30 Chapter 30 - The Thunderbirds (1/2)
Lightning flashed through the sky as the ship was hit by yet another gale of wind and swayed back and forth dangerously. Although we were dry, the rain was being blown so hard that it whipped around the balloon and pelted the invisible barrier around the edge of the railing. Yue ordered Gustavo, Terri, and Kiara to spend their time reformatting crystals as they had the most mana at the moment. I also insisted on helping since my condition was the same as Gustavo's since my mana had replenished itself while I slept.
”This can't be a natural storm,” Yue said as the ship slowly steadied.
”I really hope so because I would like to think I'm not this bad of a driver,” Ella replied. ”Maybe we'll get lucky and this storm will help hide the blood curse.”
”We can only hope,” Yue said quietly.
Overhearing them, I could only sigh. Part of me wanted to separate from the group, so that they could be safe, but after trying that in the past, I knew they wouldn't let me even though I was putting everyone in danger. When we had been surrounded by the Naga and nearly everyone was badly injured a year and a half ago, I had split from the group to pull them away. If I hadn't had been ejected from the 'Rift' shortly after when I was cornered, I would have likely died. I almost wished I had with the all lectures that the girls had given me, especially Alice's when she broke down crying.
The storm continued to grow worse as we left the shore behind. It was hard to tell if we were making any headway with how the ship was being tossed around by the winds after the mountains behind us were swallowed by the storm. Although it was hard with the unstable ship, Melissa, Lesedi, and Sophia spent their time meditating, trying to recover their spent mana.
”Yue, what do you make of that ahead?” Ella asked after a while.
I lifted my head and looked out, over the bow of the ship. The sky which had been a dark gray with the occasional bolt of white lightning to brighten it up, was taking on a sickly green color. As if to warn us not to approach, a bolt of golden lightning arced through the air and struck the spindle before racing across the silver envelope that protected the balloon.
”Holy shit! That bolt alone filled nearly half our entire reserves!” Ella exclaimed.
”I think that a clear sign we are on the right path. Everyone, recover your energy. We don't know what we are going to find ahead,” Yue said.
Those reformatting crystals stopped and started trying to meditate, myself included. The lightning didn't stop with a single bolt as we continued forward. More than ten bolts hit the spindle, but there was a layer of formations specifically designed to deal with any electricity that tried to hit the zeppelin. After the ship's energy tanks were completely filled, the zeppelin simply released the lightning back into the air.
”Everyone, hold on!” Ella shouted.
I opened my eyes, as did the others, and saw a literal wall of water. The rain was swirling along the edge of what I guessed was likely the largest hurricane witnessed by a human since the forming of the 'Rift'. From horizon to horizon, the vortex of water that made up the eyewall extended further than any of us could see.
No one trusted the couches anymore while looking ahead, so everyone, but Ella and Yue, made for a mage cannon where we could strap ourselves down while the pair clutched onto the few bars around the control platform. Multiple bolts of lightning struck at the zeppelin as we continued to approach the eye of the storm, but they had little effect as they passed over us. The lightning stopped as the spindle crossed into the eyewall, causing the whole ship to turn in the direction of the ship.
”Don't fight the wind! Just focus on keeping us up in the air!” Yue said, just before the full impact of the eyewall hit.
It was a good that that most of us were already strapped down because the whole ship nearly flipped from the force of the water and wind. Ella remained stationary since she was tied into the ship's formations, but Yue was thrown back and barely managed to grab onto a couch before she was knocked off the deck. The zeppelin's formations fought hard against the raging storm trying to right itself as it was tossed around like a toy. Even with the barriers blocking out the weather from the main deck, the only thing that could be heard was the roar of the winds and the rain battering the invisible wall.
At one point, we were clearly hurdling for the ocean below, but Ella yelled out defiantly, her whole body glowing in a yellow-green light, and the impact we were preparing for never happened. Then, just as suddenly as we were nearly thrown to the water below, the winds and rains let up as we entered the eye of the hurricane. Ella collapsed, her complexion pale, and Yue passed her a mana potion while the rest of us hopped out of our cannons.
There was a thunderous cry just after we fully entered the eye as a bolt of golden light came shooting over at us. A giant eagle stopped a few hundred feet from us, flapping its enormous wings, and cried again. The Thunderbird's wings extended nearly half the length of the zeppelin and were a dazzling golden color with crystal blue at the tips. Seven long tail feathers of blue that faded into purple stuck out from the main tail and curled upwards. Its crest of feathers were also blue that turned purple at the ends while the rest of its head was the same golden color as its wings and the rest of its body.
Melissa released a powerful, holy aura as she stepped to the railing and shouted to the bird, ”Peace, friend. We mean you no harm!”
The eagle gave another cry as its feathers bristled with electricity.
”Yes, we are fleeing from the Piasa Birds. We were unlucky enough to fall under the attack of one and my companion was forced to kill it to save our lives. Is there anything we can offer you for your aid? We only have a short time left here before our magic can bring us home,” Melissa continued.
The Thunderbird gave a mournful cry then swooped down and headed towards a tiny island.
”Ella, can you follow him?” Melissa asked.
”That shouldn't be hard,” Ella agreed.
The ship slowly started moving again as everyone gathered on the couches.
”Did it say what it wanted?” Yue asked.
”No, it just said, 'follow', but I can feel a lot of grief and rage. Since Alice said there would be two, my guess is that its mate was injured by something,” Melissa replied.
”What could injure something that powerful?” Gustavo asked.
”Lots of things since we are out at sea. The world is a dangerous place,” Yue answered.
”Would I be helpful?” Kiara asked.