by J. R. Castle
‘What are you doing here?’ Ulric hissed. He peered over Quinn’s shoulder at the empty hallway. ‘You must be mad! If they recognise you …’
‘I’ve come to get you out of here,’ Quinn said. ‘And to apologise. I should have trusted you. I was just …’ He remembered how terrified he’d been when Ulric had loomed over him in the guise of the horned highwayman. ‘I was embarrassed. I treated you badly but you still showed me loyalty. Now you’re locked up in here and it’s my fault.’
Ulric looked at him gravely. ‘You are the true Emperor. I swore my life to protect you and your family. I could not save your parents, but I could save you.’ He looked around again. ‘You should not have come.’
‘I’m not like Vayn,’ Quinn said. ‘I wouldn’t leave you down here. If I had control of my dragon abilities …’
‘I know you’ve been having trouble with your dragonform,’ Ulric said. ‘It doesn’t always come easily, and Ignus is no help to anyone. I never saw anyone transform into a dragon so easily. It’s probably because he’s got such a bad temper.’ Ulric laughed.
Quinn could agree with that.
‘And flame dragons are simpler souls,’ Ulric continued. ‘They come from the original line of Dragon Knights from eons ago. All dragons can breathe some fire, but theirs is the most devastating. Over the years, other dragons have emerged, like me, with all sorts of abilities.’
‘So you think I might not just be a flame dragon then?’ Quinn asked.
‘I doubt it.’ Ulric said. ‘You wouldn’t be having so much trouble if there wasn’t something special about your form. Take a bit of advice from someone who took years to learn how to do it properly: use your emotions rather than fighting against them. Let them flow, and you’ll transform, I promise you.’
Quinn felt better for this. At least when he became a dragon, he would have something more than flames to look forward to. He reached into the basket, pushing the mouldy food out of the way, and drew out the jade-handled knife hidden there. As he took it in his hand, it transformed into his father’s golden sword, glowing softly in the dim light of the cells.
‘Kneel,’ Quinn said.
Ulric cleared his throat. ‘It would be an honour to serve the Emperor once more …’
Quinn reached through the bars and laid the flat of the blade on Ulric’s shoulder. Just as it had when he’d knighted Ignus, the sword began to glow brighter and brighter until the golden light turned the cell as bright as day. Something ancient and powerful stirred inside him and, unbidden, the ancient language of the dragons emerged from his lips.
‘By the power of dragonblood and in the sight of the gods, I bind you to protect the Twelve Islands against all threat and I bind your loyalty to the true Emperor. Advance, Ulric, Dragon Knight of the Twelve Islands.’
A crack sounded, echoing from the cell walls, and the manacles binding Ulric’s ankles shattered. Purple fire burned across them and then was gone.
Slowly, Ulric straightened. ‘At last, my friend,’ he whispered. He rolled his shoulders. ‘I have been waiting to do this for twelve long years.’
The Dragon Knight’s eyes began to glow, and Quinn saw emerald green scales appear on his neck and hands.
‘Umm… Isn’t your cell a little small?’ Quinn asked urgently.
Ulric winked at him. ‘Watch and learn.’
The Dragon Knight bent over, wings springing from his back and unfolding like a ship’s sails. His body grew rapidly, swelling and changing, becoming long and scaly. His arms and legs twisted and razor-sharp claws jutted from his fingers, bending themselves into talons. A tail whipped out, cracking against the rock walls. Still Ulric grew fast until his wings brushed the top of the cell.
‘Ride your emotions to change,’ the Shadow Dragon said, in a low, rumbling voice, ‘but know when to get off. That’s something Ignus has never learnt. It’s all a bit too subtle for him. Now, stand back.’
Quinn stumbled away from the cell door. With a growl, the Shadow Dragon lashed out with one leg. Dragon claws smashed into metal, and with a shriek, the iron bars tore. The door ripped from the stone and fell with a clatter to the floor. Ulric’s long neck snaked out. He turned towards the hallway and stairs and sent a blast of steam racing along it. ‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘I’ve needed to clear my throat properly for years.’
