I'm back. I always say that I will update on Friday, but then I get impatient. Most of the time when I update, it tends to be later at night. I then stay up way too late playing world of tanks while waiting for any early reviews.
-oragon king: I'm sorry, but there is no way to fix it. Fatespeaker is dead.
-dragon349295: I assume you mean in your au. I still can't wait to read it.
-queenglorythefirst: thanks for noticing Fatespeakers development. I was afraid that I wasn't giving her enough before her time ran out. Thanks for reviewing on my other story. Agular is a word I made up. Out of curiosity, I googled it, and it turns out that it was also a Spanish family name, which was derived from an ancient Arabic word meaning a nest or living area of Eagles. Who knew?
-dragonauthor: thanks for stopping by. In your search for the perfect assassin, don't overlook agular the sandwing. He is very flexible with pay.
-skydrake0203: I love seeing new faces. Yes, this is a dark peice, but I hope you continue to read the rest of the story.-cricketsundew: hello! It's good to see you stopping by to read what I have. I'm sorry about the grammar, but I'm going to let you in on a secret of mine. I have no understanding of grammar. I have been in many English classes, and for some reason I still don't understand it.
-finally, alpaca: I'm sorry we had a rough time with communicating. I was trying to talk and do landscape work at the same time. Apparently I can't post an email address in fanfiction. But here's the thing, I said I would do it, and I did. I wrote a short peice with shadowWalker. I portrayed him to be in my other story, agulars arms and antiques. He will be in chapter two, but I will not post that until I have your permission. So if you would like to see what I have done with him, head over there and leave me a go ahead review.
Alright, I'm sorry about the huge pile of responses. Here's chapter 10.
Sunny had been drug across the stone floor, down a little tunnel at the back of the storage room. It was a dark tunnel, with several turns, but at the last bend there was a warm orange glow that lit the way. The tunnel opened into a large room. There was a large central furnace that heated the space to an uncomfortable temperature and drove the dampness from the air. There were anvils and tool benches, a coal bunk, and a weapons rack. There was also a trough by the wall that was half full of water, and several buckets beside it.
There were no iron loops in the wall to chain sunny to, so Ciel drug her to an anvil and locked the chain around it's base.
Sunny was still in tears after witnessing the death of fatespeaker. She layed where she was and cried while the two skywings went about their business.
Ciel stood by the entrance, leaning on the wall with her back to the tunnel. Scarlet went to the water trough and began to wash the blood off of her arms. It took her several minutes, and when she was finished the water had turned a cloudy red.
Scarlet then went over to one of the tool benches, which appeared to be stacked full of scrap. She rooted around, pulling out long, thin bands of steel and copper, and several strips of brass. After she had a little pile of these long pieces, she went to the furnace and dropped them into the coals. She watched them heat, using a long pair of tongs to poke them around the hot coals.
"What are you going to do?" asked ciel. Her voice was genuinely curious.
"Something thrilling." said scarlet. She never looked away from the coals. The orange glow of the furnace highlighted her, making the ex-queens disfigured face take on a demonic glow.
"Should I stand in on this one?" asked ciel, "or do you not really care if she lives?"
Scarlet shrugged.
"I don't care. They are all going to die here eventually, it's not like I can just let them run around and tell everyone where we are."
"What about the other kingdoms? Won't they come looking for us?"
"They already are." said scarlet. Her voice was unusually low, and quiet. She wasn't trying to assert authority over anyone at the moment, she was already in complete control. "The whole world is looking for us. Everyone wants to know what terrible things have befallen the wonderful 'dragonets of destiny'. And I don't intend on letting them find out."
"Won't they know it was you?" asked ciel. Scarlet shrugged.
"They suspect me for everything. Unfortunately for them, there is a lot of world out there, a lot of land to cover. And I have a lot of secret caves, tunnels and bunkers to live in. They will never find me."
There was silence for several minutes. Sunny quietly cried, holding her head in her talons. Ciel looked from her, then back to Scarlet.
"How long do you think we will be here?" Asked Ciel, "this isn't the most remote location after all, eventually someone will find us."
"We'll be long gone when they find this cave." Said scarlet. She stirred the coals and watched the disturbed sparks drift upward.
"What about the others? Corey and shale? I don't think that they will be very eager about following us."
"Yes, you have a point. Their loyalty to me is waning, and I can't have them running off. We may have to kill them, along with these brats. Corey is only here because he's following his brother, and shale is here because he wants me to bring him back to his daughter."
"Will you? That sounds like a lot of hassle." said Ciel, "it would be better to just ditch him."
Scarlet shook her head.
"Shales daughter is dead. She's been dead for over a year, but he dosen't need to know that. That's the only reason he is following me." Scarlet turned the metal pieces over, then looked at ciel. "What about you?" she asked, "why are you following me? As far as I know, I don't have anything of yours."
Ciel shrugged.
