Luka skystorm's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

The falcon dove toward the mansion. Wind tore at Luka's cape. Below him the great doors stood half open. The spiked gorilla had reached them first. It crouched on the terrace, tail raised, waiting. Luka gripped the reins. He had no sword now, no quiet plan. Only speed, a tired bird, a floating cat, and a three-legged calf swinging beneath him. "Green fog," the calf said. Its long neck stretched toward a window on the ground floor. Sickly light leaked through the glass. "That's where it came from. I remember the color." Luka's chest tightened. The source of the curse sat behind that window. The thing that stole his feet was close enough to reach. The gorilla saw them and roared. It swung its metal tail at the falcon. Luka pulled hard left. The tail missed and cracked the stone rail. "The window," Luka shouted. "Get me to the window." Jaxon shot ahead, cape rippling, green eyes fixed on the glass. "Wait," the cat called. "It's warded. Touch it wrong and the curse spreads." But Luka was already diving. He had waited years for this. He would not stop now. The falcon skimmed the terrace. Luka reached out and slammed his palm against the window frame. Green mist boiled up from the crack and coiled around his wrist. Cold burned his skin. He felt the same pull that had taken his legs, dragging at his arm now, hungry for more. The calf screamed and lurched. Its weight yanked the torn strap. Luka slid sideways off the saddle. His hand ripped free of the frame. The mist snapped back into the glass like a whip. He hung by one arm, boots-less legs kicking empty air, the terrace stones below. Jaxon dove and hooked the loose strap in his teeth. The little cat could not lift him, but he held the leather steady long enough. Luka swung his weight and caught the saddle horn. He hauled himself up. The gorilla charged. Luka clicked his tongue twice. The falcon beat hard and climbed. The tail whistled past and struck the window instead. Glass shattered. Green fog poured out over the terrace, wrapping the gorilla's own legs. The huge creature stumbled and howled. They rose above the roof. Luka looked back, panting. "I touched it," he said. "The curse is real, and it's still alive down there." His wrist throbbed where the mist had bitten him. The skin had gone gray and hard. "You reached the source," Jaxon said, drifting close. "But you didn't break it. And now it's marked you." Luka turned his gray wrist in the fading light. The window was inside the mansion still. He knew where the curse lived now. He also knew he could not simply grab it. Next time he needed a way to hold the fog without it holding him back.