Wings of Fire Legends • The Blue Comet

Prologue

2483 AS

Egret could not stop checking the sky.

     Her son had begun sneaking out of the cave lately with increasing frequency and lengthening absences. First, it was the occasional slip – only gone for a day or two – but now he would disappear and not return until several nights later. When he was home he was distant, worried, and unresponsive. Egret's nerves, already frayed with the stress of undertaking a new job in the palace as a cook, could not handle any more abuse.

     "The next time I see him," she muttered to herself, "I'll give him such a verbal lashing he won't think to leave even for a drink. That'll teach him."

     But that promise was an empty one as she returned to scanning the night horizon for any sign of her beloved Eagle. She just wanted him home.

     The longer the night dragged on, the more unsettled she became. Egret could not shake the feeling of wrongness that stuck to her scales like pine sap. Eagle had been here yesterday as she left for work, but after a long shift, she returned to an empty cave. His job as a delegate for Her Majesty sometimes involved working overtime, so she hoped that was the reason for his absence rather than what it probably was: He was sneaking off to somewhere only the three moons knew, and that he would not return until the week's end.

     Maybe I should follow him one night, Egret thought to herself. How had the idea not come sooner? It felt obvious to her now that she should have done so a long time ago. Even though her son was old enough to take care of himself, that did not mean he had a right to take off any time he pleased and never tell her. Any time she asked – begged – him to tell her what he was doing, Eagle would respond with 'politics; top-secret,' and that was the end of that. Well, Egret would not roll over anymore.

     Although she knew she could do no more than wait, sleep, and prepare for the morning's work (she and the rest of the kitchen rose before the sun to prepare the extravagant breakfasts for the Queen and her family) Egret could not tear herself away from the cave opening. That wrongness was making her heart pound now. It went thump, thump, thump in her ribcage. Or... were those wingbeats?

     "Eagle!?" she called into the night, rising to her talons as a large SkyWing came into view.

     "Not Eagle," gasped the dragon, "it's Goshawk. Come quickly."

     Now her heart was climbing out of her chest, into her throat, and leaping out of her mouth. Egret tore from the cave, nearly clipping her son's best friend with her swiftness. The world was a blur before her – her vision tunnelled and all she could see were the stars right in front of her.

     "To the Palace! The main landing!" Goshawk's voice called to her. Egret careened left and shot in the direction of Queen Cardinal's Palace.

     No, not my Eagle, she thought. Not my beloved Eagle! This was all wrong, wrong, wrong. Something was wrong.

     Her suspicions were confirmed as she crested the saddle of a mountain and soared over the north side of the palace. Egret's eyes snapped to focus on the ledge built for receiving guests, which was long and wide to hold many dragons. Two were gathered there now: one a dark red that looked black in the moonless night and another that lay on the stones in a pool of blood. A trail of it led from the edge of the landing to where the dragon rested now, as if they had crashed.

     "Eagle!" Egret wailed, her wings folding without her permission. She lost her ability to fly as shock paralyzed her limbs. That was her son's form on the stones; that was her son's blood staining the ground.

     Talons snatched her falling form and a vicious popping noise accompanied the action. Goshawk had to pump his wings madly to slow down enough, but Egret had completely passed out. He held onto her tail and tried to get a better grip to not hurt her. He was pretty sure her tail had dislocated when he caught her, but as a soon-to-be father himself, he knew she would not care.

     Goshawk managed to set her down in a pile of limbs and scales on the edge of the landing. He alighted himself, quickly checking that nothing was broken in the fall, before racing to his friend's side.

     Eagle lay in a puddle of black liquid, wheezing and clawing at the stones weakly. He must have heard his mother's voice calling from above, as he tried to move towards the smell of her now.

     "Shh, shh," Goshawk pleaded, touching his friend's shoulder to get him to stop moving. "You need to stay still. Save your strength." Looking up, he addressed the guard. "How's the spear? Are the healers coming?"

     "On their way," the guard said dismissively. The dark red SkyWing was shifting around Eagle's collapsed form, trying in vain to figure out a way to dislodge the weapon lodged deep in Eagle's chest. The spearhead protruded above the pale orange dragon's collarbone.

     "My dragonet... my dragonet..."

     Egret was swaying to her talons. Her son's face filled her vision. She took a step, then stumbled until she lay in front of him, blinking to see through her tears. Eagle smiled weakly.

     "Mo... ther," he rasped. A strange gurgling came from his throat.

     A noiseless wail issued from Egret's throat as she brought her shout close to his. She cupped his face and sobbed, crying as her dragonet died in her talons. This wasn't right... this was wrong... she was never meant to outlive him! He was supposed to... supposed... to...

     "Come home!" she pleaded in a hoarse voice, "come home..."

     Egret's crying filled the night. Goshawk could barely work around it. He watched as Eagle's talons stilled, the life left his eyes, and his body sagged. The guard finally pulled the spear out, the pearly gleam of the narwhal's tooth stained with blood, but it was too late.

     Seeing the spear filled Goshawk with rage. He snatched it from the guard's talons.

     A narwhal spear.

     IceWings used narwhal spears.

     Goshawk lifted his head. The streak of blood trailing behind Eagle – his throat closed up thinking of his friend – was pointing west.

     IceWings lived to the far west.

     What was Eagle doing that he encountered IceWings? Much less: an IceWing that wanted to kill him. That had killed him.

     Rage boiled in Goshawk's blood. Egret's wails faded to the distance until all he could see was the spear in his talons. I vow revenge, he thought. I will destroy the dragon that took Eagle from me and his mother. I will-

     "Goshawk! Goshawk!"

     The familiar voice of his wife reached his ears, starting as a dim cry until it was right next to him. Goshawk surfaced from his trance to find Primrose swooping to the ledge. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" she cried. There was a wild light in her eyes.

     Why is she not sitting the egg?

     "Goshawk!" Primrose roared, catching his wandering attention. She rushed forward, trying to take the spear from his talons. "It's hatching!"

     "You can be there," he growled, turning away. "I need to -"

     "You don't understand!" Primrose cried. He finally caught on to the panic she was showing: her eyes, movements, and voice were saturated with it. Her orange eyes flicked over his wings and she saw the guard. The fear in her eyes intensified as she looked back at him. "Something's wrong," she whispered.

     The anger dissipated. Goshawk dropped the spear. Something must have been wrong for Primrose to have left their first egg and flown through half the kingdom to find him. Together, the worried parents took to the sky, leaving the old mother on the landing to grieve her dead son alone.