The Crystal Dragon Series Collection

by Katie Cherry

  “Um… I have the Gift of Speed, I think,” she timidly responds.

  “Wow,” Nathan looks back and forth between the two of them, but it’s too dark to read his facial expressions. “You guys are perfectly suited for this Challenge! Not only do we need to speed through this maze; we also need to answer some pretty tough riddles!”

  Just as he finishes saying this, we hear the blast of a gun. This time, there aren’t any supplies for us, so I suppose they either don’t think it will take very long, or that we can take care of ourselves and food can be found another way. So we walk cautiously through the fog with no idea where we’re going.

  After a few moments, we bump into a large hedge. It appears that we are outside… but the question is- why is it so dark? I couldn’t see the stars, either moon, or the sun. Getting an idea, I ask Nora to fly as high as she can and see if the fog thins out; maybe see the way to go. She does so, but before she can get very high, she stops dead in the air and can’t seem to go any higher.

  She returns with her report. “The arena seems to be enforced with magic. I would assume that they made it so one cannot just fly above the whole maze. I would also wager that the hedges are enforced with magic as well so we cannot just force our way through them.”

  “Now what?” asks Sierra. “We’ll never get to the end at all, let alone first if this is the best we can do!” We all murmur with agreement.

  “Hey, Crystal,” Nathan suddenly turns to me and murmurs. “How long can you use your dragon eyes at one time?”

  “Without stopping? I don’t know… I’ve never done it for very long. I haven’t needed to. It doesn’t seem to be all that difficult, though,” I reply.

  “Wait… what?” Sierra exclaims, astonished by what she just heard. “Crystal has… she has… dragon eyes?!”

  “Um, yes,” he replies. “You know what, I’ll explain it as we go, okay? Crystal, will you try using your dragon eyes to see through the fog?”

  “Of course,” I reply, rolling them forward. They help me see almost perfectly through the fog. “Follow me,” I say, grabbing Nathan’s hand. He takes Sierra’s hand, and she catches Ham’s, so no one gets lost or left behind. Nora flies above us while Greg rides on Nathan’s shoulder. I start through the giant hedges that I can now see to either side of us for about three hundred yards before it splits. As we walk, I hear Nathan explaining everything to Ham and Sierra. I don’t bother to listen in.

  I stop. “Okay, there’s a split here. Do you think we should go right or left? They both look the same.”

  “I don’t know,” Nathan says. “It’s up to chance anyway. We could all take turns choosing. Ham, why don’t you go first?”

  “Um, okay,” he responds. “Let’s go… right.” So I lead them down the path to the right. We walk for about another two or three hundred yards until we come to another split.

  “Okay, Sierra. Straight, right, or left?”

  “Um… left?” Again, another two hundred yards out, we run into another split. I’m beginning to think that maybe we’ll be lucky and we won’t have to do a riddle or anything when Nathan decides to go right at the next split.

  We get in about one hundred feet before I see something ahead. Looking closer at it, I can see that it’s a minotaur- a tall man with horns and hairy goat legs. He’s holding an axe and is waiting patiently for us. I swallow as I take note of his bulging muscles.

  Noticing that I have seen him, he bellows, “Now that you have seen me, you may not go back. You must answer my riddle- without the help of your Familiar. Answer correctly, and you will go on a faster, less dangerous route. Answer incorrectly, and you will have to fight me. The person given the riddle will be the only one permitted to fight me. If they win, then you can move on, using a longer route with wild creatures and other contestants on it. Lose to me, and you will have to backtrack. So come closer, and pick who your spokesperson will be.”

  “What is it?” Sierra whispers, shaking from the strength of the Minotaur’s call. I quietly tell them what it is as I inch forward, pulling them behind me.

  “Ha!” Ham laughs, seeming relieved. “Minotaurs are so dumb. This will be an easy riddle.”

  “Well then,” Nathan says. “Who thinks that they are the worst at riddles? Everyone should be able to try, so we’ll save Ham for some harder ones.”

  “I’ll do it,” Sierra quietly volunteers. “I’m horrible at riddles. I can’t seem to think outside the box.”

