by Foley, E. G.
Oh no! The Gryphon would be a sitting duck out there, Jake thought. The realization brought him back from his daze, then a piercing scream sounded nearby.
He knew that voice at once.
Blast it, one of the beasts had reached down into the snow and caught the carrot-head.
Jake climbed to his feet, reaching for Risker, his magical runic dagger, sheathed at his side. Dani O’Dell might be the bane of his existence, but nobody messed with her.
“Put her down!” he bellowed at the towering beast.
Her fists were swinging and her legs were kicking furiously, but she could not reach the yeti with any of her blows. The yeti held the small girl up at arm’s length, looking confused about what sort of ferocious little prey that he had captured.
Jake clenched his jaw and brandished his knife, while Archie and Isabelle’s heads popped up out of the snow nearby. He heard his cousins gasp to find Dani captured.
“Hold still, carrot, I don’t want to hit you,” Jake warned through gritted teeth.
She did.
Jake drew back and hurled his dagger at the yeti.
The runic blade bit deep into the beast’s upper arm. The creature dropped Dani with a howl of pain.
Landing in the snow, she instantly scrambled toward them.
“Good aim, Jake,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Thanks.” He glared in the monster’s direction as he pushed her behind him with the others. Meanwhile, Risker dislodged itself from the beast’s arm and floated back toward its master.
As a gift from the Norse god, Odin—a reward to Jake for his deeds in Giant Land—the runic dagger had been forged by the same legendary smith of Asgard who had fashioned Thor’s hammer. Like the sky god’s famous weapon, the knife was made to fly back into the hand of its owner.
Jake caught it out of the air and wiped the yeti’s blood off it on the snow. “Isabelle, are you sensing anything useful from these beasts?”
She shook her head with a dire look. “Nothing that would surprise you. We landed in their territory. They just want to kill us—and, er, probably eat us.”
“Blimey,” Archie muttered.
Jake nodded. “You lot, go take shelter under that big tree,” he ordered, shoving both girls none too gently in the direction of the largest pine tree in a grove a few yards away. Its dense, needled branches went all the way down to the ground. “Get as close to the trunk as you can. The branches should make it harder for them to reach you.”
“What are you going to do?” Archie countered.
“I’ve got to free Red from that harness before he breaks his wings.” Jake nodded grimly toward their ruined vehicle.
The big silverback was fixated on it, slamming the broken sleigh back and forth. As a result, poor Red kept getting banged around violently. He could not escape, because he was strapped to the vehicle by the harness.
“Be careful,” Isabelle said.
Jake nodded. “Go!”
They did, racing toward the shelter of the great pine tree. Jake knew they’d need a little time to climb through the tight lattice of sharp-needled branches.
But they hadn’t even reached the tree yet when the first yeti—the one Jake had thrown aside with his telekinesis—homed in on the kids running toward the pine tree.
It let out a roar and started chasing them.
Jake scanned the landscape for any way to buy them a few precious seconds to reach safety. A dead spruce tree nearby caught his eye.
He concentrated hard, summoned up his powers, then used his telekinesis to knock the dead tree over. With a mighty creak, it crashed to earth, landing on the yeti.
Jake couldn’t tell if the murderous beast was dead or just unconscious, but with it safely pinned under the trunk, he ran to save Red.
On the way, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a crimson trail of blood on the snow leading back toward the forest. It seemed the yeti he had cut with Risker had turned tail and run away.
That left only the big silverback to deal with, but Jake was not eager to confront the colossal, hairy beast. His main objective was merely to cut Red free of the leather harness that had trapped and entangled him.
Guilt filled him as he approached the Gryphon who had saved him so many times. The poor creature would be lucky if he didn’t break his neck, getting thrown around like that. Jake wished he had never put Red in that harness or made him pull the sleigh.
All of this was his fault. Dani had been right about what she had said in the sleigh. He should have done this alone. Once again, he had dragged everybody into danger, all because he could not resist the thrill of a new adventure.
