~CHAPTER 4~
The next few months slid by easily. Fireburst felt herself getting closer to her winglet, and she loved them almost as much as her original family. They were the last family she had since what felt like eons of loneliness.
But one night, Fireburst had a horrible nightmare.
She dreamt she was being chased by a black dragon with his eyes gouged out, and blood gushed from the empty sockets. Fireburst ran out of the mountain to see an awful battle, with dragons slashing and tearing at each other across the skyline, cutting each other's’ throats and ripping out glossy organs. The rest of the landscape was barely recognizable. The sky was black, stained with dark, sulfurous smoke. The trees were all burnt and stark, some of them still flaming with angry red tendrils of heat. All of the ground was buried in corpses, rotting and covered in blood.
There were several volcanoes exploding out of the ground, pouring orange lava into the sky. A throne of pure white dragon and scavenger skulls, each grinning and displaying sharp teeth, towered over the landscape. Lounging on the top of the pile of bones was a dragon in a tattered, bloody black hood, laughing insanely at the war beneath.
Fireburst felt claws on her back. She turned around to see the same dragon from before, but now there was blood coming from his mouth and nose, too. He opened his mouth, displaying rotten gums, devoid of teeth, crawling with insects.
Fireburst screamed.
“B-EWAAARE OF THE E-EYEEEE!” His voice hissed in a rasp, like wind blowing through ancient trees and creaking like wood. “THE EYEEEE… THE EYEEEE…. THE EYEEEE OF CHAOSSSSSSS!!!!”
Then his face began to melt. First the scales, gliding off like water, next the skin dripping like black blood, leaving nothing but a gray skull. Then it, too, dissolved into dust.
She had a blistering feeling of agony, like there was hot wax pouring into her ears and scorching her brain, and then an image flashed across her dream. It was an eye. A humongous dragon eye, with a bloody slash across it and two fiery wings. The pain was so unbearable, but the image stayed burned in her mind, clear as daylight. Then it dissipated, and the pain was gone.
Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream broke through the air, and her dream broke away...
Fireburst woke up with a jolt, but the scream kept getting louder and louder… and then, rather abruptly, it stopped.
Fireburst ran out of the sleeping cave, dashing towards where she heard it. She came into a small cave and her heart nearly stopped. On the floor was a puddle of blood, oozing into the rough ground and staining the dirt deep crimson. And next to the puddle, gaunt and frozen in a state of utter horror, was the corpse of Duckweed the MudWing.
. . .
Endwhisperer darted from cave to cave, tripping over stalagmites and crystals. It cannot be. I cannot have been drinking blood in my sleep. It cannot have been.
She ran down a corridor and into a small cave. No. NO!
Fireburst was already there, staring at Duckweed’s corpse with wide eyes. She looked at End with a white face. “Who do you think did this?” she asked, her voice wavering with fear. “Why?”
End felt sick. She wanted to throw up, to run away, to stab herself. How could I? she asked herself. Why would I kill a dragon like this? Why?
She looked up at Fireburst and said quietly, “I think it was me.”
“What? How could it be you?”
“Well,” said Endwhisperer “I- I’m half vampire.”
“WHAT?!” roared Fireburst. “AND YOU KILLED SOMEONE? WHY, YOU COLD-BLOODED, SMOKE-BREATHING-” her scales seemed brighter than usual, flashing angrily in the room, her nostrils billowing out rage smoke.
“Sssh!” Endwhisperer whispered. “You don’t want to wake up the whole Jade Mountain, do you?”
Maybe I should, Fireburst’s mind thought. Maybe that’s what I need to do, to save the school from this bloodthirsty, monstrous-
“Okay, I get the point!” hissed End angrily.
Fireburst stared at her, confused. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Well, I’m a mind reader, too, so watch your head!”
She stared at the pool of blood and the scratches on Duckweed’s underbelly.
“Wait a minute,” said Endwhisperer. “Vampires never use their claws to bite a dragon. They use their fangs.”
“So it wasn’t you?” said Fireburst hopefully.
“No. That’s not how vampires kill,” Endwhisperer replied just as the rest of the winglet walked in.
“Hold up. You’re a VAMPIRE?” said Fangtooth angrily.
“You k-killed Duckweed?” said Gaboon, staring at Duckweed’s still body and sounding like she was having trouble saying the word killed.
How c-could she? the little RainWing’s mind whispered.
“I should have known not to trust lying NightWings.” Algific spat.
“No, no, no!” Endwhisperer cried. “I didn’t kill anyone!”
“Says you.” Nubian stared at her, hatred flashing in his eyes.
I never know who to trust, Nubian’s mind thought, his fury burning through End’s head. My friends may just be bloodsucking monsters, for all I know. His mind flashed images of bloody feuds and bitter hatred.
“It’s true!” Fireburst said. “She never killed Duckweed!”
“Oh, okay.” said Fangtooth, his face softening a little. “Sorry for judging you, End. Even if you are a vampire.”
“Endwhisper’s a vampire?” another voice broke in. Behind them was a scrawny little NightWing with a smug look on his face, as if he still believed he was superior.
“End’s a vampire! A vampire in the school! A murder! MURDER!!!” he yelled, running down the halls.
“Well, that’s just great.” said Endwhisperer grumpily. “Now everyone knows my secret.”
“You need to run.” said Fireburst, concern marking her scarred face. “But you can’t just fly out alone. I’m coming with you.”
“So am I.” agreed Fangtooth.
“ME TOOO!” Gaboon trilled.
“Ok.” said Nubian.
They all looked expectantly at Algific.
She sighed. “Fine.”
Footsteps approached the room, stomping in a rhythmic beat like End’s heart.
“Time to run.” Fangtooth observed.
“Yes. Time to run. Good idea.” Endwhisperer agreed.
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