Secret Secrets: Chapter 1

"Sammal!"

Her name echoed in the barn, bellowed from a distance it seemed. The sprite scrambled to her hooves and grabbed the rope from where it lay on the floor, jumping onto the bales of hay that led up to the only window on the ground floor. 

"Mila?" she asked, confused when she didn't see the dracus waiting for her to give him the rope. She jumped when she heard a pained roar punctuated by a crunching *thud*.

The wind whipped to life and blew Sammal's mane back from her face. She finally saw the blue scales she'd expected flash in front of the window.

"Take him," Milarose said gruffly, panting as his hand reached through the window and pushed something onto the hay bale beside her. Held by the scruff of his neck, arms and legs spread indignantly with chains between his ankles and wrists, was the most colorful drakiri Sammal had ever seen. His pelt was mottled with streaks of bright orange and blue, his face a shocking vibrant green that turned into yellow closer to his throat. She couldn't even take in all the colors before she had to grab him by the scruff with her mouth to keep him from falling to the floor of the barn far below. 

"Wait what?" she said when she finally got him stable enough to stand on his own and looked back to the window, placing her hooves on the worn wooden edge of it. "Mila who is this!" 

She looked through the window and her eyes stretched wide in horror. Milarose turned on his heel, and in the split second it took him to raise his arms up to defend himself, the reason for his haste came barreling toward him.

"Get down!" she cried, scrambling with the other drakiri to clamber down the hay bales. He stumbled and fell due to the chains that connected his feet, hobbling as fast as he could. 

They only just managed to touch down on the ground when the wall behind them exploded inward with a thunderous, dry crack. Hay bales tumbled end over end as Milarose and a massive, dark primal with a vibrant, dark scarlet mane and deep bred scales fell through the wall into the barn. 

They moved almost too fast for Sammal to see as she dragged the smaller drakiri toward the far end of the barn. Massive fangs flashed, fur flew as claws and hooves scrambled for purchase. Milarose howled in pain when his attacker opened their jaws impossibly wide and clamped down on his shoulder. The hardness of his scales resisted the pressure for a heartbeat before the teeth punctured through with a horrible, crunching pop. 

"Go!" Milarose roared, and Sammal knew immediately that he was talking to her. 

She turned and set her shoulder against the child, pushing him toward the stalls. She worried the metallic tinkling of the chains would draw the primal's attention, but when Sammal looked over her shoulder she saw that the primal wasn't even concerned with them in the least. 

"Mila!" she gasped as the dracus writhed under his attacker. The primal planted her hooves on the ground and used strong muscles in her broad neck and shoulders to pull Milarose up off the floor of the barn. 

A sound came from the dracus that Sammal had never heard before, a mewling cry of pain and rage that made him sound pitifully young again. She stared as the attacker's jaws tightened, lowering Milarose back to the floor. 

Sammal's hooves moved before she knew what she was doing, running as fast as she could across the hay-covered floor. She leaped toward the primal, aiming for her throat, but Sammal had never fought anything before in her life. Her horn hit the darkiri's cheek and skidded farther up, sinking halfway into the soft eyeball that swirled to look in her direction.

The primal shrieked in pain, jaws parting as she pulled away. She shook her head violently, blood gushing down her face from the hideous wound as she howled. 

Sammal stumbled back, shocked as she felt warm liquid oozing down her face from her horn. She flinched when something moved, and she felt a hand grab her from the floor of the barn. 

Milarose staggered to his feet and grabbed the child from farther in the barn. He tried to leave through the hole in the side of the barn, but the shrieking primal charged them and hit Milarose in the side, carrying them across the barn and through the other side. 

Sammal cried out in fear and pain when she felt Milarose's fingers tighten around her. The drakiri tossed her head back and sent Milarose flying into the air. The wind roared around them, deafening Sammal. But she looked down to see Milarose's strong tail smash across the side of the primal's head, sending her staggering to the ground. But even from so high up, Sammal could see the hatred in the primal's remaining eye. 

