Chapter 25

"I really, really don't like heights," Mira said under her breath as she maneuvered her way onto the ledge.

Her hands grasped the rocky surface of the pillar with white knuckles as she felt the world drop away from her and a sudden dizziness set in. But Mira took a deep breath and steadied herself. When she found a place to pull herself up, she raised up and began to search for footholds.

Each time she took a step, Mira felt she was battling her anxiety. Her arms were beginning to hurt from pulling her up, and the shallow footholds she found made slipping seem inevitable.

The only comfort was that she was getting closer to the top. Mira wondered if Duke had managed to free himself yet, but she couldn't see him very well from this position on the rocks, and she was afraid to turn her head too far.

But then, the rock under her left foot gave way, and Mira cried out in terror as she felt herself slide down. Her right hand managed to catch hold of a crevice, but her other hand and her feet could not find anything.

As she dangled above the boiling lava, Mira struggled to find a place for her feet and other hand to latch onto the rocks. But instead, she felt the grip and strength of her right hand and arm weakening.

Malberic appeared on a narrow ledge about two feet above her and gazed down at her with a smile.

"Looks like I'll have to rescue you. But if I save you, that means you forfeit this challenge … and I win."

Mira looked down at the lava as held on to the rocky surface with her aching right hand. She couldn't bear the thought of letting Malberic succeed, but she didn't want to die either.

A sound from her left interrupted her desperate thoughts, and a figure swept down on a line towards her and Mira felt herself being caught in a strong pair of arms. Looking up, she saw Duke's face, and his good eye was clear of any sign of magic. He kicked off from the rocks and swung back over to a place where they could safely climb up.

"You came for me," she said gratefully.

"Always, sweetheart. I gotta remember what matters most here. Sorry if it took me a few minutes to come to my senses."

Mira smiled.

"Just don't ask me to climb over any more lava pits to wake you up, okay?"

Duke nodded and helped her reach the cliff again, and they backed away from the dangerous pit. The black diamond disappeared from its resting place with a dark flash.

Mira turned around and halted warily as she saw Malberic waiting for them with a fierce light burning in his eyes. Duke stepped in front of Mira protectively as he glared at the dark elf.

"Give me back my sabre, and let's settle this between the two of us. You have no right to go askin' my friend here to risk her life for your entertainment."

"Insignificant mortal, how dare you address me with such insolence. You have no voice in this. The girl has chosen to submit to my challenges. I may test her as I wish. And do not worry about her life; it is mine to keep. I can protect her far better than you ever could."

"You've got a strange way of showin' it," Duke said coldly. "But I'm tellin' you this ends now… whatever this is. Fight me, and leave her out of it."

"You wish to challenge me?" Malberic scoffed.

Mira's eyes widened, and she moved out from behind Duke.

"There's no more time for heroics. We need to leave."

But Duke didn't look at her.

"Let me handle this, sweetheart."

"Yes, let us see what happens when you face me alone," Malberic said, sounding rather confident.

Mira grasped Duke's right arm.

"Duke, no! This is what he wants. Please, listen to me."

He hesitated and turned towards her, but she could see he was still eager to fight.

"You said it was important to remember what matters most here," Mira insisted, and she directed his gaze to the other ducks, still held captive by the vines. "Then trust me when I say we have to free the others and get out of here. Or does this creep still hold more power over you than your loyalty to your friends?"

Duke's gaze softened.

"All right, kid. I'll follow you."

Mira smiled, and she led him away from Malberic, who appeared surprised and angry.

"This does not end here! You cannot escape me!"

But Mira kept pulling Duke along with her, and when they reached the others, the vines around the other ducks began to wither and die. It was easy enough to help free them, and Mira looked up to see the sky darkening.

The other ducks brushed the remainder of the vines from their legs as they greeted Duke.

"L'Orange, I thought you were going to let us all down for a moment. But in the end, I guess you can stay true to your teammates."

"Real encouraging, thanks Mallory. Now does someone mind tellin' me where we go from here?"

Mira started to ask if any of them had heard from Wildwing when she felt a rapid force seize her leg and drag her backwards. The ducks ran after her, but Mira caught hold of a rock on the ground and managed to fight being pulled any farther. She looked back to see one of the vines gripping her leg as Malberic walked up.

"There's nothing in our rules that says I can't delay you by whatever means I choose. So it's no good trying to leave just yet."

The ducks reached her and Mallory and Tanya seized her arms as Nosedive tried to pull the vine from her leg. Duke found a rock with an edge to it and tossed it to Nosedive to use. But then he started towards Malberic.

"No, Duke! Don't!" Mira pleaded. "A direct attack won't work. Surely, you can understand that."

As Nosedive started to make progress on the vine, another shot up from the ground and seized Mira's other leg.

"A little help here, Dukester!" Dive shouted.

Duke turned back to them at once, but as he did so, Mira felt her vision suddenly blur and suddenly she couldn't see the ducks anymore. Shadows and darkness surrounded her, and she felt weak and tired. Still laying on the ground, her head rolled from side to side as she tried to wake up.

But as she rolled to one side, Wildwing was there, also lying on the ground. He wasn't wearing his armor, and the Mask was gone. He reached out his hand towards her as if he could not get up, and she crawled over to him.

"Mira, he came for me."

"Wing? What happened? Where's the Mask and your gear?"

"Malberic found me, but I managed to contact you one last time."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever he's told you about this game of his, it's a lie. You're never going to get a chance to rescue all of us. And I won't last another day to wait for you to find me."

"No, that can't be true. We're almost free. I have Duke now, and tomorrow it's just you and Grin."

Wildwing shook his head as his eyes started to close.

"If you can't find me today, we won't ever meet again. I'm sorry, Mira."

Her vision began to fade again, but Mira tried to seize Wildwing and call out to him. But instead, she opened her eyes and found the four ducks trying to wake her.

"Mira! Look at us," Tanya said, worriedly. "Say something."

But for a moment, Mira still felt limp and drained. She managed to see that her legs were now free from the vines, and Malberic was no where in sight.

"Where is Malberic?"

"He left after you passed out," Mallory said. "Can you sit up?"

They tried propping her up, and Mira found her balance after a moment of leaning upon them.

"What happened, sweetheart? You just blacked out on us," Duke said.

"I saw Wildwing," she said putting her hand to her head.

"You too?" Tanya asked.

"What do you mean? Did he speak to you, Tanya?"

"Yeah, he showed me a way to the cottage through the maze. If you can stand, I think we should get going. That elf-creep managed to delay us longer than we wanted."

"Wait, you mean Wildwing seemed okay when you saw him?"

"Yeah, of course he did."

The ducks helped Mira stand up, and she tried to sort through the confusion in her mind. In one vision, Wildwing seemed fine, and he wanted to them to seek safety. But she had just seen him appearing weak and possibly dying. And he had practically asked her to find him before the day ended.

If Mira should let Tanya lead the way, select Chapter 27.

If Mira should follow her own vision and try to find Wildwing before the day ends, select Chapter 28.