“Let me try something,” said Alex, shifting his staff in his hand. “I’ll create the illusion of men on horseback. If the thunderbird is close, it should attack them.”

“We should be ready to flee into the caves,” Arconn suggested. “When the thunderbird finds that it has been deceived, it might come here looking for the source of the trick.”

“A wise idea,” Thrang agreed.

Alex nodded and then focused his thoughts on the illusion he wanted to create. He heard the others gasp in surprise as his illusion took shape in front of them and seven riders made their way out into the sunlight.

“They look so real,” Barnabus said. “I can hear them moving as they go.”

“It has to be real enough to tempt the thunderbird,” said Alex.

They watched as the figures Alex had created out of thin air moved away from them.

After a long moment, Thrang cleared his throat, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, a huge shadow moved across the open fields.

Alex looked up to see a golden bird diving out of the sky.

“Amazing,” Arconn commented. “So beautiful.”

“And deadly,” Thrang added.

But long before the bird reached the illusion, it broke off its attack, shooting back into the sky at an incredible speed.

“It saw through the illusion,” Alex said. “Let’s try this instead.”

He immediately transformed a large rock from the ruined city gates into a living, breathing stag. The stag looked at them for a moment, and then bounded away across the plain.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Arconn said.

“It’s something I learned on my last adventure,” said Alex. “Though I’ve never conjured a stag before.”

“And this one won’t last long,” said Nellus.

Once again, the thunderbird attacked. This time the giant bird did not break its dive, but quickly snatched the stag from the ground in one huge claw. Watching the bird rise into the air, Alex wondered how many stags he would need to create to give him and his friends enough time to safely cross the plains.

“A pity,” Arconn said. “It was a beautiful stag.”

“But we learned an important lesson,” Thrang added. “We can’t outrun that bird on our horses, and I don’t suppose Alex can create enough stags to keep it busy while we cross the plains.”

“I could try, but I’m not sure it would always go for the stags,” said Alex.

“You haven’t tried using magic against it,” Thrain pointed out.

“No, I haven’t,” said Alex. “I’m not sure how well magic will work.”

“You must try,” Thrang insisted. “We need to know if your magic can drive off the bird. If not, I’m not sure I’m willing to chance the open plain, even if you created hundreds of stags to keep the bird busy.”

“Very well,” Alex agreed. “The bird will be much closer to us this time, so you might want to move back a little.”

As the others stepped back, Alex transformed a large rock into a fat cow. The cow looked at him, confused, and then slowly started off toward the grassy plain. Once more the thunderbird appeared, only this time it hovered just outside the broken gates. As the bird caught the cow in its golden claw, Alex cast a binding spell, trying to freeze the bird to the ground. For a moment, it looked as if the spell had worked. The thunderbird gave a terrible cry of rage as it tried to lift off with the cow but could not. Alex watched in fascination, but then, realizing what was about to happen, he turned toward the cave.

“Run!” Alex shouted.

The others were slow to understand what he meant, but they soon saw what Alex had seen. The thunderbird, enraged by Alex’s spell, had turned to look directly at the cave where they were all standing.

They had barely gone ten feet when a lightning bolt hit the wall of the cavern. A shower of rocks flew off the wall, and Alex and his friends dove to the ground and covered their heads. A second bolt of lighting hit the opposite wall, and a second shower of broken stone rained down on them.

Alex got to his feet quickly and tried to stop the third bolt of lightning with his magic. His spell only deflected the bolt, which hit the mountain above the city gates instead. Knowing how useless his magic was against the thunderbird, Alex removed the binding spell he had cast. The thunderous beating of the giant wings almost blew Alex off his feet, and then the bird was gone.

“It appears that my magic will do us little good,” Alex said, leaning against his staff.

“Then we are trapped here,” Thrang said, standing up. “At least until the rains come.”

“It is too late,” said Kat, sounding close to tears.

“I wonder where the bird goes,” Thrain said, moving closer to the ruined gates.

“Stay back,” Alex warned, but he was too late.

A huge golden claw reached in and snatched Thrain out of the tunnel. Alex turned quickly to restrain the others from rushing out after Thrain. He wondered what he could possibly do to save his friend.

“We have to do something,” Thrang said angrily. “We can’t just let that bird eat him.”

“There is only one creature I can think of that has a chance against that bird,” said Alex, his mind fixing on what he had to do. “I will go after Thrain. The rest of you wait here, well back from the gates.”

“What creature?” Arconn questioned.

“Watch and see,” Alex answered, turning and running toward the sunlight.

When the first rays of light touched Alex, he changed. He was filled with a wild, reckless joy, but his mind stayed fixed on the task at hand. With almost no effort at all, he leaped into the air, his massive wings lifting him higher as his dragon eyes searched for the thunderbird. He spotted it in a second, circling to land on the mountain behind him. Alex let out a deafening roar to attract the bird’s attention, and then sped straight at it, ready for battle.

The thunderbird cried back, accepting his challenge. It spun away from the mountains, still clutching the struggling Thrain in its golden claw. Lightning flashed from the bird’s eyes, hitting one of Alex’s almost thirty-foot-long wings, but it had no effect. Alex felt like laughing at the feeble attack. Instead of laughing, though, he sent a jet of flame toward the giant bird, forcing it to turn sharply in midair. Alex roared again, frustrated at having missed his target and forgetting that the flames could have killed Thrain.

The thunderbird climbed higher in the sky, beating its wings wildly to create a forceful wind. Alex saw that the bird was trying to use the wind to drive him toward the ground, but the wind was nothing to a dragon—it felt like a gentle breeze. Alex climbed higher in pursuit of his enemy.

The thunderbird broke away once more, flying with all its speed to the north. Alex followed with ease, closing the gap between himself and his enemy. When he thought he was close enough, he sent another jet of fire at the bird, this time hitting its tail. The thunderbird screamed in pain and let Thrain drop from its talons.

For a moment Alex hesitated, wanting to continue the battle. He heard Thrain scream in fear as he fell, and the fear of his friend spurred him into action. He dove after the falling dwarf with blinding speed, gently catching Thrain in his own enormous claw that gleamed with true silver. He could feel Thrain thrashing wildly, terrified but very much alive. He realized that carrying Thrain with him would be too dangerous. He swooped down to the ruined city gates, opened his claw to let Thrain escape, and then returned his gaze to the sky, searching once more for the thunderbird.

The thunderbird was flying south, low to the ground as if hiding.

Alex turned quickly to follow, his desire to destroy his enemy growing. As he left the mountain behind, Alex saw that the land had come to an end and the bird was soaring over the open sea, rising slightly as it flew. The sun shined off the golden bird, reminding Alex just how beautiful his enemy was. He allowed himself to consider the beauty of the thunderbird for a moment, and he slowed his pursuit, but only slightly.