Where Smoke Bleeds Gold

Chapter Thirteen - Three Dragons

Lightning crashed far away, stunning us for a moment. I shook my scales, trying to dry off. The rain beat down on our backs. It had started raining since morning, and we had been walking for three days straight. Thunder rumbled through the mud as we trudged further. Steam was rising off my face, making it even harder to see.
"Wha-" Typhoon said, tripping into the mud. I turned around to try to help her up. By the time we turned around, Flicker and Kindling had gone deeper into the rain.
"Are you o-" I began, suddenly cut off by a thunderous screech. I shut my eyes, throwing my muddy wings up to hide us from the skies.
"Safe?" Typhoon asked. I looked up, eyes glued to the sky. Nothing seemed to change from the dark gray clouds.
"I don't know," I said. Wrapping a wing around Typhoon, I pulled her closer to the others, trying to catch up in the muddy terrain. Another screech sounded, farther this time, but it didn't make me feel any better.
"Let's find a place to stop!" I yelled over the rain.
"Over here!" I heard Kindling yell, watching them disappear behind a hill. Me and Typhoon stumbled after them into a cave carved into its side. Cobwebs decored the ceiling, roaches scattered on the walls. Other than bugs, it was clear. I shook the water off my scales again, feeling chilled to the bone after walking in the rain all day.
"I don't like that noise," I said, laying down in a dry spot of the cave.
"Let's try to sleep," Kindling said, already laying against Flicker, half asleep.
"Okay," I whispered, stretching out against the cold stone floor.
Typhoon stood at the entrance of the cave. Her scales soaked from the constant battering of rain. She stared quietly at the three FireScales, the steam from their faces slowly cooling as they fell asleep. Sounds of all kinds echoed in the distance, like the sounds of whale calls and DeepGills. She didn't like those sounds. Dripping, she tip-toed back into the cave. She wasn't cold, nor was she hurt, but she didn't feel safe. Quake was tall and strong, never seemed to be scared. She and Kindling seemed strong and brave, but Typhoon didn't know why. Maybe she wasn't as strong as them.
I jumped, shocked to feel Typhoon's cold touch. I looked over my shoulder to see her fallen asleep behind me, using me as a shield between her and the cave entrance.
"Goodnight," I whispered, laying my head back down to sleep. I laid still on the floor, trying to rest my mind. I hadn't been able to sleep since we left the desert. Fatigue grasped at each scale, buzzing in my mind. My breath slowed, the world faded. Yet I never found sleep as one word plagued my mind.

