A Blackbird In Silver (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

back her heavy hair as she did so. ‘Nor any flying reptile. Some of these creatures only exist in the author’s imagination, I think.’
    She turned to a page on which a hideous dragon was portrayed, undoubtedly stylised and inaccurate, but horribly realistic for all that. It was headed, ‘Ye Serpente Mugulf’. Lilithea left the book open at that page and stood up to look.
    Out of nowhere, a flock of little blue-grey dunnocks – the sort that hopped around Estarinel’s father’s feet looking for insects as he dug – flew overhead, shrieking alarm calls. More followed, then other birds, calling loudly. All around them a barely perceptible rustling began – the panic of small, wild animals.
    ‘Oh!’ Arlena gasped. ‘What’s the matter with them?’
    ‘Terror,’ muttered Lilithea. They all felt it but she, with an instinctive empathy for all plant and animal life, looked ill. Estarinel caught her elbow to steady her.
    The flying thing disappeared from sight once more. This time it fell from sight for many minutes. Where it had landed, thin trails of vapour began to rise against the sky.
    ‘Smoke – can you see it?’ Estarinel asked. Behind them, Gellyn, the man bringing seedlings to Lilithea, came to see what they were looking at.
    ‘By the Lady,’ he said, ‘is that a forest fire down there? There’s not been one of those for many a year.’ They could see no flames; only heavy grey fumes hanging over the distant treetops. Suddenly, sending the vapour swirling, the object rose into the air again and flew on. Still they could see no details of it, only a basic shape. There was a long body and the tiny wings sticking out from it seemed barely able to support its weight.
    Now they realised that it was flying very fast. Threads of some stuff that caught the sunlight fell from its head, and more wisps of smoke rose in their wake. It was less than a mile from them when it twisted and began a ponderous circling.
    ‘Oh ye gods,’ moaned Lilithea, as if she heard the noises a split-second before they became audible: thousands of animals, in sheer panic, rushing towards them. Sheep, horses, deer, gazelles, cats, foxes and all the rest; their stampeding feet and fear-stricken cries formed one swelling sound, through which were threaded human screams.
    The creature’s circling brought it closer, and they could see it more clearly: a long, thick body tapering to a tail, a misshapen, heavy head. The small wings were a blur as they kept it airborne. As they watched, it swooped and plucked a tree from the ground, then dropped it. The tree fell, ashen and smoking, its foliage shrivelled to nothing. The first of the terrified animals burst from the trees. Estarinel and his companions watched, incredulous, as the ghastly Worm dipped and caught several in its huge jaws.
    The four ran along the valley rim for a better view. And they saw half a sheep fall from the Serpent’s careless mouth, strings of blood and saliva whipping after it. They could hear the awful droning whirr of its wings, and a dreadful stench reached them. The atmosphere suddenly seemed warped by a mocking, diabolic evil.
    In Forluin there was no crime, no murder, nor even dangerous animals to prevent the night being a joyous, star-filled time. Hatred, vengeance, cruelty, ambition had no place there; war was unknown, illness rare but skillfully cured by herbal arts. They were truly a people with everything to live for and nothing to fear. They were innocent, open-hearted and in total symbiosis with their beautiful land. And, indeed, there had been contact with the Blue Plane H’tebhmella, which they believed had bestowed protective blessings on the land. Thus they were very slow to realise what was happening and even slower to believe it; and fear, rising in each of them for the first time, felt like suffocating death.
    ‘Oh, it really is that monster in the book,’ whispered Lilithea, touching the page with her foot. ‘It’s killing our animals!’