Clearsight's Choice

Chapter 7. Clearsight. The Night Kingdom.

Clearsight made it back to the Night Kingdom in only a few hours. The sun was now disappearing behind the mountains, and the rain was slowing to a stop. On the way here, Clearsight had seen lots of lightning, and she hoped that nothing had caught fire while she was gone. I didn't see it in any of my visions.... She thought.

For some strange reason, Clearsight's visions weren't working very well. She was starting to worry about it. Do I have a spell on me..? She wondered, but shook her head. No, Fathom wouldn't do that. And Darkstalker...can't. She sighed at the thought of Darkstalker, but she didn't look at Agate Mountain. She didn't want to feel more upset.

Now she was beside her stone, cave-like house, the last bit of rain trickling off of its roof and onto her snout. Why did Darkstalker have to be so... so.... She couldn't bring herself to say it. The word which she had been denying that was actually true about Darkstalker. Her Darkstalker. Evil. Clearsight held back tears.

She wanted to fly to Agate Mountain and dig him up, break the bracelet. Maybe I can. She thought. It sounded like a good idea, but it would take days, maybe even months, to dig that far in. Clearsight sighed and headed into her house. She was exhausted, and she needed to get some rest.

Her parents greeted her from inside, and she said hello. Then she told them that she was going to get some rest, and they let her go. Clearsight still had her job of checking every possible future for Queen Vigilance, and she knew she should be in her corridor in the castle right now. But she couldn't go back there; the queen or her servants or guards were always barging in and making sure she was working.

Clearsight didn't want to speak to any dragons at the moment, which is why she came here. Clearsight padded into her room and flopped down on her bed. She was so tired, but it still took her a while to fall asleep.

The NightWing woke up on a hard, stone floor. She lifted her head and looked around. The room was very dark, so the only thing she could see was herself and- a pair of white eyes staring at her with great interest from one side of the room. Clearsight stood and folded her wings comfortably to her sides. "Hello?" she called out, but her voice trembled with fear, betraying her.

Betrayal. It seemed that everything and everyone was doing that to someone eventually. Clearsight waited for a response, watching the cold, glaring eyes. "This is a dream." a voice said. Clearsight saw a light flicker from where the other dragon was, and she realized that it was a SeaWing. Its bioluminescent scales were glowing faintly now, and she could make out its pinkish-gray scales.

"Who are you?" she asked. The SeaWing stepped closer. "I'm the answer to all of your problems." Well, that didn't help much. "I'll explain everything." the SeaWing said hurriedly, as if reading her thoughts. Clearsight took a deep breath. "Go on, then." "This is a dream. I'm visiting you through a dream-visitor-" Clearsight gasped. I thought Fathom and I had hidden those! She thought. "-I came here to make you and offer." the SeaWing said, and smiled. His teeth were a nasty yellow.

Clearsight stared at him, skeptical. Then she hesitated before asking, "What offer?" The SeaWing's smile grew wider, and Clearsight felt her stomach lurch. What am I doing? She thought. Why would I make a deal with a strange SeaWing I've never met? Because I'm desperate. She answered herself. "I can bring back Darkstalker." Clearsight felt dizzy. Memories of Darkstalker seemed to plunge through her mind.

"Y-you can?" was all she could say. The stranger nodded. "Yes." Clearsight tried to calm down, but excitement had taken over her. She thought she might faint. She didn't even know why she should trust this SeaWing; but she didn't care. Before she could say anything else, though, the SeaWing continued. "I will visit you the next time you sleep. Tell me then what your final decision is." Clearsight nodded.

Then the dream started to fade, and she woke up in her room once more.