The School for Good and Evil Prequel The Never Prince (fanfic)

Chapter 22

Garth unsheathed his sword as he watched the gators race up the hill.

"Why couldn't I be a wolf?" Scar groaned, wishing he had his fangs. Richard's finger glowed and he instantly had a fireball in his hand. He hurled it at the nearest alligator, but the flames didn't phase the scaly beast. Garth's sword, however, did.

"You guys get some weapons while I hold these things off," Garth ordered. Richard ran back to the castle, Edward following him. Scar stayed by his side, grabbing a fallen branch. He swung it and hit a gator in the snout.

"We gonna stand here or charge?" he asked. Garth glanced at their surroundings, trying to come up with a plan. As he sliced into another alligator, he noticed a shed out of the way. The door was open, gardening tools spilling out. He turned back to Scar and smiled at his friend mischievously.

"Give me a few minutes to myself," he replied, nodding toward the shed. Scar swung his club at another gator and nodded.

After chopping the head off another alligator, Garth bolted for the shed. He half slid, half ran down the hill. A quick glance back let him know Edward and Richard were back with swords. And a pesky reptile was tailing him.

He ran faster, keeping his eyes on the shed. Rather than hoping what he needed was in there, he was praying he would get there fast enough to check. He could hear the alligator behind him, gaining ground. Which was more of a shock for him than anything else.

"Timber!" someone shouted. Garth could see the huge oak fall. He rolled out from under it, but lost his footing and slid farther down the hill. A hand grabbed his and pulled him up.

"Solved your gator problem," Vicky said before Garth could speak. He looked behind her at the fallen tree, the alligator tangled in its branches and unable to get out. He turned back to Vicky, who had a proud smile on her face.

"Well," he replied, grabbing her arm and dragging her behind him, "if you can handle a gator, then you can probably help me out." He didn't let go of her until he reached the shed. It was dark inside, despite the light outside. Garth felt his way around, hoping it was here.

That's when something thick and rough touched his skin. He grabbed it and took it out into the sun. He held in his hand a coiled rope, thick and strong. Perfect.

"Take this," he told Vicky, handing her the rope. When she took it, he went searching for more. He came up with only one more coil.

"Uh, Garth," Vicky said, gazing at the top of the hill. Garth looked up to see the dragons taking action. Scar, Edward, and Richard were surrounded by the winged lizards, drool slipping through their teeth.

"Got here just in time then," Garth replied, racing toward them. While doing so, he tied his rope into a loop, hoping this plan of his would work. "Do what I'm doing, Vicky."

"Got it," she called from behind him. Garth kept running, a small army of alligators between him and the dragons. Without a second thought, he tossed the rope onto his shoulder and started to run along the gators' backs, keeping his eyes on the target.

At some point, the tail of the dragon closest to him whipped around. Garth jumped and landed on it, running along the scales. As he neared the wings, he could see Vicky in his peripheral vision. She was copying his every move on a different dragon, climbing up the tail like a monkey.

Garth reached its neck before the dragon truly realized someone was on him. One of his buddies stretched its neck out, trying to grab the Never prince in its jaws. Garth narrowly missed getting eaten, but lost his grip on the dragon when it reared its head.