Aurora (19 page)

‘I don’t know,’
Fang answered.
‘I could try, but the machines have little substance to them. If I grab the machine and it falls apart, then the man we’re
looking to capture will die.’

‘Fang’s not convinced,’ she relayed. ‘He thinks your flying machines are too fragile.’

‘Damn and blast!’ Jack cursed. ‘He might be right, at that. But we must try. I’d rather not kill von Richthofen, but if there’s no alternative, then his death will
be acceptable.’

‘To you, maybe,’ Kira replied, her voice flat and cold. ‘But it’s not acceptable to me. Fang is not a killer for hire, no matter what the reward. What other options do we
have? Can we snatch him from the ground?’

‘I suppose it’s possible.’ Jack scratched his chin as he thought about it. ‘Our intelligence sources have given us a pretty comprehensive briefing. Here, look at this
map.’

Jack pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket that was unlike any that Kira or Elian had ever seen before. It was thinner and whiter than the parchment used for books in Areth. When he
unfolded it, they were amazed to see an incredibly detailed map had been drawn on one side. Every symbol was precisely drawn.

‘In a nutshell, Richthofen and his Jasta – sorry, his team of pilots – are based somewhere between the town of Peronne, here . . . and this town, Cerisy.’ Jack pointed at
the places on the map. ‘This line here is the Somme River. The whole area is a mess. You’d need to be harbouring a death wish to try to fly there deliberately in one of our planes . . .
but on an invisible dragon? It could be worth a shot.’

‘That doesn’t sound clever, Kira,’ Elian said.

‘How do we get there from here?’ she asked, ignoring the warning in Elian’s voice.

‘We’re here,’ Jack said, pointing to a blank area on the map. ‘We fly north until we reach the river and then follow it.’

‘If these dots are towns, that’s a large area,’ Elian observed. ‘How will you find him amongst the thousands of men out there? Do you even know what he looks
like?’

Jack reached into his pocket again and pulled out a picture. The image was remarkable. Elian and Kira had never seen such a lifelike portrait.

‘One of our spies brought this back from Germany,’ he said. ‘The Red Baron is a national hero. Getting a picture of him was easy.’

‘The artist has captured his expression in amazing detail,’ Kira observed, studying the picture of the young man carefully. ‘I’ve never seen such a clever piece of art.
But Elian’s right, even with a painting like this we’ll struggle to pick him out while on dragonback.’

‘It’s a photograph, not a painting,’ Jack said. ‘I can’t explain photography, but the process produces fine pictures . . . and you’re right –
it’ll be a needle-in-a-haystack job. We’d do better to concentrate on looking for his machine. A red triplane will be easier to spot than a man’s face.’

Kira took a final look at the face of the man they were to hunt. Straightening suddenly, she pointed at Fang. ‘Mount up, Jack,’ she ordered. ‘We’d better get going.
We’re not going to find him by standing here and talking about it. Let’s go for an initial scouting trip and see what we can find.’ She buttoned up the front of her jacket and
pulled on her mitts.

Jack followed her example. He fastened his jacket, put on a pair of gloves and a soft leather cap that covered the top, back and sides of his head, extending down over his ears and fastening
under his chin. A pair of transparent eye covers, attached around his head by a stretchy band, completed his outfit.

‘Those eye covers are such a good idea!’ Elian commented, admiring Jack’s goggles.

‘I’m amazed you dragonriders can fly without goggles,’ he replied. ‘It must be almost impossible to see anything. I’ll get you both a set of headgear
later.’

‘Be careful,’ Elian warned Kira.

‘Always,’ she replied.

Fang dropped his camouflage long enough for Kira and Jack to climb onto his back and then disappeared from beneath them as if he had never been there at all. Elian could not help but stare at
the impossible sight of Kira floating through the air between the trees with Jack immediately behind her.

‘And good luck,’ he muttered under his breath.

‘How should I hold on?’ Jack asked as they reached the edge of the trees.

‘You can hold onto my waist,’ Kira told him. ‘But if we don’t find the man this morning, then I’d like to get some handles stitched to the back of my saddle for you
this afternoon. Bring something soft to sit on, too – a blanket, or something. Riding a dragon is uncomfortable to begin with. Unless we get lucky this morning, you’re going to be sore
by this afternoon.’

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

‘Ready? Here we go.’

From a standing start by the edge of the trees, Fang accelerated to flying speed within a dozen paces, the first downstroke of his wings skipping them briefly from the ground and his second
carrying them into the air. Kira heard the gasp from behind her and grinned. Jack’s grip tightened around her waist during the acceleration, but it was not long before the pressure from his
hands loosened again. She could not imagine many people adapting to the experience of flying on an invisible ride so quickly.

‘Which way?’ she asked over her shoulder.

‘Turn right until the sun is at our back-right quarter,’ he replied. ‘Then keep going until we reach the river.’

Fang turned and they climbed to a comfortable height, heading north. The distant ribbon of muddy water soon became apparent and the hunt began. It was not long before they spotted their first
formation of aircraft, but as they got closer they identified it as a friendly patrol.

For the next three hours Fang flew up and down the battle lines, crossing back and forth between friendly and enemy territory. In some places the lines became blurred. Jack pointed out some of
the towns as they went, explaining which ones had fallen to the enemy in recent days. They could see fierce fighting on the ground, but in the sky the activity was not so frantic. They did see some
enemy aircraft and flew close enough to determine that none of the machines were the distinctive red of the one they were looking for.

About an hour before midday they witnessed a clash between formations of Allied and German aircraft. Kira sensed Jack tensing behind her, as they watched the wheeling fight break out.

‘He is itching to join the fray,’
Fang told her.

‘He can itch all he likes,’
she replied.
‘We’re not going to scratch it for him unless The Red Baron is there. Are any of the machines painted
red?’