As they flew away from everything Sammal had known, the sprite looked over to the large child hugged in Milarose's other arm. She gasped when she saw blood trickling from his tail, but despite his startlingly orange eyes being wide with fear, he didn't have the tight, glazed look of pain on his face. It must not have been his blood, which meant it was Milarose's...

"Mila!" she shouted to be heard over the wind. They flew faster than she had ever seen the dracus fly before, the ground a blur far beneath them. "Your arm!" 

"I'm fine," Milarose said through bloody, gritted teeth. His voice was tight with pain, brows knitted together, ears flat against his skull. He repeated, "I'm fine." 

Sammal didn't believe for a minute that Milarose was fine as he claimed, but he needed to concentrate on flying to get them as far away from the barn as possible before the primal came after them. She'd seen the larger drakiri flying, so it probably wouldn't take long for her to get up and follow. 

The sprite felt herself begin to tremble as the gravity of what had just happened began to settle in. The barn was destroyed. And even if they were able to repair it, someone knew where it was now. They could never go back; it wasn't safe anymore. Their home was gone. 

Sammal didn't know how long they flew, but she noticed right away when they started to fall. It wasn't the graceful arch Milarose usually made to touch down for a landing. One moment they were flying forward, parallel to the ground, the next they began to drop like a stone. 

"Mila!" she cried, wriggling in the dracus's hand. He still had a firm grip on her but the other drakiri had started to slip from his arm. "Mila we're falling!" 

Sammal craned her head back to see Milarose's eyes were almost completely shut, rolled back in his head. He was losing too much blood--could he even hear her?

The ground practically flew toward them, they were about to hit! She had no choice--

Sammal drew her head back and stabbed her horn into the base of Milarose's neck where it met his shoulder. His eyes flew open, and he roared in pain and surprise. His eyes widened, he clutched the unnamed child to his chest, turning at the last moment so he hit the ground shoulder-first. 

They skidded across the field of grass, jostled so hard from the landing that Sammal flew from his hand entirely, tumbling to a stop with a rock in her back. 

She rolled onto her side with a groan of pain and stumbled dizzily to her hooves. She saw the cloud of dust where Milarose had landed and ran toward him on wobbly legs, panting from exertion. 

A pitiful, weak cry came from the child trapped between Milarose's forearm and his chest. It was weak and reedy, and Sammal saw why immediately.

"It's okay!" Sammal panted, placing her hooves on Milarose's chest. "It's okay, wake up! You're crushing him!" Milarose's eyes were solidly shut, and he didn't so much as flinch when she poked him again. 

The child's mouth opened, orange eyes wide and bulging now. 

"Come on!" Sammal screamed, frustrated by how helpless she felt. She shook her head hard and leaned down to put her shoulder against the dracus's chest. She gritted her teeth and pushed up, straining every muscle she had to push Milarose's body. She shouted from the effort but managed to just move him--it was the smallest bit, but it was enough. His torso moved and the child pulled himself free, wheezing as he gasped for air. 

Sammal fell back and had to lock her knees so she wouldn't collapse. Her heart pounded so hard and fast in her chest that her vision darkened around the edges. 

"Are you okay?" Sammal asked, her voice faint as she looked over to the child. Now that she got a more proper look at him, he really wasn't small enough to be a child, was he? He was twice her size, but his horns weren't even half-grown in. He still even had baby fat and downy fur around his face. 

He nodded at her, shifting his forelegs uncomfortably. The chains between them were unreasonably short, it would be impossible for him to run like this. 

"Good," Sammal said, trying to shove the panic she felt building back down. She turned back to Milarose and felt her belly churn with worry at the blood seeping steadily from the puncture marks in his scales. One of them looked like it was half ripped off, and the sight alone made her skin crawl. The ground soaked up the blood almost as soon as it touched the dirt beneath him, so there was no puddle, but Sammal was sure it was too much blood. 

