Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons (Dusky Hollows: Book 1)

by Nan Sweet

  Chapter 10

  Ivy couldn't sleep. She wanted to know how Sparky was doing. Was she eating? Did she miss Ivy? What if she thought of Ivy as her mother and got scared...or lonely? Ivy turned back to her other side with a sigh and flipped her pillow. Lifting her head, she looked at her clock and the steady red lights reading ten o'clock. An hour past bed time. Carrie would be asleep. Or awake with Sparky, but either way she couldn't call.

  It was another hour before Ivy fell asleep. When she did her dreams were worse than ever. She dreamed that Carrie was in a dark world full of skeletons with glowing eyes. Her dream shifted to Sparky, who was in more danger. The little dragon was on a cliff thousands of feet in the air with her wings torn and bleeding and pinned to cracks in the rock by what looked like climber's gear. Sparky was much larger now, so Ivy thought maybe she was mixing up time with her visions.

  When she awoke, only a few hours had passed. She pushed down the covers to look at the clock, which read midnight. The night was so quiet. Snow tended to muffle sound and keep people indoors, making the world a peaceful place to be. After an hour of tossing and turning, Ivy decided to get dressed and sneak over to Carrie's house.

  Getting past her father was the hard part. Her mom was a heavy sleeper and could sleep through a storm, but if she went downstairs for a glass of milk, her father would often be waiting at the top of the stairs when she returned, just to make sure all was well. Her coat and boots were in the downstairs closet. She would have to get down the hall, to the closet, pull on her boots, and open the front door, all without making a sound. Ivy grumbled to herself, “If this were summer, I'd have a better chance.”

  Her favorite pair of jeans was dirty and in the hamper. Ivy pulled them out and the shirt she had worn two days before. She figured if she got out new clothes, her mom was bound to ask about them. Parents could be really nosey sometimes. She put on the thick wool socks that she liked to wear when she went sledding and grabbed her watch.

  “Well, here goes.” Ivy whispered into the night.

  The heavy socks made tiptoeing down the hallway carpet easier than Ivy expected. She had no idea how heavy she normally walked. She put one foot carefully in front of the other. That tiny walk to the stairs seemed to take forever. She paused between steps, waited and waited, then took another step. Pause. Step. Pause Step.

  And then she reached the stairs. Again, she took one step at a time. After another eternity, she reached the bottom of the stairs. The buzzing of the refrigerator seemed oddly comforting after the stress of her latest dreams, and she found herself wondering if maybe the dream was just a regular, ordinary dream. Maybe she should just go back to bed.

  But then she remembered seeing the egg in David's locker both in her dream and then in real life. Her dreams sometimes meant something. Creeping along the hall at a snail's pace, Ivy finally reached the closet door, grateful for the night light that illuminated the door knob clearly. She turned it in a swift careful motion and pulled the door open slowly.

  Even with the light, her boots were in the recesses of the closet in shadow. Ivy pulled on her coat, deciding to zip it outside and grabbed her boots. Sitting across from the nightlight, Ivy tugged on her boots, careful not to grunt. The last few steps were the worst. Boots were not exactly created for sneaking about.

  The best feeling was opening the door and stepping out into the bitter cold. She made it! Somehow she had managed to get all the way downstairs, put on her boots, and walk outside without her father hearing. They lived in a small town and never locked the house up which made getting out the front door in silence much easier. Shutting the door quietly behind her, Ivy hurried across the yard, her boots crunching softly in the snow.

  Ivy might have turned back if she'd known that her dad heard the door's click and with a frown and a yawn, dragged himself out of bed to see what was going on. He discovered that she had left the house just as she was turning the corner of Payton Street, two blocks down.

  The lights were off at Carrie's house and Ivy came to the conclusion that she had overreacted. All was well.

  A hand on her shoulder startled her and Ivy screamed.

  “Sorry, honey. Didn't know I was sneaking up on you.” Mrs. Huffity removed her hand from Ivy's shoulder with a look of apology behind those large glasses and examined her nails for a moment the way the secretaries in the old movies do after filing them.

  “You did, but it's okay. Why are you here?” Ivy couldn't believe her teacher was standing right here in front of her. It was the strangest thing ever. But then Mrs. Huffity was pretty weird herself, although Ivy liked her anyway.

  “You know some things.” Mrs. Huffity used that deep and distant voice again.

  “I had a dream. Well, two really.” Ivy told Mrs. Huffity about Carrie and Sparky, about the skeletons and cliff in her dream and how she snuck out of the house. She finished with, “But Carrie’s house is quiet, and I'm sure I made a mistake.”

