Halfway into the tunnel Deelind felt her brows snap together as she squinted. She could just make out an image of the other side.
‘I see a whole lot of yellow over there. What on earth could cause so much yellow?’ She felt Zara lean forward and peer through her eyes.
‘You see yellow and I see a weird green colour as well. I also smell something very odd. Curious. Let’s keep moving.’
Deelind stepped it up, eager to get to the end. It wasn’t long before she pulled the neckline of her dress up to covering her nose. The smell of rotten eggs blowing in from the Wastelands was eye-watering. No wonder no one stayed long or came back for a second sighting.
She exited the tunnel which opened onto a ledge much like the ledge at the back of the manor house that opened onto Brakenhill Valley.
She rubbed at her eyes. Something in the smell made them itch. Retching, she said, ‘Oh my word, Zara, the stench is unbelievable.’
‘Agreed. This is very unpleasant. Let’s go dragon, I won’t be as affected by the smell and this ledge is big enough for me.’
Going dragon, Zara looked around her. ‘Wow. Alien is the right word for it.’
Rendered speechless, Deelind took in the landscape spread out in front of them. The land was a multitude of shades of yellow, barren, craggy rock filled with rough edges and jagged pits. There were no trees and no rivers to soften it, yet it was eerily beautiful in its starkness. There were knobbly-edged pools of different shades of green water that steamed softly and shimmered under a baking sun. Inhospitable, this land was deadly haunting. Even with their enhanced vision, not one living creature could be seen anywhere across the vast landscape.
The heat from both the sun and the land was incredible. It poured onto their dragon form, and she felt the urge to step back into the shade of the tunnel.
‘I wonder what purpose this land serves in the Dragon Kingdom?’ said Deelind, incredulous.
‘That I do not know but I do know it is a place I never wish to enter any further,’ said Zara with a shudder, ‘and I like heat more than most. Let’s go.’ They went human and quickly stepped back into the blessed relief of the cool tunnel.
Deelind felt Zara go still as if she was listening. ‘Ora is calling,’ said Zara as a flurry of snow whipped up. ‘She says it’s urgent.’
Knowing the way now, they navigated the path easily, exited the tunnel and went dragon, flying as fast as they could up the middle of the valley.
‘Ora reports that to the left side of the valley there is a human intruder,’ said Zara.
Deelind banked left. Scanning the mountain cliffs, she looked for a human and then spotted someone hanging upside down with one leg caught in a tree growing out of the side of the cliff face. It was Tom. Swooping down, she landed just above him on a cliff ledge and changed.
‘Tom! Are you alright? What are you doing here?’
‘Looking for a featherlite egg, of course.’
‘Of course,’ she groaned. Knowing Tom, it made sense. ‘But there are no featherlite eggs,’ she said, checking with Zara that this was correct.
‘Yes,’ said Zara mentally. ‘Ora was the last featherlite egg in the valley and she is a featherlite egg bearer. She will never meld with anyone. It will be a while yet before she is mature enough to take a mate and lay eggs.’
His shoulders slumped. ‘Ah, drat. I had hoped to find one. How will I ever become a Dragonknight now?’ said Tom, sounding both frustrated and deeply disappointed. Deelind could hear a tremor in his voice. ‘I think my leg is broken. It really, really hurts.’
‘If anyone were a great candidate to be a Dragonknight, it’s you, Tom. Is this what you have been up to the last few months?’ she said, trying to distract him as she climbed down to him.
‘Yes. I have been trying to find the lost path used by the Dragon Quest candidates to get from Brakenhill Valley to here in search of their featherlite egg. It took me until now to find it, it was full of obstacles and overgrown. I slipped on the ice over there.’
‘Let’s get you back to the manor house and let Nurse Amy fix you up,’ she said, noticing the disappointment in Tom’s eyes and the pain etched on his face.
‘No! You cannot go back there!’ said Tom. ‘Everyone is looking for you. They say you are on IceFire and a servant of Blackthorn now. If they catch you, they will clip your wings or worse, banish you to the wasteland.’ Her heart did a lurch in fear.
