Dragon Rider (DragonMage Saga) (5 page)

He didn’t get far as the feeling
suddenly got stronger and he had to stop. He looked around again and down at
his new home far below where the dragons were flying. Then he swung his head
up, the feeling was to keep going up and it was getting stronger all the time.
I’ll keep going down and see what happens.

He didn’t get far again before
the feeling overwhelmed him and he had to grab hold till it stopped. There was
sweat pouring off his face giving it a wipe with his arm. He had no vest as it
was very hot even up this high. That was not the cause of the sweat it was the
feeling, he must go up.

Angel looked up and started
heading back up and he didn’t stop till the sun was at its highest point.
Stopping he looked down and now could not see the dragons flying around, he was
high. He was not worried but he would have to start down soon if he was to make
it back before night.

Having a quick bite he carried
on. He could see a large gap up ahead and was soon there. Climbing into the gap
he found it opened up into a passage that led through the mountain. Seeing
light at the other end and deciding to look and see what was there.

He came out the other side to a
large rift in the mountain and it was deep and wide. The rift had spilt the
mountain but Angel couldn’t see the end of it in one direction but where he had
come out was this end of it. There was a bit of a track leading off to the left
with no way of going to the right so deciding he would follow the path to the
left.

He had only just started around
the track when he heard some loud screaming, stopping for he knew that sound,
Fire Lizards. They looked like little dragons but could not fly, but they could
climb very well. He was about to turn and head back when another noise stopped
him dead. It was a dragon a young dragon, but up here that’s not possible.

He was trying to decide whether
to go back or see if it was a young dragon, but a young dragon out here in the
wild. He had never heard of that happening before and he would have, with his
mother being head dragon rider. He moved along the path very slowly and heard
the noise again, closer this time.

Just getting to where the path
turned a corner he heard the young dragon noise again, it was close. He poked
his head around and there on the path which ended on a ledge was a young
dragon. Not just a young dragon but a black one, he stood there and looked. It
was half again in height over him and could only just fit on the ledge. The
dragon was a black with silver scaling running down the back. The head had two
white horns on top with smaller ones just under the chin and the eyes a silvery
white.

Angel could see it had not seen
him but was looking over the edge of the ledge and down. He then heard the Fire
Lizards and he could tell there was more than one. He looked at the dragon
again and could see a little cut in the wing on this side. That would stop a
young dragon from flying, as the air would tear through it and stop the lift.

Suddenly the young dragon turned
and looked right at him. ‘Hello’ Angel looked around but could see no one. Then
the greeting came again and this time Angel knew where it was coming from, the
dragon.

‘Hello’ said Angel staring at the
dragon, not thinking of anything else to say.

Then in his mind again. ‘Can you
help me I can’t fly?’

Angel started to go closer to the
dragon as he spoke. ‘Can I come closer and have a look?’

Again the young dragon in his
mind. ‘Please come, but quickly, the Fire Lizards are very close.’

Moving close to the dragon he
could see she had been here for a while as there were droppings on the ground
and she had not been able to clean herself. He had been able to tell it was a
female because the voice in his mind was female.

‘Can you help me?’ Her plea came
again, but this time more frantic.

He looked at the wing and touched
the tear. The dragon would feel no pain in this part of the wing. ‘The tear is
bad but when I would play with the young dragons at the Hatchery I carry needle
and tread in case one of the little ones tore their wings. I have the kit still
in my belt pouch.’

‘Thank you, I could feel you
climbing the mountain and tried to call to your mind but could not get through.
Your thoughts were very muddled, but you came. Thank you.’ She was looking at
what he was doing as she had been speaking to him.

He carried on fixing the tear as
he talked to her. ‘I’ve only just moved in down below the mountain. You’re
lucky I decided to climb up here today.’

‘No this was meant to be, like I
was not meant to be here. My grandfather would not be happy. We are not to be
near humans. We have hidden for years and my grandfather has hidden even
longer, so he wouldn’t be happy.’ She turned away after telling him this.

The tear was almost closed up and
Angel had just put the last stitch in and was about to paint glue onto the tear
that would finish it, when there came some scratching noise from just over the
side of the ledge. Angel stopped and stuck his head over to see how far the
Fire Lizards were. He quickly pulled it back as a little lizard head appeared
and looked at them.

Angel, without thinking gave it a
kick and saw the lizard go flying down into the rift. Quickly brushing the glue
onto the tear they now had to wait for the glue to dry before she could fly. He
went to the side again to see where the others were and could see time was
running out for there were another four Fire Lizards and they would be at the
top at the same time.

‘Quickly now, you should be able
to fly, quickly before they get here.’ Telling her in a load voice, as he moved
away.

‘Thank you.’ She looked at him
and gave a blink of her eyes and as she leapt into the rift and spread her
wings.

He could see her falling down and
down when all of a sudden her wings caught the air currents, she soared
upwards. Angel could see the grace in her wing movement as she flapped them in
the air. She soared up above the ledge where he was and flew around close to
him.

Then in his mind came a warning.
‘Fire Lizards’

He turned and looked around him
and while he had been mesmerized with her flying the Fire Lizards had climbed
onto the ledge and now he was trapped. There was one up the path so he couldn’t
get back that way. The others just on the edge coming his way.

He backed up against the mountain
and could not think of what to do. Panic began to take over his mind when there
was a call in his mind. ‘Leap now.’

He didn’t think but just did it;
he jumped into the rift over the heads of the Fire Lizards and into midair. He
was spread eagled in the air thinking, I’m flying but why am I yelling at the
top of my lungs.

Just as panic came into his mind
a black shape come up under him and he heard her voice in his mind. ‘Grab hold
quickly.’

