Wings of Fire • Dragon of Storms [1]

Prologue

A flash of lightning illuminated the ocean floor, lighting Clam's way as she struggled to keep with the current. The raging storm reflected the confusion, fear, and pride she felt battling within her. She hoped her sister's insight would help her figure out what to do.

     Thunder rumbled above as the golden kelp curtain came into view through the dark water. Clam nosed her way through it, ducking into the tunnel and making her way to the heart of the Summer Palace. The light she was met with inside was dim because of the clouds, but normally it was a peaceful green. Now, the endless rhythm of rain pounding the treetop canopy filled the air as small droplets dripped into the cavern below. Clam flew the required six wingbeats to reach her sister's cave and called out a greeting, searching for the familiar grey-green scales of her older sister in the shadows of the back wall.

     "Coming!" Current replied, shambling to the entrance. Her cave was simple and sparsely decorated, serving only one purpose: to house Current's few belongings and a bed for the night. The ocean was her home during the day. Clam's sister's face split into a smile and the shark tooth hanging around her neck from a seaweed cord glinted in the filtered light.

     "Hey, I messed you!" Current exclaimed, dragging Clam from her thoughts. "Finally came to grace your sister with a visit, eh? Are you excited for the one-hundred and fortieth Year of Peace Celebration?"

     Clam sighed. "Yeah... about that... guess what happened today?" She quickly continued at Current's insistence: "I was summoned by the Queen. She gave me this important job. I smelled something fishy, though, and it wasn't just her breath."

     "Clam!" Current hissed, glancing out to the Palace below. "You're not supposed to talk like that!"

     "I know," she said, shifting her weight to her back talons. A stripe on her tail flashed three times and Current grinned like a shark. "I'm worried about the job she gave me," Clam continued, causing her sister's smile to fade. "She wants me to investigate the area around the Eastern Current."

     Shocked, her sister sat down heavily. "What? There's no way she was serious. The last time a SeaWing tried to brave those waters they got so whipped by the storms and whirlpools that they lost their mind!"

     "And then they washed up dead on a beach several months later, I know," Clam sighed. "The worst part is, she wants me to go now. As in, right this second."

     Current frowned. "What's so important about the Eastern Current that the Queen wants you to go now to see?"

     "Apparently, there have been some sightings of large shadows flying over the water, but that doesn't make sense if no one goes out there. The area the Queen mentioned is also so far away that with this weather and my swimming speed it will take several days to get there and back, even with the help of the currents."

     "And that's why you're here, talking to me, instead of doing what the Queen tells you?" Current countered. "If you hurry now you could make it in time for the festival."

     "That's not what I'm worried about." Clam couldn't help but think that she was being punished. Even so, she didn't want to say this out loud. She flashed: "I'm worried about disturbing the peace. I have a really bad feeling about this mission."

     Her sister sighed. "Trust me, I don't like the sound of this as much as you, but you don't have a choice. Remember-"

     "Yeah, I remember Slug," Clam breathed, as if merely speaking the dragon's name would bring them back to those dark memories. "You're right. I can't stall any longer. I'll be back as soon as I can."

     As she was turning to leave, Current grabbed her arm. "Can't I come with you? I'm worried about you."

     Clam shook her head. "I don't want to drag you into this. The Queen said this mission was top-secret and she'd know if I tried to get out of it. Plus, Commander Swordfish is on my back and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

     Clam's heart clenched to see the distress on her sister's face. Current's blue eyes watered and she reached forward to wrap her wings around her. "Stay safe, then." Her voice wavered slightly. Current squeezed her tighter after a moment, letting go and reaching for the cord around her neck. "Here, take this with you," she said, holding out the necklace.

     She shook her head and pushed Current's proffered talon away. "I can't, it was my present to you."

     "And now I'm giving it to you, now," Current said, "To keep you safe. This way you'll have a bit of me with you." Using Aquatic, Current smirked and added, "Squid-brain."

     Unable to fend off her smile, Clam accepted the necklace and put it on. Whatever she would find, it couldn't be worse than the journey to and from the Far East. Whatever challenge lay ahead, Clam felt a bit safer knowing she would have Current with her in spirit. She rubbed the shark tooth for good luck before hugging her sister again and turning to dive into the water.