Shadow

by Mark Robson

  Nolita rarely spoke to the others, even when they tried to include her in conversations. With Pell and Kira intent on power games, there were times when Elian felt as isolated as Nolita. At least he enjoyed the company of his dragon. He knew Nolita could not even do that.

  What had possessed the Oracle to place its life in the hands of such a dysfunctional group? Elian wondered. But despite their differences, he could see a certain method in the Oracle’s choices. Each rider and dragon pairing had different, but identifiable, strengths. Nolita and Firestorm were brave. Pell and Shadow were strong and ambitious. Kira and Fang were clever and tenacious. What qualities did he and Ra bring to the group? Ra was special. He smiled as his thoughts drifted and his eyes automatically sought out his beautiful golden dragon. What had he and Ra been chosen for . . . ? It was a question that worried him often. If each rider and dragon partnership had been chosen for a particular quality required, what were he and Ra supposed to be good at?

  Chapter Nineteen

  An Unexpected Delay

  ‘M-m-more mountains,’ Kira grumbled, her mouth struggling to formulate the words. The cold had taken her beyond shivering some time ago. She growled at her dragon through clenched teeth. ‘What is it with d-d-dragons and m-mountains anyway?’

  ‘Mountains make good homes, Kira,’ Fang replied, his voice in her mind sounding perplexed. ‘They are beautiful, majestic and proud, yet they also offer challenges, excitement, and sometimes danger. You humans choose to live in such boring places. You miss so much.’

  The savannah lands of Racafi are beautiful! They’re also wild and dangerous,’ Kira snapped, a surge of passion and anger cutting through her torpor for a moment, allowing her to speak more clearly. ‘It’s you d-dragons who’re m-m-misguided. I was n-never bored in Racafi. M-more importantly it was w-w-warm. I’m b-beginning to f-feel as if I’ll never be w-warm again.’

  The air was smooth, but very cold, as they flew over the foothills. This was just as well, as Kira was not holding on to anything. She had her arms folded across her chest and was rubbing the outside of her arms in an attempt to generate heat.

  She had lost all feeling in the tip of her nose, and her ears burned with the cold, despite being tucked under the lined flaps of her hat. She wriggled her toes in her boots, but they were numb beyond feeling and her fingers ached inside her gloves. They would have to land.

  ‘I’ll admit the temperature where you lived was rather pleasant,’ Fang agreed. ‘But it made me feel lazy and listless. Nice for a change maybe, but not as a place to live. In the mountains it is easy to feel alive and full of vitality.’

  ‘It sounds as if we’re going to have a problem when this quest is over, Fang,’ Kira replied, switching to mental communication to save her aching jaw. ‘If you think you’re going to convince me to live with you in some cave in the mountains, you’d better think again. Can you tell the others to look for a place to land, please? I don’t care what Pell says, I need to sit near a fire and warm up. I’m frozen. Look. There’s some woodland over there. Let’s land near the edge.’

  There was a slight pause. ‘I’ve spoken with the others,’ Fang announced. ‘Shadow is not happy. She and Pell want to press on to the Valley of the Griffins with all haste.’

  ‘No surprises there then!’ Kira found it hard to believe the others were faring any better than she was, but then again maybe they were. Elian had lived on a high plateau and Nolita came from a climate that was generally colder than that of Racafi. From what she understood, Pell would be in his element here. Kira did not know, and did not care to know, much about his background. However, it was clear that he had lived near the foothills of a mountain range in Central Isaa. ‘Tell him it’s an emergency,’ she said. ‘Tell him whatever you like. Just get them to land.’

  ‘All right, Kira. Hold on. We’re going down.’

  Fang waited until he knew Kira was holding onto the pommel grips and then he folded his wings and dipped into a steep descent. They swooped down and landed next to the woods that Kira had pointed out. Moments later the other three dragons were landing around them.

