I could see the fissures in them as if they were going to crumble the next second. I could feel the sense
of death from every part of the Dragon. At that moment, the Dragon was as sick as a dog.
“
Watch out!” I knew that was Liam’s voice but I couldn’t see him. I had stepped on a broken rock and was
falling down.
“
Help!” I cried. My hands were grabbing the stones tightly. I didn’t know what I could do.
“
Grasp my hand Carly,” Liam tried to reach me with his hand.
“
No, I can’t! I’m too scared.” Tears were dropping down from my eyes.
“
Look at my eyes, Carly. You can. Give me your hands,” he persisted.
I looked at Liam’s eyes, took a deep breath, released my shaking hand from the stone and clutched at
Liam’s. He pulled me up and I snuggled close to him.
“
I’m so scared, Liam,” I sobbed.
“
It’s safe now.” He held me tight against his warm chest.
Suddenly, the parchment that contained the first hint glowed. Liam took it out, and some words
appeared on it.
“
You tasted the sweetness and the bitterness, and I know you’re the good one. I will lead you to the
flower now.”
“
Oh, it’s magic,” I laughed and wiped away my tears.
“
Take this parchment with you, so I can protect you with my free hands.” Liam handed the
parchment to me. I took it and I could hear the beat of my heart was getting louder.
New words appeared when we arrived at the allocated point. Then, we followed the instructions and
kept going.
“
The journey is nearly ended,” Liam said in a pleasant tone.
“
Yes, that’s true,” I answered in a disappointed tone. “Carly, I…”
“
I am so sorry to interrupt you two, Mr. Liam the guardian and Ms. Carly the brave girl,” a terrible voice
came behind us. “I need to take back the magical parchment. Would you like to give it to me? I’m sure you
won’t. Therefore, I am going to take it by myself.” The man’s sneering made me feel uneasy.
“
Be careful Carly; that’s the Black Bird,” Liam whispered.
“
What? I thought it was really a bird!” I caught a glimpse of the man’s outfit, consisting of a tidy black suit
like a gentleman’s.
“
Oh, how rude are you, lady. I can hear you!” Black Bird laughed out loudly.
“
I’m coming!” the black bird sprinted to Liam.
“
Liam, left!” I shouted. Liam dodged from his attack.
“
And top right, beside your left ear, your right leg, left ankle,” I continued. Liam shunned all the assaults
according to my instructions.
“
How can you do this?” They both turned their heads to me.
“
The parchment is helping me!” I whooped. “So, it’s your
turn, girl,” Black Bird faced me.
His movements were too fast to see. I didn’t have one second to look at the parchment. Then, he punched
me in the face.
“
Where’s your super power, girl? Now, give me your parchment,” he stared at me fiercely.
“
No, I won’t give it to you, ever! Don’t try to force me or I’ll destroy it.” I readied my hands to tear it apart.
“
I won’t let you hurt her anymore, Black Bird. Leave her alone.” Liam ate the remaining cloud and
gained more confidence. “Oh, try me,” Black Bird snorted. “Carly, run! Go find the flower.” Liam’s
face was red with desperation.
“
No! I won’t go with…”
“
Just listen to me. You ate a piece of cloud, so you can run fast.” He looked at me. I couldn’t see any
hesitation in his eyes.
I started running at a high speed and I had never been faster. The black bird tried to run after me but then,
he was held up by Liam. I used all my strength to run. I finally found the tiny white flower on a rock that lay
on a small massif next to the Great Wall.
That flower looked exactly the same as the picture on the parchment. However, it was too far from where I
was. There was no way to get there. I felt totally hopeless.
“
Try harder.” I felt a voice in my head.
“
Is that you, Great Wall?” It was ridiculous for me to ask the voice in my head.
“
Yes, I am. I……am dying…. Please try harder….” The old, weak voice shocked me. Yes, I could work it
out. Liam was fighting so hard and the Great Wall never gave up. Then, I looked at the flower. Thinking that I
should be capable of jumping there after eating the cloud, I took a risk and jumped. I did it. The parchment