Claws of time

Chapter 19- Going north, but falling south

We all started flying north,"Why are we helping him?" I thought to myself angrily. "He's trying to kill the Queen, he's manipulated his friends, he hates IceWings, and wants to take over the whole continent!" We were about to cross the border when Clearsight stopped abruptly, "Wait Darkstalker," She pointed over towards me, "Uhm, Shiver, you can't come with us." I flared my wings open wide, "Why? Wait, let me guess, Darkstalker thinks I'm going to slow you down, or sabotage you?" Clearsight shook her head, "No, it's because Darkstalker made a shield around the border of the Night kingdom that kills any IceWings that cross the border." "WHAT?" I cried out angrily. "What's the big deal, it was a defense for our kingdom, just like the Great Ice Cliff." Darkstalker spat. I stopped to think for a moment, he did have a point. According to Queen Pearl, the Great Ice Cliff was used to keep any dragons that weren't IceWings, or part IceWing, from getting through that side of the border, I suppose it was only fair with the ongoing war between NightWings and IceWings. "I'm sorry Shiver, you're just going to have to wait here till we get back." I lifted my talons up to my ears to make sure they were still in place, and they were, my earrings would protect me from any of his spells, so wouldn't it also protect me from a shield he enchanted? "Actually, I think I'll make it through just fine." I said smoothly. Darkstalker looked at me suspiciously. "But you're an IceWing." Fathom stated, "And they just said it kills all IceWings." I shook my head, "Not all of them Arctic got through just fine, and if it counts hybrids as well, then so did Whiteout and Darkstalker will too." "He does have a point, how did Arctic make it through?" Fathom asked. Darkstalker huffed impatiently, "I enchanted it so only Arctic, Whiteout, and I can cross safely, every other IceWing will die." I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, I have another trick up my sleeve. Just watch." I flew towards the border while Clearsight and Fathom watched anxiously. When I passed the border a painful shock radiated across my body, nearly taking me out of the sky, but I shook myself and flew forward away from the border. Soon after Clearsight, Fathom, and Darkstalker all flew out of the Night kingdom, and were staring at the ground with dread. "I lived." I called to Darkstalker smugly. The three dragons looked up, Clearsight and Fathom's face washed with relief. "But how-?" Fathom asked, "It kills all IceWings except the one's Darkstalker listed." "I remember Darkstalker telling me about the shield when it was first being put up, and he said he would include me as well. I guess he forgot to mention that, and I wanted to scare you guys a bit." I lied to Fathom. Darkstalker nodded, "Oh... yeah, I did forget to mention you in that list." Darkstalker said, going along with the lie. Clearsight and Fathom exchanged suspicious glances, but before they could protest Darkstalker cut them off, "We need to hurry and find my father and sister, we've already wasted enough time!" Darkstalker took off farther north flying swiftly leaving the rest of us to catch up.
We landed in the dry desert, it was way too hot, my scales felt as if they were melting off due to the blistering heat. Fathom looked uncomfortable out here as well, he probably wished he could jump in some kind of river or lake. Personally, I wouldn't mind jumping into a snowbank. "Darkstalker," Clearsight called, sweeping one wing around the endless desert, "They could be anywhere." Darkstalker lashed his tail, "I can fix that." He reached into his bag and pulled out a dagger, its jagged edge caught the sun, flashing brightly. He reached back into his bag and pulled out the scroll. "What are you going to do with that?" Clearsight asked, resting her wing against one of Darkstalker's. He shook her off. "Not what you think." He placed the dagger on the scroll, weighing down the flapping paper, uncapped an inkwell, and scrawled Enchant this dagger to lead us to Arctic and Whiteout, then stab Arctic once in the foot, injuring him enough that he has to stop, but not so badly that he bleeds to death. Above all else, stop him from crossing the Great Ice Cliff. A green beetle popped up out of the sand and scurried across his claws. Darkstalker shot an irritated glare at the unmoving dagger, "Why isn't it working?" he growled. "Maybe he's protecting himself with his own magic," Clearsight suggested. "Maybe instead of attacking him, we should-." Darkstalker flicked his tail, cutting her off. "Yes! His shielding earring!" He grabbed the green beetle off of the sand. The beetle squirmed frantically in an attempt to get away. He held the beetle over the scroll and wrote, enchant this beetle to find Prince Arctic as fast as possible and take off his shielding earring. The beetle flickered into the air like a puff of smoke and a few moments later, the dagger rose up and spun like a compass needle. Suddenly it shot away, heading northwest. "Let's go!" Darkstalker cried. He threw the scroll back in his bag and hurled himself into the sky.