  Kira was a tangle of limbs as she tried to dismount. It was embarrassing, but her body refused to respond properly and she slid, out of control, down Fang’s side. The thump as she landed jarred through her body, winding her. Time blurred. It seemed that no sooner had she registered the shock of the impact than Elian was there. He helped her to her feet and supported her with an arm around her back, talking to her in a low, comforting voice. Fang’s voice was there in her mind as well, apologetic and concerned. She suddenly realised she had no idea what either of them was saying. Their voices were echoing and overlapping in a confusing barrage of noise. Nothing made any sense. All she could discern was that they were worried about something.

  Now that she was on the ground, Kira felt warm -warm and tired. She started to fumble at her jacket in an effort to remove it, but someone stopped her. A flash of anger sparked. Why didn’t they leave her alone? They’d landed now. What did it matter to anyone if she used the time to rest?

  The rim of a cup was placed against her lips. The contents were warm and sweet. It tasted heavenly. Where had that come from? Was that the crackle of a fire? Her eyelids felt so heavy, but the warmth of the drink as it slipped down her throat was wonderful. She reached up to the cup, trying to tip it in an effort to drink faster. This too was denied.

  ‘Don’t take it away!’ she mumbled. ‘More.’

  The cup was placed against her lips again and again, but the person controlling the cup only allowed her small sips. She wanted to cry out against the restriction, but found that the warm, dark tunnel of sleep offered the easier path.

  It was the tone of Pell’s voice that brought back her focus. He sounded frustrated and annoyed, and she knew instinctively that she was the source of both emotions. The corners of her mouth tweaked up into a smile. It felt good to have such power that she could annoy him without even trying. She cracked her eyes open just wide enough to see. How long had she slept? It was still light, but the sun looked as if it was sinking into the west.

  ‘You’ve been a rider longer than any of us. Don’t tell me you’ve never flown too high, or for too long in cold air. It takes quite a while to recover. You must know that. I did it on my first day with Ra, and it nearly got both of us killed. It looks as though Kira pushed even further than I did. I say we give her as long as she needs.’

  That’s fighting talk coming from Elian, Kira thought. He seemed so soft and easy-going. It was good to see him standing his ground. There was a noticeable silence. Pell wasn’t rushing to answer him. Elian had struck home with that comment. Kira tucked away the thought for future reference and carried on listening.

  ‘Very well,’ Pell sighed. ‘We will leave for the Valley of the Griffins first thing in the morning.’

  ‘Have either of you ever seen a griffin?’ Nolita asked, her voice sounding small and pathetic. ‘It’s just that I was wondering how big they are.’

  Kira surreptitiously opened her eyes a crack further to try to see how the boys reacted. She had never seen a griffin, though she knew from stories they were reputed to be half lion and half eagle. How a creature like that had come into existence was difficult to imagine, but the dragons were confident they were real and that they lived in these mountains. The dragons were rarely wrong.

  ‘No, I’ve never seen one, Nolita,’ Elian replied.

  ‘Me neither,’ Pell added.

  There was a slight pause. ‘Ra tells me they’re similar in size to a small horse, but not to mention horses in their presence,’ Elian said. ‘Apparently they hate horses. She also tells me that they don’t originate from this world, but from the world on the other side of the gateways.’

  ‘How does she know that?’ Pell asked, sounding dubious.

  ‘She says the story goes back many years to one of the most famous quests in the dawn dragon archives. Aside from the Great Quest, it was the only one known to involve severa
l dragons. The Oracle gave them the joint task of bringing many strange and dangerous creatures from the other world to Areth. It seems the men there were hunting these creatures to extinction.’

  ‘Why did the Oracle care?’ Nolita asked, her voice distinctly shaky. ‘And if they’re dangerous, why bring them to our world?’

  ‘Ra says she doesn’t know for sure, but thinks the Oracle foresaw something in the future of Areth that involved these creatures. It was a long and dangerous adventure for both the dragons and their riders. Many of the creatures were hostile to the idea of changing worlds, but somehow they were convinced to come. Apparently there were not many of them, so Ra doubts they will ever present much of a problem to the people of Areth. I shouldn’t worry too much, Nolita. The creatures all live in remote regions of our world and, from what little I’ve seen of the other world, I’d say they’re far better off here.’

