Aurora (26 page)

‘He is fine, Elian,’
she replied.
‘The sensation of transfer is always more intense the first time. He is a little shaken, but his thoughts are settling. We should
land and give him a chance to recover properly.’

Although her words were positive, Elian could sense Aurora was worried.

‘So if Jack’s OK, what’s wrong?’
he asked, getting straight to the point.

‘There’s no sign of Shadow or Firestorm,’
she replied.
‘I had hoped they would be here by now, preferably with a lot of back-up.’

‘How much time do we have left?’

‘Tomorrow night will be the harvest full moon,’
she said.
‘We need to get the orbs to the Oracle by sundown tomorrow.’

It was a sobering thought. They had a single day to get the orbs to the Oracle. However many dragons Segun had blocking their path it would be too many unless they got help from somewhere.

They descended in a lazy spiral towards a large meadow on the western shore of the lake. They were far enough from the mountains for Elian not to fear any trouble from Segun and his
followers.

The dragons landed easily next to the water. Elian and Kira dismounted quickly, both watching with interest as Jack made a more cautious approach and touchdown.

‘What’s
he
doing here?’ Kira asked, her voice carrying a dangerous edge.

‘He wanted to come,’ Elian replied. ‘Ra’s dragon-sense was telling her to let him. She thinks his part in the quest is not over yet.’

‘But that’s ridiculous!’ Kira exclaimed.

‘That’s what I said about waiting while the eggs were hatching,’ Elian reminded her. ‘Ra’s instincts have proved true on more than one occasion. I’m not going
to make the mistake of doubting her again.’

Kira crossed her arms and clenched her teeth tightly as the airman’s machine trundled to a stop a few yards away. The engine sputtered and fell silent. Jack was out of his straps and out
of the cockpit within a matter of seconds.

‘What ho!’ he called, jogging across to meet them. His eyes were sparkling with excitement. ‘This place is amazing – so bright and vibrant! I can’t believe
I’m actually here – in your world. Thanks for letting me tag along. I confess I panicked for a moment while I was in that strange place between worlds. I thought I’d got stuck in
the void. Can’t tell you how relieved I was when I arrived.’ He craned his neck and scanned the sky again. ‘Not as many dragons here as I’d imagined,’ he added.

‘What did you expect?’ Kira retorted, her words clipped. ‘A sky full of dragons? We told you dragons were rare here.’

‘Yes, you did, Kira,’ he agreed. ‘And I believed you. It’s just . . . another world. The air smells different. Fresher. Cleaner. And it’s peaceful.
Beautiful!’

Jack kept looking around, his eyes never resting, as if he were trying to soak up every detail.

‘Why did you come, Jack?’ Elian asked. ‘And how did you find us? We were trying not to advertise our presence.’

‘I felt you arrive,’ he said slowly. ‘It was strange. I knew the instant you came through the vortex into France last night. At first I thought it was my imagination, but
inside I knew. Then I had the most vivid dreams about where you had landed and where you were camped. I can’t explain why exactly, but I knew I
had
to find you – to come with
you. I’m not sure why, but it feels right for me to be here.’

‘But you might never be able to go back,’ Elian persisted.

‘I’ve spent every day for the past three years wondering if I would survive to see another,’ Jack said, smiling sadly. ‘The risk of coming here did not seem any worse. So
many of my friends are gone.’

‘But your family . . .’ Kira began.

‘Will be told I am missing in action when I don’t return from the early sortie,’ Jack said, shaking his head. ‘Who knows? By the time I do get to return, maybe the war
will be over.’

‘You may have exchanged one danger for another,’ Elian said. ‘We need to complete our quest by sundown tomorrow, or the Oracle will die. We don’t know yet how many
hostile dragons are blocking our way, but our chances of survival are not looking good. We were hoping we would have some friendly dragons waiting here to help us. It looks like our friends
didn’t make it.’

‘Do you want me to go and scout for you?’ Jack offered.

‘There’s no need,’ Kira answered abruptly. ‘I’ll do it with the Orb of Vision.’

