by Rachel Angel
“What do you propose?” she said.
“I’m not sure, but I think we should go to the forge when we get into town.”
Chapter 9
William guided Betsy to the house and emptied the cart, bringing a few bags to Kate inside, but bringing most of them to the forge. Ally watched him, intrigued by his intention but saying nothing.
When the cart was empty, he turned to Bilbo. “Can you bring the horse and cart back to Mr. Garrett?”
“Sure thing,” Bilbo said.
William turned to Ally. “Come. I think I have an idea.”
Ally followed him to the forge. Once inside, she no longer recognized the place where she’d once worked so hard. William had set up a long narrow table along the far end and it was filled with a variety of odd contraptions.
“What is all this?” Ally said, picking up one of the oddly lightweight boxes.
“I’ve been fiddling around, trying a variety of metals, looking for what was strong but light, and with a variety of designs; tall, wide, open, closed. Some look like an ordinary box, others like playful lanterns. You know how I’ve always been fascinated with flying. While I haven’t figured out a way for me to fly, I think I’ve found a way to make an object fly.”
He picked up one of the smaller boxes and turned it on its back. “I put in these small blades down here and…” He tapped one of the blades with the tip of his finger and all blades spun around. “It spins, pushing air down and the box manages to float for a while.”
Ally looked at the blades that spun for a few seconds, but slowly came to a stop. “But it doesn’t last long. Now what?”
He picked up another box and turned it upside down. “I added a mechanism that makes it fly a little longer.” He turned the blades counterclockwise, each turn accompanied with a series of ticking sounds. “I can crank these, then let it go.” After only a few cranks, he directed his hands towards the front of the forge and released the small box. It flew to the far wall then fell to the floor.
“I can crank it up a lot more than that. I tried it out in the field the other day and it flew for a least a mile. If I just send it straight up in the air, it will hover about twenty yards up, but if I give it a bit of a shove, it’ll hold the trajectory I set it on.”
“This is fascinating, William. I can’t believe you came up with all this.”
“I had to find some way to keep myself busy, and you know how I like tinkering with things like this.”
“But I don’t understand what this has to do with the war we’re waging against those monsters.”
“I can’t show you the whole thing here, but I’ve also been tinkering with Kate’s potion.”
Ally’s eyes widened with surprise. “But you never liked alchemy. Whenever Kate started to show me anything, you couldn’t run away fast enough.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, I guess I managed to find a degree of interest, but maybe not in the same way. I’m not looking to make people better. I’m looking to make it possible to defend The Borders.”
“How’s that?”
He reached under the table to a lower shelf and pulled out a large jar filled with a fine powder. “I hope you won’t be mad at me, but part of the reason Kate ran out of that sand so fast is because I took some of it. I had noticed that when some of the sand fell on the floor and she walked on it with her flats, which she always wears when she’s working, she ground the sand into a fine powder.”
Ally just looked at him, waiting for more.
“I was sitting at the kitchen table a few nights ago. Kate had worn through her flats and had begun to work with those old black shoes she has. You know, the ones with a heel. When she left the bathroom and crossed the kitchen to head out to the porch for a breath of fresh air, I noticed a small spark under her feet.”
“Really? That’s really strange.”
“The heel of one of her shoes was so worn down it had exposed the nail and every time that nail hit the powder on the floor it sparked.”
“Okay, so now what do you want us to do with that?”
William picked up another small bright yellow box and opened a small compartment on the side. He took a tiny pinch of the powder from the large jar and dropped it in the compartment. Then he cranked it up, directed it to the far wall and released it.
Like the box before it, it hit the wall, only this time it exploded in a small puff of sparks and smoke.
Ally put her hands over her mouth as she giggled. “Oh, my God. That is so ingenious.”
“That’s nothing. You saw how I just put a pinch of that powder. I’ve tried it out in the field with a full teaspoon of that powder and… wow. Those things blow up like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Enough to kill a monster?”
“Enough to kill many monsters.”
“This is incredible.”
“I’ve made hundreds of these little lanterns, Ally.” He picked up another one that looked more like a lantern, with wide openings on all four sides. It was painted bright blue and looked more charming than deadly. “We can send hundreds of them into the air, charged with the explosive powder that is mixed with that deadly poison that will kill those monsters.”
Amazed, Ally leaned back against the edge of the table and looked at William. “I can’t believe you came up with all this. Do you know what this means?”
“I hope it’ll mean the end of this war.”
“One thing, though.”
“What?”
“What happens if one of these things runs into a human by accident?”
“At worse, nothing. At best, they’re invigorated.”
“You mean they get stronger?” Ally said, hopeful.
“Yeah. I guess you could put it that way.”
“Okay. Let’s gather the townspeople that are still around, and give them as many as they can carry. We’ll all head out together, crank those little lanterns up and… up they’ll go.”
An hour later, Ally and William led an army of hundreds of townspeople, men and women, young and old, out to the war zone. Each person carried a rainbow of lanterns, all loaded with the crushed powder and Kate’s potion.
