‘Ivan left you a bag. It is already in my mouth.’
All the Grimplin did was open its mouth wide enough for her to crawl into. She was not sure about this at all. It was pitch-black inside and she wanted nothing more to do with dark burrows.
‘I quite agree,’ Zara said, following Deelind’s thoughts. ‘We are dragon. Crawling around underground is undignified.’ Deelind warmed inside. She could always count on Zara to make her smile. With much trepidation and little choice, she crawled completely into the rock’s mouth. It was as cold as one would expect rock to be, stuck miles underground. As she pulled her foot into the mouth, it snapped shut and within the same breath it opened again. She crawled out onto the side of a cliff in Dragon Valley.
‘Okay! That was much more like it! If a dragon must be underground, these Grimplins certainly know the best way of getting about,’ said Zara.
Looking out over the valley, Deelind gasped. It was covered in a blanket of white snow, with the tiny snow crystals sparkling in the light of the sun. The tree boughs were weighed down with snow and small streams and waterfalls had frozen into stunning ice sculptures. The air smelt fresh with a light, crisp breeze and a blissful stillness hung over the valley. It was winter! She didn’t know how far into the season it was, but it would seem she had spent the entire autumn with the Grimplins.
She turned back to the Grimplins. How did she thank them for all they had done? Blowing blue flame just didn’t seem enough. ‘Thank you for all your help. Be sure to ask if you ever need our help. We would be most honoured to come to your aid, no matter how often you call and no matter the size of the task,’ she said with sincerity. With that, she grabbed her bag, went dragon and flew into the valley.
CHAPTER 19
DRAGON VALLEY
Deelind was hungry but her human half quailed at the thought of eating in dragon form. She wanted her food cooked. Instead she flew down to the river, landed on a sandy island in the middle, and drank her fill. When she looked up, she saw all the wild dragons had gathered on the riverbank. Eyeing her, they bowed. Greeting them with a vibrating rumble, Zara took to the air, the wild dragons in pursuit.
Deelind and Zara flew up and down the valley. As the day grew to a close, she knew they needed to eat. Seeing a cow wandering near the river, they swept down, gliding just above the water. In a single swoop, they scooped up the cow and snapped its neck. Deelind winced.
‘It’ll get easier, I promise,’ said Zara’s amused voice was overlaid with a pinecone from a nearby conifer tree dropping with a plop into a thick snowbank.
‘Where do we go and eat it?’
‘I can no longer sense my mother. Let’s take it to her cave?’ They flew into the cave and, as they had expected, it was empty, the fire was out, and the cave was cold and dark. They dropped the carcass on the ground near the fireplace and looked around.
‘Where has she gone?’
‘To Oakman,’ said Zara peacefully, her words laced with a robin hoping about under the conifer tree, leaving tiny footprints in the fresh snowfall.
‘Why have the other dragons not taken over the cave?’
‘Out of fear and respect. Once we light a blue fire, we will claim the cave. If no other dragon challenges us, it will be ours. Our blue flame will continue to burn for the rest of our lives, and no other dragons will ever enter.’
‘Let’s light it up, then,’ she said, looking forward to blowing more blue magical flame.
‘Okay, but this time go human and try it yourself under my guidance. Our bond means our human form won’t be injured by our fire and, although the mouth is smaller, it can still do dragon fire, just on a smaller scale.’ The robin hopped up onto the conifer tree branch and watched Deelind.
‘Really?’ she said in excitement. She couldn’t wait to do this! Deelind felt the energy build up but this time it was much easier and quicker. Once again, just when she felt like she was about to explode, they released the energy out, igniting it as it passed through her throat. She directed it first at the fireplace and then out of the cave’s entrance at Zara’s request.
‘That was so cool!’ said Deelind. Being a featherlite was fun.
In her mind Zara grinned toothily and the robin flew off its frosty perch. ‘This will invite other dragons to challenge us for the cave. Since they are not featherlites they will use normal flame, but I do not expect there will be any competition because they haven’t taken the cave already. Unfortunately, I do not think we will have time to build up normal gas to cook the cow,’ said Zara.
