A/N: Before you start this chapter, I should let you know that some edits have been made to the previous chapter. I reuploaded it on the 8th of December (five days after originally posting it) and it includes some fairly significant additions/rewrites. If you read it before this date, you might want to go back and read it again. And if you're too lazy to reread the whole thing, you'll find the changes in the last section of the chapter (aka from Charla's dream onwards).

Happy New Year! Happy Reading!

Chapter 4

The Wall of Earthsoul

It was hard not to feel intimidated by that wall. Charla peered at it from around the corner of a crumbling cottage with a huge dark crack in its roof, and the back of her neck prickled. There were figures moving to and fro upon it. From this distance she couldn't tell what they were, but she hoped they were dragons.

"This doesn't bode well," Lance muttered behind her.

He was the one who had led them to the ground as they'd drawn closer to the wall—it seemed to make him just as nervous as it made Charla. Now they stood amongst empty streets littered with the debris of countless broken cottages and the charred remnants of trees, and the wall loomed over them like a great shadowy guardian, dark against the milky sky.

It was nothing, Charla thought, like the wall at Warfang. It was all rugged and grey and looked as though it had been built in a hurry, and there were no shimmering golden battlements or magnificent watchtowers or grand doors to welcome anyone into the city. It was just a wall—a great, dark, smooth wall, which looked as if it had been carved out of a single impossibly huge rock. She didn't like it.

Why did it cut the city in two like that? Why was so much of Earthsoul left outside of it, as if it was unwanted and cast aside? What was the city like inside that wall?

And more importantly, were there dragons in there?

She squinted at the figures striding upon the wall and thought she could make out the vague shapes of dragons. Surely, she thought, they had to be dragons.

"I mean, it's a good sign, I guess," Lance said, but he sounded grim. "It means there's still dragons here, at least. But I don't know what sort of state the city's in. That wall... It looks like it was erected by earth dragons—lots of them. They must feel like they need to protect the city…or whatever's left of it."

"So what's the plan, big guy? It sure doesn't look like there's a friendly welcome waiting for us," said Nuala, who had come to a hover over his head and was also leering at the wall.

Meredy had slipped off Lance's back when they'd landed and she was standing awkwardly a few paces back, eying the ruined cottages with a nervous eye. She looked small and frightened in the shadow of the broken buildings.

"You might be right..." Lance grunted. "It could be Warfang all over again."

Charla squirmed as he shot a look in her direction. She knew what he was thinking, and she wasn't sure she had another daring night-time escape left in her.

But would it really be like that? Lance had said Earthsoul was nothing like Warfang. He'd said it would be different—that they wouldn't have to worry. And she wanted to see the city. She wanted to know what it was like on the other side of that wall. Surely, if there were dragons there, they would be friendly.

Just because they had a wall now didn't mean that everything had changed—right?

"What do we do?" she asked, kneading the dusty ground. "Should we find a way in? Maybe the dragons there can help us."

She craned her head towards the distant top of the wall. Nuala scoffed.

"Oh, they'll probably let us in—and then never let us leave." Nuala shook her head. "Look, why don't I just fly in and grab some supplies, and then we can get out of here? I'll make sure no one sees me; I'm good at that."

Lance eyed her thoughtfully. "That might be the best idea... If they've tightened their security here, I don't want to find out how they'll react to us—especially Charla. We can just spend the night in the outskirts here and then move on tomorrow. One of these empty cottages will do for shelter..."

Nuala spread her wings. "Fine with me. I'll be back—"

"But I wanted to see the city too!" Charla blurted out, before she lost her chance.

Nuala faltered and lowered her wings, and everyone turned to stare at Charla. She stared back defiantly, her cheeks warming. They couldn't have come all this way for nothing. She wanted to see Earthsoul—the real Earthsoul, behind that wall, which wasn't ruined or abandoned like these desolate outskirts.

A shadow passed over Lance's face. "You wanted to see Warfang, too, and look what happened there. I know it's disappointing, kid, but it's better we stay away from there. Unless, of course, you'd rather stay in Earthsoul..."

Charla's face flushed with heat and she quickly averted her eyes. "...No. I want to go to the Well of Souls. I just...thought it would be cool to see the city. You said you really liked it, so..."

"I liked it the way it was a year ago." Lance sighed and shook his head. "Clearly it's not like that anymore. Trust me, Charla, there's nothing in there you haven't seen in Warfang—nothing worth getting trapped there, at any rate."

"But..."

"I could take her with me, you know."

