Legends: The Folklore Trilogy Book 2

Chapter 24-Where We Meet a Couple of Nuts

I soared into the air, my huge eagle wings buffeted by a slight gust I hadn't noticed before. I stopped a feet before the Tempter, flapping my wings backwards and trying to hover. My legs flailed awkwardly, and I could feel my balance tilting.

That's when I noticed the griffins below me, prancing around and looking up. The slightly larger one screeched, and though I couldn't understand it, I understood the meaning behind it: get 'im!

I laughed--a weird, squeaky sound--and dove straight towards it.

I was barreling forwards, full speed, and closed my eyes a minute before the collision.

I waited, my heart beating quickly.

THWACK!

My head collided in a sickening thud and pain shot through my skull. I tumbled out of the air and landed on the ground, my wings bending at an irregular angle and I screeched in pain.

My body was throbbing, and my head spun from the sheer agony that was shooting through my back. I fought to ignore it, and closed my eyes, attempting to imagine a cold wave flowing over me. And then suddenly, I was human again, the only remnants of the collision being a mild ache in my shoulder blades and a pounding head. I slumped down into the leaves and the dirt. "Ow," I muttered.

"The Tempter is gone," Deynan called. "What should we call this one? Exhaustion?"

"Laziness," Isaac said. I nodded my head slightly.

Then, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. "Um, I don't mean to intrude," Horatio said nervously. I flopped my head in his direction. He was fiddling with his hands. "What exactly...just happened?"

~~~~~~~

"Thanks again," Isaac called back, waving at Horatio, who simply smiled. We plunged forward into the forest, our bags having been returned to our shoulders.

"How does he live like that?" Deynan asked.

"What?" I replied, frowning.

"Horatio," he emphasized. "How does he live in that little cave with like a bed and food and nothing else? Doesn't he get bored?"

"I think he likes living simply," Isaac reflected. "It makes him happy. And he does get to write things."

"There's no way I could ever do that," Deynan said, disgusted.

"Yes you could," I said teasingly, "you could just sleep all day." Isaac laughed loudly, and Deynan grinned. "Shut up," he said, shoving my shoulder. I laughed.

A bird somewhere in the woods made a long, high, calling note. It was a happy sound. It was a good sort of day.

"Whoa, Ravi, look," Isaac said, pointing.

An orange butterfly was fluttering down from the sky.

I smiled wider. A message from Sierra. It flitted down to Deynan's shoulder and opened its wings, the message starting almost the instant the green orb floated out.

"Hey!" It was good to hear her voice after so long. "I'm so glad you guys can defeat the Tempter things. See? I told you you could do it! Ok, so I contacted Tess and she said that Giselle is getting worse. She just sits it the courtyard with her eyes all weird and doesn't say anything. So if she's fighting back, she's losing.

"I also talked to Seraphina and Magnolia. They're being held prisoner too. The mustache dude and the guy in the chair from Ravi's dream have completely put the island on emergency mode. Are you guys here? The closer you get to the palace, the more you'll understand. They call the dude in the chair The Destroyer. Because that's what he does. He destroys things. He's demolished almost half the forest already. Magnolia is super upset, you should see her. Apparently most of the dryads have fled, but having their trees destroyed is like having your legs cut off: painful and hard to live life after that." Sierra's voice constricted. It was obvious she was extremely upset. "So yeah, I'd say it's safe to say Giselle's possessed by a man working for The Destroyer."