Darkness of Dragons

  Winter didn’t seem to notice. “How can you even consider being friends with someone who’s completely evil?” he shouted at Moon.

  “He’s not evil!” Moon flared before Qibli could step between them. “I think he’s really trying to do the right thing! He just does it differently than we would sometimes. Why are you so mad? I thought you said you would give him a chance!”

  Her front talons suddenly flew up to her snout as if she’d been struck by lightning. She turned to Qibli with an anguished expression. “Oh no. He wasn’t —”

  “Brainwashed?” Winter said fiercely. “Bewitched? Did I have my mind taken over by your ‘friend,’ is that what you’re wondering? The answer is yes. This dragon you like so much used his magic on me, Moon!”

  “You knew right away,” she said to Qibli. “But Darkstalker promised —”

  “He only promised we’d all be safe, remember?” Qibli said. “Hey, he probably thought everyone would be safer if Winter was enchanted to like him, instead of trying to start fights all over the place. I mean, if I had a spell that would make Winter like me —”

  This was the wrong thing to say, he realized immediately. Winter whirled toward him, hissing.

  “Don’t you trivialize this!” Winter growled. “Don’t act like what he did is normal or acceptable. He was trying to make me adore him. Against my will! Changing my thoughts and my feelings like I’m just a character in the story he’s writing about himself. Like nobody else is real except him. If that’s something you would seriously do, SandWing, then we can never, never be friends.”

  Qibli opened and closed his mouth. Even when he’d been at his most worried about Winter, there had still been a small part of him that thought the basic idea of Darkstalker’s spell was all right. A spell that could make everyone like him — would that be so terrible? He hadn’t thought of it as something completely selfish.

  “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  Winter turned to Moon as if he was ready for her apology, too. She met his gaze for a moment, then folded her wings and crouched beside Kinkajou, helping her pick up the broken pieces of the vase.

  “Don’t move,” she said to the RainWing. “You’ll cut your feet.”

  “I pretty much think he’s evil, too,” said Kinkajou. “I’m sorry, Moon.” She rested one of her wings lightly on her friend’s back.

  Moon looked up at her, then over her shoulder at Qibli. “But I’ve seen good in him,” she said. “And I’ve heard it in his thoughts. He has this vision of a peaceful future where everyone in Pyrrhia is safe and happy … he wants to make sure it happens. I believe that’s what he really wants.”

  “Tell me something,” Winter said harshly. “Are there any IceWings in this blissful future?”

  She blinked at him, uncomprehending. “Of course there are.”

  “Winter,” Qibli said in a warning voice.

  “No, there aren’t!” Winter snapped. “Because he just sent a magic plague to kill every single one of them!”

  “Winter!” Qibli cried. “What did we just talk about? Did you really not understand me? You can’t tell her stuff like that!”

  “What?” Moon started to stand up and let out a yelp as one of the vase shards stabbed her palm. A line of blood welled up, bright red against the black scales.

  “She has to know,” Winter insisted as Qibli grabbed one of the dark green blankets from the closest bed and ripped off a swathe. “She has to understand how dangerous he is.”

  Qibli crossed to Moon, took her talon gently in his, and wrapped the bit of cloth around the wound. This was the side of Winter he didn’t like — the angry, self-righteous side. It was the only thing that made him wonder if Winter was good enough for Moon. How could he yell at her the way he did, if he really loved her?

  “I do want to know,” Moon said, touching her snout to the top of Qibli’s head. “I want to know everything.”

  “But it puts everyone in danger,” Qibli said anxiously. He tied the bit of blanket together so it would stay and met Moon’s eyes. “You don’t have skyfire. I don’t know where to find more. Darkstalker already knows about the earrings from your thoughts — now he’ll know we know about the IceWing plague, too. I don’t know what that’ll make him do.”

  Her talon was trembling between his. “So it’s true? He really did that? An IceWing plague?”

  “Yes,” said Winter. “A spell that would kill every IceWing in Pyrrhia.”

