Chapter 26

Pyrite

The light in the room made its way to Pyrite's closed eyes. It was fire. He jumped awake, ready to extinguish the flames, only to see the others gathered around it. A large pig was being cooked over the fire. The enticing smell made Pyrite's stomach grumble. He searched through his bag for the fruit skins he had cured himself.

He grabbed a few pieces and stared at them. They weren't the best tasting but they lasted longer than any other food he knew of. Unless of course it was dried meat. That was always something he could rely on to save his hunger. He took a bite of the fruit skin and winced at the bitter sweet taste.

The only fruit skin he had was Apricot, and their dried skins weren't the greatest to taste. Still better than starving. When they leave for the Whitewing Kingdom he'll have to grab some more fruits to dry. Maybe he could dry out some cooked meat too. That would last a while. And it would be more filling.

He put the fruit skins back in his satchel and looked for anything else edible. He found one or two pieces of dried meat that was still ok to eat and a box of random candies. In another small box were cooked scorpions without the tail. He ate a few scorpions and the dried meat. It wasn't a whole lot but it was enough for him. He stared at the candies.

He picked one up and looked at it. It was round and brown. The label on the box was worn but he could see the name. Caramel. He had never had caramel before. Queen Topaz brought it to him as a gift. He slipped it into his mouth and waited. The sticky substance produced flavors he had never tasted before. It stuck to his teeth as he tried to chew it up. He was amazed by the taste of it.

Once he finished getting the candy out of his teeth he sat down. He watched the others converse. This is what he missed most. Dragonets enjoying the time spent with each other. He remembered his dragonets. They were small and fragile yet strong and kind hearted. His whole world revolved around them. And then they were grown up just like that.

He took out a scroll from his bag. He unrolled it. Show me Matrix. He enchanted it. The scroll began to come to life. A small frail dragonet was curled up in a ball. His body shivered even as another dragon put a blanket over him. It was getting worse. The curse was making its way towards his organs. Soon his heart would stop, and he would be gone.

Pyrite stood up in a panic, knocking down a small vase that shattered upon impact with the ground. The dragonets looked at him, startled.

"Nephilim we need to go." he held up the scroll.

Nephilim widened her eyes as she saw her dragonet. She reached out for the scroll, her talons quivering with fear. "Matrix."

"He doesn't have much longer." Pyrite said, sorrowful. "We need to get to the kingdom fast."

"Let's go." Nephilim stormed towards the door.

"We need to leave. All of you grab what you need. We leave as soon as possible." he told the rest of them. They had looks of fear on their faces. Not the same as he and Nephilim shared, but they knew something was wrong. They quickly scurried and grabbed anything and everything they needed.

Pyrite walked over to the roasting pig. He took his claw and sliced thin even strips of meat off the pig. He placed them in a special compartment of the satchel he had enchanted to work as a drying rack. It didn't work as well as doing it himself but it was better than wasting the food.

He finished pulling off all he could, about half of the pig, and turned towards the door. The others were finishing up gathering what they needed. He stepped next to Nephilim. "We'll get to him in time."

Her eyes were full of sadness and regret. "I haven't been there for him this whole time."

"He loves you just as you love him." he put a wing around her.

She gave a long sad sigh and a tear fell from her eyes. "He always wanted to travel around the world. See what else was out there. Maybe by seeing other tribes we've never heard of or seen he'll finally live his dreams."

"Good idea." he agreed.

He pulled his wing back to his side and waited as the others were done getting everything. Nephilim led the way out of their guest quarters towards the entrance. Nephilim turned a different way out though. The way they were headed was filled with tall walls and intricate archways.

Several paintings were hung on the walls, all past and present royalty. He noticed Queen Bloodstone's picture torn in half. He could hardly remember her. From what he could she was a ruthless Queen who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, including killing her own subjects. Her daughter Rose challenged her for the throne at the age of 7 to rid her of her rule.

He glimpsed Queen Rose's picture. Her rose quarts scales were a beautiful shade and her elegance was shown in every scale. She was a fair queen in her rule. Making sure her tribe had everything it needed to survive after Bloodstone.

They continued down the hall, looking at each picture as they passed. Soon the hall ended into a large room where loud talking was going on.

"We can't just sit on our tails and do nothing!" one voice said loudly. He recognized it. It was Queen Topaz. She was angry at someone.

"But your majesty, our forces cannot overpower the Silverwings." another voice said.

They emerged into a large room filled with light. Queen Topaz was at one wall standing over a table with three other dragons. Pyrite recognized one as Prince Calcite. He had frequently visited Pyrite. The other two were an amethyst purple and a dark green-blue, who had an angry composure. The amethyst one looked angry at the dark green-blue dragon.

"This meeting is over." the Queen growled. She walked away and took a deep breath.

"Queen Topaz." Nephilim bowed.

Topaz recomposed herself and strode over. "My guests. And Pyrite." she said, a little surprised. "How can I help you?"

"We are leaving I'm afraid." Pyrite answered.

"I'm sorry but no one can leave the kingdom right now. There is too much going on." Queen Topaz shook her head.

"We must insist. We can take care of ourselves." Pyrite didn't back down.

"No. I will not risk a Silverwing getting in." The Queen snarled.

