Fang halted, as if he, too, couldn’t believe what had happened. Rane looked down in disbelief at the sword hilt that he held. The blade was in pieces around the Prenumbra, who slowly proceeded toward Caynin and Chet. Rane looked past the Prenumbra to the Fata warriors whose battle cries had turned into terrified screaming. Their swords had shattered as if made from glass. They had not hurt the Prenumbras at all, and there was no way that they could kill them.
Rane watched helplessly as the Prenumbras ripped the warriors from the glow wolves and sucked the life out of them. Rane’s horror grew – they were all going to die. He had no idea why the Elves had lied to them, and now was not the time to think about it. If he was going to die, he would do so trying to save his prince.
***
Caynin willed all his magic into his legs, trying to heal them as quickly as possible. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen – Rane’s sword shattering. He had led his warriors to their deaths. His legs weren’t healing fast enough, and the Prenumbra was getting too close, too quickly. Rane was still astride Fang– he could make it out of there alive.
“Rane! Get out of here!” he cried.
Instead of running away, Rane steered Fang to Caynin and jumped off his back. He watched one of the faerie warriors swing his sword, and it passed through the Prenumbra’s smoky arm. He swung again and the sword shattered on the Prenumbra’s neck.
“What are you doing?” Caynin cried. “Go!”
Rane grabbed Caynin’s arms and hauled him to his feet. Caynin couldn’t stand, so he rested all of his weight on Rane.
“You’re taking Fang and you are getting out of here.” Rane lifted Caynin onto Fang’s back. Caynin’s eyes lingered on Chet’s wing, as if only now noticing how strangely it was bent – he had injured it in the fall. Rane had realized he couldn’t fly, couldn’t escape, and had decided to give Fang to Caynin.
“Come with me,” Caynin said.
“Fang is the smallest of all the winged leopards, and he can’t carry both our weight,” Rane objected.
Before Caynin could say more, Rane left his side and tackled the Prenumbra who was approaching them. The Prenumbra fell to the ground with Rane on top. He immediately started raining down punches.
Rane had given Caynin a chance to escape. Caynin could ride Fang to the Globetrot-tree and abandon the few warriors who still lived, as well as his Waerie and loyal Chet. Caynin was a prince, and his life was more valuable than the others’.
But Caynin was not going to leave his friends behind.
***
Tarragon rode Vipress to the Globetrot-tree. She was incredibly fast and agile, and unlike any creature Tarragon had ever ridden before. She was intelligent, deadly, and would scare anyone. Once they reached the tree, Tarragon put his hand against it.
“To the Everwhite Kingdom,” he said.
Moments later, Tarragon and Vipress were there. This was Vipress’s first visit, so Tarragon gave her directions.
“We go right,” he said.
The Beast didn’t move.
“What is it?” Tarragon asked.
“I hear something,” she hissed. Her tongue flicked in and out of her mouth.
“What? What do you hear?”
“Fighting.” She gazed in the direction of the sound.
“We should check it out,” Tarragon said.
Why were the Fata fighting or rather who were they fighting? They were violent creatures, and Tarragon couldn’t help but wonder if war was finally breaking out between the four Eternity Kingdoms.
The Beast slithered into the woods. She was tall enough to see over some of the shorter trees. She stopped when they could see the waterfall, the Prenumbras, and Caynin’s fallen warriors. Caynin was on the ground, with Chet standing over him, his weight on three paws and one wing bent at a weird angle. Rane was standing between them and a Prenumbra, with Fang at his side, puffing his wings up so that he would look bigger and more intimidating.
“I can’t kill those things,” Vipress hissed.
“But we can save Caynin and Rane,” Tarragon said. They weren’t allies, but Tarragon didn’t consider them enemies either. They had to become a team and stand together if they were going to beat the Prenumbras. Caynin was a good prince who had much support. He would be a valuable asset when they fought the Prenumbras, and it would be a shame if he died here and now.
“You are faster than the Prenumbras…” Tarragon said to Vipress, hoping she would swoop in to save them.
“I didn’t agree to play the hero,” Vipress said.
“Please do this for me,” Tarragon asked.
Vipress hesitated, and Tarragon thought she would deny him. Then she slithered between the trees, mouth open and hissing. She twisted her body, slammed into the Prenumbras, and sent them flying. She then lowered her head into a vulnerable position.
“Get on!” Tarragon cried.
Rane grabbed Caynin and pulled him up from the ground. That was when Tarragon realized that there was something wrong with his legs. Tarragon reached for his arm and pulled him onto Vipress’s back. Rane got on himself and held onto her scales. Caynin reached down, toward Chet but Tarragon pushed him aside.
“I won’t leave him!” Caynin cried.
Tarragon leapt off Vipress’s back, and, with all his might, boosted Chet upward. Rane and Caynin grabbed him and pulled him so that he was slung over Vipress’s body. Tarragon got back on as Fang began flying.
Vipress turned around and slithered away as quickly as possible. She did not go to the castle and risk leading the Prenumbras there. Instead, she headed straight to the Globetrot-tree, and before Tarragon could stop him, Rane put his hand against it. Fang, who didn’t want to be left behind, landed on Vipress’s back.
“To the Evergreen Kingdom.”
They were there instantly, and Tarragon was grateful the Globetrot-trees weren’t built inside the castles. It would have been a nightmare if he had appeared inside Prince Dagan’s castle. Dagan would kill him immediately.
“I’m not staying here.” Tarragon shoved Caynin and Rane simultaneously. Caynin fell off the Beast’s neck to the ground and landed with a hard thump, while Rane landed on his feet, like a cat. Tarragon didn’t dare to push Chet, and the leopard slowly jumped from Vipress’s back. His legs gave way under him, and he fell headfirst, before slowly getting up. Fang jumped down with ease and licked his face.
Caynin and Rane were both in a position of weakness as the Beast could easily gobble them up. Caynin appeared to be staring at nothing, making Tarragon wonder whether he was focusing on healing his legs, while Rane watched the Beast cautiously.
“I want my sword,” Tarragon demanded.
“Celine has it,” Rane said.
Tarragon cursed and realized that the Beast didn’t know Celine and Zoey were the same person.
“She won’t give it back,” Rane warned. “It is far too valuable. She went to the Elves and convinced them to forge swords. But these swords don’t work. The only weapon that can kill the Prenumbras is the No-Name sword.”
“Why would the Elves give you faulty swords?” Tarragon wondered.
“I have no idea,” Rane said.
He bent down, Caynin wrapped an arm around his neck, and he helped him up. Caynin’s legs were slowly healing, and he could put some of his weight on them.
“We are going to tell Celine and Dagan what happened,” Caynin said.
Without thanking Tarragon, they walked away, and the leopards followed. Tarragon had been so sure that the No-Name sword was in the Evergreen Kingdom, but of course Caynin, the love-struck idiot, had given it to the mortal. Tarragon had thought getting his sword back would be easy, but clearly not. He couldn’t simply barge into Dagan’s kingdom. Dagan protected his power, and he probably had a thousand different ways to deal with intruders.
Besides, Ulric Longsbrook lived there, and Tarragon feared he would poison Vipress like he had poisoned his other animals.
“We have come a long way for nothing,” Tarragon said.