A row of bobbing lantern lights came down the hill towards them.
“Go on, Cloudy! Fly!” shouted Sophy.
The little dragon started beating his wings. Sophy ran alongside him, flapping her arms and willing him to fly. His wing beats grew stronger and stronger and his feet lifted from the ground. He turned his amber eyes to Sophy, beaming all over his puppy-like face.
“I love you, Sophy! I’ll miss you!” He soared into the air.
Sophy watched him rise higher and higher. Then she dodged behind some bushes as guards rushed into the meadow.
“Did you hear that strange squeaking?” one guard said. “Do you think that was the dragon?”
“Must have been,” said another. “Look at that!”
Sophy peeped through the leaves to see what the guard meant. The moon had come out from behind a cloud again, flooding the sky with pale light. A dark shape was moving closer. At first it seemed like another cloud, but as it grew Sophy saw that it was a huge flight of dragons! Their wings were rising and falling in time with each other.
A shout went up from the guards. “Arm the battlements!”
The wind grew stronger and the trees swayed. The dragons swooped down until they reached a small winged shape that was flying up to meet them. Cloudy had found his dragon family at last!
The flight of dragons whirled around and flew away into the distance, taking their baby dragon with them.
Chapter Nine
The Magic in the Stone
Sophy waited till the guards had gone back up the hill. Then she came out of her hiding place. She searched the dark sky for Cloudy and the other dragons but she was sure they must be far away by now.
Suddenly she felt really tired and her eyes ached. She missed Cloudy. There were so many things she wished she’d asked him. Were there many storm dragons in Arramia? What did the Great Ocean sound like? What did it feel like to fly?
Brushing leaves off her damp dress, she hurried up the hill and across the drawbridge. Sir Fitzroy was standing by the front door to the castle telling off the guards. Then he stormed inside and slammed the castle door.
Sophy was turning away when she noticed a dark, cloud-like shape moving towards the castle very quickly. She caught her breath. It wasn’t a cloud. It was a dragon … and it was much too big to be Cloudy! She rushed to the castle wall.
A huge creature with dark-green scales swooped down and hovered beside the castle wall. The dragon looked just like Cloudy, with the same amber-coloured eyes.
“I’m Windrunner – Cloudy’s brother,” growled the dragon softly. “And you must be Sophy.”
Sophy’s voice stuck in her throat. “P-pleased to meet you!”
Windrunner blinked slowly. “It’s pretty strange, talking to a human. I didn’t believe Cloudy when he first told us.”
“Hello, Sophy!” Cloudy peered down from his brother’s back.
Sophy grinned. “Cloudy! I didn’t see you up there.”
“I told the other dragons all about you!” Cloudy beamed.
“Then I made Windrunner fly back to check that horrible man wasn’t being mean to you again!”
“Don’t worry – I’m fine!” said Sophy.
“Why don’t you come with us for a ride?” said Windrunner. “I know the other storm dragons really want to meet you.”
“I’d love to!” Sophy felt a fluttering in her stomach. She couldn’t believe she was going to fly on a dragon. “It’s really kind of you!” she told Windrunner.
“Any friend of Cloudy’s is a friend of mine.” Windrunner flew closer to the castle wall. “Hop on!”
Sophy scrambled on to Windrunner’s scaly back and sat down behind Cloudy.
The baby dragon grinned at her. “You’re going to love flying!”
Sophy hugged Cloudy tight as Windrunner soared into the air. A tingle ran down her back as they gained speed and her hair streamed out behind her in the wind. She gazed down at the lantern-lit castle, amazed at how small everything looked from high above.
With a few more beats of Windrunner’s huge wings, they left the castle far behind. After a while, Cloudy fell asleep, and Sophy watched the land roll by beneath them.
It was still dark but when the moon came out she could see houses, fields and woods. Windrunner climbed high and wisps of cloud clung to Sophy’s dress and hair. She was sure she heard music in the distance and wondered if it was the song of the star wolves. She strained to listen but it vanished beneath the breeze.
As dawn drew closer, the sky lightened and the two planets shone in the morning light. Sophy’s heart began to race. There were no houses and villages on the ground beneath them. This must be the wilds – the place where the magical creatures lived. There were strange sights everywhere. Sophy stared at the giant red-and-white toadstools growing in a forest clearing and smiled at a cloud of glittering butterflies dancing in a meadow.
Windrunner flew above a winding river that gleamed like a silver ribbon in the morning light. At last, his wings grew slower and he glided down to an island in the middle of the river. Wing beats filled the air as the other storm dragons flew down to meet them. Thunder roared and wind blasted Sophy’s face so that she had to close her eyes. She heard voices in the breeze and she knew the storm dragons were calling each other.
