by Mark Robson
Nolita was intrigued, but the pain in her arm was still too distracting for her to want to know the answer. ‘Save it,’ she replied through gritted teeth, still straining to pull her hand free. ‘The others will want to know too. You can tell us all together.’
As suddenly as it had held her, the orb let her fingers go. The abruptness of it caught her by surprise and she stumbled backwards. Before she realised what had happened, she was flat on her back and seeing stars from bumping her head on a lump of volcanic rock.
‘Ow!’ she said, gently probing the back of her head with the fingers of her left hand while flexing the painful fingers of her right. She sat up and checked herself over. The fingertips of her right hand were clean and undamaged. If it had not been for the orb full of blood resting on Firestorm’s tongue, it would have been easy to conclude that the entire episode had been a waking nightmare. The back of her head felt tender, but there was no sign of bleeding there either. She had been lucky, she concluded, climbing gingerly to her feet.
Had she really just put her arm inside a dragon’s mouth? It did not seem possible. Even the thought of such a thing was ridiculous.
The sound of Firestorm’s laughter filled her mind. ‘I doubt your brother or sister would be brave enough to do it,’ he said casually.
‘Sable and Balard wouldn’t be stupid enough to get into a situation where they needed to,’ Nolita answered. She laughed too, the nervous tightness in her throat causing her chuckle to squeak and crack. Her fear of Firestorm had lessened considerably. He still scared her, but the mindless fear that had paralysed her in the past had retreated. It was not gone, but she had defeated it to the point where she could keep the emotions under control.
Just as well, she thought, because I’ve still got to ride back.
It would be good to put it off further, but she knew that to do so would risk the return of previous levels of fear. Her mind and body had been subjected to so much terror during the past few minutes that if she was ever to be hardened to it, now was the time.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘We’ve got what we came for. Let’s get back to the others and enjoy our moment of glory.’
Firestorm closed his mouth, the orb of blood still resting on his tongue.
‘And be careful not to swallow that thing. I’m not going looking for another one,’ she added.
‘As far as I know, there is no other,’ Firestorm replied.
‘Then please try to resist any sudden urges to convert it into dragon poo!’
Firestorm snorted with amusement and tendrils of smoke curled from his nostrils.
Nolita climbed up onto Firestorm’s back and settled into the saddle. She looked around. In a few heartbeats she would be airborne again. Despite feeling more comfortable in the dragon saddle, the familiar clamps of dread gripped her gut with their icy pressure.
‘Are you ready?’ Firestorm asked.
‘No, but do it anyway,’ Nolita answered aloud.
Firestorm did not need telling twice. He launched off the rim of the crater with a mighty leap, his great wings setting an urgent pace as they climbed back towards the higher peak that was home to the day dragon enclave. It was not a long flight back, but despite his excitement at their success, Firestorm took his time manoeuvring down into the crater that housed the entrance to the chamber of the Sun’s Steps, keeping all his turns gentle and predictable for Nolita.
They landed gently to cheers even louder than the ones that had followed them when they left. Elian and Kira ran forwards to meet them. A large crowd of dragonriders, all cheering and clapping enthusiastically, followed closely behind them.
‘Are you all right? Did you get it?’ Elian asked breathlessly, his eyes wide with excitement as he looked up at her sitting on Firestorm’s back.
‘We’re so proud of you, Nolita,’ Kira interrupted before Nolita could answer. ‘We both know how difficult that must have been for you today. Whether you got it or not, we’re really proud.’
Nolita flipped her right leg over the pommel to join her left and slid down Firestorm’s side onto his folded foreleg. Then she stepped forwards again and landed on the ground next to her companions. They both pulled her into a hug.
‘Yes,’ she said with a beaming smile as she returned their embrace. ‘We got it – but the orb gave us a final surprise. It sucked our blood.’
‘It did what?’ Elian and Kira exclaimed in unison.
‘Did you say “our blood”?’ another voice interjected. It was Barnabas. The crowd of people around them parted respectfully to let the old dragonrider through. The three companions drew apart and turned to face him.
‘Yes, sir. The orb sucked blood from both of us until it was full,’ Nolita answered.
‘Interesting! The records indicate that the previous two riders who won the orb could not break free from it until it was full of their blood, but neither mentioned it drawing blood from their dragon,’ Barnabas said thoughtfully. ‘I wonder . . .’
Then Firestorm’s voice suddenly began chanting in Nolita’s head, blocking out everything else that was being said.
‘Delve ’neath the surface, life’s transport hides,
Healing, restoring – bright river tides.
Enter the sun’s steps; shed no more tears.
