by Mark Robson
‘Shouldn’t we turn left to give them more of a chase?’
‘If we were looking to drag out a long chase, then yes that would be logical,’ Aurora admitted. ‘But at the moment, Segun and his men are being very casual about the interception. They think they have us outmanoeuvred. If we turn away, they will almost certainly accelerate to curtail the chase. I don’t think we would gain anything other than to increase their focus. I want to keep them over-confident.’
As they climbed higher the sky around them continued to brighten. The line of mountains towered to their right and Elian’s excitement rose as he saw them catch the first direct rays of the sun. Dawn was close – really close. Almost at the same moment he noticed the movement in the corner of his eye. Four black dragons were closing fast from slightly above and to their right. Even as he looked, they began to turn and descend on a rapid intercept course. By Elian’s best estimate, he and Pell had less than a minute before Segun and his men caught up with them.
‘I’ve made contact with Fire,’ Aurora announced suddenly.
Elian’s heart leapt. ‘Just in time!’ he exclaimed, inadvertently speaking aloud in his excitement. ‘Where is he? Are Fang and Kira with him?’
‘Yes, Fire is flying with Fang, but they are too far away to be of help,’ she replied. ‘They are also too far away to reach us before the dawn window. I’ve told them to run for it. I don’t think Segun is aware of them. He and Widewing are totally focused on us. We are going to leave without them.’
‘What? But we can’t, Ra!’ Elian protested. ‘The Oracle said we were to work together, remember? If we go through to the other world, they will never catch up with us.’
‘I have not forgotten the Oracle’s words, Elian,’ Aurora said, her voice determined. ‘But we have no choice. Segun is out for blood. If we lose this opportunity to slip through his fingers, he will not give us another. I have told Fire we will look for them “at the place where the shadows dwell,” wherever that may be. We must hope for the Oracle to let slip another clue when we deliver the second orb. If any team can find the third orb, it will be Kira and Fang.’
Elian knew his dragon was right, but abandoning them here felt terrible. His chest tightened and a lump formed in his throat as he felt Aurora gathering her energy to form the gateway. Kira and Fang were the partnership most likely to outwit Segun and the night dragons, but he felt a certain sense of responsibility towards both of the girls.
Elian sensed the moment of dawn through the bond. It brought with it a surge of power that filled him with burning energy. Aurora’s concentration was total. In the swirling snow ahead the familiar grey circle of swirling nothingness that led to the other world was barely visible. He heard Aurora’s directions to Shadow as the bond between them momentarily swelled. In that instant of total openness, he shared her deepest thoughts. His heart pounded as he realised she was no more comfortable with leaving their friends behind than he was. Also there was the conviction that they had no choice. Elian’s breath caught in his throat.
Shadow dived into the vortex ahead of them. A heartbeat before they followed, Elian glanced over his shoulder to see Segun on Widewing powering towards them, no more than a few dragon-lengths away. Even through the falling snow Elian could see his expression. The look of fury on his face was unlike any Elian had ever seen before – then he was gone. Grey limbo swallowed Elian. A brief feeling of weightlessness, then the twisting snap of emergence, followed the gut-wrenching twist of entry.
Aurora came out directly behind Shadow. Elian instantly looked back over his shoulder to see if Widewing had somehow entered the vortex, but the gateway had collapsed immediately behind them. If Segun and his dragon had entered the vortex, they had not made it through to the other side.
They had been out of the vortex just a few seconds when a barrage of explosions split the air around them with great roars. Puffs of smoke, some black and some white, marked each blast of sound and light.
‘Shadow and Pell are terrified,’ Aurora announced, sounding almost smug.
‘I can’t say I blame them,’ Elian replied, his ears ringing and his heart thumping. ‘Let’s get out of here, Ra. Someone’s directing those flash-bangs at us and I don’t think they’re meant as a friendly hello. They sound far more powerful than the stingers that hit you before. Also, if we’re hit, we don’t have the benefit of Firestorm’s healing breath on hand. Let’s not push our luck.’
‘You are right, Elian,’ Aurora agreed. ‘Wait a moment, though!’
‘What?’
