Shadow (15 page)

Kira glanced back at the other two. Elian gave her a grin and a wink, but Nolita gave no indication that she had seen Kira’s look. Her eyes were fixed on Murvan’s back and she seemed
only to have thoughts for where he was leading them.

As Kira suspected, the network of passages that Murvan led them through was extensive. They walked for several minutes in silence, turning first down one passageway and then another. Trying to
keep a track of the turns became increasingly difficult, but Kira repeated the pattern over and over in her mind with a song-like rhythm as they went, adding each new turn to the mantra as they
made it.

The presence of two guards in the final corridor gave the three young riders the clue that they had arrived.

‘Halt! Who goes there?’

‘It’s Murvan, you fool! Surely you can see that?’

‘Just doin’ as I was told,’ the guard replied, his voice full of reproach.

Murvan glanced upwards as if searching for divine help. ‘You don’t need to make the challenge if you recognise the . . . oh, never mind,’ he replied, shaking his head in
exasperation. ‘Just open up. You’re relieved. Lord Segun wants the prisoner released.’

‘Yes, sir. No problem, sir. Right away, sir.’

Kira watched with concealed amusement at the exchange. Both guards were of heavy build, and apparently had limited intelligence. Their body language, the look in their eyes, their features, even
the way the man with the keys fumbled to unhook them from his belt, indicated they were slow of thought. She was glad that they had Murvan with them to give the orders. Men like this would rather
die than swerve one iota from their orders, and there would have been no chance of overpowering them.

As the guard rammed the key home into the lock and opened the door, Kira took a deep breath and strode into the cell. The success of this ploy was now totally dependent on Pell. If he gave the
game away, things were likely to get difficult very quickly. The element of surprise might help them a little if it came to a fight, but she knew that their chances of winning a physical
confrontation with the three men were not good. Worse, there were likely to be more guards within earshot.

‘Is this the one?’ The voice was hard, female and familiar. ‘You’re sure this is Pell?’

Pell crouched by the little cot bed, poised to fight like a cornered wolf. He was wary after his beating earlier, but he was alert to any chance of potential escape. It took a moment for him to
make the connection and relate the voice to the person. It was Kira! Kira? Here? And was that Elian and Nolita behind her? His mind whirled with confusion as he tried to imagine how they could have
found him, and his eyes flicked back and forth between the guards and his fellow questors.

Kira seemed to be inspecting his face. No doubt he looked a mess after what the guards had done to him. He knew his left eye was swollen and he imagined there would be a fair amount of bruising.
He wanted to say something, but the slight narrowing of her eyes gave him the clue that he should not show any sign of recognition. She and the others must have bluffed their way in here. Gods! he
thought. They’re braver than I gave them credit for.

‘Yes, that’s him,’ Murvan confirmed.

‘It’s hard to imagine what Lord Segun wants
him
for,’ Kira sneered. ‘He looks pathetic to me.’

A fresh spark of anger flared inside Pell’s gut. If he got out of here, she would pay for that comment.

‘Don’t underestimate him,’ one of the guards said immediately. ‘He tried to break out earlier. He’s quite fast and strong.’

Despite his anger, Pell had enough self-control to stay silent. The Racafian girl had them wrapped around her little finger.

‘Well if he knows what’s good for him, he won’t do anything else that stupid,’ Kira replied pointedly. She turned and Pell met her gaze. To his surprise he could not look
into her eyes for more than a second or two before looking away. ‘Lord Segun wants you to follow him to the Valley of the Griffins. Will you come willingly, or should we tie you?’

‘I’ll come,’ Pell replied, his voice gruff even to his own ears. He lowered his eyes to the ground as if in defeat.

‘Good,’ Kira continued. ‘I never did like unpleasantness. Where’s his flying jacket? He’ll need it. It’s going to be colder than an ice dragon’s heart
where we’re going.’

‘It’s over there.’ One of the guards pointed to a bundle in the corner.

‘Good. Come. We don’t have all night. I don’t want to keep Lord Segun waiting.’

Kira motioned to Elian and Nolita, who moved past her and helped Pell to his feet. He groaned as he straightened.

‘Are you fit to ride?’ she asked, giving him a raking look up and down.

She was mocking him again. He was sure of it. Damn you, Kira! You’ve had your fun. Don’t push it! he thought, furious. ‘I’ll manage,’ he growled, his anger and
stubbornness warring for dominance.

‘He’s likely to give you trouble, Ebony,’ Murvan observed. ‘He’s not exactly been a model prisoner. Would you like me to assign a few more riders to accompany
you?’

‘There’s no need,’ Kira said with a curt shake of her head. Pell winced as she flashed him a vicious glance. ‘I think he’s learned his lesson. Trust me. I promise
you the three of us will keep him focused on following Lord Segun as fast as possible.’

Pell held his breath and did his best to look contrite as Murvan considered her response. It was hard to control his anger when Kira was being so deliberately provocative, but he realised he
would have to save his response until a more opportune moment. Once they were out of the enclave, he would have plenty of time to teach her some respect.

Murvan did not look happy, but Kira continued to project confidence and authority. After a moment or two he caved in.

‘Very well, Ebony. On your head be it. Just remember that I offered. If it all goes wrong, I don’t want it said that I did not do everything in my power to help you.’

‘Don’t worry, Murvan,’ Kira replied, giving him a warm smile. ‘I’ll make sure Lord Segun hears how helpful you’ve been.’

Oh, you’re a bad girl, Kira! Pell thought, inwardly forced to admire her bravado.

‘Would you mind leading us back?’ she continued. ‘I’m fairly certain I can remember all the turns, but it would be inconvenient to get lost -particularly as we’re
in such a hurry.’

‘Of course,’ Murvan replied. He turned to the two guards. ‘You’re relieved of duty, men. Report to the shift master at sunrise.’

