Shadow (20 page)

‘Why not?’
she replied, her mental voice thick with sarcasm.
‘If I choke on the words, though, would you have Elian and Nolita throw my body on the fire? I always
fancied cremation over burial.’

‘Just do it, Kira!’

She took a deep breath and schooled her expression before looking across at Pell, who was already finishing the last of his food.

‘Thanks, Pell,’ she said. The words sounded strained to her ears, but there was no sign of Pell having noticed.

‘What for, Kira?’ he asked, the suspicion in his voice undisguised.

‘For suggesting a stop,’ she replied. ‘I’m exhausted.’

‘Me too,’ Elian added. ‘I was falling asleep towards the end there. I couldn’t have gone much further.’

Pell’s face brightened slightly. ‘No problem,’ he said. ‘We’ve all got to rest some time. The question is – how long do we rest for? It’ll be light
soon. I’m not sure that travelling by day is such a good idea.’

‘I agree,’ Kira said, trying her best to make the two words sound genuine. ‘But we may have no choice. Let’s face facts. It’s summer. The nights are short and the
days are long. We’ve got to try to get to the Valley of the Griffins before Segun. I’m betting he and his lieutenants are going to push hard to get there quickly. That means we’re
going to have to push even harder. As we go further north the nights will get progressively shorter. I can’t be certain, but it’s possible that there will be no night at all that far
north.’

‘Really?’ Elian asked. ‘Why’s that?’

‘Fang mentioned it to me some time ago, but I couldn’t follow his explanation,’ Kira admitted. ‘Try asking Ra. And if you understand her answer, you can explain it to me.
The point is we’re going to have to travel by day or accept that Segun is going to get to the valley before us. How long do you think Segun will fly each day, Pell?’

‘Widewing has a reputation for being a strong dragon,’ he replied thoughtfully. ‘Segun likes to further that reputation. He’s likely to push his followers to their limits
for the amusement of seeing them struggle. There is one thing in our favour, though. He isn’t expecting us to be following him, so there’s no real need for him to rush. I wouldn’t
be surprised if he pushed hard for a couple of days, but then eased off the pace when he had made his point to the others.’

‘So what do you suggest?’ Kira asked the question through gritted teeth.

‘I’m not sure,’ he replied. ‘I’d like to talk it over with Shadow. Let’s grab a couple of hours’ sleep and then press on. A lot will depend on the
riders from the enclave – if they come looking for us, and in what sort of numbers.’

Kira considered his answer and, to her surprise, was forced to concede Pell was talking good sense.

‘See? That wasn’t so hard,’
Fang said, amused by her admission.

‘Don’t push it!’
she warned. ‘
If he winds me up enough, I’ll kill him. That will leave you to face Shadow. How do you fancy your chances, Fang? Could
you take her on? At the moment we need Pell to get the night orb. Once that part of the quest is over, however
. . .’

Kira left the sentence hanging. Fang said nothing, his amusement dying to a cold silence. If he thought she was joking, he would laugh. But Fang could see her thoughts. He knew she was deadly
serious.

Chapter Seventeen

‘Night dragons inbound! Wake up, Pell!’

Shadow’s voice shredded Pell’s dreams as effectively as her teeth would rip through a deer. For the briefest moment he was confused. Dappled light danced around him. He squinted as
he cracked his eyelids open. It was morning. They were sheltering under trees. Suddenly the events of the previous evening flooded back. He had no idea how long he had slept, but it felt as if he
had barely closed his eyes.

A mere instant later he was in motion, but he discovered to his chagrin that Kira was already ahead of him. The girl was scrambling onto Fang’s back and the dusk dragon was moving before
Pell had even begun to climb up Shadow’s side. Shaking off the remnants of sleep, Pell leaped up Shadow’s foreleg and swung into the saddle.

‘How many, Shadow?’
he asked.

‘Three,’
she replied.
‘They’re closing fast from the southeast. I cannot be certain, but I believe they have sensed our presence.’

‘We need to get airborne then,’
Pell said, his mind racing.
‘If we can all get into the air before they reach us, we’ll have the advantage of
numbers.’

A quick glance around revealed Elian settling into his saddle and Nolita scrambling up Firestorm’s side. Neither would be far behind Shadow, so Pell urged his dragon forwards after Fang,
who had now employed his camouflage. When Shadow emerged from under the trees there was no sign of the dusk dragon.

‘Where’s Fang going?’ Pell asked aloud. He could faintly hear the dusk dragon’s retreating wingbeats, but couldn’t work out the direction from which the sound was
coming.

‘I’m not sure, Pell,’
Shadow replied, sounding equally confused.
‘Like you, I can hear that he is airborne, but I don’t know where he is going, or what
he intends.’

‘Can you tell him to come back?’ Pell asked. ‘It’s going to be hard to put on a show of strength without him.’

There was a pause.

‘Fang says he’ll join us shortly,’
Shadow reported.
‘I think he’s planning something clever, but I’m not sure what.’

‘Something clever!’
Pell snorted, shaking his head.
‘It had better be.’

Aurora emerged from the trees beside them. Firestorm was directly behind her. Pell could see Nolita’s face, white with fear, and he grimaced. But at least she had good reason to be scared
this time. Three night dragons were a formidable force to contend with.

‘Let’s go, Shadow,’ he urged.

Shadow needed little encouragement. She leaped forwards and launched into the air, taking no more than a few quick bounds and a mighty first down-stroke of her wings. As soon as Pell had settled
his balance into her urgent rhythm, he glanced back to check on the others. Both Aurora and Firestorm were also airborne and climbing, though Shadow was accelerating away from them.