All eyes turned to Nuala. Charla stared; Lance was silent. Apparently unperturbed, Nuala shrugged and added, "I could use the extra help, actually. I can't carry much in the way of supplies. Charla's got the satchel."

A thrill of excitement shot though Charla, but Lance scowled and muttered, "Don't be stupid. Charla's exactly the reason why it's a bad idea for us to go in there. If they see her—"

"They won't see her." Nuala gave a thin, toothy smile. "That's the idea, big guy. They won't see either of us. My illusions will make sure of that."

Lance stared hard at her, and Charla waited with bated breath, her heart racing. This would be so cool; she would be invisible!

"You can do that, then," said Lance, slowly. "You can make someone else invisible?"

Nuala shrugged. "Well, sure. It's easy enough. Charla's only small—"

"Then we can all go," he cut in, and she faltered. "You can turn all of us invisible and we can go in there, grab whatever we need, and get out."

Nuala's expression turned flat. "I'm flattered you think my illusions are that good, but here's the thing... I can't do that. That's impossible. If this place is anything like your typical dragon village, it's gonna be busy. It's gonna be hard enough to make sure no one sees just the two of us. I can make myself unseen pretty easily—and Charla's small enough to not cause me too much trouble. But all four of us? That's asking too much, big guy."

Lance uttered a disapproving grunt. "Well, just go on your own, then. It's too risky for Charla—"

"But I want to go!" Charla insisted. "She said I can go! Nuala said I can go!"

"I don't care what she says!" Lance snapped, glaring at her. "I'm not letting you take the risk. If you get caught in there—"

"She won't get caught."

"You stop interrupting me," he snarled, glowering at Nuala now. "Just go and grab a few things and come back, alright? You're not taking Charla. We only need a few things—a bit of dried meat for the journey, a waterskin or two, a map if you can find one. Just go."

Nuala shrugged and started to turn away, shooting Charla an apologetic look. "Alright, if you say so..."

A buzz of anger and desperation tingled in Charla's gut and she whirled on Lance. "But I want to go! I want to! You don't get to tell me what to do! Nuala said—"

"I said I don't care!" Lance snapped. "You're not going!"

"Yes I am!"

"Enough, Charla!"

"Please!" Meredy interrupted shrilly, and the angry cry in Charla's throat suddenly died. The pale sky serpent gazed tremulously between them, her eyes bright and sharp. "Stop yelling. Please. Nuala..."

All three of them went silent, and Nuala—who had been about to take flight—looked back. Meredy eyed her anxiously.

"I don't think you should go in there alone," she said. "What if...something happens..."

She trailed off, and Charla realised with a start that this had happened before. Nuala alone heading into an unknown city in search of supplies, leaving Meredy behind... This was exactly what had happened in Pyreflight. And terrible things had happened there.

"It's fine," Nuala said—a little sharper than was necessary, Charla thought. "There's dragons in there, not apes. I'll be fine."

But Meredy shook her head and turned to Lance, who looked grim and sour-faced. "Let Charla go with her. They'll be safer together."

"Safer?" Lance's voice cracked with incredulity; he turned to Meredy with wide eyes. "Charla's a child! Nuala will be safer on her own without having to worry about watching a kid!"

"Don't call me a kid!"

"At least they can watch out for each other," Meredy insisted. "I'd go myself, but I can't fly. I'd never get over that wall."

"Yeah." Nuala scoffed. "And I'd take you, big guy, but someone as big as you is hard to hide. Bet you wouldn't want to leave little Charly all on her own out here with only Meredy to protect her, either. What if something happened? It's not like she can take care of herself or anything."

There was an audible sneer to her voice. Lance gave a guttural snarl and lashed his tail.

"Well, let's just not go in at all, then!" he snapped. "It's not like we need supplies—now that we're out of the desert, we can just survive off the fat of the land. Let's just leave before anyone sees us. Coming here was a waste of time."

"You'll regret that decision when you end up lost in hostile territory without food or water," Nuala sneered. " 'Oh dear, oh my, oh how I wish I'd listened to Nuala…' "

"Just go!" Lance yelled, flaring his wing out so sharply that it almost slapped Charla across the muzzle. "Do whatever you want!"

"She's not going in there alone!" Meredy insisted.

"Please, Lance!" Charla begged, seizing her chance. "Let me go in! I'll be careful! Nuala will make sure no one sees us! Please!"

"I am capable of keeping her safe, big guy. You can trust me."

"Please, Lance."

"Please!"

"Okay!" he roared, and Charla and Meredy both jumped back in alarm. His eyes were hard. "Okay, fine! Fine! Just stop begging! You're doing my head in!"