‘Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,’ they replied together. The men took no chances on Murvan reconsidering his decision, but disappeared quickly out through the door and off along the
passageway at speed. It was a well-honed response that brought a twitch of a smile to the corners of Pell’s mouth. Even more amusing, though, was the irony of Murvan leading the rest of them
out through the cell door and along the corridors towards the outside world.

Chapter Thirteen

‘Shadow?’

Nothing. Pell had called every few seconds since they left the cell. His memory of where the cell was in relation to the cave where Shadow had dropped him was vague, but he knew it would not
take them long to reach it – a few minutes at most.

‘Shadow?’

Murvan was leading them out through the maze of passageways with the confidence of one who was intimately acquainted with his surroundings. If they were going by the most direct route, then they
must surely reach it soon, he thought.

‘Shadow?’

‘Pell?’

The reply was faint, but it was there. Shadow could hear him at last.

‘Shadow, I’m coming,’
he thought, concentrating as hard as he could on forming the words clearly in his mind and projecting them with all his might.

‘I’ll be waiting,’
she replied.
‘Are the others with you?’

‘Yes, they’re here. Did you bring them?’
he asked.

‘No, Pell. They came of their own accord. They knew you were in trouble. Fang got them into the enclave, but he had to leave to avoid being detected. I will be carrying you all out.
We’ll meet up with Fang, Fire and Aurora once we’re well away from here.’

So we’re all reliant on Shadow to get us out, he realised. That put him straight into a position of strength. If the three riders had not taken such risks to come to his aid, he would have
enjoyed this. It would be particularly sweet to pay Kira back for her recent comments. Unfortunately, he could not escape the fact that he was deep in their debt.

He glanced across at Nolita. She seemed remarkably calm. There was no sign of fear in her eyes. That surprised him. They were, after all, in the heart of the night dragon enclave. As the rider
of a day dragon there were not many places in the world that offered her more danger. Where was the fearful wretch he had left in Orupee a week ago? There was something different about her. She had
changed – grown. What had they been doing without him?

‘How did the others catch up with us, Shadow?’
he asked.
‘Did they give up on their quest for the day orb and decide to follow us after all?’

‘I don’t know,’
Shadow responded.
‘Speaking with Fang was risky. We did not want to alert other dragons to his presence, so we kept our exchanges to a
minimum. I am as intrigued as you are. I thought they were set on going to the day dragon enclave. They must have changed their minds.’

Shadow’s voice was getting stronger and clearer. They must be getting nearer to the cave where he and Shadow had landed. Kira confirmed this thought moments later when she placed a hand on
Murvan’s shoulder and stopped him in his tracks.

‘That’s great, thanks, Murvan,’ she said. ‘I know where I am now. We’ve taken enough of your time.’

‘No, I insist,’ he replied firmly. ‘It’s only a little further. Come, I’ll see you off. I just want to make sure Pell doesn’t give you any trouble. Once
you’ve left the enclave he’s all yours, but I feel a certain responsibility to ensure you get safely underway.’

Unless Kira came up with a way to divert Murvan from coming with them to the outer cave, things could get ugly in a minute, Pell realised. The four of them could overwhelm the older rider easily
enough, but if Shadow could now hear Pell clearly, then it was a fair bet that Murvan’s dragon could hear his rider as well. With hindsight it might have been better to deal with the rider
whilst they were still deep in the mountainside. That would have left them with the problem of finding their way out, but at least they would have had a chance to build a lead on any potential
pursuers.

‘Very well,’ Kira said, dipping her head slightly in a semi-bow to acknowledge Murvan’s authority. ‘Lead on.’

The senior rider turned to lead the way, but before he had taken two steps Kira was in motion. Pell was impressed by the speed with which she whipped her heavy belt knife from its sheath,
reversed it and smashed the metal handle hard into the base of Murvan’s skull. The man folded to the floor as if every bone in his body had melted. Pell expected her to make a run for the
exit, but instead Kira sprang to the fallen rider’s side and felt his neck for a pulse.

‘He’ll live,’ she announced, sounding relieved. ‘Come on! Let’s get out of here as fast as we can. There’s no way of knowing if his dragon felt him fall. If
she did, then getting out of here could get interesting. Pell, call Shadow. We need a lift.’

‘Already done,’ he said, pleased to be a step ahead of her. ‘She’s waiting and expecting to carry us all.’

Kira did not waste further words. She was up and off along the corridor at a sprint towards the door at the far end. It was not until he tried to follow Kira that Pell realised he could not run.
He tried, but after a few paces had to drop back to a walk. It was too painful. His ribs felt as if they were on fire and his vision blurred. Elian and Nolita were quick to support him as he gasped
and stumbled.

‘Come on, Pell,’ Elian urged, his voice nauseatingly upbeat and encouraging. ‘It’s not far from here.’

Pell did not respond. Instead, he concentrated on keeping his breathing shallow and even, and lengthened his stride into a purposeful walk.

They reached the door at the end. Kira had already opened it and was waiting for them in the cave beyond. So was Shadow. Pell’s heart leaped with joy as he made out her outline against the
very slightly lighter night sky beyond. As they passed through the doorway, he felt Nolita falter at his side.

Ah, he thought. So she hasn’t improved
that
much.

‘Get up on my back, Pell,’
Shadow told him with an edge of panic.
‘The dragons outside suspect that something’s wrong. We could be in for
trouble.’

He repeated the message to the others, but despite the urgency he conveyed, Nolita did not move. She froze, rooted to the spot as he moved forwards to Shadow’s side. Much as it galled him
to admit it, he needed the help Kira and Elian gave him, or he would have struggled to climb into the saddle.

Kira scrambled up Shadow’s side and settled behind him while Elian went back for Nolita.