Quinn heard a clanging of armour and weaponry from above. ‘You know,’ he said. ‘I was planning on a quieter escape than this.’
The dragon appeared to shrug, and within moments, Ulric’s dragonform had fallen away, leaving Ulric standing there, straightening his clothes.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll cloud the minds of the sentries.’ He winked. ‘One of the advantages of being a Shadow Dragon. People see and hear what I want them to.’
‘And you wonder why people don’t trust you,’ Quinn muttered.
Carefully, Quinn and Ulric crept up the dark steps towards the faint light from the guardroom above. Quinn felt his stomach tensing and it was all he could do not to curl his hands into painful fists. Ulric hardly seemed bothered. He was striding up, humming loudly to himself. At least someone’s confident of their powers, Quinn thought, gratefully.
The sentries in the guardroom were drawing their swords just as Ulric and Quinn emerged from the stairwell. Quinn gritted his teeth and his hand dropped to his own blade. It looked like they were going to have to fight their way out. But then Quinn looked down as his body seemed to shift from under him.
Suddenly, the guards sheathed their swords and saluted.
‘Lord Lorimer!’ one of them stammered. ‘We had no idea you were down there.’
Ulric raised his eyebrow. ‘Is that what you call doing your job?’
The men backed away. ‘No, sir. Sorry, sir. But …’
‘Can we just get out of here?’ Quinn hissed in Ulric’s ear.
‘Spoilsport,’ Ulric whispered.
‘Come on.’
With a loud sigh, Ulric turned back to the shivering guards. ‘I will be returning. If I ever find you paying so little attention to your duties again, I’ll nail your heads to the city walls. Understand?’
Ulric followed Quinn out of the prison, between the two sentries outside the door, who almost dropped their spears at the sight of them.
‘You might have warned me you were going to disguise us as Black Guardsmen,’ Quinn grated through gritted teeth.
‘Where would be the fun in that?’ Ulric said.
It might have been cold in the cells, but Quinn was now sweating madly. All he wanted to do was to break into a run and dash down the street, away from the prison. But he didn’t know how far Ulric’s magic would stretch, so he forced himself to take slow, calm steps as they walked down the street.
When they reached the end, Ulric turned to Quinn with a grin. ‘And that, Your Imperial Majesty, is how you do an escape. I thank you.’
Quinn felt a flutter as Ulric’s magic dropped away.
‘Not too rusty, if I do say so myself,’ the Shadow Dragon mused.
But he spoke too soon. A cry sounded from the prison at the far end of the street. Quinn whirled around. The sentries had been keeping a better lookout than he’d realised. Now one of them was pointing directly at Quinn and Ulric. Even as Quinn watched, more sentries came racing around the side of the prison and pounded down the street towards them, weapons drawn.
CHAPTER 12
THE GOLDEN DRAGON
‘Halt! Stop them!’ the guards cried.
Quinn turned and raced down the street, away from the prison, Ulric sprinting after him.
‘Run,’ he hissed.
‘I am!’ Ulric panted.
They were meant to meet Thea and Ignus at the far end of the street, but the guards would be on him and Ulric before they could reach them.
Quinn glanced around. Ulric was a good ten paces behind and the sentries were closing in fast.
A man stepped out of a side street, pulling a heavily-laden handcart behind him. There was no t
ime to dodge. Quinn leapt, but his foot caught on the cart, sending him flying. He crashed into a group of people, who went tumbling, and hauled himself up before they could react. He sprinted on, ignoring the angry yells behind.
Quinn felt a stitch burning in his side. Every breath felt like he was sucking in red hot embers from a fire. He glanced back again. The guards were gaining ground, using their drawn weapons to scatter the crowds while Quinn had to dodge and dart between people.
He bounced off a big man carrying a sack and almost lost his footing.
We’ll have to fight, Quinn thought. He slowed and reached for his sword. It’s time I put this to use.
But the shadow dragon had other ideas.
