Aurora

by Mark Robson

  ‘By the time you got there?’ Kira asked pointedly. ‘What about Nolita?’

  ‘It wasn’t Pell’s fault,’ Nolita said softly. ‘We were chased by night dragons and split up. We made our way there independently.’

  ‘Were you all right with that?’ Kira asked, clearly amazed.

  ‘Not really,’ she admitted. ‘But Firestorm helped me through it. We survived.’

  ‘Both of your colleagues did very well,’ Barnabas said, from just behind Nolita. He placed a hand fondly on the blonde girl’s shoulder. ‘You can be proud of them. Pell was brave to approach the day dragon enclave alone, and I’m sure you can appreciate how brave Nolita has been. But who is your friend? That is a strange-shaped contraption sitting between Aurora and Longfang. Does that belong to you, young man?’

  ‘Jack Miller’s the name, sir,’ Jack replied, reaching out his hand. Barnabas instinctively completed the greeting by grasping the proffered hand. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. And yes, the aircraft is mine.’

  ‘Aircraft? It flies?’

  ‘Indeed, sir. It flies nearly as well as your dragons.’

  Elian raised a hand to interrupt. ‘I hate to break up the introductions, but we need to make some big decisions. Kira scouted Segun’s forces earlier and she estimates he has over three hundred night dragons around the Oracle’s cave. How many dragons have you brought with you, Barnabas?’

  ‘We have around a hundred and sixty,’ he said. ‘Enough to draw Segun’s attention, but nowhere near enough to take on his forces in any sort of conflict.’

  ‘Wait a moment,’ Jack interjected quickly. ‘If you can answer some questions, I might be able to teach you tactics that could even the odds a little.’

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Confrontation

  The arrival of a dozen dusk dragons as the sun went down caused a stir of excitement amongst the day dragonriders. Without warning, a large vortex appeared over the lake and four dusk dragons flying in tight formation had already emerged before the warning cry went up. Everyone stopped to watch as more and more flew out from the swirling disk of cloud. Last to emerge was a single dawn dragon, looking decidedly shaky on his wings as he glided to land at the edge of the lake.

  ‘It’s Shimmer!’ Elian exclaimed excitedly to Barnabas. ‘And his rider, Neema. It looks as if he pushed himself to the limit to bring as many dusk dragons as he could. I know how tired Ra became when she took three of us through the gateways. Goodness only knows how Shimmer will be feeling after bringing that many through.’

  ‘It was a brave effort,’ Barnabas said. ‘And a most welcome one. Jack, will having twelve invisible dragons change your tactics?’

  Jack’s eyes lit up and he gave a wicked grin. ‘It won’t change what we’ve discussed so far, Barnabas,’ he replied. ‘But it’s going to give the leader of your enemies a severe headache. Can we gather all the riders together and sit them down? If I talk them through tomorrow’s tactics now, they can think about the plan overnight. I then suggest that we have a final briefing in the morning before we go. Any objections, thoughts or questions can be raised then.’

  ‘I can see why the Oracle drew you here,’ Barnabas observed, nodding and smiling. ‘Will you fly with me tomorrow on Wiseheart?’

  ‘It would be an honour, sir.’

  ‘Very good then. Let’s get the men organised.’

  ‘My Lord, one of our ranger patrols reports a large gathering of dragons approaching from the South.’

  ‘Ours?’ Segun asked, one eyebrow rising quizzically. He took a bite out of a hunk of bread. ‘I thought most had arrived,’ he mumbled through his mouthful.

  ‘No, my Lord,’ the rider answered, his voice apologetic. ‘The patrol says they’re day dragons, my Lord – well over a hundred of them.’

  Segun stiffened and stopped chewing momentarily as he digested this surprising bit of news. Then his jaws began to move again and he appeared to relax. He had risen before sunrise, anticipating the four questors would try something clever at dawn. When nothing happened at sunup, he found himself almost disappointed.

  ‘I suppose I should’ve expected this,’ he mused aloud. ‘Barnabas always was an interfering old fool. He’s overstretched himself this time, though. Did the patrol report any other dragons with them?’

