Wings of Fire

Adamant

Book Two

Bloodmoon Rising

Chapter One

Kinkajou groaned. Opening her eyes, she looked around. She seemed to be back at Jade Mountain.

What happened?

Her sight was a bit blurry, but she could make out the dim light of the cave she was in. She raised her head and saw she was covered in white bandages.

Again.

"Hello?" she called. No one answered.

Kinkajou frowned. She could tell that this was the hospital cave, given how clean it was, and she saw all the beds lined up against the walls. But where were the healers?

She tried to move the rest of her body, but when she did, the pain was terrible. Almost like there were hundreds of knives embedded deep in her bones. Kinkajou yelped.

Someone came bursting into the cave, though it wasn't a healer.

"Moon!" Kinkajou cried when she saw her.

Moon laughed with happiness. "You're awake!" she said through tears.

"Moon, what happened?" Kinkajou asked. "One minute I was standing over Adamant's cage, and the next I'm here!"

Moon stopped laughing. "You were unconscious when we found you," she said. "When we arrived through Turtle's animus magic, Tsunami and the rest of us we're ready for a fight. But Adamant was gone, and you were lying there."

Kinkajou grimaced. Gone? Gone where?

Moon continued. "We thought you were dead. In fact, if we hadn't shown up right then, you probably would have died from blood loss." She hesitated and then went on. "Turtle used his magic to stop the blood flow, but..."

"What is it?" Kinkajou asked.

"Kinkajou, Turtle used a lot of magic within the last few days," Moon replied. "And ever since he used the spell that saved you, he's been acting strange."

"Strange how?"

Moon sighed. "He wanders around the Academy in a dazed manner. He also won't talk to us."

"How long have I been out?" Kinkajou asked, dreading the answer.

"Not long, actually," Moon informed her. "Only a day."

Kinkajou breathed a sigh of relief. Then there's still time.

Just then, more dragons came in. Qibli, and, to her delight, Turtle. "Kinkajou!" Qibli grinned. "You're not dead!"

Kinkajou looked expectantly at Turtle, but to her dismay, he said nothing. He only looked at her with a blank expression.

Qibli must have known what she was thinking. "I'm sorry," he said. "He didn't come here by choice. I literally dragged him here. I was hoping that maybe if he saw you he would snap out of, well, whatever THIS is," he explained, waving his talons at Turtle's emotionless face.

"He'll be fine," Moon said. "He just needs to rest." Come on, Turtle." She gently took his talons and led him out of the hospital cave.

Kinkajou watched them go with a sad expression. "So," she said, turning to Qibli. "Any idea where Adamant went?"

Qibli shook his head. "No clue. He was gone when we found you. We left right after a giant earthquake, which we immediately realized was unnatural."

"So how are we going to find him?"

"Well," Qibli said. "We have an idea, but you're not gonna like it."

Kinkajou's eyes went wide. "No. Not her."

Qibli grimaced. "What choice do we have? With Turtle out of his mind, we only have one animus who can locate Adamant."

"Yes," said Tsunami. Kinkajou and Qibli both jumped. Neither had heard her come in.

Tsunami frowned. "As much as I hate to do it, Adamant is too dangerous to be left alone. We need to find him as fast as possible. And for that we need—"

Kinkajou growled, cutting her off. "Anemone."