Gift or Curse?

Chapter Six

For three days, Kite and Cinder wandered the Sky Kingdom. They hid or fled if they saw another dragon. They avoided mountaintops and plateaus, sticking to the forested valleys. They subsided on birds and squirrels, though they found a goat once. Each night, they would keep watch in shifts, and because of that they often slept late in the mornings and dozed off early in the evenings. The question of how they would ever find Eagle's descendants was often on their minds.

On their fourth night as fugitives, Kite took the first watch as Cinder fell asleep in a small hollow under a cliff. Kite sat facing the sky and generally feeling like a failure. Because of her, six dragons were dead. Because of her, an insane SeaWing might be causing havoc in the Sky Kingdom. Because of her, Cinder had been kidnapped and her home destroyed. Because of her, they were now terrified when they saw another SkyWing. She was no closer to finding one of Eagle's heirs than she had been at the end of that first day. And after seeing what Sturgeon had done, she wasn't sure if she should. Six fully-grown dragons dead in a matter of minutes, trained soldiers defenseless against Sturgeon's spear. Sturgeon hadn't suffered so much as a slight scrape or a stubbed claw, and he wasn't even bothered by what he did.

But Kite also remembered the stories of other animus dragons. The IceWings had managed to control their magic, creating beautiful and useful things for their tribe without dragons going insane. Even before the infamous Albatross had snapped, he had done wonderful things for the SeaWings. An animus NightWing had created a magical tunnel between the Rainforest Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sand, reducing a days-long flight to a matter of minutes. There were the dreamvisitors, the Eye of Onyx, and of course the spell the other SeaWing animus had cast to keep Sturgeon out. Animus magic could protect or destroy, just like any other dragon ability.

Kite rubbed her forehead. Maybe, before seeking out Eagle's heir, she should first find a SeaWing, IceWing, or NightWing, and learn more about animus magic itself. Maybe she should find out more about what it had been used for, methods of controlling its effects, and what proportions of its users had actually gone insane.

Kite closed her eyes, shaking her head as though she could banish the image of the SkyWing falling with a spear through his chest. Beneath that memory, there was also the image of the dead dragon who had guarded the necklace with his life. Each had died for something, for different sides. Each had tried to serve their kingdom in their own way.

Maybe there was no real right or wrong side to this. Even their kidnappers had had reasons for what they did. What made them her enemy wasn't necessarily what they stood for, but what they did and were willing to do to achieve it.

Kite sighed, scraping at the dirt. Why did things have to be so complicated? Why couldn't there be a simple right or wrong answer? Yes or no? Do or don't do?

When the moons rose to their zenith, Kite woke Cinder and fell asleep.

Sunlight woke Kite the next morning, accompanied by birdsong. She blinked blearily and looked around. No sign of Cinder. Maybe her friend had gone to find food. Kite stood up and stretched, then realized something. Where was the weight around her neck? The rubbing of the chain on her scales?

She snatched at her neck and found nothing but hard scales. She tried to keep herself from panicking, but it was a struggle. Cinder being gone was one thing. But the amulet couldn't just sprout wings and fly off on its own. Someone must have taken it, and they might have taken Cinder as well.

As worried as she was, it took Kite a moment to realize that there was something in her claws. She looked down and saw a scrap of wood pressed between her talons. She lifted it to her eyes, heart pounding, and read the message scratched there.

Took necklace to lay false trail. Back noon-ish. –C

Kite flung the wood against the cliff. "Don't do that!" she yelled at nothing. She decided to give Cinder a stern lecture when she got back.