“Yeah,” Peril said. “That confused me a bit. Why was his dad an IceWing?”
“Long story, not important,” Moon said. “I mean, except to the IceWings. Anyway, the other rumor I’d heard about Darkstalker was that he did something so awful that it terrified the entire NightWing tribe into abandoning their city and going into hiding, so that he would never find them again if he ever came back. They thought he was gone, maybe dead, but they still uprooted the entire tribe to hide from him, just in case.”
“Yeesh. And I thought my tribe hated me,” Peril tried to joke. She was starting to get a creepy-crawly feeling under her scales. This menacing dragon was buried alive somewhere right below their talons?
“Well,” Moon said, “now I know what it was. Yes, I do. I’m sure. If I saw a dragon do this, I’d go into hiding, too.”
“YES?” Peril said impatiently.
Moon dropped her voice. “He used his magic on his father. He enchanted him, as if Prince Arctic was no more than a necklace or a rock or a piece of cheese.”
“Oooh,” Peril said, momentarily distracted by the idea of an enchanted piece of cheese.
“The spell is right here,” Moon said. She spread her front talons on the scroll, starting to cry again. “ ‘Enchant Arctic the IceWing to obey my every command.’ That’s it. It’s that simple. What did you make him do?” she demanded. “You made him kill himself, didn’t you?”
“Whoa,” Peril said. “Is that possible? That could happen? Could Turtle do that?”
Moon gave a furious shake of her head. There was a long pause, and then she yelped, “Disembowel? Did you seriously just say disembowel?”
“Who disemboweled who?” Peril asked. “Oh, GROSS, did Arctic disembowel himself? That is much worse than anything that happened in the arena. Oh my goodness, Scarlet would have loved to get a self-disemboweling dragon in her arena. She’s dead, by the way, did we mention that?”
But Moon was lying down on top of the scroll now, pressing her talons over her ears with her eyes closed.
Peril wondered if she should try to get Moon away from Darkstalker’s voice, but she couldn’t think of a way to do that without either touching her or throwing rocks at her to get her attention, which seemed a little heartless considering what Moon was going through.
So she decided to watch over her and wait for the others. That seemed like a sensible plan of action.
She glanced around, found a tree that was growing at an angle out of a ravine, and lit its branches on fire. That should help Turtle, Qibli, and Winter find them.
It felt like hours of Moon not moving and Peril sitting there watching her not move. But at last Peril heard wingbeats, and she turned to see the other three dragons straggling up, looking much the worse for wear after flying all day. Turtle in particular looked like the world’s unhappiest squashed frog.
“There she is!” He gasped.
“Moon!” Qibli and Winter cried at the same time.
“And hello to you, too,” Peril said.
The two of them landed and ran over to Moon, but Turtle came over to Peril’s boulder first.
“What happened?” he asked. “Has she —?”
“No, she hasn’t freed him,” Peril said. “I don’t think she’s going to. She’s had some bad news, though, so don’t be a phlegm-snorting ratbreath at her!” she yelled over to Winter.
Qibli crouched beside Moon, covering her gently with one of his wings. “Tell us what happened,” he said. “Is he talking to you right now?”
“Yes, and he won’t shut up,” she said, sitting up and wiping away her tears. “Winter, you were right. We can’t free him.” She passed the scroll to Winter, who let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Qibli breathed out a small flame so they could both read it.
“Whoa,” Qibli said after a moment.
“We absolutely can’t free him if he can control other dragons that way, that easily,” Moon said. “And we can’t free him because he’s the kind of dragon who thought of doing it in the first place.” She listened for a moment. “He says he promises he won’t ever do that again. Darkstalker, how can we trust you? No one could ever stop you, with a power like that. No, stop, I don’t want to see another fairy-tale vision. I’ll have my own visions, thank you very much.”
Winter let his wings drift softly down as though they were heavy weights he could finally drop.
“So what do we do with it?” Qibli asked, taking the scroll from Winter’s claws. He brushed one talon lightly across the blank space. “I was thinking about it today while we flew. We could do a lot of good with this. We could use it to protect our queens. I could enchant something so that Thorn will never die, or make her palace immune to attack. Moon, think about it — we could enchant something to make all the NightWings love Glory. You know how many of them hate her, probably better than anyone because you’ve seen into their minds. But imagine if they all loved her instead? What if she could rule without the threat of assassination hanging over her?”
“She wouldn’t want that,” Moon said. “She wouldn’t want enchanted obedience or fake love.”
“How about fireproof scales, at least?” Qibli said.
Ooooo, Peril thought. We could give all my friends fireproof scales! Which I guess means Turtle. Turtle could be fireproof and safe from me, too!
Qibli went on, holding the scroll closer. “Or something that could warn Glory before someone tries to kill her? Wouldn’t that be a good idea? And then you wouldn’t have to use your own powers to help her … you could do whatever you want with them.”
Moon put her talons to her head. “He really doesn’t love this conversation.”
“If we’re in the business of protecting queens with magic,” Winter growled, “we should include Queen Glacier. She’s a good queen, too.”