A small squawk sounded behind them. They whirled around and saw a small, thin baby dragon.
‘My baby sister!’ said Zara, her voice filled with a beautiful, six-star snowflake being revealed under a microscope. ‘She’s a featherlite egg bearer! I need to talk to her in dragon and find out what has happened.’ Deelind waited quietly while Zara talked to her sister.
‘She hatched after Mother and Father passed,’ said Zara. ‘She has been living off the scraps in the cave and is too scared and weak to leave. The wild dragons would kill her if she went into their caves. She has asked if she can stay here with us.’
‘Can she?’
‘That is up to both of us.’
‘I would love to have her here!’ she said and felt Zara’s pleasure as a touch of frost kissed her cheek. ‘She’s a part of you, a rare egg bearer and appears to need our help. However, this is your sister and you know dragon ways better than I do. What would you want?’
Zara talked to her sister a bit longer then said, ‘I have agreed with her that she can live here, and we will get the wild dragons to feed her from their catches until she learns to catch her own. We may need to find another dragon to look after her and teach her once we leave.’
Deelind blanched at the thought of leaving. Part of her just wanted to stay and hide forever but knew the day would come when they would have to leave and face Blackthorn.
‘Our path does not lie here,’ said Zara softly, following Deelind’s thoughts. ‘If we did not leave, Blackthorn would find us anyway.’
‘I know,’ she said, sighing.
‘We should stay for a while, though, rest and have fun,’ said Zara. ‘You are strong and healthy from the healing the Grimplins did on you, but I sense that you are reluctant to return to the intensity of this new life. You haven’t had any real time off since you met Mug.’
‘You know, you’re right,’ said Deelind in surprise, ‘I got swept up in everything. Some time here with you and your sister in Dragon Valley would be wonderful.’ Looking at the little dragon, she asked, ‘What is her name? Can I touch her?’
‘Her name is Ora and I wish you would touch her. She hasn’t stopped complaining about an itch she can’t reach.’ Zara sent the sense of a woodpecker trying to peck its way through frozen bark. ‘Although she can’t speak to you, she can understand you if you project images to her.’
Ora sent Deelind an image and Deelind happily rubbed the itchy spot just on top of Ora’s wing. Ora crooned in pleasure.
‘Ora needs food and so do we. Let’s go collect firewood and do it the old-fashioned way,’ said Deelind, sending Ora an image of her staying safely by the blue flame. She then went dragon.
It was dark when they exited the cave into the valley. Deelind could feel the crisp, winter air but her dragon body was not affected by it. With her enhanced vision she quickly picked up an old, dry tree standing just inside the edge of the forest and sheltered from the recent snowfall. Landing, she whirled in the direction of a call lined with a forest floor carpeted in gentle bluebells. Only one person she knew had that magical signature.
‘Look,’ said Zara, ‘over there by that large tree on the horizon.’ Sure enough, it was Corporal Lucy calling out for her. Deelind panicked. She did not want to talk to Lucy, nor did she want to be found yet.
‘We’ll stretch out our wings and lie flat on the ground,’ said Zara, doing exactly that. ‘Think inwards only and the camouflage gift my mother gave
us will hide us.’ Unquestioning, Deelind obeyed. Lucy flew slowly up and down the valley, calling out and searching for her. Deelind counted Lucy as a friend and she felt bad that Lucy was looking so hard while she hid, but she understood now that she needed some time away from the demands of her new world. When Lucy’s wing beats grew fainter, Deelind lifted her head slightly and watched as she left the valley.
‘Whew, that was close. I forgot about the camouflage. I wonder if that is why Corporal Lucy didn’t see me when I was standing guard at the Great Hall on the day of the council meeting.’
‘Yes, I remember,’ replied Zara, ‘we were camouflaged in that moment. I enhanced our dragon hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation inside the hall.’
‘Do you think we can get the wild dragons to warn us if a featherlite enters the valley?’ said Deelind. Zara nodded her agreement.
