towards the approaching dawn. ‘There’s no time. Take your friend and go! Go! Hurry! My dragon is taking a lot
of hits from those foul weapons to shield you.’
So they
are
dragons, Jack thought. I’m not going mad.
The girl turned and leaped up into the air where she seemed to stick to and climb what appeared to be some sort of invisible staircase. A blast of fire lit the sky over the hedgerow where the
enemy were concealed and another dragon swooped past. The fire from the dragon did not touch the hedgerow, but the rifle fire died to a brief shocked silence before resuming, this time directed at
the departing dragon.
‘GO!’ she repeated over her shoulder again, anger lending her voice extra volume.
‘You heard the girl!’ Jack yelled at the spy, who was now staring with open-mouthed amazement at the departing silhouette. ‘Come on, man! Get in! Don’t ask questions.
I’ve got no answers.’
The man scrambled into the front cockpit and began fumbling with the belts. Jack didn’t wait. He rammed the throttle forwards and began his take-off run. To his surprise the girl, now
lying horizontal and still hanging in midair, matched his speed across the field next to him. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, maintaining position between him and the flashing
muzzles of the enemy weapons. There was something else too. A sort of blurring under her body that nagged at his peripheral vision.
Jack knew better than to get distracted during a take-off run. Flying machines had a nasty habit of killing those who did not maintain their focus. He could no longer hear the reports of the
enemy rifles above the roar of his engine, but he did not doubt he was still under fire. A sudden flare of dazzling bright light from behind him took Jack totally by surprise. It was like nothing
he had ever experienced before. No man-made flare was that bright. For a moment it illuminated the countryside around his aircraft more clearly than full daylight and then it was gone, leaving him
very glad that he had been facing away from the source. Even looking away from it there were after-effects. Greeny-yellow reflection spots danced before his eyes, making it difficult to see his
instruments.
‘Just concentrate on flying west,’ he told himself. ‘You won’t go far wrong doing that.’
The seconds ticked by as he continued to climb. He squinted at the altimeter – four hundred feet and rising. The airspeed was stable. He was safely away from the ground. He looked down to
his left and could see the road he had followed on his way into enemy territory snaking away to the south of his current course. He eased the aircraft left a few degrees to follow it before looking
around to see where the girl was now. She was nowhere to be seen. Jack craned his neck, scanning the sky around him for any sign of movement. There was none.
The temptation was too great. He had to make one quick turn to see if he could catch another glimpse of her. Dipping the left wing slightly into a gentle climbing turn, he twisted as far as he
could in order to scan the sky to the east. His immediate reward was a fantastic view of the first diamond rays of the sun, as it peeked its fiery head over the horizon. But there was something
else as well: a strange swirling vortex like the one he had seen the first time he saw the dragons. It was behind him and lower, with a diameter barely larger than the dragons’ wingspans, yet
there they were – two, no, three of them. The dragons were heading straight for the vortex. Then they were gone. Just like that. The vortex collapsed in on itself the instant the final dragon
entered, leaving no trace of their existence. How did they do that and where did they go? he wondered.
One look at the expression on the spy’s face in the front cockpit and Jack knew for certain that he was not delusional. The dragons were real. It was a relief. With someone else to back up
his account, the senior officers might
of hits from those foul weapons to shield you.’
So they
are
dragons, Jack thought. I’m not going mad.
The girl turned and leaped up into the air where she seemed to stick to and climb what appeared to be some sort of invisible staircase. A blast of fire lit the sky over the hedgerow where the
enemy were concealed and another dragon swooped past. The fire from the dragon did not touch the hedgerow, but the rifle fire died to a brief shocked silence before resuming, this time directed at
the departing dragon.
‘GO!’ she repeated over her shoulder again, anger lending her voice extra volume.
‘You heard the girl!’ Jack yelled at the spy, who was now staring with open-mouthed amazement at the departing silhouette. ‘Come on, man! Get in! Don’t ask questions.
I’ve got no answers.’
The man scrambled into the front cockpit and began fumbling with the belts. Jack didn’t wait. He rammed the throttle forwards and began his take-off run. To his surprise the girl, now
lying horizontal and still hanging in midair, matched his speed across the field next to him. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, maintaining position between him and the flashing
muzzles of the enemy weapons. There was something else too. A sort of blurring under her body that nagged at his peripheral vision.
Jack knew better than to get distracted during a take-off run. Flying machines had a nasty habit of killing those who did not maintain their focus. He could no longer hear the reports of the
enemy rifles above the roar of his engine, but he did not doubt he was still under fire. A sudden flare of dazzling bright light from behind him took Jack totally by surprise. It was like nothing
he had ever experienced before. No man-made flare was that bright. For a moment it illuminated the countryside around his aircraft more clearly than full daylight and then it was gone, leaving him
very glad that he had been facing away from the source. Even looking away from it there were after-effects. Greeny-yellow reflection spots danced before his eyes, making it difficult to see his
instruments.
‘Just concentrate on flying west,’ he told himself. ‘You won’t go far wrong doing that.’
The seconds ticked by as he continued to climb. He squinted at the altimeter – four hundred feet and rising. The airspeed was stable. He was safely away from the ground. He looked down to
his left and could see the road he had followed on his way into enemy territory snaking away to the south of his current course. He eased the aircraft left a few degrees to follow it before looking
around to see where the girl was now. She was nowhere to be seen. Jack craned his neck, scanning the sky around him for any sign of movement. There was none.
The temptation was too great. He had to make one quick turn to see if he could catch another glimpse of her. Dipping the left wing slightly into a gentle climbing turn, he twisted as far as he
could in order to scan the sky to the east. His immediate reward was a fantastic view of the first diamond rays of the sun, as it peeked its fiery head over the horizon. But there was something
else as well: a strange swirling vortex like the one he had seen the first time he saw the dragons. It was behind him and lower, with a diameter barely larger than the dragons’ wingspans, yet
there they were – two, no, three of them. The dragons were heading straight for the vortex. Then they were gone. Just like that. The vortex collapsed in on itself the instant the final dragon
entered, leaving no trace of their existence. How did they do that and where did they go? he wondered.
One look at the expression on the spy’s face in the front cockpit and Jack knew for certain that he was not delusional. The dragons were real. It was a relief. With someone else to back up
his account, the senior officers might
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