Blade looked at Sarah and pointed at Bonebreaker. “I like that one.”
“If you are fed, let us travel to meet Cloudsplitter,” said Blackscale. “The day is not far gone, yet I would rather see him sooner than later.”
“Of course,” said Sarah, rising to her feet. “Come on, guys.”
I grumbled and wrapped up the rest of my half-eaten meal. A few minutes later we were walking the same path around the outer rim of the mountain. This time, though, when we reached the other side, Blackscale directed us down a fork that led down the ridge on the other side. That led us to a long, wide slope down to still another plateau.
We now had a small cloud of onlookers that followed us wherever we went. Dragons, more interested in us than ever after the confrontation with Redwing, hovered high in the sky above us. They flew so far above us that they were little more than specks, flocking together like birds. Barius kept looking up at them, snorting every time he did.
We reached a sort of half-cave in the mountainside. A quarter-dome of rock rose above a relatively flat piece of ground that fell away on the south side of the mountain. Earlier Calvin had said something about the elevation of the land north of the mountain being much higher than south of the mountain. Now I could see what he was talking about. From the north, Wyrmspire hadn’t looked all that tall. But now I could see the endless mountain range stretching away south, and they fell away sharply from what looked like miles below us. The winds were sharp and forceful, and I kept tensing up every time they slammed into us. My mind filled with terrifying visions of being swept off the edge by the wind, flying out into empty space to my death.
“That’s a sight to see,” said Miles, staring out at the world below.
“Aye,” said Melaine softly beside him.
“Yeah, if only I wasn’t terrified of being carried off by a stray breeze,” I grumbled.
“Oh, I can take care of that,” said Calvin happily.
He made the same weaving motion he’d made to block the door of Nightclaw’s cave from eavesdroppers. Instantly the wind lessened. Gusts stopped buffeting me every five seconds. I breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Thanks, squirt,” I said, prompting an even wider grin from Calvin.
There was a mound of something at the other end of the rocky platform we stood upon, but I couldn’t tell what it was. It was formless and yellow, and it glinted in the sun. But before I could get closer or try to see what it was, there was the roar of wind under wings above us. A dragon, smaller than Blackscale but not quite as small as Nightclaw (and definitely not small by any normal standard) swooped to a landing before us.
“And here they stand before me,” rumbled the dragon. “The Realm Keepers themselves. It is my honor as Elder of my clan to meet you.” He dipped his snout to the rock beneath his feet.
I sighed as I bowed along with the others. I was getting really sick of having to do that.
“Realm Keepers and honored guests,” said Blackscale, “meet Cloudsplitter, an Elder of the Council of dragons.”
Cloudsplitter raised his head. “Observant of ceremony as you always have been, Elder Blackscale. Too great are the honors you grant me, a hatchling next to you.”
Blackscale’s lips drew back. “The title of Elder defines you now, no matter your age.”
Cloudsplitter turned back to us. “Blackscale was grown long before my egg first split. Long has he been a friend to my clan, and long has he instructed me in the duties I was meant to assume. Not infrequently do I think he speaks thus as a sort of joke, honoring such a young dragon as he does.”
“Well, if you’re really almost a thousand years old, you’re plenty old to us, Elder Cloudsplitter,” said Sarah, bowing again. “Most human lives must be like a blink to dragons.”
Cloudsplitter’s head cocked. “Most? Why do you use this word?”
Sarah hesitated only a second before answering. “Well, when we become Realm Keepers, part of the deal is that we become immortal. Which, actually, is something we only found out recently. We’re still getting used to it, I guess.”
Cloudsplitter settled to the ground, his face inching forward curiously. He reminded me of nothing so much as a cat watching a string. “Truly? You are undying? Then there must be some among you who are much, much older than even Eldest Longtooth.” He swung his gaze back and forth among us.
“Er…no,” said Sarah. “We’ve all been Realm Keepers for just a few months. Weeks, really. All of the ones before us died—except one,” she added quickly.
