by Linda McNabb
Just as Brax’s colour began to return, however, the ground began to shake. Toby was thrown to the ground along with everyone except the dragons. He propped himself up on one arm and stared around the valley. Even with everything covered in white, he could see that the entire valley was trembling.
The trembling began to subside and Toby breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared it was the end for the valley, but, so far as he could see, no more damage had been done.
‘We must seal all the gateways permanently.’ Jerrik’s worried expression indicated that he, too, had thought the last shake had spelled the end of the valley.
Need dragon stone, Klel pointed out
‘There must be another way,’ Jerrik said stubbornly. ‘We can’t just sit by and watch the valley be destroyed. If the blue dragons get through, they will do a lot of damage. They might even get through the other gates and invade all the other worlds.
Toby felt a jolt of shock as he looked back at the blue dragons. What would they do if they got through to Arandyl? He had seen how they had torn Tryx’s wings to shreds some months ago and almost killed her. He didn’t want to think about how much damage they could cause in the world where he had grown up.
Go talk to others in cone, Tryx suggested. All together might find new way.
‘We have to,’ Jerrik agreed, climbing onto Brax’s back. Sanelle got on Tryx’s back, but Toby hesitated. He didn’t want to go back to the cone and everyone who hated him.
‘Klel, could you take me back to the gate to Arandyl, by the castle?’ he asked his friend. ‘I need to check that my father hasn’t found a way through.’
Yes, take Toby, Klel replied.
‘Can we come, too?’ Kaylene asked, indicating herself and Riko. ‘We don’t belong here and we should find a way home.’
Klel open another gate for you. Klel nodded, and all three hoisted themselves up out of the deep snow and onto his back.
The dragons lifted off the freezing snow, but they had risen only a short way when a raucous cry from behind Toby made him spin around in fright. Perhaps he had been a little quick to decide there was no damage after the earthshake?
The gateway to Shaldoh, home of the blue dragons, was glowing — and a large blue head was poking through into the valley.
‘Close the gate!’ Jerrik called out, and Brax roared the words into the driving wind. Toby watched in horror as the gate remained open. The blue dragon looked around with an evil glint in its eyes.
Can’t close. Must push dragon back, Brax said, and for once Toby was sure he heard a hint of terror and nervousness in the king of the dragons’ voice.
The golden dragons turned sharply, almost throwing off their human riders. The blue dragon howled again, and in a heartbeat three blue dragons came hurtling through the gateway.
‘Defend the valley!’ Jerrik cried as Brax wheeled off and chased the largest of the blue dragons.
Tryx chased the smallest one, while Klel headed off after the third dragon. Toby did his best to hang onto Klel’s back-ridges as the golden dragon circled the blue dragon and came to hover in front of it.
‘Now what?’ Toby mumbled to himself. The blue dragon was larger than Klel, and an evil glint in its eye said it was ready for a fight.
Off to his left he heard a dragon yelp, and he turned quickly to see which one it was. The blue dragon Brax had chased was plummeting to the ground and only just managed to stop itself slamming into the ground.
‘What did Brax do?’ Riko asked. Even the other two blue dragons were watching to see what had happened.
Jerrik threw rocks. Brax still not fully recovered, Klel said in a tired voice. Toby looked down at the dragon’s hide and saw that it was starting to fade from gold to brown. The magic was being drawn from him already. Toby must throw rocks. Klel not strong.
‘Throw rocks?’ Toby echoed. He remembered the last few times he had tried to control the flight of rocks with his magic. He had destroyed a lake and a mountain.
Now! Klel insisted.
Toby sat up a little straighter as he focused on the tip of the mountain that he had destroyed. He could see the top of it sticking out of the snow beneath them. He knew there were many rocks under the snow.
He quickly muttered the words to lift a rock into the air, and, just as he said topaz, the blue dragon charged at them. A rock flew up, directly at Klel, and the golden dragon had to use all his energy to suddenly lift himself higher. The blue dragon reached the spot where Klel had been and spun around, confused. A second later, the rock struck the blue dragon right in the belly and it howled. Dozens of other rocks were shooting up from the ground. Toby wasn’t surprised — his magic always seemed to do more than he wanted it to. The rocks kept hitting the blue dragon until it turned and fled for the gateway.
