Author's Note: Huzzah! An update! While it's at the very end of the three-day time I gave myself to update this story…anyways, I'll try to become a little more regular in my updates, but I can't say for sure, because school might come and pounce on me with that horrible beast known by many names: homework, projects, essays… Getting older is horrible. You'll notice some familiar characters in this chapter—see, I did find a place for them!

Half the Power, Twice the Spirit

Part Seven: A Whisper of Dragon's Promise

The Dog halfling's name, the little motley band had discovered, was Garon. He could offer them precious little on the so-called 'hunters' he had been hiding from; only that they wished to sacrifice the halflings through some misguided belief that it would somehow revitalize the Celestial Empire.

Kygo shook his head wearily. "When people have little hope…what can they turn to but violence in the sake of righteousness?"

Tyron shifted uneasily. "This place…does not feel right. We should get moving." Both the Ox halfling and Kygo's eyes found Ido, who was sitting on the edge of the cart and staring off into the distance—for all Kygo knew, the Rat halfling might be looking at the dragons and he'd never know.

"Ido!"

"What?" The Rat halfling lifted his head slightly, ears flattening back against his spiky black hair. "What do you want now?" he grumbled, crossing his arms, being deliberately obtuse, at least in the Prince Heir's opinion.

"Where's the next halfling?" Kygo resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes, settling for simply glaring pointedly in the Rat halfling's direction.

Ido heaved a long sigh but hopped off the cart carefully, and for the first time Kygo saw the halfling's amber eyes shimmering with a gleaming silvery color as he stared up into the sky—was that what the dragon-sight looked like? But he had only a moment to wonder, because abruptly Ido's eyes were amber once more, and he indicated a direction somewhat northeast of their current position. "Copper—ah, Snake. Close, too. There's a town nearby, just past the rise of the forest."

"Good." Kygo nodded once, climbing into the cart's driver's seat, taking the reins. "All of you get in back. Don't hesitate to duck if you see trouble—from what Garon's told us, there could be some of those hunters in that town. Ido, can you tell if there's any difference between the humans' Hua?"

Ido let out a strange laugh. "That's just it," he raised his eyebrows, folding his fingers together. "There aren't any humans. There's only the Snake halfling in that village."

The unspoken question hung in the air between them: No humans at all? Why just the halfling?

Somber silence filled the group; the cloudy sky and dead forest seemed even gloomier—and Kygo had to wonder what had made an entire village disappear. What kind of force could wipe out an entire village, even one that was going through hard times from the death of the land? (But wasn't everyone having trouble? How could anyone have time to take out a village when they were just as hungry as the next person?) He said nothing, though, keeping the silence; the horse's hooves striking the dirt and the creaking of the cart's wheels were the only noises accompanying their descent from the edge of the forest and into the remains of the town.

Kygo could see a peak-roofed well off to one side of what had once been a well-traveled road; small clusters of buildings sat on either side of it, most having succumbed to raiders or rot or the elements during the time they had been abandoned—much of the roofs had fallen in, and some of the walls as well, leaving wooden debris and fragments of twisted metal scattered across the road.

The strange thing was that there were no bodies.

"Nice place," Ido muttered dryly, sweeping a hand towards one of the houses in the middle of the dead village. "Snake's in there." Before any of them could make a move towards the barely-standing house, a rotting plank of wood was shoved aside and a thin figure emerged, the tiny scales glittering on the edges of his cheeks and the back of his arms, reptilian eyes narrowed in the grayish light.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of the company of three halflings and the prince of the Celestial Empire?"

The quartet by the cart exchanged looks of varying confusion before Kygo stepped up, half-curious if his disguise really wasn't as good as he thought it was—or maybe, just maybe, it was because the halflings weren't quite human… "Our greetings to you, Snake halfling. I have a proposition for you, if you'll take a moment of your time to listen." He wasn't sure what exactly the halflings did with their time, but still…

"Go on." The Snake halfling tipped his head to one side, intrigued, and Kygo saw serpent's fangs flashing wickedly when the halfling spoke, a somewhat unnerving sight to behold.

"I'm sure you realize the land is dying all around us. The dragons have charged us with the duty of reviving the Celestial Empire to what it once was, and we need all the halflings to do it. Will you help us?" Kygo knew he was exaggerating a bit—he knew the dragons had told Ido to find the other halflings, but not anything about saving the Empire. Still, he hoped he wasn't lying when he thought that the dragons were supposed to care about the land they were tied to. Surely they wanted the Empire to survive?

The Snake halfling studied them all, eyes flashing from one halfling to the next before finally resting on Kygo. "My name is Chion," he said, "and there is something you must know, if you plan on travelling with a group of halflings."

"What's that?" Kygo rubbed at his wrists, trying to get rid of the sudden onset of goosebumps. Chion had a voice that could sound rather dreadfully foreboding.

The Snake halfling's eyes flickered in the light. "Do you recognize the name Xsu-Tou Pass?"

The other halflings were already shaking their heads—they'd probably never seen a bona-fide map in their entire lives, but Kygo cast his thoughts back to those old lessons of learning the Empire's different terrains and crops produced. Xsu-Tou Pass…the name sounded familiar, like he'd read it on a map, but he couldn't recall it ever being of any significance, or else he'd know more about it. He shrugged half-heartedly. "I recognize it, but that's all. What's the pass's relevance to traveling with halflings?"

