Distraction in place, I made my move. I skipped across the surface of the permafrost, beating my wings furiously while Danica howled with laughter. It took less than a second to reach the drift where my target was lurking and plunge my arms into the snow. A pair of towering, leathery wings burst upward, surrounding me. The Leshi hadn't been bluffing.
I was airborne an instant later, riding Danica as she bucked her body through the sky. She writhed and rolled as I did my best to hold on, feeling my grip already starting to falter. This was not the time or place to attempt to put myself in a meditative state, but I had no choice. I gripped tightly to the unhinged wolf and clamped my eyes closed.
The world faded before a sharp pain jolted me back to reality. Danica's soft fur coat was transforming to jagged quills, jabbing through my flesh. I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain, knowing I only had one more chance.
Again, the world disappeared. I was in the liminal space between dimensions--The Consecrated Planes. Even in a timeless void, I had to move quickly. If I died on the physical plane, my astral spirit would also be extinguished.
Danica's vitality pulsated in every direction, overwhelming me. With great effort, I finally isolated the energy I needed, absorbing as much as my body could handle. The undiluted power threatened to tear me apart, if Danica's claws and teeth didn't do the job first. Death creeped closer with each passing second.
Mustering every remaining ounce of concentration, I warped the astral plane around me. With my mind beginning to collapse, Danica's essence finally became unanchored from the physical plane and slipped across the folds of reality. I continued to push her energies away from mine until I was sure she was no longer nearby.
The stars blazed when I opened my eyes. Night had fallen and Danica was nowhere to be found. I rose up on shaking legs, thrashing my wings to warm them before wrapping them around myself. "Danica," I called, my voice warbling, "I have a joke for you." There was no response.
It took some time for me to realize I was victorious.
YOU ARE READING
ALOJA: The Journal of Pteridophia Anteres Lumina
Fantasy-A TALE FROM THE SECRET SEA- As a child, Pteridophia washes up on the shore of a small village in Catalonia, a stranger in a strange land. Just as her isolation becomes unbearable, a forbidden object high atop a towering sea cliff beckons to her, se...
