woods.’
Rory studied it. The girl giant must have spent hours drawing out the scaled-down, miniature version of the map, with boundary lines and landmarks clearly marked for him: Terra, Arbor, Montan and Mare all defined, each a separate territory, making up the geography of Aland.
‘Thank you so much, both of you, for helping me, and for coming this far with me. Thank your wife and Birch too.’
The giants strode off back up through the valley and Rory watched until the two huge, lumbering figures were out of sight. He was now on his own, and knew that in the forest,somewhere, there really were dragons and if he found them maybe he would find his sister, too.
Chapter 18
Dark Wood
A fter a while, Rory set off into the wood. It was dark and gloomy there, and the canopy of treetops blocked the sun’s light from reaching the ground. Now he knew why they called it Dark Wood. Every sound was muffled too, except for the regular panting of his own breath and the smooth thumping of his footsteps, he could hear little else. From afar, the occasional high-pitched call of a bird broke the eerie silence.
Nervous and lonely, he tried to pretend that he was out for a walk in Glenkilty Wood, heading along familiar paths. He was hampered by the enormous, snaking tree roots that twisted across the ground, and by the dense overgrowth of brambles and thorns that dogged his steps, slowing him down. All around him grew ancient oaks as big as ships, giant chestnuts and massive sycamores. There were no pathways or tracks of any kind, so he had to rely on guesswork and intuition to decide which way to go. His father had always told him tofollow his instincts, jump in, and not be afraid. If he could find that dragon, then Mia was likely to be close by. Determined to be brave and rescue his sister, Rory began to sing and whistle, the sound filling the dead, empty air.
He stopped to rest, finding a warm, sunny spot, where young, green shoots pushed up through the earth, searching for the light. He ate some of the bread, suddenly realising how hungry he was. In the distance he heard the soft gurgle of a stream, he managed to track it as it wove its way through a labyrinth of roots and stumps and mossy banks. He refilled his water bottle, thankful that at least he wouldn’t die of thirst, then splashed cool water on his face.
Rory hoped that he wasn’t just walking round and round in circles. He regretted not joining the scouts, but then the Murphys had never been an outdoor type of family! He knew that he was ill-prepared and ill-equipped for this expedition, and despair filled his heart when he thought of Mia. She could never survive in this harsh world.
As he moved through the woods, he had a constant sensation of being watched, often glimpsing a movement in the ferns and bracken out of the corner of his eye. He flung some stones to scare away what ever it was. He was terrified that it might be one of those creatures that Nilo and Bran had warned him of. He quickened his pace, trying to lose his stalker.
Snakes slithered across his path, then disappeared rapidly into the dense undergrowth and rotting leaf-piles. Trying to avoid one of them, he stumbled over a jutting stump ofblackthorn, wrenching his ankle and shin. The throbbing pain forced him to stay where he was for the night.
The next morning, birdsong woke him, reminding him of home, but on opening his eyes he quickly remembered where he was. He moved his ankle and leg gingerly. No damage seemed to have been done. Sitting up, he was taken aback to find a furry creature almost at his toes. It reminded him of Snowy, their white rabbit at home, though its fur had patches of speckled brown and it was far bigger than their pet rabbit. Its long ears pricked up as Rory moved, and he could see teethmarks on his shoelaces where its sharp, pointed, white teeth had been nibbling. He sat up, scaring it away.
‘Shoo!’
The creature hopped back, its nose twitching and its big eyes looking
Rory studied it. The girl giant must have spent hours drawing out the scaled-down, miniature version of the map, with boundary lines and landmarks clearly marked for him: Terra, Arbor, Montan and Mare all defined, each a separate territory, making up the geography of Aland.
‘Thank you so much, both of you, for helping me, and for coming this far with me. Thank your wife and Birch too.’
The giants strode off back up through the valley and Rory watched until the two huge, lumbering figures were out of sight. He was now on his own, and knew that in the forest,somewhere, there really were dragons and if he found them maybe he would find his sister, too.
Chapter 18
Dark Wood
A fter a while, Rory set off into the wood. It was dark and gloomy there, and the canopy of treetops blocked the sun’s light from reaching the ground. Now he knew why they called it Dark Wood. Every sound was muffled too, except for the regular panting of his own breath and the smooth thumping of his footsteps, he could hear little else. From afar, the occasional high-pitched call of a bird broke the eerie silence.
Nervous and lonely, he tried to pretend that he was out for a walk in Glenkilty Wood, heading along familiar paths. He was hampered by the enormous, snaking tree roots that twisted across the ground, and by the dense overgrowth of brambles and thorns that dogged his steps, slowing him down. All around him grew ancient oaks as big as ships, giant chestnuts and massive sycamores. There were no pathways or tracks of any kind, so he had to rely on guesswork and intuition to decide which way to go. His father had always told him tofollow his instincts, jump in, and not be afraid. If he could find that dragon, then Mia was likely to be close by. Determined to be brave and rescue his sister, Rory began to sing and whistle, the sound filling the dead, empty air.
He stopped to rest, finding a warm, sunny spot, where young, green shoots pushed up through the earth, searching for the light. He ate some of the bread, suddenly realising how hungry he was. In the distance he heard the soft gurgle of a stream, he managed to track it as it wove its way through a labyrinth of roots and stumps and mossy banks. He refilled his water bottle, thankful that at least he wouldn’t die of thirst, then splashed cool water on his face.
Rory hoped that he wasn’t just walking round and round in circles. He regretted not joining the scouts, but then the Murphys had never been an outdoor type of family! He knew that he was ill-prepared and ill-equipped for this expedition, and despair filled his heart when he thought of Mia. She could never survive in this harsh world.
As he moved through the woods, he had a constant sensation of being watched, often glimpsing a movement in the ferns and bracken out of the corner of his eye. He flung some stones to scare away what ever it was. He was terrified that it might be one of those creatures that Nilo and Bran had warned him of. He quickened his pace, trying to lose his stalker.
Snakes slithered across his path, then disappeared rapidly into the dense undergrowth and rotting leaf-piles. Trying to avoid one of them, he stumbled over a jutting stump ofblackthorn, wrenching his ankle and shin. The throbbing pain forced him to stay where he was for the night.
The next morning, birdsong woke him, reminding him of home, but on opening his eyes he quickly remembered where he was. He moved his ankle and leg gingerly. No damage seemed to have been done. Sitting up, he was taken aback to find a furry creature almost at his toes. It reminded him of Snowy, their white rabbit at home, though its fur had patches of speckled brown and it was far bigger than their pet rabbit. Its long ears pricked up as Rory moved, and he could see teethmarks on his shoelaces where its sharp, pointed, white teeth had been nibbling. He sat up, scaring it away.
‘Shoo!’
The creature hopped back, its nose twitching and its big eyes looking
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