Wings of Fire (The Legend of Hooper's Dragons Book 7)

by GARY DARBY

  I whip my head around to the front and think for a moment before I call out to Cara, “On my mark, go left and I’ll go right! Gather up the company, do what Phigby wants.”

  “Hooper—” Cara begins but I cut her off. “Do it!”

  Her nose wrinkles up in that stubborn pose of hers before her face softens. “You be careful, Hooper. Golden Wind, Scamper, take care of him, you know he’s not too bright by himself.”

  “I will, dear,” the golden responds while Scamper adds his chitters.

  “That’s a real confidence builder,” I grunt.

  “You know I didn’t mean it,” Cara smiles.

  I smile back. “I know. Now, here we go. One! Two! Mark!”

  Golden Wind’s screaming turn is so tight and jolting that Scamper yowls in dismay and digs his paws into her scale plates to hang on while I grunt and grimace as the pressure tries to throw me from my perch. But with a hand tightly gripping one horn, I manage to hold on and when the golden straightens I find that we’ve all but doubled back.

  We flash by the Fire Dragon and it tries to follow but the thing’s much slower in the turn and falls behind. A streak of blue off to the side tells me that Wind Song and Cara are safely away.

  I glance up to see Vay, floating high in the air with a shroud of black clouds swirling about her. She has a gloating sneer on her face as if she’s enjoying the spectacle of her creation hounding us and can’t wait for the gruesome finish.

  I glance over my shoulder to locate the Elementis and his fiery dragon and I suck in a breath. “No!” I gurgle.

  Three dragons are in a screaming dive toward the fire drake. Regal Wind, Wind Walker, and Wind Glory have their wings tucked as their riders lean forward, bows notched with an arrow.

  “Golden Wind!” I yell to which the golden snaps, “I see!”

  Once again, she carves up the sky in a stomach-twisting turn and with a burst of speed we spurt forward. Suddenly, the Elementis becomes aware of my comrades for it jerks its head around to stare upward.

  “Oh no,” I groan just as the Fire Dragon turns. From its mouth erupts a red-hot stream of fire that’s so intense and blinding that I jerk my head away for a moment. Even at this distance, I can feel the searing heat through my ragged tunic.

  Fear for my companions and their dwarf riders causes me to whip my head up and my heart sinks at what I see. The creature’s fire breath is like a blinding bolt that lifts higher toward my brave comrades.

  All three dragons have their wings flared trying to slow and turn but their downward speed is so great that before they can peel off and retreat, the fire is going to lash them. Regal Wind, Wind Walker, and Wind Glory might survive but not Alonya, Marce, or Helmar. They’ll die in moments under the scorching flames.

  Golden Wind’s wings are a blur and the wind is a gale in my face as she speeds toward them but we’re too far away. There’s nothing we can do, and a rage fills me as I think that my friends are going to die under Vay’s hand.

  Then, there’s a brilliant, radiant burst of light directly above that streaks downward as if a shooting star suddenly appeared in our midst. It darts down and slams to a stop just in front of the creature’s fiery bolt.

  For an instant, I refuse to believe what my eyes tell me.

  It’s Phigby and Bold Wind but both are ablaze with light and fire. In Phigby’s hand he holds a scepter aloft but unlike Vay’s dark, blood-red staff, Phigby’s shines in a radiant gold and silver that seem to overshadow even the sun’s brightness.

  Phigby whips the staff forward and from it comes a pillar of fire that blunts the oncoming shaft of flames and turns it aside.

  From the Elementis and his Fire Dragon comes a roar of anger that thunders across the sky before the creature unleashes another wave of dragon fire. The fiery stream seems to have a life of its own and weaves through the air straight at Bold Wind.

  Before Phigby can bring his glorious scepter around to counter the ropelike stream, the sizzling shaft wraps itself around the big scarlet. Bold Wind unleashes his own roar of anger and thrashes about in the air trying to free himself, but the rope only tightens.

  The Elementis makes a jerking motion as if it were pulling on a kite string and Bold Wind is yanked first to one side and then to the other. Like a servant flaps a rug up and down to clear it of dust, Bold Wind and Phigby are lashed back and forth.

