02 Unicorn Rider (3 page)

When the dragon was out of earshot, Nimbus turned to his father. ‘You can’t speak to me that way, Dad. I’m not a kid any more. I’m the Wing Warrior.’

‘Yes,’ Cloud said. ‘You are. And being the Wing Warrior means being responsible.’

‘I’m being responsible.’

‘I don’t agree. And by the looks of it, neither does Cumulo. You two are a team, the two halves of an equal partnership.’

‘This isn’t exactly easy for me, Dad. I’m trying my best.’

‘Are you? Were you trying your best when you left this morning without your helmet?’

Nimbus flushed red.

‘Were you trying your best when you went off without letting me know? Were you trying your best when you went into the woods to fight an enemy you had no knowledge of whatsoever?’

‘I didn’t think there was time,’ Nimbus muttered.

‘There’s always time to be prepared. You could have got yourself killed. You could have got Cumulo killed. And Glass isn’t ready to handle the kind of magic she had to use in there.’

‘I’m okay,’ Glass said, bravely.

‘Well I didn’t bring Glass, did I? You did!’ Nimbus snapped.

‘I’m okay,’ Glass repeated.

Cloud jumped to his feet. ‘If I hadn’t brought her along we’d all be dead by now.’

‘If you hadn’t brought her we might not have almost burned down the whole of the Forbidden Woods,’ Nimbus said.

‘That was a mistake,’ Glass said. ‘I didn’t mean for it to happen. I was trying to think about rain, but it didn’t work.’

‘Don’t you dare talk back to me, Boy,’ Cloud roared.

Nimbus momentarily flinched in the face of his father’s rage, but then he straightened up and made himself look as big as possible. He was the Wing Warrior now. He didn’t have to back down from anyone. Not even his father.

 ‘You don’t understand how difficult you are making this,’ he said.

‘Neither do you,’ Cloud said.

Glass started kicking her feet in the mud, and thought about how people always talked over her, and never really talked to her. Ever since they had found out she was a magic user she had been the most frequent topic of conversation and debate. They talked about what was best for her, how to train her, how to protect her. They talked about her like she was a problem that needed solving, and not a person at all.

Never once did they think to ask her what she thought. Never once did they think to ask her what she wanted to do.

Half the time she felt like she wasn’t even there. How could it be possible to be the centre of attention and totally invisible at the same time?

She wondered what would happen if she really was invisible. Would it matter?

She vanished quietly.

Nobody noticed except Onyx. He didn’t bother making a fuss about it though. In the last few months he had seen dragons, goblins, trolls, and all manner of other peculiar things. These days, a vanishing girl barely seemed unusual at all.

Nimbus removed his gloves and threw them on the ground. His palms were sweaty and his mouth was dry. He had never fought with his father before. ‘You’re always there,’ he said. ‘The people are looking to me for help, but you won’t let me help them.’

‘I have never stood in your way.’

‘But you’re always holding my hand.’

‘I’m helping you. Teaching you.’

‘You’re stopping me doing what I need to do. If there is danger, I can’t waste time coming to you for assistance, I have to take action, like I did this morning.’

‘You aren’t ready yet.’

‘And I never will be if you keep holding me back. I need to do these things by myself.’

‘You’re just a boy, Nimbus, not even fifteen. You can’t be expected to take on all of this alone.’

‘It doesn’t matter how old I am, Dad. I made a choice. I’m the Wing Warrior.’

‘So you keep saying, but tell me this, what was the first thing I taught you about being a Wing Warrior?’

Nimbus scratched the back of his neck. ‘I don’t know, something about books.’

‘About knowledge,’ Cloud corrected.

‘I knew that.’

‘Knowledge is the most powerful weapon you have.’

‘I’ll stick with the sword.’

‘And what good did the sword do you in there? If you had spoken with me I would have told you about the dryads.’

‘You mean the freaky things that made Cumulo fall asleep?’

‘Yes. They are woodland spirits. They live in the earth, and lure people to them with their whisper songs. It’s a form of hypnosis, particularly effective against dragons, as you now well know. The victim doesn’t even realise what’s happening until the dryads have already trapped them, and by then it’s too late.’

‘Then what happens?’

‘Nobody knows. Nobody has ever escaped from them. Until now.’