Selfish as ever. I hope you’re happy now, he thought bitterly.
Then he put aside his self-recrimination, moving stealthily toward his battered pet lying in the snow.
Red’s magical crimson feathers were strewn across the ground; his lion fur was caked with snow. Jake was terrified at the sight of the noble beast hurt and barely conscious.
He could not tell how badly the Gryphon was injured or if anything was broken—but it was plain the sleigh could not be used again.
It was only good for firewood at this point.
Which meant they were stranded out here.
He shook off a shudder of dread at the thought.
He could not let himself think about that right now, or he’d be paralyzed with fear. He had to act quickly.
The yeti was slamming the broken frame of the sleigh over his head, fixated on banging it against the snow-covered ground. Most of the chassis was caved in. The sled-like runners on the bottom were splintered.
One ski was ripped off entirely, the other broken into a sharp, spear-like point.
The yeti paused, looking over at Jake as he crouched down by Red’s side. The huge creature’s red eyes gleamed with a malevolent light, homing in on him.
“You stay back!” Jake swallowed hard, resting his hand on the Gryphon’s furry shoulder. “Get up, boy. C’mon, Red. I’ll cut you free. We got to get away from that thing. Can you stand up?”
A pitiful sound escaped his feathered friend, something like, “Tweek.”
The yeti threw down the sleigh and stood up to its full, terrifying height. It let out a roar that made its intentions clear—and gave Jake a good look at its long ivory fangs.
Looming against the starlight, the reeking, matted beast stood well over seven feet tall, probably four feet wide at the shoulders.
It took a step toward him.
“Get back!” Jake yelled instinctively, even though he knew the brute animal could not understand him. He had no choice but to summon up his powers even though he was aware that using them again would weaken him. In this frozen landscape, he would need every ounce of his strength, but Red’s life was at stake.
The yeti bent its hairy knees, gathering itself to spring. At the same time, Jake brought up his hands with the full force of his telekinesis and pushed the air toward the animal with all his might.
The giant yeti went flying backward.
It landed maybe thirty yards away in a snow drift, but in a heartbeat, Jake saw that he had only made it angry.
At once, he unsheathed Risker with a soft metallic zing. He reached for the first strap of the harness that held the Gryphon captive and sliced it in two.
The yeti exploded out of the snowdrift.
Jake could hear his friends screaming warnings from the direction of the pine tree, where they were concealed.
His hands were shaking as he stumbled a few steps away to cut the second strap of Red’s harness.
The Gryphon was struggling to stand up when the yeti leaped at them, covering a shocking span of ground.
Jake gripped the second strap in one hand and fumbled with his knife—partly out of fear, partly because his hands were half frozen. He hesitated for half a heartbeat, wondering if he should wallop the yeti again with his telekinesis. His fleeting uncertainty cost him a sliver of a second that he could not afford.
The ye
ti’s huge leap landed him next to the ruined sleigh; he picked it up again at once. Refusing to be separated from the helpless Gryphon, Jake had no time to do anything but hold on.
He dropped his dagger in the snow and, with both hands, grasped the harness strap still holding Red captive.
The enraged yeti lifted the sleigh over his head, then hurled it with a thunderous roar toward a grove of the large, snowy pine trees.
They went whipping through the air, Jake holding on to the long leather rein of the harness, shouting as he flew.
Red flapped his wings a few times frantically, trying to backpedal, but it was useless. In the next moment, both of them crashed into the boughs of the nearest pine tree.
Jake shut his eyes as he took a face full of the thick snow coating the branches, then he was falling, sharp needles scratching at his cheeks…
Chaos and darkness, blindly falling, slipping, scrabbling to catch himself; the sound of cracking wood all around him, groaning branches, sticky sap, piney smell. A pair of snowy owls flew out of the branches with scandalized squawks, and the yeti roared below.
At last, Jake stopped falling. He opened his eyes and found himself still stuck in the tree, high above the ground. But at least he was out of the monster’s reach for the moment.
