01 Wing Warrior (15 page)

‘Are they scared of people?’

‘People can be dangerous.’

Glass picked up a stone. It had been polished from being in the river for a long time, and its dark surface shimmered in the sunlight. Reflections in the stone were like black graveyard spirits. ‘Has the world gone bad?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know if bad is the right word. It’s changed. A lot of people think change is bad, but who really knows?’

‘What do you think?’

‘I think the world has always been a dangerous place, we just didn’t always see it.’

Glass nodded, still holding the black stone like it was an ancient treasure, and stared into the flowing waters of the stream. The water was very shallow and full of tiny fish. The more she looked, the more fish she could see. ‘Did the dragons ever really go away? Or did we just forget how to see them?’

Onyx lifted his head for a moment, looking to the West. Nimbus followed the horse’s gaze, but the uneven ground made it hard to see very far. A cold chill ran down his spine, but he ignored it, turning his attention back to Glass.

‘Are you ready to meet Cumulo?’ he asked.

Glass dropped her stone into the stream. The fish scattered in an explosion of silver, making beautiful flickering patterns. ‘Who’s Cumulo?’ she said.

‘Cumulo is a friend of mine.’

‘What sort of friend?’

‘The... the dragon kind.’

‘You’re friends with a dragon?’

‘Sort of. I found him.’

‘When?’

‘Yesterday. In the cave. He was guarding a suit of armour.’

‘But you said...’

‘I know. I’m sorry. I told you there was nothing down there, but I lied. I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t want anyone else to know until I’d had a chance to figure out what to do.’

‘What about Tide? Tide said there was nothing in the cave. Was he lying too?’

‘Tide doesn’t know anything. I haven’t told him.’

Glass’s brow wrinkled. She scratched her head thoughtfully. ‘You’ve never lied to me before.’

‘I know.’ Nimbus stood, brushing dust from his clothes. ‘I didn’t want to, but I had to protect Cumulo. If people know about him they might hurt him.’

‘But I won’t.’

Nimbus ruffled Glass’s hair. ‘I know you won’t. You’re a good girl.’

‘Then why didn’t you tell me?’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘No it’s not, you’re just saying that.’

‘I guess, I wasn’t thinking straight.’

‘That’s not true either.’

She stared up at him, and he could see the hurt in her eyes. She was right. He was still lying. When did lying get so easy?

Taking a deep breath, he tried one last time to explain himself.

‘I messed up, Glass. I made a fool of myself trying to catch that stupid fish, and then Tide made me look like a wimp. I got us completely lost. Then I went down in that cave and I found something that nobody else knew about. It was just for me. I guess I was trying to prove something.’

‘Prove what?’

‘That I’m not completely useless. That there was something that I could do that Tidal couldn’t. I don’t know. I was stupid.’

‘You got that right.’

He crouched down, resting a hand on her shoulder. ‘So, do you forgive me?’

She grinned. ‘I suppose so. But you owe me, big time.’

He returned her smile. ‘Come on then, let’s get out of here.’

‘You’re taking me to see a dragon?’ Her eyes grew wider and brighter. ‘I’m going to see a real dragon?’

‘That’s right. But we have to go now.’ He took her hand and led her back to Onyx, who was standing stock–still and watching the West expectantly. Nimbus suddenly became aware of the sound of hooves.

‘What’s that?’ Glass asked.

Eight horsemen had appeared on the horizon, moving at speed. Nimbus quickly lifted Glass up into the saddle.

‘What is it?’ Glass asked.

‘Landmark soldiers,’ Nimbus replied, climbing up into the saddle and pulling Onyx around. ‘And two other soldiers carrying the symbol of Lord Citrine on their chests.’

‘Do you think they’ll help us?’

Nimbus clenched his fingers on the reins. ‘I don’t think so. We’re horse thieves, remember?’

‘But you said we were only borrowing Onyx!’

‘I said there was nothing in that cave too.’

He dug his heels into Onyx’s flanks and the horse jumped forwards, leaping the bubbling stream.

‘Hold on tight,’ Nimbus said, getting lower in the saddle. His voice was almost lost in the tearing wind as he urged Onyx to greater speeds. ‘I’m going to have to go really fast.’

Glass clutched him tightly, and buried her face against his arm. He looked back at the soldiers. They were much closer than he had first thought, and they were gaining ground.

‘I hope this horse is as fast as the mayor says it is,’ he said, through gritted teeth.