‘Now!’ Ulric hissed. The Dragon Knight put on a burst of speed, grabbed Quinn by the arm and hauled him into a dense crowd. They ducked down behind a stall and Quinn felt Ulric’s magic sweep over him again at the Dragon Knight’s touch. Quinn felt himself shrink down and his back hunch over. The next moment, he and Ulric, bent like beggar women, hobbled out into the street.
The guards sprinted straight at them, swords drawn …
And kept on running. Grinning, Ulric let go of Quinn, and the ‘shadow magic’, and led the way to the side alley where Thea and Ignus were waiting.
‘Nice move!’ Quinn gasped, clutching his side.
Ulric looked smug. ‘As far as they’re concerned, we’ve disappeared off in the other direction.’
‘You shouldn’t have let them see you,’ Ignus rumbled. ‘They’ll be looking for us now. The whole of the Black Guard will be out in force.’
‘Did I ever tell you you’re no fun, Ignus?’ Ulric said.
Ignus loomed over the smaller Dragon Knight. ‘This isn’t about fun. This is about taking the Twelve Islands back from Vayn and freeing our people. If you ever endanger the Emperor’s life like that again, I’ll tear off your arms and shove them down your throat. Understand?’
Thea inserted herself between them. ‘Stop arguing, you two! The Black Guard know we’re here now. We need to get out of town. Your magic might be powerful, Ulric, but even you can’t keep it up forever. Unless you want to get into a fight with the whole of the Astrian Black Guard?’
‘We’re not ready for that,’ Ignus growled, glaring at Ulric. ‘If we’re going to take on the Guard and Vayn, we need to do it on our terms with our full strength. Not because some idiot gets us caught.’
‘Then let’s move,’ Quinn said. ‘It won’t take the sentries long to realise they’ve lost us. They’ll close the town gates and we’ll be trapped.’
Quinn, Ignus, Thea and Ulric hurried through the streets, watching out for Black Guardsmen and sentries. Twice they had to hide in doorways as guardsmen crossed the street ahead of them. It became increasingly difficult to move unnoticed as more and more citizens emerged from their houses. Ulric used his abilities sparingly – disappearing in front of ordinary townspeople would cause uproar and bring the Guard right to them.
At last, though, the town wall came into sight. The massive, iron-studded wooden gates stood ajar, and a few townspeople were making their way out, no doubt to work on farms or gather wood on the edges of the marshes, outside the safety of the town. Quinn didn’t envy them. The Stone Trolls would still be out there. If Ulric’s illusion was anything to go by, they were terrifying creatures.
‘Ready?’ he whispered.
The others nodded.
‘Don’t stop,’ Ulric said. ‘Stay calm and walk out like it’s nothing in the world.’
With a deep breath, Quinn stepped out from the shelter of a house and walked casually towards the gate. He heard the others follow behind him, not crowding too close so as not to make them all look suspicious. The guardsmen on the gate were glancing at the people leaving the city, but no one was being searched or questioned. Quinn’s heart started to thump. Word must not have got out to the gate guardsmen yet, he thought.
We’re going to do it! It was all he could do not to break into a run.
Suddenly, the sound of horses’ hooves rattled along the cobblestones. Quinn’s head snapped up.
From around the side of a large turret, a troop of Black Guard rode out and formed a line across the gate. At their head, Quinn recognised the pompous figure of Lorimer. The man smirked down at Quinn and the others. He had twenty men with him, and they’d all drawn their weapons.
‘Halt!’ he cried, putting a hand to his sword.
‘Get out of here,’ Ignus shouted, bullying his way forward.
Quinn spun desperately, looking for a side street they could dash down, but before he could move, more Black Guard and town guard swarmed from every alley and street around them.
‘There’s nowhere to go!’ Thea said.
Within moments, dozens upon dozens of armed men surrounded them.
Quinn glared up at Lorimer. Just the sight of the man who had murdered his parents sent his blood boiling inside his veins. He wanted to roar and rip him apart.
‘And where exactly,’ Lorimer drawled, ‘do you think you’re going with my prisoner?’
Quinn’s blood boiled. He knew he should try to bluff and wait until he got his chance. After all, Lorimer couldn’t know about Thea’s magic or who Ignus was. The moment Lorimer dropped his guard they could act.
