~ PART TWO ~

The Castle of Ghosts and Shadows

Chapter Sixteen

First Moon of Spring / New Year's Day, 5015 AS

The storm roared and spat and hissed. Winds battered and shoved their way into long, tattered wings. Cold rain came down hard and fast, almost upon the edge of freezing, giving it an extra-hard stab along ebony black scales. Lightning flashed somewhere just beyond reach, and the boom of its passing came not a second after. It was an environment that was not meant to be traversed. It was a storm the likes of which reminded the world of just how devastating nature could really be. Any lesser dragon would have had their wings ripped out of their sockets by such violent winds, the reduced visibility would have them going in circles endlessly. The storm took no prisoners. It wanted blood spilt and bones shattered. And the longer it went without claiming its prey, the more infuriated it became.

Of course, he was unbothered by it. His instructors had forced him to fly through tempests by the age of four, to make him more resilient, to force him to find his way. He knew which of the temperamental air currents to follow, how to find the eye of the storm to channel his way through. Muscle memory took him far, even if his body felt weak from so long being inactive. But his size more than made up for that. His strength and weight - even when so frail - made it hard for the gales to push him off course.

The only thing that worried him was that his passenger might be snatched away if his grip relaxed even slightly. He'd had the idea to gather up her wings so that they wouldn't be broken whilst she slept. Cradled underneath him, he held her close to try and shield her from the harsher elements. He'd been flying for hours, and Moon still had yet to awaken. A part of his mind fretted over her…

But he was free! The joy of stretching his wings, of feeling clean air pass through his nose, of filling his mouth with cool fresh water to quench his aching throat - it was a piece of heavenly bliss beyond description. Even the worry for his friend was pushed aside to experience the tear-inducing happiness he felt at finally being free. No more claustrophobia, no more scratching at the rock in panicked vain, no more praying for the tiniest shred of light. He felt drunk - was it possible to get drunk on euphoria? It didn't matter - he felt so happy, nothing would ever restrain him again, he wanted to fly forever to the ends of the earth!

Reality hit him with a harsh smack of wind in his momentary distraction. It jarred the shoulder joint of his right wing, reminding him of his limitations. He might wish to fly endlessly, to never touch ground again, but his body was not up to such a task. Adrenaline, will power and old enchantments had kept him going but now he was starting to tire. His muscles hadn't been used in so long, and he hadn't eaten anything apart from unfortunate rodents - and the last of those had been a month ago. If he didn't stop soon, then his exhausted skeletal body would fail him.

Luckily for him, his destination wasn't that far now.

Experimentally, he reached for that overflow of humming energy that flowed throughout his being. Under his breath, he willed a spell to return his body to full health. Nothing happened. The magic tingled, ready to obey him, but it waited on the edge, waiting for the last lock to open for it to be unleashed. And of course he didn't have the key.

When Moon had given him permission to break out from under the mountain, the rush he'd felt to use his magic once again had put his brain in the stratosphere! To use it, like an old friend returned, had made him feel alive for the first time in two years. He'd thought that that would be the end of his troubles - Moon had given him permission, so that must mean he had his magic back. But no. He'd tried several spells since he'd escaped, but nothing had worked. Recalling her words, he realized that she'd been specific in her instructions. He'd been allowed that one spell, but he was still under her control.

A moan from underneath. He paused his introspection and bent his neck to look down at his passenger. Moon's eyelids were fluttering. A brief examination of her mind confirmed that she was dreaming. More visions along the lines of the one that had incapacitated her. It was worrying, and highly confusing. When he or Clearsight had experienced visions, they'd been clear-cut. This one was a jumbled mess, like someone had tangled the thread of the timeline into a knotted ball that was impossible to decipher. Only brief flashes of images, none of which seemed to be connected. Her mind was replaying it over and over, and only causing itself more damage in the process. If he didn't need all his wits about him to navigate through the storm, he would help her. For now, he'd have to wait until they were settled.

