Aurora (15 page)

The twisting sensation of entry did not affect Elian as much as the disorientation he had felt during the take-off run. Floating in the grey nothingness between worlds brought no fear, but as
the wrench of emergence signalled their arrival he felt his stomach tighten.

It was dark again. Memories of his most recent night experience over the battle lines assaulted him. A lance of pain shot through his injured thigh as his tightening muscles put pressure on the
wound. He hunched over the pommel, shifting his position in the saddle to try to relieve the pressure on his right leg.

‘Are you all right, Elian?’
Aurora asked, feeling his discomfort.

‘To be truthful, no, Ra,’
he admitted.
‘But I’ll survive. Where are we this time? Can you tell?’

Distant flashes to their right had already given him the clue that they were not over the battle lines, for which he was most grateful.

‘We seem to have emerged near the small area of woodland where we last saw Jack Miller,’
she said.
‘Should we land there, do you think?’

Elian thought for a moment.
‘Jack appeared keen for us to avoid the trap in the other woods where we were attacked by the dogs,’
he replied.
‘So, I imagine he will
have tried to avoid telling his superiors about this place. Can you feel him anywhere nearby?’

The sensation as Aurora reached out with her mind felt more intense than he remembered. It was almost as if he was reaching out with her, scouring the sky for a familiar sense of presence. He
knew the answer before she gave it.

‘No,’
she said.
‘At least, he’s not in the air. He could be on the ground nearby. The field where he flew his machine from is not far from the trees. Perhaps we
should land here, use the trees as cover, and begin our search by looking there.’

‘That makes sense.’

Aurora entered a gentle spiral descent. Elian could see no sign of Fang and Kira. The dusk dragon would most likely have camouflaged the moment he emerged. Given his natural dark-grey colour, he
would be difficult enough to pick out at night under normal circumstances. With his camouflage employed, he became totally invisible.

A broken layer of high cloud obscured the large silver moon, but the glow of it could still be seen. It took a little while for Elian’s eyes to adjust, but gradually he began to
distinguish between the different shades of darkness below. He picked out the stand of woods some time before they began their approach to land. Aurora swept the area with her mind, but felt no
sign of human life amongst the trees, or in the immediate vicinity of their chosen landing spot.

When they touched down, Elian remained mounted until Aurora had eased between the trees. No sooner had he begun to try climbing down than Kira was there to help. As was usual with Kira, he had
not heard her coming and jumped at her touch. He could see her grin at his response, but he was more grateful for her help than annoyed by her talent for silent movement.

Aurora led them to the place where he and Pell had awaited the dawn with Jack the last time they had seen him.

‘I think I can feel Jack now,’
Aurora announced suddenly.
‘But he’s not alone. There is a group of buildings not far from the eastern side of the wood. You will
need to cross an open field, but you should be able to get there unseen. I can direct you, if you wish. I was going to suggest you wait until early morning, but the hour is not as late as I first
thought. My only concern is the pain in your leg. Perhaps Kira should go.’

‘No, I’ll do it,’
Elian insisted, determined to put aside his fears.
‘There’s no telling how the fighting men of this world will welcome a dark-skinned
girl who paints her face. Kira is brilliant at stalking, but I think it’ll be better if I do this. I promise I’ll go slowly.’

Kira was not happy at being left behind but, to his surprise, she listened to his logic and offered little argument. Her eyes were flashing with contained anger and concern as he hobbled away
into the darkness, although she did agree not to follow him unless Aurora relayed through Fang that he was in trouble. As he left, she began gathering materials for a shelter.

Elian was far from silent moving between the trees, but once he reached the far edge of the woods he could hear the distant sound of music and singing. It appeared to be coming from the
direction Aurora had told him to take. No one was likely to hear him approach over the sound of the music, so he limped as quickly as he could across the open field to the hedge on the other
side.

He could hear people talking and laughing now. They were not far away. He slid along the line of a hedge towards them. As he drew nearer he stayed low, remaining deep in the shadows. Nervous at
how he would be received, Elian began thinking about what he would give for Kira’s skill at moving silently. He would be much happier if he could get to Jack without being seen by anyone
else.

‘Don’t worry, Elian. You’re doing fine, but stay where you are for a moment and get down low. There’s something approaching you at speed.’
Aurora’s
warning gave Elian the distinct impression that she was curious.

‘What do you mean some
thing
?’
he replied. A feeling of apprehension set the hairs on the back of his neck prickling and a rash of goosebumps rose on his arms.

Aurora did not answer, but a distant rumbling growl sent a shiver of fear through him. Whatever the thing was, it sounded big. What was more, it was moving fast – really fast! The distant
rumble transformed into a throaty roar as the strange beast closed rapidly on his hiding place.

In a moment of rash bravery, Elian got to his feet and peered over the bushes to see if he could catch a glimpse of its advance. There was a narrow lane on the other side of the hedgerow. To
Elian’s amazement he could see something huge with two blazing eyes, whose gaze cast beams of bright, white light wherever they looked. It was racing towards him at the speed of a galloping
horse. Fear, together with the dark’s exaggerating properties, swelled the creature to impossible looming proportions. For a moment he froze as the great eyes swung their bright focus in an
arc towards him.

‘Elian!’

The warning was timely. He ducked and placed his arms protectively over his head as the noise of its approach swelled to fill his ears. Strange rattling and squeaking noises were apparent above
the throaty roar as the beast sped by no more than a few paces from where Elian cowered. It was the metallic squeak that made him stand up and look around. Jumping to his feet, he looked over the
hedgerow again just in time to make out the shape of the behemoth.