A short while later the three sat by the water’s edge. Their mood was sober.

‘Over three hundred,’ Elian whispered again. It was the third time he had said the number aloud. ‘How can we get past three hundred dragons?’

He picked up a flat stone and sent it skimming across the water. It skipped five times before sinking below the surface with a final skidding splash. He picked up another.

‘A diversion?’ Jack asked. ‘Something to draw them off?’

‘Yes, but what?’ Kira snapped. ‘We had this argument with Pell last time we considered running the blockade and there were only fifty of them in our way then. There’s
nothing that we can do to draw and hold the attention of that many. Whatever we do, Segun will just despatch an appropriately sized group to deal with it.’

‘We would need an army of dragons to catch his attention!’ Elian muttered.

‘Like this one, you mean?’
Aurora interrupted.

Elian looked around startled. From the look on Kira’s face, she had just had a similar message from Fang.

‘What? . . . Where? . . . Good grief!’

‘Now that’s more like what I was expecting to see!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘What an amazing sight that is!’

‘Amazing is right!’ Elian agreed, pumping his fist into the air with joy. ‘Yes! They did it! Pell and Nolita did it!’

The sky to the south was full of approaching dragons – all of them blue, except one. Shadow swept down and skimmed across the lake, turning to pass just over their heads and touch down
behind them. All three ducked as she flew over them. His dramatic arrival was repeated by Firestorm who, in turn, was followed by another day dragon.

Suddenly there were dragons landing all over the meadow – dozens and dozens of them. Elian tried to count, but kept losing track. He started laughing with happiness. He caught Kira up in a
hug and danced around in a circle. He was grinning so hard his face felt as if it might split in two. The day dragons had come. The day dragons had come!

Together, Elian and Kira ran to greet Pell and Nolita and the four riders drew together in an enthusiastic huddle. Kira even hugged Pell, which was something she had never thought she would do.
Jack followed Kira and Elian at a more sedate pace, even as Barnabas followed Nolita and Pell from the opposite direction.

‘Did you get it?’ Pell asked urgently. ‘Did you find the egg?’

‘Yes, we did,’ Elian replied, completely astonished. ‘How did you work out it was an egg?’

‘Barnabas told me,’ Pell confessed. ‘He’d solved the entire riddle poem by the time I got to the day dragon enclave.’

‘By the time
you
got there?’ Kira asked pointedly. ‘What about Nolita?’

‘It wasn’t Pell’s fault,’ Nolita said softly. ‘We were chased by night dragons and split up. We made our way there independently.’

‘Were you all right with that?’ Kira asked, clearly amazed.

‘Not really,’ she admitted. ‘But Firestorm helped me through it. We survived.’

‘Both of your colleagues did very well,’ Barnabas said, from just behind Nolita. He placed a hand fondly on the blonde girl’s shoulder. ‘You can be proud of them. Pell
was brave to approach the day dragon enclave alone, and I’m sure you can appreciate how brave Nolita has been. But who is your friend? That is a strange-shaped contraption sitting between
Aurora and Longfang. Does that belong to you, young man?’

‘Jack Miller’s the name, sir,’ Jack replied, reaching out his hand. Barnabas instinctively completed the greeting by grasping the proffered hand. ‘It’s a pleasure
to meet you. And yes, the aircraft is mine.’

‘Aircraft? It flies?’

‘Indeed, sir. It flies nearly as well as your dragons.’

Elian raised a hand to interrupt. ‘I hate to break up the introductions, but we need to make some big decisions. Kira scouted Segun’s forces earlier and she estimates he has over
three hundred night dragons around the Oracle’s cave. How many dragons have you brought with you, Barnabas?’

‘We have around a hundred and sixty,’ he said. ‘Enough to draw Segun’s attention, but nowhere near enough to take on his forces in any sort of conflict.’

‘Wait a moment,’ Jack interjected quickly. ‘If you can answer some questions, I might be able to teach you tactics that could even the odds a little.’

