Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Phoenix leaned over the bow of Drago’s airship, the wind curling around her face and tugging at her midnight-black braid that rested over one shoulder. The air crackled with tension and energy. The sky was stained with purples and greys that mirrored the unease in her chest.
“Look!” Phoenix called, pointing toward the horizon. “There they are!”
Two dragons soared through the clouds—one dark brown with copper highlights, the other purple with gold accents along the ridge of his spine and chest. They turned in a synchronized arc toward the deck.
The others rushed to the railing as Bálint and Zohar came in fast, their powerful wings slicing through the air. They shifted mid-glide, two lean teens landing with a thud of boots and excitement.
“You’re not gonna believe what we saw!” Zohar blurted, his eyes wide with adrenaline.
“It was huge!” Bálint added, shouldering past him. “Thirteen ships—and the flagship’s made of bones!”
“Actual bones!” Zohar emphasized, motioning outwards with his arms spread wide. “Like, whale bones and monster bones and—maybe even dragon bones. It’s creepy and cool all at once!”
Phoenix exchanged a look with Spring, who was worrying her bottom lip. Roam released a low hiss of dismay.
Drago and Orion approached from behind, their boots silent on the deck.
“Where did you see them?” Drago asked, his voice low and dangerous.
“Off the eastern cloud bank. There’s a battle going on,” Bálint said. “It looks like ships from the Isle of the Pirates are fighting against another group of pirates. One of the bad guys fired at us.”
“They missed us by a mile,” Zohar scoffed with a wave of his hand.
“Actually, it was a few inches,” Bálint corrected.
“They still missed.”
Orion and Drago shared a grim glance. Drago’s jaw tightened.
“It’s got to be Blackheart. No other ship fits that description,” Orion said.
“Who is Blackheart?” Phoenix asked.
Orion’s expression was dark. “A half-monster, half-pirate abomination. Simon Black, the former Pirate King, banished Blackheart long ago for nearly destroying both the Isle of the Pirates and the Isle of the Monsters. His sister, Saldusa, is worse—she’s a malevolent sprite who’s delved deep into forbidden magic. ”
“It looks like they’ve returned,” Drago said. “This time with a fleet of ships.”
“How many ships did you boys see?” Orion asked.
“At least twelve, plus the flagship,” Zohar said. “There were a lot of strange creatures aboard the ships.”
“Yeah. The dragons and wispy things that followed us were covered in barnacles and looked pretty bad,” Bálint added.
“One other thing you should know,” Zohar said, looking at Bálint with a grim expression.
“What’s that?” Drago asked.
“We’re pretty sure Amber and Jade landed on the Isle of the Pirates and they’re on one of the ships now,” Bálint replied, looking around at the other teens.
“You’re ‘pretty sure’? Why?” Phoenix asked.
Zohar grinned. “Who else do you know who deploys Bubble Binders and Glitter cannons?”
The group groaned.
“Why do they get all the fun?” Roam mumbled before hissing when Spring elbowed him. “I mean, we really should help them.”
Drago turned to Orion. “We have to help Ashure. If Blackheart and Saldusa capture him, the entire realm will be in danger.”
“But we can’t risk the kids—” Orion started.
“We’re not kids,” Roam muttered under his breath.
“We can help,” Phoenix cut in.
“Oh, we can definitely help,” Alice said, tweaking her fingers and sending out a shower of colorful sparks.
“Bring it on,” Adaline replied with a grin.
“You kids need to stay on board where it is safe,” Drago growled before he nodded to Orion.
“Drago and I can handle this,” Orion added before he and Drago turned and headed toward the helm.
Zohar turned, his eyes blazing. “We have to help. At least we know where Amber and Jade are now.”
“I’m more worried about what Drago and Orion said about Saldusa,” Phoenix said softly.
“Leave Saldusa to Adaline and me,” Alice said confidently. “We can handle her.”
“Phoenix, can you get us to the battle faster?” Roam asked.
Phoenix bit her lip and turned toward the horizon, studying it. Her pulse thundered in her ears. She could feel the energy coursing through her. The power of the Guardians was calling to her.
“Open,” she breathed, lifting her arms and spreading her fingers.
A breathless silence fell over the deck as her fingertips began to glow, radiant with silvery flame.
She focused her eyes on the horizon, drawing in the ancient magic that hummed through her bones.
The sky rippled like water. Wind whirled around her, tugging her braid loose as her feet lifted slightly off the deck.
The clouds ahead shimmered, then split with a low, resonant chime.
A glowing seam opened in the sky—a swirling oval of light growing larger with every breath. Through the shimmering veil, they glimpsed flashes of chaos.
