Wings of Fire #1: Sahara's Destiny

Chapter 12

The smoke dragons led Sahara out of the cellar and into the hut's main room. Sahara looked around at all the damage the dragons had done and shivered. The flat table that had been in the middle of the room was ripped from its place and was lying sideways near the cloth curtains. The curtains were shredded, and one side was lying on the floor. Sahara couldn't believe the damage they caused from trying to find her. What worried her more was how much damage they had done to everything else, and just how many other dragons were hurt in the process.

Pearl's dragons led her out the hut and into the city. Sahara didn't see any dragons at all. The city was usually full of noises and smells, but now it was quiet and deserted. It made the place feel eerie. The smoke dragons flew her through the deserted village until they reached a tunnel. Sahara could just barely see it through the thick bushes and ferns. Large, overgrown trees covered the area, as though no one had used the tunnel in a long time. Sahara had never been to this side of the village before. The tunnel didn't have two torches on the rims, but instead, bird feathers and jewels.

The SandWing cleared some of the plants away before they entered. The inside of the tunnel was covered with paintings of dragons and some full skeletons of dragons were placed below them. The skeletons strangely, and slightly unsettling, looked like SkyWings. What a strange tunnel. . . Sahara held herself firmly straight to keep from shuddering.

On the other side, Sahara could hear the sound of dragon wings flying above them. This side of the tunnel wasn't in thick brush, but inside a mountain. The tunnel opened up to the sky and several more mountains were visible on the horizon. Sahara squinted her eyes and could see SkyWings flying around a small forest. I'm in the Sky Kingdom! She realized. No wonder Pearl got here so fast. They flew north until the SkyWing palace was in sight. Instead of going towards the palace, the smoke dragons took her to the left. They led her toward a large forest with some scattered trees and onto a pathway made from gray stone. They walked down the pathway until they reached a small clearing.

The stone pathway circled around a golden throne that was covered with vines. Steps stood in front and a row of purple and pink flowers lined both sides. On the throne, was a copper SkyWing that Sahara recognized from one of her dreams.

The SkyWing grinned and the SkyWing - shaped smoke dragon brought Sahara forward.

"Here she is," the SkyWing queen announced. "Animus SandWing Sahara."

The smoke dragon tied Sahara's chains to a log that stood up beside the steps. "Your Majesty." she bowed before her and her companion disappeared.

Then, a NightWing and RainWing came to both sides of Topaz's throne and stared down at Sahara. The NightWing had dark gray and black scales and blue eyes. She had teardrop scales at the corners of her eyes and wore earrings made from gold with a small bit of obsidian in the middle. She also had a dark gray wire necklace with a sapphire hanging on the end. The RainWing had light purple and white scales. Her eyes were brown and she had a lavender necklace around her neck. Both of them glanced at Topaz and the SkyWing arched her brows without looking at them. The NightWing walked up to Sahara and glared at her. She then looked back at Topaz and nodded.

"Thank you, Zodiac." Topaz smiled.

Zodiac gave Sahara a harsh look and went back to her spot beside the SkyWing queen.

"Lavender." Topaz said.

Lavender glanced at her and studied Sahara.

Her brown eyes flickered from brown to yellow and back. Sahara tilted her head in confusion as Lavender looked her over. Lavender's eyes stopped flickering and they stayed yellow. She growled and lashed her tail. Sahara followed her eyes until they landed on Sahara's pouch. The RainWing lifted her pouch from Sahara's neck and examined it. She can tell I have animus-touched objects in there! Sahara saw Zodiac give her a suspicious look and Lavender looked back at her. Zodiac arched her brows and eyed Sahara's pouch. Lavender unzipped the zipper and grabbed the last two objects Sahara had. Both the obsidian mirror and Dolphin's protection pearl. Queen Topaz gave the objects a scornful look and Lavender gave them to her.

"Well, isn't this unpleasant." she hissed. "I can't have animus-touched objects in my palace unless they're Pearl's. Lavender, put them somewhere safe."

Lavender nodded and flew off back to the palace.

The SkyWing queen walked up to Sahara and untied her chains from the log.

"Zodiac, you may take her from here." she said as she handed the chains to the NightWing. Zodiac took the chains and flew Sahara to a set of mountain prisons. The mountain had several holes in it. The mountain overlooked a small forest and the SkyWing palace. Zodiac put her in a hole that was big enough for five dragons to sit in comfortably. Inside, there was a SkyWing that had copper wire tied around his neck, wings, and ankles. The SkyWing was lying on the right side of the prison with his head on his front talons. He glanced at Sahara and gave her a sympathetic look. Zodiac tied her chains to the end of the SkyWing's and flew out. Sahara felt her bare neck. It didn't feel normal not having her pouch around her neck anymore. Lavender had taken it to Queen Topaz's palace, and she probably would never see it again. She sighed heavily and sat down.

She'd never thought she'd be stuck in a prison in the Sky Kingdom. Or any prison for that matter. All Sahara wanted to do was cry, but she couldn't. The SkyWing in front of her looked familiar to her. His brown eyes were fixed on her as if he knew who she was as well. He's the SkyWing I saw when I went to go see Stargazer. She realized. He's the SkyWing I sat beside.

"I've seen you before." she said.

The SkyWing smiled and rose until he was sitting. "No kidding." he grinned. "I've seen you, too. Weren't you the SandWing that sat next to me during Stargazer's and Moonglobe's story time?"

His voice was deep, but also sounded young. Sahara nodded and smiled. "I'm Sahara." she introduced.

"Vulcan." the SkyWing said.

"Do you have other friends?" Sahara asked.

Vulcan snorted a laugh. "Well, yeah. There's Quake, Hail, Algae, and Canyon. All of them are somewhere around here." Vulcan gazed out the prison hole and his smile faded. It slowly turned into a sad look and he looked back at Sahara. "I can't believe we're here. I mean, like here. It's been years since I've been in the Sky Kingdom and look at me, stuck in a prison." he sighed. "How in the three moons was Pearl even able to escape her chains? I had heard Dolphin had made it impossible to get them off."

Sahara wanted to tell him Topaz had something to do with it, but he would ask how and she wouldn't be able to answer.

She was mostly worried about how long Pearl was going to keep her here. Probably not long. She thought. Then again, what if she could change Pearl's mind? Could she convince Pearl to let everyone go and apologize to her sister? "Would it be possible to tell Pearl otherwise? I mean, what if we could persuade Pearl that all of this is wrong?" Sahara queried.

Vulcan stared at her as if she was crazy and leaned towards her. "There's no talking Pearl out of something." he said sternly.

He leaned back and arched his brows. Sahara groaned and glared at him. She hated it when dragons always tell her Pearl can't be changed. There was always a way to change a dragon's mind, you just had to figure out how.

"Trust me, we've tried. But it never works." Vulcan assured her after a few moments. "I'm sorry I crushed your idea. I just don't want you to waste your time on something that is doomed to fail."

Sahara rolled her eyes and looked out the cave hole. She knew it was possible. Even if I did, She thought. What would I do?Chapter 12