Wouldn’t it suck to be accused of lying about something like that? I thought. That was the problem with the dragons’ law. Even if we accidentally said something wrong, who knew if they’d get offended and decide to eat us all? I wasn’t exactly excited about my life in Morrowdust, but I’d rather be there than here, where I had to fear for my life if I even misspoke.
“How old were they?” said Cloudsplitter, as though he didn’t notice her catching herself.
“The oldest of them was five hundred years. It’s kind of a dangerous job. Even though we can live forever, I get the feeling we don’t live as long as the dragons,” said Sarah glibly, passing over the fact that she was talking about Terrence, the one who’d survived. Somehow I didn’t think our case with the dragons would be helped if we talked about a Realm Keeper who went to the dark side and was now the greatest threat in the entire war on Chaos.
“That is a pity,” said Cloudsplitter, rising to stand once again. “I should greatly love to meet with one who was older than Longtooth, who remembered the old days of the dragons’ alliance with the humans, and even further back—to Malus and the Six, who fought beside Aldarrion, the dragon who led us in the last great war against the darkness.”
Calvin opened his mouth, probably to ask some question about Aldarrion or the war or something. Sarah shot him a glare. Calvin snapped his mouth shut so hard his teeth went click.
“Come,” said Cloudsplitter. “Let me show you something that no human has seen since before I was hatched; the very reason for which my clan exists, the reason for our seat upon the Council.”
He turned, his tail lifting nimbly to hover above us, and walked to the other side of the platform. Once there, he curled around the yellow, glinting pile I’d seen before. He turned expectantly to look at us.
We approached him slowly. Once we got closer, I finally saw why the pile was yellow and glistening. It looked like the skins of three dragons—though they were much, much smaller than any dragons I’d seen on the mountain so far. They couldn’t be more than a hundred feet long. Plenty big on their own, but shrimpy compared to Blackscale or even Nightclaw.
What immediately got my attention, though, wasn’t their small size. It was the scales. They looked like they were made of pure gold. Every time the skins settled slightly, it set off a massive sparkling as the sun reflected from a thousand shiny, metallic surfaces.
“What are these, Elder Cloudsplitter?” said Sarah, her voice breathless.
“These are the sheddings of a dragon reaching adulthood,” said Cloudsplitter. “All dragons are born with skins such as these. When they come of age, at near to a hundred years, they shed their birth skins, turning the color that they will remain for the rest of their lives.”
“That’s incredible.” I spoke without meaning to. Sure, I’m normally pretty reserved about stuff, but there was no way I couldn’t be impressed. “Imagine if they stayed like this their whole lives.”
Cloudsplitter looked at me. I felt myself clam up under the intensity of his amber-eyed stare. “If we so remained, I am sure that many of your race and others would come seeking our scales,” he said. A deep rumble erupted from his mouth. “They would find the hunt much harder than they anticipated.”
“I’m glad they don’t,” said Calvin, his voice fierce. I glanced at him. He was scowling. “If they came here hunting you for your skins, they’d deserve whatever they got. I’m glad no one knows about this. You’d have people swarming the mou
ntain non-stop. It would be sickening.”
“Calvin,” said Sarah quietly. Not angry, just cautious. I could understand. The less we talked, the less danger we were in.
Cloudsplitter looked at Blackscale before he responded. Confusion? Curiosity? Who could tell what passed in the looks between dragons?
“As I said, this is my clan’s purpose,” said Cloudsplitter. “We watch over dragons as hatchlings. When their parents must hunt, the children reside in our eyrie. We are always on guard when younglings roam the mountain, ensuring they do not stray into danger before learning to fly. And when they move to adulthood, we destroy the skins.”
“That’s an important job, taking care of the young of your race,” said Sarah. “You must take it very seriously.” If anyone else had said it, I would have grimaced. But Sarah had such a simple, earnest way of saying things. It wasn’t flattery. She wasn’t trying to butter Cloudsplitter up. It was a simple statement of fact.
