Heart of the storm

Chapter 5

Thunder raced across the moonlit evening sky, with the two VoltWing guards in hot pursuit. Thunder had to dive into a tiny tunnel, hide in acacia trees, and duck under rocks to avoid them. They were faster and stronger than him, so he had to get refuge to catch his breath before sneaking off. Well, trying to, anyway. Thunder's breathing was ragged and raspy, and it was easy to hear in the open air

To make matters worse, Queen Cloudburst had used the Heart to alter the weather outside of the storm. She had altered the wind so that her guards could fly in the faster air currents. Subtle, but effective. Still, Thunder knew very well that this could mean life or death so he pumped his wings faster than he ever did before. If he let the Heart into Cloudburst's claws, who knew what would happen? The Storm may well be captured by that dragon, Thorax.

The guards chased after Thunder for a few hours but eventually gave up in a panic after he hid in a cave. With expressions of 'How could I be so stupid' and 'I'm SO going to get punished for this,' they weakly made their way back to the twinkle of the Storm in the distance.

Once they were far gone, Thunder had swooped down to the ground and collected a few shrubs and sticks which he had hastily made into a cradle. After carefully placing the box with the Heart inside it, he carried on.

Completely in awe, and for the gazillionth time, Thunder looked at the beauty of the land beneath him. He had assumed the hills below the Storm were the prettiest thing in the whole continent. But compared to the large glistening lakes, and tall mountains that surrounded him now, only a few miles away, it was worth almost nothing.

Thunder realized the sun was starting to set and looked around him for a good spot in the mountains where he could spend the night.

On a small hill, he saw a large cave opening.

That's perfect. A brilliant space to spend my first night away.

Thunder tilted his wings and soared to the opening. His wings sparkled in the moonlight and he loved it. Wow, I'm the first VoltWing dragonet in centuries that has been out at night. His talons touched the cold rock, making his whole body shiver. He walked over to the middle of the cave and sat down, now realizing how exhausted he was.

Suddenly his makeshift cradle collapsed, sending the metal box tumbling to the ground.

The box!

Overcome with excitement, Thunder picked it up and glided to the light to get a better view. Throughout the chaos of the last day, he hadn't had the time to appreciate its beauty. It was probably over a hundred years old. Hacksmithed metal markings made up all its faces, and it had a polished top, with a carved picture of what looked like a VoltWing. Probably, Queen Twister, he thought with an internal eye roll. But then he turned his attention back to the Heart of the Storm.

Thunder turned it over in his talons. This would be the first time he'd see the Heart. In the Storm, it was never shown to the public. So Thunder would be the first one, besides the Queen and Council, to ever see this sacred object.

On the outside of the box, there didn't appear to be any handle or way to open it.

Surely the Council must have to open it often, he thought with a frown. So how did they? Thunder tried to think back. There must be a secret hatch or something.

He stared at the box for a few more minutes in silence.

As the sun was barely visible, and the moons were making their way into the sky, Thunder suddenly had an idea. At school, they'd been taught a handy way to fry metal using electricity. You had to put pressure on the desired spot and then summon your electricity to open up a hole. Finally, I actually learned something in school. Professor Cumulus would be overjoyed. Maybe he could open a hole in the box, and get the Heart out. This was in case a VoltWing was ever captured and needed to open a lock, they could escape and fly back home. It was definitely not meant for what he was about to do.