Talons of Power

by Tui T. Sutherland

  Darkstalker chuckled. “No, it was all real.”

  “I wish I could really read minds,” she said sadly.

  “Do you have any jewelry on you?” Darkstalker asked.

  “Um … this?” Mindreader held out her arm to display a bracelet of green and silver glass beads strung along a twisted black wire. Turtle guessed she had made it here, in art class.

  “Heads up, Moon,” Darkstalker said, sliding the bracelet off Mindreader’s arm. “Exciting things about to happen!”

  “Is this a good idea?” Moon said anxiously.

  “We can’t leave this poor dragonet with a name that’s a lie, can we?” he asked. Darkstalker held the bracelet between his claws for a moment, with something glimmering in his dark eyes. Finally he passed it back to Mindreader.

  “Wish granted,” he said, smiling again.

  “What — oh!” She gasped as the bracelet touched her scales. She looked up at him, eyes wide with wonder. “I can — I can hear what everyone’s thinking! I really can! Is this real? Three moons! Let’s see — the SeaWing princess is thinking I don’t deserve a gift like this. Moon is worried about whether it’ll be too much for me, hearing everything all at once. Mightyclaws and Fearless are both super jealous. Ha! This is amazing!” She did a little jump into the air, fluttering her wings.

  “Moon’s right,” said Darkstalker. “It’s a lot to handle at first. But Moon can help you if you feel overwhelmed.”

  “Moon can?” said Mightyclaws. “Why?”

  “Darkstalker —” Moon started.

  “Have a little faith in your fellow NightWings, Moon,” Darkstalker said. “Don’t you think it’s fair for them to know that you have mind reading and prophecy powers?”

  “WHAT?” Fearless cried. They all looked at Moon as though she had suddenly sprouted six extra heads.

  “But I was going to tell them,” Moon protested. “I mean, eventually. Soon. When I figured out how.”

  “Well, now we’re even for you telling your friends about skyfire,” Darkstalker said cheerfully. “Besides, I promise nobody’s going to hate you, the way you were so worried everyone would. Right, my friends?”

  “I don’t hate her,” Mindreader said with a touch of smugness, admiring her bracelet.

  “How could you keep something like that a secret?” Fearless demanded.

  “That’s not fair!” Mightyclaws cried. “She got to grow up in the rainforest, safe and fed and happy, and she gets all our lost powers?”

  “Ooooo, he’s thinking, why couldn’t it be ME?” Mindreader announced gleefully.

  “All right, genius, anyone could guess that,” Fearless snapped at her. “Does your mother know?” she asked Moon. “I’m assuming yes, since lying apparently runs in your family.”

  “How could I tell anyone when I knew you’d react this way?” Moon confronted her. “Exactly the way I expected?”

  “Hey now, hey now,” Darkstalker said. He reached out with one massive talon and nudged Fearless back a few paces, away from Moon. “That’s right, I forgot one little step. Sorry, Moon.” He turned to Mightyclaws and tapped the miniature diamond stud embedded in the dragonet’s earlobe. It was so small that for a long time Turtle had thought it was a tiny silver scale, but now he could see that it was an earring.

  “Tell me, Mightyclaws, if you could have any power, what would you choose?” Darkstalker asked.

  “Darkstalker,” Moon said warily. “Shouldn’t you be thinking about your soul?”

  “All taken care of,” Darkstalker said, waving one of his wings at her. “Right, little princess?”

  “That’s right.” Anemone flared her wings and looked imperious. “So you can quit acting like you know everything, Moon. Darkstalker and I are just fine.”

  Moon gave her a puzzled sideways look.

  “So, Mightyclaws.” Darkstalker’s eyes glittered at the young NightWing. “What do you think? Any power at all.”

  “I guess … prophecy?” he said. “I mean … to be different from Mindreader.”

  “You’re thinking too small.” Darkstalker grinned with all his teeth. “Don’t limit yourself to traditional NightWing powers. What if you could do anything? Any power you can imagine!”

  “Oh, Darkstalker,” Moon said, starting to pace up and down the cave. “I’m really not sure about this.”

  “Oooo, she’s imagining all sorts of terrible things!” Mindreader reported enthusiastically.

