Thirty-five
Shouting came from above us as the warriors descended on the creatures. With only two beasts and a dozen warriors, I’d expected to see a slaughter. It was. Just not the kind I’d hoped for. The pixies didn’t have a chance.
A body landed next to us, thankfully still alive. Uli shouted at him. She screamed with a high piercing wail that I swear shattered my eardrums.
The warrior sat up, his eyes blinking slowly. It was then that I recognized him—my old friend who had locked me up.
“Let me out, Mochazon. Let me fight. You know I will fight!”
He pressed a hand to his forehead. “Uli,” he growled.
Yells erupted from the battle as the larger beast let out a roar and then spat poison at a warrior. Spitting poison. I had no idea they could do that.
“Let me fight!”
“You will not,” he said.
“I will kill those beasts. Let me free!”
“You are safer in there.”
“I don’t want to be safe.”
He scowled as he crawled onto his hands and knees. “You are only trying to run off. You probably called the beasts yourself so you could make your escape.”
“No, Mochazon!”
He held a hand to his chest where he’d been stabbed, wobbling on unsteady feet. His wings beat slowly at first and then faster as he soared into the air. I lost sight of him as he flew to battle.
“Mochazon!” Uli shook the bars with such force I was surprised they didn’t shatter. She called for him again and again until her voice became hoarse. Finally, she sat back, breathing hard. “He is a fool,” she muttered.
Something glinted on the ground where Mochazon had been. I looked closer and found a pair of enchanted keys that glowed with a greenish light. My heart sped up. If I could get the keys, I could finally be free. I reached through the bars and stretched my arm as far as I could. No luck. I was only inches short, but that was enough to keep me from freedom.
I searched the cell. Surely I could find something to help me. I found a few small twigs, but none were long enough. The battle continued raging outside. Uli sat with her head in her hands, silently weeping as the vexons continued their slaughter.
I attempted calling the keys with my magic, but the foreign enchantment kept me from touching them. What other options did I have? They were too far away for Uli to reach. I couldn’t reach them physically or with my magic.
I sat on the ground and stared at the keys. They seemed to taunt me.
The noise from the battle reverberated through the ancient tree. A strong gust of air blustered through the cells as the larger vexon swooped past us. The wind gave me an idea. I couldn’t touch the keys with magic, but maybe I wouldn’t have to.
I called the magic inside me. When I felt ready, I uttered the magic word that would let me control the wind.
Cirrus.
The wind circulated around me. I collected its power and sent it outward, focusing on enveloping the keys. The wind caught the keys and moved them a fraction of an inch. Clenching my fists, I added my own energy reserves to the spell. Dust spiraled through the air and clouded my vision, but I stayed focused on the keys. They scraped across the ground a few inches more. I let go of the spell before it consumed all my strength. Breathing hard, I clung to the cell bars and stuck my arm through.
Uli ranted excitedly beside me, but I ignored her as I reached for the keys.
This time, I grasped them without trouble and made quick work of unlocking our cells.
Through the haze, Uli darted toward me, the whites of her eyes bright and round. “You did this?” she said, bouncing up and down on her toes. She towered over me, at least a head taller.
“Yes,” I answered.
She grabbed me in a hug so fierce my lungs threatened to collapse. “You are my champion!”
“Thanks,” I squeaked out.
She pulled away, and her eyes grew grim as she focused on the battle. “We must hurry. My people—they are no good against those beasts—they think spears will kill anything. Bah!” She spat. “Only magic can penetrate the vexon’s hide. Quick, follow me.” She beat her wings and sped into the sky.
I watched her go, a purplish-green blur that disappeared toward the battle, not sure how she expected me to follow her. I waited on the ledge, peering up at the battle. I searched for Uli, but in the chaos, it became impossible to tell one pixie from another.
Pacing the ledge, I looked for a way off. A narrow bridge was the only exit. It led up to another platform, where I spotted a staircase leading to a tower that overlooked the battle. Approaching the bridge, I realized crossing it would be almost as dangerous as confronting one of those beasts.
