Chapter 20

Arianna’s Escape

        “No!” Ralem screamed, scrambling to his feet. He rushed to the hole, jumping over pillar fragments and dodging the cleaning harpys that were aimlessly trying to clean the place up. Suddenly he was met with a sheer cliff. He took a sharp intake of breath as he looked down to find the ground was a hundred feet down. It sloped at a steep angle, dotted with scraggly trees and bushes. A mountain goat was directly below him, also stunned by the recent events. It was stuck mid-chew on a blade of grass, its wide eyes unblinking. Then it promptly fell over in a dead faint.

        Ralem was not concentrated on the goat, however. His gaze was trapped by the sight of Jaydon arrowing in the sky after the wyvern, which was flapping desperately away. Ralem felt completely hopeless. He couldn’t fly after them. He couldn’t even save himself, let alone his dragon. His shoulders slumped in despair.

      Then he was poked in the back by something sharp. He whirled around to find a harpy looking meaningfully at him, its wings working hard to keep its plump body up. He jumped away, trying to find a weapon to defend himself with. But the only thing he could find was the remnant of a broken pillar. He held it over his head defensively. He knew this creature. It was the same thing that had assaulted him weeks ago over his dragon’s egg. But this harpy’s sharp white eyes belied no malice for him. No emerald gleamed on its chest.

         It gestured at him to follow it. His curiosity aroused he tentatively took a step forward, not letting go of the marble fragment, his gaze locked on the harpy. It crooked a claw impatiently. He did not want to follow this strange creature, but what was he going to do otherwise? Sulk up here, not helping the situation at all. Who knows? The harpy doesn’t have an emerald. Maybe it was trying to help him out. What did he have to lose? Taking a deep breath he started after the harpy who spun around and starting speeding down the hallway. Ralem had to run to catch up as it raced past doors upon doors that veiled who-knows-what. He saw several strange creatures lining the walls. One looked like a small, snake-like dragon with a rooster tail and legs. It had an emerald on its brown-scaled chest and a scarf hiding half of its face including its eyes. Ralem did not want to know why. They passed by several more harpys, most of them freed. But most of the animals were weird combinations of animals. Once he spotted a creature that had a face of a man, with huge fangs and a massive mane framing his face. His body was that of a lions and he had a huge scorpion tail that curled threateningly over its tawny body. Ralem stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily from his run. He did not want to get anywhere near this thing that was glaring daggers at him. The harpy just got behind him and pushed him smartly on the back, a determined expression on its foxlike face.  Then he caught sight of the emerald that was half-hidden under its full mane and cautiously stepped one-foot-in-front-of-the-other, skirting the creature as best as he could. The manticore’s red eyes followed his every move and Ralem could’ve sworn he saw a forked tongue escape from its lips. He did not need any more prodding from the harpy to escape fiery red eyes that were boring holes in his back.  

       Eventually he was met by a plain wooden door, its hinges rusty and its cover undecorated, in stark contrast to the surrounding doors. It was cracked open, revealing pitch blackness. The harpy stopped, gesturing for him to go in. He stopped by the door, feeling as if he were on the brink of an abyss of the unknown. Ralem was not one to be particularly excited about the prospect.  “Hello?” he yelled into the dark. The word echoed eerily.

      He heard pounding, like a herd of horses were galloping over stone, then, “Ralem?” The voice sounded so faint he almost thought he’d imagined it. But he knew who it was. Arianna.

       The sound amplified, the echoes making the noise intensified until it felt like an army was drawing near. Then Ralem remembered the creature that had bit him. I can’t go down there, he thought. I’ll just get eaten by the creature.  He looked around to see if the harpy would lend him any more helpful hints but it had disappeared. Well I guess I’m on my own now, he thought resignedly. The question was how he would get a light to go down there. As he pondered this thought a sudden memory assaulted his mind.      

        Arianna was standing by the table in the inn room, knife in hand, “I heard that the eyes show how much power the person has. I can definitely tell when you are going to use yours. Your eyes glow too.”

       My eyes! He thought. But how….   Ralem steeled himself and started walking down the stairs like he was being sent to get hanged. He concentrated on the crisp, yet stuffy air around him. It was sluggish and slow to move, but with some urging it slowly began revolving. Just to keep his eyes glowing, Ralem just concentrated on twisting the air around his hand. He was surprised how much a little illumination could light up a pitch black area. A couple feet in front of him was floodlit in a brilliant greenish hue. He imagined how creepy he must look, just two glowing green eyes wrapped in the gloom.

       It was astonishing how many stairs there were. It seemed to be an endless sea of steps. By the time Ralem had reached the bottom his muscles were starting to burn. And he had been going down. Now that he could see the dungeon, he found it was not as scary as he thought it would be. Stalactites dripped on the ceiling, water dripping down their slick tan exteriors like sweat. Stalagmites rose up to greet some of them, the water making distinct plinking sounds as it hit the top. A couple mice scurried by, frightened by the strange new person. A couple bats, disturbed by the sudden light, struck Ralem in the face as they flapped away from their perches. Ralem almost yelled, and slapped at the air, nailing a bat. Just as it whirled into the air, he sweeped the area, trying to catch sight of Arianna.