  ‘No, my Lord,’ the messenger said, his eyes down. ‘But that is not to say there aren’t any. I get the impression that the patrol did not want to get too close and they came straight back here with all speed.’

  ‘In other words, they ran away!’

  ‘Erm . . . yes, my Lord. It could be seen that way, my Lord.’

  Segun’s eyes narrowed with anger. He cast the remainder of his bread into the fire and climbed abruptly to his feet. The messenger instinctively tensed, but did not back away. He knew better than to do that. The night dragon leader was well known for his sudden fits of rage, and for punishing messengers who brought news he did not like. But, above all else, he was known to detest cowardice. Those designated for messenger duties often drew lots to determine who would work for which senior rider each day. Unsurprisingly, the short straw always got Segun.

  For a moment it seemed that the night dragon leader was poised to order a punishment for the patrol, but to the messenger’s surprise, he did not. Instead, Segun shook his head slightly and picked up his black cloak. Flicking it around in a swirl, he settled it over his shoulders.

  ‘No matter!’ he announced. ‘We’ll be ready for them. Tell the men to mount up. Go to the Oracle’s cave. Tell those maintaining the vigil at the entrance that they’re to stay alert on pain of death. No one must enter the cave until after sundown. No one! Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, my Lord. Totally clear, my Lord.’

  ‘Good,’ Segun said. ‘Spread the word as you go. Today will be a glorious day for the night dragon enclave. Not only will we end the Oracle’s domination of dragonkind – we’ll cripple the day dragon enclave. Things could not be better.’

  Delighted to be released unscathed, the messenger raced away to do Lord Segun’s bidding. The tall dragonrider watched him go, a sneer of contempt on his lips.

  ‘Well, Widewing,’ he called to his dragon. ‘Are you ready to battle your day dragon brothers and sisters?’

  ‘It has been a long time coming, Segun,’ she replied eagerly. ‘Let’s go! Climb onto my back so we can usher in the new Age of Dragons together.’

  ‘Here they come,’ Barnabas called over his shoulder to Jack. ‘Dead ahead. Ugly lot, aren’t they?’

  To Jack, looking past Barnabas and the rising and falling head of Wiseheart, the huge black smudge rising into the sky from the mountains looked rather like an enormous flock of birds, or a swarm of insects. The only difference was the scale involved.

  He looked around at the orderly flights of dragons he had arranged. In contrast to the swarm of night dragons launching ahead, the day dragons were flying in tight ‘V formations of three. Each three-dragon ‘V was in turn grouped into a larger formation, made up of five sets of three dragons. Ten of these groups made up the bulk of the force. The remaining dragons were flying above them, to act as spotters, each tasked with coordinating a particular group. Barnabas and Jack were operating in this role.

  The dusk dragons had already camouflaged and were flying wide on the flanks, working in five pairs. The final pair of dusk dragons had been tasked with accompanying Fang, who was carrying both Kira and Elian on their bid to deliver the last two orbs. Aurora and Shimmer were flying above and behind the rest of the dragons. Nolita and Firestorm, together with another day dragon and her rider, were flying alongside the two dawn dragons to protect them against any night dragons that broke through the main lines.

  ‘Good Lord!’ Jack said. ‘This is going to be the mother of all dogfights!’

  ‘It certainly looks that way,’ Barnabas replied. ‘Who knows, we may even end up trading blows with Segun himself shortly.’

  ‘Oh, I hope so,’ Jack whispered, cupping the
butt of the Lee-Enfield rifle strapped across his back with his right hand. ‘I do hope so.’

  ‘They look impressive, don’t they,’ Elian said, glancing across and up at the orderly formations of day dragons.

  ‘Let’s just hope that Jack’s tactics work,’ Kira replied, not looking around. ‘Personally, I think he’s out of his depth when it comes to dragons.’

  ‘He’s spent a lot more time in the air than we have, Kira. Don’t let your one bad experience with him blind you to his abilities. He’s been fighting in the air for years. He’s a survivor. None of the dragonriders has his experience. Look! The night dragons are rising to meet the day dragons. It’s working just the way he said it would.’

