Wings of Fire: Nighthawk

Chapter 20: Prisoner

Several hours had passed and Nighthawk's personal cave was already coming together. Towards the back wall he had a sleeping spot arranged, which included a cot, blankets, pillows, and a little box for storage. On the right side of his cave were several racks for weapons, armor and other tools. And finally there was a workspace area, with whatever he needed to tinker and work on any little projects. It wasn't as useful as Lobster's workshop, but it was good enough for him.

"Ahh, quite cozy.." He sighed as he led on his bed and sprawled out all over it. "Hm.." He rest his head down on the pillows and relaxed. He'd never had anything like this before, even when he was human. He was starting to forget what that was like. He'd lost track of how long it's been since he turned into a dragon, but there was nothing he could do about it now. This was good, it felt right and better.

"Oughta see if there's a bar.." The Nightwing mumbled and started to head out of the cave. It was grand, the palace. Extravagantly tall, beautiful and elegant. He'd never seen anything like this. As he took in the view, he saw Shark flying towards him. He sat up and tried to look more dignified and less mesmerized by everything.

"The queen wants you to speak with the skywing you captured. Interrogate her."

"Hm, I can do that." Nighthawk shrugged and stood up before looking down towards the water.

"Right this way." Shark flew towards a different cave, towards the bottom of the palace. It was a little cooler down there, a rather nice feeling. They flew into a cave before landing on the stone floor before walking into a chamber. "You can light a torch, the queen will allow it, just this once." He spoke and handed him a large stick.

"Perfect." Nighthawk spoke. He charged up his fire and blasted a small burst of flame into the end of the stick, which lit the affected area ablaze. Now that the room was lit up he could look around and get a more thorough examination. It looked like a dungeon; Chains on the walls, dark, damp and it had an eerie feeling to it. In the center of the room was Cardinal. She was chained and muzzled, but it was open enough so that she could speak.

"You! Nightwing.." Cardinal hissed and tried to lunge for him. He didn't budge. "I'm too important for this! You must know with your powers, talk them into freeing me!" That seemed a little desperate, he could use that if need be.

"And why should I? You wanted to attack civilian populations. That's a pretty good reason to keep you in here."

"Because, if you do I'll give you all the treasure you want." She offered. "I'm very wealthy being a general."

"I'll pass. Already got what I want. For now, and I know you wouldn't be able to help me get what I desire most."

"Tell me, and I'll make it happen! I can have strings pulled, favors done, anything you need." She begged. "Please, I'll tell you everything you want to know. Just let me free."

"Can't do that. Even if I wanted to." He grumbled. He got a very dramatic sigh and frown. It was easy not to buy into her act.

"Please? I got so many things to share, only if you let me free."

"Absolutely fuckin not." Nighthawk growled and crossed his arms a bit. "Now, you're either gonna tell me what you know, or, I'm going to kick your ass into next week. Already beat you once, I can certainly do it again. You're in no condition to fight, or make demands. So what'll it be?" He glared at her fiercely. Cardinal flinched and huffed.

"No. I'm not telling you anything."

"Hm." Shark huffed. "She mentioned a father and son once or twice.. perhaps we could use them."

"No! You can't hurt my baby." Cardinal hissed. "I will destroy you!"

"Oh, well look. We hit a nerve." Nighthawk said to Shark, grinning a bit.

"Seems we did."

"You wouldn't hurt my husband, let alone a child!" Cardinal protested and pleased, trying to get closer.

"You were willing to bomb islands full of civilians, which included children to win the war. We're willing to do whatever it takes to get what we need from you. But we won't hurt them, provided you answer my questions. Do we have a deal?" Cardinal was fuming, smile rising from that muzzle. She reluctantly nodded.

"Fine! Fine, just leave them alone." She huffed and growled.

"Fine with me. Less work for us." Shark shrugged and sat with Nighthawk. "Now, how did you get the maps? Was it a spy? Or just reconnaissance?"

"Recon. That's it. Nothing else. We flew at night under two full moons."

"Hm." Nighthawk huffed. "Why did you plan to attack civilian populations?"

"There's soldiers there, not completely civilian." Cardinal protested and huffed a bit. She was technically right as they weren't fully civilian towns, but the majority of dragons there weren't military.

"Doesn't matter. You planned it regardless. You don't care who you hurt, you just want to win."

"Could say the same for you, Nighthawk. Those skywings you killed before you got here has families. You tormented us, and now we all want revenge."

"So there's more to it." Nighthawk growled a bit, pacing around a little.

"Oh there is. I figured if we destroyed enough towns, we would find you. Then we could capture you and Scarlet can throw you into her arena. It would have been wonderful to watch you die, justice for all the dragons you murdered. The Nightwings aren't apart of this war, you don't belong in it."

"I'm no ordinary Nightwing." He scoffed and grinned. "I'm not one to hide, pull strings from the shadows, I get my claws dirty, and that will never change. As long as I got dragons to protect and enemies to destroy, I'll always be in the field. As for you, you failed."

"I didn't fail, they will rescue me! It might take a few years, but they will find me! I know it." Cardinal hissed. "You just wait, when I get out of here I'm gonna gut you." She tried to lunge at him but the chains held her down.

"Great. Looking forward to our third fight." He snorted. "Shark are we done here?"

"Yes, we got what we needed. I'll put my guards on her." He said as he started to walk out. "Now that that's over, the other commanders and I were gonna head to the palace bar to get some drinks, you want to come with?"

"Ah, sure. Could use a few to wind down. Let's go." He said as he walked towards the exit. He heard a small laugh from behind him, and he turned. It was Cardinal.

"Time is running out for you, Nightwing. I'll get you one way or another." She said sinisterly.

"Counting on it. Have fun." He waved and flew to the bar with Shark. He always enjoyed drinking with friends, and he definitely needed one right about now.