Shadow (21 page)

‘How?’
Pell asked.

‘Apparently Fang is learning some new hunting tricks from Kira,’
Shadow chuckled.
‘At Kira’s insistence, Fang put all his effort into gaining as much height
as possible. She anticipated our direction of flight based on where the night dragons were coming from and our planned destination. As we set off, the night dragons gave chase. Fang kept climbing
hard, watching as we passed underneath him and waiting until the night dragons committed to their final attacking descent.’

‘Then Fang dropped in on top of them,’
Pell finished.
‘Clever. She used us like bait to draw them in and pounced when all their attention was focused on
us.’

He looked around. The three night dragons were circling now. There was obvious confusion. The two riders were signalling to one another. Pell could not see them well enough to make out their
gestures at this range, but he could guess what they meant. He grinned as he thought how they must be feeling.

The riderless dragon began keening; a high-pitched screech that set Pell’s teeth on edge and sent shivers down his spine.

‘Fang has repeated his order for them to land.’
Shadow sounded smug now.
‘I think they realise they have little choice. They are complying.’

She was right, Pell realised. The three black dragons were descending past them in a tight spiral, the lead dragon still emitting the tortured scream that was making his ears itch to be
plugged.

‘Why is the lead dragon making that horrible noise?’
Pell asked silently.
‘I’ve never heard a dragon make such an awful racket before.’

‘Her rider is injured,’
Shadow explained.
‘She can feel his pain. I think he has a broken ankle. Fang says the rider’s foot got tangled in his stirrup as he
was snatched from the saddle. Fang pulled him free, breaking his ankle in the process. He was lucky not to lose his foot altogether.’

‘Ouch!’
Pell winced, unconsciously loosening his own feet in his stirrups.
‘That’s got to hurt! I can’t say I feel much sympathy, but I wouldn’t
like to be in his boots right now. Has Fang given them any further instructions?’

‘No. Not yet.’

‘Then let’s suggest we order them to stay where they are until midday,’
Pell said thoughtfully.
‘We can tell the dragons that we’ll drop their rider
somewhere northwest of here, but they’re not to begin searching for him until this afternoon. We can say that if we sense them following us early, we’ll kill him.’

Pell put as much conviction into the threat as he could, knowing full well that Shadow was a terrible liar. If she knew he would not follow through with his threat, she would not be convincing.
Shadow relayed the message and, to Pell’s surprise, Fang was quick to implement his idea.

Moments later the others had slipped into formation with Shadow leading the way, while the night dragons continued to spiral downwards. Looking back, Pell saw them land. It was impossible to
tell if the night dragonriders would keep their dragons on the ground until midday, but he felt the warmth of victory spread through him as the shapes of the night dragons dwindled into the
distance. The only niggling cold spot was a hard, knotty fact that nestled deep in his gut: the victory was not really his. It belonged to Kira and Fang.

Chapter Eighteen

‘Hold him down!’ Elian ordered firmly. ‘Sit on him. Do whatever you have to, but keep him still. This is going to hurt.’

Pell pushed the rider to the ground and sat on his chest, pinning the man’s arms against his sides. Kira leaned her full weight across the rider’s thighs and pressed down with all
her might against his knees with her forearms. Nolita kept his head down, cupping his forehead with her palms.

‘What are you doing to me?’ he yelled, panic lending him extraordinary strength as he struggled against the three young dragonriders. ‘Let me go!’

‘I’m going to set your ankle,’ Elian told him, keeping his voice calm. ‘Not even a day dragon’s healing breath will help you unless we get the bones in the right
place first.’

‘I don’t want that day dragon anywhere near me,’ the man gasped. ‘Leave me alone. Get off! AAAArrrrrgggh!’

The rider twisted and writhed as Elian rolled up the man’s trouser leg and began to gently pull at the boot that concealed his damaged ankle. There was a horrible sucking, squelching sound
as the boot began to work loose. A small flood of blood poured from the top as the foot started to come free.

‘KEEP HIM STILL!’

‘Easier said than done,’ Pell grunted, fighting hard to keep the man from twisting out from under him.

‘Ooohhh! That’s not pretty!’ Elian observed, cringing as he finally freed the foot and put the boot aside. ‘The bone isn’t just broken. It’s sticking out
through his skin!’

He grabbed his water bottle and emptied the contents over the wound to wash away the surface blood. The rider’s body bucked like a wild horse as the stream of water triggered a new wave of
pain. Elian felt sick. A glance up at Kira revealed that she had her eyes shut. Her skin looked suspiciously pale. Pell sat on the man’s chest, facing the other way, his body shielding
Nolita’s view. The gruesome task of trying to set the bone fell to Elian. Why do I get all the messy jobs? he wondered. He lifted his water bottle to his lips and let the last few drops
dribble into his mouth before putting it to one side.

‘All right. Here goes,’ he warned.

The grating sound of bone on bone as he pulled and twisted the foot in an effort to realign the ankle was almost drowned out by the man’s screams. Almost. What he could not hear, however,
he could feel. His stomach turned as he fought to get the bones in line. Suddenly the screams stopped as the man lost consciousness. Elian grunted and gave one final twisting pull. The ankle looked
straight, but it was so swollen that it was difficult to tell. It was as good as he could get it.

‘Nolita,’ he gasped, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. His hands were slick with blood. ‘Could you ask Firestorm to do his stuff now? I don’t think
we need to hold him down any more, Pell. He looks unlikely to wake up for a while. Let’s stand back and see what miracles Fire can work.’

Nolita, Pell and Kira were all quick to move away from the unconscious body of the rider, who looked deathly pale against the lush green grass. Elian realised he had neglected to check whether
the rider was still breathing. A man could die of shock under circumstances like these.