Nimbus stared at the frozen trees. Tendrils of ice glistened on the arched branches. Everything was white and peaceful. He was getting that odd feeling in his stomach again; the same feeling he had when he saw the rabbits running for their lives in the burning wood and the stag had looked at him so sadly. ‘Did we...? I mean, are they...?’

‘Dead? No. Now their physical bodies have been destroyed, the dryad spirits will return to the earth where they will grow anew. In a little over a year we will hear the whisper songs again.’

Nimbus felt cold, and wrapped his arms across his chest protectively. ‘What do we do in the face of such enemies?’

‘We do all we can. And we learn from our mistakes.’

‘I guess I made a few of those today, didn’t I?’

‘You have been a fool, that much is true, but perhaps I too made a mistake. I should not have brought Glass here. I never realised quite how much power she has.’

Glass propped her chin in her hand and sighed gloomily. Her sigh was as invisible and insubstantial as she was. Maybe they would notice if she set herself on fire?

She started to feel a bit hot, and something started to smell like it was burning.

She thought about something other than fire. Just in case.

‘How can she have so much power inside her?’ Nimbus asked. ‘She’s so little.’

‘Some people are born with the ability to channel the forces we can’t see. In the time before Sorrow’s return, before the magic came back, those people didn’t realise they were any different from you or me, but things have changed. The world is becoming more dangerous. Powers that have been dormant for centuries will awaken. It will only be a matter of time before wizards and witches begin to reveal themselves across the land. It could cause problems. And there will be those who are even more deadly than Glass.’

‘I can’t see how that’s possible.’

‘You saw yourself. Glass cannot control her magic yet. Until she can, she is in danger of tearing herself apart. I very much regret involving her in this mess today.’

‘I’m sorry I put you in that situation.’

‘We have all found ourselves in situations we would perhaps hope were otherwise. I only wish there was more I could do for her. You, I can help. You, I can guide. But her troubles are far beyond my power to resolve. Perhaps they are beyond the power of anyone who now lives.’

Nimbus chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. ‘Things have changed so quickly.’

‘They have.’

‘I’m not sure any of us can change quick enough to keep up.’

A patch of air at the end of the fallen tree trunk shimmered, and Glass reappeared, still kicking her toes in the mud. Nobody noticed her return any more than they had noticed her disappearance. ‘Can we go home?’ she said, quietly. ‘I’m very tired after making all the fire.’

Nimbus smiled kindly and ruffled her hair. ‘Of course we can go home.’

Cloud stood. The look in his eye suggested he had come to a decision about a choice he had not shared with anyone else. ‘We are all alive,’ he said, putting a reassuring hand on Nimbus’s shoulder. ‘We will learn from this experience, and be thankful it has turned out well for us. The world is a little safer for a while.’

Slowly, the fog began to burn away under the persistence of the sun, and the day grew brighter. The ice hanging from the tree branches began to thaw. The air was full of the cool, fresh smell of new beginnings, and the steady drip of water.

‘Do you see me?’ Glass asked, as Nimbus helped her into Onyx’s saddle. She sounded sleepy, and her eyes drooped.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Am I still here?’

He laughed. ‘That’s a silly question. Of course you’re still here.’

‘That’s good.’ Her head slumped forwards on to her chest, and her breathing slowed.

Nimbus looked at Cloud.

‘She gave everything she had to help us today,’ Cloud said. ‘Perhaps one day you will be as dedicated.’

‘What do you mean?’ Nimbus asked, leading Onyx by the reins as they set off back to the village.

‘Captain Obsidian tells me you have missed your last two training sessions with him.’

‘He snitched on me?’

‘He has a duty to inform me if you are not turning up. Swordsmanship is important.’

‘I’ve got a few moves up my sleeve, if I need them.’

‘This isn’t a game, Nimbus. You can’t just bunk off whenever you feel like it.’

‘I have a dragon, Dad. He does all my fighting for me. Why on earth would I need to learn to use a sword?’

‘For the same reason you need to remember to wear your helmet.’ He cuffed Nimbus around his exposed ears with one hand. ‘It will save your life one day.’

‘You keep telling me I have a thick skull. I thought that would be better than any helmet.’

‘I have to agree. I am not sure you have enough brains to be worth protecting.’

