Rise of the Dragon Moon Page 17

  “They’ll be all right,” he said at last. “They’re smart creatures. I expect they’ll follow us. Regardless, we need to press on up the Mountain.”

  Petal nodded. Wix was already moving up the slope.

  Things were different. Now that her secret was out, it was as if a thick layer of frost had crept between them. She could still see Wix and Petal, she could talk to them, but all the warmth was gone. Everything was hollow, brittle, and cold.

  They trudged on.

  As Father Moon—the Dragon Moon—edged the summit of Dragon Mountain with green light, sleet began to fall.

  “How are we going to get inside the Mountain? We’re never going to make it,” Petal said softly.

  Wix caught up to walk beside her. “We’ll know it when we see it, I think. Don’t worry, Petal. We’ll make it! We’re in the foothills now. I mean, I can’t promise we won’t lose some toes to the cold, but—”

  Toli pressed her lips together but said nothing. She didn’t know if they’d make it or not.

  Wix nudged Petal with his elbow. “Of course, we could always turn back. Fancy our chances of crossing broken ice, outrunning the bear-cats, and getting through a swarm of ice beetles?”

  Petal narrowed her eyes at him, but Toli was glad to see a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She started to reach forward to catch Petal’s hand, but fought off the urge. Petal wouldn’t want to take her hand. Not now.

  Toli swallowed. Anyway, Petal was strong enough without her.

  Judging by the way both moons moved over the sky, it took two, maybe three hours of walking before the stonetrees opened up in front of them and the ice began to climb. It was a slow rise, strewn with bits of rock, but reaching it felt like a victory.

  Here and there, Toli caught a glimpse of one of the foxes through the fog. The wind rose and the aurora brightened, as if the lights were dancers and the wind was their song.

  The ice between the stones was black and slick. They struggled to stay on their feet. Exhaustion clouded Toli’s vision. One of them would slide backward, then regain their balance and push forward again, grabbing hold of rocks or one another.

  Progress wasn’t just slow, it was ridiculous. By the time Toli noticed that there were strange straggly saplings dotting the landscape, her skin was damp with sweat and breathing took a sharp, ragged effort. Ruby woke briefly to slip up to Toli’s shoulder and be sick again, then leaned back against Toli with an undragonlike whimper.

  “Don’t worry,” Toli whispered. “I’m taking you home.” She cradled Ruby’s head as she walked.

  Toli didn’t know how much time had passed. Dragon Mountain loomed above them, its dark crag casting silent judgment on their progress. She looked back. They had climbed. But not far.

  Father Moon seemed amused as he watched them from his high perch, and with a shock, Toli realized Nya must have set many hours ago. It would be morning soon. She thought carefully. This was the second night since they had left the Queendom—two full cycles of the Daughter Moon. She tried to remember the girl she had been before she left, but couldn’t.

  As they crested the second slope, Petal caught up and moved to walk next to Wix. Toli kept her eyes on their backs as they led the way, a sudden burst of gratitude overwhelming her, even though they were both still mad at her.

  Warmth flooded her body as she looked at them walking together. “Thank you,” she whispered, fixing her gaze on the ice below her feet. They might be angry with her, they might be in terrible danger, but in this moment, Toli was grateful to have them with her.

  She didn’t expect them to answer, or even hear her, but when she looked up, they were both staring at her.

  Toli snorted a laugh. “What? I’m glad you’re here.” She hid a smile as she moved past them to lead the way.

  Far away, at the bottom of the next peak, they saw a wide swath of odd trees leaned against one another like they too were trying to get up the Mountain but couldn’t quite find their balance.

  Toli had never seen anything like them. She squinted across the icy valley. Some kind of a chasm opened up farther on. They’d have to avoid that. Better to descend a little and go around, through the trees.

  She shifted Ruby’s weight on her back. The dragon was fading, and all Toli could do was try to keep her warm and hope the Dragon-Mother would know what to do for her. If they could just get there. Toli quickened her stride.

