it’s better if Aazule doesn’t know who I am.”

“Why’s that?” Balto asked.

Mai sighed.

“Let’s just say we have some history, and leave it at that.”

“Okay.” Balto said. “I won’t tell him.”

Mia smiled.

“Thank-you Balto.’

Her face grew serious once more.

“We have to hurry, I can feel her.”

“Feel who?” Balto asked.

“Jenna.” Mia responded.

She turned to Balto.

“She’s in pain, great pain, from what…”

She sighed.

“…I can’t tell.”

“Well let’s go!” Balto said.

‘The two dogs ran away in to the woods.

As they vanished into the trees, Balto turned to her.

“What do you want me to call you then ?” Balto asked.

“Call me Angel.” Mia said.

“Okay.’ Balto said.

Then the two disappeared into the woods…

Chapter 7

Jenna was roughly thrown back into the cell.

Jenna walked over to her.

“What happened to you?” Jenna asked.

Jenna sat up.

She tried to take a step forward, but fell on her face.

Maybe you should just sit down for a while.” Jenna said, helping her up.

“Yeah…” Jenna said, wobbling a bit, “I… I guess so…”

“What did he do to you?” Jenna asked.

Jenna hung her head.

“I’d rather….”

She paused, and started crying,

“How… how am I ever going to face Balto after… after that?”

She limped over to the wall.

“You can be hurt?”

“As… as a soul, I can’t be physically hurt, as I have no bones, but that doesn’t keep me from feeling pain… believe me! I…. I think he broke my legs.”

“Ouch.” Jenna said, walking over to her side.

Jenna suddenly got lightheaded feeling.

“Whoa…” she said.

“What?” Jenna asked.

“I… I feel really lightheaded.” Jenna said.

“Probably from the abuse you just took.” Jenna responded.

“No, I didn’t feel this until I got in here…”

“Strange.” Jenna said.

Jenna nodded, then threw up blue light on the floor.

“WHAT THE….” Jenna said, jumping back.

“Man, now I feel really horrible,” Jenna said, rolling over on her side.

“I don’t know what…. that is.” Jenna said.

“I don’t either.” Jenna said, “but it can’t be good. What could make a soul ill?”

“I don’t know.” Jenna said.

“Well,” Jenna said, yawning, “I think I’m going to sleep. I’m tired. You?”

“I’m pretty bushed myself.” Jenna said, laying down next to her.

“Everything will be all right,” Jenna said, “you’ll see.”

Jenna shook her head.

“I don’t know if I can even face him after what happened in there.”

Jenna’s eyes filled with tears again, and she started bawling.

“Oh.. Oh God Balto… I’m… I’m so sorry, I…. I tried… tried to stop him but…. but….”

Jenna became incomprehensible then, and laid her head on Jenna’s shoulder.

Jenna let her cry for a few minutes before she spoke.

“You really do love him, don’t you?”

Jenna stopped crying, sniffled and nodded.

“Yes… yes.. I… I do.”

Jenna sighed.

“I wish I knew him, knew him like you do.”

Jenna nodded.

“If you did, you’d love him too.”

Jenna smiled and nodded back.

“Yeah, yeah you’re probably right.”

Jenna smiled through the few tears that still dripped down her face.

“Let’s get some sleep.”

Jenna yawned.

“Okay.”

The two dogs snuggled in close for warmth, and soon were fast asleep.

Balto was still walking with “Angel” when they almost literally ran into Aazule.

“There you are!” Aazule said. “Where did you wander off to?”

“I met someone…” Balto said.

He paused and let Angel step forward.

“Aazule this is Angel.”

“Hello.” Aazule said.

Angel smiled at him.

“Hello Aazule.”

Aazule managed to pry his eyes off Angel, with some effort, and turned his gaze toward Balto.

“We need to get moving, soon!”

Balto nodded.

“I know, I know.”

He sighed.

“believe me…”

“Well let’s get going then.” Angel said.

“We?” Aazule said, as the three began to walk into the woods. “Do you think you can fight demons? Think you can survive that?”

