Wings of Fire - Cavernous Promises

Chapter 31

ADMIRAL

Admiral walked into the hive keeping his head low, tailing behind Dragonfly like he'd seen servants tail their masters. Cobalt had collapsed and had some kind of seizure, muttering about suffering and pain. Admiral looked out to the hive, knowing that maybe Rosy or his other siblings who had been whipped away to Wasp hive would see him and know who he was. He wondered where the flamesilks were kept, were they even in this hive? He guessed so since they were right beneath Wasp's eye. Beneath, hmm, perhaps they're kept underground? Like the CavernWings but they don't have the ability to stretch their wings.

Admiral decided to talk with Cobalt, maybe about finding the flamesilks. "Cobalt, do you mind if we go over there and talk?" he asked, walking toward a small corridor in the side of the hive. Cobalt nodded, "Leafcutter, Darner do you mind if we go look for something over there?" she said, glancing at Locust and Dragonfly.

"Sure but get back here as soon as possible." snapped Locust, turning to face them with a bitter look. What did we do to him? I only tied up his mother, who's also my mum's boss. Admiral walked calmly to the corridor, Cobalt close at his side. They settled down, checked that no one was in sight and talked. "I think we could help the flamesilks." Admiral explained, flicking his cape over his back.

"I was thinking of that too." murmured Cobalt, glancing nervously around.

"I believe they're kept underground, in this hive." Admiral muttered, standing up, "We have to be careful. There's bound to be guards."

The two of them had slunk through the tunnels in the hive, trying not to get noticed, while trying to look as natural as possible. They came to a place barred by HiveWing guards, with no way in or out.

"That has to be where the flamesilks are being kept." murmured Admiral, "There isn't any way to get in."

"Maybe," Cobalt muttered, looking at the guards, "but we have to get in there."

Admiral saw Rosy's smiling face flicker in his vision, her bright pinks and yellows sparkling in the light of the moons. Admiral noticed a door behind the HiveWings, with a large lock in the centre. Admiral's claws fell to his neck, clasping the Master Key.

"Cobalt," he breathed.

"Yes."

"You cause a distraction, long enough to allow me to go in and unlock the door." Admiral said, "Maybe we can distract Wasp away from the helm."

"Alright." Cobalt replied, before rushing off into the crowd. Admiral turned to watch the guards, walking casually by, before turning to talk with a nearby SilkWing.

"Hi, I'm Attacus," he said.

The SilkWing eyed him cautiously before replying, "I'm Marblewing. You look like the dragon in the poster."

"I know, as soon as they started popping up people kept on stopping me and saying that." Admiral lied, "Where does that door go?"

"It goes somewhere, I see them bringing cauldrons of fire out from there and fruit and, occasionally, cocoons made of fire in." Marblewing explained, lowering their head, "Why do you need to know?"

"I was only just moved here to work as a... webbing repairer." Admiral lied, glancing around for the familiar blue of Cobalt's wings.

"Oh, okay, which hive did you come from," asked Marblewing, looking suspiciously down at him.

"Jewel Hive." answered Admiral, quickly.

"Hmm..." Marblewing mused, looking at Admiral with unblinking silvery eyes. Hurry up Cobalt.

There was a loud crash as a chunk of treestuff fell out of the wall, hitting the ground with a thud, there were several loud screams and Admiral saw an amber HiveWing running with his wings on fire. There were several cries from the guards as they ran to assist dragons who were caught in the firestorm. Admiral quickly slipped through the panic, he hooked the key up from around his neck and slid it into the lock. The key was smaller than the keyhole, and Admiral's hopes fell. Then, the key grew in his claws, filling the keyhole. Admiral smiled and turned the key and the door opened with a click. There was a whoosh of wings and Cobalt landed beside him, a serious look on her face. "Is this the right place?" she asked.

"Yes it is, I got confirmation from a SilkWing that lived here, hopefully they don't alert the queen about us sneaking in under her snout." Admiral explained, pushing the door open wider.

"Alright." replied Cobalt, slipping in after him.

Admiral pulled the key from the door and pushed it shut, using the Master Key to lock the door behind them. Let's try not to make this look suspicious. He then hurried after Cobalt. Suddenly his claw-steps were extremely loud. Looking down, Admiral saw that the treestuff and dirt floor had turned to smooth stone, worn down by claws and wagon wheels. Eventually, they reached a small room, with a doorway into a larger cavern. Admiral skirted the wall, reaching the doorway, peeking his head around a boulder. The cavern had several dragons resting in it, one with silvery blue scales, similar to Cobalt's, one orange, another silver, a fourth pale yellow with vibrant red spots, another pale teal, yet another orange-yellow. Then his eyes fell on pink and yellow wings, in painfully familiar shades. Rosy, you're here, oh how I want to run up to you and wrap my wings around you. But I can't. Admiral glanced further around the cavern seeing four HiveWing guards settled in a ring around a skylight. That's a problem.

"Cobalt, we have a problem. There's guards watching all of the flamesilks." whispered Admiral.

Cobalt started a bit when Admiral spoke, "O-oh sorry, you startled me. Maybe I could tie them up?"

"You can try, but I'm unsure about it." murmured Admiral.

"They probably wouldn't expect an aboveground flamesilk attack." replied Cobalt, turning to face the cave.