  ‘Segun won’t be foolish enough to commit all his forces,’ she pointed out. ‘We’ll still be outnumbered when we reach the Oracle’s cave.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Elian agreed, not wanting to annoy her further. She was focused on getting her orb to the Oracle. He wished he could be so single-minded. Being separated from Aurora did not help, but the day dragons needed her abilities now. He scanned the sky looking for her. She was too far away for him to reach her with mental communication, but he could just about see his dawn dragon above and behind the main body of day dragons.

  ‘Fly safe, Ra,’ he thought, attempting to cast the message across the gulf of space between them. ‘Don’t do anything foolish.’

  ‘Do you think Pell made it without being detected?’ Elian asked Kira the question that had been on his mind since Pell set off alone earlier.

  ‘I hope so,’ Kira replied, shaking her head. ‘He’s brave, that’s for sure; let’s just hope his plan works.’

  ‘It does makes sense,’ Elian insisted. ‘Jack said that an enemy is like a snake – cut off the head and the body will die – let’s hope Pell can get to the night dragons’ head.’

  As Elian concentrated again on the scenery around them he saw the mountains were looming close, and their chosen pass towards the Oracle’s cave was ahead. It would take them a long way around, but they were determined not to draw attention to their approach.

  ‘There’s a night dragon on the right side of the pass,’ Kira warned. ‘We’re going to climb and go above him. He’s less likely to notice us that way.’

  ‘And so it begins,’ Elian muttered.

  ‘There they go,’ Pell observed, peering out from his hiding place under the thick pine trees. ‘Just as Barnabas predicted. Let’s wait until the majority has passed before we launch. Can you make out Widewing amongst all those dragons?’

  ‘No, not yet,’ Shadow replied. ‘ But I imagine he will be towards the back of the main force. Segun likes to direct from a point of safety, rather than lead from the front.’

  ‘Barnabas read Segun perfectly,’ Pell added. ‘I thought the old day dragonrider might attempt a parley, but he was sure Segun wouldn’t want to talk. He predicted Segun would launch straight into a full-scale attack. He was right. There’s no way they’ll avoid a fight with that many dragons in the air. Do you think Jack’s other-world tactics will work?’

  ‘They are novel enough to give the day dragons the advantage of surprise early on,’ she said. ‘But the superior numbers, size and sheer momentum of the night dragons will break them. The day dragons have ever been brave, but their attempted show of strength is about as clever as a human taunting a lion with a bleeding haunch of meat. The end result will be ugly.’

  Pell was not quite so sure. Having seen the result of Firestorm’s unorthodox tactics against the night dragon in the mountains ten days earlier, he could see how Jack’s tactics would prove devastating if executed well. If the day dragons could inflict enough damage in the first few moments, the momentum could change very quickly.

  He continued to watch as black wings darkened the sky above. Finally he judged the time to be right.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  ‘It is time,’ Shadow confirmed.

  Pell ran to her side, leaped up into the saddle and hooked his arms and legs through his newly fitted fighting straps. No sooner was he settled than Shadow started to move towards open ground. Even before she had fully emerged from the cover of the green canopy, she began to accelerate into a run. They burst from the trees at speed and within a few more paces, Shadow had extended her wings and they were in the air and climbing.

  As Pell had expected, none of the night dragons, or their riders, noticed them climbing up to join the throng from beneath. Everyone was focused on the incoming lines of day dragons. They powered up amongst the other night dragons without attracting any attention to themselves, but Pell knew all too well that this was the easy part of what they were trying to do. Somehow they needed to single out Widewing quickly, preferably before the two sides clashed, though that appeared unlikely. At current closure, Pell could see that, at best, they had a couple of minutes before the fighting began. When that happened, he and Shadow would be in danger from both sides.

  Once amongst the huge flight of night dragons, the noise was incredible. The whooshing sound of a dragon’s wings had been special to Pell from the first moment he had experienced it. Flying in formation with Fang, Aurora and Firestorm had added a different dimension to the sound, but this . . . this was like a raging ocean in a hurricane, though even that comparison did not do the sound justice. It was awe-inspiring to think that he was flying into the midst of what was possibly the most dangerous force on Areth.