Sanelle had also been attacking the other blue dragon, and soon it, too, decided to head for home. The three golden dragons chased the blues back through the gateway just as another one started to come through.
‘We can’t keep chasing them back,’ Toby said, seeing that all of the golden dragons were fading fast. ‘We have to close the gate.’
‘Don’t let the blues come through!’ Jerrik shouted.
Brax rammed right into the blue dragon that was partly through the gate, and both dragons tumbled through the gateway with Jerrik still on Brax’s back.
‘There are more about to come through!’ Sanelle pointed at the gateway where a dozen dragons were fighting each other to get near the gateway.
Brax and the large blue dragon were locked together in mid-air. Jerrik fell from the dragon’s back as the fight continued.
‘Grandfather!’ Sanelle gasped as she watched her grandfather tumble to the ground and lie motionless. Brax turned back to look at the gateway as he finally freed himself from the blue dragon. Toby could hear the dragon saying something, but the words were drowned out by the excited cries of the other dragons.
Must help Brax! Klel yelled. Tryx and Klel dived towards the gateway, but, before they could even get near it, it began to close. They stopped just in time to prevent themselves hitting the rock face and slowly sank down to land on the freezing snow.
‘What happened?’ Riko asked.
‘Did the gateway fix itself?’ Kaylene added.
No, Klel answered quietly. Brax closed it.
‘Reopen it. We need to go and help them,’ Toby said as he stared in morbid fascination as the blue dragons clamoured to get through.
No, Tryx answered.
Everyone, including Klel, turned to look at the smaller golden dragon.
Brax closed to save valley, Tryx said sadly. Must honour his sacrifice.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHOOSING SIDES
Nobody spoke for a full minute as the bitter cold wind whipped them with gusts of snow. They watched as Brax evaded the blue dragons and dived down to pick up the still form of Jerrik. Then the pale golden dragon shot up into the sky, vanishing to a small dot in a matter of seconds. Several blue dragons took chase, but most of them stayed clawing at the gateway with angry howls.
‘Good luck, Grandfather,’ Sanelle whispered.
Six golden dragons could be seen flying towards them from the cone. Everyone remained silent as they waited for the dragons, and their passengers, to land. The remaining six councillors were astride the dragons, and they slid to the snowy ground as they looked around the valley.
‘What happened?’ Porthan asked, staring at the blue dragons with hatred. ‘Where are Jerrik and Brax?’
Through gateway, Klel replied. There was a brief silence as all of the men and dragons looked at each other, understanding what they were being told.
‘Who will rule Dragon Valley now?’ Porthan asked.
‘There isn’t much left to rule,’ another councillor snapped as he rubbed his arms to keep warm.
‘I will,’ Sanelle said, stepping forward and standing straight and tall before the older men. ‘My grandfather wished me to do so.’
; Tryx rule with you. Tryx stood next to Sanelle.
‘What should we do?’ Porthan asked, instantly dipping into a bow. ‘Do we rescue Jerrik and Brax?’
‘No,’ Sanelle said with a slightly croaky voice. ‘We must try to seal the gateways completely.’
‘We cannot do that without an unbroken dragon stone,’ Porthan pointed out. He pointed to the snow by Toby. ‘It’s useless like that.’
Toby stepped back and saw the pieces of dragon stone glowing against the white snow. Brax must have dropped them as he took off. Toby stooped down and picked them up from the freezing snow. The music from them, still off-key and irritating, was just as loud as it had been when he had first seen them.
We must try, Klel said as the ground began to tremble again.
Toby stepped forward and held out the pieces of broken stone to Sanelle. She took them with a nod of thanks and turned to the councillors.
‘We have nothing to lose,’ Sanelle told them, pointing around at the state the valley was in. ‘We have to try.’