  “Okay,” I say, continuing on toward the Minotaur. “But fighting it will be difficult in this fog especially, so take your time in trying to answer it right,” I caution. Even as I say this, the fog thins until its almost entirely gone and the others can now see the Minotaur. He stands head and shoulders above us, although it seems like more because of his massive muscles.

  “Who will challenge me?” he roars, trying to intimidate us.

  Swallowing, Sierra steps up to him, trembling. “I… I will,” she stammers, shooting a glance my way. She immediately grimaces and turns back to the Minotaur. I’m surprised until I remember that my dragon eyes are still out, which she had never before seen. I’m relieved that the disgust coloring her aura quickly fades away as she returns her attention to the task at hand.

  “Excellent. Now then, are you ready?” He flexes his massive arms before leaning against an axe as large as a person.

  “Yes.” The reply squeaks out of her, and as hurt as I initially was from the look she gave me when she saw my eyes, my heart goes out to her. I hope she can do this…

  “Then let us begin. There are six copycats on a boat. One jumps off. How many are left?”

  Sierra replies with barely a hesitation. “None, of course. If they’re truly copycats, they copy whatever the first one does.”

  The Minotaur deflates at her words, heavy with disappointment. He steps to the side of the path and gestures for us to go through. “You have passed your first riddle. At the next fork, head left. That is the safest path.”

  “Thank you,” I say, bowing nervously to the creature. He straightens back up, beaming with pleasure.

  “But of course, Princess. Anything to help one of the Dragons. …You remind me a lot of your mother, by the way,” he adds.

  “Oh,” I say, surprised. “Well, thank you.”

  We hastily move on. The instant we’re past the Minotaur, the mist closes in once more. At the next fork we head left, as directed. This time, it’s about three or four hundred yards to the next split. It divides into four paths. It’s my turn to choose, so I lead everyone down the one furthest to the right.

  I was unlucky in my choice. One hundred yards in, there’s a fox sitting in the middle of the path, tail wrapped neatly over her paws. We walk up to her cautiously. “My rules are the same as the Minotaur’s. Who will challenge me?”

  I turn to my friends. “Well? Who thinks they can outwit the fox? Foxes are sly, so she will probably try to confuse us by making an easy riddle sound hard. So… who’s up for the challenge?”

  All three of them look at me. “I think that you can,” Nathan says. “You’re pretty witty yourself.” The others agree, so I take a tentative step forward, offering myself as the recipient of the riddle.

  “What walks on first four legs, then two, then six?” she asks, not wasting any time once we’ve decided.

  I think for a while, going through animals in my head. Before long, it finally clicks and I almost laugh at myself for nearly missing it. “The answer is a human. When they are young, they crawl- using four ‘legs.’ Then they learn to walk- using two. But then they get old and have to use a walker- making six legs.”

  The fox looks surprised. “Well done. You may move on. At the next fork in the path, take the middle path. Have a good day, Princess,” she adds.

  “How do you know that I’m the Princess?” I ask. She grins, intelligence in her eyes.

  “For one, your dragon eyes are still out. Plus, you are a lot like your mother, who saved my babies years back.
I’m just repaying the favor, helping her offspring through this strange Challenge.”

  “Oh… thank you,” I reply, glancing back at her as we move on. They keep comparing me to my mom… How did she get on such good terms with such creatures? There sure is a lot I still don’t know about my own family. …I hope I’ll get to meet her one day.

  At the next fork, we take the middle path, as the fox instructed. Nothing happens after Ham’s choice, but when Sierra decides to go left, we run into another creature. This one is a tiger. Nathan steps up.

  “It takes six men three hours to dig ten holes. How long would it take for one man to dig half a hole?”

  Nathan looks confused. “But… that’s so easy. Is that really your riddle?”

  “Yes,” the tiger growls, clearly irritated and looking like he would very much rather eat him.

  “Then the answer is that you can’t dig half a hole!”

  “Correct. You may continue. Take the path on the right at the next split.”

  Nathan’s choice doesn’t lead us to another creature, but mine does. This time it’s a Gryphon. Ham claims it, saying it’s his turn anyways. The magnificent creature before him causes Ham to tremble with awe. Finally, he looks at the ground so he can concentrate.

  “What is greater than God, and is more evil than the Devil; the poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, you die?”

  Ham continues to stare at the ground as he thinks. I see beads of nervous sweat forming on his face. Just as I’m getting worried that he won’t get it, his face suddenly relaxes and he stands up straight, looking right at the Gryphon.

  “Nothing. Nothing is greater than God, and if you eat nothing, you die.”

  “Very good. Please, go on. Head straight at the next split. Good day,” it says, laying down and waiting for any other contestants to come.

  As we walk through the mist, Sierra’s hopeful voice pops up. “I think we’re going to win!” We all turn and look at her- although I’m the only one that can actually see her. “What?” she continues defensively. “Can anyone else get through this fog as easily as us? No! And not only that, but we have answered every riddle correctly! We’re flying through this Challenge!”

  “…There’s just one thing,” I slowly respond as we start moving again. “Isn’t there supposed to be paths that will make it so the contestants have to run into each other eventually? We haven’t seen anyone else the whole time!”

  “Yeah… that is strange,” Ham agrees. “Maybe the paths only collide when you go the slower way if you lose a fight with a creature.”

  “Yes, that must be it,” I decide. After a little longer, my stomach begins rumbling hungrily. I ignore it for a while, but then I notice the others’ stomachs as well. It wouldn’t hurt to look for food as we go, right? So I begin searching for berries growing on the branches of the hedges- anything edible.

  By the time we arrive at the next riddle master, I haven’t found anything. This one is a house cat. Unlike the others, it doesn’t let us choose who will answer the riddle. “Come forward, Crystal Dragon, and answer my riddle- if you can.”

  I share a concerned look with the others and step forward, switching my eyes back to normal. After having them out for so long, it seems strange not having everything all golden.

  “Are you ready?” It asks me, eyes narrowing. I swallow hard, nodding.

  “Very well then. I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to it, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What are the three?”

  I think for a long time. I ask the cat to repeat the riddle, listening carefully to each word. I think again. The second one sounds like a black hole, or maybe a fire. But I can’t figure out the other two. Finally, I decide that I am wasting too much time. The slow path would be faster than this. So I tell the cat what I think the second object is.

  “Is that all? What are the first and third objects?”

  “I don’t know,” I reply.

  With a snarl, the cat swells to twice the size of a tiger. “Then you fail. The answer is a stove, a fire, and smoke,” it growls as it jumps at me. I’m ready, however, and leap to the side. It barely misses as it’s faster than I expected. The giant cat swings around to face me again, its eyes narrowing in anger. I barely have time to duck and avoid the brunt of the attack, but I don’t escape completely unscathed. Its claws rake my shoulder and take out a fair chunk of flesh. With a scream, I fall to the ground.

  Before I can get back up, the cat’s large paw is resting on my chest, pinning me down. Holding my right arm to immobilize my shoulder, I struggle to get out, but the cat’s too strong. My eyes water from pain and the fur above me swirls and twists, slightly mesmerizing.

  “Crystal!” I hear Nathan yell. I turn my head to see my three friends rushing towards us. They suddenly stop, frozen in mid-step. I blink to clear my vision, sending tears rushing down my face, burrowing into the hair by my ear, turning the dust to mud.

  “No,” the cat growls, looking over at them. “No one interferes. Don’t worry; I won’t kill her- just wound her enough that I can declare that she has lost this battle- and you all have to go back.” As the cat finishes talking, I kick it in the stomach, as hard as I can. It grunts, retreating. I don’t let it. With a determined, adrenaline filled leap, I fly onto its back and hold onto the fur on its head. The beast starts kicking, trying to knock me off, but I’ve got too firm of a grip. Its convulsions cause my injured shoulder to twinge and burn, rivers of blood flowing down my arm. I refuse to loosen my grip, gritting my teeth so hard my jaw hurts as well. After a few minutes, it finally gets tired.

  “Fine,” it growls, settling down. “You are the winner. Go through the path on our right.” I turn my head and notice a path that was not there before. I climb down and walk toward it, my gaze set determinedly forward, avoiding my friends. The cat shrinks back to size and begins licking my blood from its fur. My friends follow me into the path in the hedge, which closes behind us. I switch my eyes back, although the mist is thinner here. I start heading in the direction we were going before we were stopped by the cat. I hold back tears at the pain in my shoulder. I glance at it, then quickly look away. My stomach churns at the site of so much missing muscle and skin. I don’t dare touch it, letting the blood flow slowly down my arm instead.

  The others don’t say anything, opting to tread carefully around me. They follow behind me silently. After a while, Nathan catches up to me. “Hey,” he says softly. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t have gotten that riddle either. That was a hard one. And that cat would have torn me to shreds. You got away without a scratch! You did great, so don’t beat yourself up over it. Okay?”

  I duck my head, hiding the tears that erupt from the intense pain in my shoulder. I don’t dare say anything. I don’t want to be seen crying in front of him. Or Ham and Sierra, for that matter.

  “Crystal?” he probes. He puts a hand on my good shoulder, stopping me. I still refuse to look at him, thankful for the mist hiding my tears. “What’s wrong?” He puts his other hand on the wounded shoulder. I gasp in pain- barely not screaming- and jerk away. I collapse on the ground, and now there’s no stopping the tears.

  I sit there sobbing as Nathan kneels in front of me. He holds his hand close to his face and notices the blood. He grimaces as he realizes what happened. “I’m so sorry!” He exclaims. “I didn’t notice your wounded shoulder! Please, can you forgive me?” The pain is so intense I can barely nod, but this only gives him some relief as he realizes just how much pain I’m in. I hate letting him see my burden, knowing there’s nothing he can do about it.

  He gets an idea and quickly tears off part of his jacket. “I’m going to wrap this around your shoulder so you don’t bleed out. Okay?” I nod slowly and manage to choke back most of my scream as the cloth comes in contact with the raw flesh. Nathan then shifts into a midnight black horse, telling Ham and Sierra to help me on. Once I’m seated, we h
ead out again, moving as fast as they dare. I tell him when to turn, but I don’t do much other than cry and try to stay seated on his back.

  This is the state I’m in when we’re attacked.

  I’m in a haze of pain and can barely move when I see a flash of green and yellow in front of us. I open my mouth to croak out a warning, but it’s too late. Before I can form even one word, a huge gust of wind sends me flying off of Nathan’s back and against a hedge. Unfortunately, it doesn’t knock me out, and I’m still very much aware of my pain. I slowly push myself up with my left arm and look around. Nathan is standing, shaking the dust from his mane. Lying next to him is Ham and Sierra. She’s just stirring, but Ham seems to be knocked out.

  Rearing up, Nathan rushes at the nearest contestant. Nora joins him, as well as Greg. They all charge at a guy in green- Drake Kingston. He dives out of the way just in time, so the three of them continue, heading straight for a girl in yellow. Odette Hansen. Her eyes get big with fear. Suddenly a swarm of thorns fly off the hedge and attack Nathan. A lot of them pierce his broad neck. Blood starts flowing, and he fades into his own form. He wavers and falls to the ground in a heap. A thorn pierces Nora’s wing, sending her to the ground as well. One hit Greg in the side and he falls over, motionless. I hear laughing and see Frazer standing next to the hedge, grinning.

  Now I’m angry. I push myself away from the hedge I had been resting on- and almost fall over from fatigue and blood loss. The yellow and green team notice. I hear them laugh.

  “What happened to her?” Star mocks. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think she’s drunk!” They all laugh. I growl and stagger toward them, barely remembering to hide my dragon eyes. This brings on more laughter. Sierra steps up next to me.

  “Don’t worry,” she says, glaring at the group. “I’ll handle this.” And with that, she’s gone. Looking over at them, I see Star go flying. The rest of them immediately stop laughing, looking around frantically. A red blur then rams into Odette, knocking her into Frazer. The two collapse, and then there’s only Drake. Thinking fast, he suddenly whips up a hurricane, sucking Sierra up into it. He then redirects the hurricane, and she’s thrown into a hedge. She slides to the ground in a heap.