Slight guilt marred his conscience at having snatched her away and exposing her to this storm when she needed help. He couldn't exactly remember the moment when he'd decided to take her away with him - it just happened. The adrenaline of breaking out of the mountain, of finally tasting freedom, it had pushed him to run on impulse. Embarrassingly, he'd rather enjoyed frightening off all those dragons, sensing their shock and terror in their minds. And what luck, he'd even managed to get back the Amulet of Concealment! Such a high had filled him, he'd turned towards his best friend, realizing that this was the moment when he got to officially meet her! Being inside the minds of others was not a visual experience, unless they were thinking very clearly about exactly what they were seeing. Otherwise he got jumbled impressions of imagination pressed onto reality. And besides, being inside Moon's head, and she in his, gave a false sense that it wasn't truly real. Until they met, they were just voices to each other amidst lonely darkness.

But first he had to see what she looked like. Forgetting his normal caution, he'd spun delightedly to the place where his mind had said she was. And the knife of dread he had dimly feared since the night she'd heard that blasted story had buried itself to the hilt in his throat. Of course, her name was a stranger's, unfamiliar and foreign. But her face was not a stranger to him.*

And from there it had all happened so fast. He'd snatched her up, put her little idiot in his rightful place, promised her friends they would be back and then he was off! Now thinking back on it, something about her little group of friends was bugging his brain: he could've sworn there was one amongst them he'd really wanted to meet… something to do with Fathom… but for some odd reason it wasn't coming to mind… Ah well. He couldn't completely explain why he had taken Moon, but he knew he wanted to keep her safe and that only he could help her. If the day's events had been any indication, Moon wasn't safe at Jade Mountain.

But she would be safe with him, where they were going.

As if his thoughts heralded his arrival, the storm finally passed over and he broke through the clouds. He came through mountain peaks, stretching so high into the void of the sky that one could not pass over them, for the air was too thin for any life to survive. So many passes and chasms yawned around him that it became a naturally formed labyrinth. A subtle effect tried to work its way over his senses, trying to confuse and misdirect him. But he knew the way through, and took each correct turn with ease. Halfway through the mountains, he felt a slight tingle shimmer across his wings and it made him smile. At least he knew that his own magical shield was still in effect, even after all these centuries. And it was far deadlier than the one at Jade Mountain. Of course, it did nothing to him. It was only meant to keep out IceWings, after all.

And then he came out of the mountain range, just as the clouds parted for the moons to reveal…

Devastation.

A once grand city that sprawled across canyons and ravines now lay in complete ruins. Darkstalker nearly fell out of the air. Of course, he'd known in his mind, logically, that two thousand years of desertion would reduce his once glorious home to absolute ruin. Yet still, nothing could have prepared him for the reality of it. Most of the city was an overgrown mess, vegetation almost completely obscuring nearly half of the city to reclaim it for the forest. Several bridges over gorges and entire districts of cliff homes had fallen away, likely due to earthquakes. The coastline was the worst hit. From soil erosion or some other catastrophe, the talon peninsula now looked rather diminished.

He couldn't seem to grasp this reality in his mind. Though he'd been stuck under the mountain, awake in his own personal hell for the past two years, the passage of time hadn't really sunk in for him. It still felt like he'd been propelled forward in time. He could still clearly remember seeing Clearsight's face when she -

With a snort, he shook his head vigorously. No. He refused to think about that!

Soaring low, he flew towards the heart of the city, towards a singular peak, Border Mountain. These were some of the richer areas, where neither the forest nor the sea had completely reclaimed the land yet. The once glossy, obsidian roads were all cracked and misshapen. Columns lay toppled and vines grew over them. His favourite sweet shop lay in shambles - the roof had rotted away long ago and collapsed in on itself. A jeweler that used to have access to the best mines and make special commissions for the Queen now had a tree growing up through the chimney. Here and there, he saw blackened buildings, stained from fires long since passed. One building's roof had turned into an impact crater. The evidence of his battle with Fath-

No, he refused to think about that as well!

He reached the foot of Border Mountain, and came to the Great Diamond. The plaza was the very heart of the City of Night. Each corner of the diamond held a place that was meant to be a pillar of NightWing society. On the northeast corner, the school: where every NightWing dragonet was given a decent education. To the southwest, the library: a massive archive filled with all the knowledge of the ancient world. At the southeast was the museum dedicated to Pyrrhian and NightWing history. And on the northwest corner of the plaza, stood the massive staircase that led a thousand feet up to the Castle of Stars.

