by Andy Holland
"Come with me, John," Daphne told him, interrupting his thoughts and taking him by the hand. "We should find a place to rest. Somewhere not so muddy."
John got up and followed her, allowing her to lead him away from the river. All around them there were people sat around looking up at them, whispering to each other as they passed.
"You're a bit of a celebrity," Daphne told him. "Everyone is talking about you."
John nodded. "The one who led them out into the forest to freeze to death. The one who won't let them have a fire."
Daphne laughed. "There are almost two thousand people here; if they really disagreed with you they'd just build fires. You couldn't stop them."
"Great," John replied. "So it's going to happen then."
"No, I mean, that's not what they were whispering about. You're only sixteen yet you've led all these adults and rescued all of us."
"Going on seventeen," John added.
Daphne smiled and sat down, pulling him down with her. "Going on seventeen." She gazed up at his face, still smiling, and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "Your hair is so nice. I've never seen anyone with hair like it."
"Look, Daphne, you know, I do have a girlfriend—"
Daphne put a finger to his mouth and shushed him. "Don't worry, I just want someone to keep me warm. You can do that, can't you? It gets cold out here; you don't want to freeze, do you?"
John shook his head and Daphne lifted his arm and wiggled into his embrace.
"It's not that cold yet—" he began.
"Hush," she replied. "Tell me about your girlfriend. Does she have a name?"
John relaxed a little. "Daisy," he replied.
"That's a nice name," Daphne replied. "And where is Daisy? How did you meet her?"
"She's back in my home country," John replied, "although she's not from there."
"Oh, where's she from?" Daphne asked.
"She's from your country," John replied. "She's a Red Dragon."
Daphne sat up and turned to look at him. "Seriously? You're not making this up?"
John shook his head.
She gave him a funny look. "No, you're not making it up, are you. You'd have picked something more believable. I have the feeling that you wouldn't be a very good liar. So how did you meet her? In my country or yours?"
"Yours," John replied. "I was at school in Furnace. At King Cornelius School."
Daphne gasped and slapped his arm. "You were not!"
John nodded, smiling. "I was there on a scholarship. They didn't know what I was of course. We can change into any dragon that we wish, so it's easy to pretend to be a Red Dragon."
"No, they wouldn't have known. King Cornelius! That's incredible. Only the rich and powerful send their children there. Hey, is that where you met your girlfriend?"
John nodded. "She started school with me. I was meant to be watching this girl, Crystal, who although she didn't know it, was one of us, you know, a Golden Dragon. She was adopted, well, it's a long story."
"Go on, so how did you meet Daisy? Was it very romantic?"
John shrugged. "I don't know about that. We just became friends. I think she was a bit lonely, and so was I. She had a twin brother, who she was very close to, but then he found a girlfriend, Jenna, who was Crystal's cousin and Daisy was a bit left out."
"Wait a minute," Daphne said. "She had a twin?"
"Yes," John replied, "Arthur. He came here with her. You'll probably meet them both."
"Princess Daisy!" Daphne exclaimed. "You're going out with the Princess?"
John blushed. "I tend to call her Daisy."
Daphne snuggled back into him. "You should have said. I'm from the west, you see. I was visiting my cousins in the East when I was captured. Wow, Princess Daisy, eh? Just wait till I tell my friends that I slept in the arms of Princess Daisy's boyfriend."
"Don't you dare!" John warned her.
"I'm just teasing you," Daphne said, laughing. "You're very serious. Sofia was right."
John shook his head. "You seemed different earlier. More shy. You blushed at Sofia's crude remarks."
"I was terrified," Daphne replied, suddenly more serious. "I thought I was going to be left behind. I was nearly in tears when I saw everyone being picked instead of me. None of them wanted to take a Red Dragon."
John shrugged. "We knew that might be a problem. We seemed to have got away with it so far." He stifled a yawn, which she noticed.
"Sleep, John," she told him. "I won't keep you awake any longer." She kissed his cheek. "And I promise that's the last time I do that."
Chapter 21 - Strange encounters
Despite sleeping in tents again and the excitement about returning home, Crystal and the others all slept well and were fully refreshed when they were woken by Mark in the morning.
"Sit down over here, all of you, and I'll explain what's going to happen today." Mark gestured to a grassy area near the tents where three of the other Golden Dragons were waiting; Levi, who carried Crystal, Ezra, who was carrying Jenna's belongings, and Delilah, who was taking turns with Mark to carry Daisy.
"We're heading into Blue territory, aren't we?" Jenna asked as she sat down. "How will you keep us from being attacked?"
"With some difficulty," Mark replied. "The fastest way for us to fly is to get high in the sky much higher than you would ever fly, where the air is thinner and colder and there are strong currents that we can use. As dragons the thin, cold air doesn't bother us, but it's not suitable for passengers and even if you didn't freeze to death you'd probably die from not being able to breathe."
"So we won't be doing that then," Seth observed. "What will we be doing?"
"If we wanted to play it safe we would normally go as Blue Dragons—not that we venture into their territory often, but it's how we would normally go. Unfortunately, being at war changes everything. Every dragon has its place and if you're in the wrong place, then you're probably either a coward trying to get out of the fighting, in which case they'll kill you or a Golden Dragon in disguise—in which case they'll kill you. So that's out as well."