  They passed into the woods. The strange trees were packed close together, leafless twists, thin and scraggly, with curled branches full of thin, sharp needles that gathered in blossoms. The woods leaned out above and around them, smooth and soft as fog. If she stood still, Toli could catch glimpses of the foxes. They had stayed close, as Wix had thought they would, but like pale dreams, they were always just out of sight.

  Though the trees were small, reaching just a few feet over their heads, they blocked Father Moon’s dim light and the shine of the stars well enough. Under their feet, the ice was so smooth and black it reflected everything like a mirror.

  “I know we need to hurry,” Petal gasped. “But could we rest? Just for a little while?”

  Wix nodded. “We won’t be much good if we’re half dead when we get there.”

  Toli considered. They hadn’t slept since the Necropolis. She sank down, shifting Ruby to her lap. “We can take a little break here. Just for an hour.”

  Petal threw a fur piece down and dropped to sit. She leaned back against one of the strange trees and looked up the misty slope of ice and stone. “Where do you think Krala is now?”

  Toli snapped off a piece of roasted lizard and chewed. “Ahead of us.”

  Wix scrubbed his hand over his hair. “Way ahead.”

  There was a hitch in Petal’s voice. “What about Spar? Where do you think she is?”

  Toli looked down at her hands so Petal wouldn’t see how much it hurt her to admit it. “Your guess is as good as mine,” she sighed, rubbing at the freckles on her fingers as if they might come off.

  “And Mother?”

  Toli’s voice was barely a whisper. “With the dragons still, I think. I hope. I don’t know.” She fought a wave of despair, gritting her teeth. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t quit now.

  Toli’s legs felt like separate creatures, her thigh muscles twitching and burning. Petal was struggling to keep her eyes open. They all needed rest, but they couldn’t stop long. They had too far to go, and there was no telling how long Ruby could hold on.

  They sat shoulder to shoulder, chewing lizard jerky and listening to the sounds of the snow plopping down from the trees. Wix was carving something out of the piece of Toli’s sled he’d broken off. Toli threw one arm around a fox that had sidled up to sit next to her, eyeing the dry lizard. She gave him the tail.

  The next thing she knew, she was sitting up with a groan. A strange sound had woken her and she strained to find it in the quiet. Maybe she had imagined it. The cold dug its icy teeth down into her bones. Next to her, Petal’s breath escaped in a thin cloud every few seconds.

  The noise came again—the cry of a fox, but strange and wrong—frightened. She stared into the trees, reaching out to shake Wix awake. “Wake up. Something’s wrong.”

  His hand moved to his bow.

  Petal sat straight up, her eyes so blue, they almost glowed. “What is it?” she croaked.

  Toli fought gravity and stood, her whole body heavy. “We fell asleep. Something’s wrong,” she repeated. “I don’t know what, but we need to go.”

  Petal rushed to loop the ropes of her pack over her shoulders. Toli’s knees tried to buckle as she hefted Ruby back into her hood.

  “Where are the foxes?” Petal asked.

  Wix’s expression darkened. “Gone.”

  “What do you mean … gone?”

  “He means,” Toli panted, “whatever’s out there, they want no part of it. Hopefully they’re okay. They’ll catch up.”

  Petal turned to peer into the woods around them with wide eyes.
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  Toli reached out to squeeze her sister’s hand.

  They had to get through the woods to open ground again. At least there, they could see what was coming. Ahead of them, where the mountainside left the trees to climb again, green moonlight spread like a stain. Then, just for a second, something crossed in front of them—something big enough to block the light as it passed.

  Toli stopped. “Did you see that?”

  Wix gave his head a tiny shake. “See what?”

  “I … I don’t know. It was a shadow, like something just moved up there where the trees open.” A jolt of panic shot up Toli’s back. She fought it back down and fixed her gaze ahead, unblinking.

  Wix moved to stand beside her. “Could it be a dragon?”

  “No. I don’t think so. Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “What are we going to do? Should we hide?”

  “No. There’s no point in hiding. Whatever it is, it already knows we’re here.”

  Wix sighed.

  “So then…”

  Toli gave her sister a grim look. She reached down to draw the knife from the straps of her boot and handed it to her sister. “If we get out of this alive, I swear I’m going to show you how to use that—and a bow too.”

