Shadow Falling

Imposters

"What's he want with the rainforest?" Passion cried. "What... I don't... the Nightwings! He's coming for the Nightwings. But Queen Glory wont let them go. Shade... Shade said he had wanted to be king of the Nightwings. But he can't be!"

Passion started flying very quickly toward the rainforest, silently banishing the frost figure of Darkstalker. Her mind was blinded by panic, until she smacked directly into Caiman's chest. His talons fell on her shoulders, keeping her airborne and preventing her from falling out of the sky. She looked up into his face, mere inches from her own. The voice in her head hissed malevolently.

"Don't go in over your head. What are you going to do against another animus? What if he's prepared to fight against one? You said he was big. You are tiny. Think. Why are you worried, do you have family in the rainforest that would get hurt?"

"My... my mother. Father... my little sister. They... My dad's an Icewing. Nightwings and Icewings have always had a rivalry. I can't let them get hurt!"

"Okay, but what are you going to do?"

Passion paused, mind starting to clear a little bit because of the pause Caiman was giving her. She needed a plan. And a good one at that.

"How do you feel about being made into a Nightwing?"

Dreamwatcher landed in the Nightwing village, which was abuzz with excited, nervous energy. Beside her, Noctis, a Nightwing with completely pitch-black scales, landed with a heavy thud, his thick, muscled form tense and ready for a fight. The two Nightwings shared a look and Dreamwatcher led the way to where most of the other Nightwings were gathering. Gathering at the feet of a massive Nightwing.

Darkstalker.

"The sun is coming up; do you need to let your sister know where you are?" Noctis asked, body rigid as he surveyed the area.

"That's a good idea, thank you." Dreamwatcher reached into the pouch around her neck, retrieving a scroll from it. She held it in one talon, and Noctis held his wing in such a way so that no one could see what she was doing with it. "Inscribe on this scroll a message to the Rainwing Icewing dragonet, Jewel, that her sister, Passion, is following Darkstalker, who is in the rainforest. Find her immediately and read the message aloud to her."

With a faint puff of smoke, the scroll disintegrated, leaving Dreamwatcher's talons empty. She nodded to Noctis, who lowered his wing and turned his attention back to Darkstalker. The big Nightwing had paused from what he was doing, looking around in about the direction that the two Nightwings were sitting. It gave Dreamwatcher a slight chill.

"Are you sure about this, Passion?"

"It's Dreamwatcher, Noctis. Stay in character. You have to act like a Nightwing."

"Sorry, how are Nightwings supposed to act?"

"In this case, excited but afraid. Darkstalker has been a scary story for years, but he's back and it looks like..." Dreamwatcher squinted at Darkstalker, who had gone back to speaking with the Nightwings. "I think he's giving out animus touched objects."

"Wouldn't that damage his soul more?"

"Well, yes," Dreamwatcher cocked her head to the side, frowning slightly. "He doesn't seem to be too bad though. I mean, it's been millennia since he was around originally, right? Maybe everyone was wrong. Maybe he wasn't even bad."

"What do the stories say about him again?"

"That he tried to become king of the Nightwings. He wasn't even royal, unless you count his father. His father was Prince Arctic. But he killed his father, I think. Maybe he had a reason. Maybe his father was bad."