  “Except Winter. Or any hybrids. And I guess we don’t have confirmation that it was him,” Qibli said, trying to be honest. Winter shot him a glare. “But we’re pretty sure.”

  “I feel sick,” Moon said, sitting down and pressing her talons to her eyes.

  “We have to do something!” Kinkajou said. “Can’t we save them? We have to make him stop the spell — or find another animus who can!”

  “It’s all right,” Qibli said. “We think we’ve stopped it. If it was a spell from Darkstalker, they should be cured now.” He tugged away one of Moon’s talons from her face so she could see him smile. “We sent them hundreds of my hideous earrings.”

  “So the entire IceWing tribe is in the secret club?” Kinkajou said. “Huh. I don’t get it, but I’m still offended.”

  “They’re protection spells,” Qibli explained. “They make us immune to Darkstalker’s spells. You can have one, but I think Turtle already made you immune, didn’t he?”

  “That’s true,” she said.

  “I don’t know what to do now,” Qibli said. “Moon, I think we have to get you away from here before Darkstalker sees you again.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” said a voice from the window. “I have skyfire.”

  Princess Anemone stepped regally through the doorway from the balcony, delicately avoiding the puddle of water from the broken vase. She had a new makeshift pouch tied securely to her chest, which Qibli guessed must have the enchanted stick inside.

  “Anemone!” Kinkajou snarled in the most un-RainWing-like voice Qibli had ever heard her use. She arched her back, turning an ominous dark red.

  “Calm down, fruit eater,” Anemone said snottily. “I’m not here to hurt Moon. I’m here to help.” She turned over her wrist and poked around under the silver-and-sapphire bracelet she was wearing. A moment later, a small, glittering black rock popped out and rolled into her talon.

  “Turtle gave me this right before Darkstalker summoned us back here,” Anemone said, holding it up. “But as long as I have Turtle’s stick, Darkstalker can’t read my mind anyway. So I guess Moon can have it.” She tossed it to Moon, who caught it awkwardly between her good talon and her injured talon. “There. Now we’re even.”

  “I’m still really mad at you,” Kinkajou said to Anemone. “You know why.”

  Anemone arched her eyebrows at the angry RainWing. “I do?”

  “Wait, Turtle’s stick?” Moon echoed. “Why do you have it? What do you mean, Darkstalker summoned you back here?”

  “It’s … kind of a long story,” Qibli said. “But now you can hear it, as long as you hold on to that skyfire and don’t let Darkstalker know what you know.”

  “Make it snappy, though,” said Anemone. “I’m ready to go rescue my brother.”

  Qibli hurried through it as fast as he could — the slate with the messages from Turtle, his trip to the Kingdom of Sand and what he’d discovered about Vulture, Typhoon, and the news about the IceWings. Anemone told her part, about the fight with Turtle and the scene in Darkstalker’s throne room, and finally Kinkajou told them the end — about how Darkstalker had decided to put Turtle in his dungeon and then enchanted Kinkajou to forget everything she’d seen in the throne room.

  “Except of course it didn’t work,” she concluded, “because brave noble handsome Turtle protected me. And if I sound a little strange about it, that’s because this SEA VIPER over here put a LOVE SPELL ON ME.” She bared her teeth at Anemone.

  “Oh, you know about that?” Anemone
said. “I can’t believe he told you! Turtle is such a doofus.”

  “He’s a HERO! With a REALLY KIND HEART! And I CAN’T EVEN TELL IF I REALLY THINK THAT because of YOU. I am so mad at you I could drown you in venom!”

  Anemone edged away from her. “Ahem, if you do that, I won’t be able to rescue him,” she said. “And I’m his only hope.”

  “No, I’m his only hope!” Kinkajou flared. “Darkstalker can’t see me in his future either! He thinks I’m completely insignificant. So I’m going to save Turtle.”

  “Are you all right?” Qibli asked Moon, who hadn’t spoken in a long time.

  “Just thinking about what to do,” she said, wrapping another strip of blanket around her talon. “Anemone, can you take the spell off Kinkajou?”

