Firestorm (19 page)

‘But you’ll be all right, won’t you?’

‘
Yes, Elian. I’ll be fine. There’s no need to worry. I just need some rest, that’s all.’

Nolita gasped. She wanted to close her eyes, but was terrified that she might fall from the dragon’s back. The view was every bit as spectacular as any she had seen in
Cemaria. Snow-capped mountains dominated the landscape around them. The long drop below set her heart drumming in her chest and, as she gasped great gulps of air, her head spun with vertigo. The
air was crisp and clean, but also freezing cold. A stiff wind was blowing, which cut through her clothing with a cruel bite. She began shivering within a matter of heartbeats after they emerged.
It’s all right for Elian and Kira with their fur-lined clothing, she thought bitterly. Elian’s arms were wrapped around her, but they did little to shield her from the icy blast. She
was going to freeze if they did not find warmer air or shelter quickly. ‘There – the ridge ahead of us,’ Elian said, his voice loud in her ear.

At first she could not see what he was talking about, but as she played her eyes back and forth across the ridge two things suddenly stood out. First she saw a huge dragon. It was staring at
them with bright orange eyes. She shuddered. Its body was black as coal, and lined with vicious-looking ridges and horns that gave it an evil appearance. Near to where the dark beast lurked she
could see a large cave entrance high above the floor of the valley. They were heading directly towards it.

As they began their descent, they encountered one of the many dangers inherent in flying over mountainous terrain. The wind over the rocky landscape had stirred up the layers of air, making it
rough with turbulence.

‘Don’t worry, Nolita. I’ve got you. Hold on tight to the pommel. Everything will be fine, I promise.’ She could hear the note of fear in Elian’s voice and her heart
rate accelerated even further. He had always seemed so calm before. She squeezed the pommel with a death grip and tightened her thighs against the dragon’s sides. For the next few minutes she
was sure she was doomed to fall to her death as the dragon bucked and bounced under them like a wild stallion, intent on throwing them off his back.

Elian’s arms tightened around Nolita’s waist and she clung to his promise. Her mind was blank with fear and sparkling points of light danced in her eyes as her rapid panting flooded
her body with too much oxygen. The dragons and riders fought a dangerous battle through the swirling air currents all the way down to the cave mouth. Nearing the cliff-face, she caught a glimpse of
a young man sitting just inside the entrance with his back against the left-hand wall.

As they approached the ledge in front of the cave, Ra suddenly dropped like a stone, falling rapidly below the level of the entrance. There was a frantic flurry of flapping as Ra dragged them
back up through the vicious down-draft. The landing in front of the mouth of the cave felt clumsy and unbalanced. To Nolita’s surprise, Fang and Firestorm fared little better, arriving in a
most undignified manner on the ledge next to them.

The young man rose. He was tall and muscled, with a classic V-shaped torso and long blond hair tied back into a ponytail. Elian’s arms had relaxed around her waist after they touched down
on the ledge, but she felt them tighten slightly again as the stranger approached. One look at his cold blue eyes, square jaw and thin, curving lips and Nolita sensed Elian’s reaction was one
of wariness, and possibly even dislike. The response struck her as unusual. But this was the least of her worries. Her mind was fixed on one thing – getting down off the beast and as far away
from it as possible.

‘At last!’ the young man said, walking over to Aurora’s side and offering a hand to help Nolita down. ‘I’ve been waiting to see the Oracle for three days. The
Guardians told me I had to wait for more riders. What kept you?’

‘That’s a long story,’ Elian responded, his voice flat. He slid down and landed neatly next to the stranger. ‘Elian, Aurora’s rider,’ he said, offering his
hand in a gesture of greeting.

‘Pell, rider of Whispering Shadow.’ The rider of the night dragon half crushed Elian’s hand with a rock-like grip. ‘We should go in. The Guardians are worried.
There’s something wrong with the Oracle.’

‘So Ra tells me.’ If Elian had possessed hackles they would have been up. There was a cold arrogance about Pell that made Elian want to grind his teeth. ‘Pell, meet
Nolita.’

Pell inclined his head towards Nolita, but addressed his question to Elian. ‘So why’s she riding with you? Are you together?’ he asked pointedly.

‘No. Nothing like that. It’s complicated, so it can wait. This is Kira, rider of Longfang,’ he added as Kira approached. ‘We’ve travelled together from
Racafi.’

‘Good to meet you, Kira,’ he replied, but his greeting held no warmth. ‘Come. We must go in now. Shadow tells me it’s time.’

‘Of course,’ she responded, glancing at Elian as Pell turned to enter the cave mouth without waiting to see if they were following. ‘Lead on,’ she said to his retreating
back. There was an edge to Kira’s voice that set danger bells ringing in Elian’s head, but it felt good to know he was not alone in his initial reaction to Pell.

‘Interesting chap,’ Elian muttered.

Nolita appeared to be in shock from their short ride to the ledge. Elian did not blame her for the reaction. It had been frightening for him, and he had experienced several hours of flying in
calm air first. He and Kira positioned themselves on either side of Nolita, lending her support as they followed Pell into the yawning chasm.

Two Guardians stepped out from either side of the cave to block Pell’s path. One wore mail of silver with a blue tabard sporting a white dragon motif. The other wore armour of black with a
gold tabard bearing a black dragon.

‘Halt!’ the Guardians ordered in unison, crossing their spears in a gesture that was clear. ‘Why do you approach the Oracle?’

