Free Jake & The Gingerbread Wars (A Gryphon Chronicles Christmas Novella) (The Gryphon Chronicles) by E.G. Foley Page B

look. “Nothing that would surprise you. We landed in their territory. They just want to kill us—and, er, probably eat us.”
    “Blimey,” Archie muttered.
    Jake nodded. “You lot, go take shelter under that big tree,” he ordered, shoving both girls none too gently in the direction of the largest pine tree in a grove a few yards away. Its dense, needled branches went all the way down to the ground. “Get as close to the trunk as you can. The branches should make it harder for them to reach you.”
    “What are you going to do?” Archie countered.
    “I’ve got to free Red from that harness b efore he breaks his wings.” Jake nodded grimly toward their ruined vehicle.
    The big silverback was fixated on it, slamming the broken sleigh back and forth. As a result, poor Red kept getting banged around violently. He could not escape, because he was strapped to the vehicle by the harness.
    “Be careful,” Isabelle said.
    Jake nodded. “Go!”
    They did, racing toward the shelter of the great pine tree. Jake knew they’d need a little time to climb through the tight lattice of sharp-needled branches.
    But they hadn’t even reached the tree yet when the first yeti—the one Jake had thrown aside with his telekinesis—homed in on the kids running toward the pine tree.
    I t let out a roar and started chasing them.
    Jake scanned the landscape for any way to buy them a few precious seconds to reach safety. A dead spruce tree nearby caught his eye.
    He concentrated hard, summoned up his powers, then used his telekinesis to knock the dead tree over. With a mighty creak, it crashed to earth, landing on the yeti.
    Jake couldn’t tell if the murderous beast was dead or just unconscious, but with it safely pinned under the trunk, he ran to save Red.
    On the way, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a crimson trail of blood on the snow leading back toward the forest. It seemed the yeti he had cut with Risker had turned tail and run away.
    That left only the big silverback to deal with, but Jak e was not eager to confront the colossal, hairy beast. His main objective was merely to cut Red free of the leather harness that had trapped and entangled him.
    Guilt filled him as he approached the Gryphon who had saved him so many times. The poor creature would be lucky if he didn’t break his neck, getting thrown around like that. Jake wished he had never put Red in that harness or made him pull the sleigh.
    All of this was his fault. Dani had been right about what she had said in the sleigh. He should have done this alone. Once again, he had dragged everybody into danger, all because he could not resist the thrill of a new adventure.
    Selfish as ever. I hope you’re happy now, he thought bitterly.
    Then h e put aside his self-recrimination, moving stealthily toward his battered pet lying in the snow.
    Red’s magical c rimson feathers were strewn across the ground; his lion fur was caked with snow. Jake was terrified at the sight of the noble beast hurt and barely conscious.
    He could not tell how badly the Gryphon was injured or if anything was broken—but it was plain the sleigh could not be used again.
    It was only g ood for firewood at this point.
    Which meant they were stranded out here.
    H e shook off a shudder of dread at the thought.
    H e could not let himself think about that right now, or he’d be paralyzed with fear. He had to act quickly.
    The yeti was slamming the broken frame of the sleigh over his head, fixated on banging it against the snow-covered ground. Most of the chassis was caved in. The sled-like runners on the bottom were splintered.
    One ski was ripped off entirely, the other broken into a sharp, spear-like point.
    The yeti paused, looking over at Jake as he crouched down by Red’s side. The huge creature’s red eyes gleamed with a malevolent light, homing in on him.
    “You stay back!” Jake swallowed hard, resting his hand on the Gryphon’s furry shoulder. “Get up, boy. C’mon, Red. I’ll cut