THE DRAGON QUEEN’S LAST STAND

By Catherine Jackson

The Dragon Queen plans to move Smirkenorff and his mate to a secure nesting site so that breeding can take place, but can she, Treguard and their allies stop Lord Fear and Maldame from intercepting the dragons and exacting their evil revenge? All is revealed in the thrilling conclusion to Catherine Jackson’s saga of The Dragon Queen.

Meanwhile, at Knightmare Castle, Treguard and the Dragon Queen were busy making their plans. Other allies had been contacted, but they weren’t told the true plan, in order to ensure that if anyone was captured, the secret would be safe. Grimaldine and Brollachan were already in place and, as a final surprise, Ariadne had sent her children to help. Ariadne herself was going to be at the true nesting site. Greystagg and her sisters were also on standby.

“Come, we must go now, and wait to see if our plan works,” the Dragon Queen told Treguard, “but, whatever happens, you must do as I ask, even if it means doing something you think is wrong.”

Treguard nodded. He thought it better not to question what she said, for she had always been right, and Treguard knew that she would never lie to him. Suddenly, a portal opened.

“Come on, Treguard, time to go. Let’s make this fight the last,” said the Dragon Queen, and she smiled as if she knew what was to come.

Treguard grabbed his sword and followed the Dragon Queen through the portal. They emerged into a mountainous land.

“I am on good terms with leader of the tribe that lives here,” said the Dragon Queen. “He has agreed to take his clan to another mountain for now; I trust him not to change his loyalty, for he has too much to lose if he changes sides.”

“What do we do now?” Treguard asked.

“All we can do is wait,” replied the Dragon Queen. “It won’t be long; we have lookouts, so we will have some warning of our enemies’ approach. What is more, they can’t just create a portal to this place, even with techno-magic on their side. I made sure that was impossible, with the help of Grimaldine’s magic.”

Meanwhile, at Marblehead, Maldame was trying to do just that.

“Keep trying, you have to create a portal!” snarled Lord Fear.

“I can’t,” said Maldame. “The only portal I can create is to the point where I told Treguard and the Dragon Queen we’d be coming through.”

“All right, we’ll use it if it’s the only way,” said Lord Fear.

They went through the portal, which led to a wooded area. They proceeded forward. As they got deeper into the woods, they saw spiders’ webs. The deeper they went, the thicker the webs became.

“Ariadne has been busy,” said Maldame.

“No, not Ariadne. Her children!” said Lord Fear. “Let’s get out of these woods!”

He then conjured a large fireball and cleared the webs away. However, just as they got out of the woods, a mass of fireballs was fired at them. Lord Fear looked up.

“Greystagg!” he shouted. “How dare you?”

“Let me handle them,” said Maldame, and with a flick of her wrist she sent out several lightning bolts, which quickly got rid of Greystagg and her sisters.

Meanwhile, in the mountain range, Treguard was scanning the area for any sign of danger. Suddenly there was a fireball, shortly followed by magical lightning.

“They’re coming!” he shouted. “To your posts!”

“Grimaldine, it is time,” said the Dragon Queen. “Treguard, you must stay here. If we should fall, you must save the dragons.”

The Dragon Queen and Grimaldine started to make their way down the mountain to the clearing. Treguard could not just let the Dragon Queen go into battle; he rushed to catch up with them, but as he did he was thrown back by a large forcefield. The Dragon Queen turned, and her voice rang out in Treguard’s head.

“I told you to do anything I asked,” she said urgently. “It’s the only way! I told you this was the last fight; this must be done! If there was any other way… Goodbye!”

With that, the Dragon Queen’s voice melted away. Treguard could only watch. As Grimaldine and the Dragon Queen got to the clearing, he saw them join hands, as Lord Fear and Maldame came into sight. Suddenly, there was a large green fireball that covered the entire clearing. Treguard had to shield his eyes. Then the ball was gone, and the forcefield dropped. Treguard ran to the clearing, and scanned the scene of chaos before him.

Lord Fear was dead, and Maldame was too. Grimaldine was alive, but badly hurt. The Dragon Queen was not moving. Treguard got down onto the floor to try to wake her. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

“Did we win?” she asked.

“Yes,” Treguard assured her. “Are you hurt?”

“Yes, I will be gone soon, but I knew this would be the price for winning,” replied the Dragon Queen. “Yet I pay it gladly. It is just a shame that I will not be around to see the little dragons grow… I’m sorry that I had to do this. Goodbye, Treguard.”

And with that, the Dragon Queen was no more. Treguard thought to himself about what a terrible price had been paid in name of truth and justice. He knew that life would never be the same again.