Onyx snorted angrily. Of course he wasn’t as fast as the mayor said he was.

He was faster.

The ground flew by underneath; rocks, grass, branches, shrubs, leaves, all speeding by in a blur. Nimbus pressed his knees into Onyx’s sides, got as low as he could behind the horse’s neck, and tightened his grip on the reins. Glass whimpered.

Everything was going so fast, Nimbus could barely see. His eyes were watering, and his teeth were clenched so hard he thought they might break. His knuckles were white, his back arched, his legs locked in position. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stop Onyx from galloping now, even if he wanted to.

Branches slapped against his shoulders and face, leaving stinging red marks on his skin. Onyx brayed and snorted, clattering over stones and down rutted embankments.

Nimbus risked another look over his shoulder. The soldiers were beginning to drop back. Their horses weren’t good enough to keep up with Onyx. Nimbus would have thrown his arms in the air triumphantly if he hadn’t been so afraid of falling.

The Forbidden Woods loomed ahead. If Nimbus could make it that far he could lose the soldiers in the undergrowth. He would be safe.

Glass would be safe.

Suddenly a fallen tree appeared in the path. With no time to go around, Onyx bounded into the air, missing the rotting trunk by mere inches and slamming down hard on the other side. His hooves skidded in the mud and his front legs buckled. ‘Hold on to me,’ Nimbus shouted, as the world spun crazily.

Glass screamed.

And after that everything became too jumbled and muddled to remember.

***

When Nimbus opened his eyes, he was lying on his back in the dirt with his arms wrapped around Glass protectively. Tall trees, full of birds, towered over him. There was no sunlight here, just the cool, dark mystery of the Forbidden Woods.

‘We made it,’ he whispered. ‘We made it.’

‘Not quite,’ a voice said.

Nimbus sat up, shaking his head. It felt like the world was still spinning beneath him. He wanted to be sick. Glass groaned and clung to him even more tightly.

Onyx was standing under a tree looking sheepish. Seven men in armour were standing around him with their swords drawn. An eighth soldier, the one who had spoken, was sitting on a tree stump watching Nimbus closely.

‘I know you,’ Nimbus said, rubbing the back of his head. ‘You’re Captain Obsidian.’

‘That’s right,’ the soldier said. ‘And I know you. You’re the miller’s son.’

‘Nimbus.’

‘The troublesome one.’ Obsidian removed his helmet and wiped sweat off his forehead. A very sharp–looking sword was resting on the tree stump beside him. ‘You’re the one who went missing a few days ago.’

‘That’s me,’ Nimbus said. ‘Glass, are you okay?’

There were tears streaming down her face. ‘I’m okay,’ she said.

‘No thanks to you,’ Obsidian said. ‘You could have killed her. You’re too young to be handling a horse like Onyx. What were you thinking?’

Nimbus stood. Glass stayed close beside him, holding his hand.

Very slowly, Obsidian took his sword and placed it across his knees. The blade glistened sickeningly. ‘You are aware, are you not, that the horse standing over there is the property of the mayor and has been reported as stolen?’

‘Oh, we didn’t steal it,’ Glass said. ‘We borrowed it.’

‘Of course. And I suppose when you were done with it, you were just going to take it right on back to the mayor and say thanks.’

‘That’s right,’ Nimbus said. He thought for a moment. ‘Actually we probably wouldn’t have said thanks. We probably would have just sneaked it back when nobody was looking.’

Obsidian ran his finger up and down the hilt of his sword. ‘Are you aware that stealing the property of an elected official is punishable by death?’

Nimbus gulped. A hard granite ball of fear was wedged in his throat, and no amount of swallowing would shift it. ‘I... Actually... I just want you to know my sister had nothing to do with this.’

Obsidian’s gaze flickered from Nimbus to Glass. She was such a small girl, so fragile, so frightened. ‘Are you saying you acted entirely alone in this venture?’ he asked.

‘I am.’

‘And the girl is here because..?’

‘She...’ Nimbus licked his lips. It was uncomfortably quiet under the canopy of woodland leaves, and it seemed to be getting quieter by the second. ‘She followed me,’ he said.

‘So you stole this horse by yourself?’

Nimbus nodded.

‘He didn’t,’ Glass said.

‘I did,’ Nimbus confirmed.

‘He didn’t.’

Nimbus squeezed Glass’s hand hard enough to make her realise she should keep quiet. ‘I worked alone,’ he growled. ‘My sister is innocent.’