The dagger flashed and danced ahead of them as they flew and flew. Finally, as the sky was just starting to fade to darker blue, the dagger put on a burst of speed, and a moment later there was an agonized shriek from somewhere up ahead. I flew closer and noticed an IceWing fall out of the sky, down onto the sandy dunes. "We found them!" Darkstalker cried exultantly. We all landed in a semi circle around Arctic and Whiteout. Whiteout crouched beside her father, examining one of his back feet, where the dagger was buried to the hilt and blue blood poured out over the sticky dark sand. Another thin trickle of blood slid down his neck from one ear, where an earring had once been. Arctic glared up at Darkstalker, his face twisted with pain and fury. "Just let us go," the IceWing hissed. "I let you live. Do me the same courtesy. We never have to see each other again." Darkstalker calmly slid his scroll out of his bag. "Where do you think you're taking my sister?" he asked. "She wants to go with me," Arctic snarled. "Tell him, Whiteout." "I want to go with Father," she said. Whiteout's eyes were blank and dull, and her voice came out funny, she was clearly not thinking for herself, something was wrong. Clearsight reached for her and Whiteout jerked away, keeping her talons on her father. "She's going to marry an IceWing prince," Arctic said, his breath coming in short gasps. "Not some lowborn NightWing. "That's right," Whiteout said. "I'lI be an IceWing princess. And have lots of baby IceWings. And live there forever. Where it is very, very cold." "You are not taking her to the Ice Kingdom," Darkstalker said. "She would be miserable there, even worse than you were." Darkstalker took his scroll and set rocks on either corner of it. "What was he planning?" I thought to myself. Whiteout blinked anxiously and pressed her talons to his foot. "Queen
Diamond will let Foeslayer go if she has me instead." "Mother is dead," said Darkstalker. I shivered, how can Darkstalker act so cold, and uncaring, he is far different than when we first met. Darkstalker uncapped the inkwell and placed it gently on the edge of the scroll. "You are doing this for yourself, Father. You have no reason to stay in the Night Kingdom anymore, now that Mother is gone. So you're taking your chance to go home, like you've always wanted." He dipped one claw in the ink. "You're planning to tell Diamond all the secrets you know about NightWings to help her defeat us. You may even use your power again, to launch an attack on us." Clearsight was frowning, her face twisted with unhappiness of the truth. I wish I had Clearsight's ability to foresee the future right now, that would be very useful, what if Darkstalker's about to do something that would change history forever, should I stop him, but what if he tries to attack me? Darkstalker shot a glance back at me and I shook my head, "Okay brain, no more thoughts, shut up before you say something stupid." Darkstalker turned back to face Arctic, "I might do all of that, yes, but only to protect Whiteout," Arctic said. "If that's the only deal Diamond will accept to keep her alive." He reached down and yanked out the dagger, hissing furiously as blood spurted out. "You'll be fine with your invincible scales, don't worry. Now say good-bye to your sister and let us go before Diamond's army finds you." "I want to go to the ice Kingdom," Whiteout said. "I want to be with Father. You go home," she said, pointing at Darkstalker. "I don't even like you." Darkstalker stopped for a moment, staring at Whiteout registering what she just said. "Was it true? Did Whiteout really hate him? She never seemed to." Darkstalker glanced back at Arctic, "But you made one odd mistake," he said. His claw was poised above the scroll, ink gleaming on the tip. "You should have killed me before you left, like Diamond wanted you to." He tilted his head at his father. "I'm not sure why you didn't." "I wasn't going to kill my own son," Arctic snarled. "Whatever you think of my soul, it's not so far gone that I would actually do that." He started to laugh, a cracking, bitter sound like icicles snapping off a roof. "I know I should, though. One more spell, and I'lI probably be there, won't I? I mean, what are you going to do to stop me?" He spread his wings, staggering upright. "Our magic is equal, you and I. Our souls are equally doomed. What are you writing, you little monster?" Clearsight ran over to darkstalker, "Please Darkstalker, don't do this!" Fathom and I took a step forward as well, sharing the same thought of; should we attack, or at the very least rip the scroll out from under his talons. But it was too late to do anything, Darkstalker was already writing away, the ink flowing over the paper smoothly. It was too late for anything now, Darkstalker fulfilled his own prophecy, before I could fill the one I was warned about.