  Mrs. Huffity pushed her glasses back and squinted into the night and for a moment Ivy would swear she was sniffing the air. “Not a mistake at all. No. Carrie is not in the house. Neither is Sparky.”

  “What about Carrie's mom?” Ivy couldn't believe Carrie's mom would be asleep if Carrie was gone.

  “Asleep. At least for now. I don't doubt she'll notice until Carrie is gone in the morning.” Mrs. Huffity swiveled around slowly, scanning the streets. It gave Ivy a rather creepy feeling, as if Mrs. Huffity were stalking prey or something. It seemed like a very animal-like way to move.

  “Um...Mrs. Huffity?” Ivy asked.

  “Yes?” Mrs. Huffity murmured.

  “What are you doing?”

  Mrs. Huffity turned once more, this time scanning the sky. “We're going to find Carrie and Sparky. Now, don't be frightened.” Mrs. Huffity said quietly. “It's my fault the girls are in danger.”

  And then Mrs. Huffity was gone. From standing not three feet from Ivy to complete and utter nothingness. Ivy couldn't believe it. She turned in a circle of her own, blinking her eyes and shaking her head to see if she could wake herself up. A taloned claw grasped her shoulder and Ivy found herself in a warm meadow filled with flowers and stars that she'd never seen before. Half of the sky was blotted out. Ivy wondered how it changed so fast from winter to spring and why the sky was filled with unfamiliar stars, Ivy said, “Are we in Australia?”

  She heard a rumbling laughter and realized it was coming from a rather large shadow blocking out the stars, far above her head.

  “Mrs. Huffity?” Ivy called, hoping her teacher hadn't gone too far.

  “Up here.” The deep voice said.

  A large face bent down from the great heights at the top of the shadow. Ivy realized the shadow was really a dragon, a huge dragon with large purple wings and sharp talons. Ivy stared. “Are you really a dragon?”

  “Yes. I'm sorry for the deception. Now, if you're ready, I'd like you to climb up. I need your help freeing Sparky.” Mrs. Huffity in dragon form seemed very large, almost scary, but the way she talked about Sparky, Ivy knew Mrs. Huffity loved the little dragon. And since Ivy was fond of Sparky herself, she decided not to let fear make the decision.

  “How do I get up there?” Ivy asked, feeling curiously unafraid. Her teacher was a dragon. Ivy supposed that a bit of screaming or hiding under the bed was called for, but she couldn't help but remember Mrs. Huffity tapping her forehead or the warnings to Carrie. The dragon was on her side.

  Still, Ivy felt a small measure of embarrassment climbing the scaly leg. The scales were thick and bumpy enough that she could use them as hand and foot holds. The only time Ivy felt afraid was when the dragon stretched her neck and turned to look at her. The deep voice rumbled, “We must hurry.”

  Ivy nearly lost her grip with that giant blue-green eye staring at her. Mrs. Huffity's eyes were not that color of sea-green. Ivy was sure of that. A small saddle sat on the dragon's neck, complete with harness. It gave Ivy some feeling of comfort. The s
addle had a tall back, stirrups and a saddle horn just like cowboys used when they did cow-roping in the rodeos.

  “Get strapped in. We're ready for lift-off.”

  The seat also had an attached harness that amusement parks used for roller coasters, the kind that went up over the head. The buckle ended at the front the way a baby carrier does. It took a minute for Ivy to figure out how to get the contraption on properly. When she was finally buckled in, the dragon leapt into the air and Ivy felt her stomach do a flip-flop. She whooped and laughed, leaning over the dragon's shoulder to watch the tree-tops pass by in a blur.

  “This is one of my favorite worlds.” Mrs. Huffity said.

  Ivy was glad she wore a coat. Even with the blue-white sun and the white sky, the air rushing into her face was chilly.

  “I thought the blue and white stars were the hottest?” Ivy said, thinking of the lesson they had just covered two weeks ago. Mrs. Huffity didn't like to teach out of the book and went to great and imaginative lengths to describe every kind of star. Now Ivy thought that perhaps those vivid descriptions came from personal experience.

  “Yes, they are.” Mrs. Huffity said. “But not to worry, this star is actually further out. You wouldn't believe how long a year is on this planet, but the rotations work out to make a nice comfortable place to fly.”

  They flew over a desert, then over water and Ivy decided she would never be excited to take a plane again. As they flew, Mrs. Huffity pointed out mermaids, although when she looked, Ivy thought they looked just like fish or dolphins from a distance. Every now and then she could see the flash of a fin or the flip of a tale, but not once did she really get a good look at their faces.

