This (and 14-2) is the last chapter before the epilogue!
How and why did I fit everything that's left into one chapter...
"What if we're making a mistake?"
Caiman was sitting near the edge of the lava river. Truthseeker was holding the dreamvisitor, preparing to contact Queen Scarlet.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"What if Queen Scarlet knows you were a spy? What if she finds out where we are? What if Fatespinner tells her where we are? What if-"
Cougar cut him off. "Caiman. Don't worry. Scarlet has no reason to mistrust Truthseeker. And what he's going to be telling her is the truth. Fatespinner is no doubt planning a way to overthrow her and take control of the SkyWings. The only thing that's not true is the timing."
Caiman nodded, closing his mouth. Truthseeker lifted the dreamvisitor, closing his eyes.
"Queen Scarlet," he muttered.
Several minutes of silence followed. Finally, Truthseeker lowered the glowing sapphire.
"How'd it go?" Caiman asked. "What did you tell her?"
"I told her that Fatespinner had gone crazy and was planning to try to take control of the Sky Kingdom for himself," Truthseeker said. "I said I didn't know how many dragons he was going to bring, but that he would probably be there soon."
"Did she question your story?" Frost asked.
"Yes. I told her that I had confronted Fatespinner about breaking his promise, and that he had tried to have me killed. I told her that I had to run for it, but was able to grab her dreamvisitor so I could warn her. When she asked why I would pick her over a dragon of my own tribe, I told her I had picked true royalty over a pretender."
"Nice," Hurricane approved. "Flattery. I like it."
Truthseeker grinned slightly. "What do we do now?"
"Now," Firestorm sighed. "Now we train to challenge Fatespinner in case he makes it here."
An hour later, Caiman was standing in a slight depression surrounded by jagged boulders. Truthseeker was standing in front of him.
"Fatespinner won't fight fair," the NightWing lectured. "He'll do whatever he has to do to hurt you. You'll have to do the same if you want to beat him."
Hurricane nodded. "I know. I saw him when we fought him in the cave."
Truthseeker nodded, then lunged at Caiman. Caiman ducked to the right to avoid a direct hit, but Truthseeker still managed to slash his claws along his wing. Caiman wheeled around and pinned Truthseeker's wing to the rocks, raising his other claw to grab his snout. Truthseeker blasted fire at Caiman, who closed his eyes against the heat. He felt Truthseeker's wing slip from under his claws, and when he opened his eyes again, the black dragon had vanished. Caiman turned in a circle, looking for a flash of silver, anything that would alert him to the NightWing's presence. Without warning, a weight hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He felt claws scrape his throat as he reared up and fell back onto his assailant, crushing him into the ground. The dragon below him struggled for a few seconds, before going still and tapping his wing three times. The signal for surrender.
Caiman rolled off Truthseeker, who struggled to his feet.
"Not bad," he panted.
"Where were you after you got out from under me?" Caiman asked.
Truthseeker grinned, stepping back into the shadow of one of the rocks. He was almost impossible to see. Then he stepped out again, frowning.
"Fatespinner will probably try to pull something like that," He said. "He's not stupid. He'll use every advantage he can get. He'll wait for dark to attack us. I realize that probably won't impair Hurricane, but it will be a problem for the rest of us."
"We'll just have to do what we can," Caiman sighed.
Fatespinner was camped on a peak next to the Sky Palace, accompanied by Foreseer, Nighthunter, Cactus, and Lionfish, some of his closest advisors. He had considered not bringing Cactus, but the SandWing was still a formidable warrior, even without his tail barb. With a chance like this, Fatespinner wanted to be sure his enemies wouldn't escape death. He had taken half of the dragons from all of his strongholds to destroy the threat. There was no way for them to escape this time.
"The IceWing is mine," Cactus snarled. "I want revenge."
Fatespinner rolled his eyes. "Which one? One of the dragonets? The soldier? The half-breed?"
"The animus," Cactus snarled, brandishing the stump of his tail. "I want to tear off each and every spike on his tail for what he did to me."
"Did the dragonet ruin you?" Lionfish sneered. "It's war. Dragons get hurt in war. Get over it."
Cactus snapped at Lionfish, but Fatespinner intervened before any real violence could break out.
"I do not care who kills the IceWing, as long as I get my chance at him before he dies. And the traitor is mine as well. He doesn't deserve a quick death. Other than that, show no mercy."
That was when the SkyWings burst in.
Nighthunter was the first to die, his neck snapped in the claws of a dark orange SkyWing with a scar across his cheek. A second dragon landed on Lionfish, pinning her easily. Fatespinner roared in outrage.
"Queen Scarlet will have you killed for this! I helped her gain power! She owes me a debt!"
The SkyWing dropped Nighthunter's body, turning to Fatespinner.
"That was before you betrayed her and plotted to overthrow her," he hissed.
