by Andy Holland
It wasn't far to where Solomon was staying, but just as was the case with her brother, he wasn't in.
"Yes, can I help you?" They were greeted by a civil servant who looked after the accommodation for the foreign guests, a new role for the government. He was from the Centre and didn't recognise either of them, which of course didn't matter to Daisy at all.
"Yes, we're looking for Solomon. Is he still staying here?"
"Yes, he is, although he's not in at the moment. Can I take a message? Who shall I say called?"
"Princess Daisy," she replied. "And Crystal. But perhaps we could speak to one of the other Golden Dragons. Who else is here?"
"No one, your highness. They all left this morning. Solomon only remained as he has a wing injury. Nothing serious, but at his age, it is wise to be cautious."
"Why did they all leave?" Daisy asked.
"I couldn't say," he replied. "That is, it wasn't my business to ask. Perhaps Solomon can tell you. What would you like me to tell him?"
Crystal interrupted before she could reply. "Actually, maybe we should wait. This is very important."
"Of course, you would be welcome to wait. I'm afraid it's just this room, but I can send for some refreshments if you wish."
"That's not necessary," Daisy replied. "We'll just wait here."
"Of course, your majesty. Apologies for not recognising you earlier. I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting you before."
Daisy thanked him and led Crystal to sit on a chair near the door, so they would see Solomon when he returned. Fortunately, they did not have to wait long for his return. Daisy hadn't seen him before but knew it was him as soon as she saw him from John's description, his distinctive long white beard flecked with gold making him easy to identify.
"Excuse me, sir, are you Solomon?" Daisy asked. "We really need to talk to you about our friend, John."
The old Golden Dragon turned around and stared at Daisy in surprise, looking as if he was struggling to recall who John was. But any concerns that he might be easily confused were dispelled straight away.
"Princess Daisy!" he said warmly. "It is an honour to meet you! And you must be Crystal, am I right?"
"Yes, that's right," Crystal replied hesitantly. "Did John tell you much about us?"
"He never mentioned you," Solomon replied. "But I keep myself well-informed. I'm very glad to have met you, this was well-timed, or I might have missed you as I will be leaving very soon. Unfortunately, I won't be able to fly back, as I'm not in the best of health so I will have to travel by road, and the carriage leaves in about an hour. There's only one departure a day, so I can't miss it."
"But that will take days!" Daisy said in surprise. "Couldn't one of the other Golden Dragons carry you?"
"Unfortunately none of them are in the capital," Solomon replied. "They've all headed south to help with the crisis with the True Dragons. But I don't mind, it will be good to see some of your country. And when I get to the border, I will be able to find someone to take me the rest of the way. But anyway, I'm sure you didn't visit me here to discuss my travel plans."
"No, we didn't," Daisy admitted. "We need to tell you what we have found out about the True Dragons. You will want to hear this."
"Now you have me intrigued," Solomon replied, sitting down in a chair. "Please, tell me."
Solomon listened in amazement as Daisy told all that had happened to her over the last two days, after which Crystal told him what the Worm Dragons had told her.
"This is astounding," Solomon said, once they had finished their tales. "I must commend you both on your bravery, it sounds like you have been through a lot. This is very exciting news indeed. I must admit, I have harboured doubts that our efforts to kill these creatures would get very far, but have refrained from saying anything as I knew that everyone was firmly set on that path. But this might change everything. If the stone is the source of their power, then we don't need to kill the creatures, just destroy the stone."
"How would you do that?" Daisy asked. "And would it be safe?"
"It shouldn't be too hard," Solomon replied. "After all, from what I understand, all Dragonstones are pretty similar, other than the colour of course and from what I understand, they are all destroyed easily enough. Whenever you lot fight each other, that’s one of the first things you try to do."
"But how?" Crystal asked. "When John touched it he was turned into a True Dragon. Suppose it did that to me?"
