MISTY BLUE

Up ahead is the forest that ran down into Aradon. We're all yelling now, screaming for revenge. Unfortunately the forest is way in the distance. It was only then that I spot the new... Arrivals.

"No. Freaking. Way." I breathe, almost falling off my horse. Grace gallops up beside me, grinning like a madman. There are tears in her eyes.

Racing in front of us is a leopard. His paws are transparent smokes of golden mist, leaving a trail where he ran. The leopard was running with the speed of a cheetah, legs a blur. He turns his vaguely transparent head toward me and purrs.

"Beji." I murmur, struggling to keep my horse calm and focused on galloping. "Beji I'm so sorry." The young leopard had tried to stop Dermorian warriors killing us while we slept. He sacrificed himself to save us, but Lilly was kidnapped.

He purrs again and races ahead of the army. Before my head could wrap around the idea of Beji being there, I hear an excited bark. Below me were what looked like fifty ghost wolves.

Some were barely visible, others were merely just a head or paws or tail floating in space. But there was one almost perfect wolf in the lead. She had a small gap between her neck and her head, but was Alpha wolf. Amazon, my tame wolf.

Ghosts were springing up everywhere. I see a few Aradon people, and many animals. The spies keep riding to the ever approaching forest, screaming their battle cries.

The forest is closer now. Venom barges passed everyone to lead the army next to Toko. The sun is rising now, sending pale yellow stripes on the horizon.

We weave through the trees, yelling and threatening. Beside us are thirty dirty skinny rogues. It takes some time before I recognise them as my former kingdom. My face breaks out in a grin and I whoop. King Red looks up at me questioningly and I point to the front of the line. He runs faster to catch up to Venom.

The forest is bigger than I remember. White and brown horses keep leaping over fallen logs and between trees but there is no end. l I close my eyes and let the wind run through my hair.

WHAM. I'm flying. Jay slammed into a tree, stupid horse. I open my eyes to see where I'm going to land. Ahead of me is a tree with a straight branch sticking out. It splits and another branch curls around, making a semicircle. Great. I brace myself.

Splinters imbed themselves in my arms as I hit the circle. I stop flying, suspended in the air by two branches. I angrily pull my arms out from beside me and hang them over the edge of the branch.

Great. I blow out loudly, flipping my hair out of my eyes. Stuck in a tree in the middle of a war. I started squirming, but I couldn't fit through the gap. Angrily, I punched the branch.

(Un)Fortunately for me it was an old tree and cracked as soon as I hit it. I fell through and hit the ground running. There was no time, no time. Arcturus would meet us at the battle I was sure of it.

I could hear yelling up ahead and ran faster. I hate to admit it but I was excited. I mean, I was home after seven months of living on the road. No, I tell myself. Not my home anymore.

"Revenge!" I scream and charge into the valley. Around me are hundreds of people fighting. I spot Venom standing over the fallen body of a Dermorian warrior. He looks up at me and panic lights his gaze.

"Misty Blue, duck!" He yells. I quickly bob down and a sword flicks above my head. I backflip and stick out one leg, sending the sword flying. The warrior is momentarily stunned so I punch him in the face and run.

"Ah!" I whip around to see Dusty laying on the ground holding his side as blood seeps through his fingers. A huge man is slashing a sword downwards to hit him. I grab a large stick and leap in front of Dusty.

The sword cuts my arm and wedges in the stick. The man grunts and pulls it out, lashing again. I know a stick can only hold for a short amount of time. I block another blow and grimace.

Arcturus where are you? Help me.