Charla stared incredulously at him, wondering if she'd heard correctly. She stumbled forward. "So I can go? With Nuala?"

Lance's lip twitched and his paws visibly clenched, but he didn't disagree. "Just...be careful. Whatever you do, don't get separated. Nuala, don't let her out of your sights!"

"Relax, big guy," Nuala said with a smooth smile. "No one will even know we were there."

"And don't do anything reckless!" Lance snapped. "Get in, get the supplies, and get out. If something happens, get out of there immediately. I don't care if you come back empty-pawed—just come back. Alright?"

Charla nodded eagerly; Nuala just waved a lazy paw. Meredy seemed relieved, at least a little, but there was still a sense of anxiety about her eyes.

"Don't be long," she murmured. "Lance and I will find somewhere to stay for the night. I'll send you a windwhisper so you know where we are."

"And stay together," Lance said. "If you're not back in an hour, I'm coming in after you."

"Gee, better make sure you keep an eye on that invisible hourglass," Nuala jeered, rolling her eyes. Lance's scowl deepened.

"We won't be long!" Charla said hurriedly, thinking he might change his mind.

And before anything more could be said, she broke into a run and leapt into the sky, with Nuala close behind.

It was a bizarre feeling, being invisible. Charla followed Nuala over the wall surrounding Earthsoul and stared right into the eyes of one of the patrolling guards. He was an earth dragon wearing light bronze armour, and so were all the others she could see on the wall. She tensed as their eyes met, expecting a shout or a violent movement or something, but nothing happened. The guard made no reaction; his gaze slid past her without stopping, as though she wasn't there at all.

Then she and Nuala were over the wall, and the guards behind them were none the wiser.

How weird, Charla thought, looking over her shoulder. At least she knew Nuala's illusions were working. But she did not have time to dwell on this, because suddenly the wall was behind them and Earthsoul, the real Earthsoul, was beneath them—and Charla's attention was captured in the most wonderful way. A gasp rose in her throat.

The first thing she saw was green.

After the endless sea of gold-and-silver sand and the dusty brown expanse of Earthsoul's ruins, the world beyond the wall was a shock of verdant life. Waves of lush trees sprouted between plump stone cottages, so unlike their burnt cousins outside the wall, spreading their leafy arms out to embrace the city streets. Between them, small lakes lay like great glistening mirrors upon the land, which was whole and full and unmarred by the remnants of war.

And there were dragons. Charla saw them at once, their gem-scaled figures moving to and fro along the streets, vividly colourful against the green-and-brown of their city—like crystalline rivers flowing between the cottages. A hum of constant noise hung in the air, rising and falling with the wind, drawing them in further to the heart of the city.

A cool shiver of relief and excitement prickled through Charla's veins. She had expected it to be different, but she hadn't expected this.

It was like an oasis in the middle of a desert—a burst of colour in a dusty brown world—and it was all hidden behind that ugly dark wall. It was all here, protected and preserved, as if that wall was a barrier to the rest of the world. They were truly out of the desert now.

And this...this was the real Earthsoul.

"First things first," Nuala said, as Charla eyed the streets hungrily. "Let's find us a marketplace. Stay close, Char."

"I know, I know," she said distractedly, drinking in the city with wide, eager eyes. As they flew further in, the livelier it seemed to become.

There weren't just dragons in Earthsoul. There were moles, too—scuttling along in small groups, or riding in little wooden carriages pulled by long-nosed grey-skinned animals that Charla thought she'd seen before. And here and there, she even saw cheetahs. At least, she thought they were cheetahs. They were definitely felines, but their fur was dusky-brown and spotless; they wore long colourful robes and some even had simple feathered headdresses.

"Are those cheetahs?" Charla called to Nuala, unable to help herself.

Nuala turned her head to look. "Where? Oh, those are pumas. They're a different sort of cat. No spots, see? I heard they live in the mountains around here, but I guess they don't mind living with dragons."

They flew on, and Charla kept her eyes peeled for anything and everything interesting. She saw a large dome-topped building that looked an awful lot like the Temple of Warfang, its multicoloured roof sparkling in the sun—and then an open-aired bath that a few dragons were soaking in. They passed over a flat green park in the middle of the dusty streets, which was encircled by trees and boasted a large bubbling fountain in the centre, and finally Nuala called out and pointed.

Following her paw, Charla gazed down at a street alive with a rainbow of brightly coloured awnings and a chattering crowd of dragons. It had to be the most crowded place yet.