Cloudsplitter inclined his head. “Indeed. Redwing’s kin mock us, calling us a clan of nursemaids. But even they bring their young to us when their safety is at stake. And we care for them just as earnestly as any other. The bodies and lives of the young are not the only things we must safeguard; their minds and emotions are our concern as well.”
Sarah bowed. “We’re honored that you would share this with us.”
Cloudsplitter’s lips drew back over his teeth. “I have yet one more gift to bestow upon you. The host must care for the guest, and the Council has been derelict in its duties in this regard. Consider this compensation. Each of you must pull a scale from the skin, to keep as your own.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Elder Cloudsplitter…I don’t know if we could…”
Blackscale interrupted. “This has not been done, Cloudsplitter,” he said. “Do you not worry of taking things too far?”
Cloudsplitter rose up a bit, looking Blackscale in the eye. “I do not do this on a whim. No human has been seen here in centuries, let alone the Realm Keepers. And at the same time we have three moultings in a single week? It is a sign, I think. A sign of the changing times. I have consulted with the three whose skins lie before us. They have granted their permission. In fact,” he turned back to us, and his lips drew back from his teeth, “they seemed positively excited. Among the young of the Spire, you are something of a novelty. Many of them have requested to meet you. I have had to dissuade them; Redwing would go positively mad.”
I laughed and heard the others join in. Cloudsplitter probably didn’t know it—or who knows, maybe he did—but he’d put us at ease in a way no other dragon at Wyrmspire could. By letting us know that there were at least some on this mountain who didn’t want to destroy us, or look at us like field mice they were hunting, he’d reassured us more than anything Blackscale had said about the Council. Maybe it was because he watched young dragons for a living. After all, we must have been like tiny, tiny children to him.
Cloudsplitter ushered us forward, and one by one we pulled a single golden scale from the dragon skins on the ground. Even the Runegard got them—Cloudsplitter insisted.
When it was my turn, I stepped up to the moultings. I wrapped my hand around one of the scales. It was warm from baking in the sun. It took three tugs to get it to come off the skin. Once I’d pulled it free, I placed it carefully in the leather pouch that held my runestone.
When we were done, Sarah bowed again and said, “Thank you again, Elder Cloudsplitter. We’re very honored.”
Cloudsplitter inclined his head. Then he took a long moment and looked at each of us in turn again. I tried not to flinch when he turned his head to me.
“What do you hope to gain from the dragons?” he said.
“Your help in the war,” said Sarah immediately. “We need it to beat Chaos.”
“I have never fought Chaos before,” he said slowly. “Are they terrible foes? Can the humans not defeat them on their own?”
Sarah paused for a moment. “We’re trying,” she said slowly. “Honestly, I don’t know if we can beat them. They attacked our capital city, and they very nearly won. It took everything we had, all the forces we could bring from around our kingdom, to drive them off. And that’s only a fraction of their main forces. Even if we could beat them, many people would die.”
Cloudsplitter nodded again. “Has Blackscale told you of my clan?”
“Very little,” said Sarah.
“My father was the Elder before me,” said Cloudsplitter. “He was very old. Nearly as old as Longtooth. I thought he would live forever, though of course that is impossible. We are not Realm Keepers. We are not immortal. We have always been a small clan, though our role is important. And when my father died, much of the older members of my clan died with him. That is why I took the Council seat. I was, suddenly, the oldest member of my family.”
“I’m very sorry,” Sarah said quietly. “That must have been very hard. How did they all die, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“In a war,” said Cloudsplitter. “One I do not wish to tell the tale of just now. But I have often wondered what might have been different if he had had help. If the dragons had not been alone. If others had been there to fight beside us. Others such as the Realm Keepers, and the rest of the humans.”
He turned away, his eyes looking away to the mountains that stretched forever south. He went quiet for so long that I started to wonder if he’d forgotten about us.
On impulse, I spoke up. “If we’d been there, we would have tried to help,” I said. “I don’t know you. We didn’t know anyone when we first came here. I didn’t want to be here. But then people started getting attacked. They got hurt. That’s when I knew I had to help. We don’t just let people die. We always try to help.”
