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The storm still raged. Fat drops of rain beat down on him, instantly drenching him and slushing off his back. Lightning split the sky above, followed by a threatening boom.
Aidan beat his wings furiously, quickly gaining altitude along with theVaga.
To his right, another flying object caught his eye. It was Lear, pumping his wings with equal ferocity. He was wavering awkwardly in the air, however, and it took Aidan a moment to understand why. He had an unintended passenger. Asher, heavy as he was, clung to Lear’s tail with a death-grip.
As they all gained altitude, the rain turned icy and the air began to thin. They had to catch up to theVagabefore it jetted out of the atmosphere and vanished into outer space.
With a violent roar, Aidan worked his wings harder, faster, feeling his muscles burn with the effort. He didn’t care if he burned himself to dust. He was getting to that ship if it killed him.
As rain pelted down, he soared higher, his muscles screaming for mercy. Ignoring the pain, he positioned over the aft of the ship and lightly touched down.
Lear found a spot next to him, and together they opened their jowls and blasted the hull with streams of fire. When a small area grew red-hot, Aidan slammed his claws down into softened metal and dragged a hunk back like sliced cheese. Lear aided him in his effort.
High-altitude air blasted along the ship’s surface, quickly cooling the metal, but not before they’d made a decent-sized opening. Quickly, Asher climbed down from Lear, crawled toward the opening, and dove in.
This was one of those times when Aidan was grateful for the intuition and abilities of his crew. He didn’t have to communicate what he needed from them. But then, they had their own reasons for taking action. Reasons that mirrored his own.
Getting a good grip on the edge of the newly created fissure, Aidan shifted back to normal size, making sure he had a tight grip on the ship. The wind suddenly seemed a thousand times stronger, the air a million times thinner. His lungs drew in oxygen in great billows. His head grew light from the lack of it. Lear created a cradle around him with his tail to help keep him from blowing away.
Before following Asher inside, Aidan yelled to Lear, “Keep them from leaving the atmosphere!”
Lear moved his massive head in a nodding gesture, then braced himself on the hull. Then, gripping it with both front and back claws, he spread his wings like enormous sails.
Aidan shoved himself feet first into the hole. His boots clonked on the metal walkway of a long, empty corridor. Asher had gone ahead slightly, checking around corners and opening hatches. Not wanting to make any noise, Aidan used hand signals to inform Asher that he would search in the other direction. Asher gave a curt nod and took off. Aidan headed in the opposite direction, peeking into every room he passed.
Suddenly the ship listed to the right and shook with fierce vibrations. Aidan was hit with the sensation of dropping altitude. He imagined Lear was using his incredible weight and sail-like wings to throw the ship off balance. Aidan could only hope the tactic worked long enough for them to find Onnika and Caryn.
