Spirit's Awakening (Book 1 of Spirit's Calling)

The Mainland

The Elemental Masters spent the rest of the day learning to control their dragons. Lloyd assisted most of them, being the only one to previously have used a dragon, but Y/n found it easy to master. It took some energy out of her, but not as much as she'd expected. At sunrise the next day, they headed out to Ninjago City.

Y/n couldn't calm her pounding heart. It was the first time she could leave the island, and she was itching to see the mainland.

The flight was not long, since traveling by dragon was much faster than boat. Lloyd and Garmadon led the charge with Y/n right behind, the other elementals fanning out behind them.

"Chen and his Anacondrai have a day's start on us," Lloyd warned into the new comms Zane and Karlof had made for each elemental. "Be prepared for anything and everything."

Kai flew up to Lloyd's side, Skylor seated behind him. "How did we lose so much time?"

"We're not all quick learners," Jay replied, shooting a glance at Y/n, which she ignored. "Mastering your fear to create a dragon takes time."

"Well," Nya reminded, "we're running out of that." She pointed from behind Jay at the upcoming city. "There's Ninjago City, hurry!"

Y/n's breath caught as she stared at the fast-approaching buildings. The clutter of lights and colors both confused and fascinated her, and she admired the vast expanse of the city. It was so big!

On his red and gray dragon, Griffin grinned. "Hurry's my middle name," he gloated, urging his dragon to fly faster. "Hyah!"

With a burst of his elemental power, Griffin's dragon shot towards the city. The others arrived shortly after, flying close to the tops of the buildings and swerving around the skyscrapers. Y/n's wide eyes took in everything: the sounds, smells, sights, feeling the proximity of the metal buildings. She caught Cole making a face at her and nudged her dragon a little too close to his, forcing him to almost crash into a building.

"Hey!" He complained lightheartedly.

"Don't make fun of me," Y/n returned, but grinned all the same.

"Remember," Lloyd cut in, "whatever happens down there, we're stronger united. We fight as one."

Y/n glanced back at Cole with a question in her eyes, but he beat her to it and gave her a thumbs-up. Her gaze softened in relief and she turned her attention back to steering her dragon.

"Let's do this!" Jay agreed, diving lower to the ground. Y/n followed, feeling the adrenaline spike as she began navigating the streets instead of flying in a straight line overhead. She looked down to see the citizens of the city gape at the dragons.

So many different people, all in the same place. Y/n felt a sudden surge of protectiveness and finally understood why the Ninja wanted to defend the city so badly. It was truly a place of wonders.

The elementals split up to land on different buildings, keeping an eye out for any Anacondrai, while the Ninja grouped around a random intersection. But as soon as the citizens saw Skylor and Garmadon, both half snake, they screamed and ran for cover.

"I wish I still had the power to change," Skylor groaned, covering her face.

"You have changed," Kai returned evenly. "You're with us now."

A car underneath Kai's dragon honked at him, so he moved it out of the way. As the car drove past, he dismissed his dragon and dropped to the ground. Y/n did as well, followed suit by Lloyd. The other Ninja remained perched on the roofs to keep watch.

"If we're the first ones they've seen, where's Chen, and why hasn't he attacked?" Garmadon questioned.

"We need to get you and my father off the streets before we alarm everyone," Lloyd told Skylor. He looked up to the waiting elementals. "Everyone else, stick together and watch over the people."