Princess Ahira (36 page)

My family had perhaps not chang
ed as much as I thought. Maybe
the truth was that I had changed as well.
“I’l
l be back.  I promise,” I said.

“
Take care. Try not to get yourself blown up,” Caspian laughed, swallowing uncomfortably.

“Thanks,” I laughed over my shoulder as Tuggles
started for the woods at a trot
.

The second we disappeared into the forest I rolled the letter open.

Dear Princess Ahira,

I suppose
I am the last dragon you ever thought you would hear from. I so viciously opposed you at Azmaveth’s trial, and I am sorry for that.

I will not pretend that I understand your… complex relationship with him, but I do know we need you.

Two days from now we march against the valkyrie. Azmaveth and Zerah will be leading us. It is not likely that we will make it out, but I felt I should try to explain something to you.

The Guardian Charms, which I believe you still may have in your possession, has the power to break curses. It is a power the dragons have long wanted, but unfortunately, I doubt we will ever receive it. Only a human with a strong will can use the Guardian Charms. We need you Ahira. With the power of the Guardian Charms you can break the Keeper’s curse. With the power of the Guardian Charms you can save us from the valkyrie.

Now, I suppose, the only question is if you
want
to save us.

Lady Rose

“
Now that I think about it, I guess Aaron said as much as well,
” I murmured as
I stuck the note in my pocket.

Tuggles, sensing I was finished
reading, sped up until we were goin
g so fast that I couldn’t see.
Everything was blurr
y and my eyes were tearing up. It was freezing cold, and I could feel the familiar zing of magic.

Tuggles was using his magic to get us there as fast as possible. I don’t know how long he ran. An hour, five minutes. Time almost seemed to stand still as Tuggles galloped.

When Tuggles locked his legs and skid to a stop I nearly went tumbling off his back. He had to crow-hop, again, to keep me seated.

Stabilized, I slid off Tuggles, rubbing my watering eyes before trying to restore order to my windblown hair.

Tuggles walked up to edge of a sheer drop. He nickered, calling me to his side.

I stumbled over to him, rubbing my hands together to try and warm them up. I froze when my eyes landed on the plateau before us.

The War

Two huge armies had amassed and were fighting on the plateau.

One side was the valkyrie and their allies: the trolls, ogres and other less savory fairy tale creatures.

The other army was the dragons, l
eprechauns, fairies
, griffins
, centaurs, wizards, g
nomes, dwarfs, and every imagin
able good fairy
tale creature. I think I even saw an elf or two in the crowd.

The v
alkyrie were
singing,
using their horrid voices to create mass chaos among the dragon army
. O
gres and trolls
attacked the smaller fairy tale creatures, like the gnomes and leprechauns, with their giant clubs and chains.

The dragons were fighting back with their powerful brand of magic.
Some shot fireballs, others
summoned huge bolts of lighting
and those who were strong enough shot ice from their mouth.

However
,
most of the dragons were blindly shooting
off their magic, unable to perfectly concentrate as the valkyrie songs reverberated across the plateau. (Some of the dragons
were even taking out their fellow allies.)
The dragons were at a disadvantage. None of them could fly thanks to the mind-numbing music created by the valkyrie. It was too risky.

They were in the middle of a ba
ttle, but my eyes scanned the landscape for Azmaveth.
I spo
tted him fighting about twenty valkyrie.

He disposed of them with dangerous elegance by calling forth lightning from the sky. The electricity ran across the ridges of his scales, frying the valkyrie who clung to him. He remained unaffected.

When the lightning stopped he shook the wilted creatures off his back.

I felt my chest heave with relief. I wanted shout to him, but over the roars of thunder, the pounding of the earth, and the hundreds of battle cries I wouldn’t stand a chance.

It was sheer luck that Azmaveth turned in my direction. He was glancing back to check on the dragons behind him when his eyes caught sight of Tuggles and I on the cliff’s edge.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and he almost started to smile before the silly grin was wiped off his face, replaced with worry.

The ground started to shudder and shake. Tuggles and I whirled around to look at the forest behind us.

The v
alkyrie had hidden
some of their army
in the forest
. They poured out of hiding and swarmed around the dragon army like a black cloud.
The air was filled with war cries and the beating of drums as the second wave of Valkyrie flew in on their black beetle wings. 

The dragons had been hurting before, but now they were s
mashed between
two fronts.

Dozens of valkyrie
, i
n their black battle gear, launched a surprise attack at
Azmaveth, leaping at him while hundreds of the valkyrie raised their voices in song.

Azmaveth
bellowed in pain as they
stabbed him with their swords, slipping their blades in the gap between his scales.

Zerah rushed to his aid, shootin
g sheets of ice at the warrior valkyrie. The valkyries’ voices hit him like a landslide, and he was physically knocked backwards as their warbling voices throbbed.

Th
e entire dragon army was being crushed.

