Crisanta Knight: To Death & Back Read online

  “So let’s take the shortcut,” Daniel responded.

  “I don’t know, man,” Jason said. “I know being the voice of reason is more SJ’s thing, but don’t you think there might be a reason that the sign is pointing that way?”

  “The voice of reason agrees,” SJ said. “There is probably something dangerous in that canyon. The terrain itself might be treacherous as well.”

  “What’s a few monsters and a difficult hike?” Blue said. “We can handle a little danger.”

  “Let’s take a vote,” Daniel said. “All those in favor of a shortcut?”

  He and Blue raised their hands.

  “All those opposed?”

  SJ and Jason raised their hands.

  The four of them turned to me. “Crisa?”

  I weighed the choices. “The next wormhole in Neverland was supposed to open eight hours after ours. That was an hour and a half ago. I don’t think we can afford to take the long way. We need to get to the citadel as quickly as possible.”

  “The canyon it is then,” Blue said.

  And with that, we forged ahead into uncertain terrain.

  The forest path soon turned rocky, and steep hills rose around us until we were completely engulfed by a canyon of black rock. Its mouth grew higher around us as we proceeded through. Boulders ten to thirty feet high were scattered everywhere, including on top of each other, forcing us to scoot through tight spaces between them or climb around.

  The climbing wasn’t that hard, but I also had to contend with a different issue. From the moment we’d entered the wasteland of black stone I’d begun to feel dizzy. It didn’t affect my balance so much as it did my concentration, allowing the condition to go unnoticed by my friends. As we entered the second hour of our hike, I considered bringing it up. The further we delved into the canyon, the more warbled my head became.

  I paused to catch my breath at the peak of an immense rock that we’d had to scale to get around. As I tightened the straps on my backpack, I gazed at the landscape ahead.

  The end of the canyon was thankfully in sight, maybe a five-minute walk away. Hopefully once we weren’t in the claustrophobic hold of this canyon I’d feel better. I could see green hills in the distance. Unfortunately, I could also see something else. My eyes narrowed on enormous footprints in the ground the size of beanbag chairs. The closest set abruptly stopped at a massive stone a few yards from the boulder I was perched on. Another set vanished at a stone about halfway to the exit.

  Hm. That’s troubling.

  I hopped down from the immense rock a little too speedily and my head spun. It felt like there was static in my brain blocking my focus. Trying to shake off the sensation, I called after my friends.

  “Hey guys, what do you make of this?” I jogged over to the nearest prints. “Look. There are footprints here, and they just stop next to this stone.”

  My friends glanced around, equally puzzled, until Blue spotted something. “Hey, is that a button?” She pointed at a short, flat rock next to her.

  Further inspection revealed the rock’s color to be slightly lighter than the others around it. Creases in the dirt around it formed an unusual outline. And it was smooth like it was frequently touched.

  Blue lifted her foot.

  “Blue, I wouldn’t—”

  Before Daniel could finish his warning, my friend stomped on the button with the full force of her boot. The moment she did, the huge rock next to us began to shake. Then it slid to the left, revealing an underground passageway.

  The steps were enormous and stretched into darkness. I could only see twenty feet or so into the passage, despite small balls of glowing light strung on the walls. A cold draft accompanied by the smell of corned beef drifted upward as we stared into the depths.

  “Blue,” I said steadily, a bad feeling filling my stomach. “Close the passage.”

  She nodded and went back to the rock. There was no reverse switch, so she did what seemed most natural and stomped on it again. Her instinct was correct. The button rose up to its starting position and the massive stone slid into place, closing off the staircase.

  I looked around the canyon warily.

  “All these rocks … How many of them are just hidden passageways?” SJ asked nervously.

  “And what exactly lives down there?” Jason added.

  The latter of these two questions was soon answered. Suddenly, the other stone I’d seen footsteps leading up to began to move.

  “Everybody hide,” Daniel snapped.

