Power-A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

Chapter Eight

"Finally, we can rest," Dolphin gasped, falling onto the rock-hard bed. Starcrafter groaned and fell onto the other bed. "This is so stupid," Starcrafter said. "If he was paid to torture us, why bother with giving us rest at all?" Dolphin barked a laugh. "Rest is torture, too," he said, slamming a fist onto the bed. 

"Get comfortable!" Brightsting's cheerful voice called from the hallway. "You'll be staying here for a while!" "Will Orca even notice we're gone?" Starcrafter wondered. "Will anyone at the school lift a claw to help us? Will we be stuck in this horrible hole forever?" Starcrafter hated the palace. In some spots, like the throne room, there were jewels everywhere. In other spots, like the main torture hall, there was moss, blood, and the stench of rotten flesh. 

"Orca will rescue us, Starcrafter," Dolphin said reassuringly. "Hmph," Starcrafter said skeptically. Orca was more of a competitor than a sister. It was very unlikely that she would help them. Yet there was a shred of hope that she would. "Torture resumes in fifteen minutes!" Brightsting shouted, louder this time. Dolphin let out a weak moan and sank even deeper onto the bed. Starcrafter felt so bad. Dolphin was much weaker than him. This would be even harder for him. I have to help him, Starcrafter thought. I have to be strong so he can be strong. We're in this together. 

Sand. Sand unfolded in all directions. Orca hated the Kingdom of Sand. The sun was scorching them, threatening to fry them to crisps. She felt very uncomfortable because of her dark scales. Her whole body was covered in sweat. "This is awful," Blackout gasped. The thin NightWing was also feeling uncomfortable. Frost and Blizzard didn't mind, however. Their earrings made sure of that. "Stop whining," Frost snapped. "How will you rescue your girlfriend's brothers if you can't even put up with flying a bit?" Blackout gave the IceWing a hurt look. "It's okay to whine," Orca said. "Just not too much." 

"That grove of trees looks incredibly suspicious," Blizzard said, pointing at a cluster of dark trees that looked extremely unnatural. "Uh--" Blackout said, "Isn't that the place with certain death?" Frost snorted, but Orca could see in his head that he was a bit scared. "We'll be fine," Blizzard said with an eye roll. "Frost and I are brilliant fighters. Right, Frost?" He nodded. "And Orca has animus magic!" She gave Orca a stern look. She doesn't trust Frost with that knowledge? Orca thought with surprise. Well, our matching necklaces don't seem suspicious to him...he doesn't know if they are enchanted or not...

"Let's go!" Blackout said. "I can't wait to die!" "HA!" Orca said. "Enough sarcasm!" They dove into the trees. Frost tripped on a stray vine and went sprawling in the mud. "Who's the bloke now?" Blackout taunted him. Frost nearly jumped at him but Blizzard held him back. 

"Shhh!" Orca hissed. She scanned the trees. There, nestled in the trees, was a palace made of stone. "It'll be ages before those fools' sister comes blundering in to save them!" someone guffawed. "Shut UP!" a second voice hissed. "They could be here RIGHT NOW!" Orca smothered a laugh. They were right there, eavesdropping. "Brightsting beat 'em bloody," a third voice said. "They won't be recognizable. Those jewels th' RainWings gave 'im're really payin' off! He should get more customers like that! We'll be rollin' in gems and riches by the end of the year! Ain't I right?" "Stop talking nonsense and focus," the second voice snapped. They fell silent.

"I'll kill them," Frost whispered. "No need to get your bejeweled talons dirty." Blackout sent him another glare and Orca elbowed him in the ribs. With startling speed, Frost shot forward. He hissed frostbreath into the dragons' faces. They let out short shrieks. He sliced his claws across their throats and kicked them in the underbellies. They lay dead. Frost sent his gawking companions an evil grin. Yes, yes. See my power. Watch me be dangerous. See how threatening I am. Especially you, you lazy, loud bloke of a NightWing. Orca shook her head. "Let's go," she whispered. 

A thought struck her. Is this what Mahogany and Lemon want? She wondered, fear spiking in her mind. Do they want me to dangerously use my magic so everyone thinks I am the second coming of Darkstalker? Well, she would make sure that was never going to happen. 

"Do we wreck the wall?" Blackout asked. Excited energy gleamed in his eyes. "No, you fool," Frost told him. "They will notice us then." Blackout asked the IceWing: "Do you have any better ideas?" "We make a tunnel, of course," Frost said. "Oh, my," Blackout said. "I didn't think that you had that idea because you were scared of getting your precious scales dirty!" "Stop arguing!" Blizzard said, stomping her foot. "We make a tunnel. Nobody is going to dig, though." This is my great revelation, her mind whispered to Orca.

She closed her eyes and sank her claws into the dirt. There was a hissing noise and a tunnel materialized in the ground. A tunnel leading down. Frost and Blackout gasped simultaneously. "Blizzard," said Frost, his face openly confused. Sadness, deep sadness with tinges of jealousy filled his mind. He had a flashback of a line of dragonets standing outside. Frost ordered a rock to split in half...but then it didn't. He was remembering a sleek silvery dragonet, Blizzard's cousin, turning out to be an animus and then teasing Frost about not being one despite his wishes. He was remembering Blizzard sticking up for him. All of that darted through his brain in three seconds.

"Blizzard," Frost said, "But you can only use your magic once! Your soul..." Blizzard smiled. "All taken care of," she said, gripping her necklace. "But...you and Silver are both animi! How...that's not fair! None of my dreams ever come true! Everyone gets special treatment and they're not even perfect! Everyone hates me and I have no talents! My life is pointless!" He hunched his wings and a tear fell from his eye onto the ground. Blizzard went over to him and twisted her tail around his. Her wing fell over him. "Frost," she said gently. "You are special enough without animus magic." He looked into her eyes, disbelief all over his face. "You are," she insisted. "You are a wonderful fighter. You are smart. You are awesome at making ice carvings and writing stories. Even if you do act like a jerk sometimes, you're awesome ninety-five percent of the time." His heart exploded with love.