Wings Of Fire (WOF) : A dark family affair

Chapter 24

Nightjar and Dandelion separated, she taking the right side of the bridge and her colleague the other. They moved along, trying to make as little noise as possible despite the fact that they were moving in the middle of the water. Swimming along the ground like a crocodile in the swamp, the half nightwing felt at ease and could at the same time hear muffled voices, but she couldn't make out what was being said. She just hoped that their exchange was of no particular importance.

She could see between the arches that passed before her eyes that Dandelion, for his part, seemed to have less ease than her in moving through the current. Nightjar knew he could fight, perhaps like an experimented warrior, but seeing him almost wading clumsily through the water, like an innocent, clumsy dragonet, almost made her laugh. Nightjar was strangely touched by this attitude. She had the impression of discovering the hidden side of Dandelion, who was always serious, closed and not very open. It was with their respective swimming skills that they both finally managed to reach the western end of the bridge.

Over the low wall, Nightjar, in the darkness, slowly revealed her head, checking where their opponents were. All of them, without exception, had their backs to them, under the weak and few streetlights. They were probably searching, in the air, for her silhouette, without suspecting that she was already close to them. The thought made her smile, satisfied that her sudden plan was going so smoothly.

Two of them, a sandwing and a black hivewing, sitting at the back of the group, were equipped with torches which they held firmly. The dragon with the poison dart on his yellow tail was on the verge of sleep and let a loud yawn escape from its mouth. Crystal looked at him with judgement at his disrespectful attitude and, as she turned round abruptly, Nightjar lowered her head, afraid of being spotted. She waited for a sign from Dandelion before re-emerging to analyse the situation.

She gently lifted her upper body and then her legs out of the water, and her colleague did the same. They cautiously made their way across the stone bridge, mixed with the grains of sand on the ground, while the dragoness's heart was beating wildly. Nightjar awkwardly stopped his comrade with her tail to confirm that he was ready for the front. They would only have one chance, and they would have to act quickly.

They approached their victims as close as possible. The sandwing in front of her suddenly wagged its venomous tail, which she narrowly dodged as she backed away. She continued her approach. She bent her knees so that she was as flexible as possible on her feet and Dandelion tried to imitate her. Then, with a nod, they both leapt onto their backs.

Nightjar, as leapting forward to topple her opponent, grabbed his neck with her flaming palm to give him death, and with her other hand, she held his muzzle to silence his ordeal. Obviously, he wasn't expecting it at all and the half nightwing felt his whole body resist and then writhe in pain. Any resistance was useless. He tried to grab his head to defend himself from his attacker, but to no avail, and the weight of her caused him to fall to the stone floor with a thud.

Between her claws, Nightjar felt her victim's neck heat, burn and melt. After a few seconds, that will be forever engraved in her memory, the soul of the sandwing had left its receptacle and the deceased was no more than a shadow of his former self.

The adrenalin had pumped through Nightjar's veins and the bitter feeling of revenge possessed her completely. Her ears no longer picked up any sound, her nostrils breathed nothing but the cold night air and her eyes admired her horrible work. She was locked in a bubble where she was disconnected from reality. The only thing she felt was the dead man's blood beneath her, his neck melting more and more as it came into contact with the fiery silk.

However, her bloody fullness came to a screeching halt when she heard Crystal's voice reasoning in front of her : "How are they... It doesn't matter: get them", she ordered, frightened by the sight they were both offering her. This familiar command reminded Nightjar of the day Maple disappeared. "Not again". She hated that words, which had haunted her recently, and it triggered a wave of cold anger inside her.