by Trevor Darby
We surged through the air at a speed that blurred the mountainous landscape beneath us. After less than a minute of traveling, the location of the Dragon became obvious. A massive line of snowless ground, surrounded by snow on both sides, appeared in a barren clearing ahead of us. It was as if its presence alone was enough to melt all the snow in the area. Even if it was just passing through.
“Are we ready to land?” I asked.
“Wait,” Raven said, “we need to discuss strategy. My master gave us some advice on how to fight it.”
I nodded, making a fist to stop the bubble from moving any closer. The incredible magical pressure of the Dragon was just starting to have an effect on us as we slowed to a halt. "He said it was silly to try teleporting it out after just weakening it a bit. The only chance we'll have is to beat the Dragon in a straight-up fight. Tiberius said it'll still be a tough job once we knock it unconscious," I said.
"As far as specific tactics, our roles are the same as last time. I'll face it head-on while you guys back me up," Raven said, flashing a wide grin despite the fear I could see in her eyes.
I nodded, “Stay safe, Raven.” I put my hand out, shoving our bubble to the ground.
“Of course.”
The massive Dragon came into view as we rocketed toward the ground at Mach speed, but we landed as gentle as a feather falling from the sky. The bubble popped as if it was soap when it made contact with the brown, snowless ground. "No turning back now," I said as the Dragon, now less than a hundred yards away, looked up from the scorched animal it'd been devouring.
It spread its wings with a massive roar, moving towards us as quickly as my magical bubble had been moving a moment earlier. The scariest part was, it was far bigger than it'd been the first time we'd fought it. Could they really grow so much in just a day?
“Get back!” Raven yelled, gesturing for Twee Twyla, Maps, and Taz to back up as she charged forwards at the colossal beast. Twee Twyla and Maps bolted away, and Taz would've followed, but he slipped, falling to the ground with a thunk, after only a few steps.
I placed myself in-between Raven and Taz, setting my feet. I saw Twee Twyla’s shields come up just as the Dragon opened its mouth wide. It must be getting ready to spray us with flame. Or so I thought.
A bolt of bright blue lightning shot from its open mouth.
It was aimed directly at Taz.
Chapter 14
I clenched my fists, putting all of my energy toward moving Taz out of the way as the bolt of lightning sped toward him. The bolt pierced the barrier Twee Twyla had placed around him like a knife through tissue paper.
The bolt crashed into the ground, and I cringed, fearing the worst as a scream rang out from the same direction.
I exhaled sharply as the dust cleared, bringing Taz’s chubby form into view less than five feet behind where the lightning had struck. Relief made my knees tremble.
I’d teleported him just in time.
But I didn’t have the luxury of celebrating. My attention snapped back to the Dragon as Raven let loose a guttural war cry. She slid under the beast’s claws, slicing at its stomach before feinting to the side. The enraged roar that the creature let out and the fact that Raven’s sword was covered in a purplish liquid made it clear that her blade was no longer something the Dragon could just ignore.
The Dragon turned to pursue Raven as she dashed away. I put my hand out, forming a dozen marble-sized blasts in my palm before firing them at its exposed right side. I immediately shifted gears, managing to teleport Raven on top of the Dragon’s head before my blasts even reached their target.
She stabbed downward at the same time as the blasts tore into the Dragon's side. I put my hand toward the ground, warping the field beneath the beast into a swampy muck as it thrashed and roared wildly, trying to shake Raven off. Raven was thrown from its head, landing safely on the ground by its side as it struggled helplessly against the mud. The Dragon began to flap its wings, clearly attempting to fly away from us. One of Taz’s arrows shot straight through its right wing as it readied to take flight. A pang of sorrow for the majestic creature shot through me as it struggled awkwardly into the air. I resolved myself to make sure it got patched up once we sent it back to the Magical Realm. We wanted to defeat the creature, but I knew then that I didn’t have the heart to kill it even if I had the strength, except as a last resort.
