by Linda McNabb
‘It looks a bit like a cat, curled up,’ Dyahn said thoughtfully.
‘Does it?’ Rhonan asked a little sourly, screwing his face up and twisting his head. Dyahn was known for staring at clouds and seeing things that nobody else saw. ‘I can’t see it. It’s just a hunk of rock.’
‘Look, Tryx is flying,’ Dyahn said, pointing to where the little dragon had just launched herself into the air. She was clumsy looking and barely made it to the rooftop of the nearest house, but she creeled in triumph as she surveyed the square from up high.
Suddenly she launched herself into the air again and glided down into the square. It only took a second for Rhonan to realise where she was heading.
‘She’s going to land on the elf stone!’ Rhonan exclaimed. He leapt to his feet, closely followed by Dyahn, and ran over to try to scare her off.
‘No! Get away!’ Dyahn yelled as she waved her arms and jumped up and down. ‘You might knock it off.’
The dragonet ignored their attempts to divert her and she landed clumsily on top of the stone. The elf stone was as large as her and probably twice as heavy and she perched on top of it, crooning as she stared into its black shiny depths. Gem. Tryx want Gem.
‘I don’t think it’s going to fall,’ Rhonan said. ‘But we should get her down before anyone sees.’
The noise from within the hall had risen considerably as everyone tried to be heard at once. Rhonan started to coax the dragonet down but she ignored him and continued to stare into the glossy elf stone.
‘We could offer her some food,’ Dyahn suggested helpfully.
‘Go and get some then,’ Rhonan said a little nervously. He kept looking towards the hall, expecting the door to open at any second. Dyahn ran off and came back with a large slice of cake that had been left from their evening meal. The dragonet had devoured some in seconds last night so she obviously liked it.
‘Look, food!’ Dyahn said, holding up the cake and then walking slowly backwards once the dragonet had seen it. For a brief second the dragonet lifted off the stone, intent on going after the food, but the hall door opened just then and angry people spilled out into the town square. The dragonet secured its hold on the elf stone again and glared at the elves who had just emerged from the hall. They appeared angry at the decision that had been reached and Rhonan wondered what had been decided.
‘We will not break up the elf stone!’ One man shouted angrily. Obviously he already had a protective necklace and liked his nice safe life in Shaldoh. ‘Come on, we’ll guard it and stop them getting near it.’
Several dozen men followed the angry man as he ran across the village square. They had almost reached the pedestal the elf stone rested on when one of them looked up and saw the dragonet.
‘The dragon is going to steal our elf stone!’ he cried.
‘Get if off!’ another yelled and he picked up a stone and threw it at the golden dragonet. The stone hit the little dragon on her long snout and she cried out in pain. She slid her four legs even further around the elf stone and dug her needle sharp talons into the cracks.
‘Let me tempt her down with some food,’ Dyahn yelled, trying to be heard above the angry crowd.
More stones were thrown and with a screech that echoed around the square, the dragonet spread her wings and lifted slowly upwards, still holding onto the black stone.
‘Stop the dragon!’ Joahl cried as he too emerged from the hall to see what was going on.
Rhonan stared at the little dragon in amazement. How could such a little creature lift something so heavy? The elves continued to throw stones amid the chaos of everyone yelling at the same time.
‘Stop!’ Corbyn’s voice bellowed above them all. One last stone flew into the air and in the sudden silence that followed their leader’s command the thud was clearly heard as it struck one of the dragonet’s horns.
The little dragon howled as it released the elf stone and curled up in pain. Both the black stone and the dragonet tumbled from the sky. The dragonet’s wings flailing helplessly as it tried to prevent its fall.
The elf stone landed first, hitting the stone pedestal that had supported it a moment before. Time seemed to slow down and Rhonan watched in horror as the black stone shattered into fragments no larger than his little finger.
The watching elves stared in silence, not believing what they were seeing, and only Rhonan and Dyahn noticed the dragonet landing heavily and awkwardly just beyond the crowd.
‘She’s hurt,’ Dyahn whispered to Rhonan as she began to back away.
‘Wait,’ Rhonan hissed at her. The angry crowd was silent from the shock of the smashed elf stone.
