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*****

There, standing beside, her was a shadowy figure, his countenance as dark and grim as the other man's was fair and pleasant.

The dark man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him. His touch seemed repulsive and she tried to break away. She expected the man in white to come to her rescue, but, instead, he hesitated by the car as though struggling with what to do next.


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New Post:

"Get out of here, Henry!" the interloper commanded.

He waved his hand at the specter in white as though shooing away a wayward pup. The other arm he used to hold Cadence firmly against his chest.

"You will not take this one," he declared.

"Then you will not get the other," Henry hissed. "I want the complete package, and I am used to getting what I want."

"Really," the man who held her said, "then get this."

He reached down and scooped up up a rock. In a quick and practiced movement, he chucked the stone and hit Henry right between his eyes. For a moment the willowy man swayed as though he would fall, a sizeable knot forming on his forehead. Finally he shook his head as though to clear it, and then sat back down in the car.

He slammed the door shut with a loud bang, and off the Serpents sped, spewing gravel in their wake. Thankfully, Cadence had the presence of mind to note the number on the license plate and commit it to memory.

"Cheap parlor trick," her rescuer snorted as soon as they were alone.

"What's that?" Cadence asked.

"The hypnosis. He acts like he's the one who invented it."

"I hear that," Cadence said. "Hey what are you doing?"

"I'm taking off my disguise so you can see who I am. Here, hold my coat and hat."

"C-Daddy?"

"Who else?"

"How many times are you going to just keep popping up?"

"As many times as you get yourself in trouble."

"Me? You're the one bringing trouble with you. And why do you keep looking younger each time I see you? You keep this up and you'll be a child inside a week."

"I do not look younger. I'll have you know, I took a shower, that's all."

"Okay," Cadence said, "but I hope it wasn't just for me. So, who was that guy in the car?"

"One of the leaders of the Serpents," he explained. "And he's got a twin, too."

"I think I met him," Cadence said. "He looked and sounded a lot like this guy, only a bit darker. He was inside the school, right near my door. He had such a sweet voice that I almost followed him into a dark hallway."

"Be glad you didn't. His bite is worse than his bark."

"Somehow, deep inside, I knew that," Cadence commented. "It's like I wanted to follow, but knew it was wrong at the same time."

"Almost like an addiction?" C-Daddy asked.

"That's exactly what I thought at the time," Cadence said. "I guess that's what gave me the strength to resist."

"Resist?" C-Daddy snorted. "All I saw was you walking blindly into a nasty trap."

"Yes, and one baited with a very tempting piece of cheese," Cadence commented.

"All traps are. Let's just hope you never have to find out what Henry and his brother, Bram, would have done if they had caught you."

"I assure you, I don't want to know. But what did they want with me anyway? I can't possibly have anything of value to them."

"You were at the wrong place at the wrong time the other night, I guess. Now they feel that you are involved with me and Nick and the package they stole."

"Is that why they have Sarah, then, because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"No, she's the weakest link in your chain, and if there's anything true about the Serpents, it's that they know how to attack where you are weak."

"Will they hurt her?"

"Not for now. She is too important to them. They hope she'll lead them to us."

"Pleasant guys those twins," Cadence remarked.

"Yeah, and they are the nice ones, too. Hope you never meet their sister."

"I hope I never have to meet any of them again, but as they've got Sarah I'm guessing I won't get my wish," Cadence said. "What is this complete package he talked about anyway? Didn't they get that the other night when they jumped you?"

"They got an important part of it," C-Daddy explained, "but what they want, I'm not willing to give up."

"And what is that?" Cadence asked.

"A secret weapon," C-Daddy answered.

"I have a feeling you aren't going to tell me what that is."

"It would destroy my aura of mystery."

"Okay, then, can you tell me how it involves Nick Collins?"

"He's the head of our Order."

"Your Order? What Order's that? The Anti-Serpent League?"

"Sort of. What eats serpents?"

"Uh, hungry people?"

"Besides that," C-Daddy said.

"I don't know, cats?"

"Yes, and eagles."

"So you are the Order of the Eagles?"

"I'm not the Order, but I'm a part of it."

"Then why are you homeless?"

"We all make mistakes."

"Okay, I can understand that," Cadence said, "I've made a couple I'm not proud of myself, but I thought NIck said he didn't know you."

"It's a very big Order," C-Daddy explained. "Now, if you are through asking questions, where are your keys? We've got places to go."

"Like the Police Station?" Cadence asked hopefully.

"Nope, they've already been notified, and have surveillance video to evaluate. They will need to talk to you later, but first, we are going to the shelter."

"What's there?"

"Hope."

"Who is she, and is she well-armed?" Cadence asked with the first hint of a smile.

"Welcome back." C-Daddy smiled in return.

He put the little yellow car in gear and headed for his home at American Rescue Workers.