A waft of oily fumes confirmed Elian’s conclusion.

‘It’s a horseless wagon! First flying machines and now this! The people here are certainly clever with their inventions.’

‘Indeed, Elian,’
Aurora agreed.
‘Perhaps too clever for their own good. What have their ingenious machines gained them? I would not be surprised to learn that the
fighting is linked to a drive for invention. The people of this world have had many conflicts, but this is unlike any I’ve seen.’

‘I’m not sure I want to know more about the fighting,’
Elian said.
‘I just want to find out where the final orb is and get out of here.’

The horseless wagon had squealed to a noisy stop just a few hundred paces further up the lane. Elian pushed through the hedge and ran silently towards it. He could see men emerging from a door
in its side and walking up a short path to a nearby building. No one looked in his direction. Their attention was on the building ahead and talking.

‘Is Jack in there?’
Elian asked apprehensively.

‘No. There’s another building about a hundred paces behind that one. He’s there. Try to get through the hedge on the other side of the lane. The field beyond will take you
closer.’

‘You’re beginning to sound faint, Ra,’
Elian noted anxiously.

‘Don’t fret, Elian. I can still hear you and there’s not far to go.’

This hedgerow was thicker and more difficult to traverse than the previous one. Brambles clung and tore stubbornly at his clothing as he forced his way through. He seemed to be making an
inordinate amount of noise, but he was counting on the now chugging breath of the stationary horseless wagon to blanket any sound he made. He was through and on the move again. He could see the
house. Aurora was right – it was not far. There was a gate leading from the field to a courtyard by the house. He raced across the open ground to it, trying his best to keep his footfalls
light.

Crouching by the gatepost, he scanned the courtyard. No one moved. Music and laughter were emanating from within the house. No light escaped from the windows, but whatever was blocking the light
could not totally dampen the sounds of a party. How could people sing and laugh with the grumble of battle in the background?

Slipping between the bars of the gate, he hobbled as fast as he could across the courtyard to the side of the building. The windows had been covered inside with something more than just material
drapes. He peered through the glass, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside, but whatever had been used to black out the windows was too effective.

Frustrated, Elian stepped into the porch and listened at the door. Aside from the music, there was a buzz of conversation. It was hard to pick out individual voices. He pressed closer to the
door, hoping to hear a little better. Taut with concentration, he jumped as a large hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder with an iron grip.

‘And what do you think you’re doing, lad?’

Chapter Fourteen

The soldier’s voice was gruff and angry. In the dim moonlight, his silhouetted figure looked huge.

‘N . . . n . . . nothing, sir,’ Elian stammered, his tongue tangling over his words as he tried to combat the shock. ‘Well . . . that is, I’d like to speak to Jack
Miller, if it’s possible.’

‘Jack
Miller, is it? A friend is he, lad? Expecting yer perhaps?’

‘Not a friend exactly, but we’ve met before. Can you ask him if he’ll speak to me? He’s not expecting me tonight, but I’m sure he’ll want to see me. Tell him
Elian is here.’

It was hard to see anything of the soldier’s expression. His face was hidden by the shadow of his steel helmet. The man was still for a moment, as if trapped by indecision.

‘Very well, lad, I’ll see if Captain Miller is willing to talk with yer. If not, then yer going to spend an uncomfortable night in the cellar, followed by a visit to the old man
tomorrow. Yer can explain to him what yer business is, sneaking around. There’s been plenty shot for spying, so yer’d better make sure yer excuse is a good ’un.’

Elian was not sure whether the man was being serious, but his deep voice sounded convincing in the dark porch of the farmhouse.

‘Why didn’t you warn me he was coming?’
Elian asked Aurora silently, mentally cursing his impaired hearing for not picking up the man’s approach.

‘Sorry, I didn’t sense his presence until it was too late,’
she answered.
‘Don’t worry. If Jack does not come, I’ll get Fang to send Kira.
She’ll find a way to help you escape.’

‘Great,’
Elian said, trying not to lace the word with too much sarcasm. It was not that he did not trust Kira to get him out – the opposite was true. What irked him was
that he might be reliant on her again to rescue him from captivity.

The soldier took a firm hold of Elian’s shirt at the back of the neck and rapped on the door with the thick end of the weapon he was holding in his other hand. Elian made no attempt to
struggle. His eyes followed the weapon. He had taken it for a club at first, but it was not shaped like any he had ever seen before. He could not see it clearly in the dark, but he could tell it
was not pointed enough to be used like a spear. Neither was it balanced like a staff, or shaped to swing like a club.

The door opened suddenly, golden light and a waft of warm air spilling out onto the threshold.

‘Yes? Is there a problem, Private?’

The first thing that struck Elian about the man in the doorway was his clothing. He had never seen such garments before. The shiny line of buttons, the four large rectangular pockets on the
close-fitting jacket and a curious winged symbol above the top left pocket looked very smart.

‘The boy here wants to see Captain Miller, sir.’

Elian looked the man in the eyes as he was appraised. He only looked to have seen about eighteen season rotations, yet the older soldier gripping Elian’s collar had called him
‘sir’. Was he some sort of nobleman?

‘What do you want with Jack, sonny?’

There was amusement and curiosity in the man’s eyes as he waited for Elian to answer. Elian was not sure what to tell him. He did not think telling him he was a dragonrider would be a good
idea, but he needed to be sure the man would take him seriously.