"Are you going to tell us what we are going to do?" Jenna asked. "Or just list everything that we're not going to do?"
Mark frowned at her. "We're going to risk our lives to take you home and help you defend your country. Perhaps a little patience wouldn't hurt."
"Ignore her," Crystal told him. "She's not good at roughing it. Or showing gratitude."
Jenna pulled a sour face but let Mark continue.
"So if we can't fly high but can't fly as Blue Dragons, then we have to fly low and fast, which means flying as Golden Dragons. I know it goes against everything you've learnt regarding combat, but it’s the best way of avoiding being spotted. Just stay calm and quiet and we'll get you to the Circle of Death before you know it."
"Excuse me?" Jenna said sharply. "Circle of Death? Did you say the Circle of Death? What is that and why would we want to go there?"
"It doesn't sound like a good destination," Seth agreed. "Could you tell us why it's called that?"
"It's the Blue Dragon name for the place, I think," Mark replied. "They're terrified of the place and have some strange superstitions about it, which as far as I've heard, have no basis in reality. It means that despite the name, it's actually very safe because no Blue Dragon will venture near there. It's a large area, so we can avoid contact with the Blues for quite a lot of the journey by flying across it."
"Do we at least know why it has that name?" Jenna asked. "Have any of you been there?"
"Not personally," Mark replied. "I suspect that there isn't anything to it though. Other Golden Dragons I know have flown near it and seen nothing."
"So near, but not through it like we're going to do?" Jenna asked. "If Blue Dragons are terrified of the place, don't you at least want to know why?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know that it's not dangerous, but I know everywhere around it is. There isn't anywhere else safe to stop."
"I'm sur
e you know what you're doing," Daisy said, smiling reassuringly at Mark. "If you think this is best then I'm sure you're right. Thank you for doing this."
Mark nodded and got up to leave them.
Seth turned to Daisy. "Fantastic. We're flying through Blue territory with our destination a place called the Circle of Death, which no one really seems to know anything about—other than the Blue Dragons are terrified of the place. But if John's brother thinks it's alright, well then it must be."
Daisy raised her eyes to the sky and stood up. "I'm going to have something to eat. Arthur, are you coming?"
Arthur stood up to join her. "Come on, Seth, no one has a better plan anyway. Either way we're flying into danger. We should be more worried about the Blues." He reached out his hand and pulled Seth to his feet and they walked with Daisy to have breakfast with the others. Jenna didn't move.
"You alright?" Crystal asked Jenna.
Jenna shrugged and looked away. "I'm a bit scared to tell you the truth. I didn't handle it well last time we met the Blues. Even little Daisy did that better than I did."
Crystal laughed. "To be fair, I think Daisy handled it better than most people would have done. I'm not sure calling her little Daisy is really appropriate any more."
Jenna laughed. "I suppose not. I've never been able to reconcile the idea of her being a dragon and how she is normally." Her face darkened. "But that's not all I'm worried about. Our parents. They all live nearer the border than Furnace. They might have already been attacked. They might be... might be...."
"Don't say it!" Crystal said quickly. "Don't even think it. Your mother and mine both live in Furnace and your father is always visiting. The only one we should be worried about is my father."
"What do you think they'll say when we get back?" Jenna asked. "Only John was meant to go on this trip. They'll probably want to kill us."
Crystal paled. "No, I think they'll probably cry when they see us. I feel bad enough as it is about running away, but I know my mother will make it even worse."
"What do you think John will do when he finds that we've gone?" Jenna asked.
Crystal shook her head. "I know what he'd want to do. Rush after us and make sure we're safe—and I mean we, not just Daisy. But his government might not let him leave. It was hard to enough getting permission for us to go in a group. I haven't told Daisy this of course; she'd take it badly. I wish he was with us now."
Jenna stood up. "Come on. Enough self-indulgence. I'm going to flirt with one of those boys in front of Arthur. He knows I'm only doing it to wind him up, but it doesn't stop him getting cross…."
Within half an hour they were all in the air, flying slowly towards the border. Mark told them before they left that they would conserve their energy at first and then cross the border as quickly as they could in case there were any border guards. It was still early and the air was cool where they were and Crystal was glad for the thick carrying bag she was travelling in.
They must have been approaching the border as Noah gave a signal to the other dragons, and Levi, the dragon carrying her, dropped into a deep dive, gaining speed as he did. Crystal watched the ground grow closer and closer and felt the rush of adrenaline as he pulled out of the dive just above the ground, having accelerated to an incredible pace. They were flying just metres above the ground, which was covered in loose boulders and rocks which would be unforgiving if he made an error. She resisted the urge to close her eyes, wanting to watch the ground pass beneath so quickly, knowing that she would probably never cross this border here again. Then she heard a sound that sent shivers down her spine; the unmistakable war cries of the Blue Dragons flying high above them. She recoiled instinctively into her bag, as if that could save her from their claws. Levi gripped her more tightly in response and she could feel his pace quicken, the flapping of his wings feeling more urgent and hurried. She peered out again, struggling to see as the wind blew in her face. They must have been spotted, as the cries grew more frequent and furious, sounding ever louder and louder. She could see no other dragons—not even the other Golden Dragons as they were flying so close to the ground, the rocks and trees blurring as they passed by. She knew the rest of the party would be nearby and would defend them if they needed, but she couldn't tell how many Blues there were above them or whether their alarm calls had attracted more Blues. She covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the terrifying calls which seemed to be getting nearer, but it made no difference.
