The Opal Quest (7 page)

Tia hurried to a quiet place among the trees. She thought for a moment, wondering what animal to turn into, and imagined herself as an eagle.

The whole world became different! Her eyes were sharper, her hearing keener and she had an urge to soar into the sky. She grasped her bag with her talons, flapped her wings experimentally and then, without knowing how she did it, launched herself into the air. She was flying!

She balanced on the air for a moment, enjoying the sensation of floating high in the sky.
Why aren't I scared of heights now?
she wondered. She didn't know. She wheeled round and flapped her wings, pushing against the air, soaring and circling above the valley.

She soon spotted Finn stretched out on the grass and Loki perched on a rock nearby. She glided down, landed next to her friends and turned back into herself.

‘You got the opal!' Finn said.

Tia laughed, took the collar off and showed her DragonBrother the jewel. Loki hopped up for a closer look, his eyes gleaming almost as brightly as the shimmering opal. Tia quickly put the collar back on.

‘Now I can turn into a bird and fly, we can get to Stoplar much more quickly than by walking.'

Finn looked doubtful. ‘It's a long way and you're not used to flying.'

Tia laughed. ‘It's easy.' It was true: once she'd become an eagle, flying was simple. ‘But if you like I can practise first.'

Before Finn could protest, Tia was an eagle again. She flew upwards – wheeling, stooping, hovering. How could she ever have been afraid of looking down on the world from high above the ground? Flying was glorious.
Maybe
, she thought,
I can turn into a dragon one day.

She swished through the air. Yes, being a dragon would be wonderful! But first she had to fly to Stoplar and steal the topaz from the High Witch Luona.

Tia's adventure continues in

The Topaz Quest

published by A & C Black

February 2013

Tia's adventure begins in

The Emerald Quest

published by A & C Black

Copyright © 2013 A & C Black

Text copyright © 2013 Gill Vickery

Illustrations copyright © 2013 Mike Love

First published 2013 by A & C Black
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square,
London, WC1B 3DP
www.bloomsbury.com

This electronic edition published in March 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing

The right of Gill Vickery and Mike Love to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

eISBN 978-1-4081-8103-4 (e-book)

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