The Changeling Princess (21 page)

CHAPTER 38

I couldn’t believe how fast the time had passed. Sherri was going to be a senior in college and I’d be turning twenty-two in January. I couldn’t believe that it had taken three years to capture my first two demons.

How different my life had become since my sixteenth birthday. I always thought I
’d be going to college and eventually be getting married. Instead of enjoying a normal life, I was devoting every waking hour to capturing Demons. I should have been discouraged, but I wasn’t. I felt privileged to have been chosen to be an Ivarr. It was my calling and I was going to do my best to do what was asked of me.

I decided to take some time off to spend with my family. Of course the kitties were family, so that included them too.

It was a beautiful day, so I took Missy and Izzy out to the back yard. I had a new idea the kitties might like. I took their capes with me just in case things worked out.

I
want you girls to sit perfectly still. When I raise my hand, I want Missy to stand up and make a complete circle around Izzy. Is that clear?

Is this a new game?
Missy asked.

No, I
’m just running an experiment.

I backed up to the edge of our backyard and used my power of telekinesis to build a transparent force field between me and the kitties. What I wanted to do was try to freeze the images behind the force field. When Missy moved, I wanted it to appear that she
was still sitting in one spot.
All right, Missy, stand up and make a complete circle around Izzy.

From my view, it looked as if Missy had disobeyed my order and stayed in one spot. That told me my experiment was a success. I dissolved the force field and walked over to the kitties.

Missy looked perturbed.
Boy that was a terrific game. I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.

Missy was being sarcastic, but it made me lau
gh anyway.
All right girls, now the fun begins. I’m going to erect an invisible force field over the entire back yard, but this is no ordinary force field. No one on the outside will be able to see or hear us. We’ll have the entire yard to ourselves. Just think of all the space we’ll have to fly around in.

Missy looked up in the air.
You mean we’re going to be flying around up there?

That
’s the idea.

Izzy spoke up.
Janis is right. This is going to be a fun game.

I had the girls hide in the bushes so no one could see them. Then I stood in the center of the backyard and erected the force field. When
I was finished, I contacted the girls
. All right, girls, you can come out now.

I tied the capes on the girls and sent them flying up into the air. They had never flown this high before,
but they weren’t a bit scared.
Keep a sharp lookout down below
, yelled Missy.
Those mangy critters should be headed our way any minute.

I
’ll keep a sharp lookout, Supercat. Them varmints are riding right into our trap.

The backyard was a lot larger than my bedroom, so I was able to add a lot of new twists and turns. I could fly them faster, higher, and I had room to move them up and down like a roller coaster. I was probably spoiling them, but they were having a lot of fun.

Chasing the mouse was a lot more fun to play in the back yard too because there were more places to hide. After two hours of play, Misty and Izzy were so tired I had to carry them upstairs. I promised them we’d use the backyard as often as possible. The sad part was that I was going to be spending a lot time away from home. We’d just have to make the best of the situation.

Next on the list was Araknazoid, a spider Demon living in Mexico. I
’ve never had a fondness for spiders, but I never killed one that wandered into the house. I’d simply try to catch it and put it outside, preferably in the garden. Spiders serve a useful purpose by keeping the insect population under control.

I knew Araknazoid was not going to be a friendly garden spider. He was probably going to be as big as a car and very, very nasty. To make things worse, he probably eats everything in sight, including humans. I summarized my assignment with one simple sentence. I
’m going on a super-icky mission.

*
* *

I did a lot of research on insects. I read more than a dozen books and I learned more about insects in a week than I
’d learned in a lifetime. I headed for Mexico in August of 1964. I’d never been to California, so I took the long way around for a sightseeing trip.

I stopped in Las Vegas to pick up some expense money. I realized I was stealing, but I told myself that the casinos were donating to a good cause. I left Las Vegas on Highway 15 and drove into California.

When I reached the San Diego area, I put my car into storage and bought a used jeep. I changed my name and my appearance so I could blend in with the natives. I was now Juanita Gomez, an entomology student from the University of Mexico.

I didn
’t have to drive very far into Mexico to find what I was looking for. To the east lay the Sierra Madre Mountains, a perfect hiding place for a giant spider. There were a lot of caves and old mine shafts that had been used to excavate silver. The plains between the mountains and the ocean contained huge ranches that bred cattle, horses, and goats, an abundant supply of food for a giant spider.

I visited a lot of the small towns in the area. As an entomologist, I could make inquiries without drawing any attention to myself. When I asked about a giant spider, most of the answers were the same.
“Si, Señorita. The Devil Spider has terrorized this area since the time of my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents. Many young men have gone into the mountains to look for silver and have never been seen again.”

“
I saw the Devil Spider carry off a full-grown steer after killing it with a single bite,” a local native told me. He thought the land was cursed and he feared for his children.

Araknazoid was a clever spider. Like most Demons, they were rarely seen and their hiding places were far removed from view. Finding Araknazoid was not going to be easy.

I couldn’t help being impressed by the Mexican people. They were hard-working, extremely friendly, and honest to the core. They laughed a lot, they loved children, and they were very religious. I felt an immediate bond that I couldn’t explain with words. There was considerable poverty in Mexico, but I hoped that would change someday.

I made my base of operations in Santa Clara, a picturesque little village with a population of four thousand. My reputation as an entomologist student allowed me to ask endless questions without raising any suspicions. To most of the villagers, I was simply the
“bug lady.”