It had been built into the side of the mountain, a marvelous creation of both elegance and intimidation. NightWing engineers had brilliantly crafted the perfect balance between style and pragmatism. The parapets were sweeping and smooth, the buttresses once allowed for dragons to swoop among them in grand spectacles. The main keep, above the throne room, had a glass roof so as to live up to the name of the place and allow the Queen and her court to have even the stars as their audience. The walls were sheer and thick, with circular towers built to make them stronger against any kind of attack. Though no attack had ever reached these walls, it had been built as if to withstand a siege for decades and not fall.

Yet what once was a place of majesty, was now an empty husk of shadows. Not even the great castle had been spared the damages of time. Most of the furthest extremities of the castle didn't look safe or stable. He made a mental note to try and fix that later.

Returning home, the task set before him was apparent and a little overwhelming, especially considering his current state. He couldn't allow this tragic annihilation of his Kingdom - of his culture - to continue. He had to fix it. But all in good time. Right now, he needed to prioritize. And Moon was at the top of the list.

He flew straight towards the largest balcony at the top of the castle - the royal apartments. He flew straight into the Queen's chambers, but they were filthy. Having a large open doorway bare to the elements would do that. He briefly wondered if Vigilance's skeleton was at the bottom of the three hundred foot drop below the balcony, where he'd let her corpse fall...?

No matter. Still carrying Moon (though his arms were certainly beginning to ache now), he checked the other rooms to see if they were the least bit habitable. The crown princess' quarters was the first he found that wasn't completely overgrown with either vines or fungus, or worse had sections of wall collapsed. He smacked his tail onto the fifty foot wide bed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. It was hard not to cough, which wasn't appreciated by his dried out vocal chords. Gently, he laid Moon on the bed and checked her over for any signs of injury. A few scrapes and scratches thanks to the tussle with both Icicle and then Soar/Chameleon, he was sour to note. And she might've hit her head when she'd fainted. Physical ailments he could deal with later. Right now, her mind was still in turmoil.

Holding her head between his large, skeletal talons, he was careful of his overly long claws. Without hesitation, he dove into her restless consciousness that battled against itself. Using the overwhelming power of his own psyche, he banished the visions that were swarming her in a chaotic hurricane. Her mind was so scattered, he doubted she was even aware of his presence, for she did not respond when he telepathically tried to rouse her. Instead, he guided her back towards the dark obliviousness of sleep without dreams. With that done, he pulled out of her and let her head rest on a pillow. Sat back on his haunches, he watched her.

After six months alone, trapped, slowly suffocating to growing claustrophobia, Moon had appeared in his life like a shining beacon. For the past two years she had been his one and only friend, his constant companion. And yet now that he was in the real world again, it felt like they had yet to meet all over again. He was excited to talk to her like a real being.

The cruel familiarity of her features still stunned him with grief. It made him uncertain. Yet, she was a lovely, wilting flower that he longed to rescue from the strangling creep of weeds. It was an easy future to read where she was wasted had she stayed in that old life at Jade Mountain. He wanted to plant her safely within his kingdom, to hide her from the world so that no one else should ever find her, hurt her… take her away. He could make her grow – I know I could make her grow! – if only he dared to reach out and lift her from the barren, acrid soil that was stifling her.*

But, again, that was a task for later - if Moon would agree to it. For now, there was other work to be done. He was in a sorry state after all. It would not do at all for the great Darkstalker to be like this, a living skeleton with a hunger so great he wanted to eat the walls. He chortled; no, no, no! First and foremost, he needed a meal to kill a two thousand year appetite…

Jade Mountain was in chaos. Dragons swarmed from place to place, frantic to do as they'd been ordered. The attack, the giant NightWing, and now the storm, had the rebellion scrambling. A couple members of the enemy had been taken down whilst they'd tried to escape. They had to be imprisoned safely. Several SkyWings had tried to track down where their enemies had gone - though they'd had to return due to the severity of the storm.

Even now, hours after the incident, Winter listened from his cave as dragons rushed around. All of them were panicked, frightened. He understood their fear. Just this morning, they'd all believed that Jade Mountain was the most secure location in all of Pyrrhia. They'd taken their own safety for granted, and now the enemy had discovered them. Many were contemplating whether they were still safe here.

He turned from the entrance to his cave to pace back along the rut he'd worn into the ground. Unconsciously, he shifted his injured wing where it was bandaged against his side uncomfortably. The healers had done everything they could for him, but it was mostly a bad sprain. And besides, they'd had more pressing concerns when seeing to Kinkajou and Turtle.

