Prisoner of Fate Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Tony Shillitoe
said, and emptiness fell between them, silence prevented only by the murmur of conversation between the other three young men. ‘We’ll be taking to the air before sunrise,’ Dafyd said as he stood. ‘I’ve got a spare blanket you can use. Stay by the hearth. The fire will be out, but there will be some heat from the coals that might help a little.’
‘Thank you,’ Meg replied. She watched Dafyd’s lithe figure walk towards a bundle of goods from where she expected he would retrieve a blanket. There was a time when generating warmth on a cold evening in the mountains was nothing more than a thought and energy from the amber crystal. She rubbed her chest unconsciously, as if the memory could be restored to reality, and sighed.
CHAPTER THREE
T he dull light spreading across the eastern sky and the fading stars confirmed that morning was sneaking towards Andrak when Meg followed the four young men down the dark shale slope to the dragon egg mooring. Dafyd threw her bag into the carriage under the canvas frame and climbed in, while Neal and Bryon began to loosen the knotted mooring ropes. Adwyn took guard, his peacemaker cradled in his arms, watching the pass and the hillsides as if he expected an attack from an unseen enemy. His vigilance unnerved Meg as she listened to the men organising the creaking dragon egg.
A sheet of flame from the burner gilded Dafyd’s face as it heated the air in the fabric and the vision reminded Meg of the last time that she’d ridden in a dragon egg with Luca. Luca had brought her to Marella and her new life with Emma. The young dragoneer that A Ahmud Ki and she coaxed into adventure had risked his life to save her. She was saddened to have never seen him again after that trip. Luca vanished into the clouds over Marella and never returned. She’d been surprised and disappointed in the early years, as if she had expected him to return.Eventually, though, her thoughts of Luca faded and she had almost forgotten him, until the vision of Dafyd firing the burner.
‘Time to get aboard!’ Dafyd called.
Bryon and Neal threw the ropes into the carriage and gestured for Meg to climb aboard with their assistance. Adwyn backed towards the dragon egg as it started to lift and was the last to scramble into the carriage, heaving his legs over the railing as the carriage gained altitude. The burner roared and as Meg settled onto a low bench against the walls of the carriage, she realised that Dafyd’s dragon egg was much larger than Luca’s, an improved version with comfortable space for several passengers and a burner with five flame holes for faster air heating. There were more windwheels around the carriage, each with gears attached to pulleys and belts that ran to a brass and iron contraption at the centre beneath the burner. ‘Ever flown before?’ Neal asked as he settled on the bench beside Meg.
‘A long time ago,’ she answered.
‘I want one of my own,’ he told her, grinning. ‘Been saving up for one.’
‘What do they cost?’ she asked.
‘Two years of soldiers’ wages,’ he replied. ‘Should’ve stayed in the army. Would’ve had one by now.’ The burner roared. ‘Here’s a blanket to keep out the cold,’ he offered, as he took one from Bryon’s outstretched hand.
Meg thanked Neal and wrapped herself in the thick woollen green material, shivering from the chill of the higher morning air. The mountains of the Great Dylan Ranges sank as she turned east to gaze at the amber glow spreading along the distant, ragged horizon of the Ureykyeu Mountains. She’d forgotten the wonder of flying in the intervening years and smiled at a memory of A Ahmud Ki’s joy mirroring her own aboard Luca’s dragon egg.
‘I love that moment!’ Dafyd yelled, laughing as he looked to the east. The dragon egg was lifting above the rim of the rising sun above the Ureykyeu and rays were lighting the dragon egg’s red-and-yellow fabric from top to bottom. ‘No breeze,’ Dafyd
‘Thank you,’ Meg replied. She watched Dafyd’s lithe figure walk towards a bundle of goods from where she expected he would retrieve a blanket. There was a time when generating warmth on a cold evening in the mountains was nothing more than a thought and energy from the amber crystal. She rubbed her chest unconsciously, as if the memory could be restored to reality, and sighed.
CHAPTER THREE
T he dull light spreading across the eastern sky and the fading stars confirmed that morning was sneaking towards Andrak when Meg followed the four young men down the dark shale slope to the dragon egg mooring. Dafyd threw her bag into the carriage under the canvas frame and climbed in, while Neal and Bryon began to loosen the knotted mooring ropes. Adwyn took guard, his peacemaker cradled in his arms, watching the pass and the hillsides as if he expected an attack from an unseen enemy. His vigilance unnerved Meg as she listened to the men organising the creaking dragon egg.
A sheet of flame from the burner gilded Dafyd’s face as it heated the air in the fabric and the vision reminded Meg of the last time that she’d ridden in a dragon egg with Luca. Luca had brought her to Marella and her new life with Emma. The young dragoneer that A Ahmud Ki and she coaxed into adventure had risked his life to save her. She was saddened to have never seen him again after that trip. Luca vanished into the clouds over Marella and never returned. She’d been surprised and disappointed in the early years, as if she had expected him to return.Eventually, though, her thoughts of Luca faded and she had almost forgotten him, until the vision of Dafyd firing the burner.
‘Time to get aboard!’ Dafyd called.
Bryon and Neal threw the ropes into the carriage and gestured for Meg to climb aboard with their assistance. Adwyn backed towards the dragon egg as it started to lift and was the last to scramble into the carriage, heaving his legs over the railing as the carriage gained altitude. The burner roared and as Meg settled onto a low bench against the walls of the carriage, she realised that Dafyd’s dragon egg was much larger than Luca’s, an improved version with comfortable space for several passengers and a burner with five flame holes for faster air heating. There were more windwheels around the carriage, each with gears attached to pulleys and belts that ran to a brass and iron contraption at the centre beneath the burner. ‘Ever flown before?’ Neal asked as he settled on the bench beside Meg.
‘A long time ago,’ she answered.
‘I want one of my own,’ he told her, grinning. ‘Been saving up for one.’
‘What do they cost?’ she asked.
‘Two years of soldiers’ wages,’ he replied. ‘Should’ve stayed in the army. Would’ve had one by now.’ The burner roared. ‘Here’s a blanket to keep out the cold,’ he offered, as he took one from Bryon’s outstretched hand.
Meg thanked Neal and wrapped herself in the thick woollen green material, shivering from the chill of the higher morning air. The mountains of the Great Dylan Ranges sank as she turned east to gaze at the amber glow spreading along the distant, ragged horizon of the Ureykyeu Mountains. She’d forgotten the wonder of flying in the intervening years and smiled at a memory of A Ahmud Ki’s joy mirroring her own aboard Luca’s dragon egg.
‘I love that moment!’ Dafyd yelled, laughing as he looked to the east. The dragon egg was lifting above the rim of the rising sun above the Ureykyeu and rays were lighting the dragon egg’s red-and-yellow fabric from top to bottom. ‘No breeze,’ Dafyd