Attain ye the orb; vanquish the fears.
‘The Oracle’s words are clear now. “Life’s transport” is blood. It hides beneath the surface of our skin. We also delved beneath the surface layer of the orb and hid blood within it – though it is hardly hidden, as the orb is transparent. And dragons have long identified that there are properties within blood that act to heal and restore our bodies when we are injured. We did enter the sun’s steps; and you vanquished your fears. The verse all makes sense.’
Nolita relayed his words to the others and they looked at her with a mixture of astonishment and respect. Elian’s jaw literally dropped when Firestorm opened his mouth and Nolita stepped forward and reached between his rows of teeth to recover the orb from the dragon’s tongue. She laughed as she saw his gaping mouth. It had been worth the wild surge of fear as she reached for the orb just to see Elian’s face. Kira was beaming with approval too.
Barnabas stepped forwards and took the orb from her hands and held it up, examining it closely. After a moment he nodded and handed it back to her.
‘You have done well, Nolita,’ he said. ‘Very well. But the three of you must now look to the future. The success of your quest hangs by a fragile thread. If it breaks, you will fail and all dragonkind will be ruined. Take this orb to the Oracle as fast as you can. The verse you quoted was different to those the Oracle gave to previous questors. Each time the Oracle has initiated the Great Quest the riddles have been different. Can you tell me the next verse?’
‘Release the dark orb – death brings me life.
Take brave ones’ counsel, ’ware ye the knife.
Exercise caution, stay pure and heed,
Yield unto justice: truth will succeed,’ Nolita responded eagerly. ‘Can you tell us what it means? Who are the brave ones? Is Pell right? Are they the leaders of the night dragon enclave?’
Barnabas closed his eyes for a moment, his lips moving slightly as he repeated the words of the verse over again. When he opened his eyes, his expression was more serious than ever.
‘No, I do not believe that is the meaning of the verse,’ he replied. ‘If I’m not mistaken, the brave ones you should seek are the griffins. Before you begin your search for them, however, you must stop your companion, Pell, from reaching the night dragon enclave.’
‘Why, sir?’ Kira asked.
‘The night dragons have always harboured an anarchic streak,’ Barnabas explained. ‘They have long felt restricted by the boundaries held in place by the Oracle. If they discover that the final attempt at the Great Quest has begun, they will likely see this as their chance to be rid of the Oracle. This will also provide an opportunity for them to dispose of the life purpose they have long held to be res
trictive and troublesome. Without the Oracle’s binding power to hold them in check, the night dragon enclave will likely move to seize power in every continent of the world. I doubt any could stand before them. Their strength and numbers are too great.’
‘Then we should go – now!’ Elian said, his impatient movement towards Ra matching the urgency in his voice. ‘There’s plenty of daylight left. We should use it.’
Kira nodded, but Nolita paled as she realised that she would have to climb into her saddle again. She felt emotionally exhausted, but knew that if she refused now, she might never do it again.
‘Your backpacks are ready,’ Barnabas told them, his face beaming as he gave each of them a brief hug goodbye. ‘Nolita, you and Firestorm have honoured our enclave with your success. You will always be welcome here. We will pray good fortune for your quest. Good luck, riders.’
They grabbed their bags and climbed up into their saddles. Elian looked across at Nolita, who appeared as terrified as he had ever seen her. But she had mastered her fears. She was sitting on Firestorm’s back. She was a proper dragonrider.
‘Just let Pell try to mock her bravery again,’ he said softly. With a final wave to the assembled day dragon enclave, he and Aurora powered into the air alongside Kira and Longfang. Firestorm paused a moment to give a roar of triumph, before carrying Nolita into the air behind them.
Here ends Book One of the Dragon Orb Quartet.
www.markrobsonauthor.com
DRAGON ORB: SHADOW
Book 2 in the fantasy series.
FOUR DRAGON RIDERS ON A
MISSION TO SAVE THEIR WORLD
Pell and his night dragon Shadow must find the dark orb to help save the Oracle, leader of all dragonkind. But Segun, a powerhungry tyrant, stands in their way. Pell must use his flying skills, bravery and resourcefulness to the limit, as Segun is determined to get the orb - even if it means killing the opposition...
ISBN 978-1-84738-069-2
If you’ve enjoyed this series, you’ll also like the
THE IMPERIAL TRILOGY
by Mark Robson
IMPERIAL ASASSIN
“...a damn fine read . . . plenty of adventure, fun and of course excitement.” Falcata Times
IMPERIAL TRAITOR
“The Imperial series is a fine achievement.”
Armadillo