Her ears pricked as she heard the wind pick up in the distance, her heart falling in terror. 

"Hide!" she hissed. "We have to hide! Oh no Mila, wake up PLEASE!" She circled Milarose, pleading for him to get up, but to no avail. She looked over her shoulder, having to stand on her hind legs to see over the tall, swaying grass. In the distance, she thought she saw a figure, but she didn't want to be right. 

"We have to hide," she repeated, her voice shaking. "Mila's s-strong, he can take care of himself. We gotta hide or they'll find us. I don't know who you are or why he brought you here, but Mila would want you safe." 

The field where they had landed offered nothing in the way of protection or hiding places, and Sammal grew frustrated by the volume of the steps the child took, his shackles clanking together with each movement. 

The sound of the howling wind grew louder, announcing the approach of a drakiri who used magic rather than wings to fly. 

Sammal's heart skipped a beat when she saw Milarose stir finally, but it was too late. The drakiri who had attacked them was closing in, she'd already seen Milarose at the least, if not them as well. 

"Caledonia, come here," Milarose rasped, blood seeping from between his teeth. The child shuffled quickly toward him and Milarose reached out with his bleeding arm, grabbing the chains between each of Caledonia's limbs and squeezing until the metal popped with a tiny metallic shriek. 

"Go, hide. If they find you, they will take you again. Find Eirwyn in the north," Milarose said weakly. 

"I'm so sorry," Sammal sobbed as she turned to run. There was no time for regrets or promises to find him, if they lingered, they would die. 

Caledonia hurried in front of her on stocky, but fast legs, and gestured with his tail for her to lay down. She didn't understand, and it was clear in her posture, but when the younger drakiri lunged at her she didn't have the energy to stop him. 

Sammal fell to the ground and struggled when Caledonia climbed atop her. She cried out, but the sound was lost in the wind and to the pressure the larger drakiri put on her. The air was squeezed from her lungs, and it was all she could do to so much as take a breath, let alone make a sound. 

"Where is he, dracus?" a booming female voice snarled. The ground trembled as she landed, and Sammal thought for sure she could feel each of the drakiri's steps through the earth. 

"Gone," Milarose said, sounding strained. "I hid him, you'll never find him." 

"Oh no, we'll find him," the stranger growled. "And when we do, I'll cut more than his tongue out so he can't fucking run." 

"You'll ruin his pelt if you do that," Milarose said. "That's why you had him, isn't it? You're poachers." 

There was a beat of silence that stretched across the field, punctuated by Milarose's wet coughs. 

"I should kill you. I want to kill you," the stranger hissed. "It would be smart to kill you, you and that little bitch sprite have already caused me too much grief. I've killed for less." 

"Then stop talking about it and get on with it," Milarose snapped. "No wonder the nightmare you were with laid down to die, must've been sick of hearing your--"

His voice was lost in an ear-splitting, ferocious snarl and found once more in a deafening howl of pain and rage. Sammal could feel Caledonia trembling over here, but he remained still otherwise. She hid her face against the younger drakiri's chest scales, sobbing silently as she listened to the fight. She heard the heavy blows of hooves meeting flesh, the crack of bones between teeth, and for the first time in her life Sammal feared she would lose Milarose. 

"Stop!" 

The new voice rang out loud and clear, and Sammal flinched when the grass rustled right next to them. She turned her head just enough to look beside them and saw the dark flank of another drakiri standing perhaps a few tail lengths away. Had he seen them? He took a few steps forward, and Sammal flinched when the shadow of his tail passed over them, but he didn't so much as hesitate. 

"Bodaecia, enough! You'll kill him!" 

"That's the point," Bodaecia snapped. "Stay out of this, Vyno." 

"Donovan has been asking after sapphire pelts," Vyno said. "Gods, Bodaecia, your obsession with biting is honestly disturbing. Step back, we'll take this one with us." 

"What about the crossbreed whelp?" Bodaecia asked. 

