Good Ogre by Platte F. Clark Page A

had shifted against it. It let out one last scream and ran for parts unknown, fighting strange memories that it used to do something similar while carrying a ball and in front of cheering crowds.
    Max had watched as the events unfolded, confused at how fireballs had appeared without his doing. Then he saw a small orange-and-white kitten bound to the top of the rocks.
    â€œHi, Max!” Moki shouted at him. “Did you know there’s a door over here?”
    Max turned to the others. “Run!”
    They took off in the direction of the fire kitten.
    Princess, still in nightmare form, thundered down the hill after them.
    â€œI can’t believe we’re running from a unicorn that wants to eat us again!” Sarah exclaimed. Max was too busy gasping for air to answer, but he worried that what she was really saying was This is all your fault, Max Spencer. Just in case you’ve forgotten.
    Dirk was the fastest, and he pulled ahead of the group. Even then, he probably wasn’t fast enough to outrun Nightmare-Princess. Max chanced a look over his shoulder and saw the black monster galloping toward them, a line of fire marking its path from the hill. He also saw Dwight falling behind. The dwarf could run fairly well, all things considered, but in his armor he just couldn’t make the same strides as everyone else. Puff was galloping (Max hadn’t realized that fluff dragons could gallop) alongside Dwight, but it was clear they weren’t going to make the rocky outcropping in time. “Get everyone to the rocks!” Max called to Melvin. “Take cover!”
    Melvin grunted, running with his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. He’d tried to nock the arrow while he sprinted across the field, but he nearly tripped in the process. Max veered to the side, grabbing the Codex as he came to a stop. He began flipping through the pages—he needed to find a spell to buy the others time—he didn’t have the strength to handle a Prime Spell again.
    Nightmare-Princess lowered her head, aiming her horn at Max as she charged. The sound of thunder ripped through the air as the tainted magic made itself known.
    â€œMax!” Sarah shouted behind him, but he couldn’tworry about her just then. He only hoped Melvin could keep the others running toward safety—or what he hoped was safety. He had no idea what Moki meant by a “door,” but it was the best chance they had. The pages of the Codex flew through his fingers, suddenly stopping on a spell: Magical Shaved Ice! listed under Popular Spells at Parties. Max groaned, but there was no time left. He read the spell out loud, drawing it from the page and sending it at the charging, unholy unicorn. At the same time a lightning bolt ripped from Nightmare-Princess’s horn and whizzed past him. The air exploded and Max was blinded by a field of dazzling lights. It nearly knocked him off his feet but he managed to stay upright, the Codex still clutched in his hands. Max did his best to clear his vision, anticipating the blow that was about to come. But when his vision cleared, he saw Nightmare-Princess on her side, screaming with rage. Then Max saw her hooves—instead of spitting fire they were covered in perfectly formed blocks of ice (just the right size, in fact, for shaving ice into snow cones). With each attempt to stand, Nightmare-Princess lost her footing and slammed back to the ground.
    Max watched her for a moment, and supposed he hadthe magic to defeat her right then and there. But Princess had become his friend, and it wasn’t her fault she’d gotten caught up in the magical storm. In fact, it was squarely his fault. Max promised himself that none of his friends would pay the price for his mistake. He turned to find Sarah standing behind him, her sword in hand. Of course she didn’t keep running with the others, Max said to himself. She’ll face the danger head-on.
    â€œCome on,” Max said,