Wings of Fire: The Hurricane BraceletBook One of: The New Seven

Chapter 13

                 When the MudWings were safely out of the palace, Queen Moorhen took Hurricane somewhere private to talk. She told him how the army snuck up on them so silently, how almost half her army was either killed or injured, and how the invaders blocked the entrance to the palace.

"You know that IceWings I told you about earlier? She just stood there in front of the entrance and several seconds later, those GINORMOUS boulders had blocked the exit!" exclaimed the Queen.

"Da gud thing is is dat your safe," said Dusty.

The Queen smiled. "I'm glad that i have such loyal subjects."

Hurricane turned to her and asked, "Do you have any abandoned diamond mines here?" She nodded. "Why does this interest you?"

"We think that the army is hiding out in one of them," said Fire-Claw. "We also think that Princess Splash is with them."

"We came here to ask you if we can look for them in it," said Star-Sky.

Moorhen considered this for a moment then said, "Permission granted."

Hurricane sighed in relief. They were almost there.

"Only one problem," said Moorhen. "I actually have ten abandoned mines in my kingdom." Hurricane stomped his foot in fury. TEN MINES?!??? That was going to take TEN days to explore. "Well, lucky for you, I will gladly give you any of my troops to help you search."

Hurricane, again, sighed. "Thank you, very much," he said.

Hurricane, Fire-Claw and Star-Sky exited the tiny stone cottage and then gathered fourteen MudWing warriors. Hurricane explained to them about the search about to take place. "We will explore all ten mines in pairs," he explained. "Me with Fire-Claw, Star-Sky with Dusty, and Indigo with Oasis. You will each select a partner to go with you. Let's do it!"

With that, the MudWings each found their buddies then each pair went into a separate cave. "What if we find the army?" asked Fire-Claw. "We sneak out, get our friends, then infiltrate them with any troops Moorhen will let us take," replied Hurricane.

"Sounds good."

They explored the mines for hours with no luck. The slippery, wet walls didnt make matters easier. By the time they exited the cave, they were so tired Hurricane could hardly walk back to the rendezvous point. Star-Sky, Oasis, and the others were waiting. "No luck," they said.

Hurricane was about to say something about the warriors hopefully finding them, when shouts from across a field caught his attention. Two MudWings were frantically winging their way towards them. When they landed, one of the MudWings, a female, said, "We found them! We found them!"

"You did?" asked Hurricane, excited.

"Good job you two, now get some rest."

Three hours later, Hurricane was crouching low in a dark cave, his friends plus fifty MudWings behind him. He observed the dragons in the room. The cave looked just like it was from his dream. He looked to the left and saw a cage. In it, was Splash. She was in worse condition than before. There were cuts everywhere on her. Her wings were bent out of shape, suggesting they were dislocated or broken. Guarding the cage was Puffin. She had a different expression than normal, however. A devilish grin was spread across her face, as if she enjoyed tormenting innocent Princesses. He looked to the right and saw the black-marked SeaWing Moorhen had described to him. The SeaWing stood with authority, flashing his glowscales, communicating with another SeaWing.

Hurricane turned to the dragons behind him, and asked, "Ready?" Everyone nodded. Hurricane was about to give the signal to attack when Fire-Claw came up and embraced him. "Dont die," she said. "I won't," he said, stunned. After he collected himself, he gave the final command:

CHARGE!!!!!!