The Sapphire Quest

To Chris and Jennie
DragonFather and DragonChild

Map

The Story So Far...

Chapter One: The Avenue of Beasts

Chapter Two: The secret cellar

Chapter Three: The Elves of Iserborg Castle

Chapter Four: The Stone Guards

Chapter Five: The Great Statue

Chapter Six: Master Zeno

Chapter Seven: Trapped

Chapter Eight: Geysers and volcanoes

Chapter Nine: Battle with the trolls

The High Witches of Tulay stole the DragonQueen's jewels of power and drove the dragons away. In revenge, one of the dragons kidnapped the youngest witch's child, Tia. Raised by the mighty creatures, Tia is now on a quest to retrieve the jewels, helped by her DragonBrother, Finn, who can blend invisibly into any background, and a jackdaw called Loki.

Tia has already stolen back three jewels: the emerald, which grants the power to talk to animals, the opal, which lets its owner change shape, and the topaz, which controls the weather.

Now Tia, disguised as a Trader called Nadya, has arrived at Stoplar. Stoplar is ruled by Skadi, who has the sapphire that enables the bearer to travel instantly from one place to another. But the three remaining High Witches have now learned of the thefts and Tia is in greater danger than ever before.

Tia and her DragonBrother sat on a sloping hill of plumed cottongrass and scanned the skies. Finn's sharp dragon eyes were the first to spot a black dot high above the plain stretching away in front of them.

‘There he is!'

Tia shaded her eyes with her hand and made out a jackdaw flying swiftly in their direction. He landed with a bounce on the grass.

‘Well?' Tia demanded.

‘Don't be so impatient,' the bird said and started to preen his feathers.

‘What did he say?' the little copper-coloured dragon asked.

‘He told me not to be impatient.'

Finn laughed and puffed out a smoke ring at Loki.

The bird shook his wings. ‘That's better.' He cocked his head at Tia. ‘I suppose you want a report?'

‘Yes, please, Loki.'

The jackdaw flew onto Finn's shoulder so that he was eye to eye with Tia and said, ‘To the west of Iserborg town there are a few big hills. They look as if they're covered in snow and ice but it's dust from the white stone that people quarry there.'

‘That must be marble – you remember Luona's palace was covered with it?'

‘Skadi's castle is grey stone but there are marble statues all over it.' Loki shook his wings. ‘They're of horrible, ugly monsters. The castle's in the middle of the town and it's got a moat. There's a bridge at the front and a watergate at the back. The town's surrounded by a wall with two gates. Big stone avenues lead up to them, only...'

‘Yes?' Tia prompted.

‘There are more of those marble statues – huge ones – standing on each side of the avenues. I didn't like them.'

‘Why not?'

But Loki wouldn't explain any further, except to say they looked bad and made him feel strange.

Tia told her DragonBrother what the jackdaw had said.

Finn's smoke rings came faster. ‘I don't like the sound of those statues.'

‘Neither do I,' Tia said, ‘but I have to steal that sapphire from Skadi and I'd better get going.' She picked up her backpack. ‘It's late and I want to get there before the town gates are closed at nightfall.'

Finn nudged Tia with his muzzle. ‘I can disguise myself and take you part of the way.' He looked across the plain. ‘I wonder where the spell boundary starts.'

Tia's witch powers meant she could see the spells that kept dragons away from the lands of the six towns. This one sparkled like frosted spider silk right around the plain. But she couldn't say so. She had to keep her powers secret from Finn because she didn't want him to know she was a ‘witch-brat'. That was what the dragonets at Drakelow had called her.

‘I think you ought to disguise yourself right away, just in case the spell's close,' she said.

Finn's skin rippled and turned to the colour of the cotton grass he was lying on. He picked Tia up and sprang into the air, changing into the colour of the evening sky as he flew.

They landed a safe distance away from Iserborg town, which was dominated by Skadi's squat, looming castle. Tia threw her arms around Finn's muzzle and told him to stay safe.

‘I will,' he promised. ‘And I'll be waiting for you when you get back.'

‘I'll bring the sapphire with me.'

‘You won't be tempted to use it?'

