by Caleb Monroe
“This is going to work, Jacob!”
I hop on Shadow’s back, and we take to the air again. “We have to find their leader and take him down.” Shadow keeps us low enough that we can keep attacking using the blades in his armor and my Sica. The battlefield below is littered with so much black dust that the ground has an ebony shade to it.
Without warning, Shadow pulls up, retreating from the action. “What are you doing?” I notice that every griffin is doing the same thing as Shadow. “Why are we retreating? We have them outnumbered and their numbers are dwindling fast.”
I turn back to find out why our griffin troops are retreating to the sky, which is when I see that some of the Mortem Mangoners have formed a circle with the remaining fighters and are using their entire bodies to create a monstrous dome to protect those that are still alive. The dome is growing to at least five stories tall, and is so thick that I cannot see inside of it.
“Fall back! Get away from the dome!” Tayus is trying his best to get his people away before they get trapped inside the dome, but not everyone gets away before the dome seals itself, trapping many of our soldiers and griffins inside with the remaining crystal fighters.
“What do we do now?!” Tayus shouts from below.
“We bring that dome crashing down right on top of them.” I bend down to Shadow’s ears saying, “You know what to do.”
Shadow flies us to the top of the dome, landing right on the vertex of the massive structure that probably cost half of the remaining crystal men their bodies to construct. He roars, and every griffin free of the dome starts circling above. He watches and waits until every last one of them is in position. I hear him let out a low, slow growl before throwing his wings out to launch us into the sky.
He roars again, and this time the griffins roar back in response.
The sky is nearly blotted out by the number of griffins that are above the dome, and in perfect unison, they all release their devastating cries. The force from their attacks causes the dome to shudder, and then fracture; however, it is still standing.
Shadow turns to look at me and then chirps. “I know what to do.”
I stand up on his back before jumping as high as I can. Shadow performs a devastating barrel roll that pushes the dome beyond its limits, causing it to crack and shatter. He pulls out of the barrel roll, and I land softly on his back while the ruined dome begins to rain down crystal debris on the now exposed remnants of the Mortem Mangoners’ army.
Our troops and griffins all charge the enemy, ready to end this once and for all. This is the end for the Mortem Mangoners, and it will not end peacefully.
We spot the leader still confidently standing in the middle of the dome as his soldiers scamper around trying to escape with their lives, and I shout, “Get me to him, now!” Shadow flies at full speed toward the giant crystal man who is our enemy’s leader. He shoots a few cries at him, but his Imago quickly protects him, using its strong green outer shell to deflect the attacks. Shadow ignores the missed attack and charges head on at our adversaries.
I dismount telling him, “I’ll take this guy. You get his friend.”
Shadow and I separate with him heading left and with me heading right. I know that Shadow will have no problem dealing with the Imago. I just hope he can get back to help me out before it is too late.
The leader of the Mortem Mangoner reaches both hands over his shoulders, saying something in his language as he pulls two crystal swords out of the top of his back. The swords are at least five feet long and have a textured look from the multitude of small spikes running over the surface of the blades.
“I’m not sure what you said, but I am sure it wasn’t a compliment.” I take my Sica out and hold a defensive position. I saw how fast this guy was earlier, and he is clearly the superior fighter.
Usually my style of fighting is much more aggressive, like Shadow, who has already begun to push the Imago back. But against this foe, I am going to have to adjust my fighting style if I want to live long enough for Shadow to make it back to provide support.
“You’ve lost. Your army is in shambles and is running for their lives, and the griffins and the elemental bombs are finishing off those still foolish enough to fight. Give up and maybe you will be allowed to leave here alive.”
The leader shouts something at me as he dashes straight for me. I do my best to dodge to the left, but he catches me on the back with one of his blades. My scaled armor stops the blade from cutting me, but the strength of the crystal giant’s attack still throws me about five feet away and knocks my breath out of my chest.
While rolling to my feet, I see Shadow slash the Imago across the eyes using his talons, and I know he will be by my side soon.
I hear thunderous footsteps coming my way, and when I turn around to face my attacker, I barely react fast enough to block the three strikes that are aimed at my chest, right arm, and stomach. Each blow, even though blocked, still pushes me back a few feet, and I can tell this fight is not going my way. I am hopelessly outmatched in this duel.
“You done yet, Shadow?” I hear a roar, but I cannot afford to lose track of my opponent so I keep my eyes glued on the crystal leader.
He launches into another relentless barrage, forcing me to slide under his first sword thrust to avoid getting turned in to Swiss cheese. But even though I reacted instantly, I still must use my Sica to block the second attack, which would have cut me across the back of my neck had I not gotten my blade behind me in time.
I get up, using my armor-covered left arm to push another attack away before finally using my Sica to get in my first strike. I attack quickly with two fast thrusts that the leader barely blocks. He has to take a step back to regain his balance, and I can see the look of surprise on his face.
“Shadow, hurry up already!”
I give up playing safe with this fight and charge in with my blade dragging the ground, kicking up sparks. The sparks distract him long enough for me to grab a red pearl from inside my armor. I slash upward while the leader creates a pair of crystal scissors with his swords, catching my attack.
