by Mark Robson
‘I don’t understand. What happened?’ he asked, climbing to his feet and testing each limb in turn as he continued to check his body.
‘Firestorm healed you,’ Nolita said. Her voice sounded strange. It was as if she was torn between being delighted and scared.
Pell could sense Shadow’s displeasure through the bond. ‘What is she on about?’ he asked her silently.
‘When they are so moved, day dragons can imbue their fire with healing qualities,’ she said, her tone cold. ‘Firestorm breathed such a healing flame over your body.’
‘So why aren’t you happy?’ he asked. ‘I feel great. Isn’t that a good thing?’
‘I’m mindful that day dragons have little history of healing when it comes to night dragons and their riders,’ she stated coldly. ‘They say the healing powers are incompatible with a night dragon’s physiology, but I know of none who have confirmed this claim. The long history of enmity between our enclaves is not without reason. You saw the sort of flames Fire hurled at the dragonhunters. Seeing Firestorm heal you reminded me that my brothers and sisters are more familiar with the destructive day dragon flame.’
‘Well let’s be thankful that Firestorm is friendly then,’ Pell said. ‘I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.’
The initial sense of confusion had passed. He knew now what he had to do.
‘Please thank Firestorm for me,’ he said aloud, bowing first to Nolita and then to her dragon. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am to be free of the pain.’
Nolita blushed and lowered her eyes, glad that the darkness was masking her embarrassment. ‘Fire says it was his pleasure to help,’ she mumbled a few seconds later.
‘Enough!’ Kira snapped. ‘We need to get out of here. I suggest we mount up and get going before we have the entire night dragon enclave breathing down our necks.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ Pell replied. He noticed Kira’s eyes narrow as she tried to determine if he was mocking her again. Giving her no time to react, Pell leaped up Shadow’s side. No sooner was he in his saddle than he reached down to give Elian a hand up into position behind him.
After her admonition to get moving, Kira did not want to appear foolish by delaying. Within a few heartbeats she was also in position. Nolita hesitated, but followed her reluctantly up onto Fang’s back. The four dragons launched in quick succession. Shadow led briefly, but Fang eased ahead of her before suddenly disappearing as he employed his camouflage. Unburdened by riders, Fire and Aurora climbed quickly past them. Their wings were beating hard as they sought to gain height as rapidly as possible. Pell followed their progress for a while until their outlines were lost in the black mantle of the night sky.
Shadow and Fang had to fly back past the entrance to the canyon that housed the night dragon enclave. They angled across to the opposite side of the main valley, staying as far from potential trouble as possible. Pell stared into the black throat of the narrow valley as they passed, half expecting to see a huge flight of dragons pour out towards them at any second.
He told himself that the nervous fluttering in the pit of his stomach was excitement, but in his heart he knew the truth. The thought of going back to his cell, or worse, caused his buttocks to clench and his fingers to tighten their grip on the pommel. He was afraid. Denial worked to a degree, but he could not ignore the fear for ever. Would he end up like Nolita?
‘You will never be like Nolita,’ Shadow said suddenly.
Pell was startled. He had not intended his dragon to hear his thoughts.
‘Fear can be a healthy response to a dangerous situation,’ she continued. ‘As long as one keeps it under control. You are too strong to allow fear to overwhelm you. Nolita’s fears are largely irrational. There is a big difference.’
‘So long as you don’t feel I’m turning into a coward,’ he replied. ‘I don’t think I could bear it if you started to think of me that way.’
‘Not at all, Pell,’ she said. ‘I know your heart. You are brave and strong – a worthy dragonrider. Our path together has taken an unforeseen twist, but I feel no diminishment in our future. We continue on the road to greatness. Believe in this. Trust me. It will help.’
On the road to greatness - he liked the sound of that. They were some distance past the enclave valley entrance now and there was no obvious sign of pursuit. But Shadow was taking no chances. She was employing her skills in stealthy flying to the full, cloaked in her strange bubble of silence and hugging the deep darkness near the steep slope of the main valley wall. Pell had lost track of Kira and Nolita, but he could just make out the sound of Fang’s wingbeats so he knew they were not far away.
‘Do you think riders from the enclave are following, Pell?’
Elian’s voice sounded flat and dead in the silence surrounding them.
‘They will come,’ Pell replied softly. ‘Even if they’re not after us yet, they will be. I wouldn’t like to guess how many will follow, but the night enclave will not let us get away easily. Once they work out what has happened, they’ll be buzzing like a nest of angry hornets.’
‘Not a pretty picture,’ Elian noted.
‘Quite! The faster we get out of the mountains and away from here, the better. The further we can get, the wider they will have to spread their resources to find us. There are a lot of night dragons, but they won’t be able to cover all possibilities.’
‘Ah, yes,’ Elian replied hesitantly. ‘About that. . . they might not have to spread themselves as thin as you imagine.’
‘What do you mean?’ Pell asked, twisting in the saddle in an effort to see Elian’s face.
‘Um . . . well . . . Kira told Murvan where we were heading, so they won’t need to spread out so much.’
‘She did what?’