Too late to worry about that now, Elian thought, as Firestorm lowered his head and drew in a deep breath.

Elian did not really want to watch, but he could not help himself. He found the blue nimbus of the day dragon’s healing fire mesmerising. Even though he had seen the miraculous healing
effects of Firestorm’s fiery breath before, he realised he was holding his breath as the day dragon breathed his fire across the rider’s leg.

‘Breathe,’ he told himself. As he inhaled he noticed a faint scent in the air. It was sweet, like that of a flower, but with a nutty, woody edge. He had not noticed it before.
Perhaps during previous healings a breeze had carried the smell away, or maybe he had simply been too caught up in the moment. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. A feeling of healthy
energy rushed through him. It was a heady experience.

Even though his eyes were still closed, Elian knew the moment Firestorm stopped breathing out the healing flames. For a moment he had almost felt bonded to the day dragon. It was strange. He was
bonded to Aurora, yet he had felt a connection with the day dragon.

‘Did you feel that, Ra?
’ he asked uncertainly.

‘Feel what?’
she asked.

‘Oh, nothing,’
Elian said quickly.
‘It was probably my imagination running away with itself.’

‘Sounds intriguing. What did you imagine?’

‘Well, this might sound crazy, Ra, but I could’ve sworn that I saw inside Fire’s mind while he was healing the rider. It was almost as if we were bonded, but the link
didn’t feel like ours.’

‘That’s not crazy at all,’
she replied.
‘A day dragon risks much when he heals, for at that moment his mind is vulnerable. If another dragon were to look
into his mind during that moment of weakness, Firestorm would not be able to conceal even his deepest secrets. Our bond is strengthening your mind. Your mental voice has much more power now than
when we first met. It does not surprise me that you were able to reach out to Firestorm when he was at his most open. The scent of the healing fire probably acted as a conduit.’

‘The scent of his fire? Why would that serve to link our minds?’

‘All the senses work in harmony, Elian,’
the dragon said sagely.
‘Quite how our brains work is a mystery. Our senses trigger mental responses rather like reflexes.
It’s not impossible that the smell of the healing fire triggered your mind to reach out. Don’t worry about it. Nothing can replace our bond.’

‘That’s good to know.’

Firestorm stepped back from the unconscious rider and Elian checked the man’s ankle. It looked completely normal now and the man’s breathing was deep and regular. He looked relaxed
and free from pain.

Although it was soaked with blood, Elian put the man’s sock and boot back onto his freshly healed foot. There was no telling how long the man would sleep for. Ra insisted the man’s
dragon would locate him easily by following the pull of their bond, but Elian did not want to take any chances. By night it would be bitterly cold. They did not want him to lose his foot to
frostbite because they had not wrapped it.

The others were in their respective saddles by the time he had finished.

‘Come on, Elian!’ Pell urged, his voice loud and commanding. ‘We haven’t got all day.’

Elian looked around one last time before leaping up Ra’s foreleg and swinging into his saddle. The man was lying on top of a small grassy mound, with a stream nearby, so he would not be
short of water when he awoke. There were occasional trees along the bank of the stream, but no woodland for some distance.

‘He looks very vulnerable there,’
Elian observed to Ra as they launched again.
‘Are there any predators in this part of Areth?’

‘There are predators in every region of Areth,’
Ra replied gravely.
‘But I don’t sense anything in the immediate vicinity. To be honest I will be surprised
if the night dragons wait until midday before following. Don’t worry, Elian. He will not be there for long.’

‘This quest is getting more dangerous by the day, isn’t it?’

‘I never promised you an easy ride, Elian, but don’t you feel it’s better this way? If our task had been to simply fly somewhere, pick up an orb and return it to the
Oracle, what sort of a life purpose would that be? The adventure of life is in the journey, not the destination. Death is the inevitable end for everyone – man and dragon. Without danger on
the way, there is little adventure. I admit we have already encountered times when a little less danger would have been welcome, but I am not complaining. I feel alive, Elian. I feel needed.
Important. Can you feel it too?’

Elian knew exactly what Aurora meant. He had always dreamed of adventure, but the more gruesome elements that went along with danger had never featured in his imagination. It was just as well
that his parents didn’t know what he was doing. Excitement and adventure was one thing, but if they knew the sort of perils he was facing, they would worry themselves into an early grave.

The wind felt good in Elian’s hair as they climbed. He breathed deeply, enjoying the taste of the clean, cold air and banishing thoughts of danger to the very back of his mind. Flying was
so exhilarating. It was a feeling like no other: liberating, exciting and at times deeply spiritual. His bond with Ra made it more so, for without that meeting of minds, riding her might be like
riding on the back of any other animal. The excitement of flying would be there, but it was the bond that made the experience really special.

The landscape had changed drastically from the spectacular peaks of the great central mountain range. Those gigantic rocky heads had faded into the distance and were now little more than purple
hints on the horizon behind them. Ahead the terrain was flat and green, although in winter this entire region would be buried in snow.

Such a scene was hard for Elian to imagine. Even in the depths of the cold season at his home in Racafi the temperature did not drop low enough for snow to fall. In the last two weeks he had
seen snowy peaks on three mountain ranges. It looked beautiful; so pure and white. He wondered what it would feel like to touch. They were heading towards more mountains to find the home of the
griffins. Maybe he would get the chance to touch it there.

During the next three days the four dragons carried their riders a vast distance, flying from early in the morning until late in the evening. The weather held fair. Light winds and sparse cloud
helped their progress, but each day took its toll. The riders slept little and rose weary each morning. The breaks they took felt shorter with each stop. They saw no cities, or even towns. The land
was harsh and forbidding, with little to offer settlers. They did pass over a few small clusters of dwellings and Elian wondered what had possessed the inhabitants to set up home in the middle of
nowhere.