I wait as everyone gets themselves prepared to leave. I approach the tree Reaper is in to see the she-bird has warmed up to him. She nuzzles her beak into the feathers on his chest, preening them.
‘Congratulations, Reaper, I see Alec’s advice helped,’ I mind-link and smile.
‘Thanks, but Alec’s advice wasn’t working. She has been quite stubborn,’ he mind-links.
‘Then how?’
‘Not even an hour ago, she was being attacked by a large eagle trying to kill her and take over her territory. He had her by the wing, about to rip it off. I used my shadow power against him, making him burst into ash. The ash rained down on us like snow as she stared into my eyes. After a few moments, she gently leaned against me and started preening my feathers and singing to me,’ he says and holds his head high proudly.
‘Oh, Reaper, you romantic little hero. You saved your damsel in distress and won her heart,’ I wink at him.
Reaper spreads his wings and warbles happily in song. I’m so happy for him. ‘I guess I’ll give you two some alone time before we go through the portal shortly,’ I say, waving as I walk away to have some alone time with Alec before we leave.
***
I have all the guardians of Mysteria step through the star portal to port to Wolfwell. I place the sceptre in my satchel and jump through the portal. Together, we walk over the small rocky mountain. We can see Moon Crest Castle from the peak.
I stop and turn to face the guardians, ‘Are you all sure you are ready for this? If any of you are having second thoughts. Now is the time to back out. Once we are off this mountain, there is no turning back.’
Lilac, Ria, Kadva and everyone else all look at one another with uncertainty. Ember, in her fox form, rubs her face against my leg. I look back to every guardian staring at me with their heads held high.
Sir Hugo unsheathes his sword and holds it in the air, ‘For the King! For the Queen! For Mysteria,’ he shouts.
‘For Mysteria!’ we cheer back.
With adrenaline coursing through our veins, we run down the rocky mountain. I’m coming, Magnus. We will be together again.
I turn and face Vermilion, ‘You are too large to sneak into the castle grounds with us. Perhaps You could find where the dragons are and blend in with them. You might be able to occupy them to help slow them down or stop them from coming to attack us,’ I suggest to him.
He snorts out a few clouds of smoke from his nostrils and flaps his wings to descend into the sky. The guardians and I watch as he flies around the back of Moon Crest Castle until we can no longer see him.
We crouch in the small patches of high grass that haven’t been destroyed outside the grounds of Moon Crest Castle. Reaper blends in with the crows in the dead trees to keep watch ahead of us. His little mate wouldn’t stay in Mystic Pride and followed Reaper through the portal. She continues to preen his feathers at each chance she gets.
Crouching, we sneak up and surround four minotaurs. Lilac whispers a spell, ‘mutify,’ towards them as soon as they spot us. I’d never heard that one before. They try to shout, but no words come out.
Then Ria casts the next spell ‘Dreamus Sleepous,’ she says.
I watch as the minotaur’s eyes close. They fall asleep and drop to the ground.
I smile and nod at her before we creep closer to the castle. There are a dozen minotaurs and harpies ahead. I notice a harpy look our way. We become steel and remain in our crouching position. The harpy squints and flies up into the air, where she can see us. She lets out a scream of attack and flies toward us. The others follow her.
‘Repeliate, Inferno Flamo, Skedaddle Dash, Restraino Detainous,’ are shouted by Yiselda, Lilac, Ria, Ela and Fern. Queen Maia forms purple spheres in her hands while Kadva summons blue spheres. Together they throw them, obliterating any of the creatures they hit. Alec and Reaper summon shadows that wrap around the harpies. The shadows squeeze around them, making them explode into dust. Sir Hugo swing’s his sword, cutting the head off a harpy and striking the minotaur in the back and legs. Within minutes they are all dead.
We proceed, defeating the odd minotaur and harpy until five death worms surround us and lunge out from the ground. Sir Hugo runs up behind one and lunges into the air, wielding his sword. He lands below the neck of the death worm, where his sword rips through the soft, slimy skin of the death worm with ease. As I’m about to cast the fire spell on the next, Sir Hugo dashes by slicing it open, then to the next and the next until they are all dead. He wipes the blood and slime from his sword onto his leg and then looks up at us all, who are speechless at how quickly and easily he has killed them.
‘What?’ he asks, sheathing his sword.
We look at one another, ’Er, nothing. It’s nothing,’ I smile.
‘Don’t tell me you bunch of guardians are sad I didn’t leave one for you to kill?’ he smirks.
‘Sure, don’t be so greedy next time,’ Kadva laughs.
