her back to health.”

“Dryad don’t even leave their dead where people can find them,” Rion added. “Trust me, if the dryad knew she was lost, we wouldn’t have found her.”

“What about when this thing wakes up?” Katrina asked. “A mandrake can kill a man with its scream.”

“We’re hoping that’s just a myth,” Jaime answered. “There’s not a lot of scientifically-proven data on them. Fortunately, she hasn’t woken up yet, but we think she’s in good enough condition to return to her tribe.”

“We just don’t know where they are,” Rion said. “We’re hoping you and your Wearwolf can help track them down.”

“I dunno,” Katrina said. “Better trackers than me have tried and failed.”

“You’re the only one we can trust with this, Katrina,” Rion said. “If we go anywhere else, we’ll be hip-deep in trouble.”

“I’ve got half a mind to smack you two around myself,” Katrina said, crossing her arms. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

Rion carefully bundled the mandrake up in his bed sheets before they all climbed back down into the living room. Wearwolf had lain patiently on the floor and popped his head up as they came down.

“Can you keep a secret?” Katrina asked. “I don’t want you telling any of the other animals about this.”

“I shall not tell another soul,” Wearwolf replied.

“Good,” Katrina said. Rion brought the bundle over to him and revealed the mandrake’s face. Wearwolf’s eyes went wide.

“Not quite the reaction I was hoping for,” Rion said.

“I thought the dryad were friendly toward wildlife,” Jaime noted.

“Wearwolf,” Katrina said, “We need you track down her tribe. Can you do this?”

“I know exactly where her tribe resides,” Wearwolf said, closing his eyes. His words were merely a squeal of a whine to Rion and Jaime’s ears. “But I am afraid I cannot lead you there.”

“Why not?” Katrina asked.

“It all began a week ago,” Wearwolf explained. He looked into Katrina’s eyes reluctantly. “My pack and I lived among the dryad. One day, one of them approached us most urgently and strapped bundles to our backs. They had tried to confuse the scents, but I could tell at least one of them carried one of their children. We were instructed to leave, spreading out in different directions, and not return until we had received word to do so. I have yet to hear back from them, but I imagine that since I am bonded to you my matters no longer concerns them.

“I am not aware of what happened to the tribe, but a few days later I found myself being pursued by Rossiter. He was most interested in the bundle I carried with me. Fortunately, all my bundle contained were oranges, but by the time he found out he was determined to make a profit out of my hide. He would have succeeded had you not arrived.”

“Aw, man,” Katrina replied.

“What’d he say?” Jaime asked.

“Someone may be after this kid,” Katrina explained. “He was hunted down in an attempt to find her. If we take her back to her tribe, she could be in grave danger.”

“Harsh,” Jaime said.

“I can’t imagine what would be so dangerous that a dryad would have to send its own children away,” Katrina mused. “They were supposed to tell him when it was safe to come back, but he’s seen neither hide nor hair of them since.”

“Well, he didn’t have a mandrake with him when you found him,” Rion said. “Maybe they decided to cut ties with him after you two bonded.”

“Maybe,” Katrina said. “But whatever the case, we can’t keep this mandrake here. Wearwolf, do you know of any other dryad tribes in the area?”

“That just so happens to be the case,” Wearwolf replied, hanging his head. “However, I was also instructed to avoid other dryad sanctuaries in this region as well. For whatever reason, I cannot say.”

“Well, we have to take her somewhere,” Katrina said. “And she’ll be much safer with her own kind than with us or on her own. Or, at least, we will.”

“I refuse to go back on my word,” Wearwolf said, turning his head away. “And even if I wanted to, leading humans to a dryad sanctuary is punishable by death. I could be putting you in danger and potentially the child if the danger has not passed.”

“And I suppose you have a better idea?” Katrina asked crossly. “What are we going to do? Leave her in the forest to die? Keep her here so she can kill us when she wakes up? And if someone finds her, they’ll just want to kill her or chase her off so she can’t harm anyone. And then where will she be? She could wind up at the mercy of whatever chased her out of the sanctuary. At least if we take her back we can figure out what happened. I think she deserves that much.”

“Very well,” Wearwolf accepted, his ears drooping. “As other answers elude me, I will lead you to the dryads. Be forewarned: Even if the child finds safety there, you will not. The dryad do not appreciate human trespassers within their sanctuaries.”

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take,” Katrina said. To Rion and Jaime, she said, “If you guys are coming, you better bring a gun. This could get hairy.”

“Hoo boy,” Rion breathed.

“You two aren’t scared, are ya?” Katrina asked.

“No way,” Rion said. “I’m totally going with you. I wanna see this through to the end.”

“If Rion’s going, so am I,” Jaime said. “But mom keeps the gun cabinet locked.”

“I can pick that lock no problem,” Rion said, handing the mandrake to Jaime. “How about the Reagan mark two?”

“The lowest setting should be enough to stun them, I imagine,” Jaime agreed.

“You guys know way too much about guns,” Katrina said uncomfortably.