The Last of the Firedrakes (3 page)

Perfect for reading.

As I walked further into the gigantic library, I looked over to the wall at the very end of the room and was immediately mesmerized. The entire wall at the far end was covered with a huge tapestry that dominated the whole space. It was a delicate and elaborate weave, depicting a dark forest surrounding a crystal-clear lake, with a magical castle glistening in the distance.

Now I was positive that this was my favorite room in the house. I turned back to the bookshelves. Redstone Manor had an excellent collection.

Where to start? The walls of the enormous room were packed from top to bottom with shelves, filled with a seemingly countless array of books. Some were newly bought, and some looked as though they must have come with the house many centuries ago. This was like a dream come true.

Just as I found the complete Chronicles of Narnia, I heard someone at the door. I don’t know what came over me, but I panicked and dove behind one of the large leather armchairs. I knew I was not doing anything wrong—just borrowing a book—but I still felt spooked.

I peered out from behind my hiding place, feeling immensely stupid.

It was my Uncle Christopher. I tensed. Maybe he had come down to choose a book himself? That seemed like a reasonable explanation. I was about to come out from behind the chair and announce myself when I realized that he wasn’t going towards the books, but towards the tapestry.

What was he up to?

My uncle stood unmoving in front of the tapestry and stared at it. I stayed where I was because I had no idea what he was doing and I didn’t want to startle him. He might get angry. I looked over towards the double doors of the library. They were shut, and there was no way I could leave the room without Uncle Christopher noticing.

So I crouched and waited.

My uncle was definitely acting very oddly. That was clear when he held out his arms, palms facing outward and touched the tapestry. As he did that I felt a breeze enter the room.

I turned to the windows, but they were shut. A rustling noise startled me and I looked back towards my uncle. My mouth fell open, as I stared mutely at the scene unfolding in front of my eyes.

The tapestry on the wall was shimmering like moonlight on water, while the rustling noise and the breeze were coming from inside it. I spotted the bushes in the tapestry moving slightly, and sudden, strange ripples started forming in the fabric, expanding from the middle, like when you throw a pebble in a pond. Quite unexpectedly, a big booted leg and an arm came through the tapestry. Slowly, finally, a whole body emerged.

I had to clap my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from gasping aloud. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A big, bearded, rough-looking man in a battered fur-lined black cloak, with a patch over one eye and a massive sword that swung at his rather large waist, had just stepped out of the tapestry, and into the library of Redstone Manor.

Everything happened so quickly, I couldn’t even think. I knew I should say something and excuse myself, but then my uncle might think I was spying on him. So I decided to remain where I was for the moment. In fact, I was too fascinated to do anything more than crouch behind the large leather armchair and see what happened next.

Finally the stranger spoke. “Christopher, do you have the girl?” he said, his voice a deep rumble. He looked mean, with a patch over one eye and numerous scars, which crisscrossed his bearded face.

For a moment I wondered what had happened to him to disfigure him so. But then my thoughts whirled quickly back to the main question clamoring in my head. How on earth did he appear out of the tapestry? Then more questions whirled through my confused mind. What was on the other side? Who was this man? And what girl were they talking about?

“Lord Oblek,” said Christopher, bowing slightly to the black-cloaked man. “I have brought her.”

The rough-looking man called Oblek stared at my uncle, his one good eye widening in expectation. “Is she here, in the house?” he said.

“Yes,” Christopher replied, quickly stepping back.

I could tell my uncle was nervous.

I couldn’t understand who or what they were talking about, but I started to get a really bad feeling that I wasn’t going to like it.

“Are you sure she’s the right one?” Uncle Christopher asked.

“Yes, of course I’m sure,” said Oblek, in a condescending tone. “Would I have wasted years of my life searching for her, only to find the wrong girl? Come on, Christopher, you know I am smarter than that. Imagine my delight when I found out she was your niece. Well, your adopted niece anyway.”

My uncle Christopher nodded and dabbed his perspiring head with a purple handkerchief.