He grabbed her around the neck
and held on. After a time his thoughts come free and he realized he was still
screaming and stopped. Now he could think more clearly, she had saved him. She
might only be a little bigger than him but she was strong and was able to easily
carry him.

She kept going down for a little
yet before she was able to glide. She was not use to carrying anything on her
back before. She was strong enough it was just new to her. She turned her head
to Angel and spoke. ‘Thank you for my life. I had been on the ledge there for
four days before you turned up to help me. Thank you.’

Angels mind had settled down now
as he moved around. ‘I’ll just move into a better position as where I am now is
not good for you. Thanks for saving my life back there. With me dropping on you
like that it would have been hard for you to catch me. So again thank you.’

After he settled himself into a
better position for both of them he could look around at where he was. It was
now mid afternoon and he would have to be going home soon or he would be missed
and they would send dragons out looking for him.

He wandered what her name was.
‘My name was given to me by my Grandfather and he tells me it is a very old
name and means Princess of Night, I am NightAura.’

Angel thought about it for a time
and said. ‘Yes it fits you, I’m Angel. My mother would never tell me why she
went against tradition using the single word name instead of the two word names
like all other Dragon Riders and their families have.

NightAura turned her head and looked
at him. ‘She was right to call you that as to me you where an Angel coming to
rescue me, for only an Angel would have done that.’

‘You have Angels in myths as well
do you?’ said Angel as he looked into her deep white eyes.

‘They have been in our legends
always and it means someone who stands over us in times of need, and there you
were. You were my Angel when I needed you most and is a fitting name for you.’
She turned her head away.

Angel was quite for a time and
soon found it was starting to get late. ‘NightAura I must get home before they
send out dragons to look for me can you fly me close to home without getting
seen.

‘I’ll take you now; can you show
me where to go?’ She turned her head and looked at him.

‘Can you go back and take me thru
the passage in the mountain as I think it was big enough for you to fly
through.’ He turned to look back and see if he could see the gap.

She turned in the air heeding
back into the rift, her wing just gliding through the air. As they came to the
end of the rift, NightAura headed for the gap. ‘Hold on, this will be tight.’

They headed straight for the
cliff when she did a sharp turn that took them into the passage. Angel held on
for dear life as she screamed into the passage and out the other side. They
shot out of the passage so fast they went far out from the mountain.

'Quick NightAura back in close to
the mountain in case there are dragons still flying around my home down below.’
A worried sound in his voice, as he looked all around.

She quickly turned and headed in
close. They descended close to the mountain till Angel could see his home far
down below. ‘NightAura, if you go over that side of the house, you will see
some caves there where you can put me down and we could meet.

The dragon cave by Angel’s new house
was underneath it and so his mother and brothers dragons would not be able to
see them. They found the cave Angel had seen on the way up and upon looking at
it more closer found it to be a good size and not too high for Angel and
NightAura to meet.

Landing in the cave he checked
her tear in the wing. ‘The tear is good and holding but you must get back to
your home, is it far from here?’

She looked into his eyes as she
spoke. ‘It is in the mountains and will not take me long to get home. When will
I see you again?’

‘We can meet here anytime you
like as I will not be going to school for a couple of years so we will have
plenty of time if you talk to my mind I will know you are here and come and see
you.’ He gave her a rub under the ear and said goodbye.

NightAura looked at him and in
Angels mind was joy and a thank you. She jumped into the air and went straight
up till she was just a small dot in the sky. He turned and worked his way down
home. When he got there no one was home yet so he started to get the meal
ready. There was a smile on his face as he did this for he rode a dragon and it
didn’t hate him. Suddenly it dawned on him what he just thought, she didn’t
hate him.

Angel was in a really good mood
and started humming a tune as he got things ready for there evening meal. As he
was humming away he did not hear the dragon of his mother coming in so when she
walked in the door, it gave him a fright. She could see she had given him a
fright, but didn’t say anything for the look of happiness on his face which she
had not seen for a couple of days and she smiled.

‘Angel I‘ve brought someone with
me to see you; we thought it would be better to have given you a couple of days
to settle in before talking to you.’

‘Who have you brought to see me
and why?’ An air of uncertainty in his voice as he looked behind her.

Gavrie was standing behind his
mother. ‘Hello Angel I hope you are feeling a little more relaxed here away
from the dragons?’

‘I am feeling better and thank
you for jumping in to save me the other day.’ Speaking as he came over greeting
Gavrie.

Tish showed Gavrie to a set and
asked Angel to come over and join them. He could tell by the look on his
mothers face what Gavrie was here for was important. Sitting down beside his
mother he gave her a look, not understanding why she wanted to speak to him.

‘Gavrie is here to talk to you
about your magic and what is going to happen now.’ Looking into his face as she
told him to see if there would be any reaction to what she just said.

Angel gave Gavrie a look and
turned back to his mother. ‘What is going to happen now I won't be a dragon
rider like you?’

Before she could say anything
Gavrie stood. ‘You have come on your magic early, too early as magic does not
appear in a child till they are 14 or 15 years old. You are still too young to
come to the Wizard School and so must stay home but your magic must be
controlled.’

A look fear came over his face as
he looked into their faces. ‘Controlled what do you mean?’

‘It’s alright it’s not bad I will
come every six days and will show you ways to relax and feel your magic, for
you need to feel the channels that have opened up in you. When you know these
magic channels you are then able to control them and your magic.’ He spoke in a
calm and controlled voice not wonting to scare him.

Tish could see he was having
trouble understanding what Gavrie was saying. ‘Gavrie is just going to show you
some exercises of the mind that will show you your magic. All wizards must go
through this. It will be harder for you as you are younger.’