Wings of Fire #1: Sahara's Destiny

Chapter 4

Pearl woke up to the sound of someone saying her name. She was very sure that no SeaWings talked underwater except for in Aquatic. Maybe she was just imagining things? Being trapped underwater for so long, her head wasn't the same as it used to be.

Opening her eyes, Pearl blinked her blurry vision away and scanned her surroundings for the possible identity of the voice. However, her search didn't fruit any results. There was nothing around her except open water, with the occasional fish that would swim by her.

The golden chains around her body were no longer burning her scales, but they were still uncomfortable. She would've thought that by now, the chains would have degraded and fallen apart. But no, they still looked the same as they did all those years ago. Stupid sister! Pearl growled. I would have rather died than have to sit like this! Even worse, Pearl was unable to use her own magic to free herself. So far, it's been a long twenty years, and it didn't seem like it was going to end for her anytime soon.

"This won't do." the voice sighed. "This won't do at all."

Pearl suddenly felt something odd under her talons. It felt as if the ground was shaking. She glanced underneath herself and saw a streak of red-orange lava crawl through her chains. What? She thought. What's going on? Lava crawled through her neck band and it shattered, along with her shackles. I'm free! Grinning, she swam away, doing flips and spins underwater. Pearl shot to the surface and spread her wings wide. She was finally free from her unbearable prison, even though it was underwater and she was a SeaWing, but she hated it. Pearl finally had the chance to breathe fresh air and soar through the clouds.

"Pearl, I need you to listen to me." the voice abruptly interrupted her happiness.

She frowned and hovered in place. So the voice truly was in her head. But why did it sound so familiar? Could it possibly be. . .? Nightshade?

"Yes, it's me!" He sounded so excited to find out she recognized his voice. But, why could she hear him? She was more than certain that he had no ability to communicate through her thoughts.

"Why are you in my head?" Pearl asked him with suspicion.

"I've come to bear some news." Nightshade told her. "Everything's over. My conquest has failed, my plan has been foiled. Pearl, when I came to get you, you were nowhere to be found. I had to do everything without you. But now I'm dead; I've been gone for six years now."

Dead! Pearl's eyes widened. No, he couldn't be! No! Why? How even. . .?

"I was captured by the SandWings." he continued. "Soon, I was killed by the prince. But I warned them. This isn't the end. I'll return, but in the meantime, I need you to do something for me."

The rage building up in Pearl's chest made her body feel uncomfortably hot. Nightshade was really dead. She's missed his entire plan! If she hadn't been trapped underwater for so long, maybe this wouldn't have been his outcome. This is all Dolphin's fault! She probably had Camel capture him. When I get out of here, I'm going to make sure she pays for this!

"Pearl, listen to me!" Nightshade's voice pulled her out of her rage. "Calm yourself! I understand your need for revenge, but it must wait. Help me first, then you may act on your anger."

Pearl let out a long breath and tried to control her temper. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to head to the old NightWing kingdom. One of my old companions is trapped in the volcano. Free her and take her to the Sky Kingdom. She'll know what to do from there."

"Okay." Pearl opened her front talons and her staff materialized. She clutched it tight and beat her wings. Now that Pearl was free, she was going to do everything in her power to help Nightshade.

"Oh, by the way, there's a new SandWing that has joined your sister's sanctuary. If I'm not mistaken, she's replacing you." Nightshade informed her.

Pearl growled and started to fly faster. Was that so? If that was the case, she'd make sure that SandWing would be the first one she targeted. Dolphin just didn't know what she was getting herself into.

Above water, the Kingdom of the Sea was peaceful and no SeaWings were flying around. Pearl figured she'd be flying for a while so she enchanted her pearl earring to help her fly longer. The sun was finally rising as if coming straight out of the sea on the distance horizon. The sun's light reflected off of Pearl's green, yellow, and pink scales. Her pink glow-in-the-dark stripes caught the light and glowed like a rose quartz. She couldn't stop thinking about how Dolphin and her friends had decided to banish her from their village. She had done so many things for them: such as creating the beautiful fountain made from nothing but pearls and going from tribe to tribe looking for more animus dragons. She even built some of the structures herself.

They acted as if they didn't need her anymore after they found a lot of other dragons. Dolphin had told her that she should protect her soul so she wouldn't turn evil while she casted spells. She hated it when Dolphin always told her to be responsible with her magic. Pearl didn't care about all that nonsense, so she just kept casting spell after spell. Soon after, she heard Dolphin say, "Pearl, you're too dangerous for dragons to be around. You've cast so many spells to the point that you lost valuable parts of your soul. So, since me and everyone else has talked about this, I'm going to have to tell you, you need to go." Pearl was outraged. She was so upset about how Dolphin just decided she needed to leave, knowing she hadn't lost any of her soul. In such anger, Pearl grabbed her staff and changed it into a spear and charged. She remembered hitting someone. . .A NightWing, maybe. But Dolphin stopped her and banished her to the bottom of the sea, the place where most dragons dare to go. Basically, the bottom where there are several small volcanoes. Now, after twenty years, she was finally gonna get revenge, and all she had to do was find and free Topaz.

After flying for a while, she saw the volcanic island. The island was covered in ash and the volcano was black with red streaks of lava spilling out. The water was black and the black beach no longer looked like a beach. There was a forest, but all the leaves were burned off and the smell of smoke clogged Pearl's lungs. She coughed and twisted to land.

Pearl looked in the direction of the volcano and raised her staff in the air. The orb on top glowed a bright orange before the light dimmed.

Pearl waited for a while until she heard a loud crack. Then, she heard the sounds of chains clanking and the ground started to shake. The volcano rumbled and lava started pouring out the top. More ash and smoke filled the air and Pearl coughed even more. Suddenly, she heard a ground-shaking roar and saw a dragon shoot out the volcano's hole. The dragon fell towards her and she quickly moved out of the way. The large dragon was covered in ash and all she could see was black scales. Pearl studied the body and realized it was a SkyWing. The SkyWing landed with a thud and bounced to a stop on her side.

Pearl cautiously, walked up to the SkyWing and the dragon jumped up. Pearl yelped and jumped back. The SkyWing shook herself and coughed. She had copper scales and white and yellow back horns. She had a white necklace that twisted together and a white armband on her left forearm. Her claws were golden yellow and her red eyes stared down at Pearl. "Pearl!" the SkyWing greeted. "Thank you so much!" Topaz hugged Pearl with her huge wings and smiled. "Before I can give you anything, I need to take over the Sky Kingdom."