I inched onto the narrow boards, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. It wobbled dangerously, and I held my breath, knowing that if I panicked, I would only fall sooner. Somehow I made it across, my heart hammering, sweat slicking the palms of my hands.
After the bridge, climbing the tower wasn’t so hard. The steps were narrow, but at least they stayed steady when I walked on them. Screams came from the fray, followed by the shriek of the vexons, a sound that sent shivers down my spine.
The staircase wound around the tower. I followed it up until I entered a small room with large windows on every side.
The view from this angle was more breathtaking than I expected. The pixie tree spread before me like an ancient continent, a sea of stone roots and islands of bright bauble lights. But the storm raging below me sped my heart.
I could use my magic to help in destroying the creatures, but should I risk it? I’d never battled a vexon, and warring with a new species was never as easy as it seemed. They’re always full of surprises. The textbooks never really prepared you for that sort of thing. But I couldn’t stand here and watch the slaughter. I had to do whatever I could. I hoped the pixies were smart enough to move out of the way.
Uli had said only magic could penetrate the beasts’ hides. In my mind, I conjured the word for fire.
I readied my stance, calmed my breathing.
Below me, the smaller creature spun in mid-air, knocking back a warrior with its lethal spiked tail. His screams reverberated, shaking the tree surrounding me.
Deep breath in.
I extended my arm and whispered the word. Hot fire formed above my fingertips, soft blue at first and then growing in size to a massive, sizzling ball of flames.
I hurled it at the beast. It landed on the monster’s back, singeing its wings, which popped with loud crackles as the thin, leathery material ignited.
Score one for me.
But the giant flame ball engulfed more than just the monster. Several pixies fell back as well, their wings blazing like puffs of cotton. The beast roared with fury. It thrashed back and forth, its giant mouth snapping at the inferno. The few remaining pixies saw their opportunity and reacted. Half a dozen spears thudded into the beast’s back, where the flame had consumed it.
It rounded in mid-air. I had no idea how it stayed in flight, but it managed to thrash its tail, coming dangerously near me.
Snakelike yellow eyes met mine. I froze. In that moment, I knew those beasts weren’t here for a meal. They’d come for me.
I took a step back.
The beast lunged and hit the tower. The ground shook, though I managed to stay upright.
It charged again before I could ready another spell. The tower wobbled beneath me, and I fell to the ground. Rough paving stones scraped my elbows. The creature hissed and rammed the tower again as I tried to sit up.
I crawled to my feet. Fear sped my movements as I realized I had little chance of destroying the beast. My magic was fading. I needed a way to conserve my energy, but my frantic thoughts wouldn’t let me concentrate.
Something whizzed past my head. A spear clattered to the tower’s floor. I snatched it up, not certain it could help me, but hoping it might.
If I could focus my magic through the spear, perhaps it would help me pres
erve my power. I willed my magic through the spear. Bright orange fire glowed from the spear’s tip. When the vexon hovered close enough, I released the fire, sending another blast of fire at its wings. They ignited without a hitch, but the beast used its momentum to hit the tower with more force than I’d felt so far.
The tower groaned, a heavy sound that seemed to emanate from the center of the earth. This wasn’t a small tremor like the last attacks, but a rumble that made the tower slowly tip.
Not good.
I grabbed at the floor, trying to find some sort of handhold. As the tower tipped more, I finally grabbed a pillar between the windows and clung to it, feeling the world disappear below me.
Tree roots spun in my vision. I leapt before I had a chance to think twice. My spear snagged on a jutting root, and fear squirmed through me as I dragged myself onto a ledge. As I did, the tower toppled, plummeting down with a force so great I heard the enormous whoosh loud in my ears.
It took what was left of the vexon with it, the beast screaming with fury. Moments later, I heard the tower smash to the bottom. A giant dust cloud rose up in its place.
