Wings of Fire: The Prequels

4.8

Going close to the Deep Palace was much more nerve-wracking than Gust had thought it would be. Every five minutes, he was checking over his shoulder to make sure that nobody was following him. Paranoia was making every sound seem like the sound of a swimming SeaWing, only making him check over his shoulder more.

When he had finally found the shrine/bastion, his paranoia was justified. Outside of a cave that was where the place was on the map, a small battalion of SeaWings were gathered. All of them were staring keenly into the cave, searching for something that Gust couldn't see yet.

The biggest SeaWing turned towards the rest, a smirk on his face. "Today, we begin the reign of our true king! This mission is important and is vital to his ascension. Find the red dagger and bring it to me!" he ordered, marching forward with his cheering soldiers on his tail.

Stealthily, Gust followed them. The tunnel was dark enough that everything was monochrome but that helped him as he followed the group. Blank as the tunnel was, it disarmed the dragons for the room it led into.

Bioluminescent creatures lit up the room, showing off the rubies and granite that decorated the walls. In the middle, a dagger floated above a pedestal that stood in the middle of a pool of blood and dragon bones. Various dragons in the group had to look away and a few threw up, Gust barely keeping his lunch himself.

Undeterred by the gruesome sight, the leader moved forward with a power-hungry grin on his face. Panicked, Gust shoved his talon into his bag and searched for something that could help him. A bracelet clicked around his wrist, the dragonet lifting it to look at the gold bracelet with violet symbols etched into it.

"This bracelet can summon wind currents to your aid. To attack, to defend, to travel, whatever you need," Lapis' voice echoed in Gust's head, making him subconsciously nod to it.

Expanding his wings and flicking his wrist, Gust was launched forward and next to the leader who was still dramatically moving to the pedestal. Two talons reached for the dagger, the bigger one getting there first. The two looked at each other, the older surprised and the younger frozen by both dread and fear.

Behind them, a scream drew their attention. One of the SeaWings was disintegrating before everyone's eyes, becoming a bloody mess that was the same as the pool in the middle of the room. Everyone froze, taking in the gruesome sight in horrified surprise.

Another SeaWing started the same process, and another, and another. Soldiers were dropping like flies, a few trying to escape the room but the curse got to them too. Only two were safe from the slaughter, Gust and the SeaWing holding the dagger.

Returning to himself and away from the bloody mess, the leader stabbed at Gust. It connected, the ruby cut blade driven into Gust's right shoulder. Grinning at the sight and Gust's scream that joined the others, he twisted the dagger deeper and stared at Gust's slowly disintegrating arm.

Flicking his wrist again, Gust managed to send the leader flying into the wall and away from both him and the dagger. More screams filled the air as the leader was also subjected to the curse around the room but Gust was too focused on his pain to deal with it. Slowly, the area around the dagger broke apart into nothing more than blood and bone.

Tearing the dagger out of his arm, Gust stopped the damage from spreading further. Dropping the dagger, he put a talon in his bag and practically begged for something to heal him. The wooden staff with gemstones came to his aid.

"This can heal and nurture anything that you need. Yourself, your friends, strangers, crops, etc.," Lazuli's soft voice calmed down Gust a little bit. Silently nodding to her explanation, he waved the wand to put himself back together.