          Then he saw the scorpion.

       It was facing away from him… into a different cell. He saw a flash of white and instantly identified it as Arianna’s face, pale with fear on the other side of the bars. “Ralem!” she called, desperately throwing a pebble to try and distract the nightmarish insect. It just ricocheted off the creature’s dark armor

       But the scorpion had already seen him.

       In a choppy motion, it quickly swerved around to face him, its beady eyes glaring at him and a deadly stinger poised above its armored back. It clacked its crablike claws in anticipation of a snack, drool dribbling onto the stone floor from two serrated jaws, which were quivering in a nauseating way. Ralem lost his concentration on the wind at the sight of the beast and the light in his eyes flickered out. Darkness shrouded him again.

      But the scorpion was at home in the dark. Ralem ducked as he heard a whistle and jumped to the side as the stinger knifed through the air like an arrow, stabbing where Ralem’s head had been just a second before. Ralem tried to focus on moving the air around him, but it was broken again as he instinctively dodged a claw that would have cut him clear in half. Options were not looking good right now. Arianna yelled from her prison, desperately wishing she could help. She had her bow and arrow, but in this blackness she could hit Ralem as easily as she could hit the monster.

     Ralem rushed backwards, concentrating with all his heart. A weak light sputtered to life in his eyes as he made his hair stand up. And just in time. The glow was just enough to caress a metallic substance hurtling in his direction and he was able to see just enough to somersault out of the way before a stinger could impale him. Swiftly getting to his feet, he made the wind torpedo around the scorpion. The light in his eyes grew brighter as he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. The scorpion shrieked and scuttled backwards. Ralem ventured forward, intensifying the wind. The scorpion tried feebly to raise its claws in defense. Not from the wind, Ralem realized, but his eyes.

        He reached deep within himself, summoning his power over the air. His eyes blazed like beacons, shining on the scorpion with no mercy. The beast flinched and jerked back, screeching not unlike a wyvern.

        “Ralem!” Arianna yelled hastily, her words overlapping in her speed, “I have an idea. It’s crazy but it might get me out of here.”

        “What?” Ralem asked, still driving the giant insect away.

         “You could bait the scorpion over here and try to get it to snap at you with its claws. Then you’ll duck so that it can cut through the bars. It’s risky but worth a try.”

       Ralem thought about it. It was risky. If the scorpion tried to get him with its stinger instead of its claws… let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. And if he couldn’t get out of the way fast enough... But it was still his best bet. I must be crazy, he whispered to himself, then dwindled his power down to almost nothing.

       The scorpion was on him like a cat on a mouse.

        Ralem didn’t even know that scorpions could jump. But jump the scorpion did, until all Ralem could see was tight black plates as he tried to dodge out of the way. But he was too late. He was shoved roughly to the ground by the immense body of the scorpion as it touched down on the stone floor with a crashing boom that broke stalagmites. The rocky floor tore at his back, ripping his shirt (and much of his skin) to shreds as he skidded. The momentum made him just barely miss the gaping jaws. But one small drop of saliva dribbled onto Ralem’s hand and he winced in pain as it ate away the flesh. Ralem curled into a ball under the scorpion’s underbelly and pushed himself to the ground, away from the killer insect. A stalagmite exploded by his ear and sprayed his face with the fragments as the barbed tail blasted from seemingly nowhere. Ralem frantically jerked to the side, his mouth open in a soundless yell.

       He staggered to his feet and lit his eyes up more to see where he was and keep the monster at bay, keeping a strong wind in the form of a shield going. He grit his teeth as his wounds healed agonizingly slow. The energy he was expending by doing all this was starting to tire him but he forced the thought aside. He had work to do. His eyes lit upon a cell, Arianna’s face pressed against the bars. When she saw him she let out a sigh of relief, “I thought you were a goner for sure.”

      A sharp sting on the shoulder reminded Ralem of the presence of the monster. He gasped and grabbed his stinging shoulder. He spun around, growling as he challenged the shadows, the draconic part of him flaring up in his agony. His eyes shone as bright as little moons and the creature screamed in pain. Remembering the plan he fought his pain and anger and dimmed his eyes until it was only enough for him to see.  The scorpion hesitated before stalking closer, its claws clacking angrily.

       That’s it. That’s it. Come on. Have at me with your claws, Ralem thought. But it didn’t. The stinger lashed out of nowhere like a vehement snake, and Ralem just had enough time to dive out of the way before it smashed into the bars, shattering it on impact. A claw came out of nowhere, and Ralem almost found himself sautéed. But he managed to rocket out of there just in time, as the claws smashed the bars like toothpicks. Ralem yelled mid-jump “You’re out. Now what?”