Angel smiled.

“Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself under pressure…”

“Unlike some people…” she thought.

It was early in the morning when Balto and his new friends climbed up the hill overlooking a massive rock fortress.

“What is that?” Balto asked.

“I don’t know,” Angel said, “but I have a strong feeling we’ll find Jenna there.”

As Balto looked on, the sky around the fortress began to roll, the clouds began to roil in the wind, and lightning lanced down from the sky, striking the snow and causing great billows of steam.

“That doesn’t look good…” Balto said.

The wind continued to blow, and soon great sheets of snow began blowing all around them.

“It’s a blizzard!” Aazule yelled.

Balto didn’t hear him though, as the wind stole the words from Aazule’s mouth.

Angel turned to Balto.

“I’ve got this one.”

She closed her eyes, and Mia’s gray and white fur returned, along with her beautiful wings.

“Mia?” Aazule said, as he stepped forward.

Mia ran at the cliff, and jumped off.

She free fell, nose pointed at the ground, for about two hundred feet, then she pulled up sharply, and using the great gusts of wind, soared up into the clouds, flying toward the fortress.

Aazule turned to Balto.

He looked… almost angry.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” He yelled over the wind.

Balto just looked at him.

He was about to reply, when a loud hiss filled the air, as the ground behind him exploded.

A huge hole opened in the ground, and Balto fell backwards into it.

The anger left Aazule’s face, and he leapt forward, trying to catch Balto’s paw before he slipped into oblivion.

Balto’s paw slid out of Aazule’s grip.

Balto disappeared into the blackness.

“BALTO!” Aazule yelled.

His voice echoed down the tunnel.

Nothing.

Aazule stumbled back from the pit.

“Oh no,” Aazule thought.

Suddenly a great rumbling shook the ground, and Aazule turned back to the pit, to see a huge snake explode out of the ground, and on top of it’s head…

“BALTO!” Aazule yelled, as the serpent whipped it’s head sideways, and threw Balto about sixty feet to the snow below.

Balto got up and shook himself off.

“AAZULE WE’VE GOT TO FIGHT THAT THING!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, THAT’S SUICIDE!” Aazule replied.

JENNA’S ON THE OTHER SIDE, I’M NOT GOING TO LET A LITTLE SNAKE GET IN MY WAY!” Balto yelled back.

“LITTLE?!” Aazule said, gazing up at the massive snake.

Balto smiled.

The white snake chose that time to strike.

Balto narrowly dodged the two massive fangs, and felt them pass through his fur.

He used the momentum from the sideways jump to spin around and leap at the snake, biting and latching on about ten feet off the ground.

The snake once again shook him off, but this time Balto was unable to control his fall, and landed on his head.

He stood up and stumbled around in front of the snake, not hurt, but severely addled.

The Snake’s red eyes gleamed, as it struck.

Balto was in no condition to walk, much less dodge something that fast.

Balto screamed one of the massive fangs poked through his shoulder.

Balto could feel it sticking through his leg, and the snake picked him up.

Balto could feel a thick liquid pouring down the inside of his leg. At first he thought that it was blood, though there was already a fair amount of that, but soon he realized that it was venom.

“At least it went all the way through.” Balto thought.

The snake opened it’s massive jaws, and started to swallow Balto, when it hissed in pain, and dropped Balto to the snow.

He yelped as he hit the snow on his injured shoulder, and slowly stood up.

Aazule had attacked the snake, and was hanging on for dear life, trying not to get thrown off.

Eventually he too lost his grip, and was thrown to the snow, however he regained his feet very quickly.

The snake’s eyes gleamed, and Aazule knew it was about to strike again.

Suddenly an idea occurred to him.

He watched the snake, and as it struck, he jumped into the air, passing behind the snake’s body.

The serpent’s strike was so fast that it didn’t have time to realize this.

The snake’s jaws closed on it’s body, and it’s eyes went wide as gallons of venom were pumped from it’s fangs into it’s body. The snake’s head fell to the ground.

It shuddered once, and