Wings of Fire: A New Regime (Book 3)

Chapter 7

"Clear!" Bright said, charging through the crowd. Bright was the Sandawing candidate for Queen, if Bermuda remembered. She should remember, since Bright would be one of her queens.

Bright shooed lingering Stratus with a wing, and leaned her head on Jellyfish's chest, listening with a heart beat. She made a nervous noise, and but her two claws on Jellyfish's neck. After a moment, Bright stood up and gave Bermuda and Stratus a polite nod.

"She's alright. She got knocked out from the throw, but she's okay." Bright said, backing up. Dragons, including Jeweldreamer, Jasmine, Iodine, and Stratus came together to lift Jellyfish and get her somewhere more comfortable.

Bermuda turned to take care of the dead body.

But Aconi was crouched on the ground, blood still gushing from the wound were Bermuda's tail exited.

Bermuda gasped, as the ground began to rumble. The RainWing smiled.

She's about to wipe this village off the maps.

"Retreat!" Bermuda screamed, flapping her wings, "Retreat!" At the sight of the rising supervillian, there was no hesitation. Crowds ran past Bermuda, as cold winds swept past her, and the sky darkened. She couldn't take her eyes off Aconi, who stared back into hers. She stood frozen, as if the cold snow had frozen her as well.

"Bermuda!" Cloudy yelled, tugging at her wing, and snapping her out of the trance. "We have to-"

The ground erupted in front of them, and split apart. Dragons stumbled, slipping backwards as the snow cascaded into the growing split.

Bermuda and Cloudy's legs buckled, and the snow beneath them rushed toward the epicenter. Cloudy pulled her up and forwards. The IceWing was much more built to pull through deep churning snow, and therefore had the upper hand.

They struggled free, and sprinted full tilt into the wilderness. Around them, the hot weather trees had died, along with more foliage, and the ground was littered with the corpses of animals.

Something crackled next to Bermuda, and a purple bolt of lightning struck a tree up ahead, making it burst into flames. Bermuda risked a glance behind, and saw Aconi tearing through the scratchy dead underbrush. Like a wolf pack, her Glass trailed behind her, running in near silence.

"Watch out!" Cloudy yelled, pulling her backwards. The tree was falling, flaming, and dipping over the path. Bermuda stumbled, and pulled Cloudy down another path.

The settlement's fire had spread far across the rainforest, killing anything that wasn't already dead in its path. She had no idea where her friends were.

With Jellyfish incapacitated, and all my friends trying to carry her to safety...

I have to believe they made it.

A Glass darted in front of Bermuda and Cloudy, and she instinctively charged at it. Its wickedly razor sharp talons tore into her tired body. A surprisingly cold blast of air surprised her, and a cluster of ice was wrapped around the Glass's head, plastering them to the ground.

"Jeez," Bermuda jumping back, and brushing the snow off of her. "Nice shot."

"Thanks, but we've got to keep moving." Cloudy said as another flaming branch crashed near them.

The two ran and ran, dodging a few flaming branches and possessed Glass along the way, wherever they were going. Bermuda didn't think that mattered, just as long as that place wasn't with Aconi.

Another tree crashed down, and the two dipped past and ran for a clear path.

A very clear path, one with open skies. A cliff.

"Yes!" Bermuda said, pulling Cloudy. She turned them, and stretched her wings. Even with the tremendous loss of leaves, the forest roof was still much too thick to fly through, so a big break in the trees where she and Cloudy could make a run for it was all they needed.

"Watch out!" A voice said, and Iodine crashed through the trees, right into a Glass as they pounced. Bermuda skidded on the snow, and Cloudy tried to pull her as she slid towards the fight.

Iodine smashed the Glass into a tree, shattering them into tiny pieces. As per usual, the shards floated up and twinkled away into the wilderness.

Another Glass burst from the forest, tackling Cloudy. They writhed beneath the crystalline talons, which drew blue blood from the IceWing.

Bermuda leaped towards Cloudy, only to be struck down and squashed by a Glass. She kicked at its belly. Stings of pain shot through her ankles. And she reached up to yank the Glass down. Only after more struggling did Bermuda realize that the Glass wasn't attacking her, just holding her down. This was confirmed by looking up and seeing Cloudy stop struggling, looking at Bermuda with defeat.

A moment later, Iodine was thrown down right next to Bermuda. The SkyWing was hissing and squirming.

"Iodine," Bermuda snapped. "Iodine! Stop struggling! You're only hurting yourself!"

She didn't hear her, of course. But eventually she too stopped.

"What-" Iodine grumbled, laying her head against the snow on defeat. Snowflakes gathered on her snout. "Why am I not dead?"

"Beats me," Cloudy said, trying to look around.

The weight of the Glass was heavy, and forced her into the freezing ground, reminding her of her hate for the cold. It was impossible to move, with the Glass's talon clamping down on her throat. It wasn't exactly painful, but the pressure was great enough that Bernuds knew it would be if she struggled.

"What are they waiting for?" Bermuda gasped, looking around. Another Glass or two was waiting at the edge of the clearing, sitting statue still. They were also non-agressive.

"I have no clue. Very bizarre." Cloudy said. "Appreciating the not-deadness, though,"

"Oh, he's a wise-guy," Iodine muttered.

"Wise guy works. Or wise girl. Preferably a wise they/them." Cloudy chuckled.

"Ah, okay." Iodine said. "My bad."

"Love that you guys are making small talk," Bermuda said. "But we've got company."

As she said that, the Glass shoved their pinprick talons into her neck. Bermuda hissed, and she heard her friends do the same. A tingling sensation trickled down her spine, followed by an uncomfortable numbness.

Bermuda gasped, her muscles relaxing. The only thing she could do was roll her eyes around.

Aconi, the beautifully horrifying RainWing stepped from behind a tree too small to accommodate hiding. The bending of reality seemed to mess with Bermuda than the toxins in her bloodstream.

Aconi sauntered forwards with a sassy slow clap. "My, my," she said, "Marvelous fight you put up. If only I didn't lose such valuable soldiers... but thank the moons they never die. And aren't valuable."

Bermuda stared at Aconi, unable to contort her face into a glare.

"Ah, a new friend here? You look awfully  similar to Stratus. A sister?" Aconi said, picking up Iodine's head by the chin.

"Perfect," Aconi said, letting the SkyWing's head drop back into the snow. "Now, let's play a game. Who can guess where you're going and what I'm going to do with you?"

Aconi dramatically waited for a response, then laughed. "Oh, oops, I seem to have forgot that you can't even blink. Right, I guess I'll just tell you."

She drew herself up as three large Glass appeared from seemingly nowhere, and grabbed each of the prisoners and hoisted them up by the wings, and threw them over their backs.

"You're under arrest," Aconi hissed. "You'll come to my Palace, and you'll work for me,"

"If you don't, you'll never see your stupid friends again."