Shadow (12 page)

‘Oh, Lord!’ he whispered suddenly, as realisation struck. ‘How the devil am I going to write up this jaunt?’

Chapter Ten

As they emerged into a deep valley in the midst of the mountain range, Elian was bathed in a sense of elation. He felt like a hero. They had saved the man in his flying machine
from his enemies again, and they had done so as a team effort. If we can work together like that for the rest of the quest, then our chances of success have got to improve, he thought.

The only dampener to his feeling of triumph was the wave of fatigue he felt through his bond with Aurora. She was exhausted, and flying up here in the mountains would tax her further.

‘Looking at the sun, I’d say it’s about late morning, Ra,
’ he said.
‘I sort of expected you to get us here as soon after we left Orupee as possible. Is
it the same day, or have we lost more time?’

‘We arrived here no more than a few heartbeats after leaving Orupee, Elian,’
she replied.
‘I was most careful about that. But you must remember that we have
travelled a long way east in the instant we were away. The sun rises much earlier here.’

‘Oh, I see,’
Elian said, feeling foolish.
‘Thanks, then . . . um, let’s see if we can find a suitable place to land,’
he continued quickly.
‘I can feel how tired you are. You need a rest after that effort. We’ve got plenty of time to find the night dragon enclave before nightfall.’

‘A rest would be welcome,’
Aurora replied.
‘I shall tell the others and we will start looking for a good place.’

The mountains of Isaa were very different from those they had seen in Central Orupee and Northern Cemaria. There was a sense of remoteness about them unlike anything Elian had ever experienced.
The range appeared vast and Elian could feel by the shortness of his breath that even though they were in a valley, they were flying much higher than he was used to. The white caps of the
mountaintops extended a long way down from the peaks despite it being summer.

Gods, those peaks must be high! he thought, momentarily awestruck.

‘They are the highest in all Areth,’
Aurora informed him.
‘Even dragons hesitate to fly over them. Very few of your kind can survive a flight so high. A number of
riders have tried – through bravado, or plain foolishness. None have returned unscathed. It is best to enter and depart the range through one of the main passes, but the night dragons monitor
these constantly. It is impossible to approach the enclave of the night dragons without passing the night dragon sentinels. Unless, of course, you ride a dawn dragon.’

Aurora sounded smug as she continued.
‘We are already within the range. My dragonsense brought us inside their domain. To my knowledge they have no further guard points short of the
enclave. We should be able to get close without Segun’s people detecting us. The only problem I foresee is getting out again. I’ve drawn too deeply on my powers to form any more
gateways for a while, so we will have to risk alerting the sentinels.’

‘Do you know how to get to the enclave from here?’
Elian asked, gasping as he struggled to speak aloud. The air burned cold inside his chest as his breathing automatically
deepened and accelerated.

‘No, but Fang does. Do not fear. We shall find Pell and Shadow.’

Kira was pleased when her dragon Fang slid forwards into the lead position. Elian and Aurora had led them through the gateways and drawn them into a struggle that was none of
their business. Through the bond she could feel that Fang had suffered a large number of stings from the unnatural weapons in the other world. Her first priority was to find a place to land as soon
as possible and to have Firestorm breathe his healing fire over her dragon.

No more distractions, she thought, rubbing at her side. The sympathetic pains she was feeling made her more determined than ever to keep the group focused. They needed to find Pell and get him
to the griffins so that he could learn more about the night orb, and that was exactly what she intended to do. The hunter who was easily sidetracked rarely brought home the meat.

‘Fang? Is there anywhere around here that we can stop without being seen by the night dragons?’
she asked.

‘Aurora just asked me the same question. There are few places here that offer much cover,’
he replied.
‘But I do know of one. It isn’t far.’

‘Good. I think we all need a short rest after this morning’s adventure.’

Fang cruised along the valley at a fast glide, only beating his wings when it became a necessity. Unsurprisingly there were no signs of human habitation. The great peaks around them were
majestic and awe-inspiring, but they offered little to mankind aside from a place to retreat from the rest of the world.

Is that why the night dragons have adopted it as their home? she wondered. The day dragon enclave had been quite accessible and hospitable. The thought made her wonder about the other enclaves,
and the dusk dragon enclave in particular. It was in Ratalusia, and Ratalusia was a long way away. Will we need to visit the home of the dusk dragons, too? she mused to herself.

‘We’ve arrived,’
Fang said suddenly, his voice in her mind interrupting her thoughts.

Kira could see nothing welcoming in the bleak landscape, but as Fang descended, he turned purposefully to the left, towards an outcrop of rock. They touched down before Kira saw the entrance to
a cave, concealed in the crook where the rocky ridge projected out from the base of the mountain.

‘Gods alive, Fang! How did you find this place?’
she asked aloud.
‘I would never have spotted it.’

‘That is because you are not a dragon,’
he responded, his tone aloof, but gently teasing.
‘We have a certain affinity with caves . . . though, in truth, I found
this one by chance when dodging night dragons during my last trip to this part of Areth.’