"There's our marketplace!" Nuala called over the wind. "Let's go see what we can find."

She angled her wings and descended, and Charla hurried to follow. They alighted in a small side street away from the hustle and bustle, but the cacophony echoed around them nonetheless. Nuala peered around the corner.

"That's a lot of dragons," she said, frowning. She looked at Charla. "I need you to stay real close to me, otherwise I might slip up and someone might see you. You ready?"

Charla nodded, already brimming with enthusiasm. She'd never been to a marketplace before; she'd lost her chance to visit the one in Warfang. The noise and colours were already filling her with a buzzing excited energy much like the magic of spirit gems.

"It should be easier if we fly," said Nuala, who hadn't even folded her wings. "Less chance of colliding with someone."

Charla stared at her. Fly here? But...everyone else was walking. And all of the stalls were shaded with wide awnings, so how were they supposed to see anything from above? She didn't think her wings were made for that sort of slow, precise flying. She could just see herself colliding with an awning or tripping over someone's horns.

"Um... I think we should walk," she said, scuffing the ground, and then fumbled to explain when Nuala gave her a strange look.

Nuala sighed. "You dragons... Always want to keep your paws on the ground. Anyone would think your wings are painted on. But okay, you walk. Just keep up with me, okay?"

Charla nodded quickly.

"Right. Let's go."

Together, so close their paws were almost touching, they stepped out. The crowd instantly swept them up.

"This way!" Nuala cried, leaping up with a flap of her wings and darting between the legs of passing dragons. Charla scurried after her.

She stumbled her way through a forest of multicoloured legs and broke into a small gap nearer to the middle of the street, away from the awnings and the stalls beneath them. Charla spun around, wide-eyed, trying to look at everything at once. There were stalls full of crystals, stalls full of jewellery, stalls of shining polished armour and brightly coloured cloths; her nostrils flared with the scent of cooking meat and the fainter, sweeter smell of flowers and fruits. Dragons swept past her without stopping, and she had to jump out of their way.

Nuala tugged at her horns. "This way. There's a stall with meat over there."

Her voice was almost drowned out by the ceaseless incoherent chattering around them. Charla spun around and followed, and once again they slipped through the crowd. A few paws and legs stumbled over Charla as she tried to duck around them, but she scurried on and hoped no one noticed. Nuala's blue-tipped tail was flicking ahead of her. She had to keep up.

They broke free of the crowd again, briefly, and Charla looked for the stall Nuala had mentioned. It was right ahead of them, stacked with a tantalising, mouth-watering array of meats in all shades of red. The two of them slunk towards it, and while Charla was busy ogling at the fresh meat and trying not to drool, Nuala darted forward and snatched up several dried strips of jerky hanging on display. The dragon behind the stall—a large orange-scaled beast—didn't blink an eye.

"Here," Nuala hissed, shoving the jerky unceremoniously into Charla's satchel. She darted back to the stall and repeated this process a few more times, until Charla thought her little satchel might burst. "Do you think that'll be enough?"

"Um..." Charla tore her eyes away from the raw meat, licking her fangs. "Probably."

"Alright, let's go. Lance wants a waterskin..."

Nuala darted off again, and Charla scrambled to keep up. Her satchel, now a lot fatter than before, bounced merrily on her withers. She looked longingly back at the meat stall for a second too long and almost ploughed headlong into the legs of another dragon. Stumbling, Charla regained her balance, slipped around the dragon, and looked for Nuala.

The vulpala had gotten a bit further ahead, but her fur was so stark and white that it was easy to see her in the crowd. Charla hurried after her, gazing in awe at the stalls she passed by. There was so much here.

What did anyone do with all of this stuff? Who needed it? Why?

Another dragon jostled her, and Charla had to stagger sideways to avoid being knocked over. Being invisible was hard. She ducked around another pair of dragons bustling towards her, turned to look for Nuala, and suddenly found herself at the edge of the street.

There were two stalls nearby—one blooming with an array of sweet-scented flowers, and another packed with...stuff. Charla stared. A bizarre arrangement of things had been laid out on the stall's table, and more still was hanging from the awning. She saw funny little figurines and statues, stacks of books, clusters of crystals, strings of shells that dangled and jangled in the breeze, and large wooden rings decorated with beads and feathers and delicately threaded webs woven inside them. Slack-jawed, she inched closer.

Behind this stall was not a dragon, but a feline—a puma, as Nuala had called them. The dusky fur along his jaw and chin was thick and fluffy, and the robes he wore were coloured in bright yellows, oranges and reds. As Charla approached the table, he smiled.