“And what about my mom?” Turtle interjected. “Or Queen Ruby, for Peril?”
“But if we enchant all the queens to never die or be magically protected or whatever,” Peril said, “then … won’t we end up stuck with the same queens forever? Wouldn’t that be bad, too?”
“Not in the case of Queen Thorn,” Qibli said stubbornly. “Look, the three of you have these crazy gifts and you’re figuring out how to use them safely, aren’t you?”
“Shush!” Moon whispered, closing her eyes. “I’ve been fine without you!”
Qibli paused with a puzzled expression.
“Not you,” Peril explained. “The crazy dragon in her head.”
“So if I can trust you with your powers,” Qibli said, “couldn’t you trust me to take care of this one? To think carefully about the consequences and only use it for good?”
“You?” Winter snarled. “By yourself? We just let you saunter off with the most powerful talisman in the world? Why should you get it instead of me? Maybe I should take care of it.”
“Or maybe all of us together?” Turtle suggested, but no one was listening anymore.
“You just flew off and abandoned us in Possibility!” Qibli shouted at Winter. “You were really mean to Moon and you haven’t even apologized!”
Winter opened and closed his mouth, looking at Moon with an oddly heartbroken expression.
“So how could we trust you?” Qibli demanded.
“At least I’m a prince and have some experience making decisions to help my tribe!” Winter shouted.
“Oh, awesome logic!” Qibli shouted back. “You’re royalty, so you’ve always had power, so you should get to keep any new power that comes along?”
“Stop fighting!” Moon cried, covering her ears again. “All of you! Darkstalker, stop yelling at me!”
Qibli and Winter were too busy roaring at each other to hear her. Turtle was curled in a ball below Peril’s boulder with his wings around him, looking indecisive and worried.
Fighting over power, Peril thought. Like every dragon ever. But it’s not their power, it’s Darkstalker’s, and they want to use it, the same way Scarlet used mine.
But that scroll is too dangerous to be in this world. Even if a good dragon controlled it … even if it didn’t change that good dragon to have that much power … even if we could somehow guarantee that it would never fall into evil talons … it shouldn’t exist.
Look how good dragons are fighting over it already.
Nobody should be the boss of someone else’s magic.
And nobody else should ever be hurt by that scroll.
Peril sidled to the edge of the boulder, hopped down onto the grass, hurried through the scorched path she made toward the fighting dragons, and paused right behind Qibli.
The SandWing didn’t notice her. He swept his talons wide, shouting something at Winter about being careful.
And Peril reached out and lifted the scroll right out of his claws.
There was a heartbeat of silence as Peril flew back onto the boulder. She sat down and held out her talons, and the other dragons turned around, and they all watched the scroll burn, burn, burn into tiny black ashes.
As the last piece of the scroll flickered out of existence, Peril brushed the ashes off her scales.
“There,” she said. “That solves that problem.”
Now nothing can set the Darkstalker free, and no one can abuse his power.
She looked down and saw Turtle smiling up at her. Moon’s expression was all relief as well, so, despite the shock on Winter and Qibli’s faces, Peril felt a sudden, clear bolt of that was the right thing to do.
For once she was sure, and not because someone else was telling her what the right thing was, but because she could feel it in her own bones.
I did it. I saved the world. And Clay wasn’t even watching.
Even if he never knows about it, I’ll still know I did the right thing.
She lifted her head to the rising moon, taking a deep, tranquil breath.
Wait. Why was the moon wobbling?
It wasn’t the moon. It was the ground. The ground was shaking, harder and harder, an earthquake trembling through all the veins of the mountain. Peril’s boulder toppled into the ravine and she had to leap into the air, pounding her wings to get as far away from the shuddering hillside as possible.
The other dragons threw themselves aloft, too.
“What’s happening?” Turtle yelled. “Is Jade Mountain falling? Is this the prophecy?”
Peril twisted in the air to look toward the academy. Clay.
But Jade Mountain wasn’t moving. Only this mountain was, and in fact, it was doing more than shaking and dropping giant rocks everywhere.
It was splitting apart.
An enormous crack appeared in the earth, and out of the darkness rose the hugest dragon the world had ever seen. Silver scales glittered in the corners of his eyes and along the underside of his black wings. His bones were visible under his skin; he was long and frighteningly thin, with a narrow handsome face, long twisted horns, and eyes as black as underground caverns.
Darkstalker stretched his wings out to their fullest reach, as wide as the mountain itself. He swiveled his neck, expanding in every direction, like a dragon who hadn’t been able to turn or stretch or move in two thousand years.
And then he smiled down at Peril, a smile that was all teeth, somehow menacing and charming at the same time.
“Ah. That’s infinitely better,” he said. “Nice to finally meet you, Peril. Thank you so much for your help.”
Starflight was working late in the library — or was it early? He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in there, since he no longer needed light to work by. But he thought the sun was not yet up when he heard tiny footsteps coming into the room.
“Hello?” he said. He tried to run through all the students in his head. Small talonsteps, light — but not Kinkajou — with an extra flap sound when they hit the floor. SeaWing talons. “Anemone?” he guessed.