The admission made Kira smile. She was quietly pleased that Fang had a sense of humour, given his formal speech and archaic code of honour. Dragons were strange creatures. Even though she had
initially wanted to hate Fang for taking away her chance to be a hunter, she found herself caring deeply for him. Kira had vowed that she would never forgive him for destroying her dream, but the
quest had given her the opportunity to be a part of a different kind of hunt.

The inner conflict tangled her mind and heart with a confusing mess of emotions. She envied Elian his enthusiastic thirst for adventure. Had she not been so close to her goal when Fang had come
along, she might have enjoyed a similar attitude. Instead she felt forced to hide the little flame of resentment that continually burned inside.

Kira dismounted and let Fang lead the way. A refuge like this in such inhospitable terrain looked a likely lair for one of the larger mountain predators, but Fang was quick to report the cave
empty. It was a bit of a squeeze for the dragons to enter through the mouth, but once they were past the threshold, the cave opened out into a chamber that was easily big enough to accommodate them
all.

The riders went outside and found some large flat stones to use as seats. They had no torches, so they only dragged the stones as far as the mouth of the cave where it was light enough to see.
The dragons were happy to lie in the darkness beyond, their eyes gleaming eerily from the deep shadows. The blue nimbus of Firestorm’s healing breath lit the cave briefly as he healed
Fang’s bruised scales, giving the underground chamber a momentary feeling of enchantment.

Kira sighed as the nimbus faded and the cave returned to being a mundane hole in the cliff-wall. There was something magical about the day dragon’s healing powers.

‘There is no magic in Firestorm’s breath,’
Fang said quickly.
‘His healing fire is a natural phenomenon. Fish can breathe under the water, but that
doesn’t make them magical. They were designed with the ability. Magic is unnatural and distorts the order set in place by the Creator’s hand. It is dangerous, practised by foolish men
who seek power and control over their surroundings. Mankind was not designed to handle such power. Neither were dragons. It is one of the major differences between our kinds that we dragons have
more sense than to dabble with powers not meant for us.’

‘But if magic isn’t meant for us, then who is it meant for?’
Kira asked.

‘That is for the Creator to know, and for us to ponder,’
he replied.

‘You’re evading the question.’

‘
Yes.
’

Kira burst out laughing, and the sound echoed around the cave. Elian and Nolita both turned to her with inquisitive expressions.

‘What’s so funny, Kira?’ Elian asked.

‘Dragons,’ she replied. ‘Dragons and their “holier than thou” attitudes. For all their years and experience, it’s good to know they’re as ignorant as we
are about some things.’

Kira did not explain further, but continued to chuckle quietly to herself for a while. It felt good to laugh. She had not found anything much to laugh about for a long time. Her spirits felt
lighter for it and with the nagging pain of Fang’s wounds now gone, she began to feel much more positive about their situation.

‘Would anyone like some hot food?’ Nolita asked suddenly.

‘We don’t have any fuel for a fire,’ Elian pointed out.

‘I know,’ she replied, her voice tentative as she explained. ‘We won’t need a fire. I could just eat a bit of fried mutton with some of Kira’s herb mix right now.
We’ll need a plan if we’re going to get into the enclave of the night dragons without causing trouble. And I always think better with a full stomach.’

‘I won’t argue with that,’ Elian agreed, his expression showing curiosity. ‘And I’m intrigued to see how you intend to cook food without a fire.’

‘So am I,’ added Kira. She watched as Nolita gave them both a shy smile and flicked her blond hair back from her face.

‘Actually it wasn’t my idea,’ Nolita said, sounding embarrassed. ‘Here, give me a hand.’

She led them outside where she selected several large stones. Kira followed with Elian and a quick exchange of glances established that he was as bemused as she was. Between them, they carried
the stones into the cave and then built them into a pile at Nolita’s direction. With Elian’s help Nolita laid a final large, flat stone across the top, testing it thoroughly to make
sure it was stable.

‘That should do it,’ Nolita said, satisfied. ‘Now I suggest we step outside for a moment, and bring our packs.’

‘Whatever you say, Nolita,’ Kira replied, her tone dubious. She looked across at Elian, who shrugged.

They all walked out into the open and paused. The breeze was chill, but the blue sky above showed no signs of rain.

‘Over here.’ Nolita beckoned them away from the mouth of the cave and down along the ridge-line.

‘Where are we going, Nolita?’ Kira asked. ‘Is it far?’

‘No, not far,’ she replied. ‘In fact, this should do nicely.’

Nolita stopped and looked back at the cave entrance. Kira glanced at Elian. He looked as confused as she felt. A sudden familiar roaring sound drew everyone’s attention towards the cave
entrance. Visible waves of heat rippled the air immediately outside the cave. The sound of Firestorm’s roaring flames continued for a considerable time. When the resonating blast stopped,
Nolita led the way back inside. The flat stone on the top of the stack was glowing red with heat.