Shadow by Mark Robson Read Free Book Online Page B

had been a pervading sense of wisdom and knowledge that spanned back over many season rotations. As she tried to resolve the experience into an image she could relate to, a picture of a
great library formed – a huge storehouse of knowledge that stretched into the distance in all directions.
    Firestorm did not say anything, but she knew he had felt her presence in his mind. The bond now carried a flavour of welcome. A shudder ran down her spine. Despite the silent welcome being
offered by the dragon, she recoiled from the idea of crossing again.
    The temperature was dropping fast as they climbed through a small gap in the clouds. Her last glimpse of the shadowy, patchwork landscape below was one of strange tranquillity. The steady
beating of Firestorm’s wings and the whisper of their passage through the air were the only sounds audible. When she considered the horrors of the war below and the terrible weapons with
which it was being fought, it was hard to reconcile the peaceful image with the reality.
    Nolita did not have to be warned of the imminence of dawn. It was obvious. In the moment that the swirling grey vortex appeared ahead of them, she fought down the flash of panic with the ease of
regular recent practice. They plunged into the swirling void, the gut-wrenching twist and the sense of weightlessness now familiar enough to be more uncomfortable than terrifying. Emergence into
the air amongst the mountains of Orupee was more frightening.
    On her last visit here the wind across the mountaintops had subjected Nolita and the others to dangerous turbulence and vicious air currents. This time the air was smooth, but filled with a
murky mist of rain that offered a different kind of danger. Nolita could see the ground directly below, but horizontal visibility was limited in all directions to no more than a few dragon lengths.
At the speed they were flying it would be easy to fly into a cliff-face before being able to react to its presence.
    ‘Can we slow down?’
she asked.
    ‘Not easily,’
Firestorm replied.
‘Dragons are not too good at hovering. Our wings are not well suited to that sort of flying. We can do it for a second or two in
times of need, but it takes vast amounts of energy. Our wings are better suited to cruising at high speed.’
    ‘Well, can we descend, then? It looks clearer down there,’
she pointed out.
    ‘We can try, but it won’t be any better,’
Fire told her.
‘It’s an optical illusion, Nolita. If we go down, we will increase the likelihood of running
into a ridge, or an outcrop of rock. At least up here we just have mountain-tops to worry about.’
    ‘Just
the mountaintops! You’re not filling me with confidence, Fire. How will we find the Oracle’s cave?’
    ‘I’m going to make a guess.’
    ‘Guess! Are you mad?’ Nolita’s voice cracked on the last syllable.
    ‘No, not mad,’
he assured her.
‘Just very confident of my guesses. When we flew along this valley last time, I memorised some of the landmarks and their relative
positions. It’s a habit. All dragons do it to one degree or another. I happen to be quite good at it.’
    Nolita’s stomach churned as she squinted into the misty rain. Having experienced a momentary flash of the dragon’s mind, she could well imagine him memorising landmarks. However, the
idea that he could reference those landmarks with sufficient accuracy to safely navigate the treacherous path she remembered was simply not believable.
    Visions of looming cliffs filled her mind. If they did hit a rock wall she had no illusions of her chances of survival. A dragon was tough – maybe Firestorm would have a chance. She would
have none. The valley floor was many hundreds of spans below. No human could survive a fall like that. Her hands clenched yet tighter around the pommel of her saddle.
    The ethereal white-grey mist muffled the rhythmic whooshing sound of the dragons’ wingbeats. We could be anywhere, Nolita thought, her mind racing.