‘I am not on IceFire, and while was I was forced to serve that monster, I am not serving him now. I would rather die or even go to the Wastelands than willingly join him, and since I’ve seen the Wastelands, that’s saying something.
‘Really? You’ve seen the Wastelands? Will you take me? That would be so amazing!’
Deelind’s lips twitched. Even though his body shook with pain, he was still able to find another adventure to go off on. ‘Let’s speak to your dad and Zara first. If they say yes, then we can look at going. Now stay still and let’s get you out of there.’ She scooped him into her arms, but she was not strong enough or tall enough to get him free without hurting him more.
Changing into her half-dragon, half-human form, she murmured an apology and as gently as she could, she pulled Tom free. Still too much for him, he screamed in pain and passed out. She winced. Poor Tom. It took a few minutes for him to regain consciousness. His face looked ash-white, but he still managed to smile at her.
Showing Zara her idea, Deelind said to her, ‘This is going to be tricky. It’s best if you take control of the dragon form.’ She felt Zara’s consent.
To Tom she said, ‘Zara is going to push her nose under you and scoop you up onto her back. It is the only way we can carry you out of here. Remember to hang on, and I will not be able to talk when I am in dragon form.’
‘Cool,’ said Tom, excitement in his eyes even with all his pain. ‘Not many people can say they’ve ridden a dragon. Breaking my leg might even be worth it!’
Zara grunted in amusement. ‘Tough kid. He’s right. Breaking a leg is fair payment for such a young one.’
Deelind went dragon. Zara took control and lowered her head towards Tom. Scooping him onto her snout, she swung him up her body and lowered him on her back. He pulled himself into a half-sitting, half-lying position. Grabbing hold of a couple of her back feathers, Tom settled himself as best he could. He was so small on her large dragon body they could hardly feel him. Deelind now understood why featherlites did not like people riding on them. It was uncomfortable, like having a small pebble in your shoe. She couldn’t see how it was humiliating, though, it was no different to an adult giving a child a piggyback ride.
Sleet came down as Zara bristled mentally, ‘only for Tom will we allow—’
‘Let’s go!’ shouted Tom, each hand holding onto a long, strong feather and flicking them like reins.
‘You see? This is why. He thinks I’m a horse!’ said Zara in disgust, and Deelind heard thuds as big clumps of snow fell off laden tree branches.
Smiling to herself, Deelind felt Zara take off carefully, gliding as much as possible and only using her wings just enough to keep them airborne and heading in the right direction. She made small, continual adjustments to keep Tom from slipping off.
With the cave in sight, Zara landed on the ledge outside the cave and tucked her wings in, pinning Tom against her body. She went half-human to allow Deelind to use her human arms. If they went full human Tom would have to get off and then back on and they were not sure he had the strength to do that.
‘Wow,’ said Tom twisting about, trying to get a good look. ‘I don’t think anyone has even been on the back of the half form either. I’m never going to forget this!’
Zara groaned. ‘I wish he would,’ she said to Deelind. ‘At this rate my reputation is going to be in tatters.’
Deelind was about to reply but Tom was still talking. ‘Your cave is amazing! It’s too bad I’m too injured to explore it,’ he said, looking around in wonder.
‘Seriously, he has
no sense of self-preservation!’ said Zara in alarm, and sharp icicles wobbled precariously. ‘The golden rule is you never go exploring another dragon’s cave.’
‘You forget, Zara, that’s exactly what I did when I found you!’
Zara grunted and muttered, ‘must be a human thing, then. An insane thing to do but I’ve seen enough of humans by now to know they’re right on the edge of crazy.’
Smothering her giggles, Deelind quickly packed her bag and handed it to Tom. Looking around the cave for the last time, she felt a pang of regret. She hadn’t realised on waking up that morning that it would be her last day here in the valley.
She felt Zara mentally nuzzle her in reassurance and say, ‘It is simply time and we are ready.’
Reluctantly, Deelind sent out a series of images to the wild dragons that she and Zara were leaving and they were to look after Ora and keep practising until she returned. When back at the cave entrance, she went full dragon and ceded control to Zara.
