falling at nearly the same speed. It slowed her fall and eventually stopped it altogether. She got to her feet with an expression of elation.
Rinshock and Annaseld formed a figure-of-eight in the sky and picked up speed until their forms became blurred. In the distance behind them I saw a dark, winged shape.
Feeling no nausea at the sight of the bird, I told Ciera, ‘I have conquered my fear.’
He turned to look at the bird and a sense of alarm flowed through the waves. Was that my fear coming back or something else? Ciera roared and spread his wings. He struck out at an angle away from the bird, but he found a current of wind up high that sent us in a straight line towards it. The landscape below me looked like a platter of food, salted with small towns and peppered with dark rainforests. Ciera roared again. This time the sense of alarm came directly from him.
That was no bird.
It was a Zeika trespasser.
The dragon wheeled when it spotted us and flew back the way it had come. Ciera chased the dragon until his wings were aching. He soared on and on. No matter what I said, he would not stop and rest.
He had called for help through the waves, but so far no other skyearls had been able to keep up with us. The distance between us and the dragon was gradually decreasing.
‘We’re gaining on him,’ he said. ‘The Zeika’s concentration must be wearing thin.’
His words were shot through with pain from his straining wings. A tendon contracted in his wing.
Panic!
His body twitched sideways and down, falling, twisting. He tucked in his other wing and duck-dived. I couldn’t see the ground for the clouds, but I could imagine what it would be like to fall from this height. If it was the magic of Krii that kept Ciera aloft ordinarily, why then could his body fail him at a time like this?
Ciera struggled with the cramped limb. My breath whooshed out of me and I clenched my fists tightly around the gold strap. Ciera shook himself and finally opened his wings.
‘Krii is not one to spoon-feed us through life,’ he said. ‘He allows Zei to bring challenges, but only those we are already equipped to face. And face it we must, learning always to call on Him.’
Ciera’s dive turned into a graceful curve that swept us upwards again. The dragon was a speck in the middle-distance. The great cliffs of Tanza were visible through gaps in the clouds. The sheer wall of rock was topped by a veil of purple that shimmered against the teal sky. I hadn’t realised how close we were to the boundary, or rather, how fast Ciera could fly. The dragon shot over the border with alarming speed and disappeared into the distance. Ciera blew out a great wisp of cloud and landed on it to rest.
‘I’m sorry to take you away from the Bonding Ceremony,’ he said, ‘but I needed to be sure that dragon was only a scout.’
‘How can you be sure now?’ I asked.
‘If there was a Zeika camp inside the borders of Tanza, that dragon would have headed straight for it. The Zeika on its back will need to land very soon or he risks losing his concentration.’
‘That sounds similar to when a Rada morphs,’ I observed.
Ciera regarded me thoughtfully. ‘Yes. But when a dragon rider loses his concentration, the conjured dragon vanishes and he falls to his death.’
‘Can’t they simply conjure the dragon and send it off flying and look through its eyes while they stay safely on the ground?’
Ciera nodded his enormous head. ‘Yes, far-conjurers can. But they are fewer and most cannot do it from any great distance.’
‘I thought the borders of Tanza were protected by Krii,’ I said after a while. If not then what was the barrier shield for?
‘They are, or the Zeikas would be pouring in here by the dozen. As it stands, they usually take some time to create a strong enough spirit circle to break the barrier. For one scout to get through, it probably took the blood of many animals or even a human being.’
‘But why would you use a
Rinshock and Annaseld formed a figure-of-eight in the sky and picked up speed until their forms became blurred. In the distance behind them I saw a dark, winged shape.
Feeling no nausea at the sight of the bird, I told Ciera, ‘I have conquered my fear.’
He turned to look at the bird and a sense of alarm flowed through the waves. Was that my fear coming back or something else? Ciera roared and spread his wings. He struck out at an angle away from the bird, but he found a current of wind up high that sent us in a straight line towards it. The landscape below me looked like a platter of food, salted with small towns and peppered with dark rainforests. Ciera roared again. This time the sense of alarm came directly from him.
That was no bird.
It was a Zeika trespasser.
The dragon wheeled when it spotted us and flew back the way it had come. Ciera chased the dragon until his wings were aching. He soared on and on. No matter what I said, he would not stop and rest.
He had called for help through the waves, but so far no other skyearls had been able to keep up with us. The distance between us and the dragon was gradually decreasing.
‘We’re gaining on him,’ he said. ‘The Zeika’s concentration must be wearing thin.’
His words were shot through with pain from his straining wings. A tendon contracted in his wing.
Panic!
His body twitched sideways and down, falling, twisting. He tucked in his other wing and duck-dived. I couldn’t see the ground for the clouds, but I could imagine what it would be like to fall from this height. If it was the magic of Krii that kept Ciera aloft ordinarily, why then could his body fail him at a time like this?
Ciera struggled with the cramped limb. My breath whooshed out of me and I clenched my fists tightly around the gold strap. Ciera shook himself and finally opened his wings.
‘Krii is not one to spoon-feed us through life,’ he said. ‘He allows Zei to bring challenges, but only those we are already equipped to face. And face it we must, learning always to call on Him.’
Ciera’s dive turned into a graceful curve that swept us upwards again. The dragon was a speck in the middle-distance. The great cliffs of Tanza were visible through gaps in the clouds. The sheer wall of rock was topped by a veil of purple that shimmered against the teal sky. I hadn’t realised how close we were to the boundary, or rather, how fast Ciera could fly. The dragon shot over the border with alarming speed and disappeared into the distance. Ciera blew out a great wisp of cloud and landed on it to rest.
‘I’m sorry to take you away from the Bonding Ceremony,’ he said, ‘but I needed to be sure that dragon was only a scout.’
‘How can you be sure now?’ I asked.
‘If there was a Zeika camp inside the borders of Tanza, that dragon would have headed straight for it. The Zeika on its back will need to land very soon or he risks losing his concentration.’
‘That sounds similar to when a Rada morphs,’ I observed.
Ciera regarded me thoughtfully. ‘Yes. But when a dragon rider loses his concentration, the conjured dragon vanishes and he falls to his death.’
‘Can’t they simply conjure the dragon and send it off flying and look through its eyes while they stay safely on the ground?’
Ciera nodded his enormous head. ‘Yes, far-conjurers can. But they are fewer and most cannot do it from any great distance.’
‘I thought the borders of Tanza were protected by Krii,’ I said after a while. If not then what was the barrier shield for?
‘They are, or the Zeikas would be pouring in here by the dozen. As it stands, they usually take some time to create a strong enough spirit circle to break the barrier. For one scout to get through, it probably took the blood of many animals or even a human being.’
‘But why would you use a
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