I flew home for Christmas and for my twenty-first birthday. I
’d always thought turning twenty-one would be a big event in my life. It didn’t feel that special, but my dad made a funny joke about it. “Janis, you are old enough to drink in public and make a fool out of yourself.” I hoped my father would never lose his sense of humor.

Searching the Sierra Madre Mountains for places a giant spider could hide was a slow process. I had so much area to cover, it was a full year before I got my first good lead.

It was early in the morning when a citizen of Santa Clara rode his horse into town to report a sighting. He said he was riding near the mountains when he saw a giant spider roaming the plains. The man said the spider looked like it was dragging something behind it when it disappeared into the mountains.

I quietly slipped out of town and morphed into the Changeling Princess. I found the spot the man had described and began a methodical search of the area leading into the mountains. Even though I had an entry point, it was still going to be a long, difficult search.

I eventually discovered a mine shaft that led to a huge underground cavern. I remembered being told that mine workers refused to enter uncharted caverns. They were afraid they might be entering the domain of the Devil Spider.

I noticed two very unusual things as I made my way farther underground. First, there were animal bones everywhere. This told me I might be on the right trail. Second, I was a half a mile into the cavern when I noticed the walls were lined with huge deposits of silver. I was definitely going to report the silver to the mayor of Santa Clara. I didn
’t know what the mining laws were in Mexico, but there was an excellent chance this silver deposit could be a boon to the citizens of the Santa Clara area.

The deeper I went into the cavern, the more bones I discovered. My biggest problem was there were so many shafts that led to nowhere. I could spend months searching dead ends, but I was never going to give up. After months of dead ends, I decided to take a break and head for home.

* * *

While I was home, I made a special trip to visit Sherri in Charlotte because she had just graduated from college. Sherri was never the smartest kid in school and I was really proud that she had earned a college degree.

“I assume you and Bruce are making plans to get married?”

“
Of course, Jan. Where is Bruce going to find a Changeling girl with my looks and brains?”

“
And sense of humor, too.”

Sherri laughed.
“All kidding aside, I’m really looking forward to marrying Bruce. We both want at least two kids.”

“
Nothing like trying to increase the population of the Changeling Clans.”

“
You’re right. Bruce and I will just be doing our duty.”

“
And having a lot of fun while doing it,” I joked.

“
I’m not going to comment on that.”

I had no doubt that Sherri
’s future would be filled with all the happiness life had to offer.

*
* *

I was back in the mountains exploring a new mineshaft when I picked up the scent I had been looking for. I knew that Araknazoid was near and my two year search was about to come to an end.

I took a right turn and entered a large underground cavern. There were animal bones everywhere, including a separate pile that belonged to humans. A lot of the human bones belonged to children.

Hidden in a dark corner of the cavern was a giant spider web over a hundred feet across. Sitting directly in the center of the web in all her glory was the mighty Araknazoid.

Araknazoid’s leg span was at least twenty feet in diameter, with a body as big around as a large kitchen table. She had an unusually huge head, large red eyes, and a mouth about three feet wide. She had twelve-inch fangs and her entire body was covered with hair. Araknazoid was an overgrown Tarantula who gave a whole new meaning to the term “creepy critter.”

Araknazoid couldn
’t speak, but I could hear her thoughts through telepathy.
Welcome, little girl. You are just in time for dinner.

I watched as Araknazoid began crawling slowly down her web. She didn
’t appear to be in a hurry because she probably figured that I didn’t have any place to hide.

I was trying to control my temper after seeing the bones that belonged to young children. I could have used my energy bolts, but I decided it was Araknazoid
’s turn to know the true meaning of fear.

I morphed into a giant scorpion almost twice as big as Araknazoid. Araknazoid stopped dead in her tracks when she saw my front claws opening and closing like a set of meat cleavers. I sensed her fear as I moved forward and went on the attack. Araknazoid tried to keep her distance, but I was much too fast for her. When she tried to rush me, I grabbed one of her legs with my pincers and cut it in half.

I had Araknazoid backed up on her hind legs when I forced her over onto her back. I moved quickly and plunged my stinger deep into her stomach. I didn’t want to kill Araknazoid, so I injected just enough poison to paralyze her.

After I morphed back into the Changeling princess, my first instinct was to pull her legs off one by one until she looked like a lopsided bowling ball. I took a deep breath to help control my temper. I had to follow my prime directive and that meant capture and contain. I wondered if the Ivarrs before me had always obeyed the prime directive. I had no way of knowing, but I was still curious.

I began the process of wrapping a force field around Araknazoid
’s hairy body. When I was finished, I added the final touch of stamping a “W” between her huge eyes. I held onto Araknazoid and morphed into a Mist.

I had a couple of things I had to do before I hauled Araknazoid to the Mariana Trench. First, I wanted to make a map describing how to reach the lost silver mine. The mayor of Santa Clara was an honorable man and I was sure he would do everything in his power to help his people. I also wanted to leave a message for the villagers of Santa Clara. I wanted them to know that the Devil Spider, had finally been captured and
she was no longer a threat to anyone.

I hid Araknazoid outside of town and went to my motel room to draw a map for the location of the silver mine. After I delivered the map to the mayor
’s office, I returned to the giant spider and morphed into the Changeling Princess. I morphed to my maximum height of eighty feet and then I fashioned a beautiful set of angel wings. I clothed myself in a white gown and attached the wings to my body. I was now going to impersonate an angel and deliver a message to the citizens of Santa Clara.