Fatespinner dove to the ground as the SkyWing shot a burst of fire at his face. He dodged around the guards, leaving his dragons to their fate. One tried to stop him, but Spark grabbed her neck in his burning talons. Fatespinner smirked, watching as the guard tried to scream through Spark's iron grip. Her scales turned dark and the light faded from her eyes. Spark dropped the body and turned north, clearing the way for Fatespinner.
Fatespinner looked back, and saw Cactus following them. The rest of his camps were being attacked as well, with only a few escaping death. He growled softly. When he was king, he would punish the entire SkyWing tribe for weakening his army.
As he reached the northern shore of the Sky Kingdom, he looked back again at the dragons who'd escaped. It was a pathetically small number, only about eight. He growled again and landed on the shore.
"We'll wait an hour. If no one else gets here by then, we leave."
"What about the ones who were taken prisoner?" Fox, a SandWing, asked.
Fatespinner ground his teeth. The weakling.
"What about them?" he growled. "We leave them. If they aren't good enough to escape, then they won't be of any use to us."
Fox looked like he wanted to protest, but backed down when Fatespinner glared threateningly at him.
When the hour was up, only one more dragon had joined them.
"Move," Fatespinner growled.
"Give- me- a minute," Wave gasped.
Fatespinner slashed at his gills. "No. We move now. If you can't keep up, you might as well turn yourself in to the SkyWings."
He took off without waiting for a response, flying north toward the old Night Kingdom. He heard rebellious muttering from behind him, and sent Spark back to silence it. He knew what he was looking for. He had flown this route many times. When he reached the midway island, he allowed only a five-minute rest before taking off again. There was no time to waste.
The island appeared on the waves before him, though he barely recognized it. The volcano's cone was gone completely, and the remaining black rock was lit by moonlight, not the glow of lava. He knew his prey was down there, and he landed on the tallest rockpile on the island, staring out over the old Night Kingdom.
"Come out!" he roared. "Come out and face me, cowards! Come out and face your king!"
"Come out!"
Cobra heard Fatespinner's challenge echo around the island. She looked out from under the pile of rocks and saw the NightWing on the south side of the bay, standing on the tip of a rock pile.
"Move now," Frost encouraged. "While they're still tired from the flight. How many are there?"
"Nine, I think. Counting Fatespinner and Spark."
"Odds aren't too bad," Hurricane said.
Peril nodded. "Let's go."
Cobra dove over the side of the cave, flying low over the water. She came up behind Fatespinner, then veered off to approach from the front. She camouflaged her scales and landed on a jagged rock in front of Fatespinner's. After listening to him roar for another minute about facing him, interspersed with catching his breath, she let her scales fade to red-orange.
"I'm right here," she said calmly. "You don't have to shout."
Fatespinner jerked and swung his head towards her. His eyes narrowed until they became two green slits.
"You're alone, I see," he hissed. "Your friends abandoned you. I'm going to give you a choice. You can either join me right now, or you can die from a thousand burns."
He flicked his tail at Spark, and Cobra's eyes widened.
"Wow, you'd let me live as your slave for the rest of my life, but if I decline, you won't be able to kill me yourself? You're such a merciful psychopath."
Fatespinner spat a small burst of fire. "Wrong answer."
Spark lunged at Cobra, but a streak of copper caught him in midair and knocked him to the edge of the rock pile. At the same time, a SeaWing cried out in pain as his wing was slashed into ribbons. Fatespinner turned to look at what was going on, and Cobra leaped on him, knocking him from his perch. Fatespinner roared at her, digging his claws into her scales, Cobra bit down hard on his scales, tasting blood. She was tempted to spit her venom directly into his blood, but remembered what Firestorm had said.
We need Fatespinner alive so he can tell the queens the truth about the prophecy. Other than that, do whatever you have to do.
Fatespinner roared in pain, throwing Cobra off. She landed against a rock spire, feeling pain shoot up her wing. Fatespinner landed on top of her, digging his claws into her belly. She kicked out hard, and felt her back talons connect with something. Fatespinner let go with a grunt, falling back. Cobra jumped on top of him, hissing with anger. She plunged her tail towards his chest, and just for a moment, saw his eyes widen in fear and recognition. Just as the tip of her tail penetrated his scales, she stopped abruptly and slammed her talons into his skull. Fatespinner went limp under her.
Peril grappled with Spark in midair, forcing his talons away from her. This wouldn't be like the other times they had fought. Those times, he had been free of Fatespinner's influence. Now, he wouldn't be able to give up. She feared that the battle would end with one of them dead.
Spark's claws caught her wing, ripping a tear in the skin. Peril cried out and shoved him away. As he circled around to come at her again, she saw that he was barely bleeding. Her blows hadn't been effective enough to do any real damage.
You've got to stop this, Peril, she told herself. It's him or you, and if you die, he'll kill the others. And if you can't bring yourself to hurt him, then you will die.
Peril flew at Spark's wing, pressing it against his body. He tried to beat her off, but Peril dug her claws in and refused to let go. As her scales made contact with Spark's bracelet, she heard Fatespinner's voice hissing in her mind.