“Gotcha!”
With the leader’s arms busily stopping my attack, he is too distracted to notice my tossing the red pearl directly at his face. “I bet that doesn’t hurt too badly, but it has to mess with your vision.”
The crystal giant abandons his newly crafted scissors and tries to brush the fire away with his newly constructed hands. I ram my shoulder into the stomach of the leader, but all that accomplishes is to make a lot of noise as my metal armor collides with his black and red crystal body.
The Mortem Mangoner leader ignores the flames blocking his vision and reaches down, putting both hands around my upper torso. With ease, he lifts my body over his head and slams me against the ground.
I feel my armor give a little as I land. The air is knocked out of me, and I struggle to regain my composure. The giant does not give me the precious second I need to catch my breath, and he kicks me in the side with his cold, hard crystal foot. I can feel the blow even through the armor. Each kick sends me sliding across the ground and farther away.
He rears, back giving me one final kick that sends me sliding across the ground and only coming to a halt when something reaches out and grabs me.
I look up to find help has finally come.
“Tayus, are you riding Captain?”
“You and Shadow make it look so much fun that I had to try it for myself.” Tayus hops off Captain and helps me to my feet.
“Thanks. This armor is great, but nothing will soften the blows coming from that giant.” You can see dents all over the armor I wear. The leader makes his way toward us as if he were stalking helpless prey. “Get ready, here he comes.” The leader takes a few quick steps, and as he runs at us, he pulls daggers out of his elbows that he quickly throws right at the three of us. “Watch out!” I step in front of Tayus, using the back of my armor to protect him.
The head of an Imago comes flying in just
before the daggers can drive into my back, deflecting each of the deadly projectiles. Shadow lands between us, and the leader immediately stops charging.
“I guess you finally got him?” Shadow chirps at me, and I tell him, “I was just about to get my guy.”
Captain jumps over Tayus and me, and together with Shadow, fires off two cries. The leader quickly makes a shield from both hands and deflects the first two attacks, but the last two that connect shatter the shield he hides behind.
“You will never kill another one of my brothers or sisters again!” Tayus shouts.
He runs between our griffins with his broadsword held high. The leader of the Mortem Mangoners turns his hands into hammers, and when Tayus slings his blade down, he cracks the two hammers with the power he put into his attack.
The leader recovers quickly, changing his right hand into a mace that he slings at Tayus. Tayus blocks the attack with his sword. But when his broadsword is wrapped up by the crystal chain attaching the mace to the arm, the giant leader pulls the sword out of his hands, leaving him defenseless.
“Up and over, Shadow!”
I run as fast as I can at Shadow, planting one foot onto the armored wing Shadow has on the ground, letting him throw me high into the air. Captain gets me my chance to attack by shooting a cry directly at the leader. The crystal giant dodges the attack, allowing Tayus to roll back to Shadow and Captain. I pull my sword high above me, and as I come down, I swing my Sica with every ounce of power I have left in me.
I land, and as I get up, I see the Mortem Mangoner leader falling to both my right and left side. I walk away from the two halves of the former leader feeling exhausted and wanting to see only one person.
“We did it! We did it! Their leader is dead! Now drive the rest of them off!” Tayus shouts to every soldier still alive. Captain joins him in rejoicing over our victory by sending a roar into the sky above. Within seconds, the air is full of shouts from our soldiers and roars from our griffin brethren as they make the final push that will destroy any Mortem Mangoners who still remain in the kingdom.
Shadow and I take to the sky one last time, and from here I can see that our army is hunting down the very few remaining Mortem Mangoners who are attempting to flee for their lives.
This war is over. We won.
“Take me to her, Shadow.” I leave Tayus celebrating with his soldiers while Shadow takes me to the one person I want to see more than anyone right now. We fly to the royal ring where we can see that they, too, know we have won the fight. Everyone in the ring, royal and commoner, is celebrating together. I lift my eyes to scan the top of the castle wall because I know that Cecilia has been watching this entire time. “There she is.” Shadow lands on the castle wall, and I take off running for Cecilia.
“We did it! We finally stopped the Mortem Mangoners!” She jumps into my arms, and I pull her in tight. “You had me worried for a little bit. I wasn’t sure your plan was going to work.”
“I was a little worried there, too.” I lean in close telling her softly, “But I was never going to fail. I was always going to come back to you.”
Cecilia leans her forehead against mine saying, “I won’t ever let you go again, Jacob.” Shadow comes up and licks her cheek. “You too, Shadow. You are just as much a part of my family as Jacob is.”
The three of us take a moment and savor the victory we had today, but Cecilia has no idea what remains to be done.
The most difficult battle of my life has only just begun.
Chapter 19
“How do I look?” I ask Tayus and Shadow as I stare into the mirror that is lined with a gold-like material and encrusted with jewels. Shadow chirps at me as he pulls at the blue robes I am wearing. “No one asked you, jerk.”
“You wear the robes of royalty well, Jacob. You will only be the second person in our kingdom to ever don this color robe and not be royalty. It is quite the honor.” Tayus stands next to me wearing his orange robes that signify his high ranking in the army.