Pell stopped and placed his hands upon his hips. ‘It’s my time,’ he responded. ‘Time and past time. The others are here now. Can we enter?’

As Elian, Kira and Nolita approached, the Guardians looked across at each other as if seeking reassurance. A slight noise behind Elian caused him to look around. The dragons were following in
single file, with the fearsome-looking night dragon leading. He hoped Nolita did not look back.

‘The Oracle awaits you,’ the Guardians said together. They turned aside, returning to their positions on either side of the passageway. As Elian watched them resume their posts, he
realised they were dragonriders. Their dragons were there too, watching from great recesses carved into the cave walls.

‘How were the Guardians chosen, Ra?
’ he asked silently.

‘Do I sense you are concerned that
we
may find ourselves in such a role?’
she answered.
‘Do not fear, Elian. We are not suited to such a life-purpose. There is
adventure ahead of us. I feel it.’

‘But they were chosen by the Oracle, weren’t they?’

‘Yes.’

The answer was not reassuring. The fact that the Oracle could issue a dragon with such a binding life-purpose on both rider and dragon made him wonder exactly what sort of role was pre-destined
for him and Ra.

The light in the cave gradually reduced as they moved deeper into the mountainside. Occasional torches burned in brackets fixed to the walls. They had not walked far when the cave widened
abruptly, opening into a vast underground chamber. A rocky path descended ahead of them on a zigzagging ramp to the chamber floor. More torches burned on the walls and on cast-iron posts, but
despite the flickering light of dozens of torches the roof and far reaches of the chamber were lost in dark shadows. Strange random pillars of rock twisted from the floor of the chamber, climbing
up into the darkness high above. Great stalactites and stalagmites gave the impression of teeth in the mouths of side chambers, whilst the occasional gleam of reflected light hinted at possible
wealth hidden within the cave’s walls.

Fascinating shapes and teasing shadows would have demanded attention at any other time, but the eyes of both dragons and riders were drawn as one to a circular hole in the cavern floor. Someone
had constructed a low decorative wall around it, with a variety of intricate dragon statuettes standing at regular intervals on the top. It had a diameter that would take a man five long paces to
cross and from its depths twisted a strange, luminous, curling vapour.

The smoke pulsed and swirled with light, but showed no signs of dispersing into the vastness of the chamber. Instead it hung, slowly curling in twisting eddies, fashioning and dissolving hints
of familiar shapes in nebulous form.

The four riders, followed by their dragons, descended the great ramp until they approached the shimmering column of smoky light.

‘Is this
. . .’ Elian began.

‘The Oracle – yes
,’ Ra answered, her mental voice full of awe.

As they stopped in front of the Oracle there was a noise, a whisper of sound much like the faint slithering hiss of a snake crossing stony ground. Elian’s breath caught in his throat.
Could this Oracle speak aloud, or would it speak within his mind as Aurora did?

‘I am dying.’

It was a whisper, but a whisper that held the power to penetrate. The young people gazed into the writhing smoke and were startled as the misty substance shifted into the shape of a face. It was
the face of a great dragon with eyes of fire.

‘I am dying,’ it repeated. ‘To ye four partnerships falls the burden of my restoration. I charge thee with thy life purpose, dragons and riders both. Thine is the Great Quest.
Twice before have I issued this charge: twice the restoration has failed. This is the final chance. If thrice this charge should fail, then I shall pass to the Otherworld and the purpose of
dragonkind will die. I cannot see your destiny in this. Such knowledge is denied. What help and foresight I can give is contained in this verse. Consider it well.’

The Oracle’s voice faded and the shape of the dragon’s head began to disperse.
‘What verse?’
they all wondered.
‘What did the Oracle mean?’
Suddenly a booming thought inside everyone’s heads answered the question.

The voice stopped. Elian blinked several times, his thoughts awash with confusion. He sensed that Ra was similarly baffled by the strange verses.

‘What was
that
all about?’
he asked her, hoping she would understand the meaning of the twisted rhymes.

Ra did not answer. Suddenly the shape of the great dragon’s head re-formed in the smoke, its fiery eyes seeming to look directly into Elian’s. For a moment it seemed that the Oracle
saw through to the very core of his being. The close scrutiny made him feel naked, small and insignificant; his soul laid bare for the Oracle’s inspection. To his relief the sensation did not
last long, for its gaze shifted across the group, pausing briefly to regard each in turn.

‘The answers ye seek are in the words I have given ye,’ the giant whispering voice said. ‘Heed them well, for they will lead ye along the path of that purpose for which ye were
created. I can lend ye no special strength with which to face the trials ahead. Ye have what ye need. But beware! Only in unity will ye find the strength to prevail. Enmities must be put aside.
Day, night, dawn and dusk must work together in this if ye art to succeed. I charge ye now to swear on whatsoever oath ye do hold most dear. Pledge to be true and to hold together as one. Do ye
swear?’

‘I do so swear.’ The words were out of Elian’s mouth before he realised he had uttered them. The presence of the Oracle was so powerful that he doubted he had the will to deny
its order, even had he tried with all his heart. Around him and in his mind he heard his fellow riders and Aurora echoing the oath.

‘It is well. Do not delay. My presence fades. The orbs must be brought with all speed. Each orb ye bring will purchase more time, but if I do not receive the final orb by the harvest full
moon I shall fail and pass on. On ye depends the future of dragonkind. The purpose that has held dragons to the noble path for millennia lives or dies with me.’