‘It’s that man in the flying machine again,’ she said, sounding almost irritated. ‘It seems we can’t avoid meeting him.’
‘The same one again!’ Elian exclaimed. ‘Where?’
‘Below and to the right,’ she replied. ‘And if I am not mistaken his machine is badly damaged. I believe he is going to crash.’
‘Quick! Do something!’
‘What do you suggest?’ she asked. ‘I can’t catch something that big.’
‘Maybe not,’ Elian said quickly, ‘but you might be able to pull him clear. We have to try something.’
There was an unspoken sense of ‘why’ from Aurora, but she did not argue. Instead she tipped into a dive and followed the stricken machine down. Elian ducked low to Aurora’s back and concentrated on looking ahead at the airman’s damaged machine.
There was little time for planning. They began their dive from about five hundred spans. The flying machine was already about one hundred spans below them, hurtling towards the ground. Its plummeting dive was gradually getting shallower, but it was not pulling out of the dive fast enough to prevent the inevitable impact.
Aurora folded her wings back and stooped like a gigantic hawk dropping to strike at fleeing prey. The ground swelled with frightening speed.
‘The man is strapped in,’ Elian realised. ‘If you try to snatch him free, you might kill him. Try to grab the main wings of his flying machine from above and tip it into level flight.’
Aurora did not reply, but Elian could feel his dragon’s concentration as she closed rapidly on her target. They were running out of altitude. His mind flashed back to his fall from the Devil’s Finger and her amazing coordination and skill in plucking him from the air. Now she struck, her talons tearing through the upper surfaces of the wings on either side of the cockpit. Elian felt her surge of panic as they ripped straight through without catching on anything of substance. Just when it seemed she had done nothing but damage the machine further, her rear-facing talons caught on something solid at the front of the wing. Snapping her own wings out to their full span, she heaved the front of the aircraft upwards until it was flying level. A warm sense of pride surged through Elian’s chest. His dragon’s timing could not have been better. As she let go, the machine was left skimming a few hand spans above the ground.
Aurora soared clear of the ground and high into the air and Elian looked over his shoulder anxiously to see the tattered machine touch down. It bumped and crunched to a most ungainly halt behind them. Allowing her momentum to carry her upwards until she was almost out of energy, Aurora dipped her left wing into a tight turn to bring her back around and down. She landed neatly next to the broken remains of the contraption’s central body.
The flying machine was totally wrecked. The landing legs had gone. The whole tail section had detached, as had one of the main wings. Amazingly, however, the section in which the man was sitting remained virtually undamaged. A large shape swooped overhead and landed behind the remains of the machine. It was Pell on Shadow.
For a moment the man inside the machine sat still, apparently frozen by the shock of his crash. The familiar crack of a weapon stirred him into action. There was a whining sound as one of the stinging projectiles sang through the air. Several further loud reports sounded, and Elian flattened himself against Aurora’s back. With impressive speed the man leaped out of his machine and sprinted the short distance to Aurora’s side, head down and dodging randomly from side
to side as he ran.
‘Do you understand me?’ the man said in a rush. His speech sounded strange, but Elian understood him perfectly.
‘Just speak normally,’ Aurora told Elian. ‘I’ll ensure he understands.’
‘Yes,’ Elian told him. ‘I understand.’
‘We have to get away from here now,’ he said, looking around frantically. ‘We’re between the lines. The men in the trenches on both sides are probably surprised and intrigued, but bullets are already beginning to fly. Please, can you carry me away from here? I need to get back into friendly territory.’
‘Come. Climb up,’ Elian said, automatically extending his hand. ‘Use my dragon’s foreleg. She won’t hurt you. Hurry!’
The sound of weapons’ fire in the immediate area died away and a peculiar feeling began to come over Elian. He was suddenly drawn to look across at Pell, who had climbed down from Shadow’s back. Elian felt a strong urge to get down out of the saddle and cross the muddy ground towards Pell. What was it? The older boy looked extremely pale.
‘Get away from here!’ Pell yelled. ‘Get away! The sun is setting. Get as far away as you can. It’s begun. I can’t resist it. The orb’s pull is too strong.’
