Shadow (24 page)

‘Is this definitely the place, Shadow?’
he asked quickly.

‘
Yes,
’ she replied confidently.

‘Then take us down,’
he ordered.
‘Land us short of Segun’s party. Let’s not give them the wrong idea. We don’t want to start a fight we
can’t win.’

‘Very well, Pell,’
Shadow answered. Her voice held a hint of disappointment. She was itching to exact revenge for Segun’s actions at the night dragon enclave, but she
did as he asked. Spilling the lift from her wings, she entered a dramatic diving descent before swooping to an immaculate landing some one hundred paces short of the circle of night dragons. Fang,
Firestorm and Aurora landed in a neat sequence beside her.

Pell looked around at his companions. Kira did not look happy, but that was to be expected. Kira was never happy with his decisions. Elian looked nervous – again understandable.
Nolita’s expression, however, was totally unreadable. The girl remained an enigma. He still considered her cowardly, but he knew there must be more to her than met the eye, or she would not
have retrieved the first orb.

With a confidence he did not feel, Pell flipped his right leg over to meet his left and dismounted, sliding down Shadow’s side and landing with a soft crump, ankle deep in snow. He walked
in front of Shadow, the soft snow scrunching under his feet. It was a sound that sparked memories of his younger, boyhood years, but he knew this was no time for nostalgia. Kira, Elian and Nolita
strode to meet him.

‘Have you got any idea what you’re doing?’ Kira asked in a low voice as she approached.

Pell flashed her his most confident grin. ‘None whatsoever,’ he said. ‘Next question?’

‘What do we do now?’ Elian asked, glancing ahead to where Segun and his riders were regrouping. Pell’s initial gambit had proved successful in avoiding an immediate conflict.
The night dragon-riders had not launched straight into an attack, but Elian could not help wondering if his ploy had merely staved off the inevitable – and if so, by how long?

‘We parley,’ Pell replied quickly. ‘Segun will be surprised to see me here. Widewing will have recognised Shadow by now, even if Segun can’t identify me from this
distance. We want to avoid a fight, if we can. Even if we’d used our advantage of height and energy when we first entered the valley, at best we’d have taken casualties. A more likely
outcome would have seen us all dead in the snow. Our best hope is to keep them talking until the griffins decide to show themselves, or things may turn ugly.’

‘That’s the most sense I’ve heard you speak since we first met,’ Elian conceded. He glanced at Kira, whose lips were pressed together in a tight line.
‘What’re you thinking, Kira? Do you have a better plan?’

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘But try to keep them at a distance when we talk. They’re six grown men with weapons. Don’t try anything clever, Pell. We’re as much at a
disadvantage on the ground as we are in the air.’

Pell nodded.

The six night dragonriders were advancing towards them side by side in an ominous line. Even more menacing were their dragons, following behind.

‘Let’s go,’ Pell said, turning to face Segun and his men. Elian moved to Pell’s left, with Nolita outside him. Kira stepped into position on Pell’s right and
together they marched forwards as one to meet with the enemy.

Chapter Twenty-One

When the two lines of riders stopped to face off at about ten paces apart, Elian was instantly reminded of his confrontation with the bullies Borkas and Farrel on the heath
near his home. At that time, he had just met with Aurora and had used his newfound friendship with the dragon to surprise the boys. He had felt strong, powerful and totally in control. He wished he
could feel the same confidence now, but this time he had no secret advantages to spring on the more powerful adversaries. Neither did any of his companions.

He glanced across at Pell and Kira. They looked incredibly at ease, given the circumstances. A quick look at Nolita revealed that she, at least, looked as nervous as he felt. Her eyes, however,
were not on the night dragonriders, but on the huge black dragons coming behind them. A slight movement in the corner of his eye drew Elian’s attention. Taking care not to move his head, he
flicked a lightning glance up and to the right before returning his focus to the line of riders ahead of them. Something was coming.

‘Ra?’
he asked silently.

‘Yes, Elian, it is a griffin,’
Ra replied, confirming his suspicion.
‘As far as I can tell the night dragons are not aware of it yet.’

