Whirlwind 10th Anniversary Edition: Longfellow's Literary Magazine for 2019-2020

Whirlwind
Excerpt from “The Good Thief ”
By Alexandra L.
Cover Art By Lana F.
With wings the color of midnight, Torment
the darkwing flew through the night. Eyes from the
ground would never see him in the darkening sky.
Being a runaway was definitely a way to get unwanted
attention. Always hiding from the spotlight, this was
his worst nightmare.
What did he do to become wanted by the most
powerful king in existence? Well nice of you to ask. He
had stolen the king’s daughter and half of his treasure.
He hadn’t escaped the palace totally unharmed,
though. Five weeks later and the stupid fire wound on
the right side of his neck hadn’t healed. Half of his left
wing had gotten scarred as well.
Dipping down a bit, he moved out of the higher
air current. He began his descent, moving down in a
soft spiral. Through the trees he went, managing to hit
every single one of them as he landed.
He still wasn’t used to his dragon form. Landing in
a crouch, Torment looked up and wished to become a
human again. When he looked back down, his human
form stood in the place of the mighty dragon.
Spots danced in his eyes but he shook his head and
started the trek through the woods. The branches on
both sides of the small winding path seemed to reach
out like claws, snatching at his clothes as the thorns
tore at his skin, but he kept going.
Wiping the sweat out of his eyes he looked around.
This was the right place. The overturned log, the
gurgling brook, the boulders. But something was off.
He could smell it in the air.
Turning around he saw footsteps leading into the
clearing. Two pairs. Leading out on the other side of
the clearing were the two pairs of footsteps but they
were pushed deeper into the mud. Like their owners
were carrying something heavy.
Torment turned and called out in a sharp cry. The
boulders rolled back a step to reveal a dark hole dug
into the soft ground. The second he stepped closer he
smelled something burning.
He felt his heart race. Something was obviously,
really wrong. He jumped feet first into the hole.
His breath became ragged as smoke filled his lungs.
Landing in a crouch, he looked down the earth made
tunnel. A shape was pressed up against the tunnel wall.
He felt his heart jump into his throat. He stumbled
down the hall coughing non stop. When he reached
the lump he turned the princess onto her back.
Ash covered her face and her soft and silky hair
was covered in a thin layer of grime but her chest still rose and
fell. He grabbed her and threw her over one shoulder racing back
up to the tunnel.
He stood at the base of the hole. The smoke and heat was
becoming more oppressive. He leaned against the wall and
20
steadied his nerves. He hugged the princess needing extra
support. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest. He took a
deep breath and pushed off the wall. Looking down the hall one
more time, he shed a silent tear and transformed.