by Sam Ferguson
“It’s me,” she said.
Kathair came rushing out from the bushes, waving his arm for her to come to him. “Quickly!” he said. “The priests are coming.”
“The priests?” Kyra asked.
Kathair rushed forward to take her hand and pulled her to the bushes. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”
Kyra resisted. “Why are they out here?”
Kathair shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “But I saw them with Dengar, he is one of the dragon slayers I have been working with. After you dropped me off here, I left the forest, but I found the priests with Dengar just beyond the trees. Dengar left the priests, going back to the academy I think, but the priests turned and walked toward the forest. So, I rushed back here to find you first.”
“We can’t escape from them,” Kyra said. “They see auras. They will find us no matter where we hide.”
Kathair shook his head. “They can’t see through walls,” he said. “There is a hollowed out tree just over here. I found a large rock I can roll in front of the opening, we’ll be concealed.”
Kyra stopped him and pulled her hand back. “No, a tree is a living thing. It has an aura that they can see. Either they will see our auras inside of the tree, or it will somehow signal to them that we are there.”
Kathair stopped and shook his head. “But, we have to hide somewhere,” he said.
“Why?” Kyra asked. “They have done no harm to us.”
Kathair shook his head. “I could hear Dengar talking. I think he has caught on about Leatherback. He was asking about the priests, what they were doing here, and whether they had found a dragon.”
“Why would he ask that?” Kyra asked.
“Because, he has seen you scampering about like an imp,” a voice called out from the darkness.
Three men in long robes emerged from the tree line and walked steadily over the rocks.
“They’re fast,” Kathair whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
“Just because our eyes do not work like yours, that is no reason to suspect that we do not have full control over our other faculties,” the priest said. “We have come to warn you, that is all.”
“You aren’t going to hurt Kyra or Leatherback?” Kathair asked as he took a half step in front of Kyra.
The young sorceress glanced at Kathair, surprised that he should be so protective.
“We have only come to warn you. The dragon must be moved. Dengar has seen you walking in this direction, Kyra. He has also seen us when we have left the academy for our inspections.”
Kyra’s heart sank. The priests had promised to be careful. How could they have let a dragon slayer see them?
“Perhaps this will help you trust us,” the priest said. “If you were to move the dragon, and then from that point on we used your portal to conduct our inspections, then the dragon slayers would have nothing to follow. They would only see us enter your room. Or, perhaps we could convene in the headmaster’s chamber.”
Kyra nodded. She didn’t know what to say. Njar was reinforcing the magic of the grove. If they had to move now, then they would have to start over. That was not a risk she wanted to take. For half a moment she thought of fighting the dragon slayers, but that notion left her mind nearly as quickly as it had come. Such actions would only bring more dragon slayers to the area.
“With your permission, we will go and tell your dragon of the danger.”
Kyra shook her head. “I’ll go first.” Kyra opened the portal and before anyone could protest, she stepped through and it closed behind her.
The sound of Kathair’s laughter filled the rocky clearing as the priests grumbled to each other and began walking again.
Chapter 16
Lepkin and Kyra waited anxiously for the daylight to fade away the following day. They waited in the old rock nest, in the spot where Guardian, a special lizard that had watched over Leatherback’s unhatched egg, had been killed by a wraith. Kyra had hidden the special crossbow near a large rock, well out of sight to anyone but her. She had tipped the three bolts with garunda blood. Lepkin had also smeared the blood across his sword.
The young swordsman was hiding a couple feet away, lying under a large, flat rock in the same place that Leatherback’s egg had once been hidden from passersby. This way, it appeared that Kyra was alone when in fact, Lepkin was close enough that the dwarven amulet he wore could protect her as well. The dragon was crouched in the forest, and would take to the sky after dark so he could circle from above.
Kyra took in a nervous breath, fidgeting with her feet as she waited for darkness to fall over the rock nest. She hoped her plan would work. She had opted for luring the shade to her instead of trying to find its lair and go after it. She didn’t know what to expect, but at least she felt as though she maintained some amount of control over the battle.