       “I don’t know!” Arianna cried from the corner of her jail, “Scare him away with your eyes or something!”

       “Where to?” he barely avoided a glossy black claw.

      “I don’t know! Somewhere! Just get it away from me!”

      Ralem stoked the power with in and felt the kick of energy that accompanied it. It was intoxicating, yet draining at the same time. The insect shrunk from the light, grasping at Ralem halfheartedly with a giant ridged claw. Ralem built a wall of air around the scorpion, nudging it on. It needed no more prodding. It turned and ran back into the darkness, where hopefully it would stay. He stopped and panted, hands on knees, his energy about run out.

       Arianna stepped out of her jail gracefully. “That was amazing Ralem,” she turned his head with soft hands and kissed him on the cheek. This made him feel light headed and woozy at the same time. She saved him from having to say anything heroic though, “There’s a girl who’s in another jail down the corridor. We need to save her.”

      “Please don’t tell me I have to pull doing that again,” Ralem said, realizing he wasn’t feeling light headed from just the kiss. The poison was starting to get to him again. He could feel it draining his power like a leech. When his power went out so did his eyes. And the scorpion would be back for blood.

      His dilemma was answered by another tap at the back. But this time it wasn’t because of an evil insect, but a harpy, the same pudgy one who had helped him earlier on.

      “What’s that?” Arianna asked, her widening blue eyes reflecting his green light, making her look eerie.

       Ralem, who was afraid that she would get freaked out, started to explain, “It’s-“

       “Adorable! Does it have a name? If not, I’ll name it Nancy!”

       “Now’s not the time to be nam-“

       “Shh! Nancy is trying to show us something. What is it Nancy?” Arianna started following the harpy, who was beckoning as it flew ahead of them. Ralem followed behind, lighting up the way for Arianna. But he was finding it hard to concentrate, and a couple times his eyes flickered or he stumbled. But he was determined not to show Arianna that he was hurt, so he just tightened his jaw muscles and plugged along. Arianna was fascinated by the creature and followed just behind the heavily thumping wings. Finally Nancy stopped by a cage, and made a funny face that Ralem recognized and instantly moved back. A dark blob of harpy spit splatted on the lock. Both Ralem and Arianna watched in fascination as it quickly ate away the metal. The door popped open without a sound.

      Ralem grimaced, Great. I almost kill myself trying to get Arianna out and it could have all been solved by a harpy. The harpy made a hissing noise in its throat that sounded suspiciously like laughing. Ralem made a face at it, making it laugh even louder.

      Arianna had rushed to the prone form in the corner, cradling it with her arms. “Mother?” a weak voice asked in the bundle of rags.

      “No, sweet one. But we’ll take you to your mother. I promise,” Arianna said reassuringly. The bundle of rags extended two pale white arms that locked around Arianna’s neck. The child buried her head in Arianna’s chest, the shock of wild golden hair was all that was discernible in the gloom.

      Ralem was getting impatient. Already he could feel the poison starting to take its toll. “Come on,” he hissed.

      Arianna looked at him, but did not move, “First we get the Pegasus out.”

       “Okay, but hurry. We don’t have much time,” Ralem said urgently, then felt a searing pain on his back. He bent to his knees, the light dying in his eyes. “What is it, Ralem?” Arianna asked nervously, tightening her hold on the child.

       The dungeon faded. Bright lights started to bloom around him, taking color until he found he was soaring over the mountain. Something smashed into him from above, sending him wheeling in the sky. Someone was screaming on his back. The attacker dug into him again, grazing his wing with an enormous talon. “Turn up, you stupid beast! Get him!” He tried desperately to, but he was shoved into a mountain, the rocks digging into his scales. A ridge appeared right in front of him. If he didn’t fly up, he wouldn’t make it. The woman on his back screamed more desperately than ever. Something was keeping him from flying up, it’s great weight plunging him down, down, down.

       Then all went black.

      “Ralem!” Ralem sat up, his mind a mess.

      “Oh Ralem, I thought you were dead. Did the scorpion get you back there? I’m so sorry!”

      “Yes, but that’s not it. I think gem is messing with my mind. It’s messing up me and Jaydon’s connection. But all I know is that Jaydon is in trouble. We need to save him.” Ralem got to his feet, rekindling his power so that he could see.

       “What’s wrong?” Arianna asked.

       “He is being controlled by the woman. She’s riding on him and the wyvern is attacking them. I need to go…”

       “Can we save the pegasus real quick,” Arianna begged. They heard a whinny echo down the passage. Ralem relented, “Okay, but we have to hurry.” The harpy had disappeared again. They rushed down the passage, to find a Pegasus with a leather bridle that was hooked up by a chain to the craggy wall. When it saw Ralem’s glowing eyes it jumped back, its head and neck stiff as it was held captive by the chain. It was small, about pony sized with little hummingbird like wings that were shockingly green and blue. Its coat was velvety brown and it swished lustrous cream colored main and tail. It stared at Ralem out of the corner of its eye, the whites showing in its fear.

