Barn And Beyond (a Snippet)

• Nicola Tsoutis, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2019

I sprinted as hard as I could, running faster than I ever had in my life. Pushing with all my might, I made my way back to the Victress’ home. I flung open the door, ran down the hallway, and stopped. I realised I didn’t really know where the necklace was. Panting hard, I decided to check her bedroom first. I rummaged around, throwing things all over the place. I was sure she wouldn’t mind, this was an emergency! Finding nothing, I left the bedroom and ran into her study. I threw books everywhere, turning the whole room upside-down until… I saw it. I don’t know how I found it, but there was a secret compartment underneath the desk. There it was, neatly placed on a velvet necklace display. I grabbed it and took off.
Sprinting back to the barn with the necklace in hand, I hoped that none of the animals were dead. As I arrived, I watched in horror as part of the roof collapsed. I stopped in front of the barn and slipped on the necklace. I grabbed it with both hands. I didn’t know the magic enchantments, but somehow, I said them.
“Eqas ra unva moge de ra levaith!”
Rays of pale blue light streamed out onto the barn, hardening to form ice and dousing the flames. As the light continued to stream out from the necklace, I walked around the barn so it could cover the entire thing. With the last of the ice, I froze the lock on the door. It cracked open. I heaved open the barn doors, only to see a singed barn with ice covering the walls and roof. The floor was still smoking in the wake of the fire. Black soot stood in place of the hay and almost everything wooden was turned to ash. It seemed that most of the animals had survived, but alas we had a few casualties. Thinking of the Victress, I darted up to the loft, jumping the gaps in the ramp. If the Victress was dead then the Pit wouldn’t be able to cope. I prayed in my mind that she was alive. As I neared the place she was sleeping my heart warmed to see that she was still there. She looked up at me, weary but glad the whole ordeal was over. I walked up to her:
“Are you alright Miss Victress? I was terribly worried! I’m so sorry I left you here!”
“It’s okay Birdie.” She said with a croaky voice. “You did what you needed to do and you saved everyone in here. You’re lucky though, those flames were very close to burning me alive! You’re a brave chicken, you are.”
“Thank you Miss Victress. Let’s get you home and I’ll get the townspeople to take care of the damage.”
I gently scooped her up into my arms. I looked around to see the rest of the flock slowly coming out of the corner, realising the danger had subsided. I looked the other direction, only to see a casualty. As I looked closer to see which of my flock-mates had passed, my heart sank. It was Rock. The flock’s leader had succumbed to the flames. He was lying on his side, his feathers and face burnt. I looked away, remembering that the mongrel had injured the Victress. I was sad though, the flock would miss him.