The sun hadn’t fully crested over the mountaintops when Gretta awoke. In the distance, she could hear the occasional passing car from the distant road.

Miguel had assembled a small pile of tinder and was now kneeling, blowing gently into it. The kindling lit, and a few whisps of smoke drifted up.

“Finally,” he whispered.

Gretta looked down and saw Sofia still curled beside her with little fingers wrapped in her tiger fur. Gretta wanted to stand and stretch, but more importantly, she wanted hands and the ability to drink coffee. Not that she thought coffee was likely. Miguel didn’t seem to have a camp kit for boiling water, let alone coffee.

Seeing that Gretta was awake, Miguel carefully picked up his blanket and lovingly tucked it under Sofia, gently separating the child from the tiger.

Pulling in magic, Gretta made an effort of will and shifted back to human form. She almost immediately regretted it. The morning air was cold—not quite cold enough for frost, but cold enough to wish she had a heavy jacket.

“Good morning,” she whispered.

Miguel nodded at her. “I don’t have much food, but you're welcome to have some dry cereal.”

“I was pondering what we were going to do for water. I didn’t bring any, and your pack isn’t big enough to hold enough for multiple days for three people, so I doubt we have enough,” Gretta said.

He smiled. “I have two liters of water in my bag, but I can use my magic to refill it. It’s not a fast process, but we should be okay if there’s a little water I can pull from the air or even a plant.”

“That’s very useful,” Gretta said. “Is that a spell or one of your gifts from the Wild Mother?”

“It’s a spell,” Miguel said. “I’d be happy to teach it to you if you’d like. It’s very handy when you live in the desert. As you are a disciple of the Wild Mother, it should be easy for you.”

“Yes, please!”

“The word is Nalqesh,” he said.

Gretta held her hands into a cup and focused on the empty space. Then, she opened a small channel for magic to flow from the Wild Mother, whispering the ancient word of power, “Nalqesh.”

Water slowly condensed in her palm, and Gretta enjoyed watching the spell work. When the water started leaking from her hand, she released the spell and drank the cool water. Most of it spilled down her chin or slipped through her fingers, but the water she managed to drink was fresh and clean. The spell took some effort to channel, but as a spell from her domain, she was confident she could do it throughout the day without exhausting herself.

“I don’t suppose you know a spell to make coffee?” Gretta asked hopefully.

Miguel chuckled softly. “Sadly, that is beyond me.”

“When you made the plants grow, was that your gift from the Wild Mother?” Gretta asked.

Miguel smiled. “Yes. It isn’t as impressive as turning into a tiger, but it has served me well.”

“I imagine that being able to grow vegetables and herbs is way more practical day to day than being a cat that only wants to lay in the sun all day and watch birds.”

Miguel shrugged. “I believe the Wild Mother gives us the gifts that suit us best.”

Gretta smirked. “So, you’re saying I’m suited to bird watching and sunbathing?”

Miguel was saved from answering when Sofia stirred, and both adults turned to her. Wrapped in a blanket near the fire, she looked small and vulnerable.

Gretta’s heart ached for the child, who was on the run, lying in the dirt, because someone wanted her for her ability to channel magic and the likelihood that a child’s willpower was easier to break than an adult’s.

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Gretta tilted her head. “Do you hear that?”

The distant sound of a dog barking, followed by the rev of a small engine, sent a chill down Gretta’s back. Nobody was out for a joy ride on an ATV with their dog in the middle of the desert. The people tracking down Sofia were coming.

“We need to move,” Gretta said.

“Is that a car?” Sofia asked.

“I think it’s at least one ATV, maybe more. It’s tough to tell, but somebody is coming, and they have a dog,” Gretta said.

Miguel packed the blankets and handed Sofia a plastic bag with cereal. “Eat a little so you have some strength.”

“I suggest you carry Sofia and head north as fast as you can,” Gretta said. “I’ll wait here, ambush them, and catch up with you.”

“If they have guns, you won’t stand a chance, even if you are a tiger,” Miguel said.

“They are going to catch us, and I’d rather ambush them than let them choose when to come at our backs,” Gretta said. “Sofia will be safer if she’s not here when the fighting happens.”

Miguel hesitated for a moment longer, then nodded. “Thank you for helping my daughter.”