‘The village is no longer hidden,’ Joahl said angrily as he pointed at Rhonan and Dyahn. ‘And it’s all their fault.’
‘Our fault?’ Dyahn said, looking offended and glaring back at her uncle. ‘We didn’t throw stones at her!’
‘Enough. The decision has been taken out of our hands now,’ Corbyn said simply. ‘The elf stone will be divided equally. Those who wish to remain in Shaldoh may do so but I do not recommend it.’
‘Most of it is useless!’ an elf argued as he picked up a tiny shard and shook it in front of Corbyn’s face.
‘What can be used will be divided fairly,’ Corbyn insisted calmly. ‘Anger will not help the situation.’
The dragonet groaned piteously and Dyahn hurried through the crowd to see how badly she was hurt. The crowd parted as she ran, obviously not wanting to be too near a half-hunter, half-elven creature.
CHAPTER TEN
PET-ROCKS
‘I think her right wing is broken,’ Dyahn said as she carefully bent over the dragonet, which lay motionless on the hard cobbles. ‘It’s on a really odd angle.’
Rhonan joined his sister and nodded his agreement. ‘And one of her back legs is bleeding too.’
Falh knelt down beside them and looked over the injured dragon. He frowned as he tried to straighten her wing and the dragon cried out in pain.
Dyahn looked pityingly at the dragonet and then stood and turned to face the villagers, who were standing a dozen steps away. ‘Look what you’ve done to the poor creature!’
‘Look what it did to our elf stone!’ Joahl snapped back angrily.
‘She wouldn’t have dropped it if you hadn’t thrown stones at her,’ Rhonan joined in. ‘She’s just a baby.’
‘That baby has destroyed our village. We can’t stay here anymore.’ Joahl’s voice rose to a bellow and he took several menacing steps towards them.
‘It was about to crack anyway,’ Bryn pointed out loudly, stepping forward to protect his children.
‘That’s quite enough yelling,’ Corbyn interrupted them. ‘We should be looking at what to do next, not laying blame.’
Joahl stepped back and his expression turned sullen. ‘We all leave Shaldoh. What choice do we have? Anyone without their own stone will be a sitting target for the hunters – wherever they are! And I doubt that rubble has enough stones for everyone’
A cry rose from the villagers as they all launched themselves at the pile of sharp slivers of stone, scrabbling to find one big enough to protect themselves from the hunters. Arguments broke out as some grabbed more than one and others had none.
‘I will decide who gets the stones,’ Corbyn said as he slammed his wooden cane on the cobbles angrily. ‘Put the stones back!’
Silence fell on the village square and the tinkling sound of elf stones dropping back onto the rubble was heard clearly. The villagers stepped back, looking ashamed, and some of them were nursing cuts received from the sharp shards.
‘We may not need to abandon the village,’ Corbyn said thoughtfully, twirling the end of his red beard with one hand. Everyone stared at him and waited for him to continue. They all looked hopeful of remaining in their homes. ‘If we collect together all the stones…’ Again he paused and looked pointedly at Joahl, ‘including the ones you are all wearing and change the symbol on them, then place them in a circle around the vi
llage. It might just be enough to hide Shaldoh.’
Those without stones of their own were nodding approvingly at the plan and hugging their children close to them. Only a handful of elves seemed to disagree with Corbyn and of them, only Joahl was willing to speak out against their chief.
‘What? Give up our stones?’ Joahl asked incredulously. ‘You must be mad!’
‘I assure you I am not mad,’ Corbyn said a little angrily as he glared at his son. ‘I am the chief of this clan and I decide what is best for it.’
Joahl glared mutinously at his father but did not speak. One by one the other elves walked forward and handed their elf stones to Corbyn. Bryn stepped forward, looking worried, and went to remove his necklace but his father put up a hand to stop him.
‘You are not welcome in this village,’ Corbyn said bluntly. ‘You will leave before the sun reaches its zenith. We cannot spare an elf stone for your son.’
Bryn looked sadly at his father for a few seconds before withdrawing the offered stone and stepping back. Rhonan could see a tear in his father’s eye as he turned away and returned to join them.
‘If Bryn goes, then so do I,’ Falh stated loudly. ‘And Kheron comes too.’