  We sought cover behind two stones—SJ, Daniel, and I hid behind the one concealing the passage we’d previously opened while Blue and Jason darted behind a rock ten feet over.

  I poked my head out to see a creature emerging from another underground lair, but I only got a glimpse of a large, bald head before the rock we were hiding behind started sliding aside. My friends and I had to scramble into the open to avoid getting crushed. We didn’t have any time to find new cover, and so had front row seats as an intimidating head rose from the passage. It was pale green like an aged flower, bald and smooth except for jagged ears on either side, and huge. Following the head came an equally intimidating body.

  I’d never seen a giant in person, though I’d read there were many kinds and they came in various large sizes. Most of Book’s were the size of trees and were locked in Alderon because they were dangerous, cannibalistic monsters. Thankfully, the type of giants that grew to the height of skyscrapers only lived in the Wonderland called the Giants’ Keep, where Jason’s brother Jack was famous for getting into trouble.

  The giant we faced now was not the size of a building, but at fifteen feet tall he was still formidable. Despite his protruding belly, the monster bulged with muscles. He clutched a large club made of the canyon’s black stone in his meaty left hand and hauled it behind him like a little girl dragging a rag doll.

  Further ahead, the giant who I’d only glimpsed coming out of the other passage was now in full view. His club was curtly pointed in our direction. “Morris. Behind you.”

  The giant named Morris turned. My friends and I stepped back but could only go so far before our backs pressed against rock.

  Aw, crud.

  “Well, well, well,” Morris said. His eyes were dull gray, but their spark was as sharp as his uneven teeth. The brown, patchy beard on his chin matched the color of the skort he wore below his bare chest. This unfortunate skort was adorned with a belt that looked like it was made of human pelvic bones.

  I inadvertently squeezed Daniel’s arm.

  “Don’t you kids know it’s dangerous to go wandering about the Canyon of Geene?” Morris said. “You could get hurt.” And just like that, he raised his club and slammed it down. We barely dove out of the way in time.

  The club hit the ground so hard it created a pothole. Daniel had rolled to the left while SJ and I went right. The giant followed SJ and me and raised his club again. Just as he was about to bring it down, Blue darted in from behind him and thrust her hunting knife into his calf.

  Purple blood oozed from the gash and Morris howled in pain, giving SJ a chance to fire a portable potion. She pulled out a red orb and shot it at the giant’s chest. The potion released an explosion that blasted him back a dozen feet. He didn’t fall over, but he slammed into a boulder, which cracked in half.

  My friends and I made a break for it. Regrettably, three more giants had risen from underground passageways in the distance and another had popped out of a passage thirty feet over. SJ drew a couple more potions. She launched an explosion potion at the nearest giant and an ice potion right after.

  The explosion potion caused him to stagger, but the ice potion didn’t do anything to waylay his approach. Although its effects encased his leg, all the giant had to do was flex his muscles and the ice shattered. In retaliation, he picked up a black stone and flung it at us.

  It crashed into the rocks behind us and smashed into a dozen bits. I lunged for cover and narrowly avoided getting bludgeoned by t
he pieces. I looked around and saw my friends were okay. Most of them had moved out of the way. Jason had utilized the enchantment on his axe, which projected a small force field when he willed it to with the word “Protect.” Its glistening energy vanished as he deactivated the enchantment, and he offered SJ a hand up from where she’d dived to avoid being hit.

  She took it with gusto, sprung up, and fired six explosion potions in a row at the nearest giant who’d thrown the rock. They pummeled him with fire and knocked him over. He didn’t get back up, so I guess they knocked him out too.

  “The exit to the canyon isn’t far!” Jason shouted. “We just need to mow past these guys and make a run for it!”

  Another enormous rock shattered in front of us, thrown by one of the farther away giants. The impact caused my brain to rattle in my skull. A glance behind me showed that Morris was getting up. It wouldn’t be long before we had to worry about attackers on both sides.

  We all dashed behind a rock for quick, shared cover.