       “Oh you poor thing,” Arianna said as she advanced toward the Pegasus with her free arm stretched out in friendship, the child still hanging on to her like a baby monkey, “We’re not going to hurt you.” The Pegasus whinnied softly, but did not take its distrustful eyes off Ralem. Arianna slowly took off the emerald collar and halter, liberating the Pegasus. Once it was free it shook its mane and reared, displaying its shimmering wings. “Finally! That witch forced me not to talk! And I was trapped back here with this big, stinky, ugly wolf. It was terrible!” The Pegasus rolled its eyes in annoyance. Wolf? Ralem peered back into the dark crevices to find glittering green eyes not too unlike Jaydon’s except they didn’t glow. It was a black wolf that must’ve been seven feet tall, hunched over with its huge head turned toward the trio. It snarled mutely, drool dripping from the saber-like teeth. Ralem and Arianna backed away, but were relieved to find that a heavy black manacle chained him to the wall. Not noticing their fear, the pegasus nuzzled Arianna, looking at her with shining chocolate brown eyes, “Thank you for saving me. I am forever in your debt.”

       Arianna blushed, “Oh, there’s no need.”

       Ralem was getting impatient, “I hate to disrupt the gratefulness but we need to get out of here.”

       The Pegasus hid behind Arianna’s back until only its eyes, forehead, and ears where showing, “I don’t like this man. He has creepy glowy eyes.”

       “I’m sorry about that. But we need to go. Come on,” the light sputtered in his eyes as his shoulder burned from the poison that was setting in. He turned around to leave. Reluctantly Arianna and the Pegasus followed. Pegasus warily trotted behind them, its wings fluttering with nervousness. They weren’t met with the giant scorpion, or any bug for this matter.

        Once he had started to walk up the stairs, Ralem realized he was in worse shape than he first thought. His light was dimming until they could barely see. He stumbled and fell, realizing he didn’t have the strength to get up. He saw images, like forgotten ghosts, drift across his vision. It was the battle seen from Jaydon’s eyes. His connection with his dragon momentarily intensified, giving him power. For a moment he forgot where he was, or who he was for that matter.

      Arianna shook him back to reality. “Come on. Don’t leave me now,” she whispered. He shook his head and slowly got to his feet. He felt much stronger now. He arched his back, reveling in his strength. “Let’s go,” he said, starting back up the stairs.

      “Are you going to do that often? Black out, I mean? Because it’s really freaking me out,” Arianna said, huffing in exertion. The girl hung on her neck like a tick and the Pegasus trailed behind, her hooves clopping on the spiral staircase.

      “Hopefully not. We just have to get that emerald off Jaydon,” Ralem replied, going so fast he was leaving poor Arianna in the dust. His mind was only focused on one thing , his dragon. And unfortunately, that didn’t leave much room for thinking straight. It was like a sudden rush of adrenaline that swept your thoughts away.

       Eventually Ralem made it up the stairs. Then he suddenly remembered Arianna and face-palmed, stepping back down the stairs and swirling a great mass of air to make a better beacon. Arianna was not too far behind, but she was exhausted at having to struggle up the stairs with a toddler attached to her neck. She gave Ralem a weary look, “You left us back there. And you were our only source of light.” The child on her chest didn’t look up.

        Ralem squirmed under her hard glare, “I’m sorry. I was so worried about my dragon I wasn’t thinking.”

        “I can tell you don’t think very often,” the Pegasus said haughtily. Ralem frowned at her before running off. “I got to go!” he hollered behind him.

        “Wait!” Arianna called, her words hoarse as she ran after him.

      “What?”

        “Ralem. Seriously, are you thinking? How are you going to help your dragon if you can’t fly? I mean, you said that he was out flying. Do you have a plan?” She rolled her eyes at his stupidity.

      Ralem’s pace slackened and he skirted a creepy frog creature that had almost nailed him with a sticky tongue, “No,” he admitted.

      Arianna turned to the Pegasus, “What’s your name?”

      “Sprite,” the Pegasus called, picking up her pace.

       “Well then, Sprite do you think you can carry him to his dragon?”

       “No,” Sprite snorted, “He looks waaay too heavy.”

       “Well that helped,” Ralem sighed. They had just approached the manticore. Arianna didn’t even bat an eye, passing it without a second glance. Ralem marveled at her courage and hurried his pace, regaining the role as leader. Sprite stopped in her tracks, but when she found she was going to be left alone, she nervously galloped as fast as she could away from the beast, almost running Arianna over in the process. The manticore bored holes in their backs with malicious red eyes.

       It didn’t take long for them to reach the wrecked grand room. Arianna took in a sharp breath, “What happened here?”

       “I don’t know myself. But what I do know is that the first thing I saw was Jaydon flying through that hole,” he said, pointing to the crater that had taken off half of the wall.

