Tall Tales by James Riley

Author:James Riley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

The dragon towered over the sphere, lit in the eerie green light of the protective spell. Real or not, the shadowy figure sent fear snaking through Lena’s heart.

But even worse, it wasn’t alone. A rumble sent the ground beneath them shaking as an enormous face pushed through the trees, a face of a giant. And while it was too large, too close to make out the features, its voice was instantly recognizable. “Oh, Lena,” her mother said, sounding disgusted.

“Mom?” Lena said, her voice cracking. “What are you… how can you be here?”

“I’ve come to take you home, Lena,” her mother said, shaking her head and sending trees flying. “You truly thought you could resist the shadow? It’s already inside you, my love. We were created from the darkness, and that’s all we’ll ever be. How can you not see that?”

Lena’s eyes widened, and a strange roaring filled her ears, like she was about to faint. As if from a distance, Lena could hear the dragon shouting something at Jin, who didn’t respond. The dragon roared, then sent shadowy black flames straight at the protective sphere, so hot Lena could feel them through the magic of the Lilliputian ring.

But that didn’t matter. Nothing did but her mother’s words.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Lena whispered, tears flowing freely now. “I was so proud of being a giant! I even got my epithet. But it’s all gone so wrong since then!”

“That’s just who we are, Lena,” her mother said, slowly smiling. “Listen to your heart. Do you feel it? The urge deep inside to just rip this world apart?” A second rumbling came from deeper in the forest, and her mother’s hand came exploding out, holding multiple trees in her grasp. “It just feels so good to destroy, doesn’t it? That’s thanks to the shadow, Lena. Embrace it! Become the giant you were always meant to be.” And with that, she crushed the trees in her hand, sending wood flying in all directions.

Some of the debris struck the sphere, but Lena barely noticed, still too shocked by her mother’s words. It took a furry headbutt to somehow break through her shock, and she looked down to find Rufus staring up at her with big, loving eyes. “Lena’s mother talks lies,” he whispered, purring quietly. “Scary lies. Scared, scared.” He shivered, shaking his fur. “Lena does not listen.”

“Oh, Shefin,” said a voice from the other side of the sphere, another familiar voice, one that shouldn’t have been anywhere near here. Lena slowly turned to find the Last Knight, his armor now tarnished and black, glaring down at the Lilliputian boy on Rufus’s back, who must have fallen off Lena’s shoulder when the dragon stopped their shield. “You think you can actually help the revolution? I hid you away in the Cursed City because you’re far too small, even for a Lilliputian. You’d be useless in our fight against the Golden King!”

“But… I want to help!” Shefin said, his shoulders slumping defeatedly. “Please, give me a chance, Sir Thomas.

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