Ash pointed to the cave. "I saw her go over there. There was a strange glow..." Her voice trailed off as Dally ran toward the cave. Ash, Lag and Adder followed her. When Dally reached the back of the cave, the glow was gone, and so was Obsi.
"What is that?" Lag asked, pointing to the charred remains of the once glowing dragon print on the cave wall.
Ash walked up to the wall and touched the print. "This was a portal," she said.
"To where?" Adder asked.
Ash shrugged. "I'm not sure. It doesn't feel malevolent, but that is all I can sense right now."
Dally's heart raced. "We have to find her!" She ran out of the cave and over to Goda and explained the situation.
Goda looked at Celia. "I want you to go to my fortress and manage things for me. I will try to find what happened to Obsi."
Celia's mouth dropped open. "Really? You'd trust me with that?"
Goda chuckled. "Yes, Celia. You have proven yourself worthy of my clan. I trust you to oversee things for a few days. Mainly you will have to break up fights."
Celia grinned. "I can do that!"
"Lucky," Adder muttered, folding his arms across his chest. Celia patted him on the shoulder and they laughed.
"You'd do that? You'll go look for Obsi?" Dally asked, shocked.
"Of course," Goda replied. "Besides, I haven't been out on an extended flight in a very long time. It will be good to stretch my wings for a bit." He stretched himself to his full height and looked back at Dally. "Go back to your fortress. There is something waiting there for you. I will send word as soon as I know anything." With that, he took off into the sky and disappeared.
Dally sighed. "Ok, I suppose it's time to go home." She looked at Celia. "Will you be ok?"
Celia nodded. "Yes, for the first time in a long time, I will." They hugged, and went their separate ways.
When Dally arrived back at her base, she found a tattooed egg in her incubator. She smiled.
…
Obsi emerged from the cave onto a beautiful expanse of beach along a crystal clear ocean. She raised her arm to shade her eyes from the sun, and an arm went across her throat. She felt a cold weapon on the side of her neck.
"Who are you?" a gruff female voice demanded.