"His markings were unique, but his breed was not," Vyno replied indifferently. "Besides, this one bit me. I'm not above pettiness. I'd like to see him suffer." 

"Is he even still alive?" 

Silence followed the question and Sammal held her breath, convinced they would hear her if she didn't. 

"Alive enough. Bring him. The child won't get far in those shackles," Vyno said. "We'll find him again." 

The wind whipped the grass into a frenzy once more as the poachers left, and it took everything Sammal had left to push Caledonia off of her so she could stumble to her feet. She turned and watched in horror as the three drakiri disappeared, Milarose's bloodstained tail hanging limply from his body. 

"He's gone," she breathed. "He's gone, they took him. What do I do?" 

Her whiskers trembled as she turned to look where Milarose had laid, marked only by the darker, wet stains on the grass and where the thirsty earth had soaked up his blood. 

"What do I do?" she cried, turning now to face Caledonia. He stared at her through wide orange eyes and shook his head.

"What does that mean?" Sammal demanded, her desperation driving her to impoliteness. 

Caledonia looked away from her and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened his mouth. Inside, Sammal was horrified to see a dark stump that was of a startlingly dark red color where his tongue should have been.  

"She really cut out your tongue," she breathed in disbelief. A shudder rolled down her spine and she shook herself. So he couldn't talk, fine, he could still move his head. 

"Those drakiri, Mila said they're poachers. Is that true?" she asked. 

Caledonia stared blankly at her. 

"They wanted your fur?" she clarified, speaking louder and slower in case he was dense. 

He nodded and clearly wanted to say something, but kept his mouth closed. Sammal wondered if the stump of his tongue pained him still, but there wasn't time to get to know him, they had to get moving. 

"Are there more poachers that will come looking for you?" she asked. 

Caledonia nodded vigorously this time and stood, the chains that dangled from his shackles dragging noisily along the ground with each step he took. At least he could walk now. 

Sammal followed the larger drakiri, looking around and over her shoulder in quick, paranoid glances, terrified that someone was going to appear and snatch them up like a hawk after a couple of field mice. But after a moment, she realized she should be the one leading them. 

Where were they even going? Where could they go? Sammal had no family to speak of, no friends outside of those who had come to live at the barn, and they had all grown up and moved away to their new homes or left on their own. After Azrinal's accident, Milarose hadn't brought many children back to the barn. If he found any, he would keep them there only long enough for Icarus to come and collect them. 

Icarus! Could he come get them? He would have no way of knowing they needed him, and even if he did, would he come? The kainu had made himself scarce of the last few years, only communicating through Eirwyn to let them know when he had found homes for the drakiri Milarose brought to the healer. For a while, Sammal had worried Icarus was upset with them, or he didn’t want to see them anymore, but Milarose had suggested he might just be busy. It had been a hard pill to swallow, thinking that she would never see her friend again, especially when he had promised to take her to the sea. 

“Milarose said to go to Eirwyn,” Sammal said, trying her best to calm her frayed nerves. She had to think clearly for them both. “She’s a healer and knows how to get in contact with someone who might be able to help us. She’s…gods, she’s a day and a half flight from the barn I think, I-I don’t know how long of a walk that is.” 

Caledonia shifted his feet uncertainly, looking toward where the poachers had disappeared. Even without the ability to speak, he made a good point.

“We have to try,” she agreed resolutely. “For Milarose. That nightmare said someone wanted sapphire pelts. Maybe…maybe they won’t hurt him.” She was horrified to think of what fate awaited the dracus she had come to know and love like the father she had never known. “We’re smaller than the poachers, and there aren’t as many of us. We have to hurry and hide if they show up. That thing you did so they couldn’t see us, that was magic wasn’t it?” 

Caledonia nodded emphatically, smiling wide enough to show chipped and cracked molars. 

“Come on,” she said, taking off at a light trot so she could keep up with Caledonia. “I haven’t visited Eirwyn in a long time, but I think I remember how to get there. I hope I do, anyway.” 

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