  “I guess, probably,” Anemone said in an annoyed voice. “But I can’t right now because if I cast any new animus spells, Darkstalker will know it, and we’ve already had one horrible hidden animus unveiling. Or, I mean, she could drop her rock from Turtle and maybe the spell would go away, but that’s the same rock with all the other spells on it, so she probably needs to hang on to that.”

  Kinkajou growled at her.

  “Well, at least you know how I feel,” Winter said to Kinkajou. “Unlike these two.” He waved one of his wings at Qibli and Moon.

  “I feel lied to,” Moon said sharply. “I feel like there’s a whole side of Darkstalker he’s been hiding from me. I’m just not sure what we’re going to do about it.”

  “Well, I’m going to get Turtle,” Anemone said, sailing toward the door.

  “No, I’m going to get Turtle!” Kinkajou cried. She ran after the princess and threw herself in front of the door. “Why should any of us trust you? You’ve been using your magic so much you probably don’t have any soul left!”

  Anemone stiffened, her wings snapping back.

  “I think you should both go,” Moon said. “It sounds like you’re the only ones who can, at least safely, without Darkstalker realizing what’s happening. And you might need each other’s help.”

  “I would eat my tail before I accepted any help from her,” Kinkajou said, scowling at Anemone.

  “I don’t mind if she tags along,” Anemone said with a little flick of her wings. “But I think we should go now, before Darkstalker changes his mind and decides to get rid of Turtle.”

  Kinkajou let out a little squeak of fury. “You just try to keep up with me!” Her scales abruptly switched to camouflage and she vanished against the backdrop of the wall. The air around the door blurred as her camouflaged talons opened it and she whisked out into the hall.

  Anemone rolled her eyes. “So mature. Like you know where the dungeon is.” She stomped out after Kinkajou.

  “Look for Tsunami while you’re down there!” Qibli called as the door swung closed. “Yeah, that’s definitely going to go well.”

  He realized awkwardly that he and Moon and Winter were alone. Do they wish I would leave? So they can finish fighting and forgive each other with a big romantic scene?

  Winter didn’t look as though he was feeling very romantic. He paced the length of the room, winding between the two beds, the chests on the floor, and the little side tables piled with scrolls.

  “Please don’t break anything else,” Moon said to him. “Qibli, come with me.”

  “Me?” he said. “Where are we going?”

  “To talk to Darkstalker. You stay here,” she said to Winter.

  “What? No!” Winter said. “That’s a terrible idea!”

  “See, that’s why you’re staying here,” she said, going to the door. “Qibli?”

  Qibli gave Winter an apologetic shrug and hurried after her.

  “He could kill you!” Winter protested. “Or he could take your earring and cast a spell to make you kill us! You have no idea what he’s capable of, Moon.”

  “I do now,” she said. “But he won’t kill me. There are some true things about him, and that’s one of them.”

  “You still think you can trust him, after all the evidence,” Winter said wearily. “At least let me come with you to protect you.”

  “I’m afraid you’ll ‘protect’ me by attacking him as soon as you see him,” she said. “Trust me, stay here, and think about the prophecy. We’ll be back soon.” She held the door open for Qibli.

  Winter flung himself down on one of the beds, his face an icy mask that hid his feelings. He didn’t meet Qibli’s eyes or respond to his wave good-bye.

  Qibli waited until they were at the other end of the corridor before he said quietly to Moon, “I have to admit, I don’t not think this is a terrible idea.”

  “Talking to Darkstalker?” Moon said. “It’s the right thing to do. I want to see what he says when he’s confronted with his lies. And I want to hear how he’s justified the IceWing plague to himself. I think I’m one of the few dragons left he’ll at least try to be honest with — I mean, about himself and his reasons for what he does — unless I’m completely delusional about our friendship. But I think he wants me to agree with him so he can feel like he’s doing the right thing.”

  “I think that’s true,” said Qibli. “But if you don’t agree with him, I’m not sure how long you’ll stay his favorite dragon.”

