03 Sky Knight by Kevin Outlaw Read Free Book Online Page B

That seems like a pretty good argument for doing everything within your power to get somewhere else. I do not want to leave Cumulo this way, I am disgusted by the way he has been treated, but it’s no help to anyone if we just sit around waiting for a solution to present itself. It’s going to be even less help if you get yourself killed.’
    Nimbus sucked in a deep breath. They were asking him to abandon a friend, just like he had abandoned his quest to find his father. Just like he had abandoned Flint Lock.
    ‘No,’ he said. ‘I won’t do it.’
    There was a cruel laugh farther up the beach, and Nimbus turned to see Tidal striding out of the ocean. There was a sword hanging from his waist, and the sun glinted on the well–defined muscles of his bare chest. ‘Same old Nimbus,’ he shouted, shaking water–droplets from his tangled hair. ‘Always being the big hero. Always putting his neck on the line for everyone else, so we can marvel at just how great he is.’
    Behind Tidal, the surface of the ocean was broken by a gigantic arched back as something swam away from the shore into the deeper waters beyond. Cumulo growled and bared his teeth, furious that he lacked the strength to break free from his chains.
    ‘Time I wasn’t here,’ Captain Spectre muttered, evaporating into the shadows beneath the cliff.
    ‘Of course, I knew this was going to happen,’ Tidal went on, his tone mocking and proud in equal measure. ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to bear leaving your pet lizard behind.’
    ‘Watch your mouth,’ Nimbus snarled.
    ‘Just like I knew that sooner or later you would fly out here to see if I needed rescuing again. You see, your biggest problem, Nim, is you are a complete idiot. You keep sticking your nose in where it isn’t wanted, time and time again. It makes you so predictable. And being predictable is going to get you killed one day.’
    Tidal stopped, just beyond Cumulo’s reach, and drew his sword. He waved the blade in the air a few times to make sure Nimbus could see the way the gleaming metal seemed to phase in and out of existence with each swing.
    ‘That’s my sword,’ Nimbus said.
    ‘Finders keepers,’ Tidal said.
    ‘You don’t know what that sword is capable of. Give it back to me before you hurt someone.’
    Nimbus moved forwards, but Tidal brought the tip of Venom to rest on the Wing Warrior’s throat. ‘Don’t try anything funny, Nim,’ he said.
    The cold touch of the sword gave Nimbus a thrill of fear, and he carefully backed off. He knew how dangerous that sword was, even if Tidal didn’t. Just one small cut from the blade, and the victim’s spirit would be eaten right out of his flesh. It would be a terrible, dark death that even Cumulo’s magic could not undo. It would be eternal nothingness.
    ‘What are you doing, Tide? Why are you doing this?’
    Tidal laughed, poking at Nimbus with Venom’s tip, until the Wing Warrior was pressed up against the rocks. ‘Because I can. Because I want to. Because I’m sick and tired of you waltzing around being everyone’s knight in shining armour.’
    Nimbus felt like he had been slammed in the gut with an iron bar, and a lump formed in his throat as he finally realised just how much Tidal resented him. How could this have happened? They were once so close. They had been best friends. They had been like brothers. ‘Do you really hate me that much?’ he whispered.
    ‘I hate that it could have been me, Nim. If you had told me about the dragon, I could have been the Wing Warrior. And I would have been better than you.’
    ‘You have not the honour to be a Wing Warrior,’ Cumulo hissed. ‘I would no sooner carry you on my back than I would carry a goblin war party.’
    ‘Why is this so hard for you?’ Nimbus asked.
    Tidal shrugged, and swished Venom in a figure of eight motion. ‘Just look at everything you have. A magic sword with a blade that vanishes then reappears. A dragon. A suit of armour. The love of the people.