It was a storm dragon. It was even taller than the massive pillars (which were about 4 meters tall), and its scales were the color of forged steel. There were massive horns protecting its head, and a crest of spikes on its spine, each with a razor sharp edge. Its long tail was edged with razor-like spines, and it had huge, grey-scaled wings. Its eyes glowed red, and each of its teeth looked like it could tear a Storm in half with ease. And around its neck.... "There." Jess squeaked. Luke peered forwards, and saw a book (with a stylized air symbol on it), that was bound in silver-grey leather (that seemed to be glowing) hanging on a steel band on the dragon's neck. Then it spoke. The dragon's voice sounded like wind whistling over flat land. "What have we here?" it growled. "A Felis, 8 Magicals, and a Jedi with a Storm kitten? Never have I seen such odd company." Before Luke could stop her, Thundra blurted: "We've come for the Book of Air, the very center of the power of the gusts of wind, the massive storms, and the air that fuels life." The dragon cocked its massive head to the side. "How interesting. Many of your kind have come to steal my prize, but none have succeeded in destroying me, Hilaljafir, the mighty king of the storm and wind, and the Guardian of the Sacred Mountain. You don't know the power you're threatening to take." "Okay, Hilly-gaffer, or something, you don't know who you're messing with. I've seen this girl lift a car!" Jess yelled. Luke sighed. He was sure that they would be blown to smithereens any second now, given the fact that Jess' tongue tended to get her in more trouble than her actions. Hilaljafir's eyes glowed a more menacing shade of red. "This Book can only be achieved through my death. As the Guardian of the Book, you cannot defeat me." "Oh yeah?" Thundra yelled, and against Luke's better judgement, jumped into the air, picked up a boulder the size of a compact car, and yelled "TRY ME!" before lobbing it at the dragon's head. With a roar of surprise, Hilaljafir swooped upwards and knocked Thundra out of the sky. She hit the ground (unconscious) in front of the others, and the impact sent Luke and Jess flying across the amphitheater. The boulder smashed into one of the pillars, shattering it. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!" Maia shrieked as the dragon swooped down on them. Millie squealed in fright, and Luke realized Jess couldn't walk. He bent down, picked her up, and ran. "HEY! What the--WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she roared at him, sounding remarkably similar to the dragon. A set of teeth snapped shut on thin air where Luke's head had been only seconds before. He stumbled, dropping Jess and crashing to the ground. "OW!" she yelled, and Mille yowled. Roaring, Hilaljafir lunged forward to finish them off, but was intercepted by a potion in the face. He was abruptly slowed down. "Luke, get Jess and run! The effect will only last a few seconds on such a powerful creature!" Maia shouted. Luke jumped to his feet, grabbed Jess, and bolted. Hilaljafir opened his mouth, and a glowing silver ball shot out. Instinctively, Luke ducked. He was glad he did. The projectile hit a rock and turned it into sand. Luke continued to run, ignoring Millie wailing and Jess continuing to swear (quite creatively and mostly at him) at the top of her lungs. He dodged a few more blasts, but was unfortunate enough to trip over a rock, tumbling head over heels into the ground as Hilaljafir blasted the rock below him into sand, and he fell face first into it, dropping Jess and sending Millie into a fit. Jess paused her cursing. "You okay?" her muffled voice came from above Luke's head. "I hate sand." he mumbled around the grittiness in his mouth. For some reason, Jess busted out laughing. "You're just like your dad," she snorted. "I don't know if that's supposed to be an insult or a compliment, but we should run. And by the way, you should probably stop swearing. You might cause my ears to bleed." Jess rolled her eyes, but didn't start yelling when he hoisted her onto his back, piggyback style. "YO DRAGON! YEAH, I MEAN YOU, YOU FLYING WORM!" Jess yelled. Luke knew what she was planning. Hilaljafir lunged after them, roaring in fury. They began a deadly game of keepaway, Luke running for his life, Millie kitten clinging to him, and Jess hurling obscenities at the Guardian. He managed to get a glimpse of Thundra groggily dragging herself to her feet. Only a few more secon-- Luke's thought was cut off when a massive claw slammed into his chest. He could feel his ribs breaking, like vials of acid cracking inside his chest. Luke crashed into the ground, his bad arm throbbing once again. He was infuriated, because the pain had finally gone away, and now the stinging pain was working its way back up his arm. As Hilaljafir charged forwards to finish him off, Luke knew that his enhanced healing that his Jedi powers had given him wouldn't mend his ribs fast enough to get back on his feet. Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking glass. Maia had tossed a potion, one that caused Hilaljafir to freeze abruptly. The effect began to wear off immediately, but it gave Maia just enough time to toss Jess a healing potion (so she could heal and continue the game of keepaway to buy Thundra time). She chugged the thing in one gulp. Luke was relieved. Now he could escape without the extra weight. As he dragged himself to his feet, he realized two crucial facts: Millie was gone, and Hilaljafir wasn't attempting to kill them. The miniscule snarls snapped him out of his daze. Millie was clawing at Hilaljafir's eyes, biting and scratching his face. Matthew took the advantage, and charged forwards, brandishing a spear. With surprising nimbleness, he grabbed hold of the dragon's scaly neck, climbing the armor-like scales like a rock wall. He jammed his spear into Hilaljafir's neck, and the dragon roared in pain, silver blood dripping from the wound. That prompted the others. Becka summoned a wickedly curved silver sword from her pack, while Raj's blades shot into his hands. Chris stayed back to help Thundra recover, and Maia grabbed a potion. Jess struggled to her feet, and pulled her baseball bat out of the strap on her back. She limped as quickly as she could towards the furious Guardian. Luke pulled his lightsaber out of his belt, preparing to fight as soon as his ribs stopped sending stabs of searing pain with every movement. Jess managed to slice off the collar holding the book, but she didn't manage to grab it. At that point, Hilaljafir clamped his jaws around Jess' bad leg. She screamed in pain. Luke ignored the pain in his ribs and ran to help. A couple of bottles whizzed past him, and sizzled and smoked on contact with Hilaljafir's scales, burning through them. Luke jammed his lightsaber into the dragon's side. The brilliant green blade sizzled and melted through the scales, causing Hilaljafir to shriek and drop Jess, who began to curse as soon as she stopped shouting in pain. Then it happened. The improbable. Hilaljafir somehow managed to twist his head around and sank his teeth into Matthew. Luke didn't get a chance to help his friend. The dragon's tail smashed into him, sending him crashing into the ground. Everything was blurry with pain as he struggled back to his feet, the world swaying precariously, but Matthew's agonized screams were loud and clear. Then the rumbling began, and Maia started yelling at everyone to get into cover. The explosion that followed knocked Luke unconscious.
YOU ARE READING
The Magical Quest
AdventureFifteen-year-old Jess has no idea that she's unordinary. She spends most of her time trying not to fall asleep in class, hiding in her room, and eating Pringles. She's not exactly Mrs. Goody Two-Shoes, either. Little does she know that her life is a...
