I'm staring at the face of evil. Both of them have big, beady eyes, wide-set, over vicious metallic beaks. Head of a falcon and enormous feathered wings, but four-legged like a cat. Like a lion with the head and wings of a bird.

They're massive, but it occurs to me that they may not be dangerous. They're beautiful, with flashy colors like a macaw. One is mostly blue and the other is green. They both have lots of yellow and red—gorgeous.

After studying me briefly, they've lost interest and aren't paying any more attention to me. They're not doing much of anything really, just standing in a field about thirty feet away, like tigers at the zoo.

I stand slowly, keeping my back pressed against the bark of the tree. They're the size of small unicorns. A silver one joins the group. He's broader than the other two. Sweat beads across my brow. Hopefully, they won't see me. More flapping announces the arrival of a pink one. I instinctually know that I'm in trouble.

Sweat is dripping into my eyes. I move to wipe it away but my hands are locked against the trunk of the tree, unwilling to obey my commands.

I'm overreacting. I need to calm down. I've seen many scary things here that have turned out to be rather sweet. These are very pretty, furry bird-things. They might even speak English. I should talk to them and see what they want.

I open my mouth, but instead of words, a deep groan emerges from somewhere deep in my soul. I know I'm lying to myself. I'm in danger and have no idea what to do. Running is not a viable option. I have no weapons, not even my wand.

I pray that they just happened to land here and will ignore me. But that hope vanishes when they all turn in unison to stare at me. I know, for sure, I'm going to die.

The silver one slowly stalks toward me, each foot carefully placed on the short grass as its eyes lock with mine. Hunter and prey.

What should I do? Run? It's easy to tell this thing is fast. Play dead? I think that's what it has in mind. Fight? That beak will puncture me and those claws are six inches long.

I slither behind the tree. It's the only shield I have.

I swallow hard when it's only a few feet away. The sun glistens off its smooth silver beak and its hawkish blue eyes squint with anticipation. There is only a skinny tree trunk separating us. I'm going to have to make a move. I try to take a breath, but my lungs aren't working. Come on feet, please work.

A large crack echoes through my body when the tree drops a heavy branch on its silver feathered head. I scream and run in no particular direction, sprinting for my life and losing.

The world is a blur and the only sound I hear are the other three beasts charging after me.

A voice calls out.

I race toward the sound.

Please help me!

One of the creatures behind me yelps and a thundering crash shakes the ground when it falls.

The voice leads to a small armored elf guard kneeling in the grass, firing a bow. The elf lets another arrow fly. He yells for me to hide behind the tree near him, then he draws his sword. I dart past him as hard as I can until I reach the young oak and duck behind it. The tree drops a cluster of branches to shield against the monsters chasing me.

I wrap my arms around the trunk as my knees buckle and I fall against it. How many are left? How do we get out of this?

The leaves rustle when I raise a trembling hand to move some of the branches so I can watch the elf. He's so small compared to the enormous bird-lion monsters. He's going to die and I don't know how to help him.

The elf swings his sword and holds it high. Both the green monster and the pink one charge at once. The elf hits the green one in the throat and it falls back with a yelp. But before he can recover, the pink one pounces. The elf falls to his back and stabs at the creature while he's under it. Loud clanging noises reverberate across the field as the metallic beak pecks at and repeatedly pierces his armor.

He swings hard and hits the front foot, chopping off a spotted pink toe and a sharp talon. The pink one shrieks and stomps on the elf's shoulder, piercing his arm and nailing it to the ground. Blood is spurting out of both of them. The elf yells and swings his sword, hitting the creature on the upper part of its thigh. Even with that hit, the elf is losing.

I can't watch. I can't look away. I can't help. I've never felt so helpless, so useless or so scared.

The green bird-lion recovers and jumps on the elf's stomach, knocking the pink one aside. The pink one howls and the two beasts shove and peck at each other, fighting over the elf, who's able to scramble to his feet. He swings and slices a filleting gash across the pink one's side. Both creatures turn on him.

A branch breaks on the ground to my right. All sound stops except for my heart pounding in my chest. I freeze, but my eye slides to the source of the noise. The original silver creature is less than ten feet away.

The air leaves my body in an audible whoosh. I bolt from the tree.

Branches crack as it scrambles through the barrier, then nothing. No sound. Not even my heart is beating. The skin on my back stands in goose flesh as I sense the paw swipe at me and just barely miss.

I have nowhere to hide. I can't escape.

One step, two step. The sting of a claw slices down my back. I jump out of its path. My ankles bend in different directions when I am shoved from behind and collide face-first with the ground in a swirl of color and grunts.

The world goes black but comes rushing back as the air is forced from my lungs when the beast pounces on my back.

I have no breath to scream or fight. I can't move. Its claws pierce the skin on the back of my thigh and shoulder blade. I scrape my fingers through the grass in a pathetic attempt to move.

The creature disappears. I painfully fill my lungs and take a few more raspy gasps.

It doesn't return.

I roll over and prepare to face my attacker. Instead, the silver beast is dangling above me. It's being dragged backward through the air by Lenox. He flies high and drops the creature into a large oak tree. The bird-lion falls hard as it tries unsuccessfully to open its wings before it smashes into the top of the tree. Screams echo across the hillside as branches and bones break during its descent through the tree. It flops awkwardly to the ground with its wings and legs at odd angles.

The two that are on top of the elf take flight after Lenox. He's bigger than them, but their smaller size gives them greater speed and maneuverability.

The elf jumps to his feet, does a limping-hopping run back to his bow, and fires at the fight. Lenox is battling two bird-lions in mid-flight and now he has to watch out for arrows, too.

"Stop!" I scream in a panic. "Stop! You'll hit him!"

The elf doesn't acknowledge me. When I reach him, I pull hard on his arm. He easily shakes me off.

"Run!" he yells.

"Stop! You're going to hit him!"

"I know what I'm doing! Get out of here!"

The pink beast hits the ground hard with an arrow gruesomely protruding from its eye. It slowly stands and the elf shoots it again, this time in the neck. It charges.

I run.

The elf doesn't follow. Instead, he stands his ground and continues to shoot. The creature launches and the elf swings his sword across its belly. They both collapse to the ground, motionless.

I don't know what to do. The bird-lion might still be alive, so if I try to free the elf I might make things worse. There is a lot of blood pooling on the ground around them. I think they're both dead. I should've made that elf run with me.

A loud crash makes me jump. Lenox and the last green monster smash to the ground in a thrashing heap. Lenox gets to his feet first and pounces on the creature as it stands. The green bird-lion rears up and stabs Lenox with its sharp, gold beak. Blood squirts out of his shoulder.

I look back toward the village and pray that someone is hearing this and will come soon. Then I turn to the bloody mess that is the elf and the thing it killed. I race to retrieve his sword. I don't know what I'll do with it, but I can't stand by and watch another death.

I grab the sword and charge at the bird-lion. It's so distracted by Lenox it doesn't even notice me until I stab it in the shoulder. It's easier than I thought. The blade effortlessly slides into the creature but I hit something hard, probably a bone. There's resistance but it gives way. The sword reverberates and shakes free from my hand.

It's enough of a distraction that Lenox is able to grab the bird-lion by the back of its neck and shake it until it goes limp. Then he throws its lifeless body to the ground and takes a giant, sickening bite out of its throat.

Once he's eaten the morsel he looks around, and when he doesn't see any more threats, he hobbles over to me to make sure I'm alright.