I teleported Raven onto its back before it could get too far. It’d only get harder to fight if it took high to the skies. I formed a bubble around myself, shooting up to the same altitude as the Dragon. Raven had dismissed her sword in favor of a huge magical chain which she was trying to get around its head as it thrashed and spun. It turned its head toward me, and I saw it charging a bolt of lightning that it was aiming right at me. I instinctively moved to teleport myself away but felt a disgusting and dark magical energy take hold of me, grounding me in place.
Terror erased all other thoughts as I frantically struggled to bring enough energy together to blast away the lightning bolt, which was now speeding toward me. Still, I knew even as I tried that it wasn't going to be enough. Time slowed to nearly a standstill as it tore through Twee Twyla's barrier and my flying bubble. Then, as if from nowhere, a blueish wall of energy appeared just in front of me, deflecting the bolt of lightning off into the sky.
Not having time to think about it, I reformed my flying bubble and sped toward the Dragon. It was jetting directly away from us, Raven stuck on its back with no choice but to keep holding on as it flailed and thrashed, trying to throw her off.
“Chace!” she shouted, her voice shrill with terror.
I put my hand out, trying to teleport Raven away. The same sickening magic held me back from doing anything. I frantically tried to figure out what else I could do to help. An energy blast wouldn't be enough even if I was accurate enough to hit it at that speed, and I couldn't keep up with the Dragon's insane flight speeds with just my little bubble.
“Jump, Raven!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, knowing that it was useless. There was no way she could hear me at that distance, over the Dragon's flapping wings. I could cushion her fall if she just jumped, but she wasn't the type to just let it get away after we'd gotten so close. She’d hold on, even if it killed her.
Fear closed its icy grip around me as the Dragon put more distance between us.
“Chace!” Taz’s voice sounded from behind me. I turned to see him raising an arrow into the sky and knew instantly what we had to do.
I focused my energy into the most concentrated form I’d ever managed and forced it into the head of Taz’s arrow as he nocked it into his bow. It was all down to him now.
All of the helplessness I’d felt when I’d lost Raven in the Magical Realm came rushing back to me, and all I could do was watch and hope Taz came through.
I held my breath as the arrow shrieked through the sky, leaving a trail of blue light like a comet as it flew. In less than a heartbeat, it slammed into the Dragon with a thunderous crack. The creature spun wildly before its wings slowed to a halt. Raven leaped off as it dropped limply toward the ground. I formed a bubble around her like the one I was floating in, slowing her fall.
I raced toward Raven, who was drifting slowly toward the ground in her bubble, eager to make sure she was alright. She waved at me with a grin as I approached.
“We did it!”
I suppressed my annoyance at her reckless decision and released our bubbles, dropping us with a soft thud to the ground before pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Raven, something stopped me from teleporting, I-," I started.
She cut me off with a playful shove. “Don’t worry about it, I know you did all you could.”
“We have to help the Dragon, now,” I said.
Slow, measured applause came from just behind us, and I turned.
“Well done, children." The voice was cheery and gentle, but it left a cold pit in my stomach.
Seth, the magical antiquities dealer who had tried to s
teal my heart just months before, stood there. He was smiling.
Raven let out a low growl and formed an energy blade in her hand but, just as she began to charge, a second figure appeared between her and Seth.
“Don’t be so hasty,” Tiberius said with a tsk, putting up a robed arm to stop her.
“Tiberius,” Seth said, eyes narrowing on the Master. “So it was you that stopped my little pet’s lightning bolt before.”
The strange events that had occurred during the fight were all beginning to make sense. Seth had stopped my teleportation from working when the Dragon was about to hit me with a lightning bolt. It was Tiberius's blue shield that'd stopped it from hitting me at the last second.
“Stand down, Seth,” Tiberius said in a voice I’d never heard him use before. “You and I both know you can’t defeat me.”