"After you disappeared, the kingdom was in panic. I had no idea what to do. Then ruby seized the throne, and all who supported you were imprisoned. I escaped, but they killed my husband. I have nothing left. But I can't just go live somewhere, because as your head scientist, I hold a high profile. You are the only one who wouldn't turn me in, and like you said,-" she gestured to the cave around her, "you have secret bunkers to hide in. it's safer to follow you than to live outside."
Scarlet nodded.
"Good. It sounds like you have enough reasons to stay. But shale and corey have to go."
"When? How should i do it?"
Scarlet rubbed her chin.
"Tomorrow." she said, "I'll finish with the prisoners. Maybe we could drop their bodies around their respective kingdoms. That would be fun, imagine the stories that would fly around then."
"But the other two?"
"Whatever's easiest." said Scarlet.
Ciel nodded.
"Alright. I'll slip some poison into their dinners tonight. They'll never know what hit them."
Clay and tsunami tread cautiously down the tunnel. Clay held the spear, and tsunami held the torch. It was rough going. The stone floor was uneven and tsunami had to stop frequently to catch her breath. She was unsteady, and was breathing hard, sending great puffs of steam into the air. The farther they went, the more she needed to lean on clay for support. He began to wonder if he should have made her stay behind.
After a while they rounded a bend in the tunnel. Up ahead was an opening in the wall, and orange light poured from it.
"Stop," gasped tsunami, "douse the torch."
Clay took the torch from her and smothered the flame. It crackled and hissed, and the coal burned at his palm. But his fire resistant scales held back the heat, and in moments they were standing in darkness.
Tsunami leaned against him and panted. They stood by the wall, watching the opening. Nobody came out.
"What do you think?" whispered clay.
Tsunami cleared her throat, and swallowed.
"Let's stand here a minute, and listen." she said.
They listened. Clay couldn't hear much, aside from tsunamis heavy breathing. He strained to hear anything that sounded like his friends, or scarlet, or both. They stood there for a long while, long enough that clay felt a chill creeping into his bones. It was very cold when he wasn't moving, and he had to suppress the urge to shiver. Tsunamis breathing had slowed down, and unlike clay, she had started to shiver. Although the walk had been much more exerting for her, she was less resistant to the cold in her weakened state.
After standing for a while, clay whispered,
"So, what now?"
"Can you hear anything?" tsunami asked. He shook his head. "Neither can I. We need to move closer." Clay stayed by the wall as they approached the opening. Tsunami leaned heavily on his shoulder as they approached.
"Not too close." he whispered, and she nodded. They stopped a tailslength from the light spilling across the floor. Once again, they stood and listened. At first, clay heard nothing. But after a few seconds, he heard footsteps and clinking chains. He looked at tsunami, who met his eyes.
"What do we do?" he whispered.
Tsunami shrugged.
"I don't know. But I think there's only one of them."
"Who?" asked clay.
Tsunami shook her head.
"I don't know. But they're not talking to anyone."
"What about the chains? Maybe it's sunny, or starflight. Maybe they're chained down in there."
Tsunami stepped on his foot as he was about to move into the light.
"We don't know who it is. We need to be careful."
From inside the cave they heard a loud splash. Then the sound of a bucket being set down, followed by a second splash.
"Is somebody … cleaning?" asked clay.
"I don't see why they would be." said tsunami, "maybe they're refreshing the water?"
"For what?"
"I dunno. The forge? They said something about a forge, right?"
Clay shrugged, almost making her fall. She steadied herself.
"Maybe you should stand against the wall," said clay, "it's steadier."
Tsunami nodded. She pushed away from him and stepped back. She put her wing out to brace against the wall, but before she got there her feet went out from under her. In the dark, she had stepped on a rock that rolled under her foot, throwing her off balance. Clay automatically went to catch her, and in the process lost hold of the spear. The rock and spear made a clattering sound as they bounced across the stone. Tsunami and clay looked at each other in sudden panic. From inside the cave, they heard a deep voice call out,
"Corey? Is that you? I need a hand here."
Clay quickly helped tsunami back to her feet, then grabbed the spear. He pressed himself against the wall, holding the weapon in both talons. His heart began to race, and he felt adrenaline begin to tingle through his body.
Inside the cave, a shadow was cast across the entrance. The light shifted, and footsteps came towards them. Clay gripped the spear hard enough to leave talon prints in the handle. The footsteps drew closer, and then torchlight spilled out into the tunnel. Shale came out of the cave, holding a torch at head height.
"Corey?" he called. Then his eyes landed on clay. Time froze for a moment. Shale's eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. His mouth parted, about to say something.
Then clay lunged. He put all of his strength into the spear, driving it into the shale's chest, just behind the shoulder.
The spear went deep, and clays momentum sent shale staggering. The big skywing dropped the torch with a cry of shock. He fell, hard, taking the spear with him.
Clay stepped back, also in shock. It had happened so fast, he hadn't even thought of attacking shale, he had just panicked and done it.
Shale was gasping and spasming. He coughed, and blood came out his mouth. The spear had punctured both lungs and his heart. Shale had only moments to live.
