Shadow's Rising Chapter 7 (part 1)

Chapter 7

Shadow woke and stretched, shaking his head to get rid of the lingering drowsiness. He walked slowly over to the stream to take a drink and splash water on his face. The cold stream felt nice, but it wasn’t quite enough, so he dunked his whole head in. The water was refreshing and helped him wake up. As he flicked his head back, letting the clear water run down his scales, he sighed with content. He shook the water off as he readied himself for another day of training. Then he remembered that today was special.

The Flame Wing was arriving today!

Shadow smiled and clenched his talon in excitement. He wanted to skip training today and just spend the whole day watching the dragonets, but he also knew that the Flame Wing probably wouldn’t be arriving in the morning. There was no real reason to skip training today. Still, he thought he should try to do it as quickly as possible.

His mind was filled with thoughts about what the Flame Wing would be like as he pushed himself to finish his training quickly. Was he a kind dragon, dutifully following the orders of his queen, or did he hate dragonets and was being forced to come see them? Would he get mad at them and use his fire breath, or would he be horrified by the conditions they were living in and force the guardians to take them somewhere nice? Would this mean the end of Shadow’s time with the other dragonets? Would the Flame Wing bring others to join them?

All these questions and more spun around Shadow’s mind as he finished his training and flew back to his listening spot. His mind was so preoccupied that he almost missed two dragons flying towards him from the direction of the center of the continent.

Shadow noticed the movement of their wings and he very nearly froze midair, his chest clenching as a wave of ice cold terror washed over him. It almost seemed like time itself slowed down as he felt a tingle in his wings and tail.

Desperately, he dove straight down into the trees as fast as he could. He crashed through the branches and landed on the forest floor awkwardly, but thankfully his scales ensured he wasn’t hurt. The dragons were still quite far away. Perhaps they hadn’t noticed him.

Shadow hid under a bush and listened for the sound of their wingbeats and thoughts. He could vaguely hear what they were thinking, and it didn’t feel like they were excited or curious about anything. Hopefully that meant they hadn’t seen him. He kept listening.

…needs to be so hidden. Why not just keep them with all the other Wings of Protection? So much simpler that way. Then I wouldn’t have to bother myself with such…

Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t thinking about a mysterious black dragonet or looking around for something suspicious either. Though, from their thoughts, it was probably the Flame Wing who had come to look at the dragonets. He could feel a kind of heat from the thoughts he had listened to. Now that the immediate threat had passed, Shadow was very annoyed with himself.

Come on Shadow! After all these years of staying hidden from dragons and humans who could have been anywhere, you almost fly straight into the one dragon you knew was coming!

Shadow wanted to kick himself for his foolishness. He sighed again and calmed down. At least he hadn’t been discovered. He shook himself and focused on slowly and silently making his way to his listening spot.

Once there, he was able to get excited again about the prospect of listening in on what was going to happen during the Flame Wing’s visit. He felt the two dragons land at the secret entrance to the cave where the dragonets lived. Surge’s mind suddenly perked up. They must have knocked or given some kind of signal that they had arrived. Shadow followed her mind as she made her way to the entrance.

Good they’re here. Just need to make sure it is them. Then we can get this stupid inspection over with. Why bother with a secret pass code anyway? No one knows where to find us except for the Wings of protection, and even if they did, it’s not like this is some kind of fortress where we could seal the door and keep attackers out. She thought as she reached the door.

“The Wings of Protection…” she called.

“Cover all dragons and carry us into the future,” the dragon accompanying the Flame Wing answered. This dragon’s thoughts seemed warm rather than the stinging heat of the other dragon.

My, my. I’m so impressed by your security. The first dragon thought sarcastically. His thoughts made Shadow feel slightly ill. As if he had smelled rotten flesh and wanted to retch. 

“Who are you?” Surge asked, in a none to friendly tone, after she opened the door. The nice dragon with warm thoughts tried to seem unfazed despite this.

“My name is Ash, a Flame Wing with the Wings of Protection. This is Scorch. He is the emissary from Queen Sear.”

“I am Surge, one of the guardians of the Dragonets of Prophecy.”

“Yes, yes,” Scorch said dismissively. “Let’s get to seeing these dragonets and the living space you have provided for them. I am quite anxious to return to my queen, so let us finish this inspection quickly.” 

Then he turned and commanded Ash, “Stay here and guard the entrance. I’ll be back momentarily.”

Shadow grimaced as he listened to Scorch’s thoughts. He never imagined he’d feel a mind he disliked more than Surge, but this rude dragon with revolting thoughts was far worse.

“Right this way,” Surge growled. Shadow could feel the instant dislike in her mind, though it seemed like she was trying to hide it. But he wasn’t interested in Surge. 

He focused on Ash first since she seemed nicer than Scorch and her mind didn’t make him uncomfortable.

‘sigh’ This is exactly why I left the Flame Wings. All the nobles, so stuck up and acting all superior to everyone else. I bet Scorch doesn’t even remember my name even after all the time we’ve spent traveling together. He thinks he can command me just because he was sent here by Queen Sear? I wish I could singe his tail for thinking he can tell me what to do. I’m part of the Wings of Protection now! We are saving all dragon kind! Some day I’ll teach these arrogant dragons, who think they can control everyone, a lesson. They won’t be sending anyone else’s family to work in molten lava pits or hunt dangerous lava beasts while they sit on their comfy couches in their lofty mansions, Ash thought. His mind went back to all the horrible memories of his life in the Flame Wing territory.

Shadow could vaguely make out blotches of black and deep, dark red. Indistinct images of monsters, volcanoes, and dragons too. But more than that, there was heat, a painful and overwhelming heat. Shadow couldn’t imagine how hot it must have been for a Flame Wing to be in pain from heat. Ash sighed and tried to move on from his dark thoughts. There was a brief moment when a pair of bright smiling faces of two young Flame Wing dragonets, one older girl and one younger boy, flashed though her mind.

Until then, I’ll suck it up and do what this stupid noble tells me. But not for much longer. These dragonets will change everything. Then, finally, we will all be truly free.

Shadow winced. Ash was so sure that these dragonets would change the world. If only she knew what they were truly like. A bunch of disobedient, playful dragonets that couldn’t even defeat a single dragon like Surge on their own. Shadow wondered if Ash would be so confident if she knew what they were really like. Was she just that sure of the prophecy, or did she simply feel like they were her only hope?