Her mother’s killer would be here shortly, and it was up to her to bring him to justice for what he had done. Kyra cracked her knuckles and prayed silently to her mother in that moment.
Watch over me now, Mother, as I avenge your death and end this plague of evil that has befallen our family.
The final hour before darkness passed by agonizingly slowly, as if it were itself an entire day. Then, as darkness crept over the land, she took in a steadying breath. She jumped when she heard Leatherback take flight, his massive wings bending the trees and kicking up dust. Kyra glanced over to the large, flat rock that she had so many times used to cover Leatherback’s egg. Now Lepkin was crouched beneath it, waiting to spring out and attack the shade.
“Ready?” she called out to him in a tone that was little more than a whisper.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Lepkin said.
Kyra waited a few minutes, more out of nervousness than anything else, before she pulled a knife from her belt. She cut a thin line across her left forearm. It was nothing serious, but enough to draw blood from and squeeze upon the ground. She had tried this before, and it had nearly ended in her death. She could only hope that this time she would be ready. She let the droplets fall upon the ground and then waited.
Only a few seconds passed before a silvery mist wafted into the rock nest. It brought a deathly chill along with it and then the shade appeared.
“Did you bring the dagger?” the shade asked.
Kyra shook her head. “I don’t have it,” she replied.
The shade shook his head and made a clicking sound to show his displeasure. He then split into two, then three, and then four images of himself. Each shade continued to divide itself until she was surrounded on all sides.
“You do remember how this went the last time, yes?” the shade hissed.
Kyra nodded. “If you kill me, you will never find the dagger,” she said, trying to sound confident.
The shades all moved in closer, all speaking in unison. “There are spells that can bring you to the edge of death, and make you feel such pain that you will give up the dagger just for release.
The shades all raised their right arms and sent great, silver balls of fire hurtling toward Kyra. The young sorceress made a motion as though she was casting a ward spell, but of course she wasn’t, the amulet Lepkin wore would have prevented the ward had she tired. More importantly, the amulet protected her from each of the fireballs. They each fizzled out a few feet away from her and she laughed as though she had countered the spells.
The shades’ mouths dropped open and a look of disbelief was painted clearly on each of their faces.
“You have grown stronger,” the shades said. “No matter, I will finish this with my bare hands!” The eight-foot tall shades all ran toward her simultaneously. Kyra spun around, hoping she would end up facing the true shade when all the illusions were dispelled by Lepkin’s amulet.
The shades sprinted toward her, hands raised and long, claw-like nails ready to strike her. Then, to her great relief, all but one faded away. The final shade stopped, stunned and confused by his lack of power. He raised his hand to fi
re another spell, but he was standing a few feet away from Lepkin’s hiding spot, so nothing happened. The shade roared and rushed toward her.
Kyra screamed and went for the crossbow.
Kathair burst out from under his rock and took a swing at the shade.
The nimble creature leapt into the air, flipping over Lepkin’s blade so deftly that only a few hairs were severed by the young man’s sword. The shade landed before Lepkin could recover from his powerful swing and sent a savage back kick to Lepkin’s side. Lepkin spun through the air and crashed on the rocks some ten yards away.
The shade rushed in.
Kyra came up with the crossbow and pulled the first two triggers without hesitation.
The shade threw up his arm and summoned a ward. To Kyra’s horror, the ward spell worked and the crossbow bolts shattered against the magical shield with absolutely no harm done to the shade. Kyra screamed as the shade prepared a massive mess of lightning bolts, but instead of blasting her with it, the shade hurled it at the sky.
Leatherback dodged the first spell and returned fire with his flaming breath. The shade vanished and teleported to the other side of the rock nest.
“Clever girl,” he said as he sneered at her. “But I have a few tricks of my own.”
The shade fired a series of magical orbs at her. Kyra turned and ran, carrying the crossbow with her. The first orb struck a few feet behind her, and exploded. Hunks of stone flew out in every direction. The second did likewise, but the third dissipated in the air as she got close to Lepkin once again and his amulet dispelled the shade’s magic.
