hole of swirling nothingness. One
heartbeat they were barely off the ground and fast approaching a line of enemies armed with deadly spears, the next his body and mind were wrenched in gut-twisting, brain-spinning manner. For a
moment he experienced a strange feeling of weightlessness, as if he were immersed in water. The sensation was fleeting, but left him reeling with dizzy disorientation. A second contorting wrench
was followed by a blast of freezing air, as they emerged high into a night sky.
‘Where in hell are we?’ Kira yelled above the sudden roar of the biting wind.
The question echoed the turmoil in Elian’s mind, for he knew the instant the air rammed into his nostrils that they were no longer in Racafi. Aside from the massive temperature drop, the
scent of it was totally different. Wherever they were it was now the dead of night, and they were high in the air – at least a couple of thousand spans up, judging by what little he could
see.
It was impossible. It made no sense. How had they got here? What had Aurora done?
Chapter Eleven
A Most Unusual Dragon
Kasau saw the portal open in the air just in front of the dragons and a cry rose in his throat. Taking three swift strides, he hurled his spear with all his strength. The yell
he released burned his throat as it burst from him like the roar of an angry lion. The moment the weapon left his fingers he knew he had thrown it in vain. His eyes followed its trajectory as it
sailed through the air in a deadly arc, but the dragons vanished before the spear reached them. The portal closed the instant the second dragon passed through and his spear sliced through empty
air. Several other spears crisscrossed harmlessly through the same space. They were gone.
Kasau sank to his knees. The rest of the circle of hunters closed in on the spot where the two dragons had disappeared and began to mill about in confusion. Kasau could not believe it. Twice he
had set traps for the dawn dragon. Both times she had slipped through his grasp. No other dragon he had tracked had ever eluded him like this. The beast had made a fool of him. He had
underestimated her abilities and she had exploited his overconfidence.
‘We will meet again,’ he muttered to himself. ‘But next time will be the last. I’ll not let you get the better of me again.’
‘Where are we, Ra? What is this place and how did we get here?’ Elian asked the questions aloud to allow Kira the chance to follow at least one side of his
conversation.
‘We’ve travelled to another world, Elian. This is the most special of a dawn dragon’s abilities. No other dragon can come here except with one of us. At dawn and dusk the
boundaries between worlds weaken. At dawn, my powers are at their maximum. There is a very small window either side of that short period when I am strong enough to open a gateway and break through
the barrier.’
‘Another
world?
What other world?’
‘The inhabitants call it Earth. We are currently flying over a country the people here call France. The people are similar in appearance to you, but this world is not like ours. They
have no dragons. They are aware of us due to a number of encounters over the centuries, but here, we are creatures of legend. They refuse to accept that we exist.’
‘Earth? France?
You’ve been here before?’ he asked, unable to mask his shock.
‘
Yes, but I always keep my visits as short as I can. The people here are invariably hostile towards dragons and they have developed weapons unlike any we have in our world. Last time I
was here I encountered a group of men carrying things they called “muskets”. They looked rather like strange sticks made of metal, but they spat fire and tiny balls of metal at
tremendous speed that stung my scales, leaving spots that itched for days afterwards.’
‘When was this, Ra? Are we likely to meet them?’
‘
I doubt it – at least not the same crowd. I believe the people here live no longer than
heartbeat they were barely off the ground and fast approaching a line of enemies armed with deadly spears, the next his body and mind were wrenched in gut-twisting, brain-spinning manner. For a
moment he experienced a strange feeling of weightlessness, as if he were immersed in water. The sensation was fleeting, but left him reeling with dizzy disorientation. A second contorting wrench
was followed by a blast of freezing air, as they emerged high into a night sky.
‘Where in hell are we?’ Kira yelled above the sudden roar of the biting wind.
The question echoed the turmoil in Elian’s mind, for he knew the instant the air rammed into his nostrils that they were no longer in Racafi. Aside from the massive temperature drop, the
scent of it was totally different. Wherever they were it was now the dead of night, and they were high in the air – at least a couple of thousand spans up, judging by what little he could
see.
It was impossible. It made no sense. How had they got here? What had Aurora done?
Chapter Eleven
A Most Unusual Dragon
Kasau saw the portal open in the air just in front of the dragons and a cry rose in his throat. Taking three swift strides, he hurled his spear with all his strength. The yell
he released burned his throat as it burst from him like the roar of an angry lion. The moment the weapon left his fingers he knew he had thrown it in vain. His eyes followed its trajectory as it
sailed through the air in a deadly arc, but the dragons vanished before the spear reached them. The portal closed the instant the second dragon passed through and his spear sliced through empty
air. Several other spears crisscrossed harmlessly through the same space. They were gone.
Kasau sank to his knees. The rest of the circle of hunters closed in on the spot where the two dragons had disappeared and began to mill about in confusion. Kasau could not believe it. Twice he
had set traps for the dawn dragon. Both times she had slipped through his grasp. No other dragon he had tracked had ever eluded him like this. The beast had made a fool of him. He had
underestimated her abilities and she had exploited his overconfidence.
‘We will meet again,’ he muttered to himself. ‘But next time will be the last. I’ll not let you get the better of me again.’
‘Where are we, Ra? What is this place and how did we get here?’ Elian asked the questions aloud to allow Kira the chance to follow at least one side of his
conversation.
‘We’ve travelled to another world, Elian. This is the most special of a dawn dragon’s abilities. No other dragon can come here except with one of us. At dawn and dusk the
boundaries between worlds weaken. At dawn, my powers are at their maximum. There is a very small window either side of that short period when I am strong enough to open a gateway and break through
the barrier.’
‘Another
world?
What other world?’
‘The inhabitants call it Earth. We are currently flying over a country the people here call France. The people are similar in appearance to you, but this world is not like ours. They
have no dragons. They are aware of us due to a number of encounters over the centuries, but here, we are creatures of legend. They refuse to accept that we exist.’
‘Earth? France?
You’ve been here before?’ he asked, unable to mask his shock.
‘
Yes, but I always keep my visits as short as I can. The people here are invariably hostile towards dragons and they have developed weapons unlike any we have in our world. Last time I
was here I encountered a group of men carrying things they called “muskets”. They looked rather like strange sticks made of metal, but they spat fire and tiny balls of metal at
tremendous speed that stung my scales, leaving spots that itched for days afterwards.’
‘When was this, Ra? Are we likely to meet them?’
‘
I doubt it – at least not the same crowd. I believe the people here live no longer than
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