believe him this time. The man was not really dressed for high altitude flying, but Jack had no intention of risking the agent’s life by flirting with
ground fire. By flying higher they risked being engaged by enemy aircraft, but so long as they were quick about getting back across the lines . . .
‘Oh, Lord!’ he whispered suddenly, as realisation struck. ‘How the devil am I going to write up this jaunt?’
Chapter Ten
A Brief Respite
As they emerged into a deep valley in the midst of the mountain range, Elian was bathed in a sense of elation. He felt like a hero. They had saved the man in his flying machine
from his enemies again, and they had done so as a team effort. If we can work together like that for the rest of the quest, then our chances of success have got to improve, he thought.
The only dampener to his feeling of triumph was the wave of fatigue he felt through his bond with Aurora. She was exhausted, and flying up here in the mountains would tax her further.
‘Looking at the sun, I’d say it’s about late morning, Ra,
’ he said.
‘I sort of expected you to get us here as soon after we left Orupee as possible. Is
it the same day, or have we lost more time?’
‘We arrived here no more than a few heartbeats after leaving Orupee, Elian,’
she replied.
‘I was most careful about that. But you must remember that we have
travelled a long way east in the instant we were away. The sun rises much earlier here.’
‘Oh, I see,’
Elian said, feeling foolish.
‘Thanks, then . . . um, let’s see if we can find a suitable place to land,’
he continued quickly.
‘I can feel how tired you are. You need a rest after that effort. We’ve got plenty of time to find the night dragon enclave before nightfall.’
‘A rest would be welcome,’
Aurora replied.
‘I shall tell the others and we will start looking for a good place.’
The mountains of Isaa were very different from those they had seen in Central Orupee and Northern Cemaria. There was a sense of remoteness about them unlike anything Elian had ever experienced.
The range appeared vast and Elian could feel by the shortness of his breath that even though they were in a valley, they were flying much higher than he was used to. The white caps of the
mountaintops extended a long way down from the peaks despite it being summer.
Gods, those peaks must be high! he thought, momentarily awestruck.
‘They are the highest in all Areth,’
Aurora informed him.
‘Even dragons hesitate to fly over them. Very few of your kind can survive a flight so high. A number of
riders have tried – through bravado, or plain foolishness. None have returned unscathed. It is best to enter and depart the range through one of the main passes, but the night dragons monitor
these constantly. It is impossible to approach the enclave of the night dragons without passing the night dragon sentinels. Unless, of course, you ride a dawn dragon.’
Aurora sounded smug as she continued.
‘We are already within the range. My dragonsense brought us inside their domain. To my knowledge they have no further guard points short of the
enclave. We should be able to get close without Segun’s people detecting us. The only problem I foresee is getting out again. I’ve drawn too deeply on my powers to form any more
gateways for a while, so we will have to risk alerting the sentinels.’
‘Do you know how to get to the enclave from here?’
Elian asked, gasping as he struggled to speak aloud. The air burned cold inside his chest as his breathing automatically
deepened and accelerated.
‘No, but Fang does. Do not fear. We shall find Pell and Shadow.’
Kira was pleased when her dragon Fang slid forwards into the lead position. Elian and Aurora had led them through the gateways and drawn them into a struggle that was none of
their business. Through the bond she could feel that Fang had suffered a large number of stings from the unnatural weapons in the other world. Her first
ground fire. By flying higher they risked being engaged by enemy aircraft, but so long as they were quick about getting back across the lines . . .
‘Oh, Lord!’ he whispered suddenly, as realisation struck. ‘How the devil am I going to write up this jaunt?’
Chapter Ten
A Brief Respite
As they emerged into a deep valley in the midst of the mountain range, Elian was bathed in a sense of elation. He felt like a hero. They had saved the man in his flying machine
from his enemies again, and they had done so as a team effort. If we can work together like that for the rest of the quest, then our chances of success have got to improve, he thought.
The only dampener to his feeling of triumph was the wave of fatigue he felt through his bond with Aurora. She was exhausted, and flying up here in the mountains would tax her further.
‘Looking at the sun, I’d say it’s about late morning, Ra,
’ he said.
‘I sort of expected you to get us here as soon after we left Orupee as possible. Is
it the same day, or have we lost more time?’
‘We arrived here no more than a few heartbeats after leaving Orupee, Elian,’
she replied.
‘I was most careful about that. But you must remember that we have
travelled a long way east in the instant we were away. The sun rises much earlier here.’
‘Oh, I see,’
Elian said, feeling foolish.
‘Thanks, then . . . um, let’s see if we can find a suitable place to land,’
he continued quickly.
‘I can feel how tired you are. You need a rest after that effort. We’ve got plenty of time to find the night dragon enclave before nightfall.’
‘A rest would be welcome,’
Aurora replied.
‘I shall tell the others and we will start looking for a good place.’
The mountains of Isaa were very different from those they had seen in Central Orupee and Northern Cemaria. There was a sense of remoteness about them unlike anything Elian had ever experienced.
The range appeared vast and Elian could feel by the shortness of his breath that even though they were in a valley, they were flying much higher than he was used to. The white caps of the
mountaintops extended a long way down from the peaks despite it being summer.
Gods, those peaks must be high! he thought, momentarily awestruck.
‘They are the highest in all Areth,’
Aurora informed him.
‘Even dragons hesitate to fly over them. Very few of your kind can survive a flight so high. A number of
riders have tried – through bravado, or plain foolishness. None have returned unscathed. It is best to enter and depart the range through one of the main passes, but the night dragons monitor
these constantly. It is impossible to approach the enclave of the night dragons without passing the night dragon sentinels. Unless, of course, you ride a dawn dragon.’
Aurora sounded smug as she continued.
‘We are already within the range. My dragonsense brought us inside their domain. To my knowledge they have no further guard points short of the
enclave. We should be able to get close without Segun’s people detecting us. The only problem I foresee is getting out again. I’ve drawn too deeply on my powers to form any more
gateways for a while, so we will have to risk alerting the sentinels.’
‘Do you know how to get to the enclave from here?’
Elian asked, gasping as he struggled to speak aloud. The air burned cold inside his chest as his breathing automatically
deepened and accelerated.
‘No, but Fang does. Do not fear. We shall find Pell and Shadow.’
Kira was pleased when her dragon Fang slid forwards into the lead position. Elian and Aurora had led them through the gateways and drawn them into a struggle that was none of
their business. Through the bond she could feel that Fang had suffered a large number of stings from the unnatural weapons in the other world. Her first
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