  “Shouldn’t we check with Sunny or Tsunami or Queen Glory, at least?” Moon asked.

  “Do you think they’d really stop me from improving these dragons’ lives?” Darkstalker asked. “Look how happy Mindreader is now.”

  “Yes … but …” Moon trailed off.

  “But you want all the power for yourself, is that it?” Mightyclaws asked, lashing his tail. “You don’t like the idea of other dragons being special, too?”

  “Powers like these can be hard to live with,” Moon said fiercely. “I’m just worried for you all.”

  “I’ll take yours if you want to give them up,” Mightyclaws suggested.

  “Me too!” Anemone said. “Ooo, then I’d be just like Darkstalker!”

  “Moon is sensible to worry,” Darkstalker said soothingly, “but luckily I am here to make sure everything turns out fine. Mightyclaws, what have you decided?”

  “And me?” Fearless interjected. “Am I getting a power, too?”

  “Do you have anything to enchant?” Darkstalker asked, looking her up and down.

  “I will!” Fearless whirled and ran out of the cave.

  “I have one idea,” Mightyclaws said hesitantly. “But it might be stupid.”

  “It’s not,” said Darkstalker. “I can see what you’re thinking. It’s very creative.”

  “What?” Anemone demanded. “What is it?”

  “I don’t get it,” said Mindreader. “He wants to draw things and then make them real?”

  “Like, if I draw a sword, then I could touch it and it would become a real sword,” Mightyclaws said, glowing a little with excitement. “And if I drew a pond, I could touch it and it would become a real pond. Or if I drew a banana, then I could touch it and, and, um … have a real banana to eat.”

  “Oh, that’s what he really wants,” Mindreader giggled. “An endless supply of food.”

  “Would have been pretty useful back on the volcano,” Mightyclaws bristled. “You wouldn’t be making fun of me then! You’d be kissing my claws for a banana!”

  “We don’t live on the volcano anymore,” Mindreader pointed out. “We live in basically the banana capital of the universe. We don’t need a magic banana-maker.”

  “It’s not just for bananas!” Mightyclaws cried.

  “Well, I think it’s extremely clever,” Darkstalker said, and Mindreader subsided at once. “Let me think for a moment about how exactly to word the spell.” He tapped his chin pensively for a few long, silent seconds, and then he touched Mightyclaws’ earring again, whispering under his breath.

  “There we go,” he said.

  “Did it work?” Mightyclaws asked.

  “Run to the art cave and see,” Darkstalker suggested.

  “Bring me back a banaaaaaaana!” Mindreader called after him as Mightyclaws darted away.

  “Darkstalker, why are you doing this?” Moon asked. She stopped pacing and sat down with her tail around her talons. Turtle wished he were brave enough to stand next to her, taking strength from her strength. He wished she could tell him what to think about any of this. The more he watched Darkstalker, the more confused he felt.

  Because this was a good thing Darkstalker was doing, wasn’t it? Giving other dragons powers?

  That’s what you want to think, his conscience whispered.

  “Our tribe needs help, Moon,” Darkstalker said earnestly. “They’ve fallen so far. I want to restore them to the powerful tribe I remember, and if I can do that by sharing my gift, why shouldn’t I?”

  “Because … are you sure y
ou won’t turn evil?” Moon asked. “And these are huge decisions — shouldn’t you think about them a little more?”

  “I have been thinking about them,” Darkstalker assured her. “I’ve been thinking nonstop since I woke up, and I’ve checked all the possible futures. This is the best path, believe me. A happy NightWing tribe. Talons of power for everyone!”

  “Talons of power?” Moon echoed, her eyes wide. “Like the prophecy? The whole ‘beware’ part?”

  “I’m just joking,” said Darkstalker. “Try not to worry so much.”

  “I’m back!” Fearless ran into the room, panting. “I’m here! I have something!” She thrust out her arm. A pair of silver and black wires had been hastily twisted into a rough bracelet, barely visible on her wrist. She smiled up at Darkstalker in a frighteningly worshipful way.

  “Superstrength, please,” she said breathlessly.

  Darkstalker smiled back at her. “Anything you wish.”

  He touched her wrist and muttered something. When he finished, she turned her talon over, then spun around and slammed her tail into a stalagmite. It instantly crumbled into a cascade of tiny rocks.