       For a minute they stood there, pondering the situation. Then Arianna piped up, “Ralem I have a great idea! You see that hippogriff in the other room? You could fly it out there!”

       “And how do we know that it’s not going to tear me to shreds instead?”

       Arianna looked at him as if he had just suggested that they both jump off the cliff. Even Sprite looked at him disbelievingly. “Ralem, don’t you know about hippogriffs? They may be fierce, but if you save their lives they will never forget it. There’s been legends about it. Now you should go over there and free it. I bet it wants nothing more than to help you defeat that witch,” Arianna called, pointing to a stern looking hippogriff standing stoic, its face blank.

           Ralem remembered how brave she had been with the manticore, resignedly walked over to the mismatched creature. This is probably one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done, he thought. But he thought of his poor dragon out there, with that woman on his back. Quickly, he took a deep breath and unlatched the leather harness attached to the emerald and threw it to the side. The second it left the hippogriff’s feathery breast the beast lunged. The talons smashed into his chest, flattening him to the floor, his breath  almost knocked out of him. Arianna screamed and the Pegasus reared, whinnying. Ralem found himself under a large talon, the hippogriffs stern face just inches away, the curved beak hanging right over Ralem’s neck. It seemed to survey him closely, its intense orange eyes focused on Ralem’s face. Its breath washed over him, fetid and nauseating. Ralem felt the air being pressed out of his lungs as the hippogriff pressed down, its talons in a lock hold on Ralem’s chest.

       “Traaank reeech!” It screeched, lifting its talon. Ralem inhaled gratefully.

       “Well? Aren’t you going to reply? He just told you ‘thank you’.” The Pegasus snorted.

       “Oh. You’re welcome,” Ralem said hurriedly, scrambling to his feet and scooted backwards.

      “REECH RAATAR KREEEECH!”

    The hippogriff studied him with a brilliant orange eye, waiting for his reply. “What did he just say?” Ralem asked.

      “He said he will help you,” Sprite replied, wondering how stupid people could get.

        “I would be honored,” he bowed. The hippogriff bent down on its scaly yellow legs. Before he could get on he felt someone pull him back. Arianna looked at him pleadingly, “Do what you have to do. But please, don’t do anything stupid. Try to stay alive, okay?” He nodded mutely, wondering if he could get another kiss for good luck. But she drew back and joined her foremost fingers together in a sign of good luck. Ralem seemed to wake from a daze and climbed onto its feathery back. He had to angle his legs to avoid the huge mahogany wings that he was nestled between and held the white feathers in front of him loosely. They were surprisingly soft, like down. Before he could get completely settled, the hippogriff lurched to life, galloping toward the throne room. Extending his great wings, he thrust himself forward, the hole in the wall approaching at reckless speed. He crouched his back horse legs and launched through the hole, snapping open his wings.  

         They fell like a rock.

          Ralem wasn’t used to this. He yelled as the earth rose up to meet them.

         Just in time the hippogriff found an updraft and Ralem was knocked to the hippogriff’s neck as they soared upward. Its wings pumped furiously and they slowly gained height. The mountainside stretched out before them, beautiful and vast. But the beautiful scenery wasn’t the reason for the excursion. Ralem wondered if the hippogriff knew where he wanted to go. Suddenly something caught Ralem’s eye. A sparkle in the distance that was almost blinding, even from far away. Jaydon! Evidentially, the hippogriff noticed it also, for he veered sharply in their direction.

        It was very different riding a hippogriff. For one, it wasn’t half as comfortable as riding his smooth dragon, even with his scales. The hippogriff mostly glided, but when it did pump its wings, it made Ralem hop like a rabbit with every wing beat. It wasn’t very steady and it was very fast. The wind was enough to peel him off his mount and he would have if he didn’t have the power to deviate it from himself.

        It wasn’t long before they reached the battle. It wasn’t looking very good. The wyvern was bleeding in several places, but he didn’t look very hurt, just mad as a bull. Something was binding his jaws together and Ralem realized with a start it was the chandelier. This would have been hilarious if the wearer of the decoration hadn’t been trying to tear his dragon to bits.

        Jaydon had crashed into the mountainside, one of his wings at an odd angle. Kat was (sadly) unharmed on his back, mouth open as she screamed at him. Jaydon was blowing columns of blue hot fire at the wyvern, who dived to get out of the way. Then Greyscales struck like a viper, his claws extended like formidable swords, stabbing at Jaydon’s vulnerable wings with terrible ferocity. 

        When the hippogriff had gotten near enough, it let out a battle cry, stretching its talons in a defiant gesture, its orange eyes aglow with the light of battle. Kat’s beautiful brown eyes narrowed. She said something that Ralem couldn’t catch. Jaydon extended his wings. Ralem watched as the tendons pieced quickly back together until their great span was once again symmetrical.

         He and his mount found out too late what the plan was.

