CHAPTER TEN:

THE WENNBAR

Lana and Berda leapt to their feet as the tree house began to shake.

Kree squawked and took flight while Filli pounced on Jason, seeking shelter in his hood.

"It must have caught your scent and followed us here," Jason explained as he hastily gathered up supplies in his sack. "We can lose it if we make a dash through the treetops, but we'll have to be careful. Not all of the trees here are as generous as I am."

Berda simply stared at him. "Jason, do you really plan on running for the rest of your life?" she asked calmly.

Jason gawked at her. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of fighting the Wennbar!"

"Of course I am!" Berda proclaimed, unsheathing her broad sword in one fell swoop. "I won't be so easy to eat now that I can move again. Besides, I've waited a long time to go on this quest, and I'm not going to let some giant, four-legged worm stand in my way!"

"You go down there, and the quest won't mean anything to you anymore!" Jason argued. "Nothing can stop the Wennbar! You're being foolish!"

Lana turned to face him. "We can at least try," she said firmly, causing Jason to gape at her. "If we just run away from every single monster we face, then Deltora is doomed! You can go if you want, Jason, but Berda and I have no choice but to fight!"

Jason's green eyes were wide and full of wonder. "What makes you think you even stand a chance?" The question wasn't harsh; it carried a softer, hesitant vibe.

Lana swallowed just as they heard the Wennbar roar again, and she absentmindedly touched the Belt hidden beneath her tunic. "Honestly," she said, "I'm not sure. In fact, it probably borders on madness," she added with a soft chuckle. "But I made a promise to my mother that I would never give up, no matter what. And I have no intention of breaking that promise anytime soon."

Lana turned back to Berda, and swore she saw something like pride and respect in those hard brown eyes.

Berda nodded and then raced out of the tree house.

Lana took one last look at Jason. "Thank you for everything," she said, "Stay safe, all right?"

She turned away and followed Berda before Jason could reply.

The two companions carefully made their way along a series of intertwined branches, moving closer towards the forest floor.

They finally stopped and peered into the darkness below them. There was no sign of the Wennbar from their perch, but they knew that it was close.

"We'll attack it from above, from two different sides," Berda whispered to Lana. "I'll circle around and try to distract it. You stay here until I give you the signal."

Lana watched Berda disappear into the maze of branches.

Another roar – this one much closer – ensnared her attention and her eyes darted all around her. Lana drew her sword and held in up in a defensive stance, just like her father had taught her.

Which way would the Wennbar attack from? Would she and Berda be able to defeat it with only two blades?

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of the Wennbar's heavy feet drew so near Lana could practically feel it. The whole forest shook violently, and Lana's stomach coiled.

She was about to move further along the branch when her foot slipped in something slimy.

Lana cried out as she plummeted over the edge. Thankfully, the fall was as far as she imagined. But the landing still hurt, and she groaned as she heaved herself up.

THUMP! THUMP!

Lana gasped and held her sword up again, glancing around. The Wennbar roared again.

Only this time, Lana was on the ground; an easy target for the beast to catch.

"This is bad," she moaned. Sheathing her sword, Lana turned back and tried to climb back up the tree.

But the moment her gloved hands made contact, a slippery substance oozed out of the bark, making it extremely difficult for Lana to grasp anything. Where did this slime come from?

THUMP!

Lana turned around... only to meet the Wennbar face to face!

Horror enveloped Lana as the beast lowered its head towards her, its monstrous mouth drooling at the sight of its long-lost meal.

Promise me, Lana.

The memory steeled Lana's resolve, and she drew her sword once again. "All right," she spoke to the darkness while glaring at the Wennbar. "Let's see how well my parents trained me!"

Lana raised the blade and slashed at the Wennbar's mouth. The Wennbar hissed and arched its neck back. Lana barely rolled out of the way in time, and the monster's jaws slammed into the tree instead.

Lana used her sword to stand back up and snapped back to her opponent. She was thankful that her days in Del had made her quick and agile, but she was smart enough to know that she couldn't keep evading the Wennbar's attacks forever. Worst of all, she had no hope of climbing those slimy trees.

"Lana!" called a familiar voice. "Grab my hand!"

Lana glanced up and was astonished to see Jason swinging on a vine towards her, his free hand extended.

Without thinking, Lana reached out and Jason caught her, dragging her up into the air. She let out a loose cry as she was flung unceremoniously onto one of the giant branches, far from the Wennbar's reach.

Lana panted and looked at Jason as he landed next to her. "That was... amazing, Jason!" she said with a grateful smile. "I guess that's two life-savers I owe you now."

Jason smirked. "I'm starting to think that you want to be eaten, Lana. You are the craziest girl I've ever met... and the first."

Lana stood and brushed herself off. "It's not like that, all right?" she insisted. "The trees got all slimy, all of a sudden."

Jason's expression became more serious. "That's what I tried to tell you earlier," he said, glaring at the trees around them. "There are some trees in this forest that are evil, and they will purposefully make you slip and fall. That is the curse The Dark brought into this place."

Lana blinked at him. As crazy as Jason's words sounded, they actually made sense to her. If the trees could turn against a living creature...

That gave Lana an idea. "Jason, can I burrow that vine?" she asked him.

He shrugged and handed it to her. Then, unexpectedly, Lana leapt and swung back down to the forest floor, not far from where the Wennbar nursed its injured jaw.

Lana ran and searched through the trees until she found something interesting: a tree that had two massive trunks shooting out from the giant roots at a narrow angle. It was large enough for a human to pass through easily...

Lana grinned mischievously. But not the Wennbar, she thought.

She sped all the way around the deformed tree and came to a stop on the other side from where the Wennbar stood.

"Hey, gorgeous!" Lana cooed through the opening between the trees.

The beast's head snapped up and glanced in her direction, growling ferociously.

Lana crouched into a fighting stance. "You still hungry? Then come and get me!" she challenged.

The Wennbar roared and charged at its seemingly-defenceless prey, its head squeezing through the narrow opening in the tree. Lana jumped back to avoid its snapping teeth.

But then the Wennbar stopped when the tree itself began to move. The conjoined trunks slowly pulled themselves together, squeezing the Wennbar's neck in the process. The monster gave an alarmed shriek and struggled to wrench free, its prey ignored.

Lana smiled. Now's my chance!

With a fearless cry, Lana jabbed her sword into the Wennbar's neck.

The beast let out a howl of agony.

Another cry sounded from the treetops: "Lana!"

Lana pulled her sword free, the blade smeared with dark green blood. She looked just in time to see Berda landing upon the top of the Wennbar's head, her broad sword digging into the thick flesh.

The Wennbar reared in pain, sending Berda toppling to the ground.

Lana ran over and helped her companion to her feet as the Wennbar finally ripped free from the crushing tree. However, instead of charging again, it gave a strange wail that sounded like a loud whimper and retreated into the darkness.

Lana and Berda watched as the Wennbar stomped away in defeat, its tail whipping behind it.

Jason observed the whole scenario from his perch in the treetops, and he appeared to be astounded by the Wennbar's sudden withdraw.

Panting, Berda turned to Lana, her eyes glazed with worry. "What were you thinking, Lana? I told you to wait for my signal! If Jason hadn't rescued you –!"

"Hey!" Jason called from above. "I wasn't trying to be heroic or anything! I just didn't want that nice cloak of hers to get covered in Wennbar slobber!"

"That's a relief!" Lana shouted back indignantly. "Because I've just proven to both of you that I don't need any saving!"

"Riiiight," Jason mused, "and I'm the King of Deltora!"

Up in the branches, Kree screeched as if laughing at his jape.

Lana rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth curled upward with amusement.