He shook his head to clear it and tried to get his bearings, still holding on to the harness strap for dear life.
Fortunately, there was a sturdy branch just beneath his feet, so he was able to step down and brace himself on it, though his legs were shaking. “Red?” he called anxiously.
The Gryphon dangled by his harness a yard or so above him, like some sort of giant Christmas tree ornament. “Becaw!”
Jake glanced down, wondering if yetis could climb trees. Probably so, he thought, ape-like as they were. But the yeti on the ground was not the only source of danger.
Peril came from above them, as well. The wreckage of the sleigh was precariously lodged in the branches over his head.
That thing’s coming down, Jake thought, realizing they had to get away from that spot. More importantly, Red was still attached to the ruined sleigh. He had to cut him free.
They didn’t have much time. But he’d left his knife below.
Finding a secure foothold in the massive pine tree’s branches, Jake let go of the harness strap and climbed out of the sleigh’s path, then reached out his hand. “Risker, come to me!”
From far below, a glint of silver on the snow was his runic dagger rising from the ground in answer to his call.
Jake’s heart pounded as it floated slowly toward him.
It was certainly taking its time.
“Hurry up, you stupid knife!” he yelled as the yeti started shaking the tree. “Hold on, Red!”
The brute seemed to think it would be easier to shake them down rather than bothering to climb up after them.
The yeti proceeded to rock the massive pine tree at its base, trying to knock them off the branches like a couple of large, juicy pieces of fruit that it intended to eat as soon as they hit the ground.
As their furry tormentor put his shoulder into the task, the smell of wet, stinky yeti rose through the branches and filled Jake’s nostrils.
The tree shook like it was caught in the gales of a hurricane.
Red swung back and forth from the harness strap, until he finally bared his lion claws and sank them deep into the wood of the branches around him, anchoring himself.
Meanwhile, the broken sleigh above them started inching out of its position.
“Risker, quickly!” Jake pleaded. As the tree swayed, the magic knife wound its way through the dense pine boughs.
Jake let go of his death grip on the trunk, reaching out to grasp the dagger’s hilt. There! Now he had it last. “Hold on, Red, I’m coming!”
Putting the knife between his teeth, pirate-like, he climbed up the violently swaying tree, desperate to reach the Gryphon and cut him loose before the sleigh fell back down to earth and took Red with it. This time, the Gryphon might not survive.
At last, Jake crawled into position near Red’s side. Ignoring sharp needles poking him everywhere, he hooked his knee around one branch and braced himself with the other leg, as well. He had no choice but to let go with his hands in order to complete the task.
Then there came a rasping sound above him as the sleigh started to slide out of the shaking tree’s branches. Jake gasped.
Pulse pounding, he grasped the harness strap in his left hand, took his knife in his right, and severed the strap at last with an awkward chop just as the sleigh plunged out of the branches overhead with a groan of creaking wood.
He ducked, cursing under his breath as the sleigh ripped past them, plummeting toward the ground.
The yeti stepped back to see what sort of progress he was making. Jake saw the beast’s red eyes widen as the sleigh came crashing down on top of him.
It knocked the yeti flat on his back—and impaled him on the sleigh’s broken runner.
Jake grimaced as the yeti’s final, ferocious roar was cut short.
Then, silence.
What a relief.
Chest heaving, Jake looked over at the Gryphon.
“Becaw?” Red asked weakly.
“It’s all right, boy,” he panted in exhaustion. “He’s dead.”
No more yeti.
CHAPTER TEN
Stranded
The others came running while Jake climbed down the massive tree.
“Are you all right up there?” Dani yelled.
“More or less. Not sure about Red, though.” He jumped off a lower branch onto the ground, his legs still a bit shaky after that ordeal.
Dani steadied him, then they both looked up in concern and watched the bruised and battered Gryphon circle down to join them with a few weary flaps of his scarlet wings.
