The Pearl Quest (5 page)

‘This spell of mine I now negate

Return her to her rightful state.'

Immediately Tia was wide awake. It was full daylight. Ondine stood in front of her, with Thora beside her, smiling in triumph.

T
ia had fallen into Ondine's trap. She'd been tempted into trying to steal the pearl before she was ready, and caught by Ondine's spell.

‘Did you really think you could escape me, thief?' Ondine jeered.

Tia was stiff from standing in one position while she'd been ensnared by the spell. She moved awkwardly to pull herself upright. ‘I'm not the thief,' she insisted. ‘I only wanted to look at the pearl – it's so beautiful I couldn't help myself.'

‘Liar!' Thora sprang forward, waving Tia's green book. She must have searched Tia's belongings. ‘There are plans in here of Drangur and Kulafoss castles. And you've torn pages out – I bet they were plans too.'

Tia glared at Thora. ‘How dare you go through my things!'

‘I instructed her to,' Ondine said. ‘All Tulay knows the jewel thief is a Trader girl. I told Thora to look for proof it was you. And she has found it.' The High Witch leaned forward. ‘But there was no sign of the jewels. Where have you hidden them?'

Tia knew only too well how the jewels overpowered any human who handled them. She had been temped into using some of them and the results had been disastrous. Ondine couldn't hope to control all the jewels. Only dragons could do that.

Greed blazed in Ondine's eyes. The look on her face made even Thora step back.

Suddenly a hideous noise screeched through the palace. The glass in the window cracked in a zigzag from top to bottom. Ondine, Tia and Thora clapped their hands over their ears.

‘The spell!' Ondine shouted above the tumult. ‘The spell has caught a dragon!'

Tia flew to the window. High above the hills rose the great spell snake. It was holding something in its jaws. It shook its head from side to side, dropped the thing in its mouth and plunged after it. The dreadful shrieking died away into a throbbing hiss.

Fear gripped Tia as tightly as the spell had gripped the thing its mouth. Finn – the spell snake must have caught Finn!

Ondine stared at Tia's stricken face. ‘You are in league with a dragon!'

Tia couldn't speak – all she could think of was Finn in the jaws of the snake spell. Ondine seized Tia's arm. ‘And the dragon has the jewels, hasn't it?'

Tia still couldn't speak. She shook her head.

‘Pah!' Ondine shoved Tia towards Thora.

‘I'll deal with you later,' she hissed at Tia. ‘First I have a dragon to attend to and the jewels to claim.'

She rushed out, slamming the door behind her.

Tia hung her head. Why hadn't she confessed to Finn she was a witch-child who could see the snake spell? Then he wouldn't have flown into it, even if he had despised her for being a witch. What could she do to help him now?

She clenched her fists. She couldn't do anything while she was a prisoner. Tia turned and ran. Thora flung herself in front of the door and spread her arms.

‘No you don't!'

There was only one thing that would frighten Thora. Tia conjured up the biggest fireball she could. It sizzled in her palms, writhing with flame. She took aim. Thora screamed and ran for cover.

Tia doused the fireball, wrenched the door open and sped to the stairs. Three of Ondine's guards had reached the top. Tia didn't have time to make
another fireball. She dodged between the guards and leapt onto the polished wooden stair rail. She didn't look down. She was afraid of heights and knew if she so much as glimpsed the floor far below she'd lose her grip and fall. She kicked at the rail and began to slide. Faster and faster she went, spiralling downwards. She whizzed past Grimmar on his way up. ‘Stop!' he boomed.

She couldn't have, even if she'd wanted to: she was going too fast. She reached the bottom, shot off the end of the rail and hurtled into a servant. They tumbled onto a thick rug and rolled over like ninepins.

Grimmar was racing down the stairs. ‘She's a thief – don't let her go!' he bellowed.

Tia shot to her feet and pelted out of the door, down the steps and along the road to the lake's edge. Startled swans honked in alarm, puffing themselves up and beating their wings.

‘Sorry!' Tia called as she careered on.

She reached the jetty and jumped into one of the small boats tied to it. She fumbled with the knot. It wouldn't come loose.

Tia heard the pounding of feet and shouting. Grimmar's voice rose above the tumult. ‘Catch her!'

The clumsy knot slipped free as Grimmar bounded onto the jetty. Desperately Tia grabbed
an oar, braced it against the jetty and pushed. The boat spun out sideways and she dropped the oar into the water. Grimmar knelt and reached for her. She snatched the second oar. She thrust it at him, overbalanced and stumbled backwards into the stern. The oar flew from her grip and joined the other one in the lake.

Tia scrambled into a sitting position and gripped the sides of the boat. More people were joining Grimmar on the jetty and it thundered and swayed as they ran towards her.

‘Give up.' Grimmar grasped the painter and pulled
the boat closer. ‘There's no-one to help you now.'

All at once the air was full of swans. They honked and dived, wings thrumming. A flock of them landed on the jetty, puffed themselves up and charged towards the men, wings and necks outstretched. Half the men jumped in the water to get away, the other half ran back up the jetty. Neither group escaped. The men on land faced more swans charging towards them. The men in the water found themselves surrounded by a flotilla of furious birds.

Two swans glided towards Tia's boat.

‘Why are the men attacking you?' one honked. Tia recognised the swan she had rescued.

‘I'm trying to get to my friend in the hills. He needs help. The men want to stop me.'