‘Then you must go as well,’ Corbyn said evenly without any emotion in his voice.
Falh glared at Corbyn in surprise, and waited for him to change his mind but the clan leader did not waver.
The elves continued to hand over their elf stones as Joahl began to pick through the rubble for anything which could be used.
‘I will need someone to help polish the markings off these stones and inscribe them with the one which will hide our village from the hunters,’ Corbyn said softly but was clearly heard in the total silence that hung over the village.
Several elves instantly stepped forward and the rest of the villagers started to wander aimlessly away from the shattered splinters of black rock that had once protected them all.
‘The dragonet will not be able to fly for several days at least,’ Falh said as he gently folded the golden wing back against the dragonet’s back. ‘But her leg isn’t too bad so she should be able to walk’
As if to prove Falh right, the little dragon stood up and walked slowly over to look at the remains of the elf stone. Rhonan frowned and looked unsure of the dragonet’s ability to travel so soon.
‘Look how much she’s grown overnight,’ Falh pointed out. ‘Within a week she’ll be large enough to attract attention to the village, with or without the protective elf stones.
Bryn nodded in agreement and it was only half an hour later that Rhonan found himself leading the limping dragonet out of Shaldoh.
‘Shouldn’t we bandage her leg?’ Dyahn asked with a frown.
‘Dragon’s heal much quicker than us,’ Falh assured her. ‘By nightfall she won’t even notice it.’
They reached the edge of the forest that surrounded Shaldoh and stopped.
‘Where are we going?’ Rhonan asked as he looked around, wondering where they would live now that Uncle Terac knew he was an elf.
‘I must head back to The Crossing to find your mother,’ Bryn said and patted his elf stone to reassure himself that it was still there. ‘Then I suppose we’ll have to find somewhere to live where Terac won’t think of looking.’
‘I’ll take Tryx back to the mountains. Hopefully the dragon clan will accept her,’ Falh said with a frown as if he wasn’t sure if they would accept her. ‘I’ve never seen a golden dragon before.’
‘Can I come?’ Kheron asked, coming up behind them. The expression on his face was one of barely concealed excitement. Rhonan knew it was exactly how he felt when he thought of visiting the wild horses on the moors. Falh nodded and Kheron grinned and looked over at the mountains in the distance.
‘I don’t want you two coming with me,’ Bryn said to Rhonan and Dyahn. ‘It is best if you are nowhere near your uncle.’
‘And we can’t just leave Rhonan on his own without an elf stone either,’ Falh said as rubbed his chin. ‘They’ll have to come with Kheron and me.’
‘I promised to take Tryx home anyway,’ Dyahn added.
‘I’ll meet you back at The Crossing in a week then,’ Bryn said with a nod then he looked at Rhonan and Dyahn. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find somewhere to live and things will go back to how they were.’
Rhonan doubted it but didn’t comment. Bryn mounted one of the horses and then took hold of the reins of the other two. ‘It wouldn’t be a good idea to take horses up near the dragons. I’ll take them with me and stable them at The Crossing.’
Falh nodded his agreement and Bryn headed back towards Melva to get a ferry back to The Crossing. Falh led them towards the mountains with the dragonet limping along beside them.
‘Falh, can you show me some elf magic?’ Rhonan asked after they had been walking in silence for about an hour.
‘I suppose so,’ Falh said with a nod of approval. ‘It will be interesting to see if your elf magic is weaker for having been mixed with hunter blood. We should try something simple to start with.’
For a minute they walked along in silence and Rhonan thought his uncle had forgotten his request. Then the tall red-haired elf stooped down and picked up a smooth rock, about the size of his palm. Tryx looked relieved that they had stopped and she flopped onto the hard dusty ground and promptly fell asleep.
‘What should I show Rhonan?’ Falh asked Kheron, but Kheron simply scowled as if he didn’t want Rhonan learning any magic at all.
‘Kheron made a dragon appear in the woods to scare off Tryx’s mother,’ Rhonan said. ‘I’d like to do that.’
‘Maybe not a dragon, but it’s as good a place to start as any,’ Falh asked with a smile as he handed the rock to Rhonan.
‘You’re going to make a pet-rock?’ Dyahn asked in amazement as if she had misheard. ‘Can I do it too?’