Kill her! I don't care how you do it, just kill her!
She shook herself free of Fatespinner's influence, and saw the ground rushing up at her.
The impact knocked her loose from Spark's body, and she rolled across the rock. She scrambled up, gasping for air, and saw Spark coming at her again. She dodged, and he flew past her. As he scrambled to get up, she flew at him, knocking him to the edge of the largest lava river. Spark threw her off, and as Peril leaped back to her feet, she saw that the river wasn't just a narrow stream, but a larger river covered by the thin crust of rocks she was standing on. Finer cracks snaked across the rock beneath her talons. Her eyes widened in horror as Spark leaped at her, because she realized what would happen. The thin crust of rock broke away under their combined weight, and Spark and Peril plunged into the lava below. Peril felt the heat all around her, hotter than anything she had ever felt before. Spark's claws digging into her scales felt almost cool in comparison. She shook herself free of Spark's claws, then lashed out and felt her own claws connect with him. She squeezed and squeezed, and felt his attack falter. His blows became more wild and confused, and suddenly he stilled. Lungs burning, Peril wrapped her claws around him and pulled towards the surface with all her strength.
Just after the battle started, Frost found himself facing Cactus. They circled each other, both hissing angrily. Frost had seen the stump on the end of the SandWing's tail, and he knew Cactus would stop at nothing to get his revenge.
Cactus roared and tackled Frost, pressing him against a tall, dark boulder. He slashed his claws across Frost's face, narrowly missing his right eye. Frost lashed out blindly, and felt the spines on his tail connect with something. Cactus roared but only dug his claws in deeper. His tail stump slammed into Frost's head, and Frost crumpled onto the ground. Through the blood dripping into his eye, he saw the pale shape of Cactus reach towards his neck.
"You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this, you worthless excuse for an animus," Cactus hissed as his claws slid around Frost's neck, pressing his throat into the ground. But instead of slashing or breaking his neck, Frost felt his other claws on his snout. He felt Cactus's claws inside his mouth, then he felt a stab of pain as the SandWing tore out one of his teeth.
Suddenly the pressure on his neck disappeared. He jumped up, spitting and wiping blood out of his eyes. He saw an amber-colored shape on Cactus's back, and heard the SandWing cry out as claws pierced his side. Cougar leaped off Cactus and hurled him against a boulder so hard Frost heard a crack as one of the SandWing's bones snapped.
Cactus stumbled back up, holding his wing awkwardly. Cougar helped Frost to his feet,and together they faced their enemy. Frost leaped at Cactus's face while Cougar went for his belly. Together, they brought the SandWing to the ground. As Frost was pressing Cactus's face into the rock, he suddenly shoved Frost away. Cactus landed on top of Frost, pinning him to the ground.
"I can still kill you, IceWing, even with your MudWing friend," he snarled.
He reared back, aiming for Frost's neck. Frost swung his claws instinctively, digging into Cactus's throat. Cactus choked, his eyes widening. He slowly fell to the side, collapsing in a heap, and Frost knew he was dead.
"All of you stop!"
Frost and Cougar started at the voice, and looked up to see Cobra holding Fatespinner's limp form. Her front claws were at the NightWing's throat, and her tail barb was resting against his chest. Silence fell across the NightWing island.
"You're nothing without him, aren't you?" she challenged. "Move away now."
Fatespinner's remaining dragons backed away slowly, eyes fixed on Cobra.
Frost wiped blood away from his eye and glanced at Cougar. She was staring at Cobra, looking conflicted.
"This dragon gave you the chance for what, exactly?"
Firestorm was speaking now.
"All he gave you was a chance to be outcasts from your own tribes. "You," she pointed at a SandWing. "You joined him because you thought Queen Thorn didn't deserve to be queen. Well, you saw what happened to Blister. Thorn is a better queen than any of the rival sisters could ever have been."
The SandWing gaped, not knowing what to say. Frost flew up behind Firestorm.
"Take my advice; go home. Turn yourselves in to your queens. Beg for mercy. It'll get you a lighter sentence."
A SeaWing flew off just then, flying awkwardly because of his damaged wing. Two NightWings followed, then the SandWing Firestorm had confronted. Only one dragon remained, a NightWing who glared at Cobra.
"Go, Bravescales," Firestorm sighed. "Get out of here. Don't be stupid."
Bravescales hissed. "You haven't won. You will never win. There are more of us than you could ever imagine. You think taking Fatespinner will end anything?"
"It will," Firestorm said. "Your entire movement rests on him. Without him, you're nothing but a bunch of dragons who hate their current queen. Now get out."
Bravescales growled, then turned and flew off.
"She didn't follow them," Hurricane reported from where she hovered above the bay. "She landed on the far side of the island."
Frost nodded, holding a claw to the slashes across his face.
"We'll just have to keep an eye out for her."