Lepkin sat up and blinked as he rubbed his side. He took one look at Kyra and then stood on his feet, sword at the ready once more.
“Come down here and face me like a man,” Lepkin taunted.
The shade laughed and shook his head.
Leatherback sent another stream of fire at the shade, but the shade vanished again.
He was nowhere to be seen now, though Kyra could hear his sinister laughter filling the area around her.
Snapping and ripping sounds were then heard in the forest. Kyra turned her eyes, and the crossbow, toward the sound. Her mouth fell open when she saw that a horde of trees, walking upon great legs made from their trunks and swinging ball-like clubs on the end of each branch, were advancing on them.
“Leatherback!” Kyra screamed.
The dragon blasted the trees with his fiery breath. The trees fell over upon the rocks, unable to get anywhere near the trio, but still the shade laughed.
The flames on the trees then grew into animate beings of fire and turned upon Kyra and Leatherback.
“What do we do now?” Lepkin asked.
The flame golems turned on each other and began combining themselves. Each time they joined, they grew taller and thicker, until a giant fire creature the size of Leatherback stood before them.
Kyra turned to the dragon and waved for his attention. “Go up, don’t fight it.”
The dragon looked at her for a moment, but then did as he was told. Leatherback flew up into the air, far out of the fire-creature’s reach and disappeared into the sky as he soared away as quickly as he could.
“You may be able to dispel my magic, but let’s see you dodge this,” the shade said. The flame-creature bent down and picked up a great stone. The rock became red hot in its hands and then it hurled it at Kyra and Lepkin.
Lepkin pulled Kyra out of the way just as the stone crashed into the mountainside behind where she had been standing.
“We have to stop it!” Lepkin said.
“I can’t use my magic!” Kyra replied.
Just then a great beat of wings fanned the whole of the rock nest. The flame-creature looked up and then hissed as Leatherback flew in with a mouthful of water and doused the flame-creature. The fires died down until the creature was only the size of a man.
Lepkin jumped up and sprinted out toward it. “This is my chance!” he shouted.
Kyra tried to grab him, but Lepkin was too quick. He sprinted straight for the creature. The fire golem saw him coming and ran at him too, but as its life was tied to the shade’s magic, it disappeared when Lepkin got close.
“I got it!” Lepkin shouted.
Leatherback gave a triumphant roar, but Kyra could only scream as she saw the shade reappear next to Lepkin.
“Here I am,” the shade said. It pulled a sword out of the air and then engaged Lepkin. The shade struck down with a chop, but Lepkin blocked and spun out to the right. The young man slashed at the shade, but the shade leapt away long before the sword could connect.
Kyra raised the crossbow and took aim, but the two were too close. She couldn’t pull the trigger for fear of striking Lepkin.
Leatherback roared into action and rushed downward. The shade nimbly avoided a swipe of Leatherback’s claws, and then dodged a massive tail swing. The shade then rushed out from under the dragon and attacked Lepkin once more.
The young swordsman blocked one, two, then three lightning-quick stabs, but he never saw the roundhouse kick to the temple before it connected with his head and sent him cartwheeling across the ground.
Kyra jumped up and took the shot.
The crossbow bolt flew straight and true, but the shade turned and caught it in his hand. The shade sneered, and then gasped in horror and threw the bolt down. He looked at his hand and then glowered at Kyra.
The shade ran toward her, but Leatherback landed between them and engaged the shade. The dragon struck down with his claws, but the shade vanished once again.
Kyra shrieked audibly once she realized that the amulet was too far away to stop the shade from casting spells. Worse than that, Lepkin was not getting up.
Leatherback roared and spewed fire all around them, lighting the trees on fire and illuminating the shadows that the shade could otherwise hide in so easily.
“This ends now,” the shade said. Suddenly a fist of stone erupted from the ground and caught Leatherback in the stomach. The dragon flew upward from the force of the blow, and then fell to the ground, heaving for breath.