‘It seems I underestimated you, Pell.’ Segun’s voice was controlled, but his ice-blue eyes were colder than the snow that filled the valley. ‘I don’t know how you
got here, but I’m not going to allow you to go any further. The Great Quest ends right here, right now.’

‘No, Segun,’ Pell replied. ‘I’ve not come this far to fail. Neither have my companions. We intend to see it through to the end.’

‘Which is as it should be,’ cried a harsh voice from above.

As one, the five night dragonriders around Segun reached instinctively for weapons as they looked up in alarm. Only Segun of the six did not flinch. Elian was pleased to note that Pell and Kira
did not give so much as a flicker of emotion at the arrival of the griffin. The four younger riders stood their ground, staring straight at Segun, as the fantastic creature descended vertically to
land gently between the two parties of riders and dragons. It folded its wings against its sides and circled once before stopping directly between Pell and Segun.

Elian could see out of the corner of his eye that Nolita was almost as pale as the snow around her, but she did not move a muscle. Good girl! he thought as he focused on the amazing beast that
was eyeing up the two sets of riders with its jet-black eyes.

The griffin was roughly the size of a horse. With the hindquarters of a lion and the forequarters of a gigantic eagle, the griffin embodied strength, pride and grace.

Elian was awestruck. The creature’s fur glowed bright gold against the white snow, while its feathers gleamed as if polished in shades of brown, blue and deepest black. Razor-sharp talons
and a wickedly curved beak gave fair warning that the griffin could be vicious. Ra had said that a griffin was one of the few creatures whose weapons were potent enough to harm a dragon. Despite
being small in comparison to the enormous dragons, Elian could well believe that this fierce and beautiful creature would make a formidable fighter.

A dragon was in all likelihood more dangerous than a griffin, yet Elian had quickly become comfortable in the presence of dragons. Ra had an aloof, imperious manner at times, but there was
always a feeling of warmth underlining it. This deadly creature, however, had a cold air of superiority, and its proximity set Elian’s heart racing. Its tufted tail swished from side to side
as it swivelled its head around to regard each rider in turn.

‘I am Karrok, speaker for my people,’ it announced, rolling the ‘r’s and accenting the hard sounds. ‘You’re here to challenge for the second orb. We’ve
been expecting you. Who seeks for us to release the dark orb so it may be taken to the Oracle?’

‘I do, Karrok. I’m Pell, rider of Whispering Shadow.’

Elian was impressed that Pell could keep his voice so unflustered. Karrok’s eyes were unnerving. Elian felt sure that if he were asked to speak now, he would not be able to hide his
nervousness under that penetrating gaze.

‘Which is as it should be,’ the griffin said again, his eyes darting to look at Shadow over Pell’s shoulder. ‘Who seeks for us to release the dark orb so you may destroy
it?’

Elian had expected Segun to step forwards, but he was surprised when the leader of the night dragon enclave called his men into a huddle and began whispering to them. After a moment they split
again and one of the leader’s lieutenants took a half-step forwards and spoke.

‘I seek to destroy the orb, Karrok,’ he announced. ‘My name is Dirk, rider of Knifetail.’

’Ware ye the knife . . . ’ware ye the knife.
Alarm bells rang in Elian’s ears as the words of the Oracle’s rhyme sprang into his mind. The man looked immensely
strong. He had a huge chest and arms, with muscles enough to crush a bear.

‘Accepted,’ the griffin said simply. ‘Pell, do you know the history of this challenge?’

‘No,’ he replied. ‘The Oracle’s rhyme led us here to seek your counsel in finding the orb.’

‘And you, Dirk – do you know the history of this challenge?’

‘No,’ the big man said, glancing at his leader for reassurance. Segun did not meet his eyes. He looked back at the griffin. ‘I do this at my leader’s bidding.’

‘All is as it should be,’ the griffin cried. ‘The challenge comprises three parts. We griffins will release the orb to the first rider to win two of three. Do you
understand?’

Pell stared past the griffin and locked eyes with his adversary. ‘Yes,’ they said together.