But Quinn couldn’t stop himself. Lorimer had murdered his parents.
‘I am leaving town,’ Quinn ground out. ‘With my knight.’
Lorimer’s eyes widened, then he let out a delighted laugh. ‘You’re the one Lord Vayn told us to look out for! This is like every holy day come at once. My reward will be great.’
‘And you’re the one who destroyed the ship carrying the real Emperor and Empress!’ Quinn spat. The fury building up inside him was making him shake.
‘I’d do it again for the glory of the Emperor Vayn,’ Lorimer gloated. ‘It was so easy. The fools never knew what hit them. A Dragon Knight! It didn’t stop him being blown to pieces, did it? My only regret is that he died before he could drown like your mother.’
Fury exploded in Quinn like a volcano erupting. He couldn’t control it. It raged through every cell in his body, burning him up.
Ride it, Ulric had said. Use it. Don’t fight it.
With a fierce pleasure, Quinn let the anger carry him. He didn’t try to control it. It was like riding a great wave with only a thin plank under him. At any moment it might engulf him and drag him down, but it didn’t. He kept on skimming over it, letting it take him onward.
He felt his body start to change. His skin hardened and his back bent. Claws erupted from his fingertips and toes. His neck lengthened and his spine burst from the small of his back as a tail twisted out. His bones felt like they were breaking. He could sense the organs in his body stretching, bursting and reforming. It was agony, but Quinn didn’t care, because the power was gathering in him and it felt unreal. The skin above his shoulder blades split with a tearing sound that reverberated all the way to his feet, and wings burst out behind him.
His eyesight was better than it had ever been, and he could hear the blood rushing through the veins of the men around him, their pulses racing in panic. He smelled the fear on their skin.
He saw Thea’s mouth drop open in shock and amazement and a fierce glare of delight spring across Ignus’s face.
His body was coated in shining golden scales, and he towered as high as the houses. He tipped back his head and roared. He saw slates shaken loose from the surrounding houses fall and shatter on the cobblestones.
He bent his mighty legs, thrust, beat his gigantic wings, then launched himself into the clear sky.
CHAPTER 13
FLYING HIGH
Within seconds, Astria had fallen away beneath Quinn.
He beat his wings powerfully – the air gliding smoothly over his scales, lifting him high into the cloudless sky. He arched his back and dived and whirled across the air, spinning and turning and tracing great loops. The sensation was incredible – unlike anything he could h
ave imagined. It was as natural as walking and just as easy. It was as if he’d spent his life lying in bed and suddenly discovered he could run.
Looking down through his dragon eyes he saw Astria like a tiny cluster of children’s building blocks squeezed into a toy valley, the whole of the mist-clung marshes and the stormy seas past Port Keriss. It would be easy to fly out over it. He could glide on the winds, scarcely needing to beat his wings. He opened his mouth and screamed a dragon-cry over the island.
This was what it was to be a dragonblood. No wonder Vayn had been jealous of his brother Marek.
The thought of Vayn brought him back. He’d left the others on the ground, surrounded by the Black Guard. It was time to fight – not try out his new skills.
Quinn folded his wings and plunged down, slicing through the sky like a living arrow. He saw tiny black figures look up from the ground, and he let out a scream that echoed across the sky.
He accelerated towards the ground and abruptly pulled himself back at the last minute, wings cracking like a whip as he shot across the heads of the guardsmen.
‘Attack!’ he bellowed towards the blurry figures of Thea, Ignus and Ulric.
With his new, razor-sharp claws, he reached out and snatched a Black Guardsman from his horse. He felt the supposedly impenetrable armour crack under the immense power of his talons. He let go of the guard and sent him flying over the roofs to crash onto the stones of the streets beyond.
Behind him, he felt two other dragons lift up to join him. A flash of bright white light crashed across the street as Thea cast a spell. Quinn glanced back to see her racing for cover as guards- men covered their eyes in pain.
‘Scatter them!’ Ignus roared. ‘They can’t fight if they’re not together.’