Poor Kinkajou, Winter thought. She'd remained unconscious the whole way to the infirmary. The healers believed she had a broken skull. They wanted Glory to summon a more specialized doctor. Qibli had wisely advised that they vacate the infirmary, to allow the healers to work. Winter had been reluctant to go, but couldn't stand the sight of Kinkajou's lifeless body, or Turtle's petrified eyes. The three of them, Winter, Qibli and Peril, had retreated to Winter's cave. They'd been told that the Dragons of Destiny wanted to speak to them.

Night had fallen hours ago, and the storm had subsided slightly, though the rain was still pouring outside. Winter continued to move about his cave to try and work off this building anxiety in his limbs. His mind constantly replayed the days events over and over, particularly of the Darkstalker holding Moon in his arms and flying away with her. That hurt worst of all. The memory that Winter hadn't been able to do anything to save Moon.

"Winter," Qibli said tiredly, "you need to stop pacing. The physicians said you could stress your fracture into an actual break."

The IceWing's jaw worked to bite back a snappy retort. "We shouldn't have let them go…"

"You think you could've flown through that storm and kept your wings?" Peril snorted. "You're lucky Clay was there. And the others too."

"The Darkstalker seemed to get through alright."

She looked at him as if he was stupid for stating that. "Um. Yeah. Giant, magical NightWing of death? It kind of seems a little OBVIOUS that a storm wouldn't be much for him."

"You really think that was him?" asked Qibli. "The Darkstalker?"

Winter turned to him. "Who else could it have been? A gigantic NightWing imprisoned underground, one that seemed to especially hate me, an IceWing? The answer seems elementary."

"Don't know," Peril shrugged. "I can think of a few dragons who disliked you when they first met you."

Before Winter can make a smart comment, a shadow stormed into his cave. Winter only had a moment to recognize the scarred deep blue scales of Tsunami, before she grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him to the ground. Her strength was impressive and terrifying; she practically threw Winter like he was a toy. He hissed when he fell on his bad wing. But Tsunami did not let up, and pinned him to the floor.

"You've got three seconds to tell me what in the blazes happened out there!" she snarled in his face. "Or three moons spare me, I will pull out every one of your teeth and feed them to y-"

Brown talons came around her and pulled her off Winter. Clay tried to hold Tsunami back, but she was as fierce and untamable as her namesake. Peril hovered behind them, wanting to jump in to help, but knowing she couldn't do anything without seriously hurting someone. Qibli helped Winter to his feet, looking between him and the Dragons of Destiny as they all filed into the cave - except for Starflight.

"Tsunami!" Clay still struggled to get the SeaWing under control. "Come on, that's-"

"No! I want the truth!" In her raging, she managed to accidentally hit Clay's throat with the point of her elbow. He grunted, dropping her and spluttering into a coughing fit.

That was enough for Peril. She roared and threw herself in between Tsunami and Clay. The heat of her scales was so intense, it made the SeaWing back up with a hiss. Peril growled savagely. "Don't talk to Clay that way!"

Before Tsunami could speak, Glory said in a guarded tone: "You have enough explaining to do, Peril. Don't make this any worse for yourself."

Qibli narrowed his eyes. "You think we had something to do with what happened out there?"

Winter flinched. Of course he'd been expecting that, but to be accused of potential treason still stung.

"First," said Tsunami, counting off her claws, "we have an explosion that seems to put a lot of suspicion on Moonwatcher. Then we learn that it was YOUR-" she pointed at Winter, "-sister that not only set the Cactus pod, but was also out to kill Starflight. Then all of you disappear outside in front of a swarm of our enemies, where it's revealed that a dragon YOU-" she jabbed a finger at Peril, "-brought here, that you swore was your father and made Moon invite in, turns out to be a spy."

"You have to admit…" Sunny grimaced. "The evidence is pretty stacked against you."

Clay brushed his wing along hers. "And now the consequences -"

"Morrowseer found us because of all of you!" Tsunami shouted in passionate fury. "Kinkajou is in a coma, and the doctors aren't sure if she'll ever wake up! My brother is scared out of his mind and lost nearly half his body's worth of blood! And to top it all off, a giant NightWing popped out of the ground and flew off into the sunset with our prime suspect."