‘Gods!’ Elian breathed, suddenly realising what was happening. He had been so caught up in saving the stricken flying machine that he had not noticed the sun making its final dive towards the horizon. The airman, now halfway up Aurora’s side, was also distracted by the pull of the orb. ‘Quick!’ Elian urged, yanking the man up into position behind him. ‘We’re in more danger than you can possibly imagine. Hold on to me. That’s it. Now get us out of here, Ra – as fast as you can.’
Aurora needed no further encouragement. She raced across the mud and powered into the air, flying low over the trenches to the west, but gaining height with every wingbeat. Their prior knowledge of the orb’s power allowed them to resist its subtle pull, but it was growing stronger by the second.
As they swiftly distanced themselves from the orb, so the urge to return decreased. When the strange mental pull had reduced to nothing, Elian looked back over his shoulder. Far below he could just make out Pell. Lines of men were approaching him from east and west – lots of men, all walking with the same empty mindlessness. Elian turned away. From Pell’s description of what had happened in the mountains, he knew what would come next.
Although he felt a morbid sense of curiosity, he had no desire to see them die.
Chapter Nine
Convergence
Segun was livid. Twice he had come close to claiming and destroying the dark orb. Both times it had slipped from his grasp. Prudence had made him step back the first time. If he had tried to take it from the plinth after his rider, Dirk, was exposed for cheating in the challenge, the griffins would have killed him. Nobody in their right mind crossed the griffins in their home territory. It had been frustrating to see Pell, the upstart young rider, fly away with it, but there had been no choice. Now the annoying brat had slipped away again.
‘Tell everyone to land, Widewing,’ he ordered silently, still contemplating the grey vortex that had swallowed the two dragons from under his nose. He had never had dealings with dawn dragons before. They had seemed insignificant – until now. The vortex had formed at the instant of dawn. Whatever it was, it seemed likely that the dawn dragon had created it. ‘The Great Quest must not be allowed to succeed, but it appears we’re too late to stop the dark orb from reaching the Oracle. We must find another way.’
Widewing did not answer, but she relayed the message without question. The four dragons descended in lazy circles towards the white fields below, Widewing leading the way. Segun rubbed at his tired eyes with the frozen fingers of his gauntlets. He felt weary. They had searched for the young riders all night. Now it appeared their efforts had been in vain. What should they do next? His frustration made him want to hit something. He settled for slapping at his thighs to stimulate blood into the numb surface flesh.
They landed. The snow was knee deep, but Segun kicked through it, channelling his anger into his legs and barely noticing the resistance. He crossed the short distance to where his fellow riders were gathering for a conference.
‘Farvoice and Brighthorn are approaching from the north, Segun,’ Widewing announced. ‘Farvoice tells me they were following the trace of two dragons in our direction, but they have just lost contact. Do you think they were following the same two we flushed out?’
‘It seems likely,’ Segun replied. ‘Farvoice is sensitive to the presence of other dragon types. The distance seems extreme, but who knows what she is capable of? Tell them not to worry. They are to join us here as fast as possible. We have plans to make.’
The four riders met in the open. Segun wasted no time with formalities.
‘They are gone,’ he said abruptly. ‘Widewing sensed no trace of them once that strange grey cloud circle collapsed. Does anyone know anything of the capabilities of dawn dragons? What was that thing?’
‘I’ve heard rumours that dawn dragons can open gateways between worlds, my Lord,’ a rider responded. ‘I’m told they’re like portals.’
‘So they are unlikely to return,’ Segun sighed, not relishing the idea of a waiting game here in the exposed icy wastelands.
‘No, my Lord,’ the rider replied. ‘Once in the other world a dawn dragon can open a return gateway to anywhere in Areth that they wish to go. They could be on the far side of the world by now.’
‘Ah!’ Segun said thoughtfully. ‘Then it is easy to imagine where they might be. They will travel straight to the Oracle’s cave. Thank you, Vikesh. If you are correct, this information will help us plan against their next move. Let me think.’
