A Joust of Knights (Book #16 in the Sorcerer's Ring) by Morgan Rice

see they looked like enormous bats, with wide,
slimy black wings, long claws, and fangs. They reared their narrow heads and
screeched as they flew right for him.
    Thor gripped his sword, eager to meet
them in battle, and Lycoples, to her credit, did not waver in fear. Instead,
she flew faster, and Thor, eager to set wrongs right, raised the Sword of the Dead
high. It was so heavy, ten times the weight of any other sword, yet somehow it
felt perfect in his hands. Its black blade glistened in the sky, and as the
monsters screeched, Thor replied with a battle cry of his own. He would cut
through all of them to retrieve his son.
    As the first of the gargoyles reached
him, raising its fangs for Thor’s face, Thor reached down and slashed the
sword, slicing it in half. Its blood sprayed everywhere, as the gargoyle tumbled
through the air, past him.
    Another came at him, then another,
approaching from all sides, and Thor turned and slashed in every direction, ducking
and slicing them in half. He cut off the talons of one, the wings of another,
then ducked as he was scratched on the shoulder by a third—and reached up and
thrust his sword into its exposed belly.
    The swarm of gargoyles descended on him,
and Thor fearlessly met their embrace, fighting like a man possessed, a man
with nothing left to lose. The Sword of the Dead fought, too, coming to life,
like a living being in his hand. It whizzed and hummed and led the way, urging
Thor on, leading him to slash and thrust and block blows. It was like having a
fighting partner in his hand. The Sword hummed and sang as it sliced through
the air, leaving a trail of blood and severed gargoyles in its wake, all of
them tumbling down to the ocean far below.
    Lycoples, too, joined in, lashing out
with her talons at all gargoyles who dared attack her. She was young, but vicious—and
fearless. She raised her razor-sharp talons and slashed gargoyles left and
right, reaching them before they reached her and slicing them in half. She reached
out and grabbed others by their heads and squeezed to death, while still others
she grabbed and threw, hurling them down through the air, to the ocean. Others
still she bit, opening her huge jaws and sinking her teeth into their scales as
they shrieked out in pain.
    Finally, as a fresh swarm came at them, Lycoples
threw back her head, screeched, and let out a stream of flames. Her flame was
not as strong yet as her parents’, yet still it was strong enough to wreak
havoc: the dozens of remaining gargoyles, engulfed in the flames, let out an
awful shriek as they were immersed in the cloud of fire, their horrible screams
filling the air as they tumbled down, aflame, to the sea below.
    Thor was taken aback by Lycoples’s
power, not expecting such a stream of flame, and the few gargoyles who remained
alive also looked back with scared expressions—and a whole new fear of Lycoples.
They turned and flew off into the horizon, catching up with the other half of
their flock.
    “Faster, Lycoples, faster!” Thor cried
out, lowering his head and holding on tight as she, enraged, flew at an even
greater speed.
    Lycoples needed no prodding. She tore through
the air faster than Thor could breathe, and they dove in and out of clouds, the
scarlet sun beginning to set as they bore down on the gargoyles. The gargoyles
dared not turn to face them now, but rather flew with all their speed, flapping
their wings furiously to try to get away.
    As they approached, Thor could finally see
Guwayne again, up ahead—and his heart beat faster. He was so close now, nothing
would get in his way. He would slaughter each and every one of these creatures,
and soon they would be reunited again.
    As Thor glanced up at the horizon, he
did a double take, shocked by the sight before him. On the horizon, there
slowly appeared what seemed to be a waterfall in the sky. It stretched in every
direction, as far as he could see, a wall of running water—stained red. It ran
from the heavens, right