  “A head-on assault is suicide,” Blue said. “We’ll get crushed before we get close.”

  “I’ll use my magic,” I said. “They’re not the only ones who can use these rocks to their advantage. I’ll launch a few and knock them out of the way to clear a path. SJ, can you distract them? Keep any rocks from pelting me while I do this?”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  SJ scaled the nearest rock like an alley cat and began releasing one potion after the next. A trio of goop, lightning, and explosive fire assaulted the three giants ahead. She spun around and shot a lightning potion at Morris. Then she turned and launched four more potions at the giants in front.

  I pressed my hands onto the nearest rock with the intention of summoning my powers to defend us until we were clear of the canyon. Despite having controlled the cliff chunk earlier, I knew I had enough power left to do this. The other day I’d manipulated an entire yellow brick road. This morning I’d controlled four trees at once. Heck, last semester I’d raised an army of bronze animals.

  Given that, you can imagine my surprise when my magic didn’t work.

  The glow erupted from my hands, but when I focused on the rock, the static I’d been feeling in my head since entering the canyon grew stronger. The more I concentrated, the more that feeling escalated, making me dizzier until—

  “Awgh!”

  My magic aura suddenly exploded like an angry power surge. The golden burst blasted me back. I plowed into Daniel, who caught me by the arms. Every vein inside my body was tingling. I felt like I’d gotten punched with a cattle prod.

  “What was that?” Daniel asked.

  I gasped for breath and shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Problem?” SJ called from atop her rock, still flinging potions in both directions.

  “No!” I called back. I righted myself and tried again. I moved toward the rock and vehemently pressed my hands against it. Magic erupted from my palms as I channeled the full force of my power.

  Okay, focus. You can do this.

  Alas, the harder I tried, the more I felt like my head was going to explode. After a few seconds an even bigger burst than before blasted me off my feet. This time Daniel didn’t catch me and I slammed against hard stone.

  Ow.

  I stood up slowly, shaking my head trying to clear it.

  “Crisa, what’s going on?” Jason asked, casting worried looks at me and then the approaching giants. “SJ can’t keep this up forever. We need you.”

  “It doesn’t work,” I stammered. “My magic, it doesn’t work.”

  “Then we need a new plan,” Daniel said.

  “I have one,” Blue said. “Bob and weave.” She looked up. “SJ! Come on, we gotta go. Crisa’s magic isn’t an option. Fire as you run.”

  SJ discharged another four potions before sliding down the rock. We darted through the canyon evading the stones that the giants chucked at us. Despite our desire to stay together, we had to separate as we bobbed and weaved around rocks and evaded the giants’ heaved projectiles. Jason tended to be in the lead of our pack and SJ was at the rear due to the number of times she had to stop and launch counterstrikes. Every ten yards or so she scaled a stone to shoot off some of her potions, buying us precious intervals to run without having rocks thrown at us.

  When we were about twenty feet from the giants blocking our exit, SJ shouted, “I will hit high! You all hit low!” She pulled back on her slingshot and nailed all three giants in the face with slime potions. They started swinging their clubs blindly while they pulled at the goop stuck to their eyes.

  Daniel, Blue, Jason, and I raced beneath the monsters and attacked. Having transformed my wand into a sword, I stabbed the first giant in the ankle while my friends assaulted their own monsters.

  Wand.

  I rolled to the side as a wildly swinging club nearly smashed into me. I stabbed my giant again and his howl filled my eardrums.

  “Move!” SJ suddenly yelled.

  I didn’t question the command and ran out of the way. I spun back on my heel just in time to see SJ fire a succession of twelve ice potions. Her shots were so hard and fast I thought her slingshot might snap under the pressure.

  The three giants were frozen solid; they wouldn’t be able to flex their way out of that many layers of frost any time soon. The only monster that still posed a threat was Morris. He’d freed himself from SJ’s last potion and was now running toward us in ungainly leaps, only pausing to heave stones in our direction, lobbing them over his frozen friends.

