Lumi Sparklewind's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

The yellow roses glowed too bright below Lumi. Then the ground shook. A rank smell rolled through the trees, sour and wet. Something large crashed toward the wild blooms she had just made. Lumi gripped a branch and stared. The magic in the roses had called this thing here, and it was coming fast. A troll broke through the ferns. He was small but quick, hunched low, with long claws and hungry yellow eyes. He sniffed the air and grinned at the glowing roses. Lumi knew the stories. This was Crim Seeper. He ate magic and twisted it dark. If he reached her cottage runes, or the yellow roses, he would grow stronger. And her cottage stood only a few wingbeats away. "Those aren't yours," Lumi called. She dove down and threw a bloom-charm. Sparks struck the troll's shoulder. He hissed and stumbled, but he did not run. He lunged for the roses instead, jaws wide, ready to swallow their light. Lumi needed help, and she needed it now. She pressed two fingers to her lips and whistled the old warden call her mentor had taught her. "Olly!" she shouted. "He's here! The magic-eater!" Wings beat the dark. A great horned owl dropped from the canopy and landed between Lumi and the troll. Olly Nightfeather wore his rune-carved leathers and a cloak of leaves. He had guarded this forest longer than anyone could count. He fixed the troll with steady amber eyes and did not blink. "You picked a poor garden to raid," Olly said. His voice was calm, almost bored. "I've eaten worse than you for breakfast, Seeper." The troll snarled and swiped. Olly spread his wings and screeched. The sound rattled the leaves. Lumi felt her own courage rise. "Together," Olly said. "Now, Lumi." Lumi flew high and called her butterfly. The little dragon-shaped creature streaked to her hand, wings full of stored magic. Lumi cupped him and pulled his glow into her palms. Then she flung both hands at the troll. A bright wall of light burst outward. Olly drove forward at the same moment, talons flashing. The troll shrieked. The clean magic burned him, and Olly's claws raked his arm. He could not eat light this strong. Crim Seeper turned and fled into the dark trees, crashing away until the ground went still. Lumi dropped to the grass, shaking. The roses still glowed, untouched. "You came," she breathed. "I always come," Olly said. But he did not smile. He looked at the too-bright roses, then at Lumi. "He'll return. His kind always follows loose magic. And your blooms are shouting to the whole forest." He nodded toward the old treehouse in the far branches, where the ancient scrolls were kept. "He'll want what's hidden there next. We must reach the archive before he does."