"Please," Nephilim begged. "My son is sick. He needs me right now. If I don't get to him he'll die."

"Mother. We have to let them go." Calcite walked next to the Queen. "What would you do if it was me?"

Topaz looked at Calcite and sighed. "Fine. But you need to move fast. I'll have a set of guards to help you out."

"I'm going with them." Calcite said to his mother.

"Calcite no." the amethyst dragon gasped.

"We just got you back. You can't leave again." Topaz looked at him.

"I want to help them." Calcite looked at the group.

Topaz looked at them as well. "I guess they may need as much help as they can get."

"If you're going I'm going." the amethyst dragon stepped up to him.

"Amethyst you don't have to do that." he put his talon on her shoulder.

"Yes I do. I just got you back. I'm not losing you again. Besides, I'm a survivalist." she smiled at him.

"Ok." Calcite said.

"Before you go, take a look at the map." Topaz walked over to a large map on a wall. "To get to Changewing Island you'll need to go through the desert." She traced a claw over the sandy dunes. "But be careful. We've heard rumors of the Whitewings being unwilling allies to Alistar. You'll have to go around the Silverwings Kingdom to go through the Duelwing territory. The most they'll do is yell. Loudly. Not known for their brains as much. From there you can get to Changwing Island."

"Thank you." Nephilim thanks Topaz.

"You must hurry. The sun will rise soon. After that I can no longer help." Topaz nodded.

Queen Topaz led the way with a group of guards behind her. Calcite and Amethyst were saying goodbye to a couple of dragons,

"Be safe you two." One said. He was a pale green with black stripes down his tail. The other was a few different shades of brown with some green undertones.

"You know us. We live for excitement." Calcite smiled. "Keep an eye on things for us?"

"Of course." The brown one gave him and Amethyst a hug.

"Come on. Let's let them go. They need to do this." The pale green one pulled the brown one away.

"Good luck." the brown one brushed away a tear.

Pyrite followed behind Calcite as they made their way through to the entrance. He waited as the guards unlocked the door and positioned themselves so if any Silverwings were to get in they would not pass.

Pyrite was the first one out. The sky was a light orange-lavender as the sun was beginning to rise. He waited as the others came out after him with wary eyes. It was quiet and a slight mist was covering the ground. Calcite was the last to slip out of the entrance, then the door closed shut and locked in place.

"We go this way. Stay on land till we hit the ocean." Pyrite pointed with a wing.

Nephilim started ahead, eager to get to Matrix as fast as she could. The others followed in suit, unsteady of the new territory around them. It was different than he remembered. The Crystalwing palace used to stand right there in the clearing behind him. All that was left was four pillars.

The trees provided excellent cover as they moved on, the sun rising higher in the sky. It was now morning. Around this time dragons would be waking up and getting ready for whatever they would be doing. Pyrite suspected the Silverwings would be changing shifts right now, so it's a good time to sneak away.

Soon he could hear waves crashing against sand. He could smell the salty water and hear the sea birds cry. They were at the ocean. And across from them was the Underlying Desert. Their next destination.

"We need to figure out where we're going." Pyrite turned to them. "We're going to need to make a stop in each Kingdom to gather supplies."

"I know a Whitewing who will help." Calcite said. "He has no business with the Silverwings, I know that The Silverwings don't mess with dragons from there."

"And where are we going?" Nephilim asked him.

"The Dragonbite Viper Village," he said confidently. "The Silverwings don't trust anyone from there."

"I didn't know they were still a village." Pyrite tapped a claw.

"Um. Excuse me?" Clay asked from behind. "Did you say Dragonbite Vipers?"

"Yes, why?" Calcite turned to the Mudwing.

"I would rather not deal with Dragonbite Vipers again." He replied.

"Why? They are one of the most highly valued pet snakes out there." Calcite stated.

"Pet's?!" Sunny yelped.

"You keep them as pets?" Clay questioned.

"Yes. Their venom might be the most potent in the world but we have antivenoms. At least for some of the Dragonbite Viper species. Also the Dwarf DragonBite Viper venom moves slower. So we don't have to worry too much about them." Calcite said.

"Wait wait wait. Did you say species? As in more than one kind?" Glory asked.

"Yes there are several species." Pyrite nodded. "There's the Dwarf Dragonbite Vipers, Green Dragonbite Vipers, Maroon Dragonbite Vipers, Sand Dragonbite Vipers and Death Dragonbite Vipers. Those are the ones you need to look out for."

"What?" Clay gasped.

"We'll worry about that when we get there. For now we need to worry about getting there." Pyrite grumbled. He slipped a talon into his satchel.

"Yeah about that. It's day. Any Silverwings out here will see us a mile off." Calcite pointed out.

"Not if they can't see." Pyrite remarked. He pulled out a grey clear crystal. "This will allow us to see each other but any other dragons will see nothing."

"It makes us invisible? Like Glory's scales?" Starflight looked around. His cloth over his eyes tugged at the wind.

"Yes. At least to those not traveling with us." Pyrite crushed the crystal. A cloud of white smoke hovered over them for a split second and disappeared.

Glory held up a talon. "Is that it?"

"Yes." Pyrite nodded. "Now let's go."