Fang turned his head to fully scan the fight with his good eye.
‘No,’
he informed her.
‘Some of the aircraft have a red band around the front, but those have the
friendly markings on their wings.’

Shortly after midday they headed back to the wood. Aurora was asleep, her long body curved around several trees. Elian pushed himself up from where he had been waiting anxiously next to the
fire. Kira was impressed to see that he had fashioned himself a pair of crutches.

‘Elian mentioned his wound the other day. Is it bad?’ Jack asked her discreetly, as they dismounted.

‘He had a piece of metal from one of your flash bang weapons deep in his thigh,’ she explained. ‘It has been cut out, but he’s overusing his leg and it’s swelling
again.’

‘Shrapnel wounds are often nasty,’ Jack commented softly. ‘I noticed him limp a bit last night, but had no idea he was suffering. We’ve got medics nearby who can look at
it for him.’

‘With rest his wound will heal fine,’ she assured him. ‘He insisted on coming to find you last night when he should have let me do it. He can be stubborn like that.’

‘Good lad!’ Jack breathed approvingly. ‘The best sort.’

‘How did you get on?’ Elian asked. ‘Any sign?’

Kira shook her head and stretched her back. She was stiff. It had been over a week since she had flown for that long. She looked at Jack to see how he had fared, and it was all that she could do
to keep from laughing. He was standing awkwardly, wearing a pained expression on his face.

‘Would you like us to cook you something before we go again, Jack?’ she asked. ‘Or would you prefer to walk the kinks out of your legs and get food from your own
people?’

Jack grimaced. ‘I think I need the walk,’ he admitted. ‘But why don’t you join me?’

‘Oh, no thanks,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ll be fine here with Elian.’

‘Kira explained about your injury, Elian.’ Jack touched Elian’s shoulder gently and looked him in the eyes. ‘There’s no need to walk far, old boy. I’ll have
someone bring a vehicle across the field and pick you up from the edge of the wood. Why not come and let someone else cook up some grub for you? And I’m sure we can find you something more
comfortable than the ground to sleep on tonight.’

‘If you go, I’ll come with you,’ Kira said. ‘You need to eat and rest your leg properly. Aurora will be fine here. There’re guards all around the wood. Jack says no
one can come in without Squadron Leader White’s approval. Aurora will be fine and you should still be able to talk to her from there.’

Elian looked first at Kira and then at Jack. He was not happy at being cornered, but his resistance crumbled as he thought of all the fascinating things he had seen in the building where he had
met Jack and his Commanding Officer.

‘All right,’ he agreed reluctantly. ‘But let’s not get too comfortable. I don’t want to drag this out a moment longer than necessary.’

Chapter Eighteen

‘Are you sure this is the right place, Shadow? Where are the guard dragons?’
Pell asked scanning the volcano for the telltale blue of a day dragon.
‘I don’t see them.’

‘Neither do I,’
she replied, her voice sounding uncharacteristically nervous.
‘I have searched the entire area with my mind and my eyes, but it looks like there are
none.’

‘What? None! Are you sure?’

‘As sure as I can be,’
Shadow confirmed.
‘It appears the day dragon enclave is not concerned enough to mount a guard.’

‘If I were a day dragonrider, and I knew Segun was in control of the night dragon enclave, you can bet your life I’d be concerned enough to have someone on watch,’
Pell
said, amazed.
‘What are they thinking?
If
Segun succeeds and the Oracle dies, this place will be top of his list to visit . . . along with several hundred night dragons. Can you
sense Firestorm at all?’

‘No,’
Shadow replied.
‘Unless he’s a long way underground, I think it safe to say that he has not arrived yet.’

Pell grimaced. From the moment he and Shadow had been forced to part from Nolita and Firestorm, he had felt sure he would never see them again – at least, not alive. Nolita had been on the
edge of losing her self-control since he had first met her and Pell did not believe her capable of functioning as Firestorm’s rider without support. The odds were, she had run away the moment
they landed. He was not looking forward to explaining what had happened to Elian and Kira.

‘What do we do now?’
he asked, eyeing the entrance into the mountainside with more than a little nervous anticipation.

‘We go in, I suppose,’
Shadow answered.
‘I’ll broadcast a general friendly message as we enter. I don’t want the day dragons to get over-excited and toast
us on our way in.’

‘Good idea,’
Pell agreed.
‘I’m all for a warm welcome, but not
that
warm.’

Shadow descended over the lush green of the forest towards the side of the volcano. The air shimmered with moisture above the treetops, but the sky was clear of cloud and it was surprisingly
warm. Pell had his jacket open and had flown all morning without wearing his gloves or overtrousers.

As they made their final approach, the enormous cave entrance gaped wide and dark, like a gigantic stone mouth twisted sideways. For a moment Pell pictured gargantuan stone teeth springing from
either side of the opening ready to chomp shut on them as they entered.

An old man with white hair and brows awaited them in the huge entrance chamber. Several tunnels led into the volcano’s interior. Some were only large enough for men to walk in single file,
others were large enough for a dragon to enter with ease.

‘Welcome, young man,’ the old man called. ‘I assume you are Pell, and this fine dragon of yours is Whispering Shadow.’

‘That is correct, sir,’ Pell answered. ‘May I dismount?’

‘Please do,’ the man offered, reinforcing the invitation with an open handed gesture. ‘I’ve been expecting you. But where are the others? I thought you would have learned
to stick together by now.’

Pell slid down Shadow’s side and landed lightly. He looked around cautiously before answering. It was hard to shake the feeling that a whole army of day dragons might appear at any
moment.

‘That is a long tale, sir,’ Pell answered carefully. ‘I was hoping to find Nolita and Firestorm here. We were pursued and decided to split up some days ago.’