The Eternal Fire (13+)

Chapter 14

The smell of plants filled his nose.
"Will he be ok?" someone asked. Inferno tried to make out who was saying it.
"He will be." The answer made him relax a little. "But he'll need to rest for a few days."

What? Why would he need to rest? Inferno slowly opened his eyes, immediately getting blinded by lights. Almost at once, someone squealed in delight. "Inferno! You're awake!"
The red dragon looked at his friend, her blue scales blurry to him. "Aqua…" he breathed.

It took him a minute to clear his head but he could make out the dry hard walls of clay.
"I'm here, Inferno," said the blue dragon, taking his talon in hers.
"Took you long enough." Inferno could tell that it was Tempest just by her tone.
"Tempest, be kind!" Blade spat.

Inferno winced as he tried to move. "What happened? Where…" His yellow eyes widened as he trailed off. "Where's the hatchling?!" he demanded.
Blade stepped up, his blue eyes curious. "What hatchling?"

Inferno stared at his best friend. "I was rescuing a young dragon from a burning building!"
At once, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Spark was the one who broke the silence. "We found you in the rubble of the building," the yellow dragon replied.

Inferno looked at her. "What happened to the hatchling?" he asked again.
His friends glanced at one other, their expressions uneasy. "Sorry, Inferno…" Blade whispered.
Aquarius looked at him. "The hatchling died in the flames…"

Inferno closed his eyes tight, bowing his head. That young dragon died… he thought. And it's MY fault…
Aquarius put her talon gently on his arm. "It's not your fault," she reassured him. "You did what you could."
Inferno looked at her and tried to smile. "I… I got to go…"

Doctor Apollo stopped him. "You have to stay here and rest," he ordered. The pale red dragon sat at his desk and looked through files.
Inferno growled. "Can I at least get a book to read?"

Aqua gasped and ran down the hall, coming back a second later with a book. "Here!"
Inferno took the book and opened it. "Thanks."

. . .

Inferno stood under a tree in the middle of a field. Before him, a tombstone sat in the shade. "I'm sorry…" he whispered. The dragon's wings drooped. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you…"

The only answer he got was the whistling of the wind. His heart broke in two.
"Inferno?" someone called. Inferno turned to see Aqua walking up the hill behind him. "There you are! What are you doing?"

Inferno hesitated then shook his head. "Nothing. What are you doing?"
"I came to find you," the blue dragon answered. "We found something near the border of the Ruby Kingdom."
Inferno blinked. "What did you find?" he asked as he took to the sky.

"We found a dead Gila monster," Aqua answered, following him.
The red dragon looked at her, his brow furrowed. "A Gila monster? But they're native to the desert of the Ruby Kingdom."

"We know," she replied. "That's why I came to find you."
The wind pushed Inferno and Aqua sideways and they tried to right themselves. "I'll tell Tempest to change the wind currents." He looked down, seeing fields of wheat, carrots, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, and sugarcane.

"Do you think we can buy some sugar to make a cake?" Aqua laughed. She licked her lips.
Inferno chuckled, butterflies fluttering inside his stomach. "Maybe." The two soon arrived at the border and glided toward the ground. Tempest, Blade, and Spark looked up.

"What took you so long?" Spark asked.
Inferno folded his tan-colored wings as he landed, his talons digging into the dry stiff grass. "The wind slowed us down."
"Ha!" Tempest laughed. "Guess I'm the only dragon who can handle wind."

Blade held out his green talon to the Gila monster carcass. "We found this a few hours ago." Inferno pushed past his best friend and lowered his head. Blade glared at him. The dead lizard had its head and hind left leg bitten off, crimson liquid pooling around it. Its black and orange banded skin was pulled off, some still left on the animal.

This looks too big to be a jackal or a painted dog… Inferno studied it. He followed a trail of blood to a bush. "I don't think a predator attacked it."
Spark lifted her head and sniffed the air. "I can't smell anything either."

Inferno tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "I think-" Suddenly the dragon got pinned to the ground. He roared, lashing his tail.

"Shut up, you useless reptile," someone above him hissed. Inferno gazed up to see two dragons, one pale yellow and the other a pale orange, standing on his wings. He looked over to see his friends pinned down by ten other dragons. "Spark is coming with us. She's wanted for theft, stealing from the Ruby Kingdom royal family."

Oh no… Inferno thought. How are we going to fight our way out of THIS?