  ‘So there won’t be many of these griffins, then,’ Nolita said thankfully. ‘That’s good.’

  ‘Well, Ra doesn’t think so. Only a handful came through the gateway, but that was a very long time ago and no one has had much contact with them since. She tells me the griffins are fiercely territorial. They are also known for their strength and bravery. The story hinted that they may have brought some great treasure from the other world that they now guard jealously.’

  ‘Could that treasure be the night orb?’ Pell asked suddenly. ‘That would make sense, wouldn’t it? The Oracle sends us to “seek brave ones’ counsel”. The brave ones are guarding something precious. Maybe that something is the very thing that the Oracle needs to survive. Perhaps our task is to take it from them.’

  Kira nearly laughed aloud. Pell was so predictable, and his thinking so single track. This could cause a problem, though. Now that he had the treasure idea in his head, changing his perspective would be all but impossible. It was like his idea to go to the night dragon enclave all over again.

  Elian was shaking his head. ‘I don’t think so, Pell,’ he said. ‘That doesn’t sound right to me. If the Oracle wanted us to take something from the griffins, surely this would have been hinted at in the rhyme. Listen: Release the dark orb – death brings me life. Take brave ones’ counsel, ’ware ye the knife. Exercise caution, stay pure and heed, Yield unto justice: truth will succeed.’

  ‘But it does hint at that,’ Pell insisted. ‘Release the dark orb – death brings me life. We have to release the dark orb from the griffins. We may need to kill some of them to get it. That’s not too hard to see, is it?’

  Brilliant! thought Kira. It’ll take a lightning bolt from heaven to turn him now.

  ‘But what about the rest of the verse?’ Elian responded quickly. ‘Your interpretation doesn’t fit the last two lines at all.’

  ‘They could mean anything,’ Pell said dismissively. ‘You said yourself that the verse about the first orb didn’t make sense until Firestorm and Nolita had actually got it. I’ll bet this one will be the same.’

  ‘That’s something we can agree on,’ Elian muttered. ‘Look, I’m not trying to kill your enthusiasm, Pell,’ he continued at a more normal volume, clearly trying to sound reasonable. ‘I just want you to keep an open mind, that’s all. Stealing isn’t staying pure or truthful. The last two lines of the Oracle’s verse mentions both of these. And exercise caution sounds like good advice right now.’

  ‘The orbs are dragon orbs, aren’t they?’ Nolita asked, deflecting whatever response Pell might have made.

  ‘Yes,’ the boys said together.

  ‘Well we know that dragons don’t exist in the other world, so why would there be a dragon orb there for the griffins to bring through?’ she went on.

  Brilliant! Kira thought again, this time without the sarcasm. Nolita, you’re a genius! Pell can’t answer that.

  But she was wrong.

  ‘Maybe the orb had been taken there on a previous quest,’ Pell suggested thoughtfully. ‘The Oracle has been around for millennia. Who’s to say that it didn’t send the orb to the other world in the first place? Maybe it was for safekeeping, or something.’

  Kira groaned silently. If he was willing to clutch at such long straws, then he was totally sold on his idea. It was time to break up the conversation. It had been interesting, but it was no longer going anywhere. She faked a yawn and stretched out in catlike fashion. Elian was by her side in a flash.

  ‘Are you all right, Kira?’ he asked. ‘Are you warm enough?’

  ‘I’m fine, thanks,’ she said sleepily. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Late afternoon. You slept most of the day,’ Pell said.

  He might just as well have said ‘wasted most of the day’ with that tone, Kira thought. She decided not to rise to the bait. He might want a fight, but she was not ready to give him one today.

  ‘No wonder I feel good,’ she said, keeping her voice deliberately distant and content. ‘Where are we?’

  ‘Not far from the Valley of the Griffins,’ Pell grumbled.

  ‘Take no notice of him,’ Elian told her. ‘We’ll get there early tomorrow. The griffins are unlikely to go anywhere.’