"Hello there, little lady. Looking for something?"

Charla froze. She looked up into the puma's warm yellow eyes, and then shot a glance over her shoulder. No one else was at the stall. He was talking to her. He could see her.

Her blood ran cold. She must have gotten too far from Nuala, and the illusion had failed. Now what was she supposed to do?

For a second, she hesitated. She could run for it, but that would look suspicious. When she turned her head, she caught no glimpse of Nuala—the crowd had swallowed her up, and Charla was on her own. Heart pounding, she looked back at the puma behind the stall. She had to go find Nuala. But as she opened her mouth to excuse herself, something caught her eye.

Right there, standing on display in front of her, was a map.

They needed a map.

Lance had said so. And here was one right in front of her. A little bit of Charla's rising panic eased.

Forcing a smile, she looked up at the puma. "Um... I just wanted to look."

He spread his arms and his robe slipped back, revealing golden bangles sparkling against his fur. "Then go ahead! I've got plenty to interest a little dragoness such as yourself. Gems? Crystals? Look, I got a particularly nice red one in the other day—matches your scales quite nicely."

Charla looked at the shining cluster of gem, but she was more interested in the map. As she inched closer for a better look, the puma carried on.

"How about a pretty dream-catcher? I make them myself, you know. Those are real diuplume feathers on that one—touch them; you can still feel the electricity."

Distracted, Charla raised her eyes towards the funny hanging thing he was pointing at, and reached up to brush her paw against its bright yellow feathers. A faint tingle shivered through her scales and down her leg. She grinned and drew her paw back.

The puma seemed encouraged; he smiled and leaned forward over his table of wares. "I don't suppose you're much of a reader? I should have a few nice books here that a little lady like you might like."

He began to sift through the stacks, and Charla watched for a moment before her eyes were drawn back to the map. It was not as pretty or as big as the one she'd torn from the library book in Warfang—no colour, just black ink on yellowed parchment—but she knew it was what they needed. She could see Warfang marked on the southern coast, and her eyes sought out the tiny marking that was Earthsoul much farther up north.

With this, they could plan a route. They wouldn't ever be lost. Her eyes drifted south, searching for the Well of Souls.

"Having a nice day?" the puma asked casually, and Charla jolted. He smiled warmly at her and continued rearranging his books, as if looking for something. "Are you here with your parents?"

"Um..." Charla hesitated, suddenly unsure what to do. He seemed friendly enough, but still... She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am. They're, um...getting food."

"Ah, nothing more important than that," said the puma, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Especially for a young growing lass. We don't see many dragons your age these days. How long have you been in Earthsoul?"

Again Charla hesitated, and suddenly something occurred to her. This was her chance to ask questions—to find out about the city and the wall and what had happened here. Who better to ask than someone who lived here? He'd probably seen everything.

Struck by a sudden wave of inspiration, she said, "We only just got here. We're refugees from Talon's Nook. We're going to Mistral."

"Mistral?" the puma echoed, his eyes widening a fraction. "The sky serpent city? Well, I suppose it is the safest place in the Dragon Realms now, isn't it? We had a fair few dragons head there after our city was attacked... Though, most of us don't want to leave our homes. Can't say I've heard of Talon's Nook, either. Dragon cities get all muddled up in my head, you know. Too many of them!"

"I've only been to Warfang before," Charla said eagerly. "This is my first time to Earthsoul. I didn't know there was a wall—I heard there wasn't one."

"Ah." The puma leaned back a little and seemed to momentarily forget about the books he'd been searching through. His eyes were distant and thoughtful. "Well, there wasn't, see. Not until about a year ago. Golly, has it really been a year? Time flies, doesn't it?"

Charla leaned forward a bit. "Did something happen?"

"Ah, well... Nasty business, that." He looked mildly uncomfortable. "The Dark Army, you know? Don't really know why they chose to target us. Something to do with Lake Crystellus, the dragons say... Anyway, made a right mess of the outer city, they did—and then the guard went and fought them off, and they decided we needed a wall in case those apes ever came back."

"So they built it just like that?"

At this, the puma smiled again. "Well now, that's the marvellous bit. We needed a wall quickly, you see. A wall of this size would take years to build, but we were afraid those apes would come back any day. So the guard gathered up every earth dragon they could—and they made that wall grow right up out of the earth, just like that.

"My word... I still remember the day it went up. The whole city shook, and then suddenly we had a wall. A greater feat of magic I reckon there never was. Thousands of earth dragons working together created that wall, and it's kept us safe ever since."