I jumped up at the sound of the earth shaking. Shaking my mind out of a limbo between sleep and consciousness, I tried to focus on what was happening.
"Where's Typhoon?" I barked, trying to get their attention. Kindling was shoved to the side as Flicker stood up.
"Wasn't she with you last night?" Flicker asked, flinching as dust fell from the roof. A heart-stopping scream shattered the momentary silence. I fell, holding my head as my brain ringed and my ears felt like bleeding. I choked out a cry, praying for the noise to stop. I looked up to a giant pale yellow talon clawing into the cave. It kicked up dirt and stone, but no sound came to me. The worst ringing noise sounded in my ear, like a bell or a bug squealing in my ears. I looked at Flicker, but she was already leaving the cave.
"Wait!" I yelled, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. I made eye contact with Kindling, who simply stared, seeming as stunned as me. I bolted after Flicker, and if I knew her she'd already be- Fire blasted the roc's oily feathers as it shrieked in fright. The roc shook it's massive wings, suffocating the fires on its stomach. It's brown feathers left blackened and destroyed.
"Just run!" I yelled, eyeing the roc, almost thrice as high as me. It screamed again, not nearly as loud as before as it thrust out its talon to capture Flicker. Its beak slammed down, narrowly missing Flicker's tail. She hissed, raising her wings to look bigger. Kindling jumped out, digging his claws into the roc's leg, right where the scaly skinned talon began. With another screech, it whirled around slamming Kindling into the ground. During the commotion, I ran between its legs, tackling into Flicker.
"Get off!" She barked. I was shocked to hear her.
"We need to run!" I said to her, Kindling yelled behind us as a crash sounded.
"We can fight it," She said, shoving me off of her, not giving me a second glance and she blasted a dull flame against its feathers. It swiped its gnarled talons at her, barely missing her wing. I wanted to yell at her, she was obviously being stupid just to show off, but why? With a jump, I latched onto the giant bird's neck. I bit between its feathers, but I barely managed to get a hold on its flesh.
"Go!" I heard Typhoon say. I looked back to see the little dragon sprinting away. Underneath me, the bird began to sway. I tried to jump off, but for a moment I was stuck by a flurry of feathers. Landing face first into the ground, the bird muttered a cry, twitching as four dragons circled it.
"What?" I asked, pulling myself away from the corpse.
"Fish," Typhoon said, pointing to the bird's stomach with a red talon. It was sliced open jaggedly, entrails beginning to leak out. Already bugs were beginning to hover around us.
"Oh," I said, wrinkling my snout at the sight. I looked back at her, noticing it wasn't just her talon that was bloody. Her face had it smeared on it. She seemed oddly efficient at killing it. "But how?" I asked.
"Fish," She said, shaking her head like water droplets were stuck to her ears. I nodded, not understanding.
"Is that supposed to make sense?" Kindling asked, flinching as he watched Typhoon flex her bloody talon. It looked like she might lick it clean.
"What?" I asked, jumping back as the bird flinched, kicking it's pale yellow now bloody talon up.
"Fishtail killing a bird," Kindling said, looking from the bird to her.
"Clawfish," Typhoon said with a scowl.
"Either I'm stupid or she isn't making sense," Kindling said, brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"Sea dragon, stupid," Flicker grinned. I turned around to the path the bird made landing outside the cave. I jumped back as I saw a mess just beyond the trees. Without the others, I began treading toward the deserted camp. Nothing left but broken sticks and oddly placed stones, but it was clear I had been here before.
"What's that?" Flicker asked, creeping up behind me.
"Three more days until we get there," I said, feeling a fluttering emotion in my chest. "Let's go!" I said, beginning to sprint off without them.
Two Days
My head was pounding. Thoughts scattered and left me as suddenly as they crashed into my skull. We were running along the beach, well, I was running, Typhoon was swimming and Kindling and Flicker were acting like they were on their honeymoon. Right now they were splashing in the ocean without any urgency to keep up. They had recently caught an elk. Shared some of it with Typhoon and I, but I had turned them down. They were running on a full stomach, and that was holding them down from running as fast. That and other things. I could see Typhoon going as fast as me because she was in the water, and she was loving it. The moment she'd seen it she had fallen into it. She had seemed happier ever since she had even saw it. Her scales brighter, her smile wider. It made me wonder why I had made her part with it for so long. How was I supposed to remember any of that when the same thought came crashing through my mind over and over again?
"Hurry up!" I barked at them, not so much as turning around to see the two. I tried to remember that they were volunteering, that they could leave at any time. That I didn't want to make Flicker regret this. How was I supposed to remember any of that when the same thought came crashing through my mind over and over again? Avalanche, Starshine and Quake had a deadline, and at any moment their time could be up. I beat my legs faster, willing myself to speed up. My head spun and pounded, reminding me that to stop and rest was a smart idea. How was I supposed to remember any of that when the same thought came crashing through my mind over and over again? I couldn't sleep, barely ate. What if they couldn't sleep? What if they weren't being fed? It made me think of my house, being prisoned for so long. What was a prison? I don't think I had ever learned. I wasn't sure what may be happening to them, but I knew it wasn't good. What would they think if I asked them such a stupid thought?
My legs locked, digging into the sand. I needed a moment to breath, but how was I supposed to remember any of that when the same thought came crashing through my mind over and over again? How was I supposed to remember any of that when the same thought came crashing through my mind over and over again?
What if they were already gone?
One Night
"Go to sleep," Flicker said, laying beside me. The sand wasn't warm anymore. Moon's dull rays weren't strong enough to keep the land heated as cool winds blew down.
"I can't," I said, keeping my eyes wide as I turned to her.
"I'm not going to sleep until you do," She said, rolling over to look at me. "And there's no way I'm walking another step before I get rest," She said. I wanted to call her bluff, but I didn't want to make her regret coming with me.
"Okay," I said, finally curling up in the sand to attempt to sleep. I didn't think she would wait long, but she refused to move until her warmth beside me made me blink out into sleep.
"Flare," Flicker said, shaking me awake. I stood up, Sun high up in the sky. I almost jumped out of my scales.
"Why did you let me sleep so long? We've got to go!" I said, not ready to be crying after just waking up. Tears refused to wait and already built up in my eyes.
"You were just- I thought-" She said, trying to find words.
"What if we get there too late? What will you think then?" I barked, trying to shake the tears from my eyes. "I shouldn't have slept, let's just-" I mumbled.
"Even if we're there before it's 'too late,' You'll be no use to them dead," Flicker hissed.
"I just don't-" I began. I stopped, noticing Sun was blue. The sky was dark. It wasn't Sun at all. "Oh," I said, realizing I hadn't even slept for a pace. Moon barely moved in the sky.
"What?" Flicker asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm just tired," I said, laying closer to her.
"It was just a nighterror," Flicker said, "Go back to sleep," Little did she realize she was talking to someone already unconscious.