Just as she thought they were about to be caught it all went quiet. Levi continued at the same alarming pace as if nothing had happened, but she knew something must have occurred for them to all silence at once. Without the ability to communicate telepathically, she had no way of knowing what was going on.
There wasn't any visible landmarks, but Crystal realised that they must have crossed the border already and probably some time ago. Levi was slowly descending as the hills dropped away to open plains. She heard more calls from Blue Dragons, but these were much further away and posed no real threat as they wouldn't be able to keep pace with the Golden Dragons. Without any warning, Levi passed her to another dragon, who caught her expertly in the air but for a terrifying moment it felt like she was falling. Crystal knew this was necessary and had experienced this swapping many times already, but it still scared her each time that they did it.
The sounds of the Blue Dragons shrieking in rage had now completely faded away and Crystal realised that there was no one ahead of them; they had escaped. They were flying very low, skimming across the tops of trees and Crystal couldn't see anything but a blur of leaves beneath her. She tired of trying and pulled the top of the bag over her head and closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep.
She couldn't tell how much later it was when she woke, the nearby angry calls of the Blue Dragons tearing her from her dreams. Crystal didn't know whether the dragon carrying her had slowed at all since entering this land, but he was flying very quickly at the moment and she peered her head out of her bag to see what was going on. The sounds of the Blue Dragons were echoing all around them and she swore that she could see blue scales flash past. A fireball burst on the trees just below her, making her scream in fear. They dodged to the left and then the right and she screamed again. Then she saw a Blue Dragon crash into the trees to the right and the sounds stopped again and they slowed immediately.
The encounter probably only lasted for a few minutes, but for Crystal it felt like a lifetime. She looked up and realised that Levi was carrying her again; he must have swapped back while she was asleep. How had they done that without waking her? They rose higher now, leaving the trees below them; the scouts must have indicated that it was safe to do so. They were now flying over a plain and Crystal could see several of the others beside her, the nearest of which was carrying her cousin. Jenna looked terrified and didn't see Crystal waving to her.
The plains stretched out continuously ahead, not a single tree or hill to break up the landscape. Crystal tired of staring at the featureless grasslands and retreated inside the bag once again, out of the wind, and slowly dozed off for a second time. The next time she woke they were landing in a rock-strewn patch of grass at the bottom of some hills. The sun was setting and she realised that it was getting quite late.
"Enjoy your nap?" Levi asked, helping her out of her bag.
"Yes, thank you," Crystal replied, rubbing her eyes and feeling a little embarrassed.
"How on earth could you sleep through that?" Jenna asked, raising her eyes and shaking her head. "I lost count of how many times we ran into Blue Dragons. My nerves are wrecked. I swear one was just seconds away from grabbing us at one point."
"You're alive, aren't you?" Mark pointed out. He was rolling up their travelling bags. "What more do you want?"
"To know where we are for a start. Is it safe for you to all have transformed? What about the Blue Dragons?"
"We're in the Circle of Death!" Levi announced dramatically before laughing to himself.
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br /> "They post warnings around the edge of the area," Thomas added. "You wouldn't notice them from the air normally, but we were flying very low so they were easy to spot. We're about half an hour in and they all avoid this place so we should be safe from them."
"What about a disease?" Seth asked. "Could it be that this place has diseases? Or maybe poisonous plants?"
"No, there's a monster," Joseph replied casually.
The group all turned to face Joseph, who was sat behind them, preparing their evening meal.
"What?" Jenna asked. "A monster? You didn't mention that this morning. You all said you didn't know what was here."
"I didn't say that," Joseph replied. "No one asked me. I thought everyone knew what was here."
"He was preparing your breakfast when we discussed this," Levi pointed out. "Joseph is a chef as well as one of the scouts."
"Great. Very interesting," Jenna replied with complete disinterest. "Tell me about this monster."
Joseph shrugged. "Oh, we don't know much about it. Not really. Just descriptions from books. But we know it's meant to be huge. Too big to get into these caves. We should be fine in there. We checked all around and it isn't anywhere near."
"What caves?" Crystal asked, looking around.
"Just over there," Arthur replied, pointing to where the bulk of their group had gathered. They were moving things into a cave which had a large opening.
"Another night in a cave?" Daisy asked. "Is there no alternative?"
Mark shrugged. "Probably not. What's the problem with a cave? It'll keep us dry and warm. We won't even need to put up tents."
Arthur replied for her. "Daisy's not keen on caves. John almost died in the last one."
Mark rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You'll have to tell me more about that story. John has been a bit poor on providing details on what he's been doing over the last year. But yes, sorry, another night in a cave. I have no idea what these monster stories are about, but I think it's best if we all stay together."