The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 50

At first, Ajana could only sense the vibrancy and life emanating from the forest, although she wasn't sure if it was coming from the forest itself or something hiding behind nature's lavish garment.

Soon enough, shapes started peeling themselves off the huge trees and breathtaking nature. Kieran's captors seemed undisturbed, as if it was something they expected. That's why it was clear to Ajana that they were part of the 'bad elves' as she called them in her mind.

Soon, tension started permeating the air, and the faces of the elves darkened with worry. The smug expressions on their faces that were present since the moment Kieran fell into their hands, were wiped away.

Even Ajana, as inexperienced as she was, could sense the shift in the magical balance, The fact that Wallace landed on her invisible shoulder only confirmed it to her.

"Be ready to help Kieran. They haven't found a way to restrain his wolf self, so all you need to do is help him get away from his guards." Wallace spoke in Ajana's mind.

She could see Kieran's tail twitching in anticipation while his ears perked up. It was obvious that he could hear something Ajana couldn't, and at that moment she wished that she had chosen a different animal, a more useful one.

That led to her wondering how she could use her animal self to her advantage, and she came up with an idea. It was both brilliant and stupid at the same time, but she was pretty sure that it could work. At least she hoped so, since it would be one way for her current shape to be useful to all of them. Especially having in mind that she had no idea how to use her magical abilities in her current form.

Soon enough, a stream of new forms descended upon the peaceful forest, disturbing its quietude. That was when Ajana finally got the chance to see the 'good elves'.

Their attire was much simpler than the lavish garments worn by the elves in power. She could also note that hard life had left deep lines on their faces, which were lacking on the faces of the other elves.

Yet, the light of determination still shone in their eyes, and it was obvious that they were passionate beings who never gave up.

Their whole posture spoke of strength and life energy, of power and grace which Ajana couldn't help but admire.

Before she had the chance to notice all the peculiarities of the appearance of those powerful beings, who were not afraid to fight for their freedom, the first bolt of magic was thrown.

Ajana had read about magical battles and even seen some of them on TV, but nothing prepared her for this. That was especially true for the mixture of fear and exhilaration that covered her whole being with a thin, impenetrable veil that clouded her judgment.

For the briefest of moments, she got carried away by the energy surrounding her, buzzing in the air, as well as the crackling of magic and power, as it exploded all around them.

It held a similar ability to produce awe as the power of thunderstorms often did. It was raw, natural, and held it's own special flavor of unimaginable power, freedom.

Being who she was, helped Ajana snap out of the power induced daze that was unleashed between the two forces, and refocused her attention to the things that mattered to her, the wellbeing of the ones she cared about.

She could see Kieran biting with his wolf teeth into one of his guard's legs like a rabid dog, but it was obvious that it wouldn't be enough.

The other guard was closing in on him from behind. There were too many of them, and it was obvious that even Kieran couldn't control his magic in the animal form he had for the time being.

Ajana used her invisibility to carefully approach the struggling Kieran before the other elf could reach him and whispered something into his ear.

He let out a growl of approval being unable to say anything since his mouth was otherwise occupied.

Ajana quickly climbed the nearby tree with the agility and speed of a chimpanzee on mission. Then, she hung down from the lowest branch, trying to get into the perfect position to do what she was supposed to do, as soon as possible.

"Now!" Ajana yelled.

A few things happened at the same time.

Kieran let go of the elf's leg.

The other elf reached out to grab Kieran.

Ajana grabbed Kieran and swung him up in the air on the branch her lower limbs were holding on to.

The bitten elf finally remembered to use his magic, but it was already too late. The place was Kieran was just moments before was in that moment occupied by the elf who was trying to grab Kieran. So the angry elf ended up hurting one of his own instead of Kieran.

Kieran was standing on top of a wide branch precariously balancing himself with his four limbs.

Ajana was pretty sure that no wolf had ever walked on a tree branch before, but Kieran being more than an ordinary wolf, was awesome at it.

When he was better hidden by the leaves, Kieran stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"How did you do that?" He asked the empty air.

"With a splash of chimpanzee skill, a dash of magical strength, and huge amount of human ingenuity," Ajana said.

"I think your invisibility is wearing off." Kieran suddenly said.

"Why do you think so?" She asked.

"Because I can see your proud smile, only your smile, I might add." He said.

"Oh, wow. I am a Cheshire cat, and I can't even see it!? That's not fair!" Ajana said.

"You are not a cat. You are still a chimpanzee." Kieran said matter-of-factly.

"Never mind. Wallace would have understood." Ajana said.

"What do we do now?" Kieran asked, changing the subject.

"Well, you are the warrior out of the two of us. What do you recommend?" Ajana aksed.

"Retreat. There are too many of them, and I can't fight this way, not efficiently anyway.

This wolf was made for a school project, not war, my body is not strong enough for this right now.

Besides, they came to free me. I am free. We should go." Kieran said.

"Where to? Back to the portal?" She asked.

"No, it will be well guarded. We should go home, to my home." Kieran said.

"Can you help me move from tree to tree when the branches are not close enough for me to jump?" He asked.

"Sure," Ajana replied.

"Then I'll give the signal," Kieran said.

As he said that, he howled three times, and immediately the elves who came to rescue him started to retreat.

There was still a magical battle going on, but the retreat into the obscurity of the forest was obvious. Ajana and Kieran did the same, using treetops as their playground.

They were soon joined by half-visible Wallace.

"I am running out of strength, but I think I can make a barrier to slow them down. Can you warn your people?" Wallace asked.

Kieran nodded his head and howled one long, powerful howl which was soon answered by others.

"They have cleared that tree line," Kieran said pointing with his snout.

Moments later, a shining barrier appeared, effectively stopping their pursuers.

Soon, both Kieran and Ajana were on the ground running along with Kieran's elves.

Then they passed through some strange shrubbery and on to a new place of wonder.