" 'Course," he added, while Charla gaped at him in awe, "it makes getting in and out of the city a bit of a chore. No doors, y'see? They say it'll make the wall too structurally weak, which sounds a mite silly to me—but what do I know about earth magic? Them guards have got to use their magic to let us through, and they make a whole chunk of the wall sink back into the ground to do it. Impressive to watch, for sure."

"But why didn't they build the wall around all of the city?" Charla asked, unable to help herself. The very idea of thousands of earth dragons making a wall of this size just grow out of the earth was dazzling, but she wanted to know more. "Why is it only around this part?"

The puma's smile turned a bit sad. "Have you ever heard the saying 'cut your losses?' The Dark Army did a lot of damage to our poor city. It would take years to clean up and rebuild... And the Guard of Earthsoul decided we just couldn't afford to do that. Not when there's a chance that the apes could come back.

"It's better for us to protect what we still have. But maybe someday, when we're no longer at war, we can fix it all up—get Earthsoul back to the way it used to be. I hope I'll be around to see that day..."

He sat back, his eyes once again distant and wistful, and Charla thought about everything he'd told her. It made sense, she supposed. But...it was sad. The ruins outside the wall were just like Lake Crystellus—just like that abandoned city where she had met Nuala and Meredy—all empty, broken, and left behind. Now it was little more than a mark that the Dark Army had been there—and a grimmer, darker reminder there could not be.

She gazed distractedly at the map again. How much more of the Dragon Realms was like this? How much more had the apes destroyed? Part of her didn't want to know.

"Here," said the puma, pulling her attention back to him. He seemed to have remembered what he was doing and had slid a small book across the table towards her. "You might like this one. It's a little book of dragon fairy tales—very popular when it was first published. It's got translations in both runes and script. Take a look."

Distracted from her gloomy thoughts, Charla ran her paw over the leathery cover of the book. It was a very dark navy, but it was speckled with white dots that looked like stars. In the middle, the title was emblazoned in white.

Star Tales.

Filled with sudden interest, she flipped the book open and flicked through the pages; it was full of pictures, all drawn in black ink. There were dragons and non-dragons alike—cats, moles, canines and birds—and monstrous creatures she'd never seen nor heard of before. She lingered briefly on a frightening image of a naga—one of the snake people, whom she certainly had heard of before. They were vicious and hostile, and openly preyed on young dragons; Silverback had always told her to be wary of them.

Beside these pictures were little passages of text—poems and short stories, written both in the common script and in draconic runes. Many of them had titles written boldly overhead: Mana, the Mother of Magic; The First Elementals; Tall Tales and Tatzelwyrms.

Charla stared in wonder. She'd never seen anything like this before. She wanted to read it.

"Nice, isn't it?" the puma said, dragging her attention away from the book.

Feeling dazzled, Charla stared up at him. "...Can I have this?"

His face split into a toothy grin, revealing large white fangs. "For you, little lady? You can have it for five gems. Bargain price."

Gems?

Charla faltered. Surely he didn't mean spirit gems. She didn't have any spirit gems on her—and what would he want with them, anyway? He wasn't a dragon. But then something floated to the front of her mind: a memory from weeks ago, in Warfang.

"They're not spirit gems, just pieces of coloured quartz. It's our currency. We use them to buy things we need. Look, this is worth one, and this is worth five—see the number and the crest of Warfang?"

"Why is purple worth more than red?"

"I don't know, kid. That's just the way it is."

Warmth flooded Charla's face. She put the little book back on the table and gave the map a rueful look. "Um...I don't have any gems. Sorry."

The puma's smile faded a bit. He sat back. "No pocket gems? That's too bad. Why don't you ask your parents to buy it for you? I'm sure they can spare five gems."

Charla rubbed her paw against her foreleg and looked around nervously. How long had she been standing here? And where had Nuala gone? She couldn't see her anywhere—just more dragons, talking loudly, walking quickly, filling the street with their colours and noise. Once again, panic began to rise in her chest. They weren't supposed to get separated.

Digging her claws into her own scales, Charla looked up at the puma. "I'll...go find them."

She started to turn away, feeling awkward—and then someone yelled her name.

"Charla!"

Nuala shot towards her in a blaze of white, and Charla jumped back to avoid a collision. But Nuala halted smoothly and came to a hover inches away from her, glaring daggers. A rush of relief swept through Charla, but it didn't last long.

"What were you doing?" Nuala snapped. "I thought I'd lost you! Lance would have eaten me alive!"

"I'm sorry!" Charla yelped. "I...got distracted."

"Doing what?"

