We all dug in when the fish was ready. Lucian must have woken up early to catch all of them. I didn't know if I should tell him about my conversation with Blake last night or not.
Brian came back and morphed the minute he landed with Blake not far behind him. I looked away as both of them pulled on their clothes. They took the plates Tabitha dished up for them hungrily.
Blake glared in my direction, and our eyes met for only a second.
I felt bad about last night,and I knew I shouldn’t have said those horrible things. He was right I had a lot to learn and hoped that he could forgive me for what I’d said.
We finished breaking down the campsite after breakfast.
“So where do we go?” Blake asked, having missed our earlier conversation.
“Ekwador, he's going to destroy the sword tonight in the volcano.” Lucian gave him the lowdown while breaking down our tent.
“Who is it?”
“Don't know, Blake, Elena had never seen him before.” Lucian sounded irritated.
“Let me guess, we wing this one too.”
I rolled my eyes behind Lucian’s back.
“Yeah, and if you got a problem with that, you're free to leave.”
“Lucian?” I came up for Blake, and he just looked at me. I begged him with my eyes.
They were best friends for crying out loud.
“I hope you're right about this, Elena,” Blake snapped at me, and closed the bag he carried with him.
The five dragons started to take off their clothes again, and I looked away, scared of blushing. The people of Paegeia were so at ease with naked bodies. It was something I still needed to get used to. I listened to them changing and then the beating of their wings as they flew away, except Sammy and George.
I took a deep breath as Lucian helped me on top of Sammy's back. I really didn't like flying and held on to Lucian again as if my life depended on it. I shut my eyes and shrieked as Sammy took off.
I didn't open them, but concentrated instead on her breathing. Her body expanded every three seconds and the sound coming from her wings made me wish that I had an iPod like Becky.
The trip wasn't as far as the one to the Sacred Cavern, but it was a stretch, like Lucian said. He tapped my leg and I opened my eyes. In front of us was the picture I’d seen in the millpond. It was Ekwador.
Chapter Thirty-One
I felt Sammy start slowing down beneath me, following the other dragons as they made their descent. I held Lucian's chest as tightly as I could with my good arm, and buried my face between his two shoulder blades. I’d kept my eyes shut, trying to soothe my rolling stomach.
We landed with a hard thud, although I knew Sammy did try to make her landing as graceful as possible. She transformed back into a human after we’d slid off her left wing and were back on solid ground.
The dragons dressed quickly while the rest of us spent time discussing a plan of action. This mission was getting more dangerous by the minute, but the thought of returning home with the sword somehow made everything seem worth it. Blake and the others joined in the discussion once they had all dressed.
“Elena, what side is he coming from and when?” Blake started asking important questions.
I looked around and compared our surroundings with those I had seen in the Sacred Cavern. “It showed nightfall, we're in the exact right spot.”
“Are you sure?” Arianna asked. She had that set to her jaw that told me she didn't trust me one bit.
“Yeah, positive. If I'm not mistaken, the volcano is just ahead about two miles.” I pointed into the direction, and Brian sprinted down the path. He was the only dragon able to get close to a volcano.
“Okay, we have to corner the Dragonian here. We can't let him get past the P.O. N. R,” Blake said.
“What is P.O. N. R?” I whispered to Lucian.
“Point of no return.”
“Where's the sword, Elena?” Blake asked quickly.
“He was carrying it close to him. It was covered with some sort of fabric bound with strings.”
Pondering this information, Blake gave us our first goal. “So we have to find a way to snatch it from him. I doubt that he'll be compelled─”
“You're wrong,” I interrupted, and Blake’s facial expression changed from being sure about his plan to a huge frown.
He gazed at the ground for a minute. “Are you sure?” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat with a cough.
“Walking to the volcano, melting away to accomplish the task. I would say he's compelled.”
Melting away? Becky mouthed, and I nodded. She shivered.
“What is it, Blake?” Lucian asked.
“It's not good.” He started to pace around, clutching his hair. “If Goran controls him, he'll see everything, including us.” There was a sense of alarm in his tone. A frown creased his forehead, and I could tell Blake was thinking really hard to come up with plan B.