"I think that you would have to actually touch it for that to happen," Solomon replied thoughtfully. "Assuming that your Worm Dragon doctor was telling the truth. Perhaps you could use a tool, like a hammer, or a big rock. They're quite fragile, so it shouldn't be too hard. Failing that, they don't stand up too well to being overheated. Obviously, they're fireproof to an extent and our fire might not do much, but Teradon fire should do it."
"Gerald has a sword," Daisy ventured. "He's left it at his place in town. We could take that with us."
"We?" Crystal asked. "There's no way you're going to be allowed to go."
"But this is John!" Daisy replied. "I have to help."
"And this is the Circle," Solomon added. "I think it would be too dangerous for either of you, and the stakes are too high to risk failure. No, you must get a message through your government to the group responsible for attacking those creatures. They will find a way to destroy that stone. Now, I am very sorry, but I should be going if I am to catch this carriage. I wish you success, young ladies, and I hope that I have been helpful."
Solomon left the two girls sitting in the lobby, wondering what to do next, when Arthur, Jenna and Seth burst into the room, making a tremendous amount of noise.
"Daisy!" Arthur shouted excitedly, rushing over to greet her and lifting her from her chair. "I can't believe you're alive."
Daisy laughed, looking into her brother's animated face. "Well, I am! Put me down, Arthur, please. This is most undignified. I'm not a little girl."
"Yes, of course," Arthur replied, releasing her. "But I can't believe you're alive! How did you escape that monster? Oh, no, we've told everyone that you're dead!"
"Don't worry about that," Daisy replied calmly, feeling very pleased with his concern. "Simon will tell everyone that I'm back. Anyway, come and sit down and I'll tell you everything. Most importantly, I need to tell you who the new True Dragon is."
The two of them told the story yet again, although this time with far more interruptions than with Solomon so it took twice as long.
"So," Crystal finished, "that's our story. John is the bronze True Dragon and we think the only way to both save him and stop the black True Dragon is to destroy that stone. There's no need for Mark and the others to throw their lives away trying to kill that thing. They don't stand a chance anyway."
Jenna gasped, raising her hand to her mouth. "Oh no, they're going to attack it tomorrow. There was a message at the palace just before we left. Jerome mustn't have delivered the message in time."
Daisy felt a cold shiver run down her back. "What?" she asked. "I thought they were going to regroup first and wait till they were better prepared."
"It's true," Arthur replied, grim-faced. "Just before we left a messenger arrived. Not one of the Golds, one of ours passed on the message. That Blue Dragon, Perak, has agreed to help them fight the True Dragons. He is the one who killed the brown one, so they think he will give them a better chance. All of the True Dragons are in the Circle, so they don't want to miss this opportunity."
"No!" Daisy cried. "What about John? They'll try to kill him as well?"
Crystal shook her head. "John will be fine. None of them has a chance of catching him, he's far too fast. It's Mark and the others I'm worried about. They don't stand a chance of succeeding even with Perak. He killed the smallest one, while it was on its own, outside of the Circle. Inside the Circle, they'll be stronger and faster and they'll probably be fighting two of them. Their only chance of surviving is if John helps them."
"But then the black on
e might kill him!" Daisy wailed. She couldn't believe that she might lose him all over again.
"It might do," Arthur pointed out. "John attacked it before and didn't do so well. It does seem to be indestructible. And you said that it has already killed three other True Dragons. He might be able to outfly it, but he's not going to abandon his brother if he gets into trouble. I can't say I like his chances."
"Thank you, Arthur," Crystal snapped, putting her hand on Daisy's shoulder and smiling reassuringly. "Remember, Daisy, John has already faced that thing already and survived. Let's not give up hope yet."
"What can we do?" Jenna asked. "Is there time to get a message to them? Get them to call off the attack?"
Daisy looked outside at the sky. It was mid-afternoon and they probably had four hours of light left. Would that be enough?
"Maybe," Arthur replied, "if we could get one of the Golds to leave now they might be able to reach the Circle by nightfall. If not, they could fly the last bit tomorrow morning before they begin."
"There are no Golden Dragons here," Crystal pointed out. "They've all left to help protect our southern and eastern settlements."
