Page 56 of Winter Goddess
“Is that possible?”
“Other Gods do it.” Storm shrugs. “I’m sure you can do it too.”
He’s already spread his beautiful wings and the others follow his lead. I do the same, relishing at the feeling of freedom expanding my wings always gives me. I really need to fly more, but I’ve not really had the chance recently.
“Okay then… If we fall, try and catch each other.” I smile and hold out my arms like always and teleport us as soon as they touch me.
Air. Falling. No ground. I’m going to crash. Wyn splatter in the Demon Realm, what a fitting end.
“Fly, Wyn! Remember yer wings!”
Arc circles me, his wings beating strongly. He looks ready to dive and catch me, but he’s reminded me of how to fly. Silly me, forgetting the essentials. I flap my wings and stop falling. Phew.
“The dragons are approaching!” Storm shouts and I turn around, changing the angle of my wings so I can hover in place.
It’s a tremendous sight. At least fifty dragons of all shapes and sizes are racing towards us, their wings so majestic that I need to suppress a gasp. They are formidable, an enemy I really wouldn’t want to meet in battle. Good thing they’re on our side.
Dewi is flying at the front of the flock, her blue scales glittering in the reddish air. She’s by far the largest of them all and blue smoke is rising from her nostrils. Did she communicate with us while flying? I’m glad she didn’t fall; her weight must make it hard to stay in the air without flapping constantly.
“They’re fast,” Frost observes with a hint of admiration in his voice. “But we’re fast too.”
I doubt that we can match the dragons’ speed, but we won’t know without trying. The Guardians are a lot faster than me though. They’re physically stronger and have more practice. Oh well. Here goes.
As one, we rise to match the dragons’ altitude and prepare to meet them in flight. Dewi roars a greeting, tiny ice crystals steaming from her toothy maw.
Then they’re upon us, surrounding us. Even the smallest dragon is at least three times as long as I am, not counting their spiked tails. Their wings are thin membranes surrounded by strong bones and muscle, not at all like the almost translucent fairy wings of Guardians. They don’t wait, they just keep on flying and I beat my wings hard to keep up. Even so, they quickly pass me by. My tiny wingspan is no match against theirs. My Guardians stay by my side, even though I know they could fly a lot faster. They’re staying to not make me look weak.
“Come on, race them!” I tell them when I see the impatience swirling in their auras. “You know you want to.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Crispin says and the others fly off after I give them an encouraging nod. Storm is the fastest, but his twin isn’t far behind. Arc almost matches them, but he’s heavier and his bulk is holding him back.
Storm reaches the dragon furthest at the back and overtakes him, but he doesn’t manage to progress to further in the dragon formation. We’re outwinged.
A dark green dragon breaks away from the flock and turns, flying towards Crispin and me. She circles around us and the hovers just beneath me. An invitation to ride on her? I didn’t expect any of the dragons to offer that willingly. From the little I know about dragons, they’re incredibly proud beings.
I let myself sink until I’m just above her, then spread my legs and drop the final few feet. Her back is warm and the scales are surprisingly soft. I keep my wings extended at first, but with some air magic wrapped around me, I feel safe enough to fold them away and ride on the dragon.
Wow. I’m riding on a dragon. An actual dragon with scales and wings and a very spiky tail. Life really has become crazy. A magical adventure. With a body count, hopefully in form of demons, not Guardians and Gods.
“Thank you!” I shout and the dragon nods her head in response. I have no idea how I know that she’s female, but I take it as a fact. Crispin is flying by my side, just about managing to keep up. No dragon has offered to let him ride on them, so they must be confident in his ability to fly alongside them. The other three Guardians let themselves fall back a little until they’re flying to the left of me.
It’s exhilarating and I can’t resist whooping a little. Not too loud, I don’t want the dragons to think I’m crazy. I’m the Winter Goddess now, I can’t afford to be childish anymore. But a little shout of joy…
“Woohooo!” I scream and the Guardians laugh. Even the dragon I’m riding on chuckles, making her entire body vibrate beneath my thighs. I wrap my air magic a little tighter, in case the dragon decides to make any sudden movements.
Once I’ve got used to the feeling of riding a fricking dragon, I look down to see where we are. We’ve left the mountains behind and are currently traversing a bleak, boring landscape full of nothing but brown and black stone and marshland. There’s no sign of life, a few ruins, but not a single occupied demon settlement.
This must be an area avoided even by demons. The perfect place to hide.
It’s becoming hotter though. The sky above is bright red and the clouds look like smoke that’s rising from a fire somewhere. I follow their path… and yes, it is smoke. From a big, big fire. Well, a volcano. Same thing. And it’s erupting. The closer we get, the more detail I can make out. Lava is running down the mountain in wide streams, culminating in a large lava lake at the bottom which surrounds the mountain like a moat. What’s strange though is that the lake is still burning; none of the lava seems to be cooling and growing black.
The smell of ash is filling the air and I make sure to keep a filter made from some air magic in front of my face. I neither want that smell in my nose nor any ash particles in my eyes.
“Look!” Arc suddenly shouts. “There’s a building on the mountain!”
That can’t be. Who would build on an active volcano?
Well, easy. Demons.
