The New Prophecy

Chapter 8

Secretdawn knows for a fact that her prophecy is real. It haunts her every dream, every time she closes her eyes, it's there. Pain. Destruction. Chains. Missing dragons, death, death, death. And ruling it all- one dragon. Someone powerful. A rocky shore looming close, a palace where it shouldn't be, a whole kingdom ruled by one, more chains, more death.

Secretdawn wakes with a start, rubbing her talons together. There is was again- the dream. The sun has just started to paint the horizon with light, and no one else is awake. I sigh and push the dream, the visions, the future, back underneath my layers of protection. Where were we all going- Possibility, right? Secretdawn glances at the sleeping dragonets, counting them under her breath. Zero, Moon, Kinkajou, Turtle, Winter, Peril and- Qibli was watching her. The entire flight here, he had watched her. He was watching her every move, every wing flap, every claw twitch. It was super creepy. It was almost like he was studying her, like a scroll he could read or a mystery he could solve. It was insanely unnerving. I narrow my eyes at him, my forked tongue flicking in and out. 

"What's your problem?" I snap at him, a growl in the back of my throat.

"Nothing." he replies innocently, sitting up straighter.

I look away from him, knowing full well that his eyes stay on me.

"Where do you live?" He asks in a curious, casual tone. But I know he's digging for information.

I smile sweetly.  "The Scorpion Den. I hid from everyone but my family"

He frowns, his left eye twitching for a moment. "No. I would've remembered seeing you."

"Which means I am REALLY GOOD at hiding." I say snarkily, earning a glare from the SandWing. I glare right back at him, fixing my purple eyes on his. 

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Qibli has memorized Secretdawn's long-distance flight pattern. He's spent hours staring at her fidgeting, restless sleep. She doesn't have a big appetite, she doesn't make lots of eye contact, she's swift, probably good at stealing. He knows that she is very balanced, walks with her head straight but not in a confident way and she curls her tail in correctly, meaning she did or does have a living SandWing parent or guardian to teach her that. No scars. Her scales are a regular, pale sandy colour. She is shaped like a NightWing, except for her barb. Under her wings, a midnight black with silver specks sprinkled against the black. He knows she's about 5 years old, maybe older. 

But he can't tell a single thing about how she fights in battle, or her past, or her emotions. 

She is from the Scorpion Den. How has he never seen her? Why can't he figure her out?

When everyone else woke up, they took off again. The dunes blurred together as the eight of them flew towards Possibility. Secretdawn only spoke to Zero, but she was warily watching  Winter. The IceWing glared at Secretdawn every now and then, and Peril mumbled something about Possibility being a town full of over-reactive dragons. Qibli flew beside Moon, still near-constantly watching the mysterious dragonet. 

I don't trust her at all, he thinks as they soar towards the river and, with it, Possibility.

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I don't trust her at all, Zero thinks as the eight dragonets fly to- what was it called? Possibilities? He glances nervously at the SkyWing, faint smoke rising from her scales. Zero isn't one to judge dragons easily, but THIS SkyWing has killed dozens of dragons. She could tap you and you're dead. She's really scary. Zero tries to focus on the light conversation with Dawn, but he guessed she wasn't paying attention to what they were talking about either. Those horrible words- one mistake, the curse your life will take- echo through Zero's very soul. Is he going to die? 

"I'm pretty sure all I heard of your prophecy was death, death, more death and- did I mention death?" He rubbed his front talons together nervously, glancing at Dawn. Everyone's heads swiveled to him, although Zero hadn't meant to say it loud enough for everyone.

Kinkajou giggled. "Now you sound like Turtle." 

Turtle looked at her with a mock hurt expression, but this didn't help to calm Zero down. Moon looked at Zero with a sad expression, and Qibli turned to face him and Dawn.

"Don't worry, Zero. We're not going to die- right, Secretdawn? You CAN see that we DON'T die, right?" Qibli turned his attention to Dawn, trying to prod some information out of her. Dawn glanced around at everyone, then down at the ground.

"Nope. We don't die." But, this time, Dawn's words aren't coated with confidence, and her voice slightly shakes. Qibli waits to hear more, but turns around and flies beside Moon again. Dawn kept her head down, and she didn't say anything else the entire flight.

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Well. That's reassuring. Winter huffs, trying to turn his train of thought to some where other than his possible death. It doesn't work. He doesn't need ANOTHER prophecy hanging over his head- much less traveling with a hybrid. And, of course, he doesn't need Peril or Zero's help either. Although, another IceWing COULD be helpful.......

But seriously? More NightWing powers? At least Secretdawn couldn't read his mind- either because she doesn't have those powers or because of his skyfire. Or both. Winter continuously glared at Secretdawn the whole flight. She seemed nervous, but Winter couldn't tell. Secretdawn didn't show much emotion- which is pretty unnerving. She was either super quiet, a stone wall, or a persuasive 'leader'. There is no in-between. Right now, she's pretty much a stone wall. Winter focuses on the path ahead of them, as he is now able to see what is probably Possibility dotting the horizon. They land again for the night, and the next day, the eight are in Possibility. Although- none of them know what to do now that they're here.

"Um. Any more ideas?" Turtle asks.

"Well- we could....." Peril trails off, probably realizing whatever she thought of was stupid.

"Really? We fly ALL THE WAY HERE, and now no one knows what to do? I thought someone had a plan?" Winter scowls, shooting another glare at Secretdawn, who snorts.

"Don't look at me. This was your stupid idea. All of you. You just dragged me along for this joyous trip."

"Library! We find a library! There could be scrolls somewhere that have information that could help." Moon suggests, looking hopeful.

"We could've done that at the academy." Zero points out, "Plus, what scroll would we look for? How to look for a mysterious island without dying?"

Secretdawn smothers a laugh, and Kinkajou lights up.

"Wait, a library is a good idea! Does anyone else have any other suggestions?" Kinkajou doesn't wait for an answer and, instead, starts walking down a random street. "We could ask a dragon for directions. Let's go!" She smiles sweetly, her yellow scales shimmering as everyone follows the bright RainWing.