"They'll be some in Obud," Seth pointed out. "We could send a message there and then they could pass it on."
"If they're still there," Arthur replied. "They might have moved on. And it's a bit out of the way. It would be better to send someone directly there."
"We couldn't reach Obud even," Jenna pointed out. "It's too far to fly before it gets dark."
"We?" Daisy asked, a little surprised. "You're going to come?"
Jenna shrugged indifferently. "I see no point in arguing with you all. But it's too late to get to Obud before nightfall, but we could get someone on the way to save time tomorrow. And we can't camp as we would need to leave right now and there would be no time to pack our things. Where could we stay between Furnace and Obud?"
Daisy was quite touched by her attitude. Jenna might be too embarrassed to admit it, but she clearly wanted to help. And she was thinking clearly. They did need somewhere to stay. "Seth, didn't you say one of your cousins has an estate near the border of the Southern and Eastern Principalities?" Daisy asked. "Could we stay there?"
Seth nodded eagerly. "My cousin Steven. He has several vineyards and a few farms nearby. It's near to where his father has a mine. He's often said that we should come and stay. He'd be pleased to have visitors, especially now. His place is near Silverton."
"I know that town," Crystal said. "That would work well. We should be able to get there tonight if we leave now."
"Then it's settled," Daisy stated, standing up as if to go. "We leave now. Let's go and transform."
"Wait a minute, Daisy," Arthur objected. "Are you sure you should fly? You haven't slept all night, and suppose that black True Dragon appears. Perhaps just Seth and I should go."
Crystal snorted in derision. "That's not going to happen. As if I'd leave it to you two. Besides, the black True Dragon is in the Circle, that's the whole reason we're going now. See you in the air, Arthur." She took Daisy's hand and led her and Jenna outside to a secluded spot next to the building. "This should be alright. Transform quickly."
Daisy had noticed that Crystal had always been shy about changing in front of anyone, but now she transformed so quickly that it hardly mattered. She was impatient to leave and took off immediately, waiting for them in the sky above them.
Lead the way, Seth, Arthur commanded once he joined them. Everyone keep alert. I don't care what everyone thinks, that creature could be anywhere.
But wherever it was, Daisy and the others didn't see it on their flight to Silverton. Seth was supposedly leading them, but Crystal seemed to be in front most of the time and Daisy found herself talking to Jenna for most of the flight. Perhaps it was having thought that she was dead, but Jenna was much nicer to Daisy than normal and the journey was quite pleasant. It was less so for her brother, who spent the whole flight anxiously scanning the horizon for signs of trouble. She didn't think he was afraid for himself as much as for everyone else. He was very relieved when Seth announced that they had arrived.
Seth's cousin Steven turned out to be only a few years older than them, the only son of one of Seth's wealthy relatives. He had been to their school just a few years earlier and pressed them for details of how the place had changed. He seemed a little too interested in both Crystal and Daisy, but all Daisy could think of was John and what might happen tomorrow.
"Don't worry," Crystal told her, noticing her quiet demeanour. "John will be fine. This will work."
Daisy smiled back at her. "Of course it will. Thanks to you. You were very brave, going to that Valley on your own."
"John would call me foolish," Crystal said with a laugh. "He would be right. I came close to getting eaten by one of those cats, yet again. This time it was up to the Worm Dragons to save me."
Daisy was horrified, recalling the enormous Valley Cats that had tried to eat them a year ago. "Oh no! That must have been terrifying. What happened?"
Crystal shook her head and stood up. "Another time, Daisy. You look exhausted and we all need to sleep. We have to leave at sunrise tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now."
Seth and Steven both objected, but Arthur insisted that they all turned in. They hadn't discussed what they were going to do tomorrow, but Crystal seemed to be confident that she knew what needed to be done, and Daisy knew that her brother would have some plan in mind. Besides, after all she had been through, she was exhausted, and as soon as she laid her head on her pillow, she fell into a deep sleep, happy in the knowledge that John was alive and somehow, everything would turn out well.