“Some things change,” Seth said, glancing between us and then over at Twee Twyla, Maps, and Taz, who were now approaching. “But there’ll be a time and a place for that. Ta ta for now, Myth Squad.” He said it with a sneer a moment before he faded away into a black mist.
Tiberius put his hand out, trying to stop him, but the trickster was gone.
“Drat," Tiberius muttered. His spine was straight, and he stood there for a long moment before turning to face us, his pinched features smoothing into a grin. "You did well,” Tiberius said with a nod.
“W-when did you get here?” Raven asked in shock.
“I was watching the whole time. Just think of it as another test.” He paused for a moment before adding, “You pass, by the way.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't find it in me to be too angry after he'd just saved our lives.
“Now let’s take a look at this Dragon, shall we,” he said, beckoning for us and the rest of the Myth Squad to follow.
I turned to him as we made our way toward the Dragon. “It seemed like you and Seth knew each other well.”
"We do," he said. "We've faced one another many times in the past. You could even see us as rivals of a sort, but I've always managed to pull out the win. Something tells me he’s grown stronger. You can never tell with a Warlock, for all I know he could've absorbed double the energy he had last time we fought. Pretty soon, it might be up to you guys to handle him." He said the words in a matter-of-fact sort of way as if he wasn't concerned.
The revelation that we might have to face someone capable of besting Tiberius filled me with fear.
“Did I just see Seth from afar?” Twee Twyla’s voice sounded from just behind me.
“Yes,” Tiberius said with a nod, "but I guess he thought the group of us was too much for him to handle. If he was pulling this Dragon’s strings, I’m afraid we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“It’s good to see you, Tiberius,” she said with an uncharacteristic softness that made it clear that they, too, had some type of history together.
“You too, Twee Twyla,” he said, holding her gaze for a long moment before bending down to examine the motionless, twitching Dragon.
Raven and I both turned to Taz as he approached, pulling him into a big bear hug on both sides.
“Great shot, man,” I said.
“Thanks a lot, Taz,” Raven said.
“Uh, no problem,” he said, pushing us away. “But look!” He pointed at the Dragon, which was shrinking before our very eyes.
"Well, I'll be darned."
The fierce-looking monster we'd been locked in a life or death battle with was now the size of a pony.
“Guys, it’s just a baby,” Taz cried, dropping to his knees beside the creature, tears filling his eyes. “What have we done!”
Chapter 15
The Dragon was still breathing, but it was clearly injured. Taz pulled the arrow from its neck, tears streaming from his eyes uncontrollably.
“You didn’t know,” I murmured, sick to my stomach and not knowing how to make him feel better about this situation. On top of the fact that anyone would feel bad for the poor creature, Taz had always been a huge animal lover.
"Move," Maps snapped, pushing my shoulder to the side with one hand as she downed a potion with the other hand. It was the same type of potion as I'd used in our first encounter with the Dragon, and it would give her a reasonable level of control over her undeveloped powers.
Tiberius stepped forward. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I don't have much ability as far as healing goes, but I'll share some of my energy with you." A visible current of blue magic flowed through his arm and into Maps' body.
I walked around Maps and pulled Taz into a half hug, though this one was to console him rather than celebrate his great shot like the one from just a few moments earlier.
"I'm sure it'll be okay," Twee Twyla said from behind us. "It doesn't seem too badly injured. I doubt it is unconscious because of its wounds. All that energy being pulled out of it at once probably knocked it out. I can't imagine how much energy it must've taken to get a tiny Dragon pup to be that huge. Never mind the amount of magic it'd take to manipulate its will. Poor thing..."
Taz raised his head, pulling gently away from me to face her. His sad expression had been replaced by one of pure rage.
“We’re going to find Seth and make him pay for this. How could he use a cute little baby like that?”
I’d never seen Taz so angry since the time he found out someone had been bullying Mikey, but I was thankful for it as long as it kept that horrible sadness off of his face. “We will,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I promise.”