  Somehow, in all the frenzied motion, Phigby slashes his staff downward, slicing through the fire rope and setting them free.

  A scarlet streak in the air causes me to scream, “Phigby! Above you!”

  Phigby jerks his head up and at the last instant swings his staff around like a club. The head of his radiant scepter catches Vay’s blood-red arrow of death at the last moment, shattering it into dozens of pieces that explode outward and then shower down.

  Vay’s scream of rage is answered by the Elementis and his dragon just as I see several of the company skying up. I turn Golden Wind toward them, yelling, “Go after Vay! Keep her off Phigby!”

  Amil jerks back in surprise as his eyes take in Phigby and Bold Wind. “That’s Phigby!?”

  “I know, he looks a bit different, but he needs help. He can’t fight both that thing and Vay.”

  “A bit different?!” Amil sputters but he turns Wind Glow, and along with Pim on Sparkle, Talia on Wave-Rider, and Tavin on Blue Blood, races toward Vay.

  Two streaks of blue catch my eye and I swivel around to see Cara and Helmar, hunkered down low on their dragons, with bows notched and drawn back as they drop toward an enraged Vay.

  From the other side, appearing out of a bank of dark clouds are Alonya and Regal Wind. Just behind come the rest of the company. With my comrades attacking Vay and keeping her busy for a few precious moments, I turn back to Phigby and almost fall out of my saddle.

  Bold Wind and the Fire Dragon charge at each other head-on. In one hand, the Elementis holds his gigantic, blazing sword of pure fire and he’s leaning forward as the distance between the two dragons close.

  The Elementis swings his enormous flaming sword down and from it explodes a massive ball of brimstone as big as Regal’s head. The blistering orb rolls through the air straight at Phigby and Bold Wind.

  Phigby holds his scepter of light up as if to use it as a weapon against the Elementis but now in his other hand, he holds a sparkling oval shield that shines as bright as his staff.

  Just as the flaming sphere reaches Phigby, he swings his shield as if he were swatting away an annoying fly. The armor of light catches the blinding ball of fire with an explosion of sparks and glowing shards that fountain up and over Phigby and Bold Wind.

  The burst is so intense that it lights up the sky, casting the roiling clouds in shadows. The air sizzles from the impact and Phigby barely has time to right himself before the Elementis and his dragon are upon him and Bold Wind.

  The two crash together in an avalanche of fire and thunder that rumbles through the air. Even at a distance, I can feel the blistering heat. Within the searing flames I can see Phigby and the Elementis exchange blows while Bold Wind is locked fang and talon with his fiery foe.

  I glance up to the battle above. The sprites with the pixies aboard whip around Vay’s face and she swats at them as if they were annoying flies. The sprites are joined by the rest of the company and for the moment, it seems that Vay is distracted by my comrades as they buzz around her like a swarm of angry bees attacking a honey-bear. But I have no doubt that our diversion won’t last long, and she’ll turn her attention back to Phigby.

  “Golden Wind, how can we help Phigby?”

  “We can’t, Hooper. This is one battle that only he can fight, but we can add to the fight above us.”

  I hesitate, torn between Phigby and my comrades above, but I know we can’t just sit back and be spectators. “Let’s go!” I order and the golden immediately points us upward.

  As we speed away, I watch over my shoulder as Phigby and the Elementis battle back and forth. To be honest, I can’t
tell if either of them are winning but my heart sinks when I see Bold Wind, brave and ferocious scarlet dragon that he is, give way before the bruising assault of the Fire Dragon.

  I swing my head around to focus on what lies above us and draw Galondraig. Scamper is on his hind legs, his front paws firmly set on the golden’s skull sheath. From his throat comes a low, but full growl and he juts his head forward as if wanting to take a bite out of Vay.

  “I suggest,” I say to him, “that you might want to sit this one out and hang on to a scale or two. This might get a little rough, you know.”

  In answer, he wiggles his little behind at me and scrunches forward even more.

  “All right,” I sigh, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Just ahead, Alonya has Regal Wind come to a full stop and she unleashes an arrow toward Vay. Directly across, Cara roars up on Wind Song and looses her arrow. The two bolts screech at Vay from opposite sides. As if they were little more than mere annoyances, the evil fairy swats them away with her rod and gives my companions a cold smile in triumph.

