Wings of Honor: Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 20: Bridging The Gap

Poor Moon had barely any time to react before Darkstalker was there in her mind, evidently louder and fiercer than he'd ever been before.
Do not tell anyone about this. You understand? A stone from the sky that can block a mind reader's powers? If other dragons find out, we'll be ruined. Everyone will get one, and then we'll be deaf, Moon, do you understand? If this gets out, it'll be like ripping our claws off. Promise me you won't tell anyone.
We wouldn't be deaf, she thought back. We'd be no worse off than all the normal dragons out there.
Marvin nodded, thinking of his soldiers.
If you could give up this gift so easily, then you shouldn't be allowed to have it.
I shivered at the thought,
Moon was flustered by his intensity, while I recalled him making a point that we kind of had no choice in the matter. Shush for a minute, will you? This is my one chance to hear what Onyx is thinking. She shot him down.
Darkstalker subsided, muttering something. Ostrich was still holding the amulet, all her thoughts fuzzed out as she gently poked the rock inside. If we wanted to find out whether Onyx had set the bomb, we had to make her think about it right now.
Obviously, Qibli was completely oblivious to this entire situation. He had no way of know what the hell was going on. And plus, he was busy contemplating Onyx's dragonethood with her mother and trying to figure out why she was here. He didn't even look up when Moon subtly tried to catch his attention. But her eyes met mine. I gulped and took a breath.
"Say, I heard Tamerin and the others got out of the explosion alive. Have any of you guys gotten to talk to them at all?"
"Oh, my poor little clawmate," Onyx said with a sigh. At the same time, her mind went: I don't see why I have to care about dragons from other tribes, but it seems to be expected, for some reason. At least Tamarin was a quiet, agreeable dragon to share a cave with; she didn't snore like Mother or tell weepy stories and expect me to care — like Mother. Uch, I hope they don't give me another clawmate. Perhaps if I act totally shattered, they'll let me keep the cave all to myself. "It's absolutely devastating," she said. "I'm just devastated."
She reached to take the amulet from Ostrich.
But I haven't heard anything useful yet! Moon thought. "Um," she said just as quickly. "Can I see it?"
Onyx looked as if she wanted to say no, but Ostrich was already passing the amulet into Moon's talons.
"D-do you, um ..."
Suddenly, Moon froze in shock. I did too. Her presence disappeared, like... completely! But she was still here, right next to me. I saw panic form in her eyes. I started for her, concerned, when she thrust the amulet into Qibli's talons and jumped back. He at least made out my concern, and was closer to her.
"Hey, careful with that!" Onyx snapped.
I felt her relief again, sighing myself. Everyone's minds came rushing back at once, and Moon, who had always
thought she wanted more silence, found herself unbelievably glad to hear them — even the ones who were thinking she was extremely peculiar.
"Moon. Moon." I wrapped my wing around her.
MOON! Darkstalker yelled. MOON!
I'm here! she said.
Three moons, you scared me, he said. You vanished so completely. I thought you were dead.
"What am I —" Qibli began, bewildered.
"It's really cool, look at it." Moon said. She wanted to close her eyes and settle into the noise around her; she needed a moment to calm down. I pulled her in tighter, taking as much of her anxiety as I could. But Onyx was full of irritable thoughts about her amulet and not thinking about the bomb at all. In a minute she would demand it back. Moon didn't have time to recover — we needed to get an answer right now.
"Onyx, do you think they'll catch the dragon who set the fire?" She asked her. Way too direct, but it was the only thing she could manage right now.
Does she suspect me? Onyx thought, suspicious. Consequences consequences. How odd. "Of course," the SandWing said aloud. "They're the great 'dragonets of destiny' after all." By all the serpents, I hope they do catch whoever did it so we can stop blithering about it. This a tiresome distraction from my plans. Perhaps I should go back to the desert and try another approach. Or ... She tipped her head and gave Qibli a speculative look. They say this one is practically Thorn's third wing. If I —
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off as she snatched the amulet out of Qibli's claws. "That's enough ogling," she barked.
I guess you could say I breathed a sigh of relief? Moon wished she could hear what Onyx's mysterious plans were, and how they involved Qibli, but at least she knew one thing: Onyx was not the one who set the fire.
So who did?
She sat thoughtfully, staring at her talons, as Qibli chatted with the other SandWings and occasionally shot more probing questions at Onyx. I was more comforting Moon then anything.
Pike, Icicle, Flame, Onyx ... if it wasn't one of them, who could it be? Had I misinterpreted one of the minds I'd read? Was it really one of them after all? Or who else could I be forgetting? Are you sure you can't help me? she asked Darkstalker, causing me to flinch.