"At least said giant NightWing scared away the other enemies we have?" Sunny said.

Glory stepped into the centre of their gathering. Given that all of them were crammed into Winter's cave, it was beginning to feel cramped. "All of you have some explaining to do. I suggest you tell us what happened. Now."

"Let's start from the beginning," suggested Clay. "How did you know about Icicle?"

Winter saw Qibli go to answer, but cut him off. "Moon overheard her plotting to kill Starflight. Qibli and I saw her running to the library - that's when we sent Jambu to find you. We went to see what was happening. I had no knowledge of what my sister planned - I swear!"

There. Technically, he hadn't lied. And he'd still kept Moon's secret.

Quickly whilst no one was looking, Qibli smiled, as if he understood. "Icicle told us that she'd been haunted by Scarlet in her dreams. The SkyWing queen was harassing her to accept a bargain, to kill you all in exchange for Prince Hailstorm, Icicle and Winter's brother. Scarlet claimed she knew where he was imprisoned."

Sunny gasped. "A dream visitor!"

"We left because we thought we might track down Hailstorm ourselves. Save him so that Scarlet couldn't kill him for Icicle defying her."

"All by yourselves?" Tsunami frowned. "That's idiotically naïve."

"Wouldn't you do the same for Turtle?" Winter asked. "Or your sisters?"

Tsunami's expression was pained, and she looked away.

"How did you get to Morrowseer?" asked Glory.

"It was an ambush all along," said Qibli. "But one of Blister's SandWing soldiers gave the game away. We managed to not pass the barrier. Morrowseer wanted to capture us to make Moon invite us in."

The RainWing queen nodded, and then turned her gaze on Peril. "And how does Soar figure into all this?"

Despite being the most dangerous dragon in the room, when the attention was placed on her, Peril looked panicked. And then she processed the question and bowed her head. "I was an idiot who thought too much good existed in other dragons."

"You aren't an idiot, Peril." Clay rumbled softly. "That was your father. It's okay to want him to love you." He came to her, and when he placed a talon on her shoulder, there was a slight sizzling sound, but he acted as if he felt no pain.

"But it blinded me. I should've known he was a spy from the very beginning."

Sunny tapped a claw against her chin in thought. "Scarlet must've been communicating with Soar through her Dreamvisitor. I saw him leaving the mountain once, but he was with a patrol."

"That patrol reported they lost him for roughly fifteen minutes." said Glory.

"Whilst he's inside the barrier, he couldn't communicate anything to give away Jade Mountain or the magical shield. That's why Scarlet and Morrowseer didn't find us till now - not even when she'd been communicating with Icicle. He was leaving the shield to tell her everything."

"And when we didn't fall for the ambush," Winter explained, "he attacked us and tried to drag Moon across the border to her father. That's when… that's when the others were hurt. He bit Turtle and smashed Kinkajou's head on the rocks."

"And how does the huge, deus-ex-machina NightWing factor into all this?" asked Tsunami.

"That's the Darkstalker." Winter couldn't help the involuntary tremble that ran down his spine at the mere mention of his name. "He was the first animus dragon of the NightWings, and an enemy of my tribe. He made himself immortal and so was imprisoned under the earth."

"You honestly expect us to believe that?"

Clay cleared his throat. "Tsunami… we've seen what magic can do… Immortality doesn't seem that far fetched."

Winter nodded. "Darkstalker is the dragonet-monster-story for NightWings as well as IceWings. That's why his sudden appearance frightened them off."

The reactions from the Dragons of Destiny were mixed. Tsunami still didn't believe, whereas Sunny and Clay were wide eyed with awe and horror. Glory, however, seemed undecided, her brow furrowing in thought. "So why did he decide to take Moonwatcher?"

"I… I think I know." Sunny stepped up beside Glory, as if she were equal to the tribe queen. "Well, if Darkstalker is a NightWing animus… then he must be under the same curse as my father. He can't use his magic. Moon and Morrowseer are the only ones who can give him permission."

Qibli's hopped on the spot, as if he could literally pounce on the epiphanies running rampant through his brain. "And Moon is more agreeable than Morrowseer! Think about it. Morrowseer is older than Moon, and has a stronger mental fortitude. Moon would be easier to manipulate to grant him all of his powers back."

