“Ignatius? What is this sorcery?”

  “Elementals.” He replied coldly. “Undead slave spirits of perverted magic. They’ve been sent to finish us off.”

  “There’s nowhere for us to run.” Said Idris. “How do we escape them?”

  “They block our way, so it would appear that must fight again.” said the witch. “But these foes will not fall easily to sharpened steel. Magic holds these beasts together. If we are to survive, we must separate the magic from the body.”

  “You speak in riddles, Ignatius.” Said Hoxley. “If steel is no use, then what good are our weapons?”

  “Steel may be useless, but the arcane properties of your lythiuum weapons may still prove to be of some use. If they can damage these beasts, then perhaps we’ll make an opportunity to get past them and down the mountain.

  “What about my lightning?” asked Siouxsie. “If they arrived by lightning, then perhaps they can be dispelled by it.”

  “Good thinking, little sister.” He said. “But the elementals will likely have no metal within them to target your spell.”

  “I want to try! I’ve rested a little! I have more bolts!” she insisted.

  “And my fire.” Offered Robert. “Snow doesn’t do well against fire.”

  “Very well. Begin casting. Siouxsie, give me your broom.” She handed it to him and he pulled away the bristles hiding the shimmering lythiuum tip.

  “What’s our plan of attack?” asked the prince

  “The elementals are burly and slow like a cyclops.” Said Hoxley. “We only need to fight the three to the west. The others we can outrun.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Morell asked Hoxley

  “You and your magical mace will be of great use if it can inflict damage on their legs. Perhaps if we topple them, they will be easier to finish off.” She said “Same to you, your highness. I saw the power your shield demonstrated in Bohga’s cave. Now is the time to unleash that power if we are to survive this. If we attack ferociously enough, we won’t have to fight the three to the east! The witches are starting their cast! Siouxsie, don’t strike until we’re clear or you could very well hit us by mistake!”

  “I’ll blow my witchle before I send it!” she said.

  “Well done!” Said Hoxley. “There’s the plan! Stick to it and we may see all may live to see another day! To arms!” She yelled with her spear in the air. “Prepare to defend yourselves!”

  “To arms!” The others cried in return with their weapons high. Boots and hooves jumped from the tall stone to land in the snow. Behind them, Siouxsie and Robert stood their ground with arms raised to the sky. Hoxley and Ignatius led the way, their strides matching one another as their long limbs carried them down the slopes. Already, Robert’s fireballs were whizzing over their heads and striking the beasts and causing them anguish as they sizzled. The closer the companions got to the elementals the more hideous they became Twisted visages with eye sockets as black as pitch stared them down. Hoxley charged faster and approached the first one but held herself short of striking distance. The elemental snarled down at her, raising its right arm and the icy claws each as long as a plow shear. With a fearsome roar it reared its claws back and swung. Hoxley took advantage of the beasts’ enormity to charge forward and duck between its legs as the claw tore up the snow and ground beneath it. She wasted no time in spinning her spear about to take a mighty swing. The weapon shone in the morning sun like a divine thing, puncturing the elemental’s lower abdomen from the back and sending fissures racing across the rest of its body. With the elemental’s hand still in the snow, Ignatius came rushing after clutching Robert’s broom. Before the elemental could withdraw its arm, Ignatius used its gargantuan hand as a step as he raised the broom over his head. The witch’s silver hair whipped in the wind as he leapt high into the air and drive the broom’s tip deep into the ice monster’s chest. A pained cry filled the air before it recovered enough to strike at the man clinging to its chest. Seeing its attack, Ignatius drove his foot hard against the ice to yank the broom spear free just in time to keep from being sliced by the icy fingers of death. He fell to land crouched in the snow at its feet. Above him, the beast’s hands balled into fists prepared to crush him. Just then, the end of a long spear appeared just in front of his face.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Grab hold!” yelled Hoxley from the other end. Ignatius grasped the end and the centaur pulled him between the monster’s legs a split second before the frosty hands could smash him to jelly. When he got his footing, Hoxley and Ignatius struck in unison to attack the back of the monster’s legs. More fissures and cracks appeared in the elementals’ body but it didn’t relent. It kept coming, turning about to face them, it charged again.

  Not thirty paces away, Idris, Prince Damron, and Morell rushed the second beast, cries of war bursting from their lips as they ran. The man ran in first, yelling and waving to get the monsters attention. The plan worked; the elemental’s gaze tracked the man as her ran around its left side, leaving it open to attack from the two boys that followed only seconds behind. Morell only slowed his attack to keep his shows from sliding on the ice as he hauled the mace back over his shoulder before unleashing a wild swing with his mace. The lythium contacted with the ice being’s left leg causing the entire limb to shatter. Chunks of ice exploded out the back as the swing amputated an entire section of the leg below the knee and sent shards scattering across the mountain side. It flailed, trying to stay upright. But when another scorching fireball came screaming in to strike it square in the chest, the beast became unbalanced. With a sorrowful wail, the elemental toppled and fell backward. The impact shook the mountain so violently that all the companions staggered to keep their footing lest they slide off the edge. Each of the fighters pondered their next moves when the long sharp tone of a witchle filled the air, every ear perked to catch its shrillness.

  “There’s the signal!” Hoxley called loud and clear in the freezing air. “Retreat! Retreat to the crest!” The companions wasted no time in racing back to the rally point. She backed herself away from her slow adversary as it continued to stalk her with hungry malevolence glaring her down from hollow sockets.

  “Tinder and Cinder!” Ignatius shouted before launching a barrage of fireballs to pepper the monster’s head. “Back, fiend, back!” The attack slowed the creature but did not stop it. Hoxley and Ignatius corralled the others to run ahead of them as they brought up the rear. Looking back, two of the monsters followed while the third with the missing leg lagged behind using its remaining limbs to claw a way forward. They each climbed the crest to find that the three to the east were moving ever closer. Above their heads, magic black clouds continued to swirl and churn

  “Now, Siouxsie!” said Robert. “Throw it!” The witch sighted up all six of the creatures with pitchfork fingers before lifting her voice.

  “Furious cumulus!” she shouted. Lightning bolts fell from the sky in droves. For their power, they were anything but accurate. One bolt glanced the shoulder of the lead monster, the others missed entirely.

  “She missed!” exclaimed Prince Damron

  “How did you miss, sis?” asked Robert.

  “There’s no metal in them! I’m still learning, remember? Why are you standing there and not casting?” she asked. “Are you out of fireballs?”

  “No!” he said with some surprise.

  “Then get to slinging! Those things are getting closer!” Taking her advice, Robert fired another two blasts.

  “What are we going to do if she can’t hit them with her magic?” asked Idris. “They’re almost upon us!”

  “I don’t know.” Said Hoxley. “Ignatius?”

  “I cannot say.” He replied. “It’s a shame the prince’s uncle did not send iron golems to attack us.” For a moment, the situation seemed hopeless. A terrible hush fell over them as no one seemed to have an idea….…until Prince Damron asked a most important question.

  “What if they had metal in them?”

  “If wishes were horses, then everyone could ride.” Huffed Robert. “If they had metal in them then Siouxsie could zap them all at the same time and this mess would be resolved faster than you can say ‘pumpkin bread’.”

  “Then what if we put the metal in them?” he asked

  “There is no metal in the ice elementals.” Added Ignatius. “That’s because they’re only made of ice and magic.” Hearing this, the boy’s eyes looked back to his boots and he stopped talking. Hoxley saw this and took a knee to be eye level with him, placing a reassuring hand upon his shoulder.