For the next minute he stamped in a small circle, trampling the snow until it was packed hard beneath his feet. When the circle was complete he looked back up at his men. They were standing awkwardly, shifting from one frozen foot to another and breathing steaming clouds into the snow-filled early-morning air.
‘All right,’ he said decisively. ‘This is what we’re going to do. Given what we know, I think it best to assume that Pell and his companions have now successfully recovered two of the orbs for the Oracle. We may have lost the dark orb, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stop them completing their quest. They still have two orbs left to find and we have the clue given to them by the griffins. “Seek the place where the shadows dwell.” Does that mean anything to you?’
The three riders looked around at one another.
‘Apparently not,’ Segun observed, seeing their expressions. He drew a breath to continue.
‘My Lord,’ Vikesh interjected quickly. ‘I’ve never heard of such a place, but I know where to begin the search.’
‘Really? And where would that be?’
‘The Grand Library in Harkesis, my Lord,’ he said. ‘It’s said that the answer to every known question can be found there.’
Segun suspected there was not time to search a huge library for such an obscure reference, but there were many scholars at the library who could be paid to speed up the process. What was more, a trip to the city of Harkesis would not take them too far from his preferred course – a direct journey to the Oracle’s cave.
‘Thank you, Vikesh,’ Segun replied thoughtfully. ‘Good work. You can come with me and we shall try your idea. Cam – you and Nimred return to the enclave. Gather every dragon and rider you can find. I want the entire enclave to blockade the entrance to the Oracle’s cavern. No one is to enter or leave that cavern without my say so. Is that understood?’
The two men nodded.
‘The other enclaves won’t like it. If they realise what we’re doing, they may try to help the youngsters run the blockade. Don’t waste time. Go now. We need every dragon and rider there as fast as possible. Do this right and the day dragons will not dare to come near. They’re no fools. They’ll not trigger a conflict they cannot hope to win. I’ll be visiting the Oracle as well and I don’t want to sit drumming my fingers
waiting for you. Don’t disappoint me, men.’
‘No, my Lord,’ they replied in unison.
‘Widewing will order Farvoice and Brighthorn to continue the search for the other two missing dragons. It may be that they have already set out to find the third orb. Spread the word as you go that the night dragon enclave is offering two hundred gold pieces to anyone who supplies information resulting in our finding either of the remaining two dragon orbs. And offer a further hundred gold pieces to anyone who detains Pell, or any other rider seen consorting with him. It’s unlikely that anyone will be able to do so, but it might slow our young friends down a little.’
‘Consider it done, my Lord,’ Cam replied.
The two men stomped back through the snow towards their dragons. Segun thought for a moment more, but there was little else he could do at the moment.
‘Come, Vikesh,’ he said. ‘Let’s ride for Harkesis and see if the scholars live up to their reputation.’
As soon as Fang told Kira that the boys had gone through a gateway, she knew what they had to do. Firestorm would stand out like a pig amongst goats if they stayed in the open. There was nothing else for it. With night dragons ahead and behind, they would have to turn right and slip back into the mountains to avoid being trapped.
‘Close up to Fire,’ she ordered. ‘We must try to shield him with your camouflage. I doubt the dragons ahead have sensed us yet, but given the way the ones behind us have been following, I’m guessing they’re on to us.’
‘What have you got in mind, Kira?’ Fang asked. ‘None of the dragons can possibly see us in these conditions. They are too far back.’
‘True, but Fire cannot shield his mind the way you can,’ Kira explained. ‘If you stay between Fire and the dragons behind us, I’m hoping that your ability will mask Fire from their senses enough to build confusion. As soon as we’re close enough I want you to tell Fire to turn right. We’re going back in amongst the peaks. It’s our best chance.’
Fang had never thought of trying to shield another dragon in such a way before. He had done so physically, but never mentally. However, it made perfect sense. Without delay he slid in close behind Firestorm whilst employing his most intense physical and mental camouflage. He gave a quick explanation to the day dragon and then in a carefully coordinated manoeuvre, they turned. It was surprisingly difficult to do accurately, but as they changed direction Fang eased progressively around Fire, working hard to keep himself between the day dragon and the following night dragons.