She shook her head vigorously. ‘No!' She'd learned that the jewels were much too powerful for her to control safely, except for the emerald which she kept on a chain tucked safely away under her shirt. Finn kept the opal and topaz for her. She wouldn't risk using the sapphire, no matter how tempted she might be.

She gave Finn one last hug before he flew away then set off towards the town. Loki flew on ahead. The sun was beginning to set and he wanted to roost before darkness fell.

When Tia reached the avenue leading to the town gates, a chill ran through her. The marble beasts on either side were much, much bigger than she had imagined – three times the size of a large horse – and even more terrifying.

The first two creatures were a wolf, on her left, and a serpent, on her right. The wolf was carved in a crouching position as if it were ready to spring, its lips drawn back to show huge fangs. The serpent reared up on a column of coils, its tongue darting out like a spear. They looked horribly real, especially in the failing light, and Tia felt her insides churn as she walked closer.

She stepped onto the avenue meaning to keep her eyes on the ground, but a loud grinding noise startled her and she looked up. The statues' heads had swivelled towards her. Their mouths gaped wider and their eyes lit up with a deep red glow.

Tia's heart pounded. Would they leap on her as she passed them? Holding her breath, she walked steadily forward. The ghastly grating noise started up again as the beasts' heads twisted and their red eyes followed her progress down the avenue.

A few strides more and she came to the next two beasts, a bear and a leopard. Their snarling heads twisted round too and their red eyes fixed on her. Skadi must have put a spell on the statues to make them move whenever anyone approached. It was strong magic. No wonder Loki had felt uneasy.

Tia hurried on. She passed animals she recognised, a pine marten and a lynx, and animals she didn't – a great cat with a collar of shaggy fur and a plumed tail, an armoured bull-like creature with a vicious horn on its nose. They were all the same size and all had moving heads and glowing eyes that followed her every step. By the time she reached the gates she was running. She shot into the town and across a
square into a higgledy-piggledy collection of thatched houses.

Panting hard, she skidded to a stop halfway down a shadowy side street. She made sure she had a good view of the gates and then slumped underneath a window, recovering her breath.

In the square, people stood in anxious knots, talking in low, agitated voices. Even the guards at the entrance were deep in a tense conversation. Tia realised that was why they hadn't noticed her. She'd been lucky they had other things on their mind than a running child.

A light came on in the window above Tia's head and she heard talking.

‘She wants five men for the quarries and seven women and children for servants,' a man's voice said.

‘But she took nine folk last month!' a woman replied.

‘There are accidents in the quarries and you know what happens when she tires of servants.'

The woman gave a cry of fright. ‘But she won't take anyone now – you know she doesn't like to use the bracelet at night. Close the shutters and bolt the doors to be on the safe side.'

Tia heard the shutters above her being pulled to.
As the man locked them down he muttered, ‘Not that bolts and bars can keep
her
out.'

All over the town, lights were being lit and shutters closed. The guards hauled the great wooden gates shut and barred them with stout beams. As darkness fell, two new guards with flaming torches marched up and the others strode off towards the castle. The night guards each went to a hut, one on either side of the gate, fixed their torches over the top and sat inside. The whole town fell quiet and the night closed in at last.

Tia leaned back against the wall and thought about the conversation she'd overheard. What did the woman mean by saying High Witch Skadi ‘took' people?

Malindra had used animals to keep her citizens under control, Yordis had turned herself into a bear and threatened to eat people, and Luona froze anyone who crossed her. But what could Skadi do with the sapphire that frightened the people of Iserborg so much?

A cold wind scurried across the square. Tia shivered. Summer was close but the nights were still cold and she needed to find shelter. She wished Loki didn't roost at night; he'd be useful in finding her a place to go. A large piece of paper blew against her leg. As she pulled it off she saw it was a notice of
some sort, with a picture of a face. It was too dark to see clearly but something about the face made Tia feel uneasy. She decided to look at it properly.

She went further down the street, hid in a doorway, and snapped a tiny light on the end of her finger. She gasped at what she saw. The picture was of her own face.

Hurriedly she read the notice: