Zal and Zara and the Champions' Race

by Kit Downes

  “ZARA!”

  “Hang on!” shouted Zara. She swung the carpet around and they dived after the falling kite. Zara summoned her blue and indigo shades, the colours of water magic. She threw out her arm, steering the carpet one-handed, and a fluffy white cloud formed in the air ahead of them. The cloud burst open and thick, heavy rain started pouring from it, showering down over the box-kite. The flames hissed out in seconds. Unfortunately, the water made the kite fall even faster.

  “Oh, Stork!” said Zara.

  “Wait!”

  The Silk Lands team climbed expertly around the sides of their damaged kite and used their weight to flip it over, holding on to the burnt side. The other three sides filled with air like a parachute and the Champions of the Silk Lands waved in thanks as the kite drifted slowly down towards the dunes.

  “Zara! Quick!” called Zal.

  Zara looked up and saw the origami bird plummeting towards the desert. Magic glowed as Hoto Hibari tried to repair the damage. Zara steered the Rainbow Carpet after it, pushing her rain cloud ahead. They weren’t going to make it in time.

  “HHHHHSSSSSSSSSS!”

  The snow dragon from Frostbite swept over their heads, leaving shivering cold air in its wake. It dived down after the origami bird and blew a long stream of icy mist from its jaws, enveloping the paper crane. The flames went out instantly. Hoto Hibari, covered in frost and shivering, signalled he was OK and steered down for a safe crash landing in the dunes.

  “That’s five down already,” said Sari. “He … WHOA!”

  The Fire Scimitar’s blade swept back over their heads. Zara only just moved the carpet out of the way in time. Rip yelped and jumped away from the back edge as the tassels were scorched.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got an idea,” said Zara, as her rain-cloud followed them. “We need the snow dragon! HEY! FROSTBITE! THIS WAY!”

  The Frostbite team’s captain saw Zara’s signal. He waved back. The Rainbow Carpet and the snow dragon flew up in a loop and turned around back in the direction of the race as the Fire Scimitar swung towards them again. The two giant flying fish with the Champions of the Emerald Archipelago joined them, gliding alongside with the sunlight dancing on their scales. As the Fire Scimitar hurtled towards them, the three teams flew straight towards it.

  “EVERYONE TOGETHER!” shouted Zara. “NOW!”

  The ice dragon breathed another stream of mist. Zara’s rain cloud burst into a torrential downpour. The flying fish blew thick jets of water from their mouths. Their aim was perfect. The blazing red blade disappeared in a huge white cloud of hissing steam. Zal squeezed his eyes shut as they flew through it. The Frostbite team cheered and congratulated one another as they came out the other side. The Xuan twins flew close together so they could high-five. Zal looked around, but Miles was hiding again.

  The green Heaven Steppe dragon flew alongside them as the Champions descended towards Sandfall Gorge for the third stage of the race.

  “Miss Azamedian!” shouted the captain from the dragon’s neck. “What in the name of the Great Celestial Dragon’s going on?”

  The tribes of Heaven Steppe were not worshippers of the Celestial Stork. As dragon riders for hundreds of years, they refused to believe on principle that a mere bird could have created the entire universe.

  “Someone’s trying to sabotage the race!” Zara shouted back.

  “Holy Stork!” said Paradim. Zal and Zara jumped as they realized he and Celeste were also flying alongside them. “Do you have any idea who it is?”

  “Ummm…” said Zal.

  “Hey! Look out!” shouted the Heaven Steppe captain, pointing ahead.

  They were approaching Sandfall Gorge. The long and narrow canyon, winding like a ribbon, had been carved by a river thousands of years ago, in the days when the Great Desert was covered by forests. The bottom was now filled with sand, and more poured in over the edges in sand waterfalls. With its winding path, treacherous turns and tall, smooth stone pillars eroded from its sides, it was a natural obstacle course for the Champions’ Race. As the Champions flew down into it, a small cloud of tiny blood-red objects came flying along the gorge towards them.

  “Oh, great!” said Sari, picking up her spear. “The Demon Chessmen!”

  The objects started to grow. Zal watched with amazement as the small chess pieces expanded into stone statues, three metres high. Behind their stone helmets, red magic blazed in their eyes. Their stone muscles flexed as they hefted giant stone swords, axes and shields, ready to do battle with the Champions.

  “Hold tight!” said Zara, as the first Chessman reached them.

  Zal ducked as the Chessman swung its sword at them. Sari knocked the blade aside with her spear and jabbed the statue in the eye. Rip barked furiously at it and Zal drew his sword.

  Swords clashed up and down the gorge. The Emerald Archipelago twins fired arrows from their short flying bows. Poison darts from the Quakajak team’s blowpipes studded the Chessmen’s shields. The larger flying animals roared, bit and clawed at the statues. The Heaven Steppe dragon breathed fire over two of them, reducing them to molten lava. There was a boom as the small bronze cannons on the Gothopar team’s vimana fired and blasted several of the Chessmen to smithereens. Mara Hazela spiralled past on her broomstick, hurling combat spells at the Chessmen behind. Zara joined in, but her magic burst against their red stone shields.

  Zal blocked swords and parried axe blows as the Demon Chessmen tried to cut the Rainbow Carpet with their weapons. The statues were strong and their blows ripped at his arm muscles. To make matters worse, there was no way to strike back. Their stone armour, carved straight out of their stone bodies, would blunt his sword before it did any damage. It was like fighting the Knife Demon all over again. Sari gasped beside him, having the same problem.

  Zara fired another spell and watched it burst against a Chessman’s breastplate. It was flying so close that the magic almost blew backwards into her face. Rip barked furiously at it and tried to bite its foot. It was no use. The Chessmen were enchanted to protect them from spells, and they were flying so close that… Flying so close?

  “Zal! Sari! Hold on!” Zara shouted. She put both hands on the carpet and veered them sideways straight towards the Chessman.

  “What are you doing?” Sari screamed.

  “Zara! Stop!”

  “Hold on!”

  “Wraff!”

  The Chessman flew backwards as the carpet flew towards it, keeping the space between them so it could swing its axe. Zara flew so close to the canyon wall that the carpet was almost touching it. The Chessman raised its axe and was smashed to pieces a second later as it flew backwards into a rocky outcrop.

  “YES!” cried Zal.

  The other Champions saw what Zara was doing and quickly copied her. The Xuan sisters flew in a spiral, luring three Chessmen after them before they flew through a hole worn by water in the canyon side and the statues crashed into the edges of it. Prince Neeaj made his throne dive suddenly and two more Chessmen smashed into each other trying to follow him. The Quakajak serpent wrapped its tail around one of them and bashed it against the canyon wall, breaking it in half. The Heaven Steppe dragon and the vimana’s cannons took care of the final two, just as they reached the end of the canyon and climbed back over the desert.

  “ZAL! ZARA!”

  They looked up. Flying down from above them came a large yellow sofa. Zal recognized it from Professor Maltho’s study. The Professor and Mistress Shen were riding on it.

  “I take it I was right!” said the Professor, as he steered the sofa, which had been made in Pursolon from the same wood as Prince Neeaj’s throne, alongside the Rainbow Carpet. “Someone is trying to sabotage the race!”

  “I’m afraid so,” said Zara.

  “Never fear. We’re here to help,” said Mistress Shen. “Professor! Can’t this thing go any faster? I’ve already missed my chance to match blades with the Demon Chessmen.”

  “I’m doing my best. It wasn’t made f
or racing,” said the Professor.

  “Don’t worry. He’s got plenty of stuff left,” said Sari. “The Vessel of Tears, the Crystal Flowers and the—”

  “LOOK OUT!”

  ZZZZZZIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGG!

  They all ducked as a spinning triangle of metal flew through the air just above their heads. It was as large as a clothes hanger, with a smaller triangle cut out of its centre to help it fly. Its surface was polished like a mirror and its straight edges were as sharp as a scimitar blade.

  “And the Boomerang of Astigor,” said Sari.

  “Splendid!” said Mistress Shen.

  She leapt to her feet on the sofa, drawing both her scimitars as the spinning boomerang flew in a wide circle back towards them. It was the personal weapon of Astigor, the ancient Shirazan hero, who was remembered in songs and legends across the Seventeen Kingdoms for his heroic deeds against the Forgotten Empire. Mistress Shen spun on her toes, her hair and scarlet robe flying and her scimitars spinning about her like a whirlwind, hitting the boomerang as it closed on them and knocking it away from the carpet.

  “Well done, my teacher!” said Zal.

  “Don’t toady, Thesa,” said Mistress Shen. “But it is a good feeling. It is too long since I truly tested my blades!”

  Right at that moment, the boomerang changed direction. It flashed across the desert towards the other Champions, who were just catching up. Moving faster than the Demon Chessmen, the Boomerang flew down on the Gothopar team’s vimana.

  “Oh, Sparrow Gods!” said Mistress Shen.

  The Boomerang spun, cutting-edges first, through the vimana’s rigging, sending ropes and sails flying free.

  “Oh, Great Celestial Elephants!” cried the team captain, spinning the sky ship’s wheel desperately as it plunged down towards the desert. The crew managed to balance it out by rushing to the back end and it ploughed softly into the nearest dune.

  “Quickly, Professor! After it!” shouted Mistress Shen.

  The Boomerang spun towards Mara Hazela, who dived out of its path and zig-zagged her broomstick low between the sand dunes, trying to shake it off. But it caught up with her quickly and sliced through the bristles at the end of her broomstick. Mara plummeted downwards and landed in a dune in a cloud of sand.

  “Oh, camelpat!” said Zal, as the Boomerang flew back up and headed straight for Prince Neeaj.

  The Prince was ready for it. Drawing his scimitar, he stood up on the seat of his throne and parried the Boomerang aside. Steering his throne with just his feet, the Prince held the Boomerang off, slashing and cutting to keep it at bay. But in the end, it was too fast for him. Distracting the Prince with a vertical spin, it flew up over his head and down the other side of the throne. Before he could turn around, it cut through all four of the throne’s legs in a shower of sawdust.

  “Oh, Merciful Ancestors!” shouted the Prince.

  The throne dropped like a stone. The Prince lost his footing and fell after it, plunging down towards certain death.

  “CAAAAAWWWW!!!”

  In a streak of brown feathers, Elsai Wavewind’s roc flew down in a steep dive and caught the Prince in its talons. It flapped upwards, carrying the Prince by his shoulders as his throne smashed to pieces far below.

  “Miss Wavewind?” said the Prince in disbelief. “Elsai?”

  “You’re not dying today, your royal pain-in-the-backsideness!” Elsai Wavewind shouted, as the Prince climbed up the roc’s feathers behind her. “We’ve got unfinished business!”

  The Professor’s sofa caught up with the Boomerang. Mistress Shen’s swords sent it spinning sideways again. It righted itself, and then spun straight back towards the Rainbow Carpet.

  “Oh, Stork!”

  Zal drew his sword and knocked the Boomerang aside as it reached them. It flew around in a small circle and came straight back at the carpet. Sari leant over Zal’s shoulder and knocked it backwards with the point of her spear. Zara threw another spell as it came in a third time, but her magic bounced off the polished metal.

  “Wraff, wraff!” said Rip.

  “Not now, Rip!” said Zal, slashing the Boomerang away from the carpet’s corners. The Professor’s sofa was hurtling back towards them, trying to catch up.

  “WRAFF, WRAFF!”

  “Wha—?”

  SHHIIINNNNNNNNGGGGG!

  A black streak flew in out of nowhere, striking the Boomerang and sending it spinning sideways, twenty feet away from the carpet. The black streak slowed down enough for them to see it, and its forked blade.

  “OH, CAMELPAT!”

  Zal’s mouth dropped open as he recognized the Knife Demon. He looked down. There were now three carpet shadows on the sand dunes below them. The new one was speeding towards them, moving as fast as the Rainbow Carpet. He looked up as the Nygellian rainbow carpet approached, ridden by the four Shadows.

  “HA, HA!” cried the Leader. “VENGEANCE IS MINE! GET THEM, DEMON!”

  Zal and Sari turned back to the Knife Demon, raising their weapons. The Knife Demon turned in a circle and shot straight towards them, aiming its points at the centre of the Rainbow Carpet, just as the Boomerang spun in and knocked it off course.

  “What the Vulture?” said the Leader.

  The Knife Demon spun end over points, confused, as the Boomerang flew after it and hit it again. The Knife Demon recovered quickly and flew back at the Boomerang. Steel rang against steel as they collided.

  “What are you doing, you stupid thing?” shouted the Leader. “Not that! Get the carpet!”

  “I don’t think it’s listening, sir!” said Etan, who was flying the Nygellian Carpet.

  The Knife Demon and the Boomerang circled and then attacked each other again. Sparks flew as the two enchanted weapons fought a vicious dog fight in mid-air. The Knife Demon thrust with its points and cut with both its edges. The Boomerang spun around to pound the Knife Demon with its corners.

  “Let’s get out of here!” said Sari.

  “Good idea!”

  Just as Zara pushed the carpet forwards, the Knife Demon struck. It was heavier than the Boomerang and made of thicker metal. It hit the Boomerang with its pommel, knocking it sideways. As the Boomerang tried to recover, the Knife Demon flipped over and drove its points straight through the Boomerang’s thin metal, until all that showed was its hilt. Zara felt a crack like a mirror breaking as the Boomerang’s magic was broken. The Knife Demon, with the bent and crumpled Boomerang speared on it, turned towards the Rainbow Carpet.

  “Oh, Stork!”

  “Thesa! Retreat!” shouted Mistress Shen, behind them.

  “Ha, ha! Yes!” said the Leader. “About time!”

  “WWWRRRROOOAAARRR!”

  Fire burst across the sky as the Heaven Steppe dragon caught up with them. It breathed a stream of orange flames that washed over the Knife Demon as it dived towards the Rainbow Carpet. The flames faded, revealing the Knife Demon and the Boomerang melted together into a glowing lump of molten metal. Red hot drops of liquid steel dripped from it as it wobbled in the air, flying at half its previous speed.

  “Vulture’s curses!” shouted the Leader, punching the air and accidentally hitting Etan.

  “NOW!” shouted the captain of the Heaven Steppe team, over his shoulder.

  “HHHHSSSSSSSSS!”

  The Heaven Steppe dragon pulled away and the snow dragon flew down into its place. Guided by the Frostbite team, it opened its jaws and breathed another cloud of ice mist over the Knife Demon, which was struggling to fly in a straight line. As the mist cleared, the Knife Demon rocked in the air, cooled solid into its new shape. Cracks appeared in the metal from the sudden change from hot to cold as Zara steered the Rainbow Carpet past it. Behind them, the two dragons flew around in a circle and then approached the Knife Demon again, flying side by side.

  “TIME IT RIGHT!”

  “DON’T MISS!” the two team captains shouted at each other.

  They closed in and the two dragons peeled apart, flying around th
e Knife Demon on opposite sides. Both dragons swung their tails – which ended in large, heavy triangles of bone – and smashed them against the Knife Demon, hitting it from both sides at once. The melted mess of the ultimate anti-flying carpet weapon broke apart into a hundred shards of metal. They fell down towards the dunes like rain. Zara felt another crack, this one like a mountain falling, as the Knife Demon’s magic was sucked away into the winds of time.

  “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” shouted the Leader, falling to his knees.

  “HURRAH!” yelled Professor Maltho.

  “Curses!” said Mistress Shen.

  “THANK YOU!” shouted Zal, as the two dragons spiralled above them.

  The desert flattened out as they approached the final part of the circuit around Shirazar. Suddenly, several yellow and violet flower petals spun through the air around them.

  “Oh, not again!”

  “The Crystal Flowers?” said Sari.

  “Don’t worry. Leave this to me,” said Zara. “Zal! Find Miles.”

  “STAY BACK!” Zal shouted and waved to the other Champions, except for Paradim, who was in the lead again. He searched the sand dunes beneath them for Miles’ carpet shadow.

  The flower petals brushed the carpet’s edge and drifted away glowing with magic just like last time. Zara placed her hands on the carpet and reached out into the flower petals, finding the magic again. The flower petals faded, almost to nothing, as she drew the stolen magic back out of them and poured it straight back into the carpet. The Rainbow Carpet’s colours shimmered, but didn’t fade, and it stayed steady and solid in the air.

  “Over there!” said Zal, as he found the right shadow.

  “Got it!” said Zara. She steered the carpet towards where Zal was pointing and reached into her pocket.

  She steered them through the storm of petals, focusing on the point above the horizon where Miles had to be. The stream of petals grew narrower and narrower as they followed it backwards towards its starting point.

  “There it is!” said Zal, as they saw the point where the flower petals were appearing out of thin air.