“I promise that even if I don’t catch up, there will be at least one less of them to chase you.”

Miguel scooped up his daughter and started a brisk walk north.

Gretta looked around for a spot to hide. There wasn’t much available. The desert had many small trees, cacti, and bushes but not significant cover. The Palo Verde had thin branches, and the saguaro cacti were only marginally better. She needed the element of surprise, but they had a dog, so her hiding place had to be high up to give the pursuers a chance to approach.

She only saw one option, and it would take all of her endurance to pull off. She opened a conduit and pulled in magic, shifting to a small, striped tabby cat. With a leap and a scramble, she found her way into the upper boughs of the Palo Verde that hung over the camp. She settled down to watch and wait. Her plan was simple: She’d spring onto the lead person and shift to tiger form. Even if he got a shot off, he’d never survive 700 pounds of tiger-attention.

A mile away, Rowan was learning why spiders don’t ride ATVs. Spiders are very sensitive to vibration, and being on Jonathan’s ankle did not dampen the vibration or the noise. The unpleasantness was between a dentist’s drill and a mosquito in your ear, with the volume cranked up to a jet engine taking off.

“Jango’s on the scent,” Dillan shouted over his shoulder at Jonathan. “Keep an eye out. They’ll be running as we get closer!”

Jonathan watched the desert closer to the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement. Behind him, a third ATV with Gabriela hung back cautiously.

Jango, the Belgian Malinois, raced ahead, barking furiously at a tree. Dillan cranked his throttle.

Gabriela futilely yelled, “Watch out for an ambush!” But her voice was drowned out by Dillan’s engine.

Rowan had a fraction of a second to appreciate that a nine-pound cat jumping onto somebody’s face is scary, but not as scary as that nine-pound cat becoming a seven-hundred-pound tiger. Dillan didn’t have time to scream.

“It’s the PI!” Gabriela shouted. “Shoot her!”

Dillan’s ATV flipped over, and the engine cut out. Gretta’s roar drowned out every other sound.

Rowan was still admiring the frightening display of raw power Gretta had displayed when Jonathan’s ATV slowed down. Then, the shooting started.

Rowan took a moment to realize what he was hearing. It wasn’t until he saw the tiger collapse that he knew Jonathan was shooting. Jonathan was reloading when Rowan bit and released a full dose of neurotoxin right into his ankle. This was his chance for a National Geographic special, and he would not be out-shown by a cat!

In moments, Jonathan was flailing and falling, and Rowan leaped to safety, scrambling into the cover of a tuft of desert grass.

“That was invigorating.” Gabriela studied the motionless tiger. “She was my backup plan if Sofia couldn’t be used.” She shook her head. “What a waste.”

Jonathan lay on the ground staring. “The tiger is so big. How can anything be that big?”

“Get up, Jonathan. The girl isn’t here,” Gabriela said. “We’ll have to come back for your idiot partner.”

Jonathan stumbled to his feet, and his speech was slurred. The neurotoxin of Rowan’s bite was grabbing hold. Jonathan looked confused down at his leg. “I think something bit me.”

Gabriela shook her head and rubbed her face. “Stop whining. Nothing out here has enough venom to kill a man your size.”

He looked at the tiger lying on his partner. “What about Dillan?” he choked out, his thick-tongued words barely intelligible. “There’s so much blood.”

“He shouldn’t have charged in, and we can’t help him. He couldn’t have survived that. We don’t have a rope to tow the tiger off him, and I don’t have the strength to disintegrate a tiger and still deal with Miguel when we catch up to him. You don’t look like you have the motor function to control your ATV, so you’ll have to ride with me. Even if we go slower, we’ll catch them.”

Jonathan stared at the bloody scene for a few more moments before walking over and climbing onto Gabriela’s ATV.

“Jango! Scent!” Jonathan ordered, and despite his nearly unintelligible words to Rowan, the dog obeyed and followed Miguel and Sofia's path.

As they departed, Rowan noticed that Gabriela had Sofia’s stuffed rabbit in a bag at her side.

When they were gone, Rowan shifted to human form and approached the tiger. She bled from at least a half-dozen wounds. The amount of blood on the tiger and the ground made him feel ill. He knelt to check for a pulse.

“Please don’t be dead,” he whispered.