Wings Of Fire: Heart of Oak

Abducted

A/N: Here's where the real action starts!

Holly's POV

Holly covered her mouth in an effort to muffle her scream.

Nope.
Nope.
I can't do this, Bird!
It should've been someone else!
I'm not the one everybody needs!
I'm way too weak for this!
It should have been Sundew!

"You can do it", Bird's voice said softly.
"The weakest are often the strongest."

An image of a teenager flashed through her mind's eye.
He was about eighteen, with maple-brown curls, his back turned to her.
He was looking out into the sunset in the distance, then spun around tp face her.
His eyes sparkled brown and gold like droplets of sap.
He was smiling as though he was looking at the light of his life.

What-

"What is it?", Bryony asked, snapping her back to reality.
Holly still clutched her mouth as she pointed to the creature on the ledge.

It looked at her, unblinking and impasive, its body in a strange spider-like possition.

Wren said something soothing in human.
When there was no response, she said in dragon, "Do you understand this language instead?"

The creature snarrled and scurried into a crack in the wall without so much as a glance backwards.

"That was so creepy", Bryony said, shaking.

Dusky hugged Luna's neck.
"Humans are scary", he whispered.

"Not all humans are", she said.
"Wren and Axolotl are nice. And so is Holly, even though she's not a human right now."

"I have nightmares about humans", Dusky said, so softly, it was almost impossible to hear him.
Holly twitched.

"Wait until you have your wings", Luna said.
"Then you won't be afraid of anything. I haven't had them for long, and look at me!"

"It's all right, Dusky", Cricket said, walking over.
"We all get scared sometimes. That thing really freaked me out too."

"What even was that?", Umber asked.
"It wasn't human, right?"

"I think it was . . . at some point", Holly said slowly.
"I think the Abyss somehow changed it."

"Should we try to follow it?", Wren asked.
"If one of you could lift me and Axolotl-"

"Absolutely not!", Sky said.
Holly shook her head vigerously in agreement.

"What if the Abyss does that to all humans? I'm not letting you to turn into a scary hair-monster! And that thing looked like it would eat you in a heartbeat."

He made what he must have thought was a face of feirce determanation, and glared at her.
"I'm staying here to guide you, no matter what you say!"

Wren put her hands on her hips.
"No one is going to threaten me with you looming over me, pretending to be scary, Sky."

"Well good", he said.
"I AM scary. They should think about that."

"What if all the Abyss worshipers look like that?', Bryony asked.

Sky cupped his talons over Wren, as she began to climb the rocks up to the ledge.

"Please", he said desperately.
"If the Abyss does that to all humans, you can't go there; I won't let you."

Wren touched one of Sky's talons and locked eyes with him.
They seemed to be having a whole priviate conversation with each other.

"You'd better not let me", Wren said after a long moment.
"I like my hair as it is."