Scarab the Fierce

Prologue

Vulture paced back and forth, his tail whipping against the sand, stinging his scales. He growled, hissing at a podium as he brushed against it. Saguaro was late. Worry pricked at his mind and he hurriedly shook it away.

Vulture sat on a mound of pillows near the back of the room and stared at the entrance, growling softly. The room was dark, with tattered curtains dripping from the walls and stained carpets half buried in the sand. This was no place for a king.

Vulture tapped at the tangled seam of a pillow. He relaxed his wings to drape coolly over his cloaked shoulders. He felt the warm gold of the vulture medallion around his neck.

There was a swish of a sand and Saguaro appeared in the entrance.

He was thin and frail. His wing had a ragged tear in it and he was missing an ear. He had a variety of scars along his neck and tail which gave him an almost ragged attractiveness. Saguaro was breathing hard.

"I...I'm sorry...late..." The pale dragon gasped. He stumbled forward and nearly dropped what he was holding. Vulture jumped forward and took the bundle from Saguaro, his talons brushing against Saguaro's shaky ones.

The bundle was large and wrapped in a dirty cloth. Vulture held it up and let the cloth fall away as he held it up in the twilight air. An egg the size of a SandWing's tail barb glowed in the moonlight.

Vulture felt his mouth curl in a grin and he looked past the egg at Saguaro. He was grinning too.

"This is it? This is Thorn's egg?" Saguaro nodded. "What is it she said she wanted to name it?"

Saguaro had spent his time wisely, spying and getting close to Thorn enough to be trusted with information about her forbidden egg. "She said she wanted to name it Sunny." Saguaro said. "But she called it Beetle."

Vulture narrowed his eyes. "Odd names. Easy to avoid. Thorn can't recognize this dragonet or our plan will fall apart. Beetle might work, or..."

Saguaro crept forward and leaned towards the egg. "Scarab." He almost whispered. "Scarab the Fierce."

Vulture met Saguaro's eyes and part of him melted to see the warmth in those dark pools. "Perfect." He whispered back. "We'll train them to be the most intelligent and powerful warrior in our ranks. And we'll finally have a dragonet of our own."

Vulture brushed his wing against Saguaro's and smiled down at the egg. "Scarab the Fierce, you will win the war for us." He murmured. "And you will make the world bow down at your claws."