“Yes, it’s me,” said the little SeaWing princess.
“What are you doing awake?” he asked.
“I had a nightmare,” she said, “and then something woke me. Didn’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
He heard her cross to the wall of windows. It sounded as if she put one talon on the translucent leaves and stood for a moment quietly, without speaking.
“Something that shook the earth,” she said at last, so softly that he wondered if he would have been able to hear her before, when he could see.
“I didn’t notice anything,” he said.
A small sound — Anemone’s wings shivering together.
“It felt,” she said, “like someone slithering over my grave.”
For the guard with the scar over her heart:
I’ve been watching you. You’re not like the other guards — the bowing, scraping, mindlessly loyal lizards who live for your queen. You have your own thoughts, don’t you? You’re smarter than the average SandWing. And I think I know your secret.
Let’s talk about it.
Third cell down, the one with two NightWings in it. I’m the one who doesn’t snore.
I HAVE NO INTEREST IN DISCUSSING ANYTHING WITH A NIGHTWING PRISONER.
WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO LET YOU HAVE PAPER AND INK?
You should be interested. You’re going to need allies for what you’re planning … and when I get out of here, I’m going to be a very useful ally indeed.
AMUSING ASSUMPTIONS. MY QUEEN BELIEVES YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN HERE FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
True … but she also believes she’s going to be queen for a long, long time … doesn’t she.
An interesting silence after my last note. Perhaps it would reassure you to know I set your notes on fire as soon as I’ve read them. You can tell me anything, my new, venomous-tailed friend. Believe me, Night-Wings are exceptionally skilled at keeping secrets.
WE ARE NOT FRIENDS.
I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOU, OTHER THAN WHAT IT SAYS IN YOUR PRISONER FILE.
FIERCETEETH: TRAITOR. KIDNAPPER. RINGLEADER OF ASSASSINATION PLOT.
TO BE HELD INDEFINITELY WITH FELLOW TRAITOR STRONGWINGS, ON BEHALF OF THE NIGHTWING QUEEN.
OH, YES, CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE A DRAGON ANYONE CAN TRUST.
She’s not my queen. You can’t be a traitor to someone who shouldn’t be ruling over you in the first place.
Which might be a thought you’ve had lately yourself, isn’t it? I know some things about you, even without a file.
Saguaro: Prison guard. Schemer. Connected to great secret plans.
We’re not so different, you and I. Particularly when it comes to trustworthiness.
Just think, if my alleged “assassination plot” had worked, the NightWings would have a different queen right now. Perhaps it would even be me.
Well, if at first you don’t succeed …
I could tell you my story, if you get me more paper to write on.
Or you could stop by one midnight and listen to it instead. But I’ve noticed you don’t like spending too much time in the dungeon. Is it the tip-tap of little scorpion claws scrabbling everywhere? The stench rising from the holes in the floor? The gibbering mad SandWing a few cages down who never shuts up, all night long? (What is her story? Has she really been here since the rule of Queen Oasis?)
Or is it that you can too easily picture yourself behind these bars … and you know how close you are to joining us?
ALL RIGHT, NIGHTWING, HERE’S A BLANK SCROLL. GO AHEAD AND TRY TO CONVINCE ME THAT YOU’RE A DRAGON WHO EVEN DESERVES TO LIVE, LET ALONE ONE I SHOULD WASTE MY TIME ON.
I DO ENJOY BEING AMUSED.
TUI T. SUTHERLAND is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Wings of Fire series, the Menagerie trilogy, and the Pet Trouble series, as well as a contributing author to the bestselling Spirit Animals and Seekers series (as part of the Erin Hunter team). In 2009, she was a two-day champion on Jeopardy! She lives in Massachusetts with her wonderful husband, two adorable sons, and one very patient dog. To learn more about Tui’s books, visit her online at www.tuibooks.com.
Text copyright © 2016 by Tui T. Sutherland
Map and border design © 2016 by Mike Schley
Dragon illustrations © 2016 by Joy Ang
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sutherland, Tui, 1978– author.
Escaping peril / by Tui T. Sutherland.
pages cm. — (Wings of fire ; Book Eight)
Summary: Peril is possibly the most dangerous dragon in Pyrrhia, because she has firescales that can kill an opponent with a touch, but now she has a mission — find her former queen, Scarlet, who is threatening the Jade Mountain Academy, and then stop her, and she is not sure if the persistent SeaWing, Turtle, who is accompanying her will be a help or a hindrance.
ISBN 978-0-545-68544-3
1. Dragons — Juvenile fiction. 2. Quests (Expeditions) — Juvenile fiction. 3. Friendship — Juvenile fiction. 4. Identity (Psychology) — Juvenile fiction. 5. Adventure stories. [1. Dragons — Fiction. 2. Prophecies — Fiction. 3. Friendship — Fiction. 4. Identity — Fiction. 5. Adventure and adventurers — Fiction. 6. Fantasy.] I. Title. II. Series: Sutherland, Tui, 1978– Wings of fire ; bk 8.
PZ7.S96694Es 2016
813.6 — dc23
[Fic]
2015030596
First printing, January 2016