  He was too far away for SJ to get a good shot at him. Time to run. So we ran, Daniel in the lead followed by Jason then Blue then me, and lastly SJ trying to catch up.

  The way out of the canyon was fifty feet away—a relatively straight shot, but we had to zigzag around the large stones scattered throughout the terrain. These same obstacles had made the exit to the canyon hard to see from ground level. However, I could see traces of green hills in the distance that promised freedom.

  Debris from hurled rocks shattered all around us.

  Forty feet.

  Rock dust blew around me. The dirt and onyx gravel beneath my feet shook violently.

  Thirty feet.

  The exit was so close I could taste it. I glanced back. SJ was ten steps behind me. I couldn’t see Morris, which meant I couldn’t tell what direction the next soaring projectile would come from.

  I looked forward again. The black rock walls funneled here, and my friends went in a single file line as they sprinted toward the green hills. I shoved my wand into my boot and exited the canyon second to last. I clambered through the gap then spun around the instant I touched down on the other side. SJ was picking herself up from the canyon floor mere yards from the opening. She must’ve stumbled. That’s when I saw it—the light from the canyon exit glinted off a huge stone that was flying through the air.

  “SJ!”

  Reflexively, SJ flung herself sideways. The projectile missed her and crashed into the gap instead. Shards of stone broke from the rock and the force of the wind that came with it blew dust and gravel against me. I leapt back, covering my eyes with my arm. When I lowered my arm a moment later I saw that the opening to the canyon was now sealed off, and SJ was on the wrong side.

  I raced up to the stones and made one final attempt to rally my magic. It was no good. When I tried to enchant the rock I felt intense brain pain and another surge blasted me away. When my butt hit the grass I decided to try something else.

  Shield.

  I transformed my wand and tried to bring it to life with the idea of riding it like a saucer-shaped sled. But although my glow shimmered around the shield, nothing else happened.

  Ugh! What the frack?

  I didn’t have time to worry about why I couldn’t use my magic right now. SJ was in peril, which meant time for Plan C.

  Wand.

  I put my wand back in my boot and dug my feet into the dirt. With all my fortitude, I willed a small patch of e
arth to lift off the ground just like I’d manipulated that slice of cliff in Neverland.

  As my magic poured out of me and the earth began to move, I was filled with relief. It worked! The section of ground immediately surrounding me levitated into the air. I willed it high enough to allow me a view of what was happening in the canyon. As I crested the rock, I first spotted Morris’s big head. I urged my earth platform to go faster, and soon I crested the entirety of the blockage. When I did, I saw SJ at the foot of it, whole but unmoving. Morris was headed straight toward her.

  Dive, dive, dive! I commanded, doing my best to keep the section of earth together. It was not as sturdy as the piece of Neverland cliffside—too many separate particles to keep united. More of it crumbled with every second.

  I shot down over the stones that blocked the canyon exit. I didn’t think; I only knew I needed to protect my friend. About five feet from the ground I released control over the dirt. As it fell apart, I jumped, landing just between SJ and the giant as he reached for her. As a result, instead of grabbing SJ like he’d intended, Morris grabbed me.

  SJ stirred right as the monster lifted me up to his eye level. “Crisa!”

  My heart pounded in my chest. My arms were free, but the giant’s grip cut off the blood flow between my upper and lower body. My wand was in my boot and I couldn’t reach it over his massive fingers.

  Fear and desperation boiled inside of me as I struggled. Then I met the giant’s gaze—ten inches from my face. He laughed and opened his mouth wide.

  White noise rang in my ears and I lifted my hands.

  I don’t remember thinking a specific command. I don’t remember calling on my magic. My subconscious went silent and autopilot took over. Everything that came next was pure instinct.

  Magic burst from my palms as I pressed my hands against Morris’s face. My glow had never been stronger. It immersed the giant in half a second. He cried out in pain like the energy was searing him.