Chapter 29: Planning the second attempt
The news that Perak had decided to join them had generated a lot of excitement in the group. Morale had been low after their initial failure, and even though they now had some experience to draw on, the group had still been very doubtful about their chances, especially the survivors from the first attempt. Now, the mood couldn't be more different. Gabriel had decided that he would use everyone in this second attempt, ignoring Mark's words of caution. That would mean a lot of dragons would be in the air, but they were trying to attack the creatures, not hide from them, so Gabriel saw no reason to hold back. The new recruits were actually pleased to be included, worried that now Perak was here, he would lead the others to victory without needing their help. They clearly had no idea of how dangerous their mission was going to be.
"It's as if they're looking forward to dying," Jude said to Mark as they finished their breakfast in the training camp. "What do they think this Blue Dragon can do? Kill each True Dragon single-handed?"
Mark shrugged, wiping crumbs from his mouth. "Hopefully he can do enough to make a difference. That's what we've been counting on."
"Yes, a difference to the success of our mission," Jude replied. "Killing that black True Dragon. But he’d happily see the rest of us killed in the process. Perak isn't here to save anyone other than his own reputation."
Mark nodded, remembering his first encounter with the Blue Dragon general in the town of Castlebridge. "A particularly unpleasant fellow. If he dies in this mission, no one would be too upset, would they?"
"Careful," Jude warned with a chuckle. "Comments like that would damage your reputation in New Sanctuary. Don't you encourage everyone to forgive their enemies?"
"Yes, but only once the threat they represent has gone. Perak doesn't accept the peace treaty, and as far as I'm concerned, he's just as dangerous as ever. It wasn't that long ago that he tried to kill us."
Jude raised his hands in protest. "You don't need to convince me. I don't trust any of them."
Mark was very aware of that fact. It took a lot to build trust with Jude. "Yes, yes, I know. Do you know how Gabriel plans to use him?"
"No, but that's what I wanted to speak to you about. There's a planning meeting scheduled to start after breakfast. We're both formally invited."
"Formally? What do you mean?"
<
br /> "The Assembly has sent a delegate. Now that Perak is involved they want more oversight. But don't get your hopes up, Gabriel is still in charge."
"In charge, but answerable for his decisions. Hopefully, this delegate can force him to see sense!"
The planning meeting was held in a large, secure room beneath the Assembly Chambers, one that Mark had never seen before and didn't know existed before this meeting. A series of curved tables were joined together to form an almost complete ring, with enough chairs around the ring to seat forty people. Judging by the number of extra chairs lined up against the walls of the room they were clearly expecting a high attendance and many of the chairs were already full. There was a round table in the middle of the room with a large map of the Circle on it and in front of each seat, as well as a name tag was a set of papers marked battle scenarios. These had presumably been put together by Perak, although Mark found it hard to believe that he could have put them together so quickly. Mark recognised the Blue Dragon general instantly, sat silently between two burly-looking Blue Dragons, his face an unreadable mask. Next to them sat the Assembly delegates, instead of just one delegate and they were representatives from the Reds, Blues, Browns and Golden Dragons. Lord Oscar represented the Reds, a member of their Military Council, although a poorly respected member who had done little to impress Mark when they had last met. The Blue Dragons had sent a woman called Xanet, a senior member of their government and a former colonel from the Military of the Interior, their military police. She was glaring at Perak with utter contempt, although he appeared to be indifferent to her presence. The Browns had sent a young dragon called Hal, a likeable fellow that Mark had met many times, but someone who was clearly too inexperienced to attend this sort of meeting. The Golden Dragons had sent Enoch, the Assembly Member responsible for oversight of the New Cities defences. He was the only one who inspired any confidence in Mark, but he was too close to Gabriel to effectively challenge his decisions. It was hard to mask his disappointment as he took his seat next to a young captain called Ethan. He noticed that on Ethan's name tag was the number 1.5 and on the name tag of the captain next to him, Captain Dan, was the number 1.7. His name tag had the number 1.6 next to it. Presumably, the meaning of the numbers would be explained to them shortly.