When Red landed on the snow, Jake was finally able to inspect him. “How are you, boy? Anything broken?”
“Becaw.” Red shook his head.
Jake gave him a pat. “Well, at least I got to rescue you for once, instead of the other way around, eh?”
Red nuzzled him like an oversized housecat to show his appreciation, nearly knocking him over. Jake chuckled.
Meanwhile, Archie and Isabelle were staring at the dead yeti with their mouths hanging open.
“Hideous!” the boy genius finally exclaimed.
The creature’s face was frozen in a snarl, fangs bared. Jake winced at the sight of the stake driven through the dead yeti where the sleigh had landed on him.
But Dani marched over and give the lifeless monster a vengeful kick in the side. “Serves you right! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size next time?”
Archie raised his eyebrows at her, then pointed at the other unmoving yeti, still pinned under the fallen tree. “I’m not sure if that one’s dead or unconscious, but either way, I don’t think we should spend any more time here than absolutely necessary. There could be more of these abominables waiting in the woods for us.”
“Agreed,” Jake said. “We should be on our way.”
“But how? What are we going to do?” Dani gestured at their smashed vehicle. “The sleigh’s ruined. Red can’t carry us all, especially in his condition.”
The Gryphon took a couple of limping steps. “Caw!” he offered, as if to say, I’ll try.
“No, Red, you can’t. Look at you, poor thing! You were so brave.” Dani hugged their feathered friend.
“Why don’t you go take a rest under those trees where we were hiding, Red?” Isabelle suggested. “The low branches make it nice and sheltered from the wind. Lie down for a few minutes while we work out what we’re going to do next.”
“Good idea,” Jake agreed, nodding. “We’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready to go.”
The noble beast hesitated.
“Ah, go on, boy,” Jake insisted. “We’ll be fine here. That yeti could’ve killed you. You need to rest up and save your strength. There’s no telling what w
e might have to face next.”
“Caw.” Red seemed to see the wisdom of this warning and accepted their suggestion. He flew off toward the stand of trees the others had left a few moments ago and crawled into their abandoned hiding place.
“All right, so what are we going to do?” Isabelle asked, propping her hands on her waist.
“Excellent question, sis. Hate to be a killjoy,” Archie said, “but if we don’t get to some sort of real shelter soon, we’ll probably die of hypothermia within, oh, three hours at best, by my estimation.”
“Three hours to live?” Dani cried.
“If it’s any consolation, it’s not a bad way to go,” Archie said apologetically. “You’ll get very cold and very tired, and then you just…fall asleep.”
“Oh, that makes me feel so much better!” Dani said. “The yetis might as well have killed us, then! We’re already doomed.”
“No, we’re not. Don’t say that,” Jake ordered.
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Anger and fear gleamed in her green eyes. “Archie knows about such things. And look at us! We’re stranded in the middle of nowhere. The sleigh’s in splinters. We have no idea where we are and we’re already half frozen.”
All of that was true, and Jake already felt horrible about dragging them into this. Guilt, however, was not a helpful emotion when one had to rack one’s brain for solutions.
Raking his hair out of his eyes, he turned away and strove to focus on the problem right in front of them. “Look,” he said sternly after a moment. “Our only hope now is to catch that stupid elf again. He’s the only one who knows his way around this snowy wasteland. At this point, I’m happy to forget about taking him back to Santa’s for the reward, if he’ll just show us how to get to the North Pole.”
And let’s hope Santa’s compound isn’t more than three hours away, he thought, though he did not say that part aloud. Everyone was already scared enough.
“Well, at least he won’t be hard to follow.” Archie pointed across the snowfield.
Jake and the girls looked, then they all smiled ruefully. At last, one thing had come out in their favor. The fleeing elf had left an obvious trail behind him—not footsteps in the snow, but something just as easy to follow. Humbug’s escape tunnel had bumped up the snow above it, like when a mole digs under a nice, green stretch of summer lawn.