Chapter 2

An Old Friend

The dragons hadn't eaten in three days, since when Treejumper first arrived. The past three days had been uneventful: Treejumper didn't speak to anyone, three more tallies had appeared on Bloodspiller's wall, and Falcon got more and more testy.

Pelican was starting to think she could never get Treejumper to talk. Several times she'd tried to start up a conversation, but the little purple dragonet never replied.

"We have to do something," Falcon hissed, leaning through the bars into Pelican's cage. His yellow eyes darted from Pelican to the deep purple dragon lying curled up in her cell.

"What?" Pelican asked, leaning fowards on her talons.

"She hasn't talked for three days," Falcon whispered, his eyes narrowing. The pale orange dragon was prickly on the outside, so the only way to know how he was feeling was by his eyes. His eyes were always moving- darting from place to place, narrowing, lighting up. "Not since she first came here. Someone has to talk to her."

All of the sudden, his head snapped up. "Food," he whispered, a faint smile appearing on his face as the sound of webbed talons slapped on the rocky ceiling above. Not only did the arrival of food quench the dragons' hunger, it was one of the only conversation starters. It was as if a prayer had been answered.

A small sapphire blue dragon clambered clumsily down the passageway, bumping his snout as he climbed down. A small leather bag was slung across his shoulders. He was thin and small; he couldn't have been any older than Falcon or Salamander.

Pelican and Falcon exchanged glances. They were shocked; the same dragon had brought their food for their entire lives. The arrival of a new guard could only mean one thing- the old guard had been fired, disgraced, or even killed.

But their surprise was dwarfed in comparison to the surprise they felt when they saw the look of pure terror on Treejumper's face.

"Catfish?" Treejumper gaped.

"By the moons, what are you doing here, Treejumper?" The blue dragon cried, his voice panicky. "What happened? Why are you here?"

Pelican looked from Treejumper to the new guard. They seemed to... know each other?

"They caught me," whispered Treejumper.

Catfish buried his face in his talons. "I'm so sorry," he croaked. "If I knew- I never would- I didn't know-" he stammered.

Falcon narrowed his eyes to slits. "What happened to our old guard?"

Catfish's shoulders dropped. Pelican noticed for the first time the look in his eyes. They were bloodshot and red. He walked with a twitchy manner, and had a nervous-looking aura.

"He was- disposed of-" Catfish said, ducking his head.

Pelican and Falcon looked back at each other. They could tell from his voice that the old guard had been killed. Disposed of. Pelican shuddered. That's what it comes to these days.

"What did he do?" Falcon asked, his eyes still locked on Pelican.

"What I want to know is why you two know each other," said Bloodspiller, pacing in her cell. Pelican felt a lump in her throat. Did she really want to know?

"That's right!" Iceberg interrupted. "You two do know each other! What's the story?"

Treejumper glanced briefly at Catfish. The blue dragon nodded. Yes. Tell them.

"Catfish's parents were friends of my mother," said Treejumper. "He used to hunt for us when I was really little, when Mother couldn't leave the cave. He'd bring us fish and coconuts. And we'd play together. Even once I was old enough that Mother could leave the cave to hunt, he'd still come back to play with me."

Her face darkened. "But one day... he never came back."

She whirled around, and tears were suddenly streaming down her cheeks. She seemed to have come to the same realization Pelican had. "Catfish and his parents were the only ones who knew where I was hiding," she accused.

"What?" Iceberg asked, confused. "What's going on? I thought you guys were friends."

Pelican locked eyes with the sparkling white dragon. "He turned her in," she croaked, checking Catfish's eyes to make sure she was right. His face confirmed her suspicions. "He told them where Treejumper was hiding."

"Ohhhhh," Iceberg sighed.

Pelican exhaled slowly through her teeth.

"How could you join them!" Treejumper shrieked, her breathing shallow. "You joined the committee that was hunting for hybrids like me!"

"They made me," Catfish pleaded, suddenly seeming a lot smaller. "They killed my parents, they were going to kill me too, I had no choice!"

Treejumper looked startled for a moment, a shadow of sympathy in her eyes.

Her face clouded. "My mother is dead, too," she growled, weeping. "My mother is dead, Catfish! She's dead... because of you."

"It's not my fault-" Catfish begged.

It was the wrong choice of words. They seemed to stir up an anger, and the purple dragonet screamed, "I HATE YOU!"

Bloodspiller advanced on him, poking her head through the bars. The look on her face said clearly: you mess with her, you mess with us.

"No- no, it's not what it sounds like," Catfish choked. "I didn't- I told them- not what you think-"

"Go," said Treejumper darkly, pointing her talon to the passageway. "You've made it clear whose side you're on."

Catfish reached into his pouch and thrust a pile of feathery prey into Falcon's cell. Falcon hissed at him, and he backed up, bowing his head.

He quickly shuffled up the passageway, leaving the hybrids to stew in sullen silence. Falcon passed Pelican a pile of prey. She took a bird and passed the rest to Treejumper, who passed it on to Bloodspiller.

Pelican clawed through her pile of feathers and found the meat, but she had lost her appetite, so she slid her prey over to the back of the cave for later.

She looked at Falcon, who had a sly expression on his face. "Falcon," Pelican said in a warning tone. "What's your idea?"

He turned to Pelican, his eyes glinting. "This new guard is exactly what we need."

"What we need?" Pelican questioned.

"For escape," Falcon hissed.

Bloodspiller whirled around, her sharp crimson head snapping up. "Escape," she growled. "Falcon just said escape."

"I did," said Falcon. "This guard- he carries pain on his shoulders. If we apply the right amount of pressure, convince him it'll repay his debt to Treejumper- he'll let us free."

"Free," Pelican breathed, loving the way the word sounded. It curled smoothly around her tongue, whooshing like a feather on air.

"Wait, no," Treejumper worried. "I'm not going to crawl back to him for help after he betrayed me. We can't trust him! How do we know he'll even let us go?"

"He will," said Falcon confidently. "He's blinded by his guilt. He'd do anything to make it up to you."

"No," said Treejumper. "I can't trick him."

"I am going to escape," Salamander hissed, lurching forwards on his talons. "And no four-year-old dragonet is going to get in my way."

Treejumper flinched back.

"Salamander!" Pelican cried.

"Sorry," Salamander said, ducking his head. "I just- being in here- it's- it's driving me crazy."

"Okay," Treejumper whispered. "I'll help you."

Pelican's heart leaped. She hadn't seen daylight for almost five years. Her life was a smooth, steady pattern, pattering like raindrops on a roof. But now- the balance had changed. Things were changing, falling out of alignment.

She could finally have the life she'd dreamed of having.