Sweat slicked my palms as I crept along the ledge to higher ground. I inched toward a broad, flat ledge where I collapsed.
My magic had drained my energy. I needed time to rest. Across the chasm, I spotted the last beast.
I’d never seen a vexon so huge. Where did these things breed? It had to be forty feet long at least. When it lashed its tail, it sent half a dozen pixies to the ground. Warriors slung coils of ropy vines around the monster, but it shrugged them off.
They hurled torches at the monster’s wings. The beast spun so fast it became a blur, and the torches sputtered uselessly to the ground.
A pixie landed on the ledge beside me. I recognized him. Mochazon’s breathing was labored as he turned to me. “Did you kill that beast?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “Barely.”
“Let me fly you to the other creature,” he said. “You must destroy it the way you have destroyed the first.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“My magic needs time to recharge. I would be useless.”
“But you killed the first!”
“Yes, but I used all my magic to do it.”
Across the chasm, thick, yellowish poison spewed from the monster’s mouth. It coated the pixies’ skin in a foul sludge that stuck to their flesh. The screams of dying warriors came from the fray.
“We cannot waste time. I must fly you to the battle.” His voice sounded panicked.
I looked up at him, my magic nearly gone, my lungs begging for air. It would be so easy to stay on this ledge and let the pixies win their own battles. But I knew that if I made that decision, more pixies would die.
No matter how much I disliked them, I couldn’t let them die. I could try. That’s all I had left.
I gripped my flimsy spear. The world spun in my vision as I stood. I closed my eyes to regain my balance. “I’m ready.”
He grabbed me up faster than I thought possible, carrying me with his arms tight around my waist. My breath caught in my throat as we hurtled over the chasm. I tried to focus, to call my magic, but found it impossible.
We neared the monster. Red firelight flickered off its gnarled scales, making him appear even larger than I’d first thought. It focused on me. Calculated intelligence glinted in its eyes.
“Are we close enough?” Mochazon shouted.
Whether we were or not, it didn’t matter. The beast reared its serpentine head and flew straight at us.
I pointed my staff at the creature, praying I had enough magic left. Jaws agape, it looked as if it would swallow us up.
I whispered the word to call fire. A streak of flames flew from my staff. It caught the beast’s wing, but the monster spun into a barrel roll. The fire extinguished.
Mochazon darted out of the flying serpent’s path as it lunged. “Try again,” he shouted.
How? I wanted to ask, but didn’t have the strength for it.
The beast lashed its forked tail. The tip connected with Mochazon’s back, landing with a loud thump. His grip relaxed.
He held me, though I felt his arms slipping. The monster roared as it lashed its tail again. My thoughts slowed. I knew I had no magic left. I would be foolish to use it again. What then? Surely there was something I could do to defeat the monster?
Use your magic.
It wasn’t Albert or Bill who spoke this time. This was my father’s voice. But how could I use my magic? I had nothing left. In my pocket, I felt my mother’s ring grow warm. Energy flowed from it, surrounding me, giving me strength. A word popped into my head, so real I felt as though my father had spoken it.
Enter.
But what did it mean? How could I use it?
The pixie’s spear was still clutched in my hands. My palms grew sweaty as I realized what I had to do. Nothing could penetrate the vexon’s hide. Not fire, not weapons, not even my own magic had pierced the hide. But what of a stronger magic?
“Enter!” I shouted as I hurled the spear for the beast’s broad chest. The metal tip glowed bright blue as it sliced through the monster’s hide and pierced the creature’s heart. The monster bellowed with fury.
It flailed and then fell from the sky. As it spiraled downward, it lashed its massive tail into Mochazon. The impact was strong enough to knock the wind from his lungs. He gasped for air as I slipped from his arms.
Terror made my thoughts become a blur. The world spun so fast I couldn’t make sense of anything. Panic overwhelmed me. How could I die now? I’d come so close.
I could think of only one thing as I fell.
Jeremiah, forgive me.
Dreamthief Page 45
