Chapter 6-Moonlight
"Calm down." Farseer barked. "It's just Stonemover. He really is half-rock." "Regrettably, yes. I am Stonemover." The old Nightwing they thought was a dead body creaked out. He looked more than half rock, almost fully statue-esque. He looked at the group of dragonets that had come to see him. "And why are you here at night?" Stonemover asked, bothered. "Well, our friend Darkseer," Vulture answered. "Told us you were an animus. And we need a spell to be cast." Stonemover stared at Vulture for a long time.
"Why would I help some dragonets I've never met before, and waste even more of my animus power? Get closer to going crazy?" Stonemover attempted to look at his claws. "I cannot be trusted. Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Seawing, you must know what happened with Albatross, and then Anemone." Swordfish took a shaky breath. Oh yes he remembered Anemone. She had entered the palace with hollow eyes. According to Starfish, Anemone simply pointed her talons at a dragon, and a large knife would stab through that dragon's heart until death. Anemone killed many known nobles and many of her brothers. Piranha, Moray, Prince Current, and many more. Apparently, Piranha was a tough one to kill, and while the princess was focused on ensuring her death…
Starfish snuck up and drove his spear through Anemone's heart. Anemone used her power too much and repeated Albatross' evils. Although, why did Swordfish feel like he knew the story of Albatross better?
"But, someone's killing students. You have to have some sort of remorse for that." Rainfall pleaded. "Look, life isn't fair sometimes. Sometimes you have to take what life gives you and make the most of it. I regret my choices, but if I were to go and try and fix them, things would get a lot worse. You people are lucky the Nightwings made me make wormholes to just other parts of Pyrrhia. If they understood what's really out there…" Stonemover noticed Swordfish and Rainfall were listening in intently.
"I'm sorry, I cannot help you." Stonemover replied with a sigh. "Nothing is worth it anymore." "I told you this was a waste, Darkseer." Farseer said with anger. "Ok, let's go." Darkseer sighed. "Darkseer." Stonemover creaked out. "How did you know I was an animus?" "Oh, an older student told me." "Really." Stonemover said. He sounded skeptical. Darkseer looked at Swordfish with a worried look on his face and left. Rainfall went after him, Swordfish followed with Vulture close behind. Swordfish turned around and looked back at Stonemover. Farseer was whispering intently to him and Stonemover looked angry. Farseer looked back him bitterly. Swordfish saw her hide away something, something that flashed gold. And then she followed the rest.
Swordfish kept looking at Farseer, trying to capture a glimpse of what she had shown Stonemover, but he failed. "Are you sure we are going in the right direction?" Farseer suddenly barked at Vulture. "I-I'm pretty sure it's this way." Vulture said, sounding unsure, but the moons shining through an opening in the tunnels seemed to suggest otherwise. "Vulture. If we get lost do you have any idea what kind of trouble we'll be in?" Rainfall asked angrily. Vulture didn't answer.
"Darkseer, can you see us the way back?" Swordfish asked. "It doesn't exactly work that way." Darkseer said frustrated. Swordfish looked out of a small tunnel opening. Two of the three moons were full tonight, and they shone down on the trees surrounding Jade Mountain like waves of pale light. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was gorgeous. Swordfish imagined spending nights like these with Rattlesnake, that is, if she liked him enough. Looking at the stars. Swordfish was snapped back to reality by Darkseer chuckling behind him. Swordfish remembered Darkseer could read minds and could probably see what Swordfish was thinking about. "Shhh!" Swordfish whispered to Darkseer. Darkseer nodded with a smug smile.
"Flying to the Jade Mountain entrance is probably a better way." Vulture said. "All the better we get there faster." Rainfall said "And the sooner I can show you my research." He added to Swordfish in a whisper. They took off from the cave opening one by one. Swordfish was the last out. Before he left he heard a noise. Like a talon scraping along the rock. He looked around, his breath shaky. There was nobody. Swordfish took off. Fast.
The air was crisp. Very unlike the humidity of the sea kingdom. It was a cold night. Much better suited for an Icewing… "Hey." Swordfish said. "Didn't we have Frigid with us when we left my room?" There was a silence except for their wings. Frigid was always so quiet everyone forgot about him. Rainfall, his own clawmate closed his eyes and sighed.
"Do you think…?" Swordfish began. They were all thinking it. Did the killer get Frigid? A sudden, high-pitched noise broke the silence. It resonated louder and louder in their ears. "What is THIS?" Farseer cried. Rainfall attempted to put a talon over one of his ears. Suddenly, the noise stopped. They all flew a little faster toward the school entrance, which was coming into view. Suddenly Swordfish heard Darkseer cry out. "WHATS THAT!?" Swordfish whirled around to where Darkseer was looking. Back in the direction of the cave they came out of there was something moving. Was it a dragon?
The thing moved into the moonlight and Rainfall gasped. It had the shape of a scavenger, a female scavenger, but it was almost as big as a dragon. It was wearing an advanced version of the furs scavengers wear, it had a hood over its head fur. But the worst part was its face. It was wearing a mask that looked like a deer's skull. It had with it a mechanism dragons had spoken of before. A scavenger spear-launching device, where they lock a small spear inside a piece of string, wrapped tight on both ends of a curved stick. The scavenger would pull the string back, and then let it go and the spear would launch into the air.
Quite ingenious for a scavenger.
The thing watched them for a while. They watched back. Both in wonder and in horror. Every inch of Swordfish's brain was saying "RUN! GET OUT! THIS THING IS BAD!" But Swordfish was suspended in mid-air. His wings keeping him in the air. "Why won't it move?" Rainfall choked out in a whisper. Suddenly, the thing began running faster than any dragon could fly. Now Swordfish's body allowed him to fly away.
"GO!" Vulture cried. They all began flying upwards, so it couldn't get them. The scavenger was already beneath them, looking up. "HERE!" Farseer commanded. She was in some bushes on a ledge on the mountain. They all landed on it, gasping for air. "What is it?" Swordfish asked them all. Rainfall shook his head. "I have no idea what that is. It's not a normal scavenger." "It IS just a scavenger." Farseer retorted. "We just breathe fire on it and boom it's breakfast." "THREE MOONS!" Vulture roared. "IT'S CLIMBING UP HERE!" Swordfish peered down off the edge of the ledge. The thing was climbing up the mountain like it was nothing. "Typical. Scared of a scavenger." Farseer grunted. She took off of the ledge and flew straight towards it. "SISTER NO!" Darkseer screamed after her. Farseer barreled into the thing but it latched on like a spider.
"GET OFF MY BACK, PEST!" Farseer commanded. She spun around and around. But the scavenger had latched on with her furs, which upon closer examination had small talon-like things on the paws that had sunken into Farseer's back. Suddenly, the thing let go of Farseer and sliced Farseer's scales on her face with the makeshift talons. Farseer roared in agony and crashed into another ledge. The scavenger was in mid-air now, but it took out its spear-shooter, aimed and fired.
Almost in slow-motion, Swordfish saw the arrow shoot by with an unnatural speed to it, miss him by just the length of his ear, and land right in Rainfall's arm. Rainfall had a look of pure terror in his eyes, but also a look like he knew this was coming. Rainfall touched Swordfish's arm, let go, and fell off the mountain. The scavenger falling beside him.
Swordfish reached out to grab him but they were both gone. Vanished just like Swordfish's mother.