"Then we have to go after him!" cried Winter. "We have to save her before that happens!"

"We can't." Glory's voice was even, her eyes unreadable. "Today, our enemies discovered not only where we are but exactly how to get at us. We might be safe for now - their armies have scattered in fear of this Darkstalker, but they will eventually regroup and come after us again. Our priority right now is to form a plan of action."

"You believe us?"

Clay nodded. "I believe they're not traitors."

"Me too." agreed Sunny.

"Your explanations match up with what we know and are plausible," said Glory.

All eyes turned to Tsunami. She was silent for a moment, and then let out a heavy sigh. "No. I don't think you're traitors. Sorry, by the way, for threatening your teeth."

Qibli lifted a wing to whisper loudly: "Don't worry, I think his smile is crooked too."

Winter rounded on him. "It is not-!"

"However," Glory interrupted loudly. "An all powerful NightWing straight from legend? I know that the rumour of such a thing will spread, so I can't stop that. But that doesn't mean I have to believe it. Darkstalker - if that is this NightWing's name - is just an unknown variable in all this mess. It seems he belongs to neither side, so we must act accordingly. Also, we have no idea where he's gone, seeing as my scouts lost him in the storm. And if he's not an enemy, then going after him is a waste of resources."

The IceWing couldn't believe what he was hearing! Wasn't the answer obvious to them?! "But he is our enemy!"

"Then going after him would be stupid and provoking him to retaliate. I won't endanger this rebellion in that way."

"What about Moon?" asked Qibli.

"She'll have to hold out until we can find a way to get her." Glory paused, and looked at Winter. The edges of her wings turned a deep, mournful blue. "I'm sorry."

She swept out of the cave, already talking to Sunny about their next steps. Tsunami offered one last apologetic smile before following right after. Clay gave Peril a smile and a quick word of farewell, before leaving too.

Winter watched them leave, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. To say that he was fuming, was the grossest understatement of the century. "I'm going after them!"

"Winter, no!" Qibli jumped in front of him. "We've got no idea where they've gone-"

"The Darkstalker headed west. That's where I'll start."

Even Peril seemed alarmed. "What, you're going to go up and down the coast? In enemy territory? What if Darkstalker took her to an island? Or what if he went west just to fool us and circled back around? Are you going to search all of Pyrrhia on your own?"

"You're in no condition to fly right now, and we can't go anywhere - Kinkajou and Turtle need us here."

He knew they were right. And the reminder of Kinkajou's condition only made his heart heavy with worry. But worry was useless to him, it only made him feel helpless. The worry turned to frustration - at least he knew how to express that.

"So what am I supposed to do, Qibli?" he shot at the SandWing. "Do you want me to give up? Leave her for dead?!"

"No. I want to get Moon back just as much as you do. But we need more information. We need to know where they went and what we're up against. If we go in blindly, we'll probably just end up either captured or dead - neither of which is going to help Moon."

Again, the words made sense, but it felt like a betrayal to accept that this was all he could do right now. Warmth encompassed his back as Qibli placed his wing over his shoulders. "Please, Winter. Let's at least get a plan together first. It's the only way we're going to save her."

Reluctantly, Winter nodded.

Moon awoke slowly, woozy and aching in every part of her body. It was so hard just to open her eyes, to lift her head. The thought of just allowing herself to slip back into slumber was so tempting. But she felt disoriented, uncertain. She lay upon something soft and warm, but her nose was filled with the stink of dampness and mold. A sneeze was building along her snout. Her deepest instinct told her she was in an unfamiliar place, and that was cause for concern. So why did it feel so hard to just get up?

With great effort, fighting back the hiss of pain from the stabbing in her skull as the light hit her eyes, she awoke. Her joints popped and cracked as she moved for what must have been the first time in hours - if her muscle complaints were any indication. Everything seemed such a colossal effort, that she decided to take it slowly. One thing at a time.

Focusing on her talons, she realised that she lay upon a bed. The blankets and pillows were old, grimy, damp and half moth eaten. They might once have been a gorgeous wine-red with gold trimming, but were now faded and frayed. The bed upon which she lay was massive, and there were post crumpled to the side which must once have hung great curtains to shield the sleeper from sight. The floor was of grand stonework, littered with dust and debris, but even so the craftsmanship was visible. There was a large hearth for a fireplace across the room, and a large vanity table with a great ornate mirror, so covered with dust and cobwebs that it no longer held a reflection. Through a doorway she could see that another room was adjoined to this bedchamber.