Within moments father and son were bickering again. When they were far enough away that their arguing was nothing more than a vague murmur carried by the breeze, a soldier in silver armour emerged from the freezing depths of the Forbidden Woods. A blood–red cloak, held in place with an ugly brooch, hung off his broad shoulders; and his face was completely obscured by the visor of the helmet he wore.

For a while he stood at the edge of the woodland, completely motionless. Then with a strange, gurgling laugh, he headed back into the trees.

CHAPTER THREE

Tidal and Sky watched from an outcrop of rocks as Hawk took a goose–feather arrow from his quiver and notched it smoothly into his bow. The waves of the Everlasting Ocean lapped along the beach, sucking hungrily at the sand. Seagulls whirled elegantly in the morning sky, dipping in and out of the cloud cover and occasionally plucking fish from the water.

Hawk breathed deeply. He could taste the sea salt in the air.

Carefully, he drew aim. The red painted circle of the target farther up the beach was no bigger to him than a thumbnail. He knew of only two or three people who could hit a target from such range. A small grin flickered at the corner of his mouth.

He released the arrow. It sliced through the air with a keen whirring noise and thudded into the very centre of the target.

Sky and Tidal broke into applause. Hawk bowed elaborately, flourishing his bow.

‘What do you think of that?’ he shouted.

Tidal dropped from his place among the rocks, then caught Sky as she jumped down after him. He held her in his arms for a second longer than was absolutely necessary before letting her go. ‘I think you know very well you’re going to be more than a match for anyone else at the contest,’ he said to Hawk.

Hawk smiled, obviously pleased with himself, and then set off down the beach to retrieve his arrow.

‘He has an amazing talent,’ Sky said to Tidal.

‘He should be using it for something better than showing off in a little village competition,’ Tidal said, bitterly.

‘He almost lost his life defending Flint Lock. It must be difficult to carry on being a soldier after something like that.’

‘We all faced danger. We all had to stand up to Sorrow.’

‘But we didn’t get poisoned. We didn’t go through the same thing as Hawk and Nimbus.’

Tidal rolled his eyes. ‘They’re real heroes.’

‘Don’t be like that. I don’t think we have any right to judge Hawk for the decisions he’s made.’

‘Sorry, didn’t mean to insult your new boyfriend.’

‘Shut up. He’s not my boyfriend.’ A tinge of red came to her cheeks. ‘That’s a silly thing to say.’

Hawk had retrieved his arrow and was now running back along the waterfront.

‘You’d like him to be your boyfriend though, wouldn’t you?’ Tidal said, matter–of–factly. ‘He’s very impressive. I don’t know anybody else who could hit that target.’

‘I hardly know him.’ She shoved Tidal in the arm. ‘Cut it out. Stop trying to embarrass me.’

Tidal grinned and shoved her back. ‘Of course, I’m forgetting, you’re already in love with the Wing Warrior, aren’t you?’

Sky stared at the ground between her feet. Her face had gone bright pink. ‘Don’t be silly,’ she said. There was a long pause before she added, ‘It wouldn’t matter anyway. Nim is far too busy worrying about saving the world to worry about me.’

‘Nimbus couldn’t save the world if he had a hundred dragons to help him.’

‘Why are you so mean?’

‘There are evil creatures appearing all over the place. The Forbidden Woods have been completely overrun. The night time is no longer safe. There are even rumours a war is coming. Nim’s a complete wimp who got lucky when he killed Sorrow. Do you really think he’s going to save anyone?’

‘I think he’ll try.’

‘At least that’s something, I suppose. Certainly more than can be said for Hawk.’

‘Just drop it, Tide.’

‘Now’s the time when people should be doing the most they can to protect our lands.’

Sky touched his hand, but made no attempt to hold it. ‘We aren’t at war yet.’

Tidal shrugged dismissively. ‘Whatever. It’s no skin off my nose if he wants to be a chicken. It’s just a good job we aren’t all like him.’

‘Does that mean you would fight, if there was a war?’

His gaze moved across the massive expanse of the ocean. It looked calm and peaceful, almost safe. But there was something out there. Something that, for whatever reason, had chosen to let Tidal live when it could have swallowed him whole.

He scratched the scars on his chest. ‘I will fight,’ he said.