  Fearless let out a shriek of delight. “Did you SEE that?” she cried.

  Mindreader toyed with her own bracelet, frowning. “Well,” she said. “It’s cool, I suppose, if you like that kind of thing. I mean, a bit obvious, but all right.”

  Darkstalker suddenly sat up, lifting his head as though he could see monsters crawling out of the stalactites. He stared into space for a moment with faraway eyes. The other dragons all held their breath and watched in silence.

  “Did you sense something?” he said finally, looking down at Moon.

  She shook her head. “What was it? A vision?”

  “More of a premonition,” he said. His expression was troubled — and if this was an act, Turtle thought, then Darkstalker was really good at it. Even Turtle felt his anxiety jump a few notches higher. “Someone’s in danger. Can you feel it?”

  Moon closed her eyes. Mindreader saw her do it and immediately closed her eyes, too, putting on a deeply pensive look.

  “Hmm, yes,” said Mindreader, nodding. “The princess who smells like fish is thinking maybe she should give herself some cool powers like ours. Ha ha, copycat. Oh, and there’s Sunny’s mind — coming this way with a squirrel for Darkstalker, wondering what he’s found out about Clearsight.”

  Turtle felt a flash of worry that she’d hear his mind, hiding nearby, and give him away. But then he remembered the skyfire, which shielded him from all mind readers. He felt for his armband with a sigh of relief. Only three stones left; the other three holes marked the stones he’d given to Winter, Qibli, and Kinkajou. Would Moon want a stone for herself, now that there were two other mind readers around? Maybe not; he wasn’t sure she’d still be able to read other minds if she was holding a skyfire rock.

  “It’s Stonemover!” Moon cried suddenly, her eyes flying open. She leaped to her feet, wings spread wide, and turned toward Sunny as she entered the cave. “Sunny, your father — someone’s trying to kill him!”

  There was a sudden rush of wings, like a million seagulls taking flight at once. Sunny, Darkstalker, and Moon dove out into the storm; Anemone pivoted in a circle, as though startled that they’d left without her, then flew after them. Mindreader and Fearless exchanged a glance and finally followed as well.

  Turtle hurried out from behind the gong and stood in the cave entrance for a moment, dithering. It would be hard to sneak along behind them; but then, he wanted to know what was happening; on the other talon, it was raining quite a lot; but then again, Qibli had asked him to keep an eye on Darkstalker, so that was really what he had to do, wasn’t it?

  “Rrrgh,” he growled softly, and then he was out in the rain, instantly drenched, flying through flashes of lightning. He chased the dragons around the mountain to the cave Stonemover had chosen to live in for the rest of his life, like a petrified hermit crab.

  Turtle had never visited the old NightWing animus during his time at Jade Mountain. He had a weird, irrational fear that the dragon would somehow recognize him as a fellow animus and reveal his secret. Although if he searched deeper, he’d also have to admit that he was afraid of seeing what an animus could become when he used his magic too much.

  He heard Darkstalker roar, angry and earthshaking, sending a slide of rocks clattering down the mountainside. Turtle wobbled down to the ledge outside the cave and slid himself into the very edge of the shadows inside.

  He sucked in a sharp breath as he suddenly realized how close he was to Darkstalker’s scales. The enormous dragon filled the mouth of the cave, leaning in toward the others. His smooth ebony side rose and fell only a thin slice of air away from Turtle’s nose.

  If I touch him, will he notice me then? Or will he wonder why he can touch something that he cannot see?

  Turtle held himself tensely frozen, wings pinned to the wall behind him like stingrays caught on a SeaWing’s sharp claws. From his position, he could just see a sliver of the cave beyond: Stonemover’s gray, fossilized arm; a tangle of NightWing tails; a pool of blood slowly creeping across the stone floor.

  “Father!” Sunny cried, was crying, had cried several times over, the word echoing around the cave.

  “Who did this?” Moon’s voice, then a glimpse of her teardrop scales as she turned to Darkstalker. “You must know.”

  “He went into the tunnels,” Darkstalker said, pointing, his wings shifting warm, fire-smelling breath past Turtle’s face. “Otherwise I’d chase him down myself.”