‘Don’t get the wrong idea, Pell,’ Elian said quickly. ‘She had to tell him in order to establish our credibility. It was only because she showed that she knew where Segun was going that Murvan believed our story. Kira was brilliant. She played Murvan like a maestro. Unfortunately it won’t take a genius to work out that we’ll be following Segun northwest.’
‘Damn!’ he muttered. ‘That changes things.’
‘Is there a problem, Pell?’ Shadow asked.
Pell told her what Elian had said.
‘I’ll go through our options with Fang,’ Shadow told him, her voice sounding unflustered by the news. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll work something out. Ask Elian where we’re going. The other dragons haven’t told me anything yet.’
Pell had been so caught up in the escape that he had not thought to ask anything about where they were going, or who the ‘brave ones’ were. Northwest – what was northwest of here? The majority of the northern part of the continent was bleak tundra. There was another mountain range in the far northwestern corner of Isaa that was locked in a perpetual winter. It would be an extremely hostile environment in which to exist and he had never heard of dragons living there. He doubted anyone would live there by choice. He was reluctant to demonstrate his ignorance to Elian, but he was left with no option.
‘Griffins!’ he exclaimed softly when Elian told him what they had learned. ‘I’d never have thought of griffins. It makes sense, though: half lion, half eagle – brave and proud. And they live in the mountains up in northwest Isaa? I didn’t know that. I wonder how they came to be guardians of the night orb.’
‘That was something we didn’t discover,’ Elian admitted. ‘We don’t even know for certain that they have it. But with Segun a day ahead of us and an unknown number of night dragons following us, we’re likely to become the filling of a most uncomfortable sandwich before we get a chance to find out.’
The temperature was still dropping and the chill night breeze was picking up strength. A shiver ran down Pell’s back, but his body’s reaction was not due to the weather.
With the increasing wind helping them down the valleys, they were covering ground at an impressive rate. Pell could feel Shadow’s concentration as she maintained
total silence the entire way. They were approaching the pass that would take them clear of the mountain range. Even in the dark he recognised the shape of the descending valley ahead. The dragons and riders who guarded the pass were high up on the shoulders of either side of the mountains. Different riders used different vantage points to carry out their duties. There was no telling where they might be.
As they entered the pass, Shadow descended and tucked in tighter than ever to the left wall of the valley. Keeping to the darkest shadows, she skimmed the rock surface with breathtaking accuracy. Pell could no longer hear Fang and had seen no sign of Kira and Nolita for some time.
‘Where are the others?’ he asked Shadow tentatively.
‘They’ve gone the high route,’ she replied, her voice echoing strangely in his mind. ‘They’re trying to exit the pass at a level above the watchers. That way Nolita and Kira will be completely concealed by Fang’s camouflage. Hold your silence until we’re clear, or until they spot us. I don’t want to draw attention unnecessarily. We’re going to try to bluff our way out. I’m hoping that a night dragon leaving the range will not arouse the guard dragons’ interest.’
As they descended along the widening pass, the great moon lit the valley ahead with its pale, silvery light. The cross light from one of the two minor moons added a further complication as the shadows on the left side of the valley thinned out. There was nowhere ahead dark enough for Shadow to disappear into. No matter which side of the valley she flew, her black outline was going to stand out against the moonlit countryside.
Realising the futility of attempting to remain unseen, they slid out into the very middle of the valley, in plain sight of the watchers, but using the steep descending slope of the valley basin to pick up speed. Pell’s eyes narrowed as Shadow began to accelerate. Their airspeed was building fast, making it difficult for him to see without squinting. His dragon’s ability to deaden sound made the experience particularly surreal as the wind around him increased without the usual rushing noise of high-speed flight.
Shadow seemed to be gambling on the watchers’ attention being focused outwards from the mountains and not noticing her until it was too late for an effective interception. It was a risky tactic. If they spotted her early, then the two watch dragons would hold all the advantages.
Pell flattened himself as best he could against Shadow’s back and he could feel Elian doing the same behind him.
‘The watchers have seen us already,’ Shadow said suddenly, her voice grim. ‘They’re getting airborne. Hold on tight. This might get interesting.’
Shadow continued to accelerate, no longer just using the descending track of the valley, but also trading her height above the ground for more and more speed. In what felt like no time at all, the rocky ground seemed to swell up around them like a rising flood. Rocks and bushes began to whip past barely below eye level as Shadow flew lower than either of the riders had ever experienced before. The feeling of speed was unlike anything Pell or Elian had ever imagined, and was heightened by the limited visibility offered by the moonlight. The ride was initially smooth, but as their speed peaked and their height above the ground reached a natural limit, so it also became bumpy. Shadow had to react with fast, minute adjustments of her wings to hug the contours of the valley.
The next few minutes of flight were the most exhilarating Pell had ever known. The bumps and sudden dips, combined with the silent wind and the eerie scenery racing past at phenomenal speed, made him feel as if he were in a dream. Although he knew that if Shadow made the slightest mistake they would be unlikely to survive the impact, his trust in Shadow was so complete that he felt strangely comfortable with the danger. He was at one with Shadow and her fierce concentration. It did not cross his mind to think how Elian felt.