Charla looked guiltily towards the market stall, and saw that the puma was eying them with great curiosity. More precisely, he was staring at Nuala—and there was a certain shine to his yellow eyes that made Charla a little uneasy. Nuala followed her gaze and stared defiantly back at him.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped. She must have dropped the illusion, Charla realised.

The puma seemed unconcerned by her waspish tone. He leaned over the table again, his eyes wide with wonder. "I can't believe it. You're a vulpala, aren't you? A real living vulpala—right in front of my eyes. I thought you were all extinct."

Nuala bristled. "Well, you were wrong, weren't you? Charla, let's go. I already got the stuff."

Only then did Charla pull herself out of her shock enough to notice the large brown satchel dangling in Nuala's paws. It was bigger than hers—and looked much too oversized for a little vulpala. She opened her mouth to ask about it, but the puma cut her off.

"Friend of yours is she, little lady?" he asked, and Charla nodded dumbly. The puma's eyes gleamed. "I don't suppose...you'd be interested in a trade?"

"A trade?" Nuala echoed suspiciously. "What are you talking about? Charla, what's the deal?"

Charla was just as bemused, but the puma wasn't done.

"I make dream-catchers, you see," he said to Nuala, "and I decorate them with all the rarest and most beautiful feathers I can find. But the feathers of a vulpala...now that's something special. A dream-catcher decorated with the feathers of a real vulpala—it could sell for a fortune." He paused thoughtfully. "Or I could keep it for my daughter. Details, details..."

"You want my feathers," Nuala said flatly.

"Just a few!" The puma smiled and pushed Star Tales back towards Charla. "And I'll give your friend the book she wants."

Charla gaped. She stared at the speckled cover of the book, and then at the smiling puma, and finally at Nuala. Nuala stared back, her face incredulous.

"A book?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "That's what you got distracted by?"

"W-well, it's a cool book!" Charla hesitated, glanced at the map displayed on the stall, and turned back to Nuala. "Uh...did you get a map?"

Nuala stared at her blankly. "What?"

"A map. Lance said we should get one."

"Oh. Right. I mean—no, I didn't—"

"Then let's get that one!" Charla insisted, pointing at it.

Nuala looked and frowned. The puma's eyes gleamed with interest.

"Looking for a map, are we?" he asked, his gaze fixed on Nuala. "I'll throw it in with the book for free if you'll just spare a few feathers."

"Feathers," Nuala repeated dully. "You want to hang my feathers on a ruddy dream-catcher. ...I guess it's better than strapping them to your arms and pretending you can fly."

The puma chortled shortly, as if he didn't even notice the bitterness in Nuala's voice. "Now don't you worry, miss vulpala. I'm no ape. I'll be putting them feathers to good use, you can be sure of that—if you'll give them to me, of course."

Nuala's eyes narrowed.

Charla held her breath; the puma looked like he was holding his, too.

"C'mon, Nu..."

Nuala glowered at her. Then she twisted her head around, muttering, "Fine, let me see if I have any old ones..."

Charla grinned, and so did the puma. Rolling her eyes, Nuala burrowed her muzzle into her wings. Moments later, three sizeable white feathers lay amongst the trinkets and knickknacks on the puma's stall table, their tips dusted blue. The puma's eyes shone like the sun. He reached forward and gathered the feathers reverently in his paws.

"Happy now?" Nuala grumbled, and Charla wasn't sure which one of them she was speaking to.

"Very much so," said the puma, beaming. "Thank you dearly. The book and the map are all yours, sweetheart."

Deftly, he plucked the map off its display stand, folded it up, and slipped it inside the cover of Star Tales.

Charla pulled the book off the table and grinned up at him. "Thanks!"

"Thank you, little lady. Enjoy your time in Earthsoul."

"Now let's go," Nuala hissed in her ear.

Feeling a little sheepish now, Charla shoved the book into her satchel—it didn't entirely fit with all of the jerky in there, but at least it wouldn't fall out—and followed Nuala away from the stall. They ducked back through the crowd towards the other side of the road, and then slipped into a side street where no one was around to see them. Only then did Charla notice the faint shimmer around Nuala's eyes: a telltale sign that she was putting up her illusions again. Seconds later, Nuala turned to her.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed, dropping the large satchel in her paws so that it hit the ground with a dull whump. "I could have lost you! Anything could have happened! I told you to stay close to me—I thought you understood!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Charla said, curling her tail defensively. Her face was hot, but she didn't think she'd done anything wrong. "You were moving too fast. I almost got knocked over and then I got lost and that puma distracted me. I didn't know where you went!"