  ‘No, but Segun is,’ Pell said pointedly. ‘If he’s beaten us to the orb, getting it back will not be easy. I’d rather take on some griffins than Segun and the other senior night dragonriders any day.’

  Much as Kira hated to admit it, Pell did have a good point. She opened her eyes fully and turned to look at the white outlines of the mountains. The snowline extended almost to their bases. She shivered at the sight. If Segun had beaten them to the orb because of her failure to cope with the cold, then two things were sure: Pell would never forgive her and the quest would become more difficult than ever.

  Chapter Twenty

  Valley of the Griffins

  ‘Does Fang really know where he’s going, Shadow? Or is he making this up as he goes along? It feels as if we’re going in circles. I’m sure we’ve been along this valley before.’

  ‘Fang assures me it is not far now,’ Shadow replied, but her voice in Pell’s mind held a hint of uncertainty.

  They had been flying for most of the morning. In all that time they had seen no living creature other than a solitary eagle soaring high above them in the late morning sun. It was bitterly cold up in the mountain passes. The glare of the sunlight reflecting from the great expanses of pure white snow on all sides was giving him a headache, but he was not about to complain. The weather was still holding fair. Considering how much time they had spent in mountainous terrain recently, the elements had been most kind.

  ‘Not far is one thing, but knowing in which direction would be useful,’ Pell growled aloud. This was getting ridiculous.

  ‘He says the entrance is not immediately obvious,’ Shadow told him. ‘The griffins chose their home deliberately to avoid being found. Fang has been there once before, but it was a long time ago. He says he will recognise the signs when he sees them.’

  ‘A long time ago? How long is long?’

  ‘Around three centuries,’ Shadow admitted.

  ‘Three centuries!’ Pell breathed aloud. ‘It’s no wonder he’s lost!’

  ‘He’s not lost, Pell.’ The night dragon hesitated for just a moment. ‘Or at least if he is lost, then so is Segun. Look.’

  Six night dragons were flying along the valley some distance in front of them in two tandem V formations of three. The others had noticed them too. Kira and Elian were waving at him and pointing. Nolita was staring straight ahead, as she often did, but from the tilt of her body and the angle of her head it was obvious she had also spied the dark dragons.

  Fortunately, Segun and his lieutenants were flying away from them, so it was unlikely that they would notice the four dragons following in their wake. Pell instinctively glanced over each shoulder in quick succession, checking the sky behind him for potential trouble. There were at least three other night dragons out there somewhere, and after the long delay of the previous day, they could easily catch up.

  ‘We’d bette
r slow down, Shadow. We don’t want to get too close,’ Pell suggested. ‘I don’t understand why they’re flying so slowly.’

  ‘As I said, the entrance to the Valley of the Griffins is close,’ Shadow replied. ‘It is not easy to see. Segun and Widewing seem to know this. Fang tells me he can see the markers that guide the way to the entrance now. The night dragons are almost on top of them. Yes. Look. They are turning.’

  It was true. The night dragons turned to the right and switched formation until all six were flying in a single line, each astern and slightly below the one in front. Pell held his breath. It would only need one of them to look back up the valley, and the Oracle’s chosen team would lose the element of surprise. To his amazement, it did not happen. Instead, the night dragons disappeared one by one, seemingly straight into a solid, vertical rock wall. He let out a sigh of relief.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘Why didn’t they notice us? You sensed those other night dragons while they were still miles away the other day.’

  ‘Yes, but we were on the lookout for other dragons,’ Shadow replied. ‘Segun and his men have no reason to expect us to be behind them. They think you are safely locked up at the enclave and that the others have gone to Racafi. Also, the entrance to the Valley of the Griffins is rather special. I imagine their attention was very much on where they were going.’

  ‘Special? In what way?’

  ‘You will see,’ Shadow said cryptically. ‘I don’t want to ruin it for you.’

  Curious as Pell was, a rising feeling of panic began to take over. His relief at not having been seen by the leaders of the night dragon enclave had momentarily blinded him to the fact that Segun had beaten them to the valley. What should they do now?