Windrunner landed smoothly and Sophy slid off his back on to the grass. Cloudy woke up and flapped down beside her.
Dragons gathered round them, looking curiously at Sophy. With long tails and round snouts, they looked like Cloudy and Windrunner but much, much bigger.
“Greetings, child.” A dragon with a serious face and a long bumpy tail stepped forward. “My name is Mistral. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes!” Sophy tried not to feel nervous with all the dragons looking at her. “I have a magic stone—”
“Show us this stone, child,” said Mistral, his eyes brightening.
Sophy lifted the thread over her neck and pulled the pieces of the stone apart to show them the cave of purple crystals that lay inside.
A rumble like thunder passed round the circle of dragons.
“That is a Speaking Stone,” said Mistral. “I haven’t seen one in a very long time. You must be careful with it, child. A Speaking Stone is very powerful and very precious. Each stone chooses a keeper and will work for that person alone.”
“Oh! So that’s why it wouldn’t work for Tom.” Sophy took out the little bag and showed them the other rocks inside. “So these other stones I found could be magical too? Do they all let people talk to dragons?”
“Yes, but not just dragons,” Mistral told her. “The Speaking Stones let you talk to any magical creature.”
Sophy’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing! But are you sure I should keep it? I’m a maid at the castle. I’m not anyone special.”
“The stone chose you because you are special,” Mistral said quietly. “We magical creatures need more help than ever now that the old king is gone. Some people are kind to us but many more believe we’re dangerous. There are dark times ahead.”
Sophy met his gaze. “I’ll do anything I can to help you.”
“Thank you!” said Mistral, and all the dragons bowed their heads to her. “Windrunner will fly you back to your castle now and if you ever need us to carry you again, we would be honoured to do so.”
“Thank you!” Sophy climbed on to Windrunner’s back and waved to the storm dragons. “Goodbye!” She smiled at Cloudy and gave him a special wave as Windrunner lifted off the ground.
While they flew high above the river, Sophy gazed at her Speaking Stone. Then she patted the bag of stones in her pocket. It was amazing to think that all those little rocks were magical too! Excitement fizzed inside her. The power in her stone would let her speak to all magical creatures. She’d be able to talk to a cloud bear or a firebird or a unicorn!
As they swooped over a green valley, three golden songbirds flew up to meet them.
“Windrunner, you’re ca
rrying a girl on your back,” said one of the birds in a voice like a tinkling bell.
“Yes, this is Sophy. She is our friend. She has a magical stone that lets her speak to us.” Windrunner slowed and hovered in the air. “Sophy, meet the songbirds. They carry messages across the kingdom.”
“Hello!” Sophy smiled at the birds, remembering the songbird that had helped her find the bag of stones.
“Do you have any news?” Windrunner asked the birds.
“Terrible news!” The songbirds beat their wings anxiously. “Danger is coming to the magical animals of Misty Lake. A bad man is on his way there and he has anger in his heart.”
“What is he going to do?” Windrunner asked, but the songbirds had bobbed their heads and fluttered away.
“This is awful!” cried Sophy. “We should go to the lake right now.”
“Are you sure?” said Windrunner. “Mistral said I should take you back to the castle. You’d be much safer there.”
“I promised I would help you all and I will!” Sophy declared.
“Then hold on tight!” Windrunner let out a puff of smoke and wheeled round, flying off at high speed.
Sophy held on as the trees and fields flashed by. After a few minutes, she asked, “Which magical animals live by Misty Lake, Windrunner?”
“Sky unicorns and many other creatures too,” the dragon told her.
Sky unicorns! A tingle ran down Sophy’s back. She’d always hoped to meet more magical animals but now it was really happening!
At last a patch of silver appeared in the distance.
“There it is – Misty Lake!” Windrunner nodded his head towards the shimmering water. Then he swooped lower, catching the breeze with his wings.
They flew over a herd of snow-white unicorns with golden horns and bright tails. Sophy gazed down at them in delight. She couldn’t wait to meet them and for the next adventure to begin!
Copyright
For Charlotte May, who loves stories
THE SECRET RESCUERS: THE STORM DRAGON
First published in the UK in 2015 by Nosy Crow Ltd
The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street
London, SE1 1QR, UK
This ebook edition first published 2015
Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and / or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd
Text copyright © Paula Harrison, 2015
Cover illustration and interior illustrations © Sophy Williams, 2015
The right of Paula Harrison to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictiously. Any resemblence to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978 0 85763 478 8
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The Storm Dragon Page 4