We laugh with him before sneaking up to the low stone wall. I gasp as I see all the men are no longer in the cages but in chains on the ground. Most of them are covered in cuts and bruises. The werewolves’ wounds aren’t as bad as the vampires, though. Werewolves must heal faster. They must have been in a worse state earlier.
The women and children remain caged.
‘Can you see Damon?’ Queen Maia frets.
‘No, I can’t see Magnus either,’ I say as I scan the men.
Minotaur walk by the men and shoves them over. Some spit at them as well.
We attack the minotaur and use our fire spells to melt the chains and free the men. Queen Maia tries to heal as many of them as she can. The healed werewolves shift into their wolf form to help defeat more minotaurs and harpies. The vampires become raged as their nails extend into claws and the veins along their necks and faces become visible as their eyes darken.
We hear a loud growl and know it’s Thypon approaching. As Thypon becomes aware he is under attack, he slithers from behind the castle with his staff in one hand and long chains in the other.
‘You think you have any chance of defeating me?’ he laughs, making the ground shake.
My eyes follow the chains he holds to see Magnus and Damon chained around the neck on the other end. Their hands are also cuffed together. They are barely conscious and covered in blood. Thypon drags them across the ground, laughing.
‘Damon!’ Maia shouts.
‘Magnus!’ I shout.
‘After much torture, my minotaur made your men endure. They had your people confess to who ruled here and had the highest ranks,’ Thypon says and yanks the chains, bringing Magnus and Damon in front of him, pointing his staff at them.
I quickly step forward, and the guardians stand together behind me, ‘Stop!’ I shout.
Thypon laughs, ‘Yield and become my slaves until I figure out how to leave this hideous world, and I might consider sparing these two pathetic lives.’
‘Even if you were to find a way out. You would still destroy Mysteria and everyone in it before leaving,’ I shout.
Thypon narrows his eyes at me, ‘You’re a clever little one, aren’t you,’ he smirks. ‘But your magic is no match for mine, which gives you two choices. Yield and serve me, and in return, you live longer and die later or die now with all your loved ones. Which one shall it be?’
‘Without me, you will never know how to leave Mysteria,’ I smile.
‘Are you saying you know the way out?’
‘I do, but even then. You will never leave Mysteria again. You will never harm another realm, another world ever again,’ I say to him.
Thypon bursts into laughter, ‘Oh, you’re very funny. I think I will keep you caged up to entertain me while the rest of your friends die! How do you suppose you will keep me from leaving,’ he laughs.
I smile at him, reach into my satchel, open the lid of the trinket box, and slide it across the ground toward him.
‘And what is that?’ he asks.
‘Your new home,’ I answer.
‘You fool,’ he shouts, ‘If you think you are going to keep me locked up in a box, then you have another thing coming,’ he shouts and aims his staff at us.
A beam of flame shoots toward us. I hold my hands up, creating a sheer rippling dome to shield us. Thypon looks impressed but continues to try to burn through my shield.
Sweat forms across my forehead. The shield won’t last any longer. Kadva places his hand on my arm. I feel his power flow through my arm, entwining with mine. It makes the shield stronger, but it still isn’t enough.
Reaper mind-links me, ‘This is the time when you need to absorb my power,’ he says.
I nod and concentrate on Reaper, who’s perched on Alec’s shoulder. The black mist that emits from him begins to flow from his body into mine. The shield strengthens, but Thypon creates a large blue electric bolt that shoots down his staff, merging with the flame. As it hits the shield, I almost falter back from the force, but Quinn uses her magic to hold me up. I smile down at her and look back at Thypon. He is too strong. I need to use the sceptre.
‘Even with all of you combining your powers, it will never be enough to seal me,’ he says.
Reaper isn’t looking too good as I drain him of his power.
I need to distract Thypon. Then I can grab the sceptre from my bag and transform into a deity. Then I won’t have to risk draining Reaper of all his power and possibly his life, ‘I’ll tell you the way out of here,’ I say to Thypon.
He pauses. The flame and electricity dissipate, ‘Go on?’ he says.
‘It’s not a matter of how to leave but when,’ I say to him.
Thypon tilts his head and waits for me to explain.
‘The midsummer solstice is the only time a deity can cross through the veil.’
‘What!’ he shouts angrily, ‘I’m not waiting the rest of the year stuck in this treacherous place!’ he yells.
‘You won’t be,’ I smile. ‘You’ll be spending it in your little trinket box.’
He stares at me, confused.
I hear the Moon Goddess, Ogrum, Valkrim and Cerridwen whispering to me, calling me to take the sceptre. I remove the satchel from over my shoulder, take the sceptre out and toss the bag aside.
Thypon’s eyes widen with shock, ‘No,’ he says, his eyes narrowing angrily at me.