Obsidian motioned to soldiers standing by Onyx. ‘Private Fish, Private Cage. Take the girl and the horse back to the village.’

‘Yes, Captain.’

‘Return the horse to the mayor, and the girl to her family.’

‘Yes, Captain.’

The two soldiers approached.

‘Nim?’ Glass said, clinging on to his arm. ‘Nim, what’s going on?’

‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘You have to let go now. No–one’s going to hurt you.’

She released his arm. ‘What about you? Is anybody going to hurt you?’

Nimbus shrugged, the sad gesture of a boy resigned to whatever fate awaited him. ‘I don’t know,’ he said.

‘Can your dragon friend help?’

In a second Obsidian was on his feet, sword in hand. ‘What dragon?’ he snapped.

Nimbus lowered his head. ‘She’s talking rubbish. You know what girls are like. Everything’s a fairie tale to them. She believes in Prince Charming too.’

Obsidian took a step nearer. ‘I think I’d like to hear more about this dragon.’

‘It’s a stupid child’s fantasy.’

‘Well, maybe your sister isn’t the only person who believes in fairie tales.’

‘She’s making it up,’ Nimbus said, agitatedly. ‘There are no dragons any more.’

‘Well,’ Obsidian smiled a wide, open smile that didn’t quite fit the look in his black eyes. ‘Why don’t we just see what the girl has to say about that, shall we?’

Private Fish scooped up Glass in his huge arms. At the same time, Cage and Obsidian pounced at Nimbus. Nimbus was quicker than they had expected, and he ducked out of the way, throwing a punch that hit Cage in the side of the head so hard his helmet span right around.

As Cage stumbled blindly, Nimbus darted behind him and snatched his sword. The weapon was no way near as heavy as the Wing Warrior sword, and Nimbus found he was able to use it quite comfortably, swinging it at any of the soldiers who got too close.

‘Keep back,’ he screamed. ‘Keep back, and put down my sister.’

‘You’re only making this harder on yourself,’ Obsidian said.

‘Stay away from me.’

‘You’re outnumbered. You’re surrounded. You can’t win this fight. Give up.’

‘Never.’

‘Put down the sword, or I’ll take it from you.’

‘Just try it.’

Obsidian moved fast, knocking the sword out of Nimbus’s hand as he barrelled into him. Nimbus cried out as he was lifted clean off his feet and then smashed down on his back in the dirt.

He coughed and wheezed as he struggled for breath, but made no effort to get up.

‘Right,’ Obsidian said, sheathing his own sword. ‘Get the girl out of here, and return the horse to the mayor.’

Cage took a moment to straighten his helmet and retrieve his sword. ‘Yes, Captain,’ he muttered, before mounting his horse and leading Onyx out of the woods. Fish, with Glass in the saddle with him, followed close behind.

Nimbus watched them leave, his face red with anger. ‘You better not hurt her,’ he said.

‘We wouldn’t dream of it,’ Obsidian said, returning to his seat on the tree stump. ‘You, on the other hand, have the small matter of a death sentence to deal with.’

Nimbus sat with his knees pulled up to his chest. The other five soldiers, three of the Landmark garrison and two dressed in the armour of the Crystal Shine palace guard, were watching him intently, as though they expected him to do something special. ‘You’re really going to kill me for taking the mayor’s stupid horse?’ he asked.

‘Maybe. Maybe not. First, why don’t you tell us why you took it?’

‘I needed it.’

‘Why?’

‘I had to see something with my own eyes.’

‘You mean the fort?’

‘Have you seen it too? Are you helping the people?’

One of the palace soldiers shrugged. ‘We’re doing what we can for them, but it’s hard when we don’t know what happened.’

‘Did you see a dragon at the fort?’ Obsidian asked.

‘There are no dragons.’

‘Did you know a dragon was going to be there?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Ah. So there was a dragon there?’

‘No... I mean... There was...’

‘Why did you go to the fort, Nimbus?’

‘Because...’ Nimbus ran through several possible answers in his head before deciding that there was nothing he could say that wouldn’t make him sound like a villain or a lunatic. He decided lunatic was the lesser of two evils. ‘I had a dream. I dreamed something terrible had happened, and I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it.’

‘Be honest, Nimbus. You knew about the dragon, didn’t you?’

‘Strange things have been happening recently. There are...’

‘There are what?’

‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. But everything seems different at the moment. The tidal wave hitting the village, people going missing. They’re bad omens. They’re signalling the coming of something even worse.’