Wings of Fire #1: Sahara's Destiny

Chapter 15

Hail led her back into the palace and into another hall that stretched in two directions. He took the hall to the left then bounded up a flight of stairs until they were standing in front of a five-door chamber. Each door was made from dark wood and jade signs perched above them. The signs read: Guest, Treasury, Throne Room, Storage, and another Guest.

Hail stared at the doors, with a small frown settling onto his face, before choosing the door that said "Storage". Before he opened it, he put one ear to the door and listened. Afterwards, he nodded and opened the door, which revealed a large space filled with boxes, chests, fire globes, and jewels.

"So, what are the two items you're looking for?" Hail asked as he walked around, inspecting certain items.

"I'm looking for my pouch, pearl, and the Obsidian Mirror." Sahara answered.

Hail laughed and picked up a small bracelet made from copper. "Really?" he said. "The Mirror has been lost for years. There's no way anyone could have found it." He put the bracelet around his wrist and examined it. Then, blue lightning sparked from it and he quickly took it off and placed it back where he found it.

"Catfish had it in a chest, along with other stuff when I found it." Sahara frowned.

Hail looked confused and he nodded slowly.

"She lives in Dolphin's hidden city. Don't you remember?" Sahara reminded him.

The IceWing shook his head. "I don't know anything about a dragon named Dolphin or her magic city."

Hail continued to go through the different items and kept his back facing her. Sahara couldn't understand why Hail didn't know anything about Dolphin. "What do you mean? Aren't you from the city?"

Hail put down a sapphire and sighed. "I'm not from the city." he confessed, while his back still faced Sahara. "I'm really from the Ice Kingdom. I was doing my regular IceWing duties when Pearl came up to me and tapped my shoulder. I blacked out, and when I awoke again, I was here in the Sky Kingdom. The last thing she told me was that I was meant to serve a purpose here." He turned towards her with a pitiful expression. "Even if I knew Dolphin, I would have still ended up here."

Sahara looked straight at him, his gaze twisting with her's. But as soon as she looked at him, he tore his eyes away. "Anyway, back to searching."

Hail walked to the other side of the room and began picking through more stuff. Sahara sighed and turned her attention to some of the objects on a small table. She hadn't known Pearl could've gone to the other kingdoms and retrieved special dragons there. Especially the Ice Kingdom, the coldest place on the continent. How did she do it? Animus magic, probably. She thought bitterly. Sahara couldn't bear thinking about it too much and decided to continue looking through the different items.

Some items she found were mostly jewels that seemed to be drained of their colors, which was strange. Others were armbands, bracelets, and crowns. She also found a few coins and some necklaces.

As she began to go through the boxes, she found her pouch tucked into a pile of coins. She checked inside the pouch, and to her surprise, she found the Obsidian Mirror, Dolphin's pearl, the black pearl, and the copper ring tucked inside. Pearl didn't actually destroy them?! Sahara didn't care. She was just happy that all her items were safe. She slipped her pouch around her neck and trotted over to Hail, who was digging out talonfuls of gold and silver coins. When he saw her, he grinned and began to stuff her pouch with as many coins as he could fit into it.

But before Sahara could say anything, he stopped her by hurriedly saying, "Oh good, you found your pouch. I suppose your items are there. Anyway, let's put as many coins as we can fit into there. I plan on making a run for it tonight."