Seems like the same question I've been asking you. He said quietly.
She pawed at the rock, finding a crevice, and drawing out the moss growing in the crack.
Does that mean you'll tell me who did it if I agree to free you?
I wouldn't suggest- I began to her, but I was glad to be interrupted by Darkstalker for once.
No, he said. Because then you'll resent me and then you'll start thinking I'm manipulating you and then you won't trust me and then you'll decide you'll never free me. He sighed. You don't realize how badly I need you, Moon. It's harder than you can imagine, figuring out what I should say to you and trying to help without getting you killed.
Well, I would help you, if you weren't such a bad person. I spat to him, then quickly severed my connection.
Moon felt guilty. She'd been focusing on the fire and her friends and all the problems that came with being a secret mind reader. And in the meantime, the only other dragon who accepted her completely this way was trapped in a stone prison, desperately clinging to the one hope he had: that she would take pity on him and find a way to set him free. I heard her sigh.
Tell me more about your talisman. she requested.
A pause. Really? He asked, hope in his voice.
Well. If I do decide to search for it, I need to know what it looks like, don't I?
He hesitated again.
Finally: Can I trust you, Moon?
She found a little, green, caterpillar inching through the crack in the boulder. Carefully she let it crawl onto her claw and then lifted it safely to the ground, away from the other dragons. You tell me, she said to him. You can see every single one of my thoughts. You must know more about me than any other dragon in the world. So ... do you trust me?
I sucked air. She was perfectly correct. After another moment, Darkstalker suddenly barked a laugh that echoed in her skull. I guess I don't have any choice, do I?
You could wait for the next NightWing mind reader, she pointed out, unconsciously towards me. Now that they're living in the rainforest, having eggs under the moons again, there will probably be more, right? Like Grace?
She looked at me, but I avoided her gaze on this matter.
On the one talon, it was reassuring to think there would be others — Grace would definitely help him. I didn't have to bear all the responsibility of being Darkstalker's only hope forever. On the other talon, thinking about another mind reader making friends with Darkstalker and being the one to rescue him ... it gave me a strange protective feeling that I can't even explain.
But on the third talon, maybe somebody else would have a better chance of figuring out how to rescue him. Grace seems strong enough. And then I wouldn't be blamed if it all went horribly wrong.
But then on the fourth talon, I kind of liked the idea of being somebody's hero, doing something brave and dangerous and changing the world.
All right, all right, Darkstalker said, nearly bored to death. I can't listen to you think in circles about it anymore. But Moon, this is the most important thing: You must never forget that my talisman is the most dangerous animus-touched object in all of Pyrrhia. If it fell into the wrong claws, it would be a disaster like you can't imagine. You need to promise me: If it looks even for a moment like someone else might take it — someone like Flame, for instance — you'll have to destroy it.
Destroy it? Moon thought back. But then you'd be trapped forever.
Not forever.
Yes, probably. I can't bear to think about it. But even that would be better than the alternative: a weapon of that kind of power in dangerous talons. I'm very serious, do you understand?
He was serious. He was using Marvin's serious voice. This was a matter of life and death.
I do, Moon thought. I promise.
All right, he said slowly. It's a scroll.
A picture came into Moon's head of a scroll wrapped in a black leather casing. It almost looked familiar for some reason. The casing opened and the scroll unrolled. A pen appeared, writing words that blazed for a moment like fire before sinking into the page and turning into dark purple ink.
As with all animus-touched objects, it can be used by any dragon who comes across it. Darkstalker said. You simply write your command — for instance, 'Give this necklace the power to make me invisible when I wear it.' Or ' Enchant this mirror to spy on whichever dragons I choose.' You must be as specific as possible, or the magic is liable to go awry and reinterpret your request in some odd way.
Are you sure it still exists? Moon asked, inspecting the scroll in her mind. It looked like it was made of thicker paper than most scrolls, but still, paper could burn so easily. Marvin knew all too well. If it's out there somewhere, why hasn't anyone figured out its power and used it in the last two thousand years? Or what if the NightWings took it with them when they ran away and it was destroyed in the volcano?
I don't know. Darkstalker said in a half emotion choked voice. If no one knew what it was — and I carefully kept its power a secret from everyone but Clearsight — then I don't think anyone would guess how to use it. It's true, though, that I don't know if it has survived all this time. But I have to believe that it has, or else all hope for me is lost.
Not all hope. I'm still here. Moon said.
I shivered. I was still convicted I would not let him free. Although, what if it was me in the same situation? What if I was the one trapped underground? Well, I wouldn't do anything remotely bad, not like how Darkstalker would. Although, I wasn't stupid enough to throw all my power into something that could be separated from me. Moon and I sighed, and Qibli looked across at us curiously.