I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. They were talking about me. Uncle Christopher had no other nieces that I knew of. Why would this strange man be looking for me? This made no sense.

Oblek grinned and clasped his hands together. “Finally I will deliver the girl to the queen and she will reward me beyond all imagination.”

“Yes, yes, you can do what you like with her,” smirked Christopher, “but not before you pay me my fee. It has become quite considerable now, seeing as I will have to answer many questions about her when she’s gone.”

Gone? Where was I going?

“You’ll get your money,” said the wily Oblek. “But only after I have the girl in my possession. When is the earliest you can get her to me?”

“Arianna will bring her down here at midnight,” said Christopher.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that Aunt Arianna was involved in this. She wanted to get rid of me ever since I moved in with her, but I thought Uncle Christopher liked me. I couldn’t believe how wrong I was. There was absolutely no one I could trust.

Suddenly my foot cramped. I gasped, clutched at it, and started rubbing, but I had to change my position. I moved ever so slowly, adjusting myself behind the armchair, but it was a futile attempt. My shuffling had created a noise, and I knew I had been heard.

“Someone’s here,” said Oblek, whirling round, his hand on the hilt of his massive sword.

I moved backwards, but there was nowhere to go. I was trapped.

Christopher came over quickly, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up from my crouching position.

“Don’t you know that it’s bad manners to eavesdrop, young lady?” said my uncle, angrily. His floppy gold hair was a mess; he was fuming, and his glasses were steaming up.

“What have we here?” asked Lord Oblek, his one beady, black eye fixating on me with a scrutinizing glare as he walked slowly towards me.

“It’s the girl you have been searching for, my lord,” said Uncle Christopher, with a slimy smile on his reddened face. He pulled me along towards Oblek, clutching my arm with his bony fingers, which bit into my skin like needles.

“Hey, that hurts,” I said, trying to pull my arm free from his grasp, but he didn’t let go.

“So, it seems your work has been done for you, Christopher. She has been delivered to us of her own accord,” said Oblek, his arms crossed across his chest.

“I’m not a package to be delivered anywhere,” I said through gritted teeth. “You have the wrong girl. I don’t even know you.”

“Ah, but I know you, Aurora Firedrake,” said Oblek.

“What nonsense. That’s not even my name. I’m Aurora Darlington,” I insisted. “I told you, you have the wrong girl.”

Lord Oblek ignored me and spoke to my uncle. “She has a strong likeness to her father—the same dark hair and green eyes of the Firedrakes. She is definitely the one. I don’t know how she stayed hidden all these years, but she is Azaren’s only child. I am sure of it.”

My mind reeled with the implications of this revelation. I longed to know who my real parents were, and this person here seemed to know them, however dangerous he looked.

“Let go of my arm,” I said to Christopher, trying to twist out of his vise-like grip.

He just laughed at me and held on tighter, so I punched him in the stomach, and he released me, momentarily stunned as he bent over. I took my chance and made a dash for the door, but my uncle recovered quickly, caught me again and slapped me across my face. My neck whipped to one side with the force of the blow. I had lost my chance, and Uncle Christopher dragged me back to Oblek, who stood watching all this calmly.

“Interesting!” said Oblek, coming closer to me and staring me down. “A feisty little thing, isn’t she? I must get her to the queen immediately; there is no time to waste.”

What queen? What the hell was this guy going on about? Why was he after me? And where did he want to take me?

He stepped closer to me, and I instinctively shrank away. His breath was rancid, and his rotting teeth grinned at me through the mess of his black beard.

“You’re not taking her anywhere until you get me my money,” Christopher said, holding on to me like a lottery ticket. He started edging away from Oblek, towards the door, pulling me along with him. “I want what I was promised.”

“And you can’t take me anywhere I don’t want to go,” I added for good measure. Not that it was any help.

“Oh, you’ll get what you deserve,” said Oblek, an evil grin spreading across his hideous, scarred face. Faster than I could follow, Oblek raised his right hand, and white bolts of light shot out from his palm, hitting Christopher squarely in the chest. His grip loosened immediately on my arm, and my uncle crumpled to the floor like an empty sack.

