Kingdoms Falling

Chapter 7

"Owwwwwww!" Sun howled. "Stop it! That hurts! What are you doing? STOP IT, I SAID!"

"Well, if you would just hold still and stop writhing around like a snake with its head cut off, then it would hurt a LOT LESS!" The healer, whose name was Sahara, snapped huffily, shuffling around the small hut she called a home, forcing Meadow and Hillock to press themselves tightly against the thin outer layer of animal furs surrounding them. "You are injured, and my patient, so just stick a hare up your snout and stuff it."

Meadow smirked at Sun's flabbergasted expression as the desert hatchling lay, heaving, on the worktable in the center of the tent. His eyes flicked from one friend to the next, and then over to Sahara who was busy mixing some kind of herbal remedy in the corner.

"I feel like I'm the main attraction at some kind of freak-show circus," Sun moaned, flicking his tail irritably, rattling a few pots and dishes for good measure. He wrinkled his nose at the scent of ginger and cinnamon, looking displeased at the entire ordeal.

"Oh, hush up," Sahara, prodding his spine with a talon as she plodded back over and shoved a bowl of something gray under his snout. "I'm sure whatever extremely important things you were doing can wait until you finish healing properly." She frowned at him as he opened his mouth to protest, only to gag on the foul-smelling goop that made even Meadow wrinkle his nose in revulsion. "Now, drink that," she went on, nodding to the bowl. "It will help you relax, and ease the pain. Then try and get some rest. You need time to heal. And as for you two," she added, with a firm look toward the other hatchlings. "I would like to speak to you outside for a moment."

She inclined her head pointedly toward the flaps that served as doors. Hillock and Meadow shared a glance, before slowly standing up and moving to obey. The three of them shuffled outside of the tent, and once they were a good distance away, Sahara wheeled on them with fire in her eyes.

"All right," she growled. "Which one of you did it?"

Hillock and Meadow shared a surprised glance. "Did...what?" Meadow asked, very confused. "I'm not sure I follow--"

"Who thought it would be a good idea to stab that hatchling repeatedly with a smoldering iron?" Sahara demanded. "Do you have any idea how much pain he is in? So, come on, fess up." She curled her tail closer, and Meadow eyed it carefully as Hilllock opened his mouth to speak.

"It wasn't us," he explained quickly, spreading his talons and sinking his wings and tail into the sand. "We don't know what happened to him, but we found him, and since ya were the closest dragon, we came here as quick as we could."

He didn't tell her about Twisterheart, Meadow realized, shooting him a sidelong glance. He could see the nervousness in the dragon's brown eyes, but he'd understood the danger as well. Sahara didn't need to know about the Defenders, Twisterheart, or anything that had transpired in the caves. It wasn't relevant, and it was impossible to tell if she would believe them anyway. Good thinking.

Her gaze remained stoic as she looked from one hatchling, to the other, and back again. It didn't seem like she believed him, or that she was convinced neither of them had been at fault, but she had no proof of guilt, and all three of them knew it. But the dragon responsible is still out there, he thought worriedly. Those rocks won't hold him for long.

"Will he recover, ma'am?" Hillock said again, ducking his head to avoid her steely glare.

Sahara huffed. "With time. But I would advise against letting him do anything more than servant's work for the next month or so, just to avoid opening up those wounds again."