  And then they were back over land and tall mountains, flying along the coast above mountains and water. “We're almost there.” The dragon said.

  Ivy didn't really get a good look at the cliff in her dream. Now that she was really here, she could see the sheer wall of rock, a cliff face hanging out over the ocean where fierce waves pounded the shore.

  Sparky thrashed at two very sharp, thick bolts pierced right through the membranes of her wings. The little dragon bawled, her trumpeting cries piercing the air while she struggled against the bolts, trying to pull her wings away and tearing more of the membrane while she did.

  Mrs. Huffity murmured a strange language. The words sounded musical, but Ivy couldn't understand what was said. But Sparky calmed down and her expression changed from one of terror to waiting.

  “I'm going to fly as close to Sparky as I can. There are tools in the pocket of the seat. “You'll need to pull out the stakes.” The dragon's voice sounded angry as they hovered. Ivy didn't blame her. She felt angry herself.

  Mrs. Huffity roared.

  Ivy shivered, partly from the cold sea air blowing up the cliff face and partly from the dragon's temper. She decided right then that she would never talk out of turn in class, always volunteer when Mrs. Huffity asked, and NEVER send Carrie notes EVER again.

  Ivy? She heard Mrs. Huffity's voice in her head.

  “I'm ready. What do I do now?” Ivy asked, while tears slid down her cheeks. The little dragon was so close that Ivy could touch her, and Ivy could see the dragon skin stuck to the pikes and the drops of green blood dripping down the wing and falling ever so far into the great sea below.

  “Don't unhook yourself yet. Reach down into the pocket. There is a rope there. I want you to tie it around yourself and then onto the saddle horn you've been gripping.” Mrs. Huffity held steady, the way a helicopter hangs in the air on television shows.

  Ivy pulled the rope out of the bag. A loop was already knotted into one end in a slip-knot. She put the rope over the saddle horn and pulled it taut, then wrapped it around her waist, struggling with numb fingers to get it tied.

  “Be careful with that knot. Make sure it's tight.”

  Ivy could hear Mrs. Huffity's teacher voice somewhere in the depth of the dragon and nodded solemnly. “I will.”

  “Your life may depend on it.” The dragon turned her head and trilled to Sparky who had stopped struggling and whose body sagged on the stakes while she waited. Sparky trilled back.

  “Rope is tied. Shall I unbuckle my harness?” Ivy asked.

  “Not yet. Try to pull out the stakes while sitting. A dragon doesn't have the kind of strength in that part of the wing to use much force against the spike.”

  Ivy leaned over the saddle and reached for the first one. “I'm sorry, Sparky.”

  In her mind she heard a comforting thanks and assurance and felt some comfort knowing that Sparky trusted her. Ivy grasped the spike with both hands and pulled, but sitting as she was couldn't get the leverage she needed. “I think I have to unhook myself.”

  Be careful. She heard Sparky's warning in her mind.

  “I will.” Ivy unbuckled the harness and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She lifted a leg over the saddlehorn and wedged it against one of Mrs. Huffity's dark scales, “Here goes.”

  Grasping the stake with both hands, Ivy pulled with all her might. The spike pulled free from the crack in the rock and then out of Sparky. Sparky squawked and fluttered, falling a few inches which further tore the wing still caught on the cliff. Mrs. Huffity's tail stopped Sparky from doing more damage. Sparky's wing bled freely and Mrs. Huffity tilted her tail so that Sparky would feel less strain on the wing still trapped.

  “The darkness is coming,” Sparky said. She was looking out into the distance. Mrs. Huffity's head whipped around so fast that Ivy nearly lost her balance and had to grab the saddle horn.

  “Ivy, you need to hurry. Get that other wing clear.” Mrs. Huffity spoke quietly and with that quiet certainty that reminded Ivy of the day her Mom cut her foot really badly, and her father told her to go get a kitchen towel. His voice was just that calm, too. Scary calm.

  Freeing Sparky's other wing was more difficult. Ivy had to work around Sparky herself and Mrs. Huffity's tail, all of which was secondary to the sudden change in wind and the distant and fierce cries of the approaching enemy. Ivy's heart beat faster and she stood once more, putting both hands on the spike and pulling. Nothing happened.

  “Move it back and forth.” Mrs. Huffity said in her deep dragon voice.

  You two should get out of here. Sparky spoke in Ivy's mind. Ivy wondered if Mrs. Huffity could hear.

  Apparently she could because Mrs. Huffity said, “We’re staying. You're almost free. Just hang on.”

  Ivy pushed the spike up like a lever, cringing when Sparky moaned. She pulled it down and felt the spike loosen. With a sharp tug, Sparky came free.