  “Want to see,” the golden calls, “if she can swat away something a bit more substantial?”

  “You bet,” I growl and squeeze my knees tighter around her neck. I snatch Scamper off his perch and shove him under her carapace. “You best hang on!”

  Realizing what’s about to happen, he yowls, Aaaahhhnoooo!

  The golden picks up speed and then growls loud, “Now!”

  She tucks her wings and whirls us around until I’m upside down and we’re aimed straight at Vay. Distracted for a moment by Alonya’s and Cara’s arrows, Vay doesn’t whip around until the last instant.

  Galondraig is an emerald streak, a blinding bolt of green as I slash down with all my might. My blade and Vay’s scepter meet and there’s an explosion of sound and fire. My hand goes numb from the shock and an intense cold sweeps up my arm. I’m rocked backward for a moment and I struggle to hold onto my blade’s hilt.

  Sensing my desperate plight, Golden Wind whips us right side up and I’m able to grab onto Galondraig with my other hand.

  I twist around to look back. Somehow, from my blow, Vay staggers and lurches as if she can’t maintain her balance. Her scepter is still in one piece, but she holds it awkwardly to one side as if her arm, like mine, has unexpectedly lost all feeling.

  But it’s her expression that holds me. A moment before, she was gloating at the ineffectiveness of my companions’ attack. Now, I can see the confidence drain from her hag face. “I can’t believe it,” I whisper, “we hurt her.”

  “Only for the moment, Hooper,” the golden answers.

  I glance down. Phigby and Bold Wind are still locked in combat with the Elementis and his Fire Dragon but there’s a definite change. Phigby and Bold Wind have their backs to us, but there’s no doubt Phigby is landing blow after violent blow upon his foe and it’s all the Elementis can do to ward Phigby off.

  Bold Wind has his fangs locked on the flaming drake’s neck in a death grip while his talons tear at the creature, ripping off huge chunks of what appears to be blazing scales.

  “Look!” I exult to the golden, “Phigby and Bold Wind are driving them back!”

  I don’t know if Vay heard me or if she noticed herself, all I know is that I jerk around at Cara’s scream of, “Hooper!” to find two of Vay’s arrows of death speeding right at Phigby and Bold Wind.

  “Golden Wind!” I cry but the golden is already speeding downward, her powerful wings thumping harder and harder until they’re little more than golden blurs but it’s not enough. My scream of “No!” rips through the air as the scarlet arrows slice through Phigby and Bold Wind.

  The bolts of death tear through their bodies and into the Fire Elementis and his dragon. All four jerk upward in soundless screams before they slump over and fall from the sky.

  Phigby is flailing, whipping around and around, his robe snapping and popping as he plummets groundward. Golden Wind doesn’t stop her downward plunge until she’s able to reach out and snatch Phigby out of the air with her rear talons. She arcs toward the smoke-covered ground searching for a place to set down.

  I whip my eyes up, expecting Vay to follow us and renew the attack, but to my surprise, there’s no sign of her. I search the entire sky, but she’s gone as if what she did to Phigby and Bold Wind were enough to satisfy her bloodlust.

  Golden Wind glides over the devastated and bleak landscape until she finds a relatively clear space, free of flames and smoke, and gently sets Phigby down. I’m off her even before she slips to one side and settles to the ground

  As I rush to Phigby, a gust of wind causes me to glance up to see Regal Wind descending, carrying Bold Wind’s limp body in his talons. Gently, the big purple sets Bold Wind down a short distance away.

  I slide on my knees in the pebbly gravel and pull Phigby up against my chest. “Phigby?” I cry in a gurgling sob. I yank Galondraig out of its scabbard but Phigby opens his eyes just a bit and brings up a limp hand to push at my blade.

  “You know,” he coughs, blood spittle forming at one corner of his mouth, “that it can’t help. Don’t waste its power on one who is already dead.”

  I lift my face momentarily at running footsteps that crunch through the gritty soil. The company rushes up, their shocked and distraught eyes fixed on Phigby. Behind them, the dwarves gather, their eyes downcast as well.

  Cara slumps to her knees on Phigby’s other side, tears streaking her dirty face, and takes one of his hands to press against her cheek. She peers at me, her eyes pleading as she looks from me to Galondraig.

