Chapter 20
"So, did you get the Silver Dragoon Spirit?"
"No. I was not able to defeat the Dragoon."
"Really. Well, I must say this is very disappointing for someone as skilled as you, Kyra."
"I underestimated the power of the Dragon Knights. I had never fought one before, as you may recall. I took the Thunder Spirit from the dead body. I will not fail again."
"Let us hope not. By the way, another of my agents found a Golden Spirit."
"Really? Which one?"
"Emerson."
"Take off the mask to check for frostbite."
Kyra gritted her teeth, but tried not to give away her frustration. Emerson was one of her biggest competitors for the second-in-command position, ever since the other man had a tragic accident (there were many speculations of murder, of course). He was also a Human, which further wounded Kyra's pride.
"How did he get it?"
"He bought it off some old fool. It reacted to him, and he'll use his newfound skill as a Dragoon to gather as many more spirits as he can. He'll give his spirit up for the plan, of course."
This was both good news and bad for Kyra's position. He hadn't gained it by fighting, which was good, but he was now a Dragoon, which meant even more competition. Nevertheless, she had time to redeem her mistake.
"So now we still need Red-Eye, Jade, Silver, Dark, and Sea."
"Correct."
"Very well. I shall see what I can do."
"Take off the mask to check for frostbite."
Shade awoke just in time to save his gruesome secret. His hand shot upward and grabbed the arm of the nurse.
"No! That is really completely unnecessary."
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's procedure. If you have frostbite, you may need corrective surgery."
All the surgery in the world could not fix what had happened to Shade's face. He shook his head.
"I will not trouble you further. I am quite sure I do not have frostbite, and even if I did, I am capable of treating it myself. I have been out in the cold before."
It was true, but the cold regions Shade had wandered before did not compare to the unforgiving frost of Kashua Glacier. Nevertheless, he insisted, and eventually the doctor gave up.
"Very well. You can check yourself out, I presume?"
"Yes, I believe I can walk. Thank you, Doctor."
He got up from the hospital bed, and walked over to the counter. He pulled on his gloves, and reached for his swords, but the doctor stopped him.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to see certification papers before I can let you take those."
Shade sighed and flashed the identification cards. The doctor examined them, and nodded.
"That seems in order. Very well, sir."
Shade slung both weapons onto his back and left the hospital. He stopped once he reached the sidewalk and looked around. So this was Deningrad. It didn't seem all that remarkable, in fact, it looked a lot like any other city, but he wasn't even in the same neighborhood as all the government buildings. He could see the spires of the famous crystalline castle on the horizon. He might as well check out that part of town, considering he had nothing better to do at the moment anyway. He sighed again, and walked off down the streets of the capital.
"Well, there it is."
"That one? It doesn't look any different than the others."
Rayen smiled.
"Curse of the suburbs, I'm afraid."
"So... why are we here, anyway? We gonna see your old man, or what?"
"No. We're here to grab a set of wheels."
"What, we're gonna steal your dad's car?"
"Not exactly."
Rayen unlocked the door and they walked in.
"Dad?"
Good, there was no answer. Rayen didn't expect for his father to be home this early anyway. He beckoned to Sean and they made their way into the garage. Rayen flipped on the light.
"That's our set of wheels."
Rayen pointed to a motorcycle leaning against the wall. It was blue with a silver flame motif and a matching sidecar. Sean examined it.
"Hmm... Not a bad bike, but sidecars went out of style years ago."
"Give me a break, it's old. Once you're old enough, you can get your own. Until then, you'll just have to deal with it. We're taking it for practicality, not style."
Sean shrugged. Rayen tossed him a helmet, and went back into the house.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving a note. I don't want my old man to think someone stole the bike."
"Whatever. Just hurry up with it."
"Yeah, yeah."
Rayen grabbed the first piece of paper he could find and hastily scribbled a note on it.
-Dad
Dropped by. Sorry you weren't home.
Group split up, other guys have RV.
Took motorcycle, hope you don't mind.
Went and saw Mom.
Hope you're doing OK, and work isn't still tearing you up.
-Rayen
"OK, let's go."
He left the note on the table and went back into the garage. He pushed a button on the wall and the garage door creaked open.
"So, where exactly are we going?"
"Come to think of it, I don't really know."
Phil continued to beat his jade wings, keeping a steady pace as he glided through the water. Although he couldn't see the sky, the waters darkened, alerting him to the time. But he could see the undersides of boats now, and land was just on the horizon. He rested his wings and kicked through the water, searching for what he hoped was a deserted beach. It was almost December; hopefully there would be no tourists.
Phil poked the top of his head above the waves. A sandy beach stretched out before him, and there was not a soul in sight. He pulled himself onto the shore and deactivated his transformation. He lay there in the sand, catching his breath. The next thing he knew a black boot slammed down on his right hand, causing him to hiss in pain. A barbed claw was leveled right between his eyes.
"Hand over the Spirit and don't try anything smart."
"Forget it."
"I'll be taking it either way."
Phil saw that the situation was hopeless. He retrieved the emerald and held it up. The Wingly's free hand snatched it up, and she examined it for a moment before taking her foot off of the Jade Dragoon's hand. Phil massaged his red knuckles.
"Alright. Now, you're coming with me."
"I don't think so."
"I don't believe I gave you a choice."
The silver-haired Wingly snapped her fingers, and the two were whisked away by the winds of magic, winds that Phil had formerly controlled, and winds that he might never control again.