Chapter Twenty-Four

The arrival of a dozen dusk dragons as the sun went down caused a stir of excitement amongst the day dragonriders. Without warning, a large vortex appeared over the lake and
four dusk dragons flying in tight formation had already emerged before the warning cry went up. Everyone stopped to watch as more and more flew out from the swirling disk of cloud. Last to emerge
was a single dawn dragon, looking decidedly shaky on his wings as he glided to land at the edge of the lake.

‘It’s Shimmer!’ Elian exclaimed excitedly to Barnabas. ‘And his rider, Neema. It looks as if he pushed himself to the limit to bring as many dusk dragons as he could. I
know how tired Ra became when she took three of us through the gateways. Goodness only knows how Shimmer will be feeling after bringing that many through.’

‘It was a brave effort,’ Barnabas said. ‘And a most welcome one. Jack, will having twelve invisible dragons change your tactics?’

Jack’s eyes lit up and he gave a wicked grin. ‘It won’t change what we’ve discussed so far, Barnabas,’ he replied. ‘But it’s going to give the leader of
your enemies a severe headache. Can we gather all the riders together and sit them down? If I talk them through tomorrow’s tactics now, they can think about the plan overnight. I then suggest
that we have a final briefing in the morning before we go. Any objections, thoughts or questions can be raised then.’

‘I can see why the Oracle drew you here,’ Barnabas observed, nodding and smiling. ‘Will you fly with me tomorrow on Wiseheart?’

‘It would be an honour, sir.’

‘Very good then. Let’s get the men organised.’

‘My Lord, one of our ranger patrols reports a large gathering of dragons approaching from the South.’

‘Ours?’ Segun asked, one eyebrow rising quizzically. He took a bite out of a hunk of bread. ‘I thought most had arrived,’ he mumbled through his mouthful.

‘No, my Lord,’ the rider answered, his voice apologetic. ‘The patrol says they’re day dragons, my Lord – well over a hundred of them.’

Segun stiffened and stopped chewing momentarily as he digested this surprising bit of news. Then his jaws began to move again and he appeared to relax. He had risen before sunrise, anticipating
the four questors would try something clever at dawn. When nothing happened at sunup, he found himself almost disappointed.

‘I suppose I should’ve expected this,’ he mused aloud. ‘Barnabas always was an interfering old fool. He’s overstretched himself this time, though. Did the patrol
report any other dragons with them?’

‘No, my Lord,’ the messenger said, his eyes down. ‘But that is not to say there aren’t any. I get the impression that the patrol did not want to get too close and they
came straight back here with all speed.’

‘In other words, they ran away!’

‘Erm . . . yes, my Lord. It could be seen that way, my Lord.’

Segun’s eyes narrowed with anger. He cast the remainder of his bread into the fire and climbed abruptly to his feet. The messenger instinctively tensed, but did not back away. He knew
better than to do that. The night dragon leader was well known for his sudden fits of rage, and for punishing messengers who brought news he did not like. But, above all else, he was known to
detest cowardice. Those designated for messenger duties often drew lots to determine who would work for which senior rider each day. Unsurprisingly, the short straw always got Segun.

For a moment it seemed that the night dragon leader was poised to order a punishment for the patrol, but to the messenger’s surprise, he did not. Instead, Segun shook his head slightly and
picked up his black cloak. Flicking it around in a swirl, he settled it over his shoulders.

‘No matter!’ he announced. ‘We’ll be ready for them. Tell the men to mount up. Go to the Oracle’s cave. Tell those maintaining the vigil at the entrance that
they’re to stay alert on pain of death. No one must enter the cave until after sundown. No one! Is that clear?’

‘Yes, my Lord. Totally clear, my Lord.’

‘Good,’ Segun said. ‘Spread the word as you go. Today will be a glorious day for the night dragon enclave. Not only will we end the Oracle’s domination of dragonkind
– we’ll cripple the day dragon enclave. Things could not be better.’

Delighted to be released unscathed, the messenger raced away to do Lord Segun’s bidding. The tall dragonrider watched him go, a sneer of contempt on his lips.

‘Well, Widewing,’
he called to his dragon.
‘Are you ready to battle your day dragon brothers and sisters?’