Authors: Mark Robson
Aurora
SIMON AND SCHUSTER
First published in Great Britain by Simon and Schuster UK Ltd, 2009
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © Mark Robson 2009
Cover Illustration by David Wyatt © 2009
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Mark Robson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
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London
WC1X 8HB
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-84738-069-2
eBook ISBN 978-1-47111-660-5
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual people living or dead, event or locales is entirely coincidental.
Typeset by Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire
For April.
This is the one you’ve been waiting for –
your very own story.
Two real pilots from The Great War are mentioned in this book – Rittmeister Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (The Red Baron) of Germany, who was arguably the greatest flying
ace of his time, and the Canadian flying ace, Squadron Leader Roy Brown RAF, who was initially credited with shooting him down. No disrespect is intended to the memory of either of these two
individuals, (or their abilities) in this work of fiction. But given the setting for the Dragon Orb series and the nature of the story, the final flight of The Red Baron was too momentous an
occasion to ignore.
Also, many thanks to Ms. Herminder Birdi for lending her expertise on eye conditions, and to Ms. Sam Cushing for her information about blast trauma and Epley’s
manoeuvre.
Also by Mark Robson
Dragon Orb 1: Firestorm
Dragon Orb 2: Shadow
Dragon Orb 3: Longfang
Imperial Spy
Imperial Assassin
Imperial Traitor
Chapter One
Life after death from death before life,
Enter the new age, through deadly strife.
Greatest of orbs is – dragon’s device.
Gifted for ever: life’s sacrifice.
‘Why do you let the night dragon suffer?’
the voice whispered in Aurora’s mind.
‘Are you so cruel that you will not heal her?’
‘Heal her? I have no ability to heal. I am a dawn dragon, not a day dragon,’
Aurora responded indignantly.
‘Who is it that accuses me of letting a fellow dragon
suffer? Show yourself.’
Aurora slowly scanned the great chamber with her huge, amber eyes. Nothing moved. She and the night dragon, Shadow, were still alone in the hall of mirrors. Since becoming separated from the
rest of the party, Aurora and Shadow had waited while the others had moved deeper into the Castle of Shadows searching for the third of four orbs they required to complete their quest. Aurora had
lost contact with Firestorm and Longfang, the two dragons sealed on the other side of the deadly mirror along with the four dragonriders, including her own rider, Elian. Where were they now that
she could not reach them? Were they separated by distance, or by something more sinister? The mirror that separated the two dragons from their friends looked fragile, but Aurora knew better than to
try to break it because it was coated with dragonsbane, rendering it impossible for the dragons to break through without risking a horrible death.
The hallway was still and silent. Her companion, the night dragon, Shadow, was curled in a circle, dozing.
It was a strange coincidence that the dragons should be split into their current pairings. This was not the first time that she and Shadow had become separated from Fire and Fang. They had last
been forced apart a week ago after being chased by Segun and the senior night dragonriders and now, having only been reunited a few hours ago, already they were separated again. It felt almost as
if fate were trying to keep the pairings away from each other.
Their journey from the Oracle’s cave to this desolate sea fortress in the north of Orupee had been harrowing. Dragonhunters had hounded them the entire way. Aurora and Shadow bore multiple
wounds from the hunters’ spears and were weary through lack of rest. Shadow had suffered most. A nasty injury to one of her main wing muscles had made torture of every wingbeat. The day
dragon, Firestorm, had healed Aurora’s injuries earlier, but he could not heal Shadow. A day dragon’s healing fire did not work on night dragons.
‘I was a dragon once, a long time ago,’
the voice continued in Aurora’s mind.
‘A dusk dragon – the leader of my enclave for many years. Is it true that
dawn dragons can no longer heal? I find that hard to believe. You were ever the most gifted ones, blessed with the abilities of day and night dragons, yet also having special powers unique to your
kind. We dusk dragons have never burned with the fire of the sun. Nor can we harness the silence of the night. Ours was ever the shadow gift. But you – you glow with inner fire. Why do you
not use it to heal your companion? I sense she is in much pain.’
‘Even if I could breathe healing fire, why should my efforts be any more effective than those of a day dragon?’
Aurora asked.
‘Besides which, I have no reason to
trust you. This place appears nothing more than a gigantic trap, designed to kill dragons and their riders. Show yourself and I shall be better placed to decide if I should trust
you.’
There was a slight pause. Aurora sensed the owner of the whispering voice considering her request.
‘I cannot come to you now,’
the voice replied.
‘It is too late. Your friends have nearly reached their goal. I must await them here in my chamber if I am to fulfil my
destiny. I have waited a very long time for my final release. You will have to trust me. You cannot breathe healing fire – of course you can’t! But the fire is within
you.’
Aurora snorted with indignation. If she had fire burning inside her, she would know it. The idea that she could somehow not feel the heat of fire inside her body was nonsense. But the voice did
not stop. Its whispering words continued.
‘You glow with the fire constantly,’
it said.
‘Your powers draw from both day and night, and are aligned to both. Unfortunately, we dusk dragons were not similarly
blessed. Day and night dragons are polar opposites. Their abilities have never been compatible. Your powers, however, can be used on both. The only dragon your healing cannot touch is a dusk
dragon, for we are your polar opposites.’
Aurora thought about this. What the voice was saying made a bizarre sort of sense, but still she was no wiser as to how she could help Shadow.
‘What must I do to use this healing power you say I have?’
she asked.
‘I can’t say exactly,’
the voice admitted.
‘I only witnessed a dawn dragon healing once, and it looked as though she concentrated her inner fire on the point of
physical contact she had made with the other dragon. I must go. Your friends are here. My time has come.’
The voice faded. Aurora did not know what to think. Did she dare to try healing Shadow? What if it was another trap and her efforts added further hurt to the night dragon? She reached out with
her mind once more, straining to reach her rider, Elian. It was no use. He was beyond her range. Fang and Firestorm also failed to respond. If they were in the same place as the owner of the voice,
how had he spoken to her when she could not reach her friends? So many questions and so few answers – what should she do?
Shadow twitched and shifted her body position. Aurora watched the night dragon struggle to minimise her discomfort as she sought to rest. She was in awe of Shadow’s resilience. Despite the
obvious agony of her wounds, the night dragon had persevered without complaint. Aurora had never met another dragon with such strength of mind and body.
Moving closer to the huge black dragon, Aurora closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
‘What are you doing?’
Shadow sounded irritated.
‘I want to sleep.’
‘Relax,’
Aurora told her.
‘I want to try something that might help you rest more effectively. It should only take a moment.’
Rather than risk messing with Shadow’s most painful wound, Aurora decided to try her experiment on one of her lesser injuries. The oldest was a deep cut to the night dragon’s
shoulder that Firestorm had cauterised with his hottest fire to prevent Shadow from bleeding to death. The resulting burn had left an ugly mess of distorted and bubbled scales around the original
injury. Aurora doubted it would ever heal properly on its own. Leaning close, she moved her neck around until it made gentle contact against the wound. Drawing her inner light, she tried to focus
on the point of contact.