They broke the old, dead tree off at the base and flew it back to the cave. Switching form as needed, Zara and Deelind made quick work of breaking the tree into logs to put on the fire. Zara butchered the cow ready for cooking. Deelind was more than happy for her to handle this task. Her predator instincts weren’t quite strong enough yet to manage this part of the process without experiencing nausea. She retreated to the back of her mind, letting Zara take full control.
‘How do we light this?’
‘Just spark it. We can spray sparks out of our mouth but stay in dragon form until the cave warms up.’ Deelind tried and to her delight sparks sprayed out into the pile of wood in the fireplace. The wood was so dry it lit straightaway and she sat down for a moment just watching the flickering flames. The fire soon produced enough light and heat to warm up the cave. Ora curled up next to the fire and went to sleep.
As soon as the cave was warm Deelind went human. She was sweaty and her clothing was completely ruined after her adventures in Buttercup town. She looked in the bag that Ivan had left with the Grimplins. As she suspected it was the one she had taken with her to her gran’s cottage just before Spike caught her. At the bottom was her new school uniform which she had never put away after getting it at the uniform shop. Best of all she had packed some biscuits and chocolates which were stale and old but still edible. Hungry and unable to wait for the cow to cook, she rapidly consumed all that was there. It was not nearly enough but still, at least she felt slightly better. She walked over to a small pond and had a long drink. Taking the opportunity for a quick wash, she dressed in fresh clothes. Her new uniform felt a bit stiff, but it was clean and a comfortable fit. She craved sleep but knew her need for food was more urgent.
‘If only I could half-change,’ she said.
‘You can,’ said Zara. ‘When you start changing, focus on the areas that you want to be dragon.’ It was so great to have Zara back again! Her friendship and help were invaluable. She pulled up an image in her mind of how Princess Lee looked the day of her gran’s funeral.
‘Can you help me look like Princess Lee did?’
‘Of course.’
As Deelind attempted the changes, she could feel Zara guide her. She felt her lower half change into dragon. Her top half stayed human, seamlessly melding into her bottom half. Her wings stretched out from her shoulder blades, but her arms did not meld with her wings. She found she could control her wings with her back muscles.
‘Perfect,’ she said and with her increased strength she quickly built a large spit for the cow. Soon it was cooking over the fire with delicious smells wafting from it. An hour later she was able to eat enough from the outside of the carcass to fill her. She moved the carcass to the side of the fire to allow it to cook more slowly. She woke Ora and nudged her to eat. Ora wolfed down her portion and wanted more. She was already looking better, just from the warmth of the fire, but Deelind was careful to ration her to give her body time to adjust to the volume of food. Deelind remained in half-dragon and half-human form, and she and Ora settled themselves near the fire for a long sleep.
Sometime during the early hours of the next day Deelind started dreaming. The dream began as usual with her four-year-old self running in a meadow with a young woman. They ran and laughed and rolled in the field’s fresh, green grass. She felt happy and free. This time she could see that there were other children and mothers playing and sitting in the field. The young woman holding her hand let it go and ran down the hill, into the arms of an older, taller and stunningly beautiful, copper-haired woman waiting at the bottom, all the while giggling and calling for Deelind to follow her. They both turned and held their arms out for her. Before she could reach them, she heard yelling and screaming. Looking around, she saw red-hot fireballs hitting the ground all over the field. Deelind turned back to look at the two women who were now screaming, ‘Run, run!’ and then they were both hit by a deathburner and vanished before her eyes. Screaming, she jerked awake. She sprang up, and looked around the cave.
‘That was no dream, Dee,’ said Zara and the moon shone bright through the winter trees. Deelind felt Ora push her nose into her leg as if questioning but also trying to offer reassurance.
Absent-mindedly, Deelind rubbed Ora. ‘I agree. I think it is a memory,’ she whispered, ‘but it makes no sense. Who were those two women?’
‘It’s morning. Let’s go fly,’ suggested Zara. Happy to leave the ghosts of her past behind, Deelind went dragon and headed out of the cave. Ora followed. She was looking better for the food and appeared to have helped herself to the carcass while Deelind slept. Poor thing, she must have been starving.
‘If the wild dragons see Ora with us, they will accept her and protect her,’ said Zara.
