"Arara!"

Folding her wings, Arara turned her broad head and looked down at her faithful servant.

Hands on her hips, Elsath shouted over the wind. "Your Father has forbidden you to fly."

"We’ve been confined below for days. I need to spread my wings and feel the wind on my face."

A gust whipped Elsath’s brown hair around her thin face. "It’s too dangerous!"

"The storm has passed." Arara opened her wings with a snap, the thin membranes catching a strong blast. "A little wind won’t harm me."

"Arara. Stop! The storm has forced us off course. The Captain says we’ve entered the punitive region."

"I won’t go far."

"Arara. No!"

Wings spread, Arara launched off the ship’s deck. Sweeping over and under her wings, the wailing wind lifted her skyward. Arara soared high, delighting in the swirling air currents.

She swept her wings high, then down in a power-stroke, pushing higher into an overcast sky. Whipping her long tail from side-to-side Arara increased her air speed. Arching her back and slashing the air with her tail, she pointed her nose skyward and threw back her head, performing an aerial somersault. After three flips, she pulled up and straightened her course. Dipping one wing, Arara turned and headed back toward the ship.

A flash to her right alerted Arara, but the warning came too late. A thin, gossamer net fell over her, covering her back, catching on clawed feet and snagging wings. She flapped and fluttered her wings, but instead of shaking off the net she twisted and turned, caught in the crisscross of thin line. Dangerously ensnared, she tore with teeth and talons, but the net held.

She roared, blasting the net with her fiery breath. The line turned black, but didn’t burn or melt.

Sharp stings pierced her shoulder and chest, stealing the breath from her lungs. She gathered her ebbing strength and let lose a dragon cry, attacking the net once more with a sputtering flame.

Her wings useless, Arara fell, spiraling toward the waves below. Her free fall ceased, stopping so abruptly her weight pressed hard into the net ripping scales from her back.

Then she recoiled, shooting back up into the sky. Gravity prevailed, the net halting her sudden descent.

Tangled, helpless and quickly losing consciousness Arara hung in the net and looked up into the yawning belly of an airship. Then darkness claimed her.