The Smuggler: Chapter Seven: Out to Kill

In my introduction, I said Skypeak Mountain, but I decided not to put that in there. Also, this chapter is pretty short, but has vital information in it. Don't skip it.

Chapter Seven

Out to Kill

    The effect was uproarious. Moth, Qibli, and Winter sprang into defense mode and began fervently searching the skies. Moon suddenly clutched her head like she had a giant headache. Kinkajou, seemingly instinctively, did some kind of weird fade thing with her scales and disappeared. Julia grabbed Peacock closer to her and wrapped her wings around her brother. But it was Dragonfly who took charge. "Everyone inside!" She tossed the scale inside, apparently not caring where it hit, and began to shoo them all inside, leaving Moth, Qibli, and Winter still outside.

    Turtle pulled away and looked around the clearing frantically. "Kinkajou?"

    "Right here." Kinkajou materialized in front of them. "Sorry. Bad habit."

    Dragonfly sighed and led them back into the house, slamming the door behind them. She turned and ran back to the three dragons still outside. "See anything yet?"

    "Not yet. It's getting darker, harder to see," replied Moth, spinning flamesilk out of his wrist to hold up to see better.

    Dragonfly shook her head worriedly. "The normal time to strike. You three come inside, too. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you." As she led them inside, unbeknownst to the rest of them, she quietly slipped something from a knothole in one of the pieces of wood. She closed the door again and breathed a relieved sigh.

    "Who's Beetle?" asked Peacock. He sat next to Anemone and she leaned her head against him.

    "The same dragon who's responsible for me coming here. Also the dragon who literally tried to kill anyone he decided he didn't like. Or something like that." Dragonfly sat at the table and sighed a second time, this time more worried than relieved. "His scales were the color of blood, and sometimes actually were covered in blood.

    "We were at an orphanage together. He had paralyzing venom in his teeth, I remember once he accidentally bit his tongue and couldn't talk for an hour. That was the time I liked him the most. Although afterwards he decided to kill the dragonets who laughed at him. That was like the number one rule in the orphanage. Don't tease, laugh at, or do anything to offend Beetle if you value your life. He goes for the wings first, preventing your fly escape, and quickly after paralyzes the throat, stopping you from shouting. He slowly spreads his venom throughout your body, stopping you from escaping or fighting him off in any way. It also hurts, because his teeth sink in so far. It also lasts for longer, because he injects like a ton of venom. His signature attack is, 'Quietly, quickly, and without a trace.'" Dragonfly paused and a shudder rippled through her wings. "My best friend, Whitefly, disappeared one day. Everyone knew what had happened to her, but I wanted to check anyway. She was frozen, crumpled at the bottom of the Hive, apparently trying to escape, not realizing or forgetting that her wings were frozen." Dragonfly paused and closed her eyes. She took a shaky breath. "No one should have to go through that grief."

    There was a long silence, then Moon said, "I had another vision."

    "You seem to get those a lot," commented Anemone.

    "And another prophecy."

    "Also get those a lot," Kinkajou agreed. "But I guess we can hear it."

    Moon bit her lip. "It seems like it's directed at someone in particular, but I'm not sure who.

See it rising above the land

Once forgotten, crumbled like sand.

Find the fire

Fallen from a sky of sapphire.

Speak the name of the bridge between worlds

And descend to once a prison, now the Underworld.

Place the key to stop the fight

Into the palms of the one who gives light.

Trust the one you've trusted this long

And listen not to the deceiving song.

You find the keeper of souls

And she helps her from the evil holds." Moon broke off and shook her head. "I don't make any sense of it, do you?"

    Everyone shook their heads. "About as much as I understood the last one," Qibli replied. "Which isn't much."

    "Yeah. Anyway, we should probably get to bed. Anyone who tries to scream but either can't or breaks off in the middle is in trouble," said Turtle.

    They all headed off upstairs except for Dragonfly. Moth paused on the stairs as the rest of them continued upstairs. Hidden in shadow, he was the only one who saw Dragonfly stare at the table and whisper, "Keeper of souls." She got out of her chair and put something she had been holding into a desk drawer. Then she closed her eyes and a single tear fell out of it. "It's been a while, old friend."

    Moth looked around to see who she was talking to, but couldn't see anyone. That apparently didn't stop Dragonfly.

    "Keep them safe. Please. I promised to help their family as much as possible. I would never forgive myself if something happened to them." She raised her face to the ceiling and continued. "I think they're safer without me. Please, help them. Help me decide which way to go." A loud thump interrupted her from outside and Moth squinted through a nearby window to see a wily dark form of a dragon slip silently away. Dragonfly sighed as if she could already see him. "All right. I get it. I'll go."