The swan clacked her beak angrily. ‘You saved me from the foxes – we will save you from the men.'

The two birds pushed the oars back to Tia and escorted the boat as she rowed across the lake to the bank and jumped out.

The swans rose in the water, flapped their wings and honked in salute. ‘Goodbye and good fortune. May you find your friend.'

As she ran towards the hills, Tia hoped against hope it wasn't too late to help Finn. She would never forgive Ondine for this.

T
ia ran from island to island and on into the lower slopes of the hills. She dropped to her knees on the grass, exhausted.

I'm not going to reach him in time
, she thought.

And if you did, what could you do to help?
a mocking little voice said in her mind.

Tia ignored it. She'd defeated five High Witches already. She'd find a way to get the better of this one too. But she had to reach Finn before Ondine killed him. She got to her feet and forced herself to jog steadily up into the hills.

A fast drumming sound ahead caught her by surprise. A riderless horse, bridled and saddled, came galloping down the hill and flew past her, its nostrils flaring in fear.

‘Tia!'

Loki barrelled out of the sky and flapped round her head. ‘You've got to hurry. That witch has almost reached Finn. She'd be there already if her horse hadn't been afraid of the smell of dragon and thrown her.'

‘I'm going as fast as I can,' Tia protested.

She felt as if a stone had lodged in her chest. What if she was already too late to save her DragonBrother?

‘Hasn't the witch brought anyone with her?' she panted.

‘Hah! She brought two soldiers. Their horses ran off in different directions as soon as they got a whiff of Finn.'

Tia nodded. She'd found her second wind and wasn't going to waste it on speaking. She kept going steadily until Loki said, ‘Finn's on the other side of this hill. He fell by some trees.'

Tia dropped onto her stomach, elbowed herself to the top of the hill and looked over. Finn lay stretched out under the trees. His eyes were glazed and dull. His skin was a strange yellowy green instead of its natural copper. Smoke trickled weakly from his nostrils.

‘Oh no,' Tia whispered. Ondine was leaning over the little dragon, her arms outstretched. Her eyes were closed and the pearl on her brow gleamed.

‘Is she doing a spell?' Loki asked.

‘Yes, a healing spell with the pearl.' Tia's breath caught in her throat. She'd expected Ondine to kill Finn. Hope, like a small bird, fluttered inside Tia. Perhaps Ondine felt pity for the little dragon? Maybe she wasn't completely wicked after all.

Loki's beady eyes fixed suspiciously on the witch. ‘I thought she hated dragons?'

‘She does.' Tia began to crawl over the hilltop.

‘Wait!' Loki hopped in front of her. ‘You can't fight the witch – she's a lot stronger than you. Throw yourself on her mercy and tell her that you're her daughter. It's your only hope – you have to do it.'

Tia wanted to believe what Loki said but she didn't dare. Silently she wriggled down the hill until she was as close to Finn and Ondine as she could be without revealing herself. She crouched in the thin undergrowth around the trees and spied through the leaves.

Ondine was concentrating hard but the pearl only shimmered palely. Finn drew a rasping breath, coughed and opened his eyes.

Ondine dropped her hands and the pearl instantly dimmed.

Finn lifted his head. Tia drew in a sharp breath. The pouch wasn't round his neck.

‘Where are the jewels of power, dragon?' the High Witch demanded.

‘I don't know what you mean about jewels.' Finn's head dropped back onto the grass.

Fury brighter than a fireball burned away Tia's hopes. Ondine wasn't showing pity for Finn. She'd healed him just enough to talk, but not enough to fight or fly away.

‘Do something' Loki demanded.

Tia's mind worked furiously. ‘Give me a minute – I'm thinking.' She was too full of anger and crushing disappointment to think clearly.

Loki cocked his head to one side. ‘I'll help you.' The jackdaw squawked, flapped his wings noisily and fluttered up and down.

‘Stop it, she'll see me!' Tia hissed.

Loki screeched louder and started to peck at Tia. She held her arms over her head to protect herself and stumbled to her feet.

‘You!' Ondine glared unbelievingly at Tia.

Loki flew into the trees, still racketing.

Ondine made hauling movements with her hands. Tia felt herself being reeled in like a fish. As she was dragged along the grass she vowed she would never to do what Loki wanted and tell Ondine that she was her daughter.

Instead she pleaded, ‘Please, Lady, don't hurt the dragon. He's done no harm.'

‘Dragons always do harm. It's their nature,' Ondine said. ‘As for you, I don't know how you managed to escape but since you did, I'll make use of you. Tell me where the jewels are and I'll spare this creature you seem so fond of.'

‘I don't know,' Tia said. ‘I really don't.'

Ondine tutted. ‘Oh dear, I seem to have only one choice left.' She stared down at Finn. ‘Tell me where you've hidden the jewels or I'll kill this child.'

She thrust out her arm and a lightning bolt appeared in her fist. The bolt sizzled, making Tia's hair crackle and stand on end.

‘No.' With an enormous effort Finn raised his head again. ‘You can't do it, you mustn't. She's your daughter.'

‘My precious child was killed by dragons! By your kind!' Ondine shrieked. ‘How dare you speak of her?' She raised the lightning like a spear and aimed at Finn.

‘Don't!' Tia flung herself at Ondine. ‘I
am
your daughter Tia. The dragons took me when the necklace was stolen. They cared for me. They were going to return me when the witches gave the jewels back.'