Hidden Wings

Chapter 3

SLAM! Something crashed into Maria, sending her cart-wheeling through the air. She shrieked, turned a full flip, and started to plummet. Flailing her tail around, she snapped open her wings and looked up just in time to see a nightmare diving toward her. A black dragon, heavily armored with razor sharp spikes, a barbed tail, and serrated claws, was zooming toward her at the speed of thought. Maria screamed. Folding her wings, she dipped down, dodging the attack, and soared back up toward Spry. But Spry wasn't there. Maria turned her head. The green dragon was locked in a fearsome struggle with Maria's attacker, their claws tangled and tails lashing.
The other dragon was larger than Spry, and obviously fully grown. His golden eyes were slanted in fury and split by a dark reptilian pupil. Hissing, he snapped his barbed tail like a whip and slashed his back claws at Spry's underbelly. Spryvern roared and beat his wings frantically to stay aloft as the weight of the older dragon pulled him down. Despite his valiant efforts, it was clear that Spry was losing. His opponent was moving in to place, raising his tail barb and getting ready to strike.
Maria dove toward them as fast as she could, tucking her wings in to increase her speed just as she had seen birds of prey do to catch mice in the fields. Holding her claws out in front of her, she slammed into the black dragon heavily, knocking them both off balance. He recovered quicker than Maria had expected and cracked his wicked tail across her neck. Maria screamed and retreated, diving a few yards down. Spry and her were not going to win this battle alone, that much was clear. She searched the skies for something that might give them an advantage and her eyes caught the movement of a pair of dragons within yelling distance.
"Help!" she shouted. They looked over. Maria waved her talons and then pointed to the two fighting dragons above her, praying that most dragons had enough sympathy to assist a stranger. Maria started climbing toward the battle again. Spotting her, the black dragon shoved Spry backward and dove at her. But before he could reach her, a silver comet smashed into him. The dragon was launched backward. His attacker growled fiercely. A sunny yellow dragon flew up beside him, hissing. Realizing he was severely outnumbered, the dark dragon snarled and turned tail, circling quickly downward until he landed and melted into the shadows.
Maria sighed with relief, turning her head to look at the newcomers. Hovering beside Spry was a small yellow dragon with leaf-shaped, gold tipped scales. Her orange eyes gleamed with triumph, and she wasn't much bigger than Maria. The other dragon was slim and graceful, with long blue-tinted wings that looked built for speed. His silver scales glittered like diamonds in the sun, as did his watchful ice-blue eyes.
Spryvern spoke before Maria thought to. "Thank you," he said breathlessly. "I'm not sure we would have been able to hold him off much longer."
The small yellow dragon smiled and nodded. "You're welcome. Stopping chaos and dragonfights in the area is our duty. We used to work at the palace, though."
Spry had an interesting thinking look on his face. He was obviously not going to say anything, so Maria jumped in. "Could we finish this conversation on the ground? We're both wounded, and this is technically my first time flying."
"Of course!" said the smaller dragon, circling toward the ground. The silver dragon gave her a weird look, but said nothing. Maria got the feeling that he let his partner do most of the talking.
When they landed, the dragons all folded their wings in unison, and the sunny dragon launched them back into conversation. "So what are your names? I'm Ember and this is Swift." She flicked a wing at her companion.
"I'm Maria," Maria replied. She pointed her tail at Spry. "That's Spryvern." The green dragon still hadn't said anything since Ember mentioned working at the palace.
"It's nice to meet you. If you don't mind coming with us, we can take you back to our camp to tend your wounds," Ember offered.
Spry snapped out of his trance and nodded. "That would be great, if it's not too much trouble."
"Follow us," said Swift. His legs tensed and then he sprung nimbly into the air, his awesome wings carrying him high into the sky faster than Maria thought possible. He hovered, an undulating silver form high above them. Ember followed him, and Spry stayed on the ground for a moment helping Maria take off again. Then, they were on their way.