‘Don’t get too far ahead of the others, Shadow,’
Pell told her.
‘We don’t want to get too spread out. Where are the night dragons? Can you see them
yet?’

The rapidly increasing wind dried his eyes and tugged at his hair. He squinted, scanning the sky for signs of the hostile dragons.

‘Yes,
’ she replied.
‘If you look over your right shoulder, you will see them in our rear quarter. They are up at about five hundred spans.’

‘I’ve got them.’

The three black dragons were descending towards them in a menacing V formation. They were still some distance away, but had the advantage of height and speed and would soon catch up. Would they
attack without negotiation? Having been declared outlaws, he and Shadow were fair targets, but what about Firestorm and Aurora? Would the night dragons attack them too? He did not see how the night
dragons could justify such an act of unprovoked violence. They would be jeopardising relations with not one, but two of the other three enclaves.

‘In their eyes it is not unprovoked,’
Shadow told him.
‘The night dragons will justify their actions with our outlaw status. By flying with us, Firestorm and
Aurora are viewed as outlaws too. Relations between the day and night dragon enclaves have always been strained, and the dawn dragon enclave is so small it is considered
unimportant.’

‘Great!’
Pell muttered.
‘No help there, then. Where the blazes are Fang and Kira? If we had the advantage of numbers, they might think twice.’

Shadow did not answer. Pell could feel her reaching out with her mind, but if she received any response from Fang she did not say anything.

They were well above the ground now, and climbing fast. Judging by the height of the sun above the horizon, Pell estimated it must be a couple of hours after dawn. They had slept for about four
hours. Not long enough to feel totally rested, but enough to stave off the effects of severe fatigue. Despite the adrenalin burning through his body, his mind still felt fogged with the remnants of
sleep.

They could not outrun the hostile night dragons. The few wispy clouds were not solid enough to offer cover and landing was out of the question. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see a
way of avoiding a potentially lethal conflict.

‘The lead night dragon is telling us to land, or fight,’
Shadow said suddenly.
‘What shall I tell him?’

Pell tried to think.

‘My instinct is to tell him to go to hell, but what do the other dragons say?’
he said eventually.

‘They express similar sentiments.’

He looked left and right. Since Shadow had slowed to allow the others to catch up, Aurora had moved up into formation to their right, and Firestorm to their left. Elian gave him a hand signal
that he interpreted as ‘Go ahead’.

‘Let’s do it then,’
Pell growled.
‘Tell them. We’ll turn and meet them head to head.’

‘Wait a moment!’
Shadow’s voice sounded suddenly excited.

‘What is it? What’s going on?’

‘It’s Fang,’
she said.
‘He’s asked me to stall them. He says he’s not quite in position yet. I have no idea what he’s planning, but he was
taking a lot of care to make sure his message was not overheard.’

‘All right, but they’re closing fast,’
Pell replied, glancing over his shoulder again.
‘Even if we try to run, it won’t delay a fight for
long.’

‘If I got Fang’s message right, we won’t need to hold them off for long.’

Pell’s mind flashed through possible options. What in blue blazes are you doing, Kira? he wondered. If they turned now, they would at least have a reasonable chance of facing off against
the night dragons. Delaying more than a few seconds would leave them unable to turn in time and vulnerable to attack from above and behind. To continue running felt like madness, but he could feel
Shadow’s trust and respect for Fang through the bond. Much as he hated to admit it, if he had to rely on any of his companions to get them out of a situation like this, Kira would be his
natural choice. She had a cool head under pressure and nothing appeared to rattle her confidence.

‘All right, Shadow,’ he said decisively. ‘We’ll give Fang and Kira their chance. Let’s hope they know what they’re doing. Drag out the chase as best you
can.’

Shadow responded by entering a shallow dive to convert their height into speed. Aurora and Firestorm stayed alongside in close formation. The night dragons continued to gain, but much more
slowly. Pell checked over his shoulder with frequent glances. His heart began to beat faster and faster. Their pursuers noticeably gained on them with every glance. They loomed large now, black and
menacing, but it was too late to try to gain a defensive position. The night dragons were too close.

‘Get ready for a tight turn, Pell,’
Shadow warned.
‘Fang says he is in position. I still don’t know what he intends, but on his call we’re going to
split our formation. I’m to climb and turn right. The others have their directions.’

Pell gritted his teeth. The situation galled him. They were taking orders from Kira and Fang. Shadow might sound comfortable with this, but Pell was far from happy. Suddenly he was being pressed
hard into the saddle as Shadow twisted her wings to initiate a viciously sharp climbing turn. The world around him instantly took on shades of grey as he fought the physical effects of the sudden
force acting down through his body. Previous experience had taught him the best thing he could do was to tense all the muscles in his legs and stomach as hard as he could. He growled as he did so,
using his anger to strengthen his straining manoeuvre.

His colour vision returned and his head swam as Shadow snapped out of the turn. Bright golden dots of light swarmed at the edges of his vision, but Pell ignored them. More pressing was the night
dragon that had turned above them. It was the leader. Its talons gleamed hard and deadly. Pell shuddered, imagining what it would feel like to be caught in their grip. Why was Shadow not weaving?
Surely it would be better to keep turning if they were to make it difficult for their attacker? The night dragon could fold its wings and attack them at any second.

‘Desist from your attack. Land now, or your leader
dies!’

Pell could not quite believe what he was hearing.

‘Not my words, but Fang’s,’
Shadow informed him.
‘I’m relaying what he is telling them.’

Another glance up at the lead night dragon and Pell could sense its confusion. Just above it, but angling away was a smaller dragon. It was Fang. Somehow he had managed to snatch the night
dragon’s rider from his saddle. He had then shed his camouflage and was now angling away, with the night dragonrider squirming in his grip.