"So, did you get the Silver Dragoon Spirit?"
"No. I was not able to defeat the Dragoon."
"Really. Well, I must say this is very disappointing for someone as skilled as you, Kyra."
"I underestimated the power of the Dragon Knights. I had never fought one before, as you may recall. I took the Thunder Spirit from the dead body. I will not fail again."
"Let us hope not. By the way, another of my agents found a Golden Spirit."
"Really? Which one?"
"Emerson."
"Take off the mask to check for frostbite."
Kyra gritted her teeth, but tried not to give away her frustration. Emerson was one of her biggest competitors for the second-in-command position, ever since the other man had a tragic accident (there were many speculations of murder, of course). He was also a Human, which further wounded Kyra's pride.
"How did he get it?"
"He bought it off some old fool. It reacted to him, and he'll use his newfound skill as a Dragoon to gather as many more spirits as he can. He'll give his spirit up for the plan, of course."
This was both good news and bad for Kyra's position. He hadn't gained it by fighting, which was good, but he was now a Dragoon, which meant even more competition. Nevertheless, she had time to redeem her mistake.
"So now we still need Red-Eye, Jade, Silver, Dark, and Sea."
"Correct."
"Very well. I shall see what I can do."
"Take off the mask to check for frostbite."
Shade awoke just in time to save his gruesome secret. His hand shot upward and grabbed the arm of the nurse.
"No! That is really completely unnecessary."
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's procedure. If you have frostbite, you may need corrective surgery."
All the surgery in the world could not fix what had happened to Shade's face. He shook his head.
"I will not trouble you further. I am quite sure I do not have frostbite, and even if I did, I am capable of treating it myself. I have been out in the cold before."
It was true, but the cold regions Shade had wandered before did not compare to the unforgiving frost of Kashua Glacier. Nevertheless, he insisted, and eventually the doctor gave up.
"Very well. You can check yourself out, I presume?"
"Yes, I believe I can walk. Thank you, Doctor."
He got up from the hospital bed, and walked over to the counter. He pulled on his gloves, and reached for his swords, but the doctor stopped him.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to see certification papers before I can let you take those."
Shade sighed and flashed the identification cards. The doctor examined them, and nodded.
"That seems in order. Very well, sir."
Shade slung both weapons onto his back and left the hospital. He stopped once he reached the sidewalk and looked around. So this was Deningrad. It didn't seem all that remarkable, in fact, it looked a lot like any other city, but he wasn't even in the same neighborhood as all the government buildings. He could see the spires of the famous crystalline castle on the horizon. He might as well check out that part of town, considering he had nothing better to do at the moment anyway. He sighed again, and walked off down the streets of the capital.
"Well, there it is."
"That one? It doesn't look any different than the others."
Rayen smiled.
"Curse of the suburbs, I'm afraid."
"So... why are we here, anyway? We gonna see your old man, or what?"
"No. We're here to grab a set of wheels."
"What, we're gonna steal your dad's car?"
"Not exactly."
Rayen unlocked the door and they walked in.
"Dad?"
Good, there was no answer. Rayen didn't expect for his father to be home this early anyway. He beckoned to Sean and they made their way into the garage. Rayen flipped on the light.
"That's our set of wheels."
Rayen pointed to a motorcycle leaning against the wall. It was blue with a silver flame motif and a matching sidecar. Sean examined it.
"Hmm... Not a bad bike, but sidecars went out of style years ago."
"Give me a break, it's old. Once you're old enough, you can get your own. Until then, you'll just have to deal with it. We're taking it for practicality, not style."
Sean shrugged. Rayen tossed him a helmet, and went back into the house.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving a note. I don't want my old man to think someone stole the bike."
"Whatever. Just hurry up with it."
"Yeah, yeah."
Rayen grabbed the first piece of paper he could find and hastily scribbled a note on it.
-Dad
Dropped by. Sorry you weren't home.
Group split up, other guys have RV.
Took motorcycle, hope you don't mind.
Went and saw Mom.
Hope you're doing OK, and work isn't still tearing you up.
-Rayen
"OK, let's go."
He left the note on the table and went back into the garage. He pushed a button on the wall and the garage door creaked open.
"So, where exactly are we going?"
"Come to think of it, I don't really know."
Phil continued to beat his jade wings, keeping a steady pace as he glided through the water. Although he couldn't see the sky, the waters darkened, alerting him to the time. But he could see the undersides of boats now, and land was just on the horizon. He rested his wings and kicked through the water, searching for what he hoped was a deserted beach. It was almost December; hopefully there would be no tourists.
Phil poked the top of his head above the waves. A sandy beach stretched out before him, and there was not a soul in sight. He pulled himself onto the shore and deactivated his transformation. He lay there in the sand, catching his breath. The next thing he knew a black boot slammed down on his right hand, causing him to hiss in pain. A barbed claw was leveled right between his eyes.
"Hand over the Spirit and don't try anything smart."
"Forget it."
"I'll be taking it either way."
Phil saw that the situation was hopeless. He retrieved the emerald and held it up. The Wingly's free hand snatched it up, and she examined it for a moment before taking her foot off of the Jade Dragoon's hand. Phil massaged his red knuckles.
"Alright. Now, you're coming with me."
"I don't think so."
"I don't believe I gave you a choice."
The silver-haired Wingly snapped her fingers, and the two were whisked away by the winds of magic, winds that Phil had formerly controlled, and winds that he might never control again.