“NO!” Kyra screamed. She turned on the shade and threw her own ball of fire at the creature. It waved its hand and dispelled Kyra’s attack. Kyra rose to her feet and marched toward the shade. She threw fireball after fireball, alternating hands as she kept her spells coming in rapid succession. The shade put up a magical shield and let the fireballs slam into it as he continued his attack on Leatherback.
The shade pummeled the dragon in the side with another fist of stone. Then he lifted boulders and pounded the top of Leatherback’s head with them. The dragon dodged to the right, then to the left, and then finally collapsed onto his stomach.
Kyra broke into a run, but it was no use. The shade turned to her for an instant and raised a stone in front of her face. The rock slammed into her with such force that she didn’t even realize she had hit the ground until she tried to move her feet again. Her head turned to the side and she saw Leatherback taking blow after blow from the shade as he magically formed many giant fists of stone to pummel the dragon.
Kyra tried to get up, but she couldn’t. Her legs wouldn’t respond.
Then, she saw Lepkin push up from the ground. He rushed toward Leatherback, leaving his sword on the ground and sprinting for everything he was worth. The stones continued to assail Leatherback, but as Lepkin neared the dragon, the stone fists split apart and the spells became ineffective.
Lepkin pointed to Kyra and shouted out. “Now! Attack now!”
The young sorceress finally was able to get her feet under herself and rise once more. She engaged the shade with everything she had. Lightning, cyclones, and fire. Nothing penetrated his shield. The shade then turned his attention to her and began gathering a massive sphere of silver lightning between his hands.
Kyra heard a might roar and glanced to her left just in time to see Leatherback launch Lepkin with his tail. The young swordsman was flying through the air, amulet in hand and heading straight
for the shade. Kyra turned back to the shade and redoubled her efforts, hoping that the smoke and sparks she created by blasting the shade’s magical shield would provide the cover Lepkin needed.
Lepkin soared through the air and then, as he neared the shade, Kyra’s spells dissipated around him. The next thing to fail was the shade’s magical shield. The shade looked up and apparently tried to teleport, for he jumped in the air, but frowned when he landed back where he had been standing. Lepkin connected with the shade a half second later. The two tumbled over the rocks, slamming each other and bouncing along the nest. Kyra rushed in to help, feeling powerless as she watched the shade dig his nails into Lepkin’s back.
Lepkin cried out, but then pressed one hand to the shade’s face. Kyra stopped in her tracks when she realized what was happening. The shade released Lepkin and fell to his back on the ground. Pressed to his cheek was Lepkin’s amulet. The shade was weakening in exactly the same way Kyra had when the amulet had touched her.
Lepkin’s right hand went up in the air, and then came down in a heavy arc and the shade twitched. When Lepkin shifted his weight on the shade, Kyra saw the dull end of a crossbow shaft sticking out from the creature’s forehead. She glanced back to where the shade had last stood after it had kicked Lepkin. The bolt was no longer on the ground where the shade had dropped it. Lepkin had picked it up and used it to attack the shade.
Leatherback grabbed Lepkin’s sword and then dropped it in front of Kyra.
Kyra took the hilt in her hands and then stormed up to the barely breathing shade.
“You will never win!” the shade hissed.
Kyra looked down and pointed the tip of the sword at the shade’s heart. The green garunda blood hissed and bubbled as she plunged the blade into the shade and ended his life.
The hole in the shade’s chest widened and then emitted a ghastly green glow that erupted into flames. Lepkin jumped back and watched the shade turn to ash.
Leatherback roared triumphantly and let out a large column of fire into the air. For a moment Kyra and Lepkin just stood there, breathing heavily. Kyra wiped her hand across her face, and then put both hands to her heart, trying to calm its frantic beating. She startled slightly when she heard Lepkin whoop loudly and jump while he thrust his fists into the air around him several times. Catching on to his excitement, Kyra began to laugh a bit hysterically, and then more naturally as she watched Lepkin run to Leatherback and plant a big kiss on his muzzle. Leatherback snorted once in response, and then blew an enormous ring of smoke into Lepkin’s face. Lepkin took a few steps back, coughing, and then fell to the ground, still breathing a little heavily and laughing sporadically.