They were confident and proud, finally taking part in a battle that, so far, had been waged far from town. When they reached the edge of The Borders where monsters were returning to fight again, Ally stopped and held out a hand to stop her army.
“Okay,” she said, turning to them. “They’re fast, so we need to be fast. Spread out. Try to keep at least one hundred yards from the person beside you. Crank these things up, aim at a monster or a group and shoot away. I’ll give the order.”
Everyone shouted their approval and eagerness to do away with the monsters once and for all. They ran in every direction, the younger children setting up nearby, while the stronger young adults ran far before setting up. The older adults set up somewhere in between. Once everyone was in place, Ally set her hands on her hips and looked at the monsters both in the air and on the ground. They were coming.
Yes, they were coming. “Wait,” Ally called out. They continued to come. Come closer, Ally urged. Keep coming.
The young girl near her began to fidget.
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Ally said, keeping her eyes on the approaching monsters. “The closer they are, the more they’ll be affected by that little thing in your hand.”
She shot a quick side glance at the girl who smiled, her cranked lantern in her little fist.
“Okay! Everybody ready?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”
“Ready! Let her rip!”
In one large volley, hundreds of lanterns flew into the air. Some flew high, hitting the flying monsters quickly obliterating them with the powerful explosion, while others held a more straightforward trajectory, zipping just a few feet over the ground, hitting the monsters on the ground.
“Again!” Ally shouted.
The second volley was even more successful, killing an astonishing number of monsters.
&nbs
p; Again and again, Ally gave the order and the citizens of The Borders came through, cranking the colorful lanterns and directing them at the monsters.
Towards the horizon, Ally noticed Drago’s soldiers, working to decapitate many monsters while her dragon princes were burning many more to a crisp with their fiery breaths.
Two hours later, with the last lantern cranked and thrown, the tide finally turned. Only a handful of monsters remained, and they were quickly killed.
“I think we did it,” William said as he came up beside Ally and looked at the horizon.
“Yes,” Ally said. But where is that Queen Monster, she wondered. Had she been killed in all this?
Or was she still alive? Was she at that very moment producing off springs that someday return to The Borders?
Chapter 10
For a solid twenty minutes, everyone, humans, dragons and soldiers, watched the horizon; the humans and soldiers from the ground and Razor and the dragons from the sky. With every minute that passed without a monster in sight, breathing became easier, fists unclenched, and smiles replaced concerned frowns.
Razor finally nodded to the other dragons. “I think it’s safe to head down now.”
They headed back down to earth and shifted to human form. Razor chuckled when a few humans, still unaccustomed to shifters, gasped and stared. Most of them, however, had come to accept the dragons as their allies and didn’t bat an eye at the transformation.
Razor went to Ally’s side, his eyes on her pale face. “You can relax now,” he said. “I think we’ve beat them.”
Her smile was weak and she looked exhausted. “I hope you’re right,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s all head into town for a well-deserved rest.”
She hesitated, then turned to the humans. “Okay, everybody. I think we’re good for now. Head back into town, eat, drink and get some rest.”
Weary but thrilled with their victory, the citizens of The Borders headed toward town, their pace slow but determined. As they left, they chatted about the battle, the fierceness of the monsters, and their desire to find their beds for a few hours.
Razor made eye contact with Drago. “You can send your army in as well. They deserve a break.”
Drago nodded and ordered his army to town.
Flint, Tar and Jasper joined Razor while William hung around but remained a distance behind them.
“Everything looks good,” Razor said to the princes and king.
“There’s not a sign of anything. Like nothing at all,” Tar said. “I think we can call it a day.”
“But what about that queen monster?” Ally said. “Where is she? If we didn’t kill her, she’s out there pumping out baby monsters as we speak.”
The princes nodded and gazed once again over the distant horizon.
“Don’t worry, Ally,” Razor said. “There’s not a speck of movement on the horizon. If nothing else, we should be able to rest and get ready for the next attack. We have no intention of just sitting back and ignoring the possibility of more monsters to come. We’ll remain vigilant.”
“But for now,” Tar said. “I think we can all use a break.”
“I’m with you,” Flint said.
“Let’s go,” Razor said. He put his arm around Ally’s shoulder and guided her toward town.
William hung behind them as they made their way to town, and Razor sensed his resentment. But, for the moment, his concern was for Ally. She seemed beyond exhaustion and he knew he had to get her rested before she fell on her face.
“I know what you’re thinking, Razor,” she said. “You think I’ worrying for nothing, but those things are worse than we thought. They’re smart, and that’s a scary thing. Not only are they ruthless, but they have revenge in mind, and that’s a mighty strong motivator.”
“I know, and we’re going to keep our eyes open, but for now, we need to take a break. It won’t do us any good to just sit around and worry.”
“I know, and I don’t want to worry needlessly, but I feel like we just don’t know enough about them. Every time I thought we had a handle on them, we learned something new about them. So now, what is there that we still don’t know? What surprise are we going to face when they attack us again?”