Even if I do find it, she thought, how could I possibly get it to you? Neither of us know where you are. Maybe we should figure that out first. Maybe it would be easier to dig you out than to find one lost scroll in all of Pyrrhia — and then what, stuff it through ten layers of rock?
I just shrugged at her.
I suspect it's not a matter of a little digging, Darkstalker said. But there is a small hole near me, which must reach through all the way to the open air, because every once in a while I can smell a breeze, and sometimes, even more rarely, a mouse or insect blunders into it and I get to eat.
I shivered, thinking of Stonemover. Moon hadn't even thought of that. You're surviving on just the occasional clumsy mouse? How can you live without eating?
My own foolish enchantment was designed to keep me alive through anything. He said ruefully. Not starvation, nor cold, nor old age, nor stabbing or fire or frostbreath can kill me. I can still feel hungry, though. Extremely, enormously hungry. Turns out it is quite the curse I've put on myself. He made a semi-amused noise, as if trying to brush aside any sense of self-pity.
Maybe I should enchant a D bar to always be in reach of him. He may be evil, but even evil people deserve basic needs.
And ... there's no way to undo it? Moon asked. I mean, whatever you enchanted to make you immortal — it's not, like, a necklace you can take off?
You mean if I decide I want to die? Darkstalker thought for a moment. No. It's not a necklace. I don't think I could undo this enchantment, not unless I had my talisman back. In any case, I have not quite reached that level of despair yet. I still — I would like to see the sun, at least once more, for instance.
I shivered. Enchantments like that, I would have to make sure it was through something else, so I could take off the enchantments if necessary. I didn't want to get stuck with a permanent solution for a temporary problem.
Moon looked up at the sun, shining brightly over the mountain landscape, and thought how easily she took it for granted. Over the mountains to the north she could see heavy gray storm clouds gathering, but on Jade Mountain it was still a beautiful day. Sort of an unfairly beautiful day, if you thought about Carnelian and Bigtail and Tamarin.
There is another option. Darkstalker said. His idea popped into my head not a moment later. If you found my scroll, you could use its power to find me and free me yourself. You wouldn't need to bring it to me.
Oh, Moon thought. It hadn't occurred to her to use it herself. Animus magic — it sounded so much more dangerous than her own little powers. I hung my head, she diddnt know about me. You mean, if I wrote something like, 'Please enchant this map to show me Darkstalker's exact location?'
He laughed. Well, I must admit I never said "please" to my talisman, but you certainly could.
Suddenly, all the dragons around us got up.
I nudged Moon, she blinked, startled. Qibli was looking at us, grinning.
"I suspected you were a million miles away," he said, stretching a little. "We're going to the prey center. A few dragons just came back with food, so we're hoping there'll be enough for everyone."
"I just need a lizard," Ostrich said. "I couldn't eat yesterday, after everything, so I'm hungry now, although I feel bad admitting that."
"Oh — here." Moon said. I caught a mouse scampering over the rocks. Pounced on it, it let out a panicked squeak. With a quick slash on the neck, I gave it a quick death, then presented it to Ostrich. Moon also presented a brown, little, lizard.
"Talons and tails," Ostrich exclaimed, regarding her with awe. "I didn't see that coming. You two are really fast."
"True," Qibli said. "Moon's an amazing hunter. Got another one hidden somewhere for me?" Moon shook her head, although she knew he was kidding.
"You can have this one." Ostrich said immediately.
"No, thank you, you have it." He said. "I'd like to stop by the prey center anyway. Moon, Grace? Coming, too?"
She nodded. I nodded as well. The other SandWings had already gone on ahead; Ostrich bounded after them. Moon, Qibli, and I followed more slowly, and Moon said in a low voice to him, "It wasn't Onyx."
"Really?" He said. "How do you know?"
Don't tell him. Darkstalker warned.
She hesitated.
"I found the opportunity. She talked about it kind of removed. I don't think it was her. Moon just agrees with me." I found that to be pretty convincing, but Marvin and Qibli saw right through it somehow.
He frowned, and she felt all the progress of the last few hours spiraling backward. She's lying to me again, I'm sure of it. But about what, and why? If she can hear Onyx after all, why not admit to that? Unless this is all a trick to make me suspect Turtle — she could be lying about everything, about all the others being innocent — she could be trying to steer me to someone for her own agenda — what do I really know about her, after all, and why would I think she'd want to help me find the dragon who killed Carnelian; perhaps she doesn't even care —
"Stop, please stop," Moon said, futilely pressing her talons to her ears. "I'm not lying, and I do want to figure out who did this. Please trust me, Qibli."
He flicked his tail and took a step away from her. "Y-you're a mindreader too?"