I suddenly heard a slight chuffing sound from behind us and turned around to see the tiny Dragon raising its head. Taz rushed over to it, cradling its head in his arms, unfazed by the razor-sharp teeth that lurked inside its jaws.
“She’s beautiful,” he said, stroking the Dragon’s scales softly. Its’ snakelike tongue darted out to lick his cheek. “What should we call her?”
“Are you sure it’s a girl?” I asked.
“I’m sure,” Taz said firmly.
“I don’t think we should name it,” Raven said with a regretful shake of her head, “We’ll have to take it back to the Magical Realm soon and naming it will only make things harder.”
I couldn't help but agree with her that it was a bad idea, but I couldn't bear to argue with Taz over it after the roller-coaster his emotions had been on the past few minutes.
“She’s not an it,” Taz said annoyedly. "And I know we have to take her back, but I still feel like she should have a name. I'm sure we'll see her again sometime." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking at the Dragon's wide violet eyes.
She was looking more alert by the moment as Maps swayed gently over her. A moment later, Maps stood up, dusting herself off.
"She should be in stable condition now." Our friend was clearly exhausted from healing the Dragon, but she wasn't the type to make a big deal about it.
“Well done. What was your name, by the way?” Tiberius said, putting his hand out.
“Magdalena,” she said, reaching out to shake his hand with a smile, “but everyone calls me Maps.”
“You have a lot of potential, Magdalena,” he said simply, using his serious voice.
She beamed despite her exhaustion, “Thanks.”
“Baby Blue,” Taz whispered. “We’ll call her Baby Blue.”
“I like it,” I said, chuckling at the thought of the monstrous creature the Dragon was bound to become being known as “Baby” anything.
“What’s the plan for getting her back to the Magical Realm?” Twee Twyla asked from the back of our group.
“Let’s see if she can stand,” Tiberius said, “I’ll port us right over to see her off as long as she’s in good condition.”
Taz looked taken aback, “Ar-Are you guys sure we should do it so soon? She could use some time to recover, right?" He was hugging her as if she was a puppy rather than a scaly flying lizard the size of a small horse. Something about the way she nuzzled into him made me confident that
he was in no danger.
“Maps did a good job healing her,” Tiberius said, examining the faint scar that’d been an arrow wound on the back of her neck. Even the hole in her wing had closed up completely. “Chace, could you help me out real quick?”
“Sure,” I said, stepping up to the Dragon. “What do you need me to do?”
"Let her borrow a bit of your magic," he said, waving his hand towards the Dragon. "I would do it, but if Seth is still in the area, I think we'd both rather have me close to full strength. Plus, I already gave some to Maps, and I'll be the one teleporting us to the Magical Realm once you're done."
I put my hand out and placed it on Baby Blue's scaly shoulder. I tried to remember the feeling of imbuing Taz’s arrow with magic when we’d managed to stop the Dragon earlier. It felt like a dam had opened as my magical reserves left me and went into Baby Blue. Seconds later, I pulled my hand away, panting heavily.
She pushed herself to her feet, nuzzling Taz as she stood. “Nicely done, boyo,” Tiberius said, grinning at me.
Baby Blue shot me a face that, despite the lack of teeth, seemed eerily like a smile, before turning back to Taz, licking him more.
“We all set?” Raven asked, looking at Tiberius.
“We’ll be back soon, Twee Twyla,” he said, “do you want me to send you home to wait for us?”
“Sounds fine,” Twee Twyla said, a flash of sadness at not being able to join us crossing her face as she pulled a tiny metal object from her pocket and tossed it to Taz. "Clip this to the Dragon, and I'll be able to track her location. In case you want to see her again."
“Thanks,” Taz said, his face lighting up, "that'll help a lot."
“No problem,” she said, turning to Tiberius and nodding.
Tiberius snapped his fingers, and she disappeared. "Let's be on our way," he said, motioning for us to circle around him. When we gathered, he snapped again, and we were instantly transported from the cold wasteland of eastern Russia to a refreshingly hot and dry mountain in the Magical Realm.