Wings of Fire: Flame of Vengeance

Chapter 7

Three hours since the five dragons escaped the palace, they found themselves landing on a large mountain. Too tired and hungry to continue, Clay and his friends stopped to rest at the mountain's peak. Clay heard a multitude of wingbeats and prepared to go on the defensive, but he immediately eased when Ravine and Hawk landed on the mountain.
"Guys, what happened?" Ravine asked.
"We got chased by Kestrel." Clay answered.
"Kestrel? Isn't she dead?" Ravine questioned in a baffled tone.
"Well, not anymore. Not after the skirmish I had with her." Hawk bluntly replied, licking her wounded paw. Tsunami and Glory, who had went to hunt for food, came back dragging to large elk in their jaws. Tsunami put hers down and sat next to Clay, wrapping a wing around him. Clay, Starflight, and Glory began to tear into one of the elks hungrily. Tsunami, too, ate some elk flesh. Ravine and Hawk looked out onto the horizon, barely thinking about getting a bite. Clay had practically buried his head into the elk, tearing off huge chunks of meat and swallowing them whole. Clay was a sucker for food. He had always loved to eat and sleep. Mostly eat. Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Clay lifted his head, his mouth stained with elk blood. Something was coming. And it was coming fast. Tsunami noticed Clay was staring at the sky and turned her head in his direction, seeing the red creature getting closer. Before anyone could react, Vulcan dived straight into Clay and Tsunami, throwing them off the peak. The two dragons yelped in pain as they slammed onto a rocky ledge below. Vulcan roared as he dived towards them, preparing to finish Clay and Tsunami off. Suddenly, Hawk rammed into Vulcan, throwing him into a mountain wall. Starflight and Glory, aided by Ravine and Sunny, helped a groggy Clay and Tsunami up the hill while Hawk and Vulcan engaged in brutal combat. Hawk slashed Vulcan's chest with her talons, but the male SkyWing's hide was too tough for Hawk to truly penetrate. Vulcan clamped his jaws on Hawk's neck, biting down hard. Hawk screamed as Vulcan's dagger-like teeth sunk deeper into her skin, earning him trails of blood leaking out from the new wound. Grabbing a hold of Vulcan's face, Hawk tried desperately to make him let go. Hawk jabbed her talons straight into Vulcan's left eye, forcing him to release her and scream in pain. Hawk ripped Vulcan's eye out of it's socket as she was thrown onto a ledge. Vulcan roared in pain and clutched his bleeding socket. With a enraged roar, Vulcan began wildly slashing Hawk's face and chest with his talons. Hawk could barely block the blows as Vulcan inflicted horrible gashes on her body. Ravine gasped in horror as he watch Vulcan practically kill Hawk.
"HAWK!!!" Ravine screamed. He noticed a boulder perched on a high ledge above them. Clay noticed it too.
"Clay, the boulder! We gotta push it!!" Ravine exclaimed.
"Wouldn't that kill Hawk too?!" Clay asked.
"No time, we gotta move!" Ravine shouted. The two dragons flew towards the ledge and placed their paws on on the side of the boulder.

Vulcan pinned a heavily wounded Hawk on the ground, snarling in glee as he watch the female SkyWing weakly struggle in his grasp. Vulcan opened his jaws, a light orange, fiery light began glowing from the inside of his mouth. Hawk gasped, coughing loads of blood. She closed her eyes, awaiting death. Before Vulcan could kill Hawk, he looked up to see Clay and Ravine shoving the boulder towards them.
"WHAT ARE THOSE TWO DO-" Vulcan was cut off when Clay and Ravine successfully shoved the boulder down towards Vulcan. Before he could escape, the boulder smashed into Vulcan, catapulting the dragon down towards the ground. As Vulcan smashed into the rocky ground, the boulder dropped straight on his head, crushing his skull and instantly killing Vulcan. Hawk took one more glance at the dead SkyWing. Vulcan wouldn't bother anyone anymore. Hawk began to breathe raggedly. She had lost too much blood. Suddenly, growing too weak, Hawk faltered and collapsed, tumbling down onto the ground herself. Ravine quickly dived down and landed next to her, picking her up in his paws.
"Hawk... Hawk, stay with me..." Ravine quietly said, brushing a talon over her face. Hawk smiled weakly before slowly closing her eyes. Hawk slumped over, her slow breathing coming to a halt and her body going limp. Hawk's eyes widened as he began to panic.
"Hawk? Hawk! No, no no...!! HAWK! HAAAWWWWK!!" Ravine wailed. Clay and the others solemnly walked towards a grieving Ravine. Sunny gasped, burying her head into Starflight's side and sobbing quietly. Glory and Tsunami hung their heads low in sadness. Clay sat next to Ravine, placing a paw on his shoulder. Ravine buried his head in Hawk's side, sobs racking his body.
"I'm... I'm so sorry.... Hawk..." Ravine sobbed.