The Darksield Chronicles

Chapter 16: Flight Lessons

Flame was surprised. Whether he knew it or not, Darksield had acted just like a soldier.

Whiplash apparently noticed because he grunted and waved him along without any further questions.

As soon as Darksield lined up between Flare and Streak, Whiplash shouted, "Alright, cadets! Listen up! Each of you will fly through all the hoops as fast as you can and perform another loop twenty feet off the ground before diving down through the ninth hoop."

"You!" he pointed at Streak. "Let's see what you've got."

Darksield POV

Streak nodded and walked toward the edge of the arena near the first hoop, spread his wings, and took off. He sailed through the first hoop, spiraled through the second, shot up at a diagonal through the third, then shot down through the fourth, fifth, and sixth. He completed the course with a massive loop and landed right where he had started.

"Very good," Whiplash said. "Very good form. You completed the course in 1 minute, 13 seconds." He glanced toward the others. "Now let's see what the rest of you can do."

One by one, the others went until everyone had gone except for Darksield and Cynder. Darksield watched as Cynder took off through the hoops. He noticed that several times she seemed to speed up like Streak had done during a dive. Darksield realized that she must have been using the wind element, which meant that Streak was a wind dragon.

When she landed, Whiplash shouted, "Good. But not good enough! You made it at 1 minute, 14 seconds. You!" he pointed at Darksield. "Let's see what you've got."

Darksield was conscious of everyone's eyes on him as he approached the first hoop. He lifted his wings, then shot forward, eliciting several gasps at his speed.

He shot straight through the hoop and banked toward the second. He tilted up, going through the third, then made a loop in midair, gaining momentum, until he shot down through the next three hoops. He barreled toward the seventh hoop. It was close to the pillar of the third hoop. He grinned. He could use that to his advantage.

He arced toward the pillar, spun, and kicked off it, creating a small shockwave when he kicked, then shot through the seventh hoop and through the eighth as well. He immediately shot into the air, everything blurring around him as he reached the peak of his fifty-foot loop. Then he dived down, right side up, and darted down toward the hoop. Everything seemed to bend around him, and he could feel lightning trailing from his body. When he reached the hoop, there was a massive roaring sound, and he shot through it before banking up and diving back down toward where he had started. He landed with a thud and collapsed, panting.

He could hear several dragons moving toward him, but he didn't care. He felt completely wiped out.

Cynder POV

Cynder couldn't believe it. Darksield just created a sonic boom. Only adult wind dragons could use that kind of speed. She rushed over as Darksield collapsed and would have helped him up, but he flared out a wing, making everyone pause.

"I'm okay!" Then the wing went back down. He slowly got to his feet, looking a little unsteady. Then he stood straight and faced Whiplash. "What was my time, sir?"

Whiplash seemed to think for a minute before replying, "It was 1 minute, 5 seconds."

Cynder gasped. That was the fastest time ever recorded on the course from any of them.

"Darksield, when you were shooting back down toward the ninth hoop, did you notice anything strange?" Whiplash asked.

Darksield nodded. "Everything seemed to blur around me, and when I shot through the hoop, I heard a massive roar."