Chapter 6

It was later that day when the Queen of the Spikewings decided to visit them again.

"Hello," Queen Helen said. "How are my favorite prisoners doing?"

"Just fine, thank you," Flint mocked. "Hey, how about you open up this cage so that I can get some fresh air?"

Queen Helen laughed. "A tempting offer but no, I think you all look nice behind bars. What's your name Cavewing? I would like to know it so that I can cheer you on to die during the arena tonight."

"My name is Flint," she said then realized what the queen said. "Wait, it's tonight?"

"Well tonight is the first day of it. You see it goes on for multiple days and whoever wins it gets to be able to ask for one thing from me. We have it once every year and usually only the most powerful Spikewings compete in it. It is a battle to the death after all. Though occasionally we do throw in dragons we capture from your tribe but they usually die in the first round so they are boring to watch and we stopped doing it. We instead just kill any we capture as packback for what your tribes did."

"What did they do?" Flint asked.

"But you look to be a fighter," Queen Helen continued, again ignoring Flint's question. "So I at least hope you will be able to entertain us."

"What if I win?" Flint asked, remembering what the queen said about the dragon who wins in the arena.

"Win? Please, you aren't going to win it."

"But if I do win then I get to ask for one thing from you, right?"

"You aren't winning!" Queen Helen yelled and then stomped off into the darkness.

"Wow she reminds me of my mother when she is angry," Hunter said, approaching the side of Flint.

"Something is up with this tribe," Flint said. "They keep saying that our tribes did something to them but always dodge my questions when I ask about them."

"I see that," Hunter said. "I wonder what happened to them?"

"I could tell you," a voice came from the darkness and a Spikewing looking to be Flint's age, walked out of the shadows and into the light. Flint recognized this dragon as the one who stabbed her in the neck while she was distracted.

"YOU!" Flint yelled and lunged for the dragon but the bars got in her way.

"EEPH!" the Spikewing said. "That's a nice way to greet someone who wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to listen to you laughing about us!" Flint yelled. "All of you Spikewings are the same! You are just waiting to watch me die in the arena."

"Uh, no not really," the Spikewing said. "I think it is disgusting to watch dragons fight each other."

"Clearly you wouldn't like what's going on with our tribes then," Flint said.

"Are you just here to mock us?" Hunter asked.

The Spikewing looked around the cavern quickly, almost as if she wanted to make sure no one else was there. She then lowered her voice before talking to them again.

"My name's Vala," the Spikewing said and then looked around again. "I really don't know if I should be talking to you."

"What are we going to do?" Flint asked.

"Nevermind," Vala said. "I, um… I… I want to help you escape."

Flint got caught off guard from this. "You're joking right?" Flint said.

Vala looked around the cavern again before speaking to them. "No, I'm not. You see, I hate what my tribe does to dragons they capture and I want to feel important, I want to matter. So what is the easiest way to feel like you matter? By rescuing dragons who are going to be executed."

Flint gave Vala a confused look. "You're serious about this?"

"Yes," Vala said. "I just… I don't know how to help you. But I'll think of something, I promise!"

"That's nice and all," Flint said, "but I don't think it will work. How will you be able to rescue us from this cage and sneak us past your whole tribe without being caught. I'm sorry but those odds are seemingly impossible."

"I know that," Vala said. "But maybe I'll be able to think of something, you just have to give me time. In the meanwhile, you better not die tonight in the arena, it would make me feel really bad."

"You are one weird dragon, you know you were the one who stabbed me with your spikes."

"Yeah only because I was told to do it," Vala said. "I couldn't disobey my queen or I would have gotten thrown into the arena and most likely died. That is the punishment for disobeying the tribe."

"That's terrible," Hunter said.

"Yeah I know," Vala said. "But it is what has kept our tribe alive for all these years."

"About that," Flint said. "What has happened to your tribe? I heard bits and pieces of it from Queen Helen but she kept dodging my questions every time I asked her."

"I'll tell you, only if you don't tell anyone else that I was the one who told you."

"Deal," Flint and Hunter both said.

"Ok, well you see our tribe was originally the only tribe on this continent thousands of years ago. Then one day dragons from three different tribes came landing on our beaches, looking for shelter. They looked very scared and exhausted. The Spikewings asked them where they came from and they said they came running away from a dragon named Darkstalker. They never said what was dangerous about him but it must have been extreme for them to run away from their continent."

"Were these dragons from the Webwing, Drillwing, and Cavewing tribes?" Hunter asked.

"No," Vala said. "Now it has been more than two thousand years but from what has been passed down from generations to generation, the three tribes we think were called Nightwings, Mudwings, and Seawings."

"Wait, there are more dragon tribes than ours out there?" Flint asked.

"Maybe," Vala said. "Again, this story has been passed down from generations so the story may have gotten changed over time. But anyway, these dragon tribes were said to have initially moved peacefully in with the Spikewings. But over time, as they expanded, they wanted more territory and started taking it from us. We tried to fight back but the three tribes overpowered us and forced us to retreat far down into the caves to where they would never find us."

"How can you see down here though when it is pitch black?" Flint asked.

"We couldn't initially," Vala said. "Over time our eyes mutated and adjusted to there being no light down here to where we can now see perfectly fine in pitch black conditions. It is like we have night vision."

"That's nice," Hunter said. "I wish us Webwings had something that could light up caves so that we didn't have to make cracks in the ceiling to let light in."

"Well anyway, ever since we were banished down here, the Spikewings have done everything to try to get payback for what your tribes did. But honestly I don't see why we are attacking you now, it's been thousands of years and the dragons in your tribes now don't even know about us and have no idea what the dragons before them did."

"About those dragons," Flint said. "If it is true that they were from different tribes and our tribes weren't here yet then how do we exist?"

"Maybe we are hybrids of those dragons and over time, we have evolved into our own tribes," Hunter suggested.

"That would make sense," Flint said. "I still wonder though what is this Darkstalker that they were running away from."

"Well, it's been thousands of years," Vala said. "I don't think whatever it was is around anymore."

"Well after hearing about your tribe's story, I can see why they are upset at our tribes," Flint said.

"Yeah I just wished that it didn't have to come at the cost of our lives," Hunter said.

"Don't worry," Vala said. "I promise I will find a way out for you, just hang in there until I think of something."

"Well, it's not like we are going anywhere," Flint said.

"Just please survive tonight in the arena, I don't think I can stand seeing another dead dragon from one of your tribes on the floor with a Spikewing towering over it."

"About the arena," Flint said. "Can you give me any tips on what I am to expect there?"

"Well for starters…" and then Vala jumped as Flint heard footsteps coming towards their cage.

"I have to go before I'm spotted but expect the unexpected while you are there," Vala said and disappeared back into the darkness.

Queen Helen and some of her bodyguards stepped out of the shadows and in front of Flint.

"Come now Flint, we have to get to the arena for your first match. Don't worry though," Helen said as she saw Flint looking toward her friends, "we will put your friends somewhere special for them to be able to watch you while you die."

And with that Flint got stabbed by Queen Helen's spikes to be transported to the arena. The last thing she saw before going unconscious was the smirk on Queen Helen's face.