‘Challengers,’ Karrok said, turning his head to face Pell. ‘It was here that both previous quests failed. Griffins remain impartial in dragon affairs. The life or death of the
Oracle is of no concern to us. We judge your contest and enforce fair play to honour an ancient agreement made with the dragonriders who brought us here. Come. Both challengers mount your dragons
and follow me. We shall prepare the first test.’

‘And what of the rest of us?’ Segun asked.

‘Those who want to destroy the orb, fly along the left side of the valley,’ Karrok ordered. ‘Those who want to take it to the Oracle, fly along the right. Stray from my
instructions at your peril. We do not wish to harm you or your dragons, but we will be swift to punish any who do not comply. Look for the metal stand. Land there and observe the challenges. Stay
on your respective sides. Griffins will be watching.’

Karrok’s threat seemed ludicrous. How could a few griffins hope to enforce Karrok’s orders to
ten
dragons? Elian chanced a look up at the cliff on the far side of the
canyon. He blinked in surprise and rubbed at his eyes, wondering if they were playing tricks on him. Then he looked up at the near side and saw the same again. The valley was suddenly full of
griffins – hundreds of them. Some were sitting, lined up on ledges like rows of huge painted gargoyles, and some were prowling along the top of the first tier of the great mountainsides.
Others still were airborne, flying in long lines high up along the sides of the valleys.

‘It looks like those few griffins that first came here have been busy!’
he observed to Aurora.
‘Where did all these come from?’

‘I do not know, Elian,’
she replied, similarly surprised.
‘But it would be unwise to anger them. A dragon might overcome one or two griffins, but a host
like this
. . .’

Aurora did not need to complete the thought. Elian turned to Pell and put a hand on the older boy’s shoulder. It was all down to him now. ‘Good luck,’ Elian said simply,
glancing over his shoulder at the senior night dragonriders who were walking back to their dragons. From the look of Pell’s adversary, he was going to need it.

Pell felt both nervous and excited at the same time. Following the night dragons into this valley had been a dangerous gamble. Despite the odds, he had won a chance to get the
orb without a fight. All he had to do was beat Segun’s man at whatever challenges Karrok set. Knifetail looked a formidable dragon, but she would not intimidate Shadow. Nor would Dirk
intimidate him.

‘This is our chance to show Segun,’
he said silently to Shadow as he turned towards her.
‘If we’re going to be outlaws, then let’s make that dungball
wish he’d never crossed us.’

‘Sounds good to me,’
Shadow replied, her voice soft and deadly.

Pell was a little startled at Elian’s touch on his shoulder. The boy wished him ‘Good luck’, a message he acknowledged with a nod. He half expected the two girls to repeat the
message, but one look at them was enough to dispel that thought. Nolita was too distracted to say anything, locked as usual in her own little world of fear. Kira, on the other hand, was more
interested in giving him unwanted advice.

‘Remember the rhyme,’ Kira told him in a low voice. ‘No doubt the words will start to make sense any time now. There was advice in your verse. Stay pure. Listen. Accept
justice. Don’t be tempted to do anything outside of the rules in order to win, Pell.’

‘Thanks for that, Kira,’ he replied, unable to totally mask the sarcasm in his reply. ‘Wise words, I’m sure.’

‘Did you hear what the griffin just said?’ she asked, her anger barely restrained.

‘I expect so,’ he replied. ‘Which part in particular?’

‘The last two quests failed here,’ Kira said bluntly. ‘Not a great record for the night dragonriders, I’d say. And if they were as pig-headed and arrogant as you are,
I’m not surprised they failed.’

With that, Kira turned on her heel and stomped across to Fang’s side. Pell watched her go out of the corner of his eye. He did not want Elian and Nolita to see that she had got to him with
her comments, so he did his best to keep his features composed and his apparent focus on Shadow. Inside, however, he knew there was something in what she had said. The Oracle would die if he
failed. The words in the rhyme had been carefully chosen to give him the best chance of success. If Kira were not such an annoyance, he would have thanked her.