         Jaydon ignored the wyvern, which had dived for another attack, and shot off the mountain like a lightning bolt. The wyvern grabbed at nothingness, the momentum forcing him to crash bodily into the mountainside. The boom seemed to echo throughout the valley, shaking massive boulders loose from the mountain, sending them crashing down on top of the wyvern. He had time to utter one last scream before they cascaded on top of his wings and chest, pinning him. He sunk to the ground, a high groan escaping from his lips before a boulder crashed onto his skull. Greyscales did not stir.

         Jaydon zoomed toward the hippogriff, his smoking mouth open to reveal teeth longer than Ralem’s arm. The hippogriff shrieked in alarm, flapping desperately to steer clear of the approaching giant.

        They almost didn’t make it.

        The hippogriff just barely managed to escape the gaping mouth as Jaydon sped by. The wind from his advance smashed into the hippogriff, causing him to spiral in the sky. Ralem just barely held on to the large feathers in front of him, his arms in a strangle hold around the hippogriff’s white neck to stay on. His legs were curved under the hippogriff’s wings, getting thumped every time it flapped. His stomach was twisting in knots, adding a new tie every time the hippogriff tumbled in the air. The hippogriff fought to right itself, its wings desperately trying to fight the wind and gravity at the same time, and failing. They shot from the sky. Ralem was yelling, but his yells were whisked away by the wind.

        The wind is going to pry me off his back, Ralem thought frantically, then a idea popped into his mind, The WIND! Ralem concentrated all his energy on righting the hippogriff. He concentrated too hard on one wings and they flipped over to the other side and Ralem found himself dangling hundreds of feet in the air. It was extremely hard to concentrate in this situation! He furrowed his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes as he fought the wind that was pressing all around them. He focused on the hippogriff’s left wing, forcing the unwilling wind to bend, pushing it up. He didn’t forget about the right one, putting less pressure on it until he was right side up, the hippogriff soaring normally once more. He gave a great sigh of relief, feeling suddenly worn out.

        But it was not over yet. From her perch on Jaydon, Kat had witnessed the whole ordeal with a triumphant look on her face. Jaydon was hovering blankly, but deep within him, he was urging Ralem on. Come on, Come on, use the wind, the WIND, he thought as hard as he could. But it wasn’t much, given that most of him was controlled by Kat. The gem had a way of distorting his senses and fogging up his brain processes, until he was as sluggish as a snail unless driven to do something by Kat. He watched hopelessly as the proud hippogriff spiraled in a death corkscrew, heading for the ground at a perilous rate. Miraculously, though, they leveled out. But this was not altogether good, for at once Kat called, “After them!” He had no choice but to obey.

         Ralem saw his dragon plunging downward after him at the same time of the hippogriff. The poor brave hippogriff readied his talons for the fight in which he surely would stand no chance. “Not just yet,” Ralem whispered, then called upon the wind again. The bewildered beast was lifted dramatically upward just as the dragon sped under them. Jaydon swerved around sharply, and headed straight toward the two again. Ralem gulped. He knew he couldn’t even try to outfly his dragon. So he did the only thing he thought possible.

        He blew the hippogriff backwards at an angle, blowing him over the dragon.

        Then he jumped.

          For a second he was in total free-fall, the wind blowing against him as if willing him not to fall. He readied himself for the impact, glancing at Kat’s shocked face as he plummeted… then landed on all fours in the middle of Jaydon’s scaly back. The second he touched Jaydon’s smooth scales, he felt power ripple through him like a shot of energy. He readied himself for the fight of his life. Kat stood up, her expression stormy. “If that’s the way you want it, then so be it,” she said evilly, “Imagine, your downfall being yourself!”

          Ralem dove at her. But she was too fast. “Stop!” she yelled. He froze. “Now, put your hands around your throat.”

          Ralem knew what was going to happen so he tried to stop himself, but to no avail. His hands crept up to his neck. He stared, wide-eyed, at Kat, who regarded him with a cruel smile playing on her lips.

            Right before she could say anymore, a frantic thought appeared in Ralem’s head. How can she control me? Then he thought of the emerald shining on Jaydon’s chest. It must be through our connection! Quickly, Ralem tried to close the connection to his dragon, which was no small feat. It was twice as powerful now that he was on his dragon’s back. He had done it once before, at the Queen’s Castle. Now he attempted to do it again.

            “Now, close your hands around your neck,” she said coldly.

           Ralem felt the pressure as his hands started squeezing his neck. Before his air flow was cut off, though, he yelled, “No!” He focused on his anger and let it overtake him like a fiery beast, helping to close the connection as he got caught up in his emotions. With some difficulty, he took his hands off his neck, reveling in Kat’s look of shock. Apparently she wasn’t used to being disobeyed.

           But she snapped out of it remarkably quick. “Prettyscales,” she said, “Fly back to the castle. As fast as you can.”

          If Ralem could have fallen off his dragon’s back he would have now. 

       The landscape went by in a flash and a boom. An oval cloud marked where Jaydon had increased his speed. In less than a second they were landed in the castle. And they had felt not even a whisper of a breeze.