‘Can I help?’ Toby asked.
‘No!’ came the instant reply from every councillor. Toby stepped back until he was leaning on the rocky cliff face. He felt helpless and still responsible for what had happened.
Kaylene and Riko came over to stand beside Toby. The councillors and Sanelle were forming a circle with the dragons in a larger circle around them.
‘So this will bring the magic back to the valley?’ Kaylene asked.
‘Yes, and seal all the gates permanently,’ Toby replied, then frowned a little.
‘Then we can’t go home?’ Riko asked tentatively. ‘I know my parents weren’t pleased to see me before, but I would like to see them again.’
‘The gates won’t open ever,’ Toby confirmed. He was sure that the people of Dragon Valley wouldn’t want him stuck in the valley permanently. He turned to Klel, who was not part of the circle. ‘Have we got time to leave?’
Klel looked over at where all the staffs were raised together and the dragons had begun to chant the spell.
No.
Toby listened with a heavy heart. If the gates sealed, he would be stuck in a place where he was hated. His two friends would never be able to go home either. If the spell didn’t work, the valley would be destroyed. Either way was not good.
The dragons fell silent and the sorcerers drew apart their staffs. Everyone turned to look at the gateway to Shaldoh. Blue dragons still frantically scrabbled to get through.
‘Did it work?’ Riko asked.
Porthan walked over with Sanelle and looked at the gateway for a few seconds before answering.
‘This spell breaks the link between this valley and the other worlds completely.’ He pointed at the blue dragons. ‘If it had worked, we would not be able to see them.’
Sanelle looked both happy and sad that it had not worked. He knew she still held a hope that there was a way to get her grandfather back.
A loud rumble shook the valley and lightning forked across it with a bang loud enough to force them all to cover their ears. It took several minutes before the rumbling echo faded and Toby realised that almost everyone was staring at him.
‘Get him out of our valley,’ Porthan snapped. ‘He is destroying it.’
Toby felt his face colour a little, despite the freezing cold wind. He could hardly deny the accusation. He turned to Klel. ‘Can you fly me to my gate? I shouldn’t be here.’
Klel nodded briefly. Toby noticed that his friend was now a pasty brown. The gems had not given the dragons much strength and Klel’s magic was fading fast.
‘Everyone should leave,’ Kaylene suggested. ‘Why can’t the people and dragons of the valley come to Arandyl?’
‘They will be safe there,’ Riko added.
Sanelle looked at her friends and then at the valley. She shook her head. ‘They will not want to leave their home.’
‘Ask them,’ Kaylene suggested. ‘They will die here.’
‘We will ask them,’ Porthan said and nodded. There was defeat in his eyes that made Toby feel even more guilty.
Sanelle and Tryx flew off with the councillors and the dragons towards the main cone. Toby, Kaylene and Riko climbed onto Klel’s back, and the pale-brown dragon glided slowly to the gate that led to the world where Toby had grown up.
As they neared the gateway, it began to glow. It was opening!
‘Did I do that just by being near it?’ Toby asked with a heavy heart as Klel landed next to the gateway.
Don’t know, Klel replied. Go through. Will close after you.
Toby hesitated for a second. He had known Klel his entire life and he had a feeling that this might be the last time he saw his friend. He knew the dragons would not leave their home, even if it meant dying.
‘Look!’ Kaylene was tugging at Toby’s sleeve.
Lark and Blaise had just stepped through the gateway and were surveying the valley with large grins.
‘I told you he’d help us get into the valley,’ Lark said, grinning over at Toby with an evil glint in his eyes. ‘Thanks, son.’
‘This one looks weak enough to take without any problems.’ Blaise was eyeing Klel greedily. ‘Are there any others nearby in the same condition?’
The pale-brown dragon breathed a small jet of flames, but they died away after a few seconds and the effort seemed to have drained him of most of his strength. Klel sank down in the snow, where he had to content himself with a glare and a low growl at the intruders. Blaise looked delighted at the weak condition of the dragon and rubbed his hands together gleefully.
