Young Writers Society

A few hours later the clouds had completely cleared and bright sunshine sparkled along Zoltar’s obsidian scales. He breathed a deep sigh of contentment as warmth spread from the tops of his horns to the very tip of his tail and he noticed the familiar feeling of heat building inside his chest. His fire was back. Zoltar let out a small finger of brilliant orange flame and felt his spirits rise. No more freezing cold days where all you wanted to do was journey up to the very sun herself and suck in her warm golden heat.

Zoltar felt a rush of excitement spill over him. Soon he’d see Emerald and Shiraku again. Sure the sea talon got on his nerves constantly, but after almost a week of separation, he found that he missed her sharp remarks. But it was Emerald that he missed the most; her vibrant scales, sweet understanding voice and kind heart. Zoltar wasn’t surprised to find that he’d quickened his wing beats. He was only a few kilometers from where he’d last seen them. Why, he could even see the tree they’d slept under, it’s skeleton-like figure visible from miles away.

Zoltar scanned the landscape ahead, hoping to see the beautiful green scales of Emerald or the ridiculously bright turquoise scales of Shiraku, but there was nothing. A wave of fear crossed over Zoltar. Why couldn’t he see them? They should stick out like polar bears in a desert.

‘Relax,’ Zoltar told himself, trying to calm his shaking nerves, ‘they’re probably in hiding.’ Still his heart thumped in his chest and a head ache started to throb from between his horns. What if they weren’t hiding? What if something had really happened to them? He swallowed the lump building in his throat, a cold, clammy sensation creeping over his scales. Where were they?

He sensed Felistia glide over to him, worry shimmering in her glittering gold eyes, “Can you see them?” she asked as she twisted her head this way and that, searching the ground below.

Zoltar shook his head. 

"Zoltar," Felistia started, concern seeping into every corner of her voice, "They might not be there you know? We have been away for almost a week and this isn't exactly the safest place for them to stay."

Zoltar sighed, his eyes darting from the barren landscape back to Felistia. She was right. They might have decided to leave. But something just didn't add up, Emerald didn't have anywhere to go. She couldn't go back to her island and it wasn't like there was anywhere on the continent for her. Worry gnawed at his insides like a hungry beast. If Emerald was camouflaged then surely she would have shown herself by now?

The tree was only a few meters away now. Tucking in his wings, Zoltar tipped into a swallow dive, streaking through the sky towards the earth. With only a few seconds to spare, he flung out his wings and landed gently on the ground beside the long dead tree. Felistia and Shriken touched down next to him. Felistia began explaining to Shriken what the problem was and who Shiraku and Emerald were. He nodded with understanding and listened with a pitiful look on his snout.

Zoltar, in the meantime, was searching area like mad, looking for any clues as to what had happened to Emerald and Shiraku. He knew for sure now that something was wrong. They would have spotted them from the sky ages ago and would have come to greet them as soon as they’d landed. Dread filled all corners of his mind as vivid pictures of what might have happened flashed in front of his eyes. Had they been captured by ice talons and were now slowly freezing to death in a prison? Maybe they'd been attacked by something? Had they left him and Felistia?

Zoltar knew that Emerald wouldn’t have left him, Shiraku maybe, but not Emerald. She didn’t have anywhere to go and she couldn’t go back to her island without his help.

Out the corner of his eye he could see Felistia padding over to him, her face dark with grief.

"Zoltar," she said softly, putting a wing over his back, "They're not here. For all we know they could be halfway across the Megalonia by now. It's hopeless."

"No," Zoltar hissed, throwing her wing off, "I refuse to except that." Frantically he sniffed the air, longing to catch their scent. The cold frozen aroma of snow and dead pines filled his nose, but somewhere in that jumble of scents came the faint whiff of dragon. He couldn't tell what species it was, but it was defiantly dragon. Inhaling deeply, he followed the thin trail, every second afraid that he might lose it in the mass of other smells bombarding him. After a few seconds of following the track, it began to grow in strength, biting through the other scents. At last he stopped a few meters away from the tree Shriken and Felistia were standing under. The smell was so strong here, but he couldn’t see any sign of Shiraku or Emerald. He scanned the ground, digging through the snow in the desperate hopes that there might be a tunnel of some kind.

Felistia and Shriken watched from under the tree, their eyes filled pity. Finally, after half an hour of  mad digging, Zoltar gave up. Felistia was right. It was hopeless. How was he going to find out where his friends had gone in the whole of Megalonia? He couldn’t find any trace of them, but still the scent of dragon was strong in the area. With a sigh, he turned to join the others, when suddenly a spark of light caught the corner of his eye. He looked back over his shoulder. There half buried in the churned up snow, was a cobalt blue scale, its tip gleaming in the bright sunlight. Zoltar gently picked the scale up from the snow. It definitely wasn’t Shiraku’s or Emerald’s. It was a diamond shape unlike Emerald’s round and was a too deep a blue for Shiraku.

He gave the scale a hesitant sniff. The overpowering stench of wind talon filled his senses, causing him to wrinkle his snout in disgust. He kept searching for Emerald and Shiraku’s scent though…and there it was, hidden among the bold odor of wind talon.

A surge of hope and worry swept Zoltar. What was a wind talon scale doing here and why did it smell like his friends? He frantically started shoveling snow away from where the scale had been and sure enough after digging through layers of fresh snow, he hit the frozen sheet beneath. Its surface was covered in scratches and burn marks. A single turquoise blue back spike stuck out of the ice, drops of blood staining the perfect exterior. Wind talons had been here alright and it looked like they’d taken Emerald and Shiraku.

A\N This is the end of The Quest for Fire Book Two Frozen Past. If you wish to continue the series please go to my portfolio and click on the folder called quest for fire book 3 touching the sky.