Oblek closed the space between us in a trice. “And you, my dear, don’t have a choice,” said Oblek, as he closed his big, beefy hand around my arm.

I stared at the crumpled form of my uncle on the floor. He looked dead. Did this weird guy just shoot white light from his palms?

“You killed him?” I gasped, still shocked at what I had witnessed.

“It doesn’t matter. I just needed him out of the way,” said Oblek, not giving Uncle Christopher another thought.

All this was happening so fast; I couldn’t understand what this had to do with me. I wanted to find out more about my real parents, but I didn’t want to go anywhere with this horrible person. Who knows what he had planned for me?

“I’m not coming with you,” I said, trying to pull away from him. “You’re a monster.” But he held my arm in an even tighter grip than my uncle had.

Oblek laughed. “You haven’t seen anything yet, girl,” he said. “Where you’re going, monsters will be the least of your problems.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice cracking. My legs felt shaky, and I was now bordering on the edge of panic. Where was he taking me?

“You will find out soon enough,” Oblek said, grinning.

He pulled me towards the tapestry that shimmered as soon as he touched it with his palm.

I felt like my life had just shattered all over again. My parents were gone, my uncle had just sold me like a slave, and there was no one to help me, no one on my side. I was alone, I was in trouble, and I had absolutely no idea what to do. It was all too much, I couldn’t help it; I burst into tears just as Oblek yanked my arm and pulled me into the magical, shimmering tapestry.

3

Kidnapped

For a second that felt like a lifetime, everything stopped; I felt like I was floating in nothingness. Then I blinked, and, when I finally opened my eyes and focused again through the tears, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I found myself standing at the mouth of a small cave situated on a hill and overlooking a quiet, moonlit valley. On my left, a dark forest stretched out as far as the eye could see, treetops glistening silver in the light of the full moon. The hills around us undulated into wildflower-filled meadows that lay sleeping in the dewy night.

Far down in the valley, I could see a little village, its lights twinkling in the distance. To my right, a waterfall splashed playfully into a small river that ran down into a lake, next to which the little village was built. The moon here was fuller and larger than I had ever seen it, and the night sky was awash with a fantastic array of glittering stars.

Had I passed through the tapestry? Where was I?

I looked around, disbelief clouding my judgment. I was still trying to get my bearings after that strange moment when I had been inside the tapestry and nowhere at the same time. It gave me a funny feeling, as though I had been lifted out of my own consciousness and then put back into my body.

A warm breeze brushed past my face and played with my hair. Gone were the cloudy grey mist and the cold, nipping wind of the English countryside. I drew in a sharp breath—the air was crisp and clear, sweet smelling, and fresh. The moonlit valley was filled with fruit trees, wildflowers, and rolling meadows.

“How did we come here? Where are we?” I asked, still confused.

“You really are ignorant,” said Oblek, glancing at me. “I take it your uncle didn’t tell you anything?”

I shook my head and looked down. Oblek had tied my hands with a rope he had with him while I was still dazed and looking around. It was humiliating, and the rough ropes cut into my wrists, rubbing them raw every time he pulled me forward.

I had to find some way out of this. And, at the moment, the only thing I could do was discover more about where I was. Then, when I got an opportunity, I could escape and find my way back up to the cave on the hill, where we had arrived out of the tapestry.

But then what?

Christopher was probably dead, and Aunt Arianna would doubtless blame me for everything since I had disappeared at the same time. I had no idea what to do. I didn’t really want to go back, and, now that my adoptive parents were dead, I had nothing to return to.

I was starting to panic. I had nowhere to go, and my mind was imagining an array of horrible outcomes of my kidnapping. My palms had become sweaty, and my racing heart was thundering in my chest as I half-walked and half-ran, desperately trying to keep up with Oblek’s giant strides.

“Why are you doing this?” I pleaded with my kidnapper.

But Lord Oblek said nothing. He didn’t even look at me. He just kept walking ahead and dragging me along behind him, with no more explanations as to what he was planning to do with me.