Chapter 17

The Calm

Morna was not at all happy after Gorgoch was flung out of the woods as if he had been shot from a cannon. The one bright side was that the Leprechaun magic was much more powerful than she had first thought. At least that made the eventual outcome all the more worth the hassle of these little fools.

The time for playing had passed. She never thought they would make it to her gate in one piece, so it was time to unleash her hellish terror.

She turned to Dullahan. “Destroy the Leprechauns and the girl.”

Dullahan bowed. “It will be done. What of the boy?”

Morna smiled cruelly. “Don’t worry. My pet will take care of him.” She stroked the griffin’s feathers gently as lightning flashed in her eyes.

…

The griffin gained a little momentum in a jog and jumped into the darkened sky as the first raindrops began to fall. Lightning flashed and the griffin closed its eyes. It flapped hard to rise higher and higher and when it got several hundred meters above the ground it peered down with exceptional vision for its prey. Once it spotted the swordsman, it let out a triumphant screech and pulled its wings straight back and dove for the ground. The rain stung on its face and splashed off of its beak, but the griffin narrowed its gaze and honed in on the boy.

…

The thunder clapped and Lizzie jumped in response. She hated storms to begin with, but she especially hated them in a cursed forest outside of a frightening castle. She hated the fact that they didn’t have a way in.

“So, how are we getting in?” she asked.

Rory and Biddy exchanged glances. “I think I’ve got an idea,” he said.

Rory shot two arrows at the same time and they found their mark on the top two corners of the drawbridge. Long strings of magic remained tethered to the shafts and connected the arrows with the bow. Rory tossed the strings up to Biddy and snatched them up and pushed against the air with a mighty flap. She struggled at first and Lizzie thought the little Leprechaun was wasting her time when the drawbridge began to pull away from the wall.

“No way!” Lizzie shouted in excitement.

“Come on, Bid,” encouraged Rory.

The little Leprechaun kept on pulling and slowly brought the gargantuan door down to the ground. It made a loud thud, and Biddy dropped the strings and shook the wear out of her hands.

“Great job, Biddy!” everyone shouted and cheered as the first raindrops splattered.

…

The griffin was silent and used the storm to hide its approach. The raindrops around it were huge and shaped like mini torpedos. The griffin cut right through them in a direct path for the boy. It made minor adjustments as the swordsman and his group were starting to cross the drawbridge.

Just before the griffin reached the boy, it stretched out its claws and opened them wide just like it would while on the hunt for prey. The moment arrived and the griffin shrieked in excitement and wrapped its talons around the boy. It’s left talon wrapped up his left arm and its right talon snatched the boy across his right shoulder and around his chest. If the griffin could have smiled it would have as it took to the air and left the others behind.

“Noooooo!” shouted Lizzie. She chased after the rising griffin for a few steps until it and Brendan became a dot in the sky. Seconds later they vanished amongst the clouds.

She slumped her shoulders and felt absolutely defeated. She dropped to her knees and tears ran out of her eyes. Dorian placed her hand on Lizzie’s head.

“He’ll be fine, Lizzie,” she said.

“How do you know that?” Lizzie cried.

Dorian didn’t know it. She wanted to believe it, though, and that had to be enough. “You need to have faith in him.”

“We need to go in and stop that witch, now!” warned Rory. “Our time is short. Can’t you feel it?”

No one answered, but they knew he was right.

Lizzie got to her feet, but she refused to wipe the tears away. They were going to fuel her. She had something more to fight for now and that witch and her lackies were going to pay for it. Lizzie stalked across the drawbridge and the others followed. Whatever lay ahead had better be ready.

…

I should have seen it coming, Brendan thought as he soared away from his sister and the Leprechauns. What was the point of being a seer if you can’t even see the danger that you’re in?

He was shaken and woozy from the sudden ascension, but the nausea was beginning to subside and he started to take inventory of the situation. The first thing he realized was that the griffin could drop him at any moment and he would plunge to his death. That was not a comforting thought, so the idea of slicing into the thing’s leg with his sword was out. He also realized that he had a huge pain in his left side. The pain was stinging, but the cold air was making it difficult to know if it was his side or the wind that was causing the pain. He guessed it was a little of both.

The griffin soared higher and higher and eventually reached the edge of the Black Forest. It curled its path and just skimmed the boundary of the black storm clouds. Brendan had a feeling that it didn’t want to leave the cover of the storm. Bits of icy rain began pelting his face and he squinted his eyes against it.

What was this overgrown buzzard going to do with him?

…

Dorian stepped ahead of Lizzie and through the entrance. She scanned the great entrance hall and spotted nothing. There was a stone staircase on the far left that spiraled up and away into the darkened space overhead and down into a rectangular opening in the floor. The room wasn’t as gloomy as Dorian had expected. There were plenty of lit torches hanging in the chandeliers. There was no furniture or paintings. Nothing that was inviting or charming. It was just empty and Dorian thought that was about right considering the black-hearted owner of the place.

“Where do you think she’s keeping him?” asked Biddy, two feet off to Dorian’s left.

“My guess is up or down,” answered Lizzie gesturing with her staff.

Dorian had considered the same. She knew that they were going to have to split up if they stood any chance of finding her father. She heaved out a long breath and made a decision. “Okay. We’ll have to split up.” The others were silent, but she could read the concern on their faces. “You three go down and I’ll go up.”

Biddy protested first. “You can’t go on your own!”

“You need one of us to watch your back, Dorian!” agreed Rory.

Lizzie listened to the others but she cleared her throat and shook her head. “She’s right. She can look out for herself, but we are going to need each other.” The others stared back at her. She didn’t miss a beat and turned to go down the stairwell.

Dorian nodded at Biddy and Rory and they followed her down. Dorian slowed her breathing in an attempt to slow her heart rate, but it didn’t help. She climbed the steps with her hands glowing and her eyes scanning.