Ships locked in battle.
Smoke and fire streaked across the sky.
Flashes that looked like lightning arced between ships.
A clear bubble danced in midair with a shrieking pirate flailing inside.
“That’s definitely Amber and Jade,” Alice muttered, wide-eyed. “It looks like they’ve improved the binding material since James and Leo jumped out of the tree.”
The portal yawned wide—big enough for the airship to sail through.
Phoenix’s eyes glowed like molten stars. “Hold on.”
With a lurch, the airship tilted and surged forward, diving through the breach.
On the other side, the world exploded with sound.
Cannons roared. Sea beasts snarled. Magical blasts crackled from the sky. One of Blackheart’s bone ships rammed a smaller ship, which began to list to the port side. Several pirates screamed as they fell into the sea.
“We’re on it,” Zohar and Bálint said in unison, vaulting over the side of the airship and shifting into their dragon forms as they dove to save the men from drowning.
“We’ll take care of Saldusa,” Alice said, gripping Adaline’s arm.
“Be care…ful,” Phoenix called out, but both girls had already vanished.
“Cowabunga, dude!” Roam roared before he jumped over the side.
“Roam, you idiot! You can’t fly!” Spring shouted before she leaped over the side after him, shifting.
Phoenix shook her head before she turned, grinned, and shrugged when she heard the exasperated shouts of Drago and Orion behind her as she followed the others.
Below, Alice stood on the front of the damaged ship with her hands raised. She had conjured a shield dome to deflect a barrage of flaming arrows while Adaline repaired the damage to the side of the ship and pulled the water out of it. The ship slowly righted itself.
Zohar and Bálint were plucking the pirates out of the water and dropping them back onto the deck with a roar before taking to the air again and launching fireballs at the nearest evil pirate ship’s sails.
Spring, who had caught Roam, dropped him onto the upper rigging of another pirate ship. Her eyes widened when Roam wiggled his tail in the air as he began to grow… and grow.
He must still have some of the magic mushrooms left! I hope he still has the one to shrink him again, she thought as he sprung off the upper mast, across the expanse of water, and landed on the bow of a third evil pirate ship.
The front of the ship sank down into the water, lifting the stern up into the air and flinging evil pirates everywhere.
Spring, her claws gleaming as she climbed higher, roared as a flurry of nets, catapulted from cannons, soared toward her. Phoenix grinned as her sister made quick work of the nets, burning most and tossing a few back at the pirates, who collapsed under the weight.
Phoenix glanced to the side when a black shadow briefly blocked her view.
“Hey, Drago,” she said.
“If your parents don’t ground you for a lifetime, Orion and I will,” he snapped.
Phoenix laughed because she could hear the grudging respect in his voice as he took in the mayhem below.
“Orion’s going to cause a few waves. I’m going to make sure that Ashure keeps his head on his shoulders. You just… be careful,” he ordered in a gruff tone before he dove, heading for the lead ship flying the flag of the Isle of the Pirates.
Phoenix’s dragon grinned as they spotted Amber and Jade launching trap bombs over the railing—laughing wildly, giddy with mayhem.
Phoenix smiled grimly. “Two more—only one to go. Let’s finish this battle,” she murmured to her dragon.
I thought you’d never ask! her dragon retorted with glee as her power manifested in flames wreathing her body as she flew toward the massive ship made of bones.
Jade crouched behind a barrel of enchanted sea salt, adjusting the settings on the Bubble Binder Cannon.
“Heads up. We’ve been made,” she called out in a low voice to her sister.
“Ugh. He looks just like Dad when he catches us and James plotting,” Amber groaned.
Ashure Waves stormed towards them with an exasperated expression on his face.
“What in the Seven Kingdoms are you doing on the Sea Wasp? Tonya’s going to kill me if she finds out,” he groaned.
“No, she won’t. She’s the one that helped us,” Amber grinned as she tightened the straps on her gauntlet. “We’re helping you batten down the hatches.”
Jade popped up beside her with a firm nod. “And conducting controlled chaos trials. For science.”
“This isn’t the place for you,” he started to growl before he paused and frowned. “What do you mean Tonya helped you? Please tell me she isn’t here, too!”
Jade grimaced and gave him an apologetic look. “She might be.”
“Bloody—” Ashure groaned, his worried gaze sweeping the deck, searching for his wife.
“This is why you need us,” Amber added. “Tonya felt the same. She’s really cool, by the way. She reminds us of our mom.”
Jade snorted, her eyes twinkling with delight. “And you remind us of our dad,” she mumbled, trying not to laugh.