Wings of Fire; The Assassin

Chapter 9

Artemis looked so startled and terrified that he felt horrible. He knew that lots of dragons hate having their mind read and that if you are keeping a secret that big, and trying to earn trust, there is a huge chance that not only will that carefully built up trust fall apart, but also lose any chance to earn anyone else's if someone spreads the words. She started to scoot backward trying to escape, and Bubble felt his heart start to break. Bubble could see the pure terror in her eyes as if she was a fish cornered by a shark. Bubble would do anything to gain her trust.

"It is okay," Bubble said, "I can keep a secret if you want me to. I also have one." Bubble felt his talons tingling. He shook his front talons trying to keep the blood flowing.

Artemis paused, still mid crouch, and looked into his eyes. Her eyes were misty with tears that started to well up. Bubble was shaking uncontrollably with nervousness and sorrow.

"I- I don't... I s-should go." Artemis mumbled. Bubble saw through foggy sight that she was also shaking. Bubble closed his eyes, holding himself steady.

"Ok. Y-You, go ahead. I understand," Bubble sighed. He started to get up and put away his scroll. He was about to leave, when Artemis grabbed onto his arm, stopping him from leaving. He looked over at a nervous Artemis.

Artemis looked at her talons uncomfortably and seemed to be taking longer than anticipated for Bubble, "You really want to know?" Artemis asked. Bubble nodded his head. "Okay. I- I can. Please don't tell anyone though, my brother and I don't want any problems, and we don't know how anyone else will react."

"I promise. I won't tell anyone," Bubble said. He knew a thing to two about keeping secrets. He has kept one of his own for his whole life. He always knew that dragons naturally don't like trusting other tribes, and even their own tribe.

Bubble may have been a SeaWing, but sometimes didn't feel like it. He sometimes thought that he would fit in better as a RainWing. He did know he was a hybrid, obviously, but he felt as though he should have been entirely RainWing. That doesn't mean that he was any less trustworthy though, but in his mind, he is not exactly worthy of much.

"I do have a question for you. Why can't I read your mind?" Artemis asked uncomfortably. She winced slightly as Bubble looked up, right into her eyes. He was super confused about what she meant. Why couldn't she read his mind? She should be able to read his mind. He didn't think he was doing anything to block it. Then he looked down at his armband, which had the black rocks of SkyFire in them.

Bubble knew that talking about mind reading is sometimes a touchy subject. He put his talon softly on top of hers, and he felt her tense up. He managed to stop his shaking, but he was still panicking internally. Artemis looked down in the direction he was and noticed his armband. She gasped softly at the sight of the SkyFire.

"I have an armband like my father's armband which contains Skyfire. It blocks mindreading."

Artemis looks as if she just realized something like she was told this before. Bubble was so confused because his father was the only dragon that he knew that had SkyFire, but then he remembered that Moonwatcher was the first mindreading NightWing since the NightWings hid on the volcanic island. Artemis sat there, processing everything that happened so far.

The green light coming through the windows showered over the two dragons. Bubbles could feel a soft breeze coming through the leaves. His scales felt thick in the musty air of the library, but with the breeze, it was more bearable. It also didn't help that he was going absolutely crazy inside trying to keep himself calm.

Bubble remembered the stories that his parents had told him. They told him about the school where they met. The adventures they had (mostly Turtle, because his mother was unconscious during most of these events), and about why his father had holes in his armband where he had once pried out SkyFire for his friends. His father explained to him how he and his NightWing friend found out how SkyFire blocks mindreading. Well, more like his NightWing friend and his SandWing friend found out, and how he just supplied the SkyFire.

"You knew that because your mother said so. She is the first one to find out that SkyFire blocks mindreading. She must have told you, just like my mother told me about the teardrop scales that means that the dragon can mindreading." Bubble said. Artemis looked up at Bubble, mostly startled at what Bubble said. Bubble knew he must have guessed right because Artemis would not have acted like that if he guessed wrong.

"Yeah, how could you tell?" Artemis asked, slightly startled by his inference, but before he could reply, the gong rang. It was time for everyone to go to their sleeping caves. Artemis and Bubble looked into each other's eyes. Bubble got lost in her eyes. The silver teardrop scales on the edges of her eyes glinted in the light. Her dark purple scales seemed to roll perfectly smooth and totally contrasted from the rough rock he has seen for the past while.

They were finally brought back to the real world when one of the other NightWings cleared his throat. They were looking at the two clawmates, with a sly smile on their face. They were on the other side of the library, with the row of racks on either side of the aisle they were looking down. Bubble looked down at the floor next to him, blushing. Artemis was doing the same thing. The two dragons got up and put away all of their items.

Starflight looked up and listened as dragons put away the scrolls. He was counting to see if all the dragons were leaving. Bubble felt bad for the blind dragon. It must have been hard to get around, not knowing where you were going.

Bubble put away his scroll and left the library, and Artemis followed. Bubble looked back to Artemis, his heart aching as they separated.

Bubble said softly to Artemis before they went their different ways, "Good night..."

Artemis looked back at Bubble, "Good night."

After Artemis was out of hearing distance, Bubble finished his sentence with a whisper, "my beauty."

He walked down the empty halls, thinking about what just happened. He was now one step closer to finally getting her to like him back. When he got into his cave, he saw Diamondback and Boris, both on their small ledges.

So I guess my clawmates are already asleep. I should also fall asleep I guess.

Bubble quietly walked to his bed and laid down. His eyelids felt heavy, and his eyes started to close. He yawned widely and stretched before falling asleep. As his muscles started to relax, he started to miss home. He closed his eyes, and he fell into a trance.

He was just starting to fall asleep when he felt a sudden shock of terror. His dragon instincts were telling him to get ready for a fight, but his brain was telling him to run, stay, and listen to his instincts at the same time. He felt as if he was a small fish, being stalked by a shadow. Bubble jolted awake and sat up. He looked around feeling his blood run colder, and a shiver come down his spine, but there was nothing there, just the slow breathing shadows of his clawmates.

Just a nightmare... yeah... I'm definitely not going to die

Bubble got back in his bed. Tense, he fell back asleep. The sounds of the mountain seemed louder. The dripping stalactites, the crawling bugs, and the mumbles of sleeping dragons. Right before he was fully asleep he heard one word fully spoken.

"Kill."