  Aside from the sound, the air was choppy with downdrafts from the wings of dragons above them, and turbulence from the passage of dragons ahead. They bumped and jostled through layer after layer of dragon wings, weaving and dodging to work their way ever higher.

  ‘I see them,’ Shadow announced suddenly. ‘Widewing is ahead and slightly to the right.’

  ‘Great,’ Pell replied. ‘Let’s get into position to strike.’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dragon Battle

  ‘They’re still climbing!’ Segun muttered, his thoughts spilling from his lips. ‘What’s Barnabas up to? He must know the day dragons can’t outclimb us.’

  The night dragon leader looked at the mass of night dragons ahead, below and all around him. His superior force was moments away from combat and he could feel his heart rate accelerating.

  ‘Are you ready?’ he asked his dragon.

  ‘I am,’ she replied confidently.

  Suddenly, a brief flash of light from above and behind the approaching day dragons drew her attention. Segun was looking to his right and felt, rather than saw, it. What had caused it? He narrowed his eyes against the wind and tried to force his focus out beyond the approaching formations to see if he could pick out the source. Without warning, he found his eyes dazzled by the most intense, burning light he had ever known.

  To the night dragons and their riders it was as if twin suns had suddenly exploded into being in the sky ahead. The glare was incredible and the timing, crippling. Just before the combat began, two flares in the sky blinded almost every night dragon and rider. Segun and Widewing were no exception. The flare burned fierce and bright for several heartbeats. Even through his eyelids, Segun could not totally block out the light. Then one, followed shortly afterwards by the other, died away to nothing.

  Hands over his eyes and trying to rub away the flash spots that were dominating his vision, he began to swear and curse. Even as he did so, a dragon crashed into them and Segun suddenly found it was all he could do to stay in the saddle as Widewing was dragged into steep spiral dive. The world spun and the wind roared in Segun’s ears as they accelerated. A sharp pain erupted in his lower back and he felt further brushing collisions as they fell together through the layers of dragons beneath.

  It took several moments to realise that the pain in his lower back was actually Widewing’s. His back was uninjured, but he was experiencing her pain through their bond. They were being attacked! For a brief moment he thought it must have been a dusk dragon that had used its camouflage to get in close, bu
t then he caught sight of the dragon grappling them in his peripheral vision. It was most certainly another night dragon.

  ‘Widewing!’

  ‘It is Shadow and Pell,’ she replied, her voice strained and thick with anger. ‘Hold on tight. I’m going to dislodge them.’

  Had Widewing not warned him, Segun would have almost certainly been flung from the saddle. He instinctively grabbed for the straps and a couple of quick twists of his wrists secured him in place just in time for Widewing’s desperate manoeuvre. With stomach-wrenching abruptness, she lurched into a spiral dive.

  Shadow had sunk her talons deep into Widewing’s tail and was biting at her flank and lower back. Folding her great wings in tight to her body, Segun’s dragon made herself a dead weight. At the same time, she twisted to strike at Shadow’s exposed neck. The twisting motion whilst they were already spinning threw Segun to the left so hard that for a moment he felt as if his arms were being pulled from their sockets.

  Widewing’s tactic succeeded in dislodging Shadow, but the pain remained. Pell’s dragon had penetrated Widewing’s armour with her talons and teeth in several places. Segun had never known his dragon to feel such anger. They continued to freefall for two or three heartbeats before Widewing extended her wings again and swooped up to meet her opponent.

  Shadow was ready for the move and the two dragons met with talons raised and mouths open, poised to strike. For a moment they both hung there, wings beating hard to maintain the hover, talons raking and great teeth biting, each trying to get a hold that would give an advantage. The moment passed. Neither dragon could hover for more than a handful of wing beats.

  Pell’s dragon was first to break away, diving suddenly underneath Widewing and racing off in the direction of the mountains.

  ‘The Oracle’s cave!’ Segun called out aloud. ‘After him! He must not be allowed to reach it!’

  ‘Now!’

  Shadow broke from her hover and dived underneath Widewing. Pell ducked and felt the talons of Segun’s dragon whistle through the air just above him. They were clear. He looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, Segun had already wheeled Widewing around and they were in pursuit, just as he had hoped.