Moon's face instantly turned to panic. I stood next to her, supporting her with my wing. She hung her head, slowly nodding. Qibli made a motion with his head, not as surprised anymore. "I'm sorry," was all he said. "I'm not sure I can do that yet. It's too — You know what, let's split up for a while and try again later." Without waiting for her answer — and now worrying about what else she'd see in his head — he took to the sky, flying down to the prey center cave opening.
Moon's wings drooped. I ruined it, she said to Darkstalker and me. He was almost willing to trust me again. I should have just told him the truth.
You can't tell anyone about the skyfire. You must see that.
"You did what you thought was right. Maybe I can convince him he didn't quite hear what he heard." I unknowingly insinuated at my abilities playfully. Moon chuckled.
"You may be back to being my only friend." Moon said. "Possibly forever."
"Well... it could be worse." I joked, but it came out worse then I planned. I walked her to the Prey Center. There were more dragons there than any of us expected; all the SeaWings were back, along with all the SkyWings, a few IceWings, and a couple of NightWings. It was easier on Moon now, with the raindrop trick. she slipped them all quickly into background pitter-pattering, and her oncoming headache faded away again.
Then she spotted Umber, Marsh, and Sora across the cave and felt her wings lift. For one thing, Sora must be feeling better if they'd let her come down here, and for another thing, Umber and Sora didn't completely hate us yet. They would probably let us sit with them to eat anyway, which would be better than trying to sit with that ferocious face Mightyclaws was wearing.
As we moved toward the siblings, I caught a glimpse of Qibli watching us. He was wondering whether he should warn the MudWings about our mind reading, especially Umber.
So I'd better enjoy them now, she thought ruefully, since they won't be my friends for much longer.
I let out a whimper. This wasn't fair at all.
I know. It's not. Stay strong.
"Hey." Umber said as she approached. Sora and Marsh both kind of flinched and nodded at the same time.
"Hi," Moon said softly.
"Sora, how are you? Are you all right?" I finished for her,
Nothing is all right, nothing. We caught from Sora's brain. There were fragments of terror and memories of battles and fire jolting through the mud pool in Sora's mind, and she could tell Sora really would have preferred to be tranquilized again, but she'd forced herself to come down here. Icicle. Moon heard, and guessed that Sora wanted to prove herself to be tougher than her clawmate thought she was.
She slid the rest of Sora's restless thoughts into a raindrop, conscious of Qibli's eyes on her back and feeling like an intruder in Sora's fear. She did the same with Marsh and Umber, although Marsh was mostly surveying the cave and nervously wondering what to eat, while Umber was preoccupied with worrying about his brother and sister. I also disabled my mindreading. This was just not the time.
"She's doing better," Umber answered for Sora. "Clay said she even got up and went for a walk for a little while last night."
"Really?" Moon said, looking at her.
Why would she wander around the mountain in the middle of the night? We both thought simultaneously; wondering for a split second whether Sora could be the dragon who'd been scheming with Scarlet. But then we remembered the first night Moon heard the dreamvisitor conversation. Sora had been one of the few dragons still awake at that hour; Moon definitely remembered noticing her mental mud ritual. She hadn't been asleep and dreaming, so she couldn't have been the one talking to Scarlet.
I noticed Sora scanned anxiously around the cave. Following her gaze, Moon saw Winter and Icicle stalking in from one of the tunnels. She felt like bolting, but she made herself stay put as Winter rapidly scanned the cave and spotted us. His eyes narrowed, and he thought. Only half a day left, NightWing.
For whatever reason, I took a shaky breath. Moon ducked her head.
What am I going to tell him at midnight? We couldn't point to anyone as the culprit yet.
Marvin ran over the evidence and the list of suspects again.
Icicle snatched a fish from the central pile and stormed toward her usual ledge. Winter picked up a fish, too, but hesitated. Moon could hear him debating whether to come over and talk to her.
Please don't, please don't, please don't. She prayed, which broke my heart.
"Do you want to go talk to Icicle?" Umber asked Sora, who was still staring at her clawmate. "I'm sure she's been worried about you."
I shook my head imperceptibly.
Sora didn't answer, but a flash of contemptuous disbelief broke through Moon's raindrops, so sharp and fierce that it took me a second to realize it had come from the quiet MudWing.
She turned and saw Icicle climbing into the alcove. But something looked off. With a disdainful flick of her wings, Icicle turned to look down at the crowd. One of her wings lightly brushed the stalactites over her head.
Shit! Marvin yelled all of a sudden.
There was a loud crack, then a splintering sound, and suddenly the sharpest, most wicked-looking stalactite broke off from the ceiling and plummeted straight down toward Icicle.