CHAPTER SEVEN: STORMBRINGER

"Aargh," Stormbringer moaned, turning over onto his stomach. His head throbbed.

This was not how he'd planned today to go.

The images of the previous hours came rushing back: him, getting knocked unconscious; waking up briefly and catching a glimpse of red scales before hitting his head on a rock and passing out again; coming to again, seeing Lynx's silvery scales and the SkyWing dragging the two of them carelessly behind her; a sharp SNAP and a pinch around his arm as… someone put… a bracelet (he shuddered at the thought; bracelets were not a favorite of his) around his left talon, he himself only half-awake.

He glanced down at said talon to see a thick metal band clasped around his dark scales.

Stormbringer tried to reach out to Nebula, but he couldn't find her mind. Actually, he couldn't find the minds of anyone, despite the fact that at least half a dozen other dragons were in the stone room with him. Panic shoved his heart into his esophagus.

Stormbringer studied the room more closely. Windows dotted the tops of the high walls, nowhere near the ground, and the only way in or out was through an unfriendly-looking door made of some metal substance. He was sitting in the center of the large room, shackles around his wings and talons pinning him to the floor.

He found his location odd. Every other dragon here - all sleeping (or worse) - was chained to the walls.

He turned around and no longer found his placement odd. He was positioned near a table - although, it was out of his reach - covered in all sorts of 'fun' weapons, from classic stabbing knives to a large stick to some kind of disk with spiky blades sticking out of the sides. Bile rose in his throat at the thought of what those items were used for. He noticed, for the first time, dried blood crusted on the floor and on the scales of the surrounding dragons.

He very, very much wanted to get out of there.

An idea struck Stormbringer like lightning, making him whack himself with his tail. Stupid, stupid, he scolded himself. Just use your magic!

He tapped the ring of metal around his wrist and whispered, "Enchant this band to transport myself and Lynx the IceWing back to Jade Mountain Academy, unharmed and in a spot with nobody else around."

He waited for the magic to teleport him away, but nothing happened. He tried the spell again, this time enchanting a loose pebble from the crumbling floor. Still nothing. Fear drove him to try again and again, altering small and large details: "Enchant this chain to teleport Lynx the IceWing and Stormbringer the NightWing to the slopes of grass below Jade Mountain; Enchant my scales to give me the ability to transport myself and whomever I wish wherever I want by thinking of where I want to go and who I want to go there with me. Enchant the ceiling of this room to collapse - but not harm me or the dragons trapped here - and break our chains, allowing us escape."

Nothing, nothing, NOTHING!

Frustrated, he tipped his snouth upwards and let loose an angry scream.

At that moment, a SeaWing sauntered into the room. "G'day," he said and tipped his head towards Stormbringer, the normally friendly gesture instead displaying smugness and a complacent attitude.

Stormbringer launched himself at the SeaWing, but his chains held him taut. He snarled. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I?"

The SeaWing stepped gingerly around Stormbringer, towards the table. He flinched at the thought of those weapons being used…

"My name is Angler," he said. "Of course, you won't remember that for much longer, so don't bother trying to store that little fact away, Darkstalker."

Stormbringer sucked in a sharp breath.

The SeaWing grinned. "Oh, yes," he sneered. "We know who you are."

"How did you know that? Why am I here?" Stormbringer tried again. "And where is here, exactly?"

Angler responded, "Why, you're in Shadowkeep."

"And. Where. Is. That," growled Stormbringer, his patience wearing thin.

"Eh." Angler waved a talon carelessly. "Somewhere nearish Jade Mountain. 'Bout a two-hour flight. You and your little IceWing friend saved our hunter half an hour by flying out. Makes it much easier to catch dragonets when they're too far away from certain little schools to call for help."

Oh, Lynx, he thought. He winced, guilty that he'd forgotten about his IceWing companion.

"What is Shadowkeep?" he tried.

Angler shrugged. "Eh," he said again. "Just a town, my humble abode," he went on. "A city of, ah, special dragons. Misjudged. Lost. Banished. All the strong dragons this world refuses to want or need."

Stormbringer arched an eyebrow, trying not to let the fear bubbling inside him show. No magic, no help, not even Lynx.

"Why am I here?" Stormbringer asked, repeating a question he'd earlier voiced and not gotten a response for.

"Because," said Angler. "You are special, too. You are discarded. Hated. Nobody is left for you."

Stormbringer narrowed his eyes. He thought of Nebula. Of Sandstorm. Even of Lynx, an IceWing he'd barely known and already felt a kinship with.

"Wrong," Stormbringer snapped.

Angler looked amused.

"I know I have plenty of dragons left for me," he insisted.

Angler grinned maliciously. "Not for long," he drawled, picking up a small dagger. He leisurely walked over, tossing the knife into the air and catching it in his claws. Stormbringer flinched away, but his chains only allowed him to go so far.

Angler reached forward with the knife, but not fiercly or quickly. Not like he wanted to harm Stormbringer with that knife, but more like… he wanted to… touch him with it?

That is what Angler did do, leaning towards Stormbringer and tapping the point of the blade against his forehead. The SeaWing whispered, "Darkstalker. Stormbringer."

Stormbringer was about to ask what he was doing, but instead he tilted sideways. His mouth did not seem to work. He made a weird gargling sound, clawing out at the air. His vision darkened, and he spiraled down, down, down into nothingness.

A/N

SPOOKY! HEHE. THAT'S BASICALLY ALL I GOTTA SAY FOR NOW!