Fire Islands: Chapter Five: Glowsnakes

Just a little thing right here before we start. If you have any novellas/short stories to share, I'm definitely open to new ideas. But this blog is about Wings of Fire fan fiction, so please do that. Also, you do not have to write the entire thing. Just a basic outline or even just a quick overview would totally be fine. It may not be posted for a while, because after the Fire Islands I'm thinking of two others whose names now are The Smuggler and Cursed. Just a little preview.

Chapter Five

Glowsnakes

    "The what-" started Clay, but broke off as Flicker herded Embers to the other side of the cliff and they abruptly disappeared. Blueberry cast an anxious look over her shoulder before gently touching Glory with her tail and guiding her back to the spot where the two sisters had disappeared.

    "Come," she whispered to the rest of them. "If Venom-Spitter finds out we're here, we're dead!"

    "Who is Venom-Spitter?" Clay tried to ask again, but feeling the weight of Sunny in his arms he started forward. Blueberry and Glory reached the same spot and they were able to see them drop down a little ways.

    Tsunami reached the edge and peered over. "There's a cave!"

    "Whoopee," Starflight muttered. "A dark unknown hole in the side of a cliff full of dragons we don't know from a tribe we had no idea existed until a few minutes ago."

    Tsunami raised an eyebrow at him. "If you have any better ideas from hiding from this weird Venom-Thingy, please propose them to us."

    Starflight sighed and carefully ran his talons over the edge of the rock, then feeling the opening and dropping in. Tsunami held out her talons and carefully held Sunny as Clay followed them, then carefully passed her still body down to him, jumping down once she was safely back with Clay.

    Flicker was trying to angle herself so that the golden arm scale that she had used to flash signals at Blueberry and Embers would shine at the old poppy-colored SunWing as she examined Glory's wing. She nodded in thanks to the young dragon and leaned back.

    "Well?" asked Flicker.

    Blueberry shrugged. "I've seen worse."

    "I know you've seen worse. It's common knowledge, believe it or not. Can you fix it?"

    "Can I fix it," Blueberry scoffed. "It's just broken. It'll fix itself if you keep it still enough," she said to Glory. "Now let me see that little SandWing." She motioned to Clay and he gently laid Sunny beside her.

    Blueberry made a series of clucking noises as she examined her. "Goodness. I haven't seen one of these in a while. Almost every sensible dragon takes cover during a storm."

    "We tried," said Glory. "The wind was too strong." She winced as she shifted her broken wing to a more comfortable position.

    "What did I tell you about keeping that wing still?" scolded Blueberry. "If you keep it up it will never get any better." She turned her attention back to Sunny without waiting for a reply.

    Starflight heard Embers yawn and curl up beside Flicker. Flicker frowned at her. "Were you visiting Lightning again?"

    Embers returned her glare, a bit more defiant than her older sister. "So what if I was? He's the only one who listens to me."

    "You know perfectly well Mother doesn't like that," Flicker said in an aggravated tone. "I'll let it go just this once, but-"

    "Sh," Blueberry hushed them. "I can't focus if you're squabbling like this every minute of the day." She rested her talon on Sunny's forehead like Flicker had done and clucked her tongue again. "Goodness me. It's worse than I thought."

    "Is she all right?" asked Clay worriedly.

    "She'll be fine, once I'm done with her."

    Flicker nodded. "That's definitely the truth." Turning to the rest of them, she explained, "Barely any patients are brave enough to not get better. She hasn't lost a patient since the first time Venom-Spitter was sighted, or so I hear."

    Blueberry sighed. "Yes. Poor Ray. It hasn't happened since, though."

    "There's Venom-Spitter again," Starflight said. "What is Venom-Spitter?"

    Embers seemed about to answer when Flicker shushed her. Eyes wide, all three of the SunWings froze and almost stopped breathing. A faint hissing came from outside. "Glowsnake!" hissed Embers. Flicker jerked her arm away from the sunlight, and Blueberry carried Sunny farther into the cave and raised her wings protectively around her.

    The hissing grew louder until it sounded like it was right outside, then they saw the snake. It was small and green, but it was definitely a snake. It turned its head to look at them and opened its mouth. Then it started to glow.

    A whoosh of something cloaked in shadow came down and the snake disappeared. But the glow stayed. It started along a thin line of what looked like silk and disappeared behind the cave wall. Flicker yelled, "Break the Glowsilk!" and rushed towards it. She swung her tail, but missed and bashed it against the rock.

    Tsunami ran forward and clawed the line, breaking it but below the glowing ball, so that it continued over the mountain. Embers leapt into the air and did some kind of somersault in midair, landing in front of the glow and pounced, but too slow. In a flash of desperation, Clay reared up on his tail and let loose a column of flame, scorching the rock and thankfully the glow.

    Flicker leaned back towards the cliff with a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the moons. If that had reached Venom-Spitter, we'd be dead."

    "Flicker?" Starflight emerged from the cave. "What was that snake thing? And what ate it?"

    Embers came up the slope. "One of the Glowsnakes. Venom-Spitter sends them to spy on us. When they see us, they send a glow down their Glowsilk strands. If it reaches Venom-Spitter, he knows exactly where we are."

    "As for what ate it," continued Flicker, "one of our pets."

    "Pets?" asked Tsunami.

    "Yep." Flicker motioned with her talon to go back into the cave, where she lit a torch. It illuminated the room and Glory gasped. Magnificent birds with feathers matching the scales of the SunWings sat perched all over the room. Their feathers curled up at their heads and magnificent tail feathers hung down like a waterfall up to a meter long. Flicker reached for the largest. "These are the phoenixes. This is my phoenix, Firebird."

    Embers trotted happily over to where a phoenix chick was strutting about, and stroked it.

    "Firebird is the head phoenix," Flicker said. "And probably the one who took care of Mr. Glowsnake."

    Embers paused and raised her head. "Flicker! It's Shining!"

    Flicker peeked outside. "Oh, thank goodness. Venom-Spitter's raid has ended." She placed Firebird on her shoulder and beckoned to them. "Come meet my tribe."