Dragon & Fenyx 5: Darksky's Home by Auburnimp & Michael Barnette

Heat Rating: Fire

Content Warning: GLBT-homoerotica, Happy for Now Ending--this is an ongoing series.

The Dragon and Fenyx clan reach Darksky's caves as Storm Season begins.

Flamespirit couldn't settle at the front of the fleeing Dragon and Fenyx Clan so he left Lakesinger there to guide them as he went up and down the slow moving column like a demented sheepdog. He could see the distant dust cloud getting closer by the minute and knew they would never be able to outrun the bandits and slavers who were chasing them.

Added to that, he had the worry of his swordbrother and co-chief, Stormdragon, remaining some distance behind them with a very small group of warriors in an effort to slow the pursuit enough to give the clan a chance to escape.

He sighed and turned his bike to look back the way they'd come, brushing back an errant lock of red hair which had fallen over his brown eyes.

A towering cloud of dust, dark as any blackstorm rose above the walls of the canyon where the clan had camped the night before.

The young blond warrior named Zephyr pulled up beside Flame. "From the looks of that they're giving our enemies a taste of hell."

Flame glanced at him. "I have a powerful windmage for my swordbrother but my own element is fire so my understanding of wind is poor. Can you read that dust or am I talking nonsense?"

Zephyr stared at the cloud which swirled like no true blackstorm. "I think Windspinner and Chief Stormdragon raised that dust storm, but..." he paused, his head tipped to one side as if he was listening to some distant, barely heard sound. "...they may have lost control of it."

Flame nodded. He knew Storm's power, had seen it at work and even added to it with his own to incinerate a dozen or more of Storm's previous clan when they'd tried to kill the two of them. He couldn't imagine his swordbrother losing control of it as he'd been so horrified by what they'd done - not unless something had happened to make him lose control of his power. Flame shuddered as his imagination took control.

"Star confided that Wind has trouble keeping a rein on his power. Maybe he's the one who lost control," Zephyr told the other two men. "Or maybe they've let the wind do as it will to cover their escape." He frowned. "I can't be sure since they're really far away."

Flame rested a hand on the young warrior's shoulder. "From this distance, I think you've done remarkably well." He imagined that Storm would have the power to rein Wind in if necessary, and if he couldn't, his Dragon could.

He thought about the two other windmages back there and shook his head. Zephyr must be even more concerned than he, with two swordbrothers to worry about. "I'm going to stay at the back for a while. You want to keep me company?"

Zephyr glanced at the roiling cloud of dust and nodded. "Yes my Chief."

While they'd been talking the rest of the clan had continued on their way with Lakesinger leading them on the long journey toward the caves that would protect them during the Storm Season.

"Do you think we're going to make it to those caves before the first storm hits?" Zephyr asked Flamespirit.

Flame glanced up at the sky and calculated the temperature. His eyes widened. "According to Lakesinger, the caves are about another day away at this speed. We can't travel any quicker so we'd better hope the wagons can protect us from the worst of the blow that's brewing out there. I'd say it'll be on us by nightfall. Can you narrow the timeframe down any?"