  “The other thing is,” Moon said, “I’m hoping this will distract him long enough for Kinkajou to get Turtle out of the dungeons. If he’s arguing with me, he won’t be studying the future and seeing it change.”

  She froze suddenly midstep and crumpled forward, clutching her head. Her wings pressed close around her like a scarab shell.

  “Moon, what’s wrong?” Qibli crouched beside her, stretching one wing over her back. “What’s happening?”

  She didn’t answer for a long moment, and then she grimaced and sat up, rubbing the spot on her forehead between her horns. “Speaking of visions of the future,” she said.

  “What did you see?” he asked.

  “The same thing as always.” She sighed. “Lightning flashing, an avalanche crushing dragons, Jade Mountain cracking and falling. Everybody dying. I’ve been having it a lot in the last few days, awake or asleep. With the words of the prophecy repeating over and over again.”

  “Does that mean it’s going to happen soon?” Qibli asked.

  “All I know is it means we definitely haven’t stopped it yet,” she said. “Even though we found the lost city. That’s something else I want to talk to Darkstalker about. I worry he might be the thing that destroys Jade Mountain, but I don’t understand how or why.”

  They were walking again now, down yet another black marble corridor. Qibli wondered if Moon had already memorized the layout of this confusing place.

  “His room is just up here,” she said, picking up the pace.

  But when they knocked on the door, nobody answered.

  “I hope he’s not in the dungeon,” Qibli whispered.

  “Let’s check the throne room,” she said. “He’s got natural NightWing tendencies — he prefers to stay up all night and sleep during the day, if he sleeps at all. Maybe he’s working on something.”

  The throne room was also empty, as was the courtyard where the feast had been held earlier that night. They kept walking through the quiet palace and Qibli, oddly, felt his hope returning. There was something about being alongside Moon — it reminded him of the days they had spent, just the two of them, in Possibility, looking for clues about the old Night Kingdom and waiting for Kinkajou to get better or Winter to return. They’d walked the streets together then, too; they’d tossed ideas back and forth and studied maps and taken turns reading to their unconscious friend.

  Being with Moon felt to him like a concentrated version of being an Outclaw — like being on a team with someone who really cared about you, who worked with you and made your own brain work better.

  Finally they heard a voice coming from one of the smaller council rooms on the top floor of the palace. They crept toward it, listening. It was Darkstalker.

  “N
o, no, no,” he said. “That’s not right. Back up.” They heard his claws scraping the marble and the slither of tails on the cold stone. “Start over. All memories intact up to the day before she took off the earrings.”

  “Hey, you,” said Clearsight’s voice. “Have you seen Fathom anywhere?”

  “Stop,” said Darkstalker. “That’s worse.”

  They were close enough to peek into the room now. It was empty except for Darkstalker and Clearsight, with a wall of open windows overlooking the city below. A scroll was laid out on the floor; Darkstalker stepped over to it and made a note in green ink. Clearsight stood watching him with a patient expression.

  “The memories are the tricky part,” Darkstalker said, half to himself. “But no memories at all is useless. OK.” He went over to Clearsight and placed one talon on the top of her head. “Be Clearsight with all her memories up until the day after she met me. But with no powers. Completely in love with me. No worries about the future at all.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and smiled at him adoringly. “Whoa, are we in the palace? How did we get here? By all the moons, what happened to you?” she asked, blinking at his size. She went on without waiting for a response. “You know what’s weird? My visions don’t seem to be working. Isn’t that funny? It’s very relaxing. Maybe we should go to the beach today.” She glanced out one of the windows. “Hmm. There seems to be something wrong with the city. Did you notice? Oh, well, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “Clearsight,” said Darkstalker. “Will you marry me? I’m going to rule the NightWings and I want you to be my queen.”

  She laughed. “You can’t rule the NightWings. We have a queen, remember? Her name is Vigilance. But sure, I’ll marry you. If it makes any difference to the future, I can’t tell! Such a weird feeling!”

  “Rrrrrgh,” Darkstalker growled. “Freeze.”