  What happened after that was confusing. Ivy looked up to see Mrs. Huffity wrap her tail around Sparky, holding her safe. Then a dinosaur attacked. It looked like a pterodactyl with razor sharp teeth and long claws. And then Mrs. Huffity moved to avoid a slash, and Ivy slipped.

  She felt herself falling and grabbed out, catching a scale with her right hand. The pterodactyl scored Mrs. Huffity across the back with its long sharp claws and then screamed. That unearthly scream and Mrs. Huffity's swerve shocked Ivy enough that she slipped and found herself dangling over the water, a human piñata.

  The knot held, but Ivy's body hurt from being jerked back when her sudden fall was stopped by the rope. She grabbed the rope in her hands and tried to pull herself straight. She watched while three more dinosaurs swooped in an attack pattern on the dragon and then found herself flying closer and closer to the water.

  She heard a voice in her head. Can you swim?

  Yes. Ivy answered back. She and Carrie spent every afternoon during the summer at the pool.

  With a sharp twist the dragon flipped in the air, and Ivy found herself falling, a wave of water striking her as she drew a deep breath and held it.

  Her coat dragged her down as she fought against the waves. Her jeans made treading water difficult. Before the waterlogged coat could drown her, she unzipped it and pulled her arms out, letting herself sink and h
oping that she would have enough air to kick her way up. The tumbling of the water was confusing, but Ivy focused on the one thing in front of her. She had to get out of that coat and then the jeans.

  They'd practiced in Advanced Swimming and Life Saving lessons, not that anyone expected Ivy or her friends to save anyone, but they learned to kick off shoes, remove jeans and jacket and make floatation devices out of them. She used that knowledge now and the stray thought that her mom would kill her when she came dragging herself home without coat or shoes gave Ivy that extra certainty that she had to survive. It would be worse if she didn't go home at all. After the shoes and coat were off, Ivy let them fall into the ocean and kicked and swam as hard as she could to the surface, the salt stinging her eyes.

  She broke through and took a huge gulp of air before the next wave hit. The blue-white sun seemed to blind her, and while she heard the aerial battle and trumpeting of the dragons and screams of the pterodactyls, she could only focus on keeping afloat and breathing before the next wave hit.

  She tread water for a moment trying to get a feel for her surroundings. When she swam along the height of the waves, she saw that the long cliff face across from where she struggled was strewn with large rocks. A mile or so down the way, she spotted a sandy beach where she hoped to make a safe landing.

  Are you okay? Ivy sent the thought to Mrs. Huffity.

  She heard nothing in response. The jeans she was dragging along resisted her efforts to swim. NO way would she go home without her jeans. They lived in a small town and she'd never live it down.

  And if Barry or even worse, if David saw her, well, she would have to move away and change her name. Too bad there wasn't a witness protection program for disasters like this. Ivy thought all of this while swimming, never doubting that she would reach the shore, never doubting that Mrs. H. would win the fight and take her home. She focused on what she could do to save herself and did it.

  When she first stood on shaky legs and looked around, she realized that the sounds had stopped, the world had gone silent, and the skies were empty. Ivy was alone, utterly alone, wet and exhausted, without coat or shoes. Ivy walked up the beach and found a spot with a huge warm rock. She hung her jeans on one side of the rock and climbed up to sit on the other side.

  “I'm not sure I like this.” She said to herself. “No, I'm sure I don't.”

  She'd always wanted adventure, to travel the world, maybe be an astronaut or work on a submarine, to climb those rickety pathways in Peru and take the trains across Europe. But somehow those adventures seemed safe, maybe because someone had already done them.

  She sat in the warm sun searching the skies for Mrs. Huffity or Sparky. The sun warmed her from the chill of the water and lulled her into a sleepy yawn. She found her eyes closing. A rock is no place to sleep and Ivy rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning again. She stayed in the sun until her hair warmed, and her jeans were dry. Pulling them on, she looked around the strange world and realized how alone she was.

  She still ached from the ropes and rubbed her stomach. When she lifted her shirt, large bruises had formed where the harness had caught her. The rope hadn't been that long, but her bruises sure made it seem like a long fall.

  Tired from the swim, Ivy decided to find shelter. She walked across the beach, carefully avoiding the rocks while her feet sunk into the sand. Without shoes or a coat, she would need some way to keep warm. Scrubby grass gave way to pine trees, and the sand squishing through her toes turned to dirt and bark.

  Walking without shoes was difficult. Ivy realized how sensitive her feet were to every bump, every sharp stone, and every pricker. And she realized for the first time, she was homesick. She'd never wanted home as much as she wanted it right now.