‘We don’t have time to hunt for dragons,’ Lark said, slowly and evenly.
‘But I need more than one. What if this one dies?’ Blaise demanded.
‘If you want the dragon, you had better take it now. I’m going to destroy this valley in a minute.’ Lark was staring at the snow-covered valley with hatred.
‘We won’t let you,’ Toby said, stamping through the snow to stand in front of his father.
‘You can’t stop me,’ Lark laughed. ‘You may have strong magic, but you have no idea how to use it properly.’
‘Use magic to heal the valley,’ Blaise insisted, stepping closer to Lark and towering over the smaller man. ‘After we have control of it, we can find other ways to punish them. Remember, I too have magic I can use.’
Lark turned to face Blaise and the little man’s face was red with anger. ‘We are not here to rule. We are here to destroy.’
He grabbed hold of the prince and pushed him towards the gateway. Blaise lost his balance and toppled through the gateway. Toby watched as the prince stumbled in the shallow lake and then lost his balance again, striking his head on the rocks at the water’s edge. He fell, half-in half-out of the water and lay motionless.
‘Now that’s out of the way…’ Lark said, grinning as the ground began to rumble beneath them. He looked over at Toby with a delighted expression. ‘You’ve made this much easier than I thought it would be. I won’t even need the gems you stole.’
‘Sanelle has gone to tell the dragons and people of the valley to come to Arandyl,’ Kaylene said boldly. ‘They are welcome in my kingdom.’
‘We can’t have them leaving,’ Lark said in mock horror as if he believed they would leave. ‘We’d better shut the gateway then.’
‘We’re all leaving,’ Toby said as forcefully as he could, and glared at his father. ‘If the dragons and people of the valley want to follow, that is up to them.’
‘I think I’d rather you stayed here in the valley,’ Lark said with a shake of his head. ‘Your very presence seems to be breaking it apart. But — just in case — I think I’ll help it along.’
Toby frowned as his father began to speak a spell. He had no idea what it would do, but he was sure it wouldn’t be good for the valley. He felt frozen to the spot by more than just the freezing cold wind. Riko and Kaylene came up beside him and dragged him forwards.
‘Come on,’ Riko said. ‘We’ve got to
get out of here.’
‘And take him too,’ Kaylene added.
Toby turned back to look at Klel, who was lying in the snow, pale and slowly being covered by falling snow. Toby wished he had time to go and give some of his magic to the dragon. Even if he did, the valley was destroying magic so fast that it wouldn’t help him for long. It broke his heart to see his friend about to die.
Toby must leave, Klel said in a low whisper.
Toby nodded, knowing there was nothing he could do for Klel right now. He turned his full energy on his father. The three of them rushed at Lark and their sheer force bowled him backwards through the gateway. All four of them tumbled out the gateway and into the shallow lake in Arandyl. They were freezing cold from the snow and wind in Dragon Valley. The water of the lake, even though it was cold, seemed warm. The little dog had not followed his master through to Dragon Valley, and he stood by the side of the lake, barking furiously as Lark reappeared.
Toby looked back through the gateway and saw Tryx flying towards them. Sanelle was on her back and the pale golden dragon landed right next to the gateway.
‘Where are the rest of the dragons?’ Toby shouted. ‘They have to come through the gateway before they die.’
‘They will not come,’ Sanelle said sadly as she stepped right up to the gateway but did not come through to Arandyl. ‘They would rather die in their own world than live in a strange land where they do not belong.’
‘You can’t stay with them,’ Riko said, seeing that Sanelle had not moved any closer.
‘They are my people. This is where I belong,’ Sanelle said quietly. Her voice was hard to hear over the gales of wind and snow that buffeted against her. ‘Tell mother I have chosen my future.’
Toby just stared. He couldn’t find the words to beg his cousin to come back. If she stayed there, she would perish with everyone else and it would be all his fault.
‘Look after Klel,’ was all Toby could say. Sanelle turned to see the pale dragon and nodded. She disappeared from view as she moved off to check on Klel.