Behemoth roar
ed, his snarl overpowering all other noise.
He took out a great number of evil immorta
ls with a fearsome wall of fire. H
owever, a large group of ghost like creatures drifted up to him and clamped his mouth together while blocking his nose
. He passed out, unable to breath.

One by one I saw the dragons I knew, Rose, Shammah, the white female who had spoken for me in the trial, even the evil
Blacksford, fa
ll to the ground as the
valkyrie swept over them like a tidal wave
. 

Tiny gnome warriors bravely hurled stones at the v
alkyrie.
A huge troll scattered thei
r forces with one giant swipe. The night griffon Azmaveth, as Kohath,
had fought took flig
ht with a legion of griffons, not affected by the valkyries’ voices as the other creatures were.  They attacked the v
alkyrie with their cl
aws and magic, but half of the v
alkyrie army rose to meet them in the air, armed with bows and quivers full of arrows.

The ground continued to tremble and Tuggles and I fought to stand upright as the earth shook under our feet. 

A
n unearthly cry
echoed across the plateau.  It was
Azmaveth, blood
dripping down his side as the v
alkyrie continued to pour over him. 

Their singing was starting to fog up
my mind, but I felt the edge of the cliff I was standing on br
eak. As
the rocky ground
broke off and fell down, I went down with it. 

Through the hazy depths of my mind I saw Azmaveth as
I plummeted toward the ground.

My left shoulder scraped along the cliff
wall and I cried out in pain.
I closed my eyes, expecting to die any second
,
when I was unple
asantly jolted into the cliff.
My backside
burnt
like fire, and my feet
dangled
in th
e air.

I was still about
twenty feet above the ground. T
he collar of my dress
was pulled tight, nearly choking me. I wrenched my neck up.

Tuggles was holding me by the neckline of my dress, his legs carefully planted on the clif
f
side.
He had slid down
with me, but he had managed to wedge his hooves into the cliff side and snatch me from the air as well. 

We slowly sk
id down the wall at a much slower rate, and five feet before we reached the bottom my collar
ripped and I dropped to the ground
in a heap.

Tuggles leaped to the bottom and stumb
led before gently righting himself.
I think he might have
hurt his leg on the way down. He tossed his head, his pearly horn gleaming.

I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck.

“Thank you Tuggles,”
I said before
turning around and running.
I heard him n
eigh as I plunged into the battlefield.

Now this might have been the craziest, dumbest, and
stupidest
thing I have ever done, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

The v
alkyrie were too busy subduing the dragons to bot
her with the rest of the army.
So as I scampered past a group of mages, who didn’t see me, my biggest worry were the ogres and trolls.

By now
I believe you must at least have
some
idea of what my luck is like, so yo
u can guess what happens next.
A huge troll blocked my pathway, and of course it had to be the biggest a
nd baldest troll in the entire v
alkyrie army.

I turned around, about to call th
e mages for help, but they were
teamin
g up against an
ogre.

I studied the big troll with a wrinkled forehead. I didn’t have time for this, I had to find Azmaveth. “You remind me of Jezbell,” I told the troll before diving between its legs. I picked myself up and ran off before it could process I was gone.

I wove in and out of the two armies, miraculously com
ing out by Azmaveth unscathed. I
crawled up his neck and slid onto his forehead where I leaned back and ga
zed at one of his giant eyes. H
is body
shudder
ed
as he opened his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have returned,” he gurgled
.

“Azmaveth,” I cried. “I’m so sorry,”
I sobbed on his forehead. “I’
m so sorry.”

“Aww,
isn’t this a touching scene?” a
nasally
, high-pitched voice screeched.

I looked to stare at a v
alkyrie who was de
cked out in emerald green armor. A
ridiculously giant g
old crown perched on her head. She could only be the
Grand Master that Trila
had told me about so long ago. How did I know? (Besides the giant giveaway of the gol
d crown.) Well, she was preeetty
ugly
. 

“The great
Azmaveth
and his little p
rincess!” she sneered.
“Ev
en
battles cannot separate them,” s
he laughed.

Slowly I reclined back against Azmaveth’s head. “Azmaveth,” I hissed, trying not to move my lips. “How do I use the bracelet?”

“So revoltingly sweet, isn’t it?” the Grand Master asked some of her guards.

“What?” Azmaveth whispered.

“The Guardian Charms! How do I use them?” I urgently growled.

“You’ll never have Tsol,” Zerah promised, some distance behind Azmaveth and I. His voice was catching, as though he found it hard to breathe.

T
he Great Moron
laugh
ed. “Why master duke,
I’ve already won!
Your little army has been dashed to pieces.
Speaking ill of me will not ear
n you an ear
ly
death,” she promised with a smirk.

“You want to use them?” Azmaveth asked.

“Of course I do! So shut up and tell me how!” I hissed, hoping the valkyrie wouldn’t notice our hushed conversation.

“I don’t know,” Azmaveth admitted.

I hoped he would turn back into Kohath some
time in the future
just so I could throttle him with my own two hands. “What do you MEAN you don’t know?!” I hissed.