Dune needed no assistance, springing up to sit in front of us. Realizing we were about to move, I gathered my energy and extended the shield over Fury.
“Hold on,” was all Dune said before Cleo began to move.
My stomach dropped as she slowly shuffled backwards. I reached out and gripped one of her spikes, avoiding the pointy top. She was a little awkward on the ground; it was not a smooth ride. I’d never even been on a horse, and I imagined a creature this size was much rougher.
That was until she took to the sky.
I gave an involuntary shriek as she lifted her wings and in a few powerful thrusts was airborne. I couldn’t open my eyes much to take in the view but the experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. She soared effortlessly once we were higher, gliding through the red expanse of sky. My hands were starting to ache from being clenched so firmly on the spike, and despite my joy at flying I couldn’t find the willpower to loosen my grip.
Within minutes we were starting to descend and I recognized the huge cliff. I held my breath as Cleo hit the ground hard. The jolt would have knocked me off if my grasp hadn’t been so firm.
Dune vaulted off Cleo, before reaching up to help Fury first and then me.
“That was amazing,” she breathed. Her face was lit up, eye sparkling. “How did you ever make friends with her?”
Dune reached up and rested his hand against Cleo’s neck. “Let’s just say we have saved each other a few times. Besides you, she is the only other thing I care for in this world.”
I couldn’t stop from bouncing. I was itching to get below and make sure everyone was okay.
Dune’s eyes flicked back and forward as he observed my jittering. Brow furrowed, he eventually waved us toward the hidden rock entrance. “I will wait here. You two gather the others and then we can leave.”
“It’s pretty amazing to stand in the suns like this. I keep waiting for the burning pain.” Fury reached out a hand, as if to touch the edge of my shield.
I extended the perimeter just before she reached it.
“It’s not a physical barrier. Your hand will go through and be burnt,” I warned.
She tucked her arm back into her side.
“Stick close until we’re underground.”
We left Dune there in the shadow of his amazing Cleo.
“He isn’t planning on bringing the dragon with us, right?” I tried to picture her sleeping in Josian’s cave home.
Fury cut me a sideways glance. “She could not survive without the energy from the Crais suns. She will have to stay.”
That was the end of our conversation as we made the long journey to the gathering place. After a few hours I couldn’t stand the silence any longer.
“How are you going to guarantee that the nomads see us leave? They’ll just keep hunting the tribes otherwise.”
She didn’t even look back. She was marching along the stone tunnels.
“I guess you will have to do your amazing, magic-travel tunnel in front of them all.”
“Yeah, I got that part, but what are you going to do to get them all in the same spot?”
She laughed. “Use my power, of course.”
Of course.
When we finally made it into the cavernous hall with the endless water girding one side, it was completely empty.
“Where is everyone?” I didn’t like the eerie emptiness. Unease settled into the pit of my stomach.
“Most would have started their journey back to their tribal lands. Any that are left will be in the dining hall,” Fury said, leading the way.
I could hear loud voices before we even got close to the entrance. I hurried my pace. It sounded like a ferocious fight was going on in there. I practically bowled Fury over to burst into the room, pausing as I noticed the scene before me.
The tribes were gathered around a large stone table. And standing on top, singing at the top of their lungs and shaking their butts, were Lucy and Talina. They were out of their white suits, and Lucy, who had lost her shirt somewhere, was just in a bra and jeans. It looked as if she’d started a striptease and then got distracted.
“What the eff is going on here?” I couldn’t make my feet move any closer. The insanity in that room was unprecedented.
Fury had the briefest of grins on her face. It softened the hard planes of her reddish features. “I would say the final meal included some quince extract.”
“What’s that?”
Lucy had started to high-kick now and shimmy her hips. Both her and Talina were singing to the same beat but making up their own words.
“... I don’t need a man to love me. I can kick ass all day long. Girls rock ... Oh, yeah! Girls rock.”
Talina’s voice chimed in.
“Under the sea, oh, under the sea, darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter.”