  Petal gave a sharp nod as she took the knife in her shaking grip.

  Toli unslung her bow from her shoulder. “Stay behind me,” she added, leading the way. “My cloak is good camouflage. It might buy us a few seconds.”

  They slunk toward the edge of the trees, Toli regretting every tiny crunch of ice under her feet. At the place where the wood opened up, a giant shadow stepped out to block their path.

  Wix spun to guard their backs as Toli grabbed Petal’s hand, pulling her so they all stood back to back.

  Toli looked up and peered into the bright eyes of a huge green dragon. Her breath stopped in her throat. The dragon’s green eyes were like jeweled crescents of the Dragon Moon. Vertical pupils lengthened as it considered them. “Where is she?” the dragon hissed. “Where is the youngling?”

  “I have her here,” Toli managed, turning so the dragon could see Ruby’s weight in her hood. “She’s safe.”

  The dragon didn’t answer as she slid closer, her talons clicking softly against the ice. She leaned over them and inhaled. Toli’s cloak shifted with the pull of the dragon’s breath. “I can barely smell her. What is wrong with her? Why did you take her?”

  Toli shook her head. “We didn’t take her! It was another dragon—two dragons. I swear it!” She took a breath to steady her heart.

  The dragon tipped her head, leaning forward so her eye drew even with them. “Which dragons?”

  Toli caught the sharp scent of electricity. Petal stepped to Toli’s side. “A brother and sister,” she said firmly. “Dral and Krala Frost.”

  “Frossst,” the dragon hissed. “Krala Frost, you say. That is interesting.” The dragon stared, her forked tongue flicking forward. “I am a Stone—secondborn. I have never liked Krala’s ways,” she rattled. “To my thinking, firstborns are often shortsighted.”

  Wix snorted, and Toli shot him a dirty look.

  “Krala has always had ambitions, though unfortunately, she is not alone in her foolish desires.”

  Petal stepped forward. “She tried to kill Ruby!”

  “Ruby?”

  Toli pulled Petal back. “The … the youngling.”

  The dragon huffed a cloud of steam, leaning through it to look Toli in the eyes. “She would not dare.”

  All three of them took an involuntary step back as the enormous green dragon leaned closer, studying them. Toli swallowed, lifting her chin. She wouldn’t hide the truth anymore. Not about this. Not about anything.

  The dragon’s crescent-shaped pupils dilated. “Humph. Is what you say true?”

  “It is,” Petal said, and the tone of her voice left no room for doubt.

  “Krala has always resented our queen.” The dragon considered them. “I am Bola Stone, secondborn, sister to both Krala and our Dragon-Mother.” Another pause. “And you are?”

  Toli cleared her throat. “Anatolia Strongarm, firstborn. Petal Strongarm, secondborn, and Wix Walerian, um … onlyborn.”

  Bola blew a breath of steam over them and for a moment Toli couldn’t see anything.

  When it had cleared, Toli asked, “Did Krala really fight with your thirdborn sister and lose? Is that how this Dragon-Mother came to rule—by challenging Krala?”

  A gleam of pride came into Bola’s eyes. “Yesss. Our Dragon-Mother had died, and although my sister was a thirdborn Sky, she challenged Krala Frost for the title of Dragon-Mother and won her challenge. We are loyal to her.”

  The dragon shook her green-feathered wings. “Our queen’s might is great. She has won many challenges in her time. Only Krala Firstborn harbors bitter dreams.”

  So the thirdborn sister had defeated Krala to become the Dragon-Mother. No wonder Krala hated her.

  Toli nodded. “But she … Krala hinted there were other … brethren who were on her side too.”

  “It is true that not all in the Mountain agree with our Dragon-Mother. My sister has made some … unusual choices.”

  “You mean like taking my mother,” Toli ground out, letting her bow fall to her side. She cleared her throat. “That’s why we’re here. To bring my mother home and return Ruby.”

  Bola leaned closer. “And the youngling is safe?”

  “For now.” Toli nodded.