‘You can’t,’ Kheron snapped bluntly.
‘Hunters don’t have any magic,’ Falh told her gently.
Dyahn pouted a little as she glared at first Falh and Kheron, then Rhonan and finally at the grey rock. ‘I will if I want to!’ she declared stubbornly. She picked out a rock of similar size and stood waiting to hear what to do.
‘Very well,’ Falh said patiently as they sat down on the ground. Falh took a rock for himself and placed it on the ground in front of him. ‘First, you’ll need something to draw with.’
Falh dipped into his pocket and withdrew a blue stub of rock that had a pointed end. Rhonan took it and saw the blue rock came off on his hand.
‘It’s called chalk, easy to draw with and easy to erase,’ Falh explained.
Dyahn was digging in her backpack and with a triumphant grin she withdrew a handful of coloured pencils that she had brought with her.
‘Draw an animal. Just the basic outline will do to start with,’ Falh told him and waited.
Rhonan paused for a minute, wondering what animal he should draw. He’d always wanted a dog. Dyahn however, was already drawing with a bright pink pencil and then changed to a gold one. Rhonan turned so he couldn’t see her and began to draw. His drawing of a dog wasn’t a great one, one ear was bigger than the other and the tail was too long, but Falh nodded approvingly. Dyahn was still drawing, having used every coloured pencil.
‘Now put in a few details to make it look a bit more real,’ Falh suggested. Rhonan did so and when Falh was satisfied with it he continued. ‘Now turn it over and draw this design.’
Dyahn almost dropped her stone as she leaned over to see what they were doing. Falh had scratched several lines in the dusty ground and she turned away as soon as she had seen them.
‘How do you know how big it will be?’ Rhonan asked, remembering the huge dragon. He certainly didn’t want the dog to be as big as that!
‘See that last line at the bottom? Just add more lines underneath to make it bigger,’ Falh explained. ‘Now draw a circle around the design and it’s finished.’
Rhonan drew the circle slowly,
carefully, and hoped it would work. He held his breath as the circle edges joined and he placed the rock down in front of him with the picture of the blue dog facing up.
‘Now what?’ he asked as nothing appeared to be happening.
‘You can throw a stick for it if you really want,’ Falh said with a grin and pointed behind Rhonan. Rhonan spun around and his eyes grew wide as he saw a blue dog, not too big and not too small, sitting looking at him and wagging its tail.
‘It worked!’ Rhonan exclaimed, amazed and delighted that his magic hadn’t been weakened by his mother being a hunter. Dyahn wasn’t looking as happy though. She picked up her rock and stood up, then walked a few paces away and turned her back on them both.
‘Don’t worry, she’ll get over it,’ Rhonan assured Falh when he was about to follow her. ‘She’ll sulk for a while and then throw something and it’ll all be forgotten.’
Rhonan walked up to the dog, whose tongue was hanging out, and stared at the lopsided ears.
‘You can pick him up if you want,’ Falh said with an amused smile. ‘He won’t bite.’
‘How can I pick up an illusion?’ Rhonan asked with surprise. ‘It isn’t real.’
‘It’s real enough to hold, fetch sticks and to bark!’ Falh said with a shake of his head as the dog began to bark loudly. ‘At least it will be until you rub off that circle on the back of the rock.’
Rhonan reached out a tentative hand and patted the dog. Amazingly it felt just like a real one and he grinned at Falh. ‘I can see why you had lots of pet-rocks, Kheron.’
Kheron simply grunted, but seemed impressed that Rhonan had actually created a dog at all. Tryx stirred when the blue dog barked again. She sat up and stared as the little dog ran after a stick that Rhonan had thrown. Her gaze followed it as it ran back to Rhonan then she stood up and walked slowly over to investigate.
‘Rhonan!’ Dyahn’s cry was loud enough to send a bird flying away from its perch in a tree, squawking loudly.
‘What is it?’ Rhonan asked as they all hurried over to his little sister. Had she spotted Uncle Terac heading their way? Rhonan looked quickly around but saw no sign of anyone nearby. As he reached Dyahn’s side he saw the real reason for her shout – right in front of her was a bright pink cat with a multi-coloured collar.