Chion smiled grimly, and Kygo wished he wouldn't do that, because the snake fangs were even more visible than before. "Xsu-Tou Pass is the most dangerous place in this land for anyone of halfling nature."

Eona studied the somewhat-small yet sprawling building on the road before them. She and Ryko had emerged from the forest, leaving behind the little sprouts—regretfully on Eona's part, as they proved to her that the dragon's Hua within her could be used for a good reason, if she just put her mind to it.

She tried not to think about the ultimate fate of those that had ambushed them in the woods; she supposed she was lucky, in an at once both horrible and grateful, for the dragon Hua, as she had learned, also offered her a faster healing rate than normal humans. Her wing, after only a day or two, could bear her weight with only slight pain. She could fly again, and she watched the group of halflings growing. Four now, she could see, though they were farther away than before, and Ryko and she still had to get to the Eastern tribes.

"What is this?" she asked Ryko, gesturing towards the long building. The islander's eyes narrowed, flicking across the edges of the structure. "An inn," he said, glancing up towards the sky. "Good timing, as well. Sky's darkening. Night will be here soon, and it will be better to be inside than out, as we're close to the mountains. Never know what could crawl out of there."

Eona nodded abstractly. "Do you think…these will matter?" She tapped her horns meaningfully, and Ryko's eyes darkened.

"I don't know," the islander admitted. "These days, you never can tell whether someone will like you for what they can see of you, or whether they'll just outright try to get rid of you, one way or another." On that bright note, he walked up to the door and knocked three rapid times. Eona stepped up behind him, mostly hid by his bulk, as the door opened and a woman appeared, gray swirls in her dark hair showing her age—but her dark eyes were alight with warmth. "Visitors? Come in, come in."

The woman ushered both halfling and islander into what had to be the main room, as far as Eona could tell, with still-sturdy wooden floors and beams, the walls hidden beneath thin wispy wallpaper. A fire crackled in a cracking stone fireplace, the only sign of wear in this surprisingly well-preserved place. There was an arrangement of chairs about the fire, and Eona sank into one gratefully, certain she'd never been so comfortable in her life.

There was a rustling as Ryko seated himself on the chair nearby, staring into the twisting flames. The woman reappeared from another door, carrying a tray of soft bread rolls, setting them on a small stand Eona hadn't noticed sitting beside the chairs. A small boy who appeared about Eona's age dogged her heels.

Eona carefully reached for a roll, mindful of her own appearance, but the woman either didn't notice the fact that she was the Dragon halfling, or didn't care. Likely, though, Eona thought it was more of the second one. This woman's eyes seemed too shrewd to miss such a thing like halfling traits.

"Welcome to my inn," the woman said without preamble. "I am Rilla, and this is my son Chart." She indicated the boy, folding her hands across her lap. "There are other workers, but you likely won't see them. I sent them off when the drought got worse." She offered a strained smile. "So who are you, and what brings you this way?"

Ryko introduced himself, with Eona adding in her own in a quiet voice. "We're heading for the Eastern tribes."

"The Eastern tribes?" Rilla's eyebrows rose. "Not many head out that way. Some say it's because of Chief Dela, but…" she shrugged faintly, sighing. "Of course, it could also be because of the halfling there, too."

Eona sat up a little straighter, suddenly more aware. "Halfling?" she asked, and Rilla's eyes flicked to her. The older woman smiled faintly. "Yes, child. The…Rabbit halfling, if memory serves me right. You're a halfling too. Is that why you ask?"

Eona ducked her head, nodding. "Yes. I'm—looking for the others. Thank you for telling me about the Rabbit halfling. You didn't have to."

Now Rilla shook her head. "No, it is my gratitude for what the dragons have done for me." She beckoned her son closer—he was munching away on a bread roll and not quite paying attention—and she wrapped an arm around him, saying, "My son was blessed by the dragons. That he is even able to speak properly is a gift."

"Blessed by the dragons?" Eona repeated, confused. "I don't understand. How did the dragons…bless your son?" She hadn't thought that the dragons would notice an individual from the many, many humans populating the Empire. What would motivate them to do such a thing?

Rilla stared into the fire, as if looking back through old memories. "When Chart was born…his body was—" She struggled to find words. "—twisted. Not quite…right. This was still the early stages of the land's death, so the inn was prospering. I could afford to not be as vigilant with my customers. I prayed to the dragons to help my son, to give him a better life. I waited for days. Finally, after almost two weeks, I received an answer. Suddenly my boy could move without pain, could speak—as well as any baby can—could crawl, laugh…move. I swore I would do whatever the dragons wished of me in repayment. And then, when Chart learned to speak, he told me something…intriguing. Something that the dragons told him, to tell me, so that I might pass it on to the proper person."

"And…who is this proper person?" Eona had the feeling she knew already.

Rilla smiled gently. "You, little Dragon halfling. The message the dragons gave to my son, and him in turn to me, was this: Only when the circle of stones has been washed of the blood of the innocent will life return to power."

Eona frowned. The words had a weight to them, like a prophecy of sorts. " 'Only when the circle of stones has been washed of the blood of the innocent will life return to power'…" she echoed, turning to look at Ryko. "Do you understand any of this? 'Circle of stones'? 'Blood of the innocent'?"

"I haven't a clue," Ryko replied, much to Eona's disappointment. The islander's next words stopped her cold, however:

"But I bet we'll find out before this journey's over."