Dimwater's Demons

by Sam Ferguson

  “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 st
icking 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.

  “It’s done,” Lepkin said.

  Kyra nodded, staring into the green flames as the shade continued to burn away into nothingness. “My mother is avenged,” she said, hardly daring to believe the words. In an instant she replayed the last year in her mind: the first of the strange attacks at Caspen Manor, her arrival at school, the day she had first seen Lepkin, the day Leatherback had hatched, her first battle with the shade, and now this moment, knowing that this creature which had sent the demons to hunt her had now been silenced forever. Then, her smile slowly faded away as she recalled that even this creature had been sent by another.

  Kyra walked over to where Lepkin was lying on the ground and knelt down next to him. “We killed a shade. A shade! And you were amazing, but it is not done yet.”

  Lepkin sat up a little and leaned on his elbow. He looked to her with a questioning stare, and then his impish grin returned and his blue eyes sparkled once more. “Time to hunt the vampire?”

  Kyra nodded. “It’s time to cut the head off the snake, and it seems I have a dagger to find.”

  If you enjoyed this book, then keep your eyes peeled for Dimwater’s Dagger, book 3 in the Sorceress of Aspenwood series, coming soon!

  About the Author

  Sam Ferguson is a fairly average guy.

  That’s it.

  No, really, that’s it.

  Oh- you are actually reading this?

  Well… the truth is that Sam is a very lucky guy. He juggles work in such a way that he makes sure to spend enough time with his loving wife and sons. He loves being a fulltime writer and enjoys sharing his workspace with two bearded dragons. If he can carve out an extra hour for himself during the day, he’ll hit the gym to try and regain the body he used to have in his youth (but he eats too much junk food to ever accomplish that goal).

  He spent nearly five years serving as a U.S. Diplomat and absolutely loved the experience, but decided to move back home. Outside of the U.S. he has lived in Latvia, Hungary, and Armenia. He speaks Russian, Hungarian, and Armenian. (He used to speak some Latvian too, but he has no one to practice with anymore…)

  He also has two dogs.

  He plays the Elder Scrolls series.

  His favorite superhero is Wolverine, but Batman is a close second.

  If the kids go to bed at a reasonable hour, he will cuddle up with his wife to watch Scrubs reruns, the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Burn Notice.

  See, really just an average guy after all.