CHAPTER 20
THE CELLS
Flying carefully with Tom, they flew out of Dragon Valley, into Brakenhill Valley and headed straight for the Brakenhill cliff face. Zara landed on the doorway ledge which took them into the back of the Tor. She swung her head up to Tom and he crawled onto her nose. Lowering her nose to the ground, Tom was able to slide off and onto the ground.
Going human, Deelind took her bag from him and put it on her back, then scooped him up into her arms. Once through the entrance, trying not to jostle him too much, she ran him down to the sickroom where Nurse Amy worked. Taking one look at Tom, Nurse Amy pointed Deelind to the surgery bed at the end of the room. She sat on a bed near Tom and gave Nurse Amy a quick rundown of what had happened to him.
‘Is he going to be alright?’ she said after ten minutes of tense silence.
‘Yes, it’s a messy break but he will be fine, if a little sore. You saved his life. Honestly, the number of scrapes this young lad gets into. Although you seem to be joining him lately—’ said Nurse Amy as Miss Tibi burst into the room. She rushed up to Deelind, who wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t about to be attacked. Miss Tibi grabbed her and hugged her.
‘You!’ she yelled at Deelind with tears in her eyes. ‘You have had me worried sick. Where have you been?’
‘Tibi,’ said Nurse Amy, ‘please be quiet. I need to work on Tom.’ Miss Tibi took one look at Tom and went white.
‘Come, let’s go get you something to eat,’ said Miss Tibi, clutching Deelind’s arm so hard that she knew she was not going to be allowed to slip away. Just as they got outside the door, Sergeant Sam arrived with two large Dragonknights.
‘You are to come with us,’ said Sergeant Sam. The two Dragonknights moved to either side of Deelind, moving Miss Tibi out of the way. Deelind knew she was outnumbered. This was not the time to fight. It would just make her look guilty. Bile rose in her throat. She hated the thought that this traitor had so much power over her.
‘Just you wait now. She is coming with me!’ said Miss Tibi to Sergeant Sam and the Dragonknights.
‘It is okay, Miss Tibi. I will be alright.’ She saw Miss Tibi’s face turn bright red as Deelind left with the Dragonknights. Deelind almost felt sorry for the person about to get an earful from Miss Tibi.
They walked quickly back to the Upper house and straight to the cells big enough to contain a dragon. She was pushed into one and the door locked.
‘We can break out of here,’ said Zara.
As if reading their thoughts, Sergeant Sam said coldly, ‘It is impossible to break out of these cells. They’ve been designed to be dragon-proof.’ With that, Sergeant Sam turned and left with the other two Dragonknights.
‘Shall we test it?’ said Zara. They went dragon and blew magical and normal fire at the bars. When this did not work, they bashed the bars, but again it did not do anything. After about an hour, they gave up and Deelind went human.
She had never seen a real jail before. It was a cold room with bars at the front, a concrete floor with a concrete ledge topped with a mattress. There was a bowl of water and food and a hole in the floor which she assumed must be the toilet. A set of green prison clothes were on the mattress which she guessed she was meant to wear. Fat chance of that. She’d rather wear her school uniform.
Sitting on the mattress, she brooded grimly. The jail itself didn’t bother her. She’d been through worse since becoming part of this world but…
‘…We are getting rather tired of being bent to others’ wills,’ said Zara, finishing Deelind’s thoughts. ‘First our allies collar us with a choker and cut us off from each other, then our enemies cut us off with IceFire and collar us. Now our allies are at it again by incarcerating us. They sure know how to treat a long-awaited featherlite.’ A blizzard roared up. Deelind grunted her agreement. Zara’s rage mirrored her own deep, burning anger. She and Zara were going to have to get a lot more dangerous to get the respect they deserved. Everyone they met from now on needed to be treated warily.
‘Yes, and if they so much as look at us with clippers or the choker, they will pass to the afterlife,’ said Zara.
Agreeing wholeheartedly, Deelind lay down on the mattress and tried to sleep, but instead spent a long time tossing and turning. It was cold, the bed was hard, the blanket was scratchy and there was no pillow. She gave up and went dragon. It was easy to sleep anywhere in this form and maybe when her captors eventually came down to see her, they’d get a much-needed reminder that she was a featherlite.