* * *

The dragons touched down in the center of a circle of large holes dug into the ground. The circle was about wide as two full grown dragons, stretched nose to tail, and each hole was wide enough for one to crawl down into. Ember waved them over, and then crawled down one of the burrows. Spry went next, and Maria and Swift followed him. A few feet in, the tunnel widened and later, the ground leveled out, opening into a large cavern that was completely underground.
"Wow," Maria breathed.
Ember smiled. "Welcome to our home." She led them out of the main chamber into another room, this one slightly smaller. The walls were lined with smooth rocks, embedded firmly in the soil. A fireplace was dug into one wall, and a small table sat in the center of the room. There were two exits, one passage to the right, and one dark tunnel to the left. Swift led them to the table and shot a plume of blue flames into the fireplace, which faded into a cozy orange as the wood ignited. Ember smiled and walked down the left passage, calling back to them, "I'll be back in a minute. I'm just getting dinner ready."

* * *

After Swift had tended Maria and Spry's wounds and they had all eaten dinner, Ember asked why the black dragon had attacked them.
Without hesitation, Spry accounted the events of that day, starting with Maria's snakebite, which was wrapped in a bandage, and ending with when the dragon had attacked. Maria jumped in occasionally to add things that he had missed. "We don't know what he would have gained from attacking us, but he went for Maria first, even though I was obviously the bigger threat. No offense," Spry said, glancing at Maria.
"None taken," she replied.
"And you said the snake was black with gold eyes, just like the dragon?" asked Ember.
Maria nodded slowly. The room suddenly went very silent, and the flickering shadows seemed to darken.
"Vycan," said a cracked, feminine voice from the dark tunnel. A dark blue dragon stepped out of the shadows, using the hooked claws on her wings for support. "This was his doing, I am sure."
"Nymphadora," Ember murmured, standing. The elderly blue dragon's deep purple eyes landed on her, narrowing thoughtfully. She looked wise, and her eyes seemed as if they had seen centuries come and go.
Swift broke the silence. "Who is Vycan?"
Nymphadora sighed softly. "A dragon I knew, long ago. He was just a hatchling at the time. But he had an incredible power that set him apart. You see, every twenty or so generations, a dragon is born with the ability to change form into the likeness of any living being. Their power is so great that if they knew its extent, terrible, terrible things could come to pass. So once we find them, we have to control them.
"Vycan was one of these shapeshifters. As soon as we found out about his gift, we took him to the palace, before Queen Luna, so she could decide what to do with him. The Queen sent us, the guards, away, and kept Vycan with her for three days and three nights. On the fourth day she made her decision. She decided to raise him as her own.
"However, Vycan didn't want to be a prince. He wanted to be free. He told then this, but the queen insisted that he stay. So that night, he flew from the palace. He hid deep in the foothills, and no one has seen him since."
"But there are rumors," Swift added. "Several dragons have claimed to have seen him, lurking in the hills, avoiding our patrols. Some have told stories far less believable. They say he has become an inventor, creating strange machines to do his bidding. Others say he is developing poisons, wasting away in his dark hole, day after day, plotting his revenge. Some even say he can do magic."
Nymphadora snorted. "This seems like magic to me."
"Um, Nymphadora?" Maria asked. "I really need to become a human again. Do you know how to reverse this?"
The deep blue dragon cocked her head and raised her eye-ridges.
"I was taking Maria to the queen to solve that very problem," said Spry. "But Angelica is a very busy dragon. I'm not sure how to get an audience with her."
Maria thought for a moment, staring at Swift and Ember. "You two used to work at the palace, right? Maybe you could get us in?"
Ember and Swift exchanged a regretful look. "I'm afraid not," replied the sun-colored dragon. "We have orders to keep patrolling in this area. The queen would be angry if we left."
"Do you know of any other way we could do this? I don't want to rely on chance." Spry was starting to look desperate.
"That, I know how to solve," said Nymphadora. "One of Queen Angelica's retired warriors built his home in the foothills of Blue Mountain. It's well hidden, but if you can find it and persuade him to come with you, you have a good shot at getting the queen's attention. The words of the Jade Hermit are greatly respected in her court."
"Do you know how to find him?" asked Spry eagerly.
Nymphadora bowed her majestic head. "Indeed. He was once a friend of mine. He may have moved his dwelling, but he always leaves clues behind for those who seek him."
"What kind of clues?" Maria inquired.
"You never know," replied the elder dragon. "Some things will always be a secret."