Wings Of Fire Fan Club

This is the Chapter from book 16... read at your own cost (posted here) On the third day of flying, they reached an island that was much bigger than any of the ones they’d seen before. Umber couldn’t see an end to it in any direction. It might as well have been as big as the continent behind them, except Mulberry assured him it was less than a quarter the size of Pyrrhia. They flew over rugged coastline and a forest noisy with clicks, squawks, and howls, and finally, up into a range of mountains that looked like land had been crumbled by huge talons. These mountains weren’t as tall as the Claws of the Clouds. The only snow was on peaks in the far distance. They were mostly brown, with scatterings of green here and there. Mulberry led them into a crevasse between mountain folds, twisting right and then left and then right again, and there at the end was a wall as tall as the mountains itself, filling the entire canyon. It was the same color as the canyon around it; a sort of rusty reddish-brown as if it had grown right out of the landscape. Square rough cut windows dotted the wall all the way to the top and Umber saw curious dragon faces peeking out of several of them. At the base of the wall was an archway with no door and standing just inside the archway was a tall statue of a dragon. No door? Umber thought, as he swooped down behind Mulberry. Then how do they seal this off when they’re attacked? How do they keep out enemy dragons? Maybe they don’t need one, because there are no enemy dragons here, he thought with a weird little jump of hope in his chest. Maybe this place would be peaceful, like Jade Mountain Academy. Or, like Jade Mountain Academy should have been if it weren’t for Sora. The flicker of hope faded as he glanced over at his sister. Mulberry landed in front of the archway instead of flying through it, resting his talons at a scrubby patch of grass near a dried up streambed. Umber and Sora touched down beside him. “The Court of Refuge is through there,� Mulberry said and Umber didn’t think he was imagining the thread of worry in Mulberry’s voice. He definitely wasn’t imagining the chorus of whispers coming from the windows overhead. Carved above the door, but scuffed as though someone had ineffectively chiseled at it, were the words FOR THE SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF ALL. That’s reassuring, Umber thought, especially if all really means every dragon, no matter what they did. Suddenly, the statue in the shadow of the arch stirred, and Umber realized it wasn’t a statue at all. She was an adult SkyWing with dark red scales and a lean angular face, wearing a gold circlet on her head and thin chains of gold in her ears and around her ankles. “Mulberry�, she said reverently, as if his arrival was the most glorious thing that had ever happened to the world. “You found new friends for us.� “This is Umber and his sister Sora,� Mulberry said, “and this is my mother, Queen Beryl.� He hesitated as Beryl lifted one talon toward him. “Mother, I think I should⸺� “Sora, what a lovely name,� Beryl interrupted him. Umber’s sister was already walking toward the archway and Umber felt a shiver at the way her eyes and Beryl’s were both glowing with something. “Welcome to the Court of Refuge. We are so happy you’re here.� “Me too,� Sora said, stepping through the arch. She took Beryl’s talon and dipped her head, which MudWings normally only did for the siblings of the queen. Beryl wrapped one wing around her protectively. “How wonderful that Mulberry found you,� she said to Umber. “Let me show you both around.� She spread her other wing toward the light at the far end of the archway and smiled. Umber took a step forward and Mulberry reached to catch his wrist. “Wait,� Mulberry said. “Maybe this isn’t⸺� “Mulberry,� Beryl said, in a fond but reproving tone, as if he had taken the last cookie without asking. “What is it?� Umber asked Mulberry softly. “Did you change her mind about Sora? Is she too dangerous to bring here?� “It’s⸺,� Mulberry pressed his claws into his forehead, closing his eyes. “No, no, nothing.� “Don’t worry,� Umber said, patting Mulberry’s scales where they touched his. “If we don’t fit in or if you start to worry about her, we’ll just leave. I promise we won’t cause trouble.� “Come on, Umber,� Sora called. She was already halfway down the tunnel, light and shadow from the other side streaked across her scales. Umber clamored up the slope and stepped through the arch, following his sister like he always would. Beryl smiled down at him and rested one of her elegant red talons on his head. “Yes,� she said. “So very, very happy you are here.