“I’m not sure I can get used to wearing a dress to formal occasions.”
“Well, if you are going to marry my cousin, then you’d better get used to it.”
Shadow chirps at me again, and I tell him, “Let’s see you pull this outfit off.” I give my reflection one more glance, before turning to take a deep breath saying, “I’m ready.”
“You do realize this event has nothing to do with you, right?” Tayus says with a laugh.
“I know, but it has been a long time since we won the battle against the Mortem Mangoners, and I want to make sure Cecilia’s coronation goes smoothly today.” I head for the door, and Shadow gets up to follow me.
“It’s hard to believe that our kingdom just faced an army bent on exterminating us. The whole kingdom has changed so much in such a short time. Not that it really had a choice.” Tayus closes the door behind us as we make our way down the staircase inside the castle wall.
“With the people and griffins working together, we have made so much progress in rebuilding the kingdom.” I look over at Shadow and I am forced to push the lump that forms in my throat back down.
“I thought you said the griffins were going to take their leave once the war was won?”
“Turns out they like it here more than I thought. Shadow tells me that some of them are going to return to their home world after today, but so many wanted to stay and rebuild the kingdom that set them free and destroyed their enemies.” I pet Shadow on his head as we reach the bottom of the stairs and take a door leading us outside behind the throne room.
“Shadow communicated all of that to you in chirps and growls?” Tayus looks at us in disbelief.
“Yea. I’m not sure how to explain it, but we have learned to communicate pretty effectively.” Shadow growls at Tayus for doubting us.
Tayus joins us as we make our way to the hallway in the lower portion of the castle walls. “So where are you meeting her?”
“She told me to come get her at the northern part of the lower ring, I mean the farm land.” We climb another flight of stairs leading us to the raised platforms that once allowed the riders to enter and exit the castle. “I guess with the riders being back again these things will get some use once more. The eleven riders that survived the battle met with me and asked my blessing to rebuild their ranks. I am not sure why they felt they needed my approval, but I gladly told them yes. I believe this kingdom will be its strongest when the skies are patrolled by the riders.”
“I hear they already have acquired a mounting list of soldiers wanting to join up, and thirty griffins volunteered to be a part of it, as well.”
Tayus stays back while I mount Shadow, who takes us to the end of the elevated walkway hanging from the side of the castle wall. “You have things under control here?”
“When you guys return, I will have the coronation ready to begin.” Tayus salutes with a fist over his stomach.
Shadow gets us in the air while I tell Tayus, “You know I hate that.” He just stands there smiling as we take off for the northern end of the farmlands.
Shadow knows we have a schedule to keep so he flies at close to top speed, causing most of the scenery below us to blur into an indistinct mixture of colors and shapes. I can tell that we have reached the beginning of the farmlands when I notice that the number of houses and the distance separating them is starting to change.
Shadow must be able to see Cecilia because he suddenly slows down by throwing his wings out to stop him. I am not ready for the abrupt halt and my momentum nearly pulls me over Shadow’s head. I quickly grasp on to his mane to stop myself from flipping over him.
“That was exactly what I have come to expect from the two of you.” Cecilia says while laughing at us.
“I could have used a little more of a heads up there, buddy.” Shadow brings us down to the edge of the farmlands that provide food for the whole kingdom. “This place got hit the worst,” I say while overlooking a large portion of this fertile land that was burned by
the Mortem Mangoners.
Cecilia bends down to grab a handful of soil. She lets the soil seep through her hands as she stands up saying, “We will rebuild, and we will make this kingdom even greater. My father’s dream for our world will be realized under my rule.”
I pull her in tight telling her, “With you as their Queen, there will be nothing these people cannot accomplish.” I kiss her gently, and we enjoy this rare moment we have alone together.
“How I have missed you,” she tells me. “Between having to reteach my citizens how to work together and preparing for the coronation, we have only seen each other twice since we got engaged.”
Shadow pokes his head in between us, pushing us apart a little. “What do you want?”
Cecilia scratches him behind the ears. “I am going to miss you so much Shadow.” Shadow growls, pulling away from us. “We can’t keep pretending like nothing is going to happen tomorrow.” Cecilia bends down giving him a kiss on the crown of his head. “You have to promise me you will come back and visit, and not just Jacob.”
Shadow begins to chirp at her, and I tell him, “Fine, we will stop talking about this, for now.” I climb back up onto Shadow’s back, feeling a sense of emptiness clawing into my heart. I reach down to help Cecilia up, and when she touches my hand, I begin to feel a little relieved. “Maybe not so fast this time, Shadow.”
Shadow gets us into the air, and we fly toward the castle. “That is what gives me hope that our kingdom will prosper.” Cecilia points to a group of farmers, builders, craftsmen, and even a family of royals who are all working to rebuild a farmhouse and its storage building. “It is a small example, but this is what our people were meant to become. One harmonious family that coexist peacefully.”
It takes a little while, but Shadow gets us to what used to be the second ring. “They have nearly taken down the entire wall separating the farmlands from the rest of the kingdom here.” I see a group of builders working to tear down the parts of the wooden fence that were left standing by the crystal army on their march to the castle.