The Wishing Map is a full-length fantasy that is being posted episodically at this site. To read the previous episode click here. To read it from the start, click here.

Gina has encountered a monstrous Questing Beast, and it has somehow turned into her beloved dragon pup Puff.

Her fingers ached to rub his little horn nubs, to wrap her arms around his graceful neck. “Come on, Puffy! Use your wings!” She held the broadsword at bay, while waving her free hand at him.

Puff backed up and flared his delicate wings. Gina was amazed at how large they’d become. “Come on, baby!” The little dragon began galloping toward the river’s edge on clumsy, oversized feet, and started flapping his wings. Just as he reached the water, he became airborne. He actually gained altitude as he soared out over the moving current—he was going to make it!

The broadsword suddenly jerked itself up over Gina’s head and began stabbing at the air! Rhema had said it would lead her to her true enemy, but… “No, Rhema!” she shouted. “He isn’t your stupid Questing Beast! You gave me a defective sword!” She tried with all her might to pull the blade back to her side, but in all its brainless, barbaric, steely stupidity it would not be dissuaded. “No, Rhema! Puff isn’t my enemy!”

“Gina, it’s not Puff!” her brother warned.

“What? Zack, don’t be ridic…” And yet even as she watched, Puff began to change. He was on the ground now, directly in front of her, only it was no longer him. His wings had disappeared. He—it—had turned back into the hideous creature she’d seen on the other side of the river, its purple platelets oozing blood-streaked pus, its odor worse than a maggot-invested corpse. Zack was right, it had never been Puff to begin with!

Gina held her breath and lifted the sword over her head. But just as she was about to strike, she looked into the violet-gold mesh between the Beast’s eyes, and found her fingers drawn to it the way iron is drawn to a magnet. As she stretched forth her hand, she began to feel a stinging sensation in her torso and neck. But she kept her focus on the object, even as the suction and stinging increased.

“Gina! Stop!” Zack shouted.

The pain was almost unbearable, but it would all be worth it once she extracted the golden triangle from between the monster’s eyes!

“Gina! No! It’s not what you think it is. I saw this in my dream!”

She could hear violent kicking. What was her stupid brother doing now? The further she strained to touch the thing, the further away it seemed to be, and the more entangled she felt. The pain was excruciating, the stench of death overwhelming. It was all around her now, but she couldn’t stop reaching. “Please, Rhema,” she cried…

“Help me!”

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Thoughts: Desire is a flame that can light a lantern or burn down a house.

To read the next episode, click here.