* * *
Deelind woke and stretched, it had been a long cold night. Being in dragon form had made the night in the prison cell bearable but even her dragon body felt stiff from lack of space to move in the cramped cell.
‘Morning,’ came Zara’s thought to her, bathing her in warmth and sunshine on sparkly snow. Standing, Deelind sent her a kiss while stretching their wings out. Each wing hit the opposite wall of the cell and, just like that, her rage roared and her blood boiled.
‘We have been going about breaking out of here in the wrong way,’ said Zara, the blizzard from the previous night still raged in her voice.
‘How so?’
‘We are thinking dragon. This cell is dragon-proof. I would guess they have dragon-proofed the walls and ceiling but not the floor. Dragonknights have become quite arrogant as Princess Lee’s personal royal guard and defenders of Brakenhill. Dragonknights would never think to tunnel down. Up and out is the dragon way. We could use our claws, which are stronger than diamonds, spin in the air above the floor, and then drill a hole through the floor. All those dark and cramped tunnelling trips with the molers might actually prove useful.’
The thought of tunnels made the feathers on her dragon back stand up. She really did not like being below ground, but her hot anger transformed and became focused into a cold, terrible thing. She readied herself to drill through the floor. Even in this cramped space their wings could open just enough to create the spin. ‘Let’s do this,’ she said and whirled like a tornado. Spinning so fast she could not make out the front or back of the cell, she pointed her claws down at the floor and started to drill. Showers of hot sparks flew up when her claws first hit the concrete floor. Her claws gained purchase in the concrete and they drilled down into the floor. Thick clouds of dust billowed out as a huge hole formed below her. The noise was thunderous.
‘It’s working!’ said Deelind as chunks of concrete and clods of earth flew past her. She could hear lumps of rubble dinging off the cell bars.
‘Of course it is,’ said Zara gleefully. Her rage was as piercingly sharp as Deelind’s.
‘Stop! Please stop!’ boomed Captain Roeland’s voice in her head. Fire roared through a grassland, consuming everything in its path.
Deelind glanced at the cell door. She could just see Captain Roeland in human form through the thick dust. He had his arms raised in front of his head, protecting his face from the debris flying around the room. ‘Why would I?’ she sent back, her anger and despair infusing h
er words. A lake froze and its surface erupted into acres of large, smooth and sharp ice shards.
Captain Roeland winced. ‘It was wrong to lock you up. I am so sorry,’ he said, his regret unmistakable and the fire died down, giving over to thin wisps of smoke. ‘I know you have been through much recently. Please stop and talk with me.’
Feeling vindicated, she stopped drilling, although anger still pulsed thickly through her veins. In truth she had been tiring and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could have kept going. Captain Roeland lowered his arms cautiously. Hearing running footsteps, they both turned to see Sergeant Sam arrive.
‘Sergeant Sam! Why on earth did you lock Deelind up? She is underage and Miss Tibi is her guardian!’
‘But she is on IceFire,’ said Sergeant Sam, her eyes wide at the destruction in front of her. She covered her mouth against the thick dust swirling around them.
‘Were her eyes glowing red or blue?’ he demanded. His voice deepened in anger.
‘Not that I could see,’ she said warily.
‘Exactly!’ he bellowed. ‘If she was on IceFire she would never have helped Tom and saved his life or come back here. Now give me the keys and go patrol the hedge!’ Sergeant Sam swallowed, nodded, spun on her heels and left.
His feet crunching on the rubble that had landed outside the cage, Captain Roeland unlocked the jail door only to have it wedge on some concrete. Clearing the way with his foot, he gave the large door a hard pull and it came open. ‘There is no excuse for you having been locked up.’ Taking in the giant hole and the devastation all around him, he raised his eyebrow and gave a little whistle through his teeth. ‘We deserved that,’ he said a little ruefully. ‘Please come to the kitchen to get something to eat and let Miss Tibi see that you are alright.’
Deelind and The Icefire Page 29