  The dragon drew back, her words dropping like stones. “You threaten—”

  “No! We … she was protecting us. She ate something that made her sick. She’s—she’s dying.”

  The dragon inhaled again. Toli shivered as her hot exhale whipped her hair back.

  “That is why I cannot smell her. She has been poisoned.”

  “It was an accident.”

  The dragon pressed her muzzle right up against Toli, where Ruby was huddled close against her skin. Toli turned to ice and tried not to move at all as the dragon’s lips parted and drew in a breath. “Beetle,” Bola rattled.

  “We wanted to take her home. There must be something you can do to save her.”

  “Mmm. Yes. This will not do,” the dragon said. Wix coughed as she blew a wave of smoke over them. Next to Toli, Petal shivered under the dragon’s gaze.

  Wix tightened his grip on his bow. “What are you going to do with us?”

  “You came to return our youngling. What should I do with you?”

  Petal choked out, “Kill us?”

  The dragon drew back. “What a strange little bone bag you are. Why would I kill such a puny bite?”

  Toli snarled, “Because you’re a dragon! Because we’re worth nothing to you. Maybe you feel the same way as Krala. Maybe you want us all dead.”

  The dragon dragged one talon in the snow, tracing a long line between them. “What a strange idea.” The dragon turned to Wix. “Tell me, boy. Do you agree? What is your thinking? Why should I wish to kill you?”

  Wix glanced at Toli, hesitating. “Just … maybe … for fun?”

  The dragon lashed forward. Her forked tongue tasted the air around Petal’s head as she considered their words. “Would killing you be … fun?”

  Wix grabbed Petal by the arm, tugging her behind him and Toli. “Probably not,” he whispered.

  “Well, then.”

  Behind them, Petal nodded vigorously, her eyes squeezed shut.

  The dragon laughed through her nose, sending puffs of smoke steaming into the sky. “Funny little bone bags,” she chuckled.

  Toli swallowed her surprise. Unlike Krala, Bola seemed amused by humans—almost as if she found them endearing instead of infuriating.

  “So now what?” Petal whispered.

  “Now,” the dragon began as she executed a slow turn, her talons leaving deep punctures in the ice, “there is no time to be wasted. I will tell our Dragon-Mother what you have said. She will want to see you. Leave your tasty morsels, and I will take you to her.”
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  “Tasty morsels?” A rush of dizziness washed over Toli as she let out her breath.

  The dragon extended a long, clawed finger and pointed toward a small hill of snow several feet away. “These tasty morsels,” she growled, reaching out and flicking her talon. The hill scattered into whimpering foxes. They scurried into the trees to hide in their shadowed edges.

  “Will they be all right?” Petal asked.

  The dragon sighed. “You worry for nothing. They will find their way home, as all wise creatures do.” Petal’s face cracked into a wide grin, but Toli wasn’t sure this whole thing was such a good idea. Wix gave her what she was sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

  A rush of pride and fear swamped her heart as Petal met her gaze—the same little sister who had just crossed the ice with her and who had helped her best friend pull her from the grip of the long-gone sea, the same sister who had collected lizards to feed them and stitched her friend’s wound. It seemed like forever ago.

  “You know the Dragon-Mother might not listen?” Toli whispered to Petal and Wix.

  Wix nodded. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “We’re going.” Petal scowled.

  The dragon snickered and opened her taloned hand with a sigh. “I do not know what our Mother will make of your arrival. Shall we find out?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Toli watched the blood drain from Petal’s face and knew her own face looked the same. Though Toli had always wondered what it would be like to fly like the dragons, she had never imagined she would have a chance to do it. Her spine tingled.

  Bola Stone flexed her three huge black talons. The fourth, smaller talon opened like a thumb. “Coming?” She snickered at the looks on their faces.

  With a sick feeling in her stomach, Toli asked, “You want us to ride … in your talons? I was wondering if we could … um … Is there anywhere else to ride?”

  Petal cast her a grateful glance as Bola Stone considered her request. “On my back is tolerable—if you can find something to hold on to.” She eyed Toli doubtfully. “I fly high. You may freeze—if that sort of thing is bothersome to bone bags?”