‘Can the wild dragons understand me?’
‘Yes, but, like with Ora, you must communicate in pictures.’
Projecting an image of Ora flying next to her on her left, they took flight. Ora tucked in on Deelind’s left and just behind her.
‘We have company,’ said Zara. Startled, Deelind looked back and saw a thunder of dragons coming up behind her. She sent out an image for them to fall into a V-formation behind her, which they smoothly did.
It gave her an idea. What if they were trained in some of the manoeuvres the Dragonknights did? It might be useful if the wild dragons knew some of the basics. It would strengthen their position with the rotvipers if they were used to her giving them instructions. The question was whether the wild dragons would take further instruction. It was time to find out.
Deelind sent the dragons a series of images, showing that she wanted them to pick up the rocks from the valley floor and crush them with their claws.
‘Look!’ said Deelind to Zara in wonder. She watched the dragons descend and pick up rocks. ‘They’re doing it! They’re doing one of the manoeuvres we’ve seen the squadrons do over the Upper house.’
Zara laughed. A flurry of fresh powder blew off the tops of trees as she said, ‘From all that noise they’re making and what they are saying, they are having great fun. They think this is a grand game.’
Soon the dragons had progressed to catching and crushing the rocks in mid-air.
‘This is such fun!’ said Deelind to Zara. ‘What a great way to spend our day.
‘I can hear and feel your joy and excitement and we’ve still got plenty of day left to show more to the dragons,’ said Zara happily. ‘I see that Ora and some of the young ones are getting tired. Perhaps we should get them to stand lookout to let us know if any featherlites enter the valley. You don’t have to send images, I’ll let them know in dragon.’ Zara roared the instructions to the tired youngsters who eagerly settled into the task of watching and waiting.
With that done, Deelind and Zara turned their attention back to the other dragons. Taking instructions from both Zara and Deelind, the dragons quickly learnt to work in teams and engage in mock battles, which, Zara reported to Deelind, they enjoyed immensely.
Deelind and Zara spent the next few glorious weeks’ training and flying until they were happy that the wild dragons could practise on their own. Deelind could sense that th
eir time in the valley was coming to an end. She was unsure how everyone at the Upper house would feel about her training the wild dragons and she wasn’t ready for them to find out. After discussing with Deelind, Zara explained to the dragons that, should a featherlite enter the valley, they were to break formation and stop all training, going back to normal dragon life.
* * *
One morning Deelind decided to have a look into the Wastelands Ivan had mentioned, and they headed out to search for the entrance hidden somewhere at the end of the valley.
Zara gained height rapidly so that they could see over the end of Dragon Valley. She only had a little higher to go when suddenly she found herself struggling against a strong wind that forced her back down. ‘This is a magical wind,’ she said, ‘we will not be able to get above this valley. The only way out of this valley is where all the valleys meet at the Tor.’
Deelind nodded mentally. ‘The other Dragonknights would have also encountered that wind so the entrance must be lower than we thought. Let’s just fly along the bottom of the valley and search the low-lying hills for a crevice or tunnel.’
They searched along the lower hills until they led her up the side of the mountain that formed the bottom end of the valley.
‘Look over there!’ said Deelind, mentally pointing at a narrow crack running up the cliff face. ‘Let’s go look and then we should head back and hunt for the entrance another day.’
Zara agreed and they flew quickly to a large ledge near the crack that was just big enough for a dragon to land on.
‘This is the entrance,’ said Zara as she landed. ‘I can see that the crack goes all the way through to the other side, but we would have to go human to fit through it.’
‘It explains why none of the wild dragons have disappeared into the Wastelands,’ said Deelind as they went human. Standing in front of the crack, she could see it formed a rough tunnel that seemed to go on forever as it cut straight through the mountain. The crack’s hard, jagged sides loomed high above her. She stepped onto the stony path into the shadow of the tunnel and sudden darkness. Blinking rapidly, she took a moment until her night vision kicked in. The temperature had dropped sharply, but thankfully she ran hotter since the melding. Using her enhanced vision, she picked her way along the path.
Deelind and The Icefire Page 28