None of this was familiar to her. Moon fought the rising panic. Where was she? How had she come to be here? She racked her brain for the last memory, though it caused her a slight headache. She remembered Jade Mountain, her father, Kinkajou and the others in danger, releasing Dakrstalker, the vision…

It all came back to her. Suddenly, she didn't know what to think. It was obvious that she wasn't in Jade Mountain now, and she couldn't hear the minds of anyone anywhere around her. Faintly, she remembered Darkstalker's mental voice within her thoughts whilst she had writhed in the darkness of her own mind. Had he taken her? But to where? Did this mean that everything she'd seen in her vision had come true? Had she been fooled and now was at the mercy of an evil villain straight from a fairytale?

Laying around would not give her any answers, she thought. So, on stiff legs, she climbed out of the grand bed. At first, she wobbled but soon found her footing. Cautiously, she stepped into the next room. A small living apartment greeted her, complete with old ornaments and furniture, all of it forgotten and ruined long ago. Windows as large as a dragon was tall lined one wall, and must have once been made of the most impressive stained crystal glass. Tearing down vines and rubbing away grime, Moon peered through the clouded glass to try and get her bearings. But nothing looked familiar to her. Mountains linded the north, the ocean lay far to the east and south, and a city in ruins was sprawled far below. Where in Pyrrhia was she…?

A huge door led out into the hallway. Moon was thankful that it wasn't locked but couldn't help wondering as to why. If she was a prisoner, then surely it would be safe to lock her up. Or did Darkstalker have so much confidence in himself that he knew she couldn't escape even with the door open? Either way, Moon didn't want to take this opportunity for granted, and so moved as quietly as she could to explore.

The castle she was in was enormous and built like a maze. By the third staircase, Moon knew she was utterly lost, but followed her feet anyway. Every time she came across a window to the outside, she tried to get a new look at the landscape and try to find out where she was. From all the maps that she had studied of Pyrrhia, nothing matched the landscape before her. Logically, it made sense for Darkstalker to take her to some place he felt safe. That meant that this was the ancient kingdom of the NightWings, the home they had abandoned in favour of the volcanic island. The gravity of that idea made Moon gaze upon everything around her with awe. She now walked the halls of her ancestors. In another life, this might've been her home; she would've been a face amongst a dozen others, no more special than any other.

From what little Morrowseer had told her of their tribe's history, she knew that so much of their culture had been lost after centuries lived in exile. What ancient knowledge lay hidden within these walls? Already she was learning so much just from the grandiose architecture of the castle, its furniture and art (what little remained intact), and the layout of the city outside. In every room she came across, things had been left as if they still awaited their masters' late arrival. The tribe must've left in a big hurry if they'd abandoned so much and not once returned for it.

But how did that help her now? Even after what felt like an hour of searching, she still felt no closer to finding out her exact location nor knowing how to get back to her friends. The gnawing worry she'd felt at the edges of her mind started to grow. Kinkajou had been so badly hurt… was she even alive? And the others must be so worried. She wanted to speak to them so badly, to make sure they were alright.

In the midst of her despair, her mind caught the ever so slight wisps of a familiar melody in the mind of another. Automatically, she almost reached out to that presence she was so accustomed to. But then she remembered what had happened and where she was. Curious but dreadfully frightened, she went in the vague direction of the mental music.

As she traversed the corridors, Moon realised that the music in her head was actually becoming real. It was the soft twinkling of a music box, simple but lovely. On silent talons she stalked around the edge of the corridor until she made the final turn.

She only caught a glimpse of him through a doorway, but that was enough to freeze her where she stood. There he was; the being that made her heart skip with excitement at finally seeing her friend at long last, but also terrified her to the bone to look upon.

And before she could decide whether to enter or run away, Darkstalker turned and met her eyes.

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Let's kick 2021 off with a bang! Now we can really sink our teeth into the AU loveliness. I hope you really enjoyed this chapter, and I also hope the holidays have treated you well and you are all safe and happy. Please don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you think!

* = Susan Kay