It rounded in mid-air. I had no idea how it stayed in flight, but it managed to thrash its tail, coming dangerously near me.
Snakelike yellow eyes met mine. I froze. In that moment, I knew those beasts weren’t here for a meal. They’d come for me.
I took a step back.
The beast lunged and hit the tower. The ground shook, though I managed to stay upright.
It charged again before I could ready another spell. The tower wobbled beneath me, and I fell to the ground. Rough paving stones scraped my elbows. The creature hissed and rammed the tower again as I tried to sit up.
I crawled to my feet. Fear sped my movements as I realized I had little chance of destroying the beast. My magic was fading. I needed a way to conserve my energy, but my frantic thoughts wouldn’t let me concentrate.
Something whizzed past my head. A spear clattered to the tower’s floor. I snatched it up, not certain it could help me, but hoping it might.
If I could focus my magic through the spear, perhaps it would help me preserve my power. I willed my magic through the spear. Bright orange fire glowed from the spear’s tip. When the vexon hovered close enough, I released the fire, sending another blast of fire at its wings. They ignited without a hitch, but the beast used its momentum to hit the tower with more force than I’d felt so far.
The tower groaned, a heavy sound that seemed to emanate from the center of the earth. This wasn’t a small tremor like the last attacks, but a rumble that made the tower slowly tip.
Not good.
I grabbed at the floor, trying to find some sort of handhold. As the tower tipped more, I finally grabbed a pillar between the windows and clung to it, feeling the world disappear below me.
Tree roots spun in my vision. I leapt before I had a chance to think twice. My spear snagged on a jutting root, and fear squirmed through me as I dragged myself onto a ledge. As I did, the tower toppled, plummeting down with a force so great I heard the enormous whoosh loud in my ears.
It took what was left of the vexon with it, the beast screaming with fury. Moments later, I heard the tower smash to the bottom. A giant dust cloud rose up in its place.
Sweat slicked my palms as I crept along the ledge to higher ground. I inched toward a broad, flat ledge where I collapsed.
My magic had drained my energy. I needed time to rest. Across the chasm, I spotted the last beast.
I’d never seen a vexon so huge. Where did these things breed? It had to be forty feet long at least. When it lashed its tail, it sent half a dozen pixies to the ground. Warriors slung coils of ropy vines around the monster, but it shrugged them off.
They hurled torches at the monster’s wings. The beast spun so fast it became a blur, and the torches sputtered uselessly to the ground.
A pixie landed on the ledge beside me. I recognized him. Mochazon’s breathing was labored as he turned to me. “Did you kill that beast?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “Barely.”
“Let me fly you to the other creature,” he said. “You must destroy it the way you have destroyed the first.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“My magic needs time to recharge. I would be useless.”
“But you killed the first!”
“Yes, but I used all my magic to do it.”
Across the chasm, thick, yellowish poison spewed from the monster’s mouth. It coated the pixies’ skin in a foul sludge that stuck to their flesh. The screams of dying warriors came from the fray.
“We cannot waste time. I must fly you to the battle.” His voice sounded panicked.
I looked up at him, my magic nearly gone, my lungs begging for air. It would be so easy to stay on this ledge and let the pixies win their own battles. But I knew that if I made that decision, more pixies would die.
No matter how much I disliked them, I couldn’t let them die. I could try. That’s all I had left.
I gripped my flimsy spear. The world spun in my vision as I stood. I closed my eyes to regain my balance. “I’m ready.”
He grabbed me up faster than I thought possible, carrying me with his arms tight around my waist. My breath caught in my throat as we hurtled over the chasm. I tried to focus, to call my magic, but found it impossible.
We neared the monster. Red firelight flickered off its gnarled scales, making him appear even larger than I’d first thought. It focused on me. Calculated intelligence glinted in its eyes.
“Are we close enough?” Mochazon shouted.
Whether we were or not, it didn’t matter. The beast reared its serpentine head and flew straight at us.
I pointed my staff at the creature, praying I had enough magic left. Jaws agape, it looked as if it would swallow us up.
I whispered the word to call fire. A streak of flames flew from my staff. It caught the beast’s wing, but the monster spun into a barrel roll. The fire extinguished.
Mochazon darted out of the flying serpent’s path as it lunged. “Try again,” he shouted.
How? I wanted to ask, but didn’t have the strength for it.
The beast lashed its forked tail. The tip connected with Mochazon’s back, landing with a loud thump. His grip relaxed.
He held me, though I felt his arms slipping. The monster roared as it lashed its tail again. My thoughts slowed. I knew I had no magic left. I would be foolish to use it again. What then? Surely there was something I could do to defeat the monster?
Use your magic.
It wasn’t Albert or Bill who spoke this time. This was my father’s voice. But how could I use my magic? I
