Wings of Fire • Dragon of Secrets [2]

Chapter Nine

Darkness pressed all around Brisktail, blacker than night and colder than ice. Rough stone was chafing against his scales, scraping them painfully. Brisktail had a hard time breathing in the confines of the space.

     The worst part was how utterly alone he felt. He shivered, and his teeth rattled in his skull. He was freezing and he had neither physical nor emotional comfort. He chose this fate, he chose to end up like this.

     He was dangerous. He couldn't trust himself, not with his magic.

     A voice hissed from the darkness. "You can't trust yourself. You'll hurt them... you want to hurt them, that's why you're here..."

     Brisktail couldn't help but agree. The words made sense: he really couldn't trust himself. He was unpredictable, dangerous,

     A monster.

- ❈ -

Brisktail awoke with a gasp.

     Keys rattled inside a lock and the bars in front of him swung open, allowing him to walk free. Brisktail leaned forward, his stiff back and tail aching in protest, dream forgotten.

     A PineWing guard let his ring of keys drop back to his chest and hang there on their string. He shuffled aside and let Brisktail crawl out of the cell slowly; he didn't want to touch the bars.

     Eventually, Brisktail was standing freely and the guard shut the door. He prodded him with a staff and Brisktail let himself he pushed, albeit slightly grumpily.

     "Where am I going?" he asked crossly.

     The guard offered no response. Brisktail frowned in frustration and walked up the tunnel, this time being guided up a different route.

     Brisktail's talons ached by the time they reached their destination. It felt as if they'd been climbing for ages, and the way the wind howled outside the tree confirmed it. They were probably high up somewhere in the mess of branches.

     The guard stopped him inside one of the hanging contraptions built under the branches. Now that he was inside one, Brisktail realised they were like hanging hollows or rooms.

     This one was full of weapons. Spears, staffs, daggers and strange little star-shaped metal disks. As the branch that supported the hollow bounced in the wind, so too did the hollow slightly and the weapons inside the room clanged together with soft tinks.

     Brisktail didn't think he'd get an answer, but he asked anyway. "Why did you take me here?"

    The guard nodded at the weapons. "Take whatever you think you will need for today. If you don't think you need anything, then that's fine too, makes my job easier."

     Brisktail scanned the racks again. The daggers were too small for him to use and since he had no idea what the metal stars were for he took a spear. It was about as long as his arm and probably just as useless.

     The guard huffed in annoyance and turned to the doorframe. There was a small slot in the wood, and when he reached his talons in he pulled out a book. The guard opened it and took a stick nestled in the book's spine. The stick had a piece of charcoal in the end which the guard used to mark something.

     Brisktail remembered that in the SwiftScale's armoury they had a scroll to keep track of all the weapons inside. This was probably a log with similar purposes.

     The guard returned to book and flicked his tail in beckoning. "Come, the Queen awaits."

     Brisktail let out an internal frustrated sigh as he realized they were climbing higher. The guard took him on a path that went up and seemingly towards the outside layers of the tree.