  “I’ll do it!” Anemone yelped from her spot at Darkstalker’s talons. She seized a loose prey bone on the floor. “Lead me to Stonemover’s killer.”

  “Anemone, no!” But Sunny was too late; Anemone’s pale blue tail flashed a trail through the blood, and she was gone.

  “Why didn’t you see this coming?” Moon asked Darkstalker. “I thought you could see everything, all the futures.”

  “There are billions upon billions of futures,” Darkstalker answered. “I’m sorry; even I can’t study all of them, especially when something small can set off a sharp turn. Sunny, is he still alive? It seems like I can still hear a glimmer of life in his mind.”

  “Oh — so can I!” Moon gasped.

  “Um, yeah, ME TOO,” Mindreader declared quickly.

  Darkstalker squeezed forward another few steps, and as he ducked his head, Turtle could see a slash of dark red beads dripping across Stonemover’s neck.

  If Stonemover was still alive — Turtle’s healing rock could save him. This was a wound like Winter’s, on the surface, where the enchantment Turtle had crafted so thoughtlessly could actually help.

  But to bring it out now would be suicidal. Not only would everyone discover that Turtle was an animus, but Darkstalker would want to know where the rock came from — who’d enchanted it, and how he didn’t know about it.

  No, there was no way to help. Once again, Turtle had to sit on his claws and do nothing. He had to stay useless if he wanted to stay safe.

  “He’s alive,” Darkstalker said firmly. “I can save him.” He reached up and snapped a stalactite off the roof with casual, terrifying strength.

  “But — you shouldn’t — should you?” Sunny asked.

  “He’s my family, too.” Darkstalker wrapped his front talons around the spear of rock. “Enchant this stalactite to heal the wounds of any dragon it touches,” he said in a deep voice.

  A little deeper than necessary, Turtle thought. A little theatrical, let’s be honest.

  But it seemed to have the intended effect on the dragons watching. All their eyes followed Darkstalker’s movements as he reached down and tapped Stonemover lightly on the chest.

  A hushed moment passed, and then Stonemover let out a sigh. The slash of red on his neck knitted together and vanished. He rolled his head back with a groan of pain, opened his eyes, and saw Darkstalker.

  “Hello,” Darkstalker said. “You’re
all right now.”

  “Who are you?” Stonemover croaked in his dust-covered voice.

  “An ancestor of yours,” said Darkstalker. “Returned from the dead. So we have that in common! My name is Darkstalker.”

  “No,” whispered Stonemover, his eyes widening.

  “Don’t be scared,” Moon said quickly. “He’s not here to hurt us.”

  “He saved your life,” Sunny added. She rested one of her small talons on Stonemover’s petrified shoulder, a tiny island of gold among all the black scales in the cave.

  “With magic?” Stonemover said, sounding half-panicked. “No. You can’t. It’s wrong, it’s wrong — my claws! They’re not mine!” His eyes rolled wildly toward his talons and Turtle saw the stone cracking all along his arms, crumbling back to release the scales underneath.

  “What do you mean?” Sunny asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “These aren’t my claws!” Stonemover shrieked. “What are they doing? Stop them! Somebody stop them!”

  Bewildered, Sunny pounced on one of his front talons. Darkstalker dropped the stalactite and gently pinned the other.

  “Don’t panic,” he said. “You’ve had a shock. Someone tried to kill you, but you’re safe now. Your petrified scales are healing, that’s all — you’re not used to being able to feel your limbs anymore. In a moment all the rock will be gone and you’ll be back to normal.”

  “They’re not mine,” Stonemover said again, in a low, desperate voice. Tension radiated through his muscles, down his arms to the claws that twitched and twitched, breaking free. “No. No, I gave mine up. My talons are gone. These are monsters crawling out of the earth and they will rend the sky and crush the wings of small dragons and I can’t let them I won’t I won’t I won’t let them be used again!”

  His voice rose and rose to an agonized roar. The head-splitting sound pounded images of blood and death and slashing claws through Turtle’s brain: Do you trust YOUR talons do you trust them do you?

  “Stop him!” Moon shouted to Darkstalker. “He’s trying to use his magic to hurt himself!” Mindreader had her talons over her ears and was huddled in a ball on the cave floor.