The big skywing stared in disbelief at his fatal injury. Then he slowly looked at clay.
" you … you know …. Mudwing," he gasped, "I … I was …. just … about … … … about to take … you up … on … your offer."
He coughed again, and blood spurted from the entrance wound. More came out his mouth. He groaned, and laid his head on the floor. He started to shake, and spasm. Hot, candy red crimson poured from the wound, pooling on the floor beneath him. He began to cough as his lungs rapidly filled with blood. Each cough and spasm sent another spurt from the entrance wound. His destroyed heart beat rapidly, shunting blood to his vital organs and causing massive internal bleeding.
It took several minutes before he went still. Shale died with a grimace on his face, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling. Steam rose from the injury and dissipated in the cold cave air.
Clay shuddered and looked away. It was as if he had killed Corey all over again, the same dizziness swept over him, and he had to lean against the wall for support. He felt sick again. He knew that no matter what happened, or who his target was, clay would never get used to killing.
"Are you alright?" whispered tsunami. Clay shook his head.
"No … no I'm not. I think I'm going to puke."
"You did the right thing," said tsunami, "that was a brave move, and it was the right move."
"But … he said he was going to help me," said clay, "he was going to take my offer."
Tsunami looked confused.
"What do you mean? What offer?"
Clay pressed his forehead into the wall.
"He … shale doesn't like scarlet. Didn't. He said she had something of his. I said I would help him find it if he helped us."
Tsunami looked from clay to the dead skywing. She didn't show any pity. He was, after all, the one who had pinned her down so ciel could cut out her scales.
Leaning on the wall, she stepped towards clay. She laid her wing on his shoulder, bringing his eyes up to her.
"Come on," she said, "we need to keep moving."
Clay didn't want to touch the spear. But tsunami was too unsteady to pull it from Shale's body herself, so he had to. After he had retrieved the weapon, they slowly made their way into the cave.
After several steps in, clay wrinkled his nose.
"Oh snakes, … what … is that smell?"
Tsunami gagged.
"I dont know. I've never smelled anything like it, but it can't be good."
The entrance tunnel had a slight incline, and the smell got worse with each step. They hugged the left wall, and when they reached the top the whole right hand side of the cave came into view. Clay and tsunami gasped as they saw the still form of starflight lying chained to the wall.
"Starflight?" said clay, calling out to him quietly, "starflight are you okay?"
Clay left tsunami inside the entrance and rushed over to the unconscious nightwing. He felt starflights neck and found a pulse. "Oh no, starflight, what did she do to you?" he said.
Starflight had several deep wounds, one in his back, his side and his shoulder. There was a large bruise on his head, about a claws length back from his right eye. He was breathing shallowly, and his mouth hung ajar.
Clay tried to think of what to do. He took the spear and began to unlock the clamps around his legs and muzzles.
"Oh no," said tsunami, "Clay, look … look what she … did …"
Tsunami trailed off.
Clay turned and saw her, still leaning against the wall. But she was looking across the cave, to the other side. Clay looked too, and his heart stopped. Fatespeakers mutilated body lay on its side, facing them. Her torn belly gaped open, and the shredded entrails splayed out across the rock. Her chains and muzzle had been removed, and were lying in a heap beside her, along with a pile of bloodstained rags. The awful smell in the air suddenly made sense. It was the smell of spilled blood, gall, and intestinal fluids.
Now clay really was sick. He turned away, and heaved. But after several days without eating, his stomach was empty. He retched and dry-heaved until the painful stomach contractions subsided. Then he put a talon against the wall to steady himself. The room was spinning, and he had to close his eyes. He took big breaths, trying to block out the smell.
He felt something touch his shoulder, and then tsunami was there, leaning on him. She had tears in her eyes.
"Why would she do that?" moaned clay, "why would they kill her? She was… fatespeaker didn't do anything. Why would she-"
"She's a monster." said tsunami, "an absolute monster. She would do anything."
Clay felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes. He didn't try to hold them back.
"Poor, poor fatespeaker." he whispered, "why did this have to happen to her?"
"Why has any of this happened to us?" said tsunami.
She looked around, avoiding seeing fatespeakers corpse. She left clay, using the wall as a brace and walked towards the back of the cave, looking behind the boxes of materials.
"What are you doing?" asked clay.
"Where's sunny?" asked tsunami.
Clay felt his heart skip a beat. A sudden mental image of sunny, torn apart on the stone floor, sent a shockwave of panic through his system. He pulled away from the wall and rushed after tsunami. They looked through the cave together, but there was no sign of the little sandwing. But they did find a second spear, and an exit in the back.
"She's not here." said clay.
Tsunami was using one of the spears to hold herself up. She looked at the tunnel. They both shivered.
"First it was fatespeaker," said tsunami, "now sunny."
"No." siad Clay, "not sunny. Please, don't let her be next."
They set off down the tunnel.
As usual, please review. I'll be playing world of tanks, waiting to hear what you have to say.