‘Here they come.’
Pell craned his head around to see the incoming dragons, but he could make out nothing. An unearthly screech split the air behind and above them. It was loud, but it sounded more frustrated than threatening. A second dragon added its voice. This one sounded even further back than the first.
‘As I expected,’ Shadow observed, her voice sounding smug. ‘Their caution has lost them the advantage of energy. They descended too rapidly, trying to drop in directly on top of us. To begin with they did not realise just how close to the ground we were. As they got lower, the dragons’ sense of self-preservation got the better of them. They should have used their height to get ahead of us, but they erred. Now they’ve killed all their potential energy, and they don’t have enough speed to catch us.’
‘Did they speak with you?’ Pell asked.
‘They asked me to stop and answer some questions,’ she replied. ‘I ignored their request. It seems Segun has left new orders with the guards. Dragons entering or leaving the range must now explain the nature of their journey. I could have made something up, but we dragons are terrible liars. Also, I didn’t want to risk other dragons catching us up whilst we tried to bluff the guards. Things could have turned very ugly if we had stopped to explain ourselves.’
Shadow eased slightly higher above the ground and began to accelerate forwards still faster, her powerful wings driving them on down the valley with great sweeping strokes. Pell glanced back over his shoulder again, but he could still not see their pursuers.
‘We’re clear,’ he told Elian aloud. ‘The guard dragons will never catch us now.’
‘Good,’ Elian responded, his voice tight with relief. ‘I think I’ve had my fill of excitement for one day.’
Chapter Sixteen
Dangerous Entertainment
Kira felt almost comfortable as Fang descended into formation alongside Shadow. For the first time in a while she was back in familiar territory. They were involved in a hunt – well, more of a chase, or a race, depending on one’s viewpoint, but the principles were similar. There was the added complication that whilst they were chasing down Segun in a race to the Valley of the Griffins, the four companions were in turn being hunted by an unknown number of night dragons.
Translating their circumstances into the framework of a hunt put her at ease with this new phase of their quest. There would be danger, but that went hand in hand with a hunt. Rather than dwelling on the negatives, Kira began to think through the practical things they could do to improve their chances of success.
A hunter had to master many disciplines: endurance, patience, stealth, strength, focus and, in the final moments, accuracy with weapons. Kira had trained her mind and body in these disciplines for season after season, but her companions would need guidance if they were to complete their mission and return to the Oracle with the second orb. Elian and Nolita were malleable enough, but Pell was going to be a problem. He was so absorbed with leading that he was likely to oppose anything Kira said, no matter how sensible. Pell had set her teeth on edge from the moment he first spoke to her, but she knew that continually clashing with him would not help their cause.
Gods but he’s annoying! she thought. But I mustn’t let him get to me. The trick will be to make him think we’re all following his lead and listening to his ideas, whilst guiding him along a sensible path. If he wasn’t so pigheaded, it would be easy.
‘Thinking about Pell, Kira?’
‘How did you guess?’
‘I’ve not yet seen anything else fire your mind with such angry frustration,’ Fang observed with wry amusement. ‘You and he are alike in many ways. It is inevitable that you will clash.’
‘I am nothing like Pell!’ she said, outraged by the suggestion. ‘How can you even think such a thing?’
‘I meant no offence, Kira,’ Fang replied, unrepentant. ‘But the two of you are strong-willed, determined, and focused on your goals. Where you differ is in the nature of your ambition. Shadow is quite similar as well, but I venture she is more willing to listen to reason than either of you riders. If I heard correctly, you are thinking about manipulating Pell into following your lead by fooling him into believing he is dictating our path.’
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‘That’s right.’
‘Your best avenue to achieve that end is through Shadow,’ Fang suggested. ‘Pell listens to her, and Shadow respects my age and experience. I can plant ideas in her mind that she will relate to Pell. He will then do as you wish, but think he and Shadow are doing all the work. Be warned: it will be frustrating to see him take all the credit. You will need to exercise considerable self-control to make it work.’
‘I’ll cope,’ Kira said quickly.
‘I hope so,’ Fang replied. ‘Because if you lose your temper and give the game away, he will develop a whole new level of wariness.’
Kira fell to thinking about that for some time. It was true, she realised. Despite all the discipline she had learned with the hunters of her tribe, she was still quick to feel anger. Holding herself in check might not be as easy as she thought, but she would only need to do it until they got the night orb. Once they had that, the search would move on to the dusk orb and all Pell’s arguments for being leader would no longer have any weight.
The two trios flew on into the night, holding a steady course to the north and west of the great mountain range that housed the night dragon enclave. Kira’s thoughts wandered as she became lost, staring with renewed wonder at the beauty of the starlit sky. The third moon, Tritos, was climbing now, its pale blue face round and chill – very different from the silvery hue of the great moon and the pinkish shade of Bimodar, the other minor moon. A shooting star flashed across the heavens, followed swiftly by a second. Her breath caught in her throat. No matter how much she stared at the stars they never failed to fill her with a sense of awe.
