Free The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein Page B

soldiers were almost upon the young wizards, who still were trapped outside the cellar doors.Aldwyn could see Skylar flying out from the woods, a small dark cloud following behind her. The brave blue jay flung a barrage of yellow storm berries at the approaching soldiers, causing a sheet of rain to fly in their faces. A small lightning bolt struck the helmet of the guard with the battle-axe. He tore it off his head to reveal a large patch of smoking scalp where half of his hair had been singed off. As Skylar took another flyby, he swung his helmet angrily, hitting her wing and sending her tumbling into the grass.
    Aldwyn’s charge across the meadow was stopped short by the sound of shattering glass as the tip of Kalstaff’s rod broke into a thousand pieces. It was followed by a haunting wail that seemed to come from the broken rod itself. Loranella wasted no time and struck the disarmed wizard with all of her evil-hearted sorcery. A spear of hot white energy seared a hole straight through Kalstaff’s chest. As the wizard collapsed, the entire world seemed to freeze in horror and despair. For a moment, the eerie stillness of death hung over Stone Runlet.
    Then Marianne screamed “No!” and timestarted moving again. The queen faced her soldiers. “Kill them! Kill them all!” she screamed, motioning at the young wizards.

 

 
    With her back now turned, she didn’t notice Kalstaff stir, his lips forming the all but inaudible words “ Shieldarum resisto. ” The spell barely escaped his mouth, but again three shimmering bubbles formed in the air, only this time they didn’t look nearly as delicate as they had before, glowing brighter and bolder as they spun rapidly toward his young apprentices.
    “Talk about déjà vu,” said the queen as she fired three more ruby needles from her ring at the bubbles floating by her. But now, when the red tips of her bolts hit the protective spells, they didn’t puncture them; they merely bounced off. “What?” Loranella exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise and dismay.
    Before she could make another attempt to destroy them, the three bubbles encircled Jack, Marianne, and Dalton, melding to their bodies and creating a thin, impenetrable forcefield around each one of them.
    The queen glared down at Kalstaff, who waspale and motionless and to Aldwyn seemed even more wrinkled than before.
    “You used your last pulse of life for that ? To cast three Astraloch bubbles? They won’t protect them for long, Kalstaff.” She shook her head dismissively and turned to her guards. “Bind them, gag them, and take them away. We will kill them when the spell wears off.” The soldiers were quick to obey.
    Aldwyn dropped the pouch from his mouth. What good would the glow worms do now that the children were kidnapped?
    Queen Loranella walked up to the captured wizards with a hop in her step. She whistled, and four balls of green energy appeared in the air, quickly unfolding into the four spectral steeds. Each of the soldiers hoisted one of the bound children atop a horse before mounting it. Aldwyn could only watch helplessly as Jack’s pleading eyes cried out for help. The queen hopped nimbly onto the last of the phantom stallions and, without looking back once, commanded, “Ride.”
    The ghostly path materialized again, curving away into the sky. On it, the steeds galloped offand were soon swallowed up by the darkness.
    Silence descended quickly and without warning. It was as if the bugs, brook, and wind all dared not speak. Aldwyn stood in a daze. Gilbert hobbled over from where he had been kicked aside by one of the queen’s soldiers. Then the two spotted Skylar lying beak down in the dirt. They ran over to their comrade.
    “Skylar,” called Gilbert, nudging her with his webbed foot. “Wake up!”
    The jay flew up into the air with a start, wings beating and head spinning frantically. “Where are they? What happened?”
    Aldwyn and Gilbert exchanged a look.
    “What is it? Is Dalton