Magic, Visions, Betrayal

Chapter Eleven

"LET US GO," Marine roared, struggling in the ropes that binded her against the wooden pole. "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?"

Hurricane still had her head drooped, her eyes closed. She couldn't bear the heat that overwelmed her. They were in a dark prison, with the ground and walls made of sandstone, in the Sandwings Kingdom. The same strong ropes binded her and her wings against a wooden pole, just like Marine's, forcing her to stand on her two hind legs, her wings folded, and her forearms to the side. She was desperate for water already, and she feared she and Marine could go mad. Especially when Marine's earring had been torn off, leaving a bleeding spot in her ear, Hurricane tried to control her sister.

"Marine, be quiet," Hurricane finally croaked, lifting her head. Marine scowled at the Skywing and Sandwing princess, Cerise and Dawn, "What are you guys planning to do to us?"

"Revenge," Dawn said cooly, scraping her talons together, "Cerise's revenge. For the Skywings' revenge."

"What are you going to do to us?" Hurricane asked again.

"You'll see," Dawn said with a grim smile. Hurricane shivered at the blankness of the Sandwing animus's black eyes.

Suddenly there was a whoosh of hot air sweeping over Hurricane. She flinched away and blinked for a few moments, and then realized that Queen Phoenix, the firescales queen of the Skywings, had stepped into the prison. Marine was giving Phoenix the most ferocious glare. Hurricane's stomach lurched with fear.

"Why don't you show them a few moves you can do?" Dawn tipped her snout towards Hurricane, to her horror.

"NO!" Marine roared. She suddenly broke free of her ropes and then fireballs appeared in her talon, and she whirled around to throw one at Princess Cerise.

"Marine don't!" Hurricane struggled on the ropes as she shouted. But it was too late. Phoenix spread her wings, diving in front of her sister, and then the fireballs hit her and did no damage to her own firescales.

LET ME GO, Hurricane thought at her ropes frantically, and they broke lose. She leapt up and grabbed her sister on the shoulder, dragging her back, not registering the look of shock and bewilderment on the three other dragons' faces.

Marine snarled and flared open her wings, throwing Hurricane off. Hurricane skidded over to the corner, banging her head against the hot sandstone wall painfully.

Ow ow ow, she thought dizzily, wincing as her head pounded. She scrabbled for the floor, and one talon caught a rock and she picked it up. She cupped it in her two webbed talons, curled up in the floor with her wings folded around her.

Enchant this rock to make my scales invulerable immediately, and invulerable to any spells casted against me, other than my own spells, she thought at it frantically. And then she dropped it and leapt into the battle, where Phoenix was about to sink her burning claws into Marine. Her scorching talons bounced off of Hurricane's scales and she widened her eyes. And then Hurricane leapt onto Marine, who was about to launch another fireball, and she threw her blue wings around her sister, burying her.

She felt Marine's fireballs go down, licking at Hurricane's underbelly, until they disappeared in her talons. She felt fire blasted on her back but there was no damage done.

"STOP, PLEASE," Hurricane yelled at the three attacking dragons, her eyes closed tight, "We can work this out!"

"Listen to them," she heard Princess Cerise's shaking voice. A few shuffles indicated that both Queen Phoenix and Princess Dawn step back, and she opened her eyes once more.

"Better be reasonable," Phoenix snarled, still panting and breathing heavily. Hurricane untangled herself from on top of Marine, who hissed at her and nudged her off with a wing.