         Kat looked shocked. “This dragon has more power than I thought,” she muttered. Then she called, “Stay, and do not let him get away.”  She slid off Jaydon’s side, which was higher than she expected and she fell on her hands and knees, her dress billowing around her. Ralem laughed and she dusted herself off, glaring at him. Then she quickly ran to the next room.

         Ralem was tempted to go after her but he knew his dragon would not let that happen. His eyes caught the leather straps on Jaydon’s back that held up the emerald. Ralem got to his hands and knees and grabbed a strap and started frantically cutting it against one of the dragon’s spikes. The leather was thick and slow to sever. Ralem was almost a fourth of the way done when he heard someone walking toward him. He dropped what he was doing and looked up.

        He saw Kat leading a chained man, the manacles clasping his wrists and keeping him to her side. He was haggard and pale, his scraggly black hair hanging over his face. He had a tall and muscular form with a full beard. He looked up and once Ralem caught sight of his brown eyes he knew who it was. “Aren!” he called out, his throat constricting at the sight of his brother.

        Aren glanced up and he quailed at the sight of the huge dragon taking up most of the room. Kat made a violent jerk at the chain, shoving him to the ground, and called “Grab him, Prettyscales!” like calling a dog. Immediately a green clawed hand shot out and grabbed him roughly by his stomach. All the air was shoved out of Aren’s lungs and he desperately gasped, trying to struggle vainly out of the scaly grasp.

        “You destroyed my palace. You refused to do what I told you to do. Now you must pay. I will tear away everything you ever loved. That ugly woman you came with is next. I believe her name is Arianna?”

        “No!” Ralem said, shamelessly begging, “Please don’t. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t do this!”

        “Too late!” she said crisply, “Prettyscales, start squeezing him. I want him to die slowly.”

         “No!” Ralem said, looking desperately at the slightly frayed leather strap. Aren let out a gasp as Jaydon’s hold tightened like a boa constrictor around him. “Ralem, please,” he managed to say before the air was forced out of him.

         “Jaydon, stop!” he yelled. But it fell on deaf ears. He knew that the leather would not break fast enough. Kat started to laugh at his desperation, her brown eyes glittering maliciously.

         He gave her once last glance before taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes like a diver readying himself for the plunge. On a count of three, he thought, one.. two… Kat looked at him closely, thinking that something was up. Three, he thought, then abruptly  he opened his connection to his dragon more than he had ever before. His body slumped forward and he fell against his dragon’s neck, but his spirit was gone.

        Nervously, Ralem severed any contact with his body. It was terrifying not being able to see, touch, move, or even scream. Vaguely, he sensed a great expanse before him. But mostly he sensed the malicious fog, the tore at his essence like huge cobwebs. It filled Jaydon’s mind like bitter poison; alien and terrifying. There was only one thought, Obey. Constrict. Ralem almost shrank away. This was not Jaydon. He was not a stupid beast. Ralem dug deeper into the mist, and couldn’t shake the feeling of getting lost in it forever, becoming a long-forgotten ghost in a sea of fog. Jaydon, he called. There was no answer. Ralem sank ever deeper into Jaydon’s conscious until he was on the brink of his subconscious. It was so large and uncertain; it scared Ralem that he would be caught there and never come out. He saw flickers of memories that would seem to float up out of the abyss, but would sizzle out until just echoes of words would remain, floating up to Ralem. He heard some that sounded remotely like his own voice, or even Arianna’s. He couldn’t make out the words, but it was still pretty creepy. Jaydon, he called again, hesitantly. This time he felt something push on him like a dog nuzzling his leg. He turned toward the feeling, calling his dragon’s name.

          Then he found him. Jaydon, or what was left in him was in the small recesses of his mind. Help me, Jaydon said, his presence wrapping around Ralem’s, weak and pleading. It was a sobering thought, this proud dragon brought so low.

         Come on, Ralem said, though he was greatly saddened to find what state his dragon was in,  you can get out of this. You are a great Ventus Magnus Rex. Nothing can contain you. Nothing can defeat you.

         Ralem was satisfied to feel the dragon’s pride rising. You’re right. I am the greatest of dragons. I will not let this puny woman turn me into a sniveling lizard. But I need your help. I am too….he seemed to struggle over the word- weak. He finished sadly.

          Without knowing what the dragon was implying he said, Of course. Anything. It was his brother that was in danger and he would do anything to save him. So he braced himself for whatever this ‘help’ would ensue. Jaydon’s essence swirled around him, slowly at first, but faster and faster. As the dragon churned faster and faster Ralem felt his essence being torn from him, and vaguely, the energy from his body. He tried to hold on at first, terrified at being lost. Then he thought of his brother, getting choked to death by his own dragon, and his dragon, who was being controlled by the devil’s wife herself, and he let go of what he had left. Almost immediately, he felt the life being sucked out of him. He fell back wordlessly, weak as a newborn kitten. I’m sorry, Jaydon said as his own presence swelled like a red fury, chasing away the fog in his imposing aura. Jaydon’s essence whipped, taking back over his own conscious, but Ralem was protected from the blast, which would surely dissolve him.