Cloudsplitter swiveled back around to look at me. His eyes focused on mine. This time I gulped.
“I believe you,” he said. “Thank you all for speaking with me.”
We bowed immediately. Blackscale began to walk away, and we took it as a cue to follow.
Once we were around the corner, I sidled up to Sarah. “Sorry for speaking up,” I said.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “What you said was very nice, Raven. Almost sweet.” She grinned at me.
I smirked and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I said. “It was the truth. Don’t take it as a—”
THWOOM
The ground rumbled as a dragon slammed into the earth ahead of us. Barius leapt forward, his hand on his sword hilt, but I clapped my own hand on his wrist.
It was Bloodtooth. He pushed himself up from the crouch he’d landed in and met Blackscale’s eyes.
“Brother,” said Blackscale, his voice neutral.
“I come from Elder Redwing,” said Bloodtooth, his voice barely kinder than a snarl. “She desires an audience with the Realm Keepers.”
ELDER REDWING
BLADE
“WHY?” SAID BLACKSCALE.
“BECAUSE THEY are the Realm Keepers, of course,” said Bloodtooth. He looked at us, past his big brother, and bared his fangs. I wasn’t an expert on dragons yet, but I knew it was no smile. “They are our…honored guests.”
I made a rude gesture with my hand. I was about ninety percent positive he couldn’t see it.
“They have been with me all day, and then with Elder Cloudsplitter,” said Blackscale. “They are not of the mountain. They will be tired.”
“Elder Redwing will not ask them to travel far,” said Bloodtooth. “She will meet them in a lower nest. Mine, if you wish. You will pass it upon your way back. Why not step inside for a moment’s chat?”
Barius straightened. “Your mistress has tried to kill them once, dragon,” he said loudly. “Why would we wander into her den? We are no fools.”
Sarah turned to him. “Barius, please,” she said quietly.
Barius didn’t glance at her.
“Elder Redwing gives her word,” said Bloodtooth, dipping his nose. It was supposed to be a sign of respect, but e
ven in a dragon, there was no mistaking the contempt in his voice. “The Realm Keepers will come to no harm under her roof or the roof of any place they may meet, until the Council decides their fate.”
“I have told you already that they are weary,” said Blackscale. “Perhaps tomorrow.”
“Elder Redwing specifically requested to meet them tonight. Immediately,” said Bloodtooth. “Will you deny her?”
Blackscale hesitated. I snorted. I didn’t know, of course, but if I had to guess, it’d be that there was some kind of ancient, unbreakable dragon law against refusing the request of an Elder. The dragons and their rules were starting to tick me right off.
“You have met with them, you brought them to Cloudsplitter, and unless I miss my guess, tomorrow you will take them to Elder Windfang and Eldest Longtooth,” pressed Bloodtooth. “Will you so callously deny Redwing her audience? How far will you go in your desire to display contempt for her?”
“You are not of her clan!” barked Blackscale. “If anyone here deserves contempt, it is you, allowing yourself to be the lackey and lapdog of another!”
“I am loyal to Wyrmspire first, my clan second,” hissed Bloodtooth. “Our race is at stake. These Realm Keepers come with words of death and war. I would do anything to save my people.”
“Your people. You would do anything to spite me!”
Bloodtooth growled.
Blackscale stopped dead. His fighting crouch slackened slightly. He raised his neck, his head rising in the air.
“No no, of course,” he said quietly. “I have missed my guess all along. Something else motivates you, something entirely.”
“Cease your words,” said Bloodtooth. “Will they come with me, or shall I carry word of your refusal to Elder Redwing? I promise the story will not end with her.”
“It is her, isn’t it?” said Blackscale, his voice growing low, filled with disbelief. “You…desire her.”
I glanced at Samuel beside me. “Um, ew.”
Bloodtooth froze, his amber eyes flying wide. He straightened, trying to bring his gaze level with his brother’s. But he was way too small to make that work.
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