The Magician’s War (Chapter 7)
Anika opened the portal and they jumped through.
What a shock. From desert heat to where snow blew.
They were all shivering, from their heads to their feet.
She made a bubble to keep in their body heat.
She said “Magnifico” to get a better look.
It brought things closer. Worse than a book.
They saw snow, glaciers, a white, frozen waste.
Very rough travel. They were in no haste.
The black panthers really stood out.
Anika magically changed all but their snout.
They were now pure white snow cats.
The panthers were not too happy with that.
They understood why and went along.
Off they went singing a song.
Indications were they didn’t have far to go.
The problem was progress was real slow.
Then, up ahead, a gigantic polar bear.
He popped up right out of nowhere.
He had a giant mouth lined with sharp teeth.
Huge claws with barbs, and a mean streak.
He roared, charged and hit the shield.
He hit it several times. It wouldn’t yield.
Anika pointed her wand and said “Vibratis.”
An avalanche came down to overtake us.
It took the huge bear far below.
The shield protected them from the snow.
The panthers dug us out, like from a mine.
Pern on her shoulder all the time.
They came to a deep chasm they had to cross.
A glacier was beyond, covered with frost.
She would have to fly across, she found.
Each panther weighed about 400 pounds.
Pern could fly across with ease.
For the panthers, it would be a squeeze.
She wrapped both in a tight magical loop.
They flew across as a group.
She couldn’t maintain flight for long.
It was a drain, but she was strong.
They made it with space to spare.
The panthers didn’t like it in the air.
They were very close to their goal now.
Then, they heard a terrible howl.
An abominable snowman ahead.
About 15 feet tall from foot to head.
The panthers charged and took out his legs.
Pern ripped his eyes. He howled and begged.
The panthers next ripped out his throat.
He died fast, lots of blood on his coat.
The portal was just beyond.
Anika opened it with her wand.
They all passed through.
It was pitch black that they walked into.
What was there will be told later.
I hope it’s not a nasty gator.
—————————————-R.W. Johnson—–(2017)