           Jaydon’s pupils narrowed and the iris exploded into his natural electric green. Remembering his Rider’s initial worry, he looked down to find a man that resembled Ralem a little, his head dangling to the side, his face and lips blue. Jaydon immediately picked him up gently by his clothes and placed him on his back, where the man coughed feebly with a sharp intake of breath.

         “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SQUEEZING THE MAN- NOT LETTING HIM GO! I DEMAND YOU TO PICK HIM UP AGAIN!”  Kat’s face was red as a beet as she screeched.

          “One thing you should learn,” Jaydon said, his voice a threating monotone as he crushed the emerald on his chest, “Is that you never, ever, make a dragon mad.” And with that he swelled up, the wind outside building into a hurricane, the sky darkening with threatening clouds. Jaydon roared loud enough to shake a mountain and render anyone deaf. The walls shook as his defiant bellow reverberated through the very stone.  He drew back and his eyes blazed furiously as torrents of wind blasted away pieces of the palace, banishing it to the steep mountainside in torrential gusts. The walls were being torn off roughly like an angry giant was tearing it apart. Lightning zigzagged across the sky like an angry glittering knife cutting the heavens to pieces. Thunder boomed, an echo of Jaydon’s roar.

          Kat’s face was one of pure horror. Tripping over her own skirts, she fled the crumbling room on shaky legs. And just in time. An inferno escaped Jaydon’s maw, roasting the remains in a fiery blue glare. His green scales shown with a powerful aura as he amplified to the zenith his power. Flames licked the great room dry and, flickering from the wind, spread throughout the building, gathering energy and belching smoke as if it were a live creature. Even with the wind, the dragon fire is impossible to put out and unbelievably hot, shining with a fiery blue brilliance.

       With a crack as the tendons locked, Jaydon lazily spread out his wings and summoned the wind so that he would hover over the damaged palace. Several screeches resounded as many of the creatures that had been imprisoned, broke free and escaped the furnace. Several dark shapes ran down the hill and disappeared in the trees, some of them squealing and on fire. The air rung with cries of strange creatures, the crash of the palace falling down the mountainside, and the crackle of the hungry fire.

       Jaydon turned his neck to look at his back. There was Ralem, collapsed against his scaly spine along with his brother. The dragon felt a wave of love for his Rider, who had risked so much to save him.

           As the tempest flared, little by little, the building was torn off the mountain The marble and precious jewels cascaded down the mountainside like an avalanche, but Jaydon didn’t even notice. The rest of the building followed, with a great noise like a clap of thunder it broke free of the mountainside and crashed in a blaze of hungry flames. The wind spun furiously, whipping the fire into consuming the remaining structure. Jaydon roared in victory.

         But his victory bellow was interrupted when he felt something slap his ear. His concentrated was disrupted and the hurricane diminished in its intensity for a moment. How did something get past my air shield? He thought bemusedly. Something crawled from his ear and he found himself staring at a little bat. It was clinging to his eye ridge, looking worn and disheveled. It opened its miniscule mouth and started squeaking, something that only Jaydon could hear over the sound of the raging hurricane. “STOP! Arianna, Sprite, and the little girl are still in there!” After it had said these things it coughed weakly and collapsed in exhaustion, still clinging on to his eye ridge.

          At once the hurricane stopped. For miles around, farmers and villagers sighed in relief as the stormy monster came to an end. Jaydon swooped down among the smoldering wreckage, looking for any sign of Arianna. He had no clue who this Sprite or little girl was, but they didn’t deserve to die. He circled the debris, his sharp eyes sifting through the sad scene. It was as barren as a desert.

          Then a movement grabbed his attention. It was a flash of green and blue, which would catch any dragon’s eye. He swerved to look and found a small pony with wings. It was having trouble flying, its beautiful shimmering wings were burned and frayed. It seemed to be carrying a great weight and was losing altitude, heading straight toward a hungry blaze, which was reaching up to greet them with greedy tendrils of flame.  Jaydon swerved quickly and rushed toward the Pegasus, guiding the wind to uphold her small frame. In a flash he had grabbed her carefully around the stomach. She fought weakly, but was too tired to do much more than flutter her wings feebly. Then he saw the passengers on the brave Pegasus. He had almost smashed the two people when he had nabbed the Pegasus. They were blackened with soot, doubled over coughing. He didn’t recognize them at first until he saw Arianna open her eyes briefly and he saw her blue irises. Arianna was coughing hoarsely, each intake of breath seeming to take all of her energy, the child clung to her, her face buried in her chest. Carefully he plucked them off the Pegasus’s back and held them tenderly in his other claw. They did not seem to notice, collapsing in his hands with raucous coughs.

 And they flew on.