Chapter Thirty-Six
Monsoon
Monsoon exhaled a small stream of flame onto the moist ground. Surprisingly, it stuck, burning steadily.
"Hm." Cactusflower said next to him. "I suppose magical prophetic fire doesn't follow the same rules as normal fire." Monsoon nodded fervently, wholeheartedly supporting that conclusion. Cactusflower was always right, as well as witty and smart. And her scales did sparkle so...not another word was spoken, however, as the other Mudwing, Brook, had alighted and breathed her own portion of prophetic fire onto the already simmering pile of flames. The flickering firelight illuminated the snouts and faces of all the assembled dragons, casting an eerie glow, despite the fact that it was daytime. It was taking all of Monsoon's self control to stare at the boring, still fire instead of Cactusflower, or the mud, or jumping into the aforementioned mud. Slowly, though, an image began to form itself on the screen of flame, drawing Monsoon's attention without a doubt.
A clearing, covered in mud and wrought with tangled bushes. The vague outline of houses could be made out in the distance. A lone dragon sat, staring at a dark sky with two glowing crescent moons and a third sliver of silver. Stars twinkled, and the dragon, a Mudwing, who appeared to have worn her thick scales for many years, dipped her head and fell asleep. Two Mudwings approached from the direction of the village, glanced at her, and a silent discussion was held. One stepped hesitantly towards the dragon, obviously Queen Moorhen, but the other held him or her back. They turned towards the village again and left the queen slumbering peacefully.
But the activity was not over yet. Another figure emerged once the two dragons had gone, this time from the right. It slunk stealthily towards the sleeping queen, only sharp and deadly claws catching the moonlight completely visible, glinting dangerously. Once the figure was positioned directly next to Queen Moorhen, it drew back one glittering talon, and sliced down towards her throat. Mudwing scales are usually difficult to penetrate, being heavily armored, but the throat was soft, and the queen was old. In one swift motion, the head was severed from the body, and rolled to a stop next to the shadowy assassin. It was a horrible sight, but a dark smile could be seen upon the assassin's snout, before it whipped around and crept back into the trees.
Monsoon felt his stomach lurch. That had been rather gruesome. He shuddered slightly. They had to stop the assassin from dooming the unsuspecting Moorhen to such a horrid fate. Kraken and Crystal seemed to agree with him.
"Let's move. Now." Kraken barked, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Crystal interrupted. "We don't know where Moorhen is going to be killed. And also, it's going to be night! It's barely afternoon now! We don't have to leave immediately! Why don't we just stay here for a little while longer and formulate a plan." Monsoon nodded. That sounded reasonable. Besides, Cactusflower was nodding, so it must have made sense. Macadamia, that smart, nervous Rainwing, added his thought.
"It's probably somewhere south of a village, based on the position of the stars." Cactusflower interjected with her own theory, which Monsoon found to be the most clever thing said all day.
"If we can find those two Mudwings who went to check on her in the fire, maybe they can tell us where the queen is at."
"And then what?" It was one of the new dragons, the Skywing. Monsoon remembered her name was Flicker. "We'll just waltz right in there and watch the queen sleep, hoping that no assassin comes in? 'Please, Mister Evil Dragon Assassin, don't kill her!' Is that the plan?" The other Sandwing, Scorpion, snorted. Monsoon didn't think that he was as smart or shimmery and beautiful as Cactusflower. But then again, no one was.
"More like, 'We're from the prophecy and we command you to stop!'" Monsoon thought that that was possibly the most foolish idea he had ever heard, and not just because Cactusflower had begun disputing it.
"Gee, great plan! Let them know that we're the ones who stopped his attempt on Queen Glacier! Then what'll they do? Say, 'Oh, pardon me, I didn't mean to intrude, go about your business, have a lovely day!' I don't think so! More likely, they'll kill us so that we can't interfere with their plans anymore!"
"She's absolutely correct!" Monsoon butted in, deciding that verbal support was just as good as nodding. The Sandwing named Scorpion looked ticked off.
"Oh yeah?" He growled, tail lashing wildly. "What are you, her…"
"That's enough arguing!" Kraken barked, intercepting. "We should stop fighting amongst ourselves. Apparently," here he shot an imperceptible look at Crystal. "We're a team now, and we have to cooperate. Macadamia came up with a plan, no more quarreling, let's get a move on! Mudwing village, save the queen tonight." The wingless Seawing turned without a word. Monsoon leaned in to whisper to Cactusflower.
"I'm still not entirely sure how we're saving Queen Moorhen." Cactusflower nodded, then scurried up next to Kraken to spread Monsoon's uncertainty.
"How, exactly, are we saving Queen Moorhen?" She helpfully repeated. Kraken shifted uncomfortably.
"Well…" He paused a moment, mid sentence, which was trailing off uncertainly anyways. "Um, the other Nightwing, what was his name, Darkmystic?" He glanced at a quiet black dragon, who nodded in confirmation. "Darkmystic just told me that we can form a protective circle around the queen, or possibly extract her from the clearing altogether."
"I think that the latter option would be better." The other Icewing, Crystal, interjected. Kraken scowled.
"Fine, then."
"Let's go!" Crystal cried. One by one, the dragon lifted off from where they had been stopping, Blizzard and Crystal each carrying a harness containing their wingless Seawing friends. Monsoon flapped after them, following mostly Cactusflower. He was going to the Mudwing Kingdom. He was going to save his queen. Maybe he would even meet his long lost sibs. He flew a little faster. He just couldn't wait.