  I shake my head, my breath sounding ragged to me. “It won’t work,” I whisper.

  Amil kneels next to Cara. “Your bag, professor,” Amil groans, “where’s your bag? It can help you.”

  “Yes, Phigby,” Cara sobs, “just tell us where it is, we’ll get it for you.”

  “No, my dear Cara,” Phigby rasps, “not this time. Neither Hooper’s blade nor my bag can help me.”

  He tries to breathe deeply but it only sets him to coughing with more blood drooling from one side of his mouth. After a moment of fitful spasms, he opens his eyes but they stare blankly as if he can’t see. “Hooper?”

  “I’m here, Phigby,” I moan, holding him tighter. “I’m right here.”

  “Hooper,” he breathes out, “it’s time, lad. It’s time that you take up the mantle, and when the moment comes, do what only you can do. Will you do that for me, Hooper? Will you do that for all of us?”

  “Yes, Phigby,” I blubber, “I will. I promise.”

  “Good lad,” he gasps. “I’ve taken you as far as I can and now it’s up to you.”

  “Phigby . . . no,” I plead. “You can’t leave . . . I can’t lose you too.”

  “Leave I must,” he coughs, “but if you remember me well then I shall consider my life well-lived.”

  “We’ll always remember you well, professor,” Amil blubbers and wipes his arm across his snuffling nose, “how could we not?”

  Phigby nods in satisfaction, pulls Cara’s hand away from her face, and brings it over to press against mine. “Take care of each other. That’s what love is, you know, caring for one another every moment of your lives.”

  I gaze into Cara’s glistening’s eyes, tears dimming my vision but we both nod and say, “We will, Phigby, promise.”

  Phigby arches his back as if he’s in great pain, his chest heaving as he tries to suck in one last breath. “Hooper, please, please, for . . . give . . . me . . . I . . .”

  He tries to speak but nothing comes out. He slumps down, the light of life leaves his eyes, his breath slowly sighs from his mouth, and his cloak loses all color, becomes completely black—a death shroud.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  I pull him close, bury my face in his wild hair and moan, “Phigby . . . no . . .”

  After a few moments, I raise my head. Cara’s hand is to her mouth, stifling her cries, and her eyes hold utter shock and disbelief. Phi
gby, who we thought was indestructible is gone.

  She meets my eyes, shakes her head ever so slightly. “Oh, Hooper, without him, what’s to become of us?”

  I shake my head too, murmuring, “I don’t know. He was always here, like the ground below, the sky above. And now . . .” My mouth works, and I try to speak but nothing comes out.

  Blubbering, Amil lays his hand on Phigby’s. “Well, at least ye did not have far to go to climb the mountain and reach heaven, my friend.”

  Around me, I can hear sniffling, muffled sobs. The little pixies go from bawling to wails and back again while around us the dragons gather in a great circle that encompasses both Phigby and Bold Wind.

  My eyes find Golden Wind. She looks at me meaningfully before she lowers her head toward Bold Wind. I nod in understanding and gently lower Phigby to the ground. I stumble to my feet and hurry over to the brave scarlet. His breathing is weak, labored, a dark hole in his crimson scales where Vay’s crimson arrow penetrated.

  I lower myself to both knees, stroke his muzzle and whisper, “Bold Wind, I’m here.”

  He struggles to open his eyes but when he sees me they blink open. “Hooper Menvoran, Gem Guardian and . . . my friend.”

  “Oh, Bold Wind, I am so sorry—”

  “No, Hooper Menvoran, do not be sorry. You entered that dismal swamp and rescued me. You returned my dignity, my respect, my honor—for that you have my eternal gratitude.”

  He shudders in pain and then with halting breaths, says, “I would have liked to see Vay’s defeat—and you will defeat her, Hooper Menvoran, but for me, that is not to be.”

  His scales tremble under my hand as I stare into his eyes. “It is my time, Hooper Menvoran, and I give you my gift knowing I have done all that I can to remove the stain on my soul.”

  He draws in a deep breath and rasps,

  Scarlet its scales were meant to be

  Given to none on bended knee

  Great its wings to ever soar

  Over dale, forest, and green-set moor