Razor stopped suddenly. “You’re right. We don’t know enough.”
Drago stopped as well. “We need to find one that’s still alive. Think it’s possible?”
“We have to at least try,” Razor said.
“Right.”
“And bring it to the outskirts to examine it,” Razor added.
Drago shifted to dragon form. “I’ll go ahead and alert my men, get them to scour the battlefield for a specimen.” He flew off.
“Good idea,” Flint said to Razor.
Just knowing that Drago and his men were looking for a wounded, but live monster, Ally seemed to relax a bit. But as the town came into sight, Ally showed increasingly worrisome signs of exhaustion.
“We’re almost there,” Razor said. He considered picking her up and carrying her into town but knew her pride would not allow him to.
Her feet almost dragged on the ground as they took their final steps to reach the main street of the town.
They found many soldiers sitting up against the walls of various buildings, looking for shade. Most of the humans had returned to their respective homes, but some of them still hung out at the headquarters.
Razor led the group to Ally’s home. Despite her fatigue, once in the house, Ally immediately set to work, helping Kate with the few patients who’d come to her home for treatment of minor cuts and scrapes.
“What now?” Flint said. “I’m starving.”
Tar looked out the back door. “There’s a chicken coop out there. Maybe we can get a few eggs.”
Flint looked in the icebox and found a slab of meat, while Razor looked in the cupboard and pulled out a large loaf of bread.
William came up to them then, addressing them for the first time. “We have tomatoes, string beans and onions out in the garden. I think we even have a few new potatoes. I’ll bring in a bit of everything.”
Razor looked at him. “Sounds good.” He knew he was a rival, knew how he felt for Ally. He might be her brother in name, but he was a man… a good-looking man. No doubt something had happened between him and Ally.
William’s eyes remained hard as his gaze went from Razor to Tar to Ally. The tension was high between the men who all loved Ally. No doubt William knew about what Ally had had to do to cure all the princes.
And he clearly wasn’t happy about it.
Soon, Tar had brought back a few eggs, Flint was slicing the slab of meat into thin slices and William returned with the vegetables.
The guys got to work, chopping, mincing, cooking and stirring. Everyone was tense at first, on guard and wary of one another, especially William. But after a while the tension eased somewhat.
“I can see that Ally came home from the Academy a changed girl,” William said as he peeled an onion.
“The Academy has a way of changing everyone,” Tar said, snapping the ends off the string beans.
“That’s the purpose,” Flint added. “We go in there wimps and come out warriors.”
“Hey,” Razor argued, pulling a pot out of the cupboard and pouring a bit of water in it. “I was never a wimp. I went to Wyvern a strong and brave man and came out a stronger and smarter man.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tar said tiredly. “Haven’t I heard that somewhere before? Oh, yeah. Just about every day at Wyvern you boasted how strong and brave you were.”
William forced a smile but seemed completely unamused. He chopped the onions into tiny pieces and tossed them in the pot of water. “So how did Ally do in her classes? She hasn’t spoken much about it since coming back.”
Razor looked at him, and for the first time saw him as the overprotective brother rather than a suitor.
“I mean,” William went on. “How did she come to k
now you guys so well?”
Razor cocked a brow. And there was the suitor, jealous as he asked about the relationship between the princes and Ally.
“You could say that she was a strong-willed girl right from the get go,” Razor said, deliberately avoiding the question about their relationship. “The guys at the Academy didn’t exactly make it easy for her.”
“You mean they didn’t treat her like a weak girl, but like just one of the guys.”
Flint, Tar, Jasper and Razor exchanged glances.
“Ally was never the kind of girl who was overly feminine,” William went on. “I mean, you guys know she worked at a forge, right?”
They all nodded.
“So, did you guys ignore what a strong and smart girl she is?”
“Well, not exactly,” Flint said. “I guess you could say that we tested her to the max.”
“How’s that?”
“Her first week at Wyvern, she had to compete against me,” Flint said. “I can assure you, I didn’t treat her like a weak woman. I went full force on her.”
William gave Flint a sharp up and down glance. “Ally’s strong, but don’t you think that’s pushing it a bit too far?”
Flint shook his head. “For starters, Ally had to prove herself. She had to prove herself to the other students who all looked at her like a weak girl who didn’t belong at Wyvern, and she had to prove herself to the teaching staff watching. But most of all she had to prove to herself that she could do it. That she belonged.”
“Was she hurt?”
Tar, Jasper and Razor chuckled.
“Not nearly as much as Flint was,” Jasper said.
“Hey,” Flint said. “I seem to remember a time when you were the one left lying on the floor after an encounter with Ally. Like the time she kicked you clear across the room.”
Jasper grinned and shrugged. “I guess I deserved it. I shouldn’t have treated her the way I did. I know she didn’t deserve to be bullied. I guess we were all a little too hard on her.”
“Bully?” William said. “What do you mean bully? Who bullied her?”