The Windigo (Eaglesclaw Chronicles, Book #2)
Join Jade, Alana, and West on their second adventure in the thrilling world of Eaglesclaw! The school has been saved for now, and everyone is preparing for the All Hallow's Eve Masquerade. The ghosts of the school founders have come to help with the preparations, and all are ready for the festivities to begin. But Abigail, the ghostly protector of Eaglesclaw, is warning everyone of terrible events. She fears that the Windigo, a ghostly demon whom she had battled many years before, is returning to claim another soul and terrorize the school. Jade and her new best friends, Alana and West, must help save their school once again, questing for artifacts and clues as time ticks down. One week to find the clues, one week to save the school and defeat the Windigo. These witty characters may have saved the school last time, but can they do it again?
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
22
Reads
1,001
A Literal Cliffhanger
Chapter 14
warmer clothes. She could hear heavy breathing in the distance, and knew
she was headed in the right direction. The Windigo was close, she could
feel it.
Maybe it hadn't been the wisest decision to run off
and try to find it on her own, but she didn't want anyone else to get
injured if she failed. Jack didn't need to protect her. Alana and West
had only gotten hurt by being friends with her. She was dangerous.
Her
hand slipped on the cliff and she yelled silently when she saw the
long, white scratch on her wrist. Her arm had only just recently recovered from last month's incident. She winced, but kept
climbing. Only a few more feet...there! Her arms touched smooth
clifftop, and she pulled herself up onto the surface.
She
took a giddy second to breathe in the thin air and look around. She was
tall up here, almost as tall as the highest spire of Eaglesclaw Castle
itself. This was the glorious moment right before she regretted all of
her decisions.
She heard a snort and the shifting of branches, and mentally readied herself. Could she take on a huge beast? The same beast that, if her inferences were right, had killed Abigail all those years ago? She lifted her wand, running through all of the few defensive spells she knew. Impedimenta, which might help. Stupefy would do nothing to distract the creature. No, her best chances of survival rested in distraction and then, when it was busy looking at something else, trip it and knock it over the edge of the cliff.
The Windigo emerged from the trees, sniffing around with its skeletal nose. Up close, it was even scarier than usual. Its face was cadaverous, like the skull of a great stag. It had no eyes, and yet somehow it knew exactly where Jade was. She lifted her wand, ready to shoot some light or feathers to distract it. But it kept coming towards her, and she kept backing up until she could go no further without falling over the cliff's edge.
Just like in her Vision, the Windigo reached out one hoofed foot and pinned her robe. She lowered her wand, attempting to unclasp her robe and flee. It loomed above her. She braced herself on the ground with both hands, but that was a mistake. It stomped down with its other foot, transforming her wand into splinters on the ground, a thin strip of unicorn hair showing between them. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she reached for her last hope- the bottle of Illumination Potion on its chain around her neck.
Just as she was about to uncork it, to use it as a flare, the Windigo extended a bony finger and caught the chain. It pulled, and Jade floundered, her throat constricting, her air flow cut off for a few seconds. Then, the chain snapped, and she felt a white-hot pain against her neck as it slid away into the Windigo's grasp. It made a sound, almost like laughter, and pitched the bottle off the cliff. It was a full moment, Jade counted in her head, before a soft thud echoed from below.
The Windigo pressed her back further, and try as she might, her balance was gone. Then, it lifted up its hoof, and Jade dropped over the edge.