Nuala opened her mouth, her eyes flashing—but then she seemed to change her mind. She gritted her teeth, turned her face away, and took an audible breath.

"Okay. Fine. It's fine. Nothing happened and we're both okay." Her gaze darted back to Charla. "Just don't do that again, okay? You'll give me a heart attack."

Charla grinned weakly. As silence fell, and the nearby chatter of the crowd filled the space between them, her eyes slid down to the satchel that Nuala had been carrying.

"Why do you have that?" she asked. "It looks a bit big for you..."

"It's not for me," Nuala said, smirking. "It's for the big guy. I figured he could make himself useful and actually carry the stuff. I got two waterskins, too—they're in there."

"Oh." Charla looked again at the satchel, frowning. "Did you steal them?"

It hadn't even occurred to her before the puma had tried to sell her the book. Money wasn't something she'd ever thought about before, at least not before Lance had told her about the gem system in Warfang. But stealing was bad, wasn't it? They were taking something that didn't belong to them—just like the apes did.

An uncomfortable feeling curdled in her stomach. If anyone found out, they'd be in trouble; the dragons here would be mad. But Nuala didn't seem to care at all. And what about Lance? Lance must have known. He knew that they had no gems—he must have known that they would have to steal.

So...maybe it wasn't that bad. After all, they'd only taken a few little things...

Nuala huffed. "Of course I stole them. What makes you think I have anything to pay with? As if anyone else will let me pay in feathers. That puma was a weirdo. Now come on, I wanna get out of here. We got what we need and Meredy sent me a whisper not long ago—said they're heading for the northern outskirts. Let's go catch them up."

She gathered the new satchel up in her paws and started to spread her wings, but Charla didn't move. It was like a fire had just flared to life inside her head. Suddenly, her uncomfortable feelings about thievery vanished in the rising tide of a different and even more unpleasant realization. A cold feeling prickled all the way down her spine, from her horns to her tailblade. The chatter of the marketplace became a distant, indecipherable buzz.

"Nuala, wait..."

Quirking an eyebrow, Nuala looked back. Charla fumbled for the words.

"Are you going to tell her tonight? ...Meredy?"

The impatient look in Nuala's eyes faltered, but for a second she did not reply.

Charla licked her fangs and looked over her shoulder, watching the narrow but colourful view of the marketplace beyond the mouth of the street. Dragons passed to and fro without stopping. They had no idea anyone was watching them.

"You said we'd do it when we got to Earthsoul," she said. "So..."

She trailed off, scratching the packed-dirt road beneath her claws. They were at Earthsoul now; that much was true. But she'd always imagined that being at Earthsoul would last for more than a mere few hours. She'd thought they would be here for days—that they'd find a nice inn, stay in a warm room, sleep on a soft bed...

But now... Well, there was no point in staying any longer, was there?

Earthsoul was not the welcoming refuge she'd expected it to be. They'd done what they needed to do and gotten what they needed to get, and now it was time to leave. Earthsoul, for as long as it had loomed tauntingly ahead of them, would soon be behind them.

It was time to go.

And now—too soon—it was time to break their silence.

But Nuala's face tightened, the line of her mouth narrowed, and she shook her head.

"Tomorrow," she said. "We can tell them tomorrow."

With a sweep of her wing, she turned and launched into the air. Charla watched her go for the space of a single heartbeat—and then leapt after her, rising over the buildings and the stalls of the marketplace. As she flew to Nuala's side, she found no will or reason to argue. Clearly Nuala didn't want to tell them any more than Charla did, and she was not sad to have another excuse to put it off.

Instead, Charla cast her gaze upon the lively city streets, so different they were from the abandoned outskirts on the other side of the wall. Everything was colourful and alive here, unlike the city beyond—that sad and silent place from whence all life had moved on, as if forgotten and left to decay.

Charla couldn't fathom how any place could be like that.

It was almost like a sickness, always spreading, never stopping—and here, behind the wall, was the only place where they were safe.

If only they could stay here, too, just for a while. There was more than just emptiness and decay waiting for them on the other side of that wall, and Charla didn't know how to face it. She wasn't ready to tell Lance. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to Meredy. And she wasn't ready to leave this place, this oasis, just yet. The world was a cold, dark and dangerous place out there—full of apes and all the destruction that they had left in their wake—and Charla hadn't thought she'd have to face it again so soon.

But still they flew on, because time would not wait for them, and so Charla tore her eyes from the colourful streets of Earthsoul and followed Nuala back over the wall.