Rise of the Dragons Read online

  Allie was silent for some time, taking in what Bellacrux had told her. It was staggering. She knew the stories of the other world, but she had never believed they were real. Now Allie understood why D’Mara had made the long trek to find Lysander and why she had bought them from the Zolls. She even began to understand why the Lennixes had adopted Joss—what better way to keep control of Lysander than to adopt his Lock into the family? Although, when she thought about Joss actually agreeing to the adoption, Allie felt a little less understanding.

  As she thought about how wonderful it would be to be safe and happy in a whole new world, a terrible thought came to Allie. We must never let the Raptors go to the other world, she sent.

  Indeed, Allie. We must never let that happen, Bellacrux agreed. Which is why we must get Lysander away from here as soon as we can.

  Allie and Bellacrux spent the rest of the morning discussing how to get Lysander away from Fortress Lennix. All the while, Allie stayed firmly beneath Bellacrux’s wing. She sat close to the egg, her arms draped over it, and every now and then she felt a movement inside like the fluttering of a trapped bird. Will the egg hatch soon? she asked Bellacrux.

  All too soon, I fear, Bellacrux replied. And when it hatches, they will take it, tattoo it, and torment it until they turn it into a Raptor.

  Allie thought of the soft green innocent creature sleeping inside its egg. That mustn’t happen, she sent.

  Indeed, my little Lock. It must not. I’ve had to watch it too many times.

  Exhausted by the events of the last few days, Allie eventually fell into a doze. She awoke to find a small box of food and a flask of water placed beside her, and Bellacrux watching her with a tender expression. Harry came in with a roast sheep and when he wasn’t looking I took his own lunch too. Dear Harry, he can’t understand what has happened to it. He likes cheese sandwiches; I hope you do too. Would you like some sheep first? I saved the ears—my favorite—for you.

  Oh! Allie sent. Sheep ears. Wow.

  Bellacrux’s amused voice came into Allie’s mind. You don’t like sheep ears, do you?

  Er … I’ve never had them. But I’d rather not try.

  You don’t know what you’re missing, Bellacrux sent. They are so chewy. And deliciously salty.

  Cheese sandwiches will be just perfect, Allie replied.

  That night, Allie was awoken by Bellacrux gently nuzzling her face. Allie dear. There is trouble in the courtyard. I must go. Pile the cushions over the egg and hide underneath. But if you close your eyes and stay calm and still, you will find you are flying with me.

  Allie peered out from her nest of cushions and watched Bellacrux push open the huge barn door in the side of the chamber so that it fell outward and lay flat upon its hinges like a drawbridge. As the chill of the night filled the chamber, Allie watched Bellacrux walk out onto the door and the huge chains settle with the weight of the dragon. And then, with a great downward thrust of her wings, Bellacrux rose into the air and was gone.

  Allie burrowed down deep into the nest and wrapped her arms around the egg. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated on becoming calm and still, as Bellacrux had told her. In the warmth of the nest, Allie found it easy to let all her cares slip away, and a feeling of tranquility soon came over her. And then, suddenly, Allie was almost overcome with a dizzying sense of height. It was just as Bellacrux had said; she too was flying. The air was cold on her skin, the mountainside was bright in the moonlight, and above it she saw the stars dusting the sky and below a myriad of flickering lights in the great square mass of Fortress Lennix. And then, too soon, she was swooping down, heading fast toward the wide-open space of the landing yard.

  Gathered below, Allie could see the dark shapes of Raptors already in the yard, and in the distance she saw the unmistakable figure of D’Mara Lennix striding toward them. As she came in to land, Allie saw that in the center of the group of Raptors was a small, young Green. She stood at bay: fangs bared, head raised defiantly, her wings half outstretched, and Allie knew that this dragon was no Raptor. And now Allie was on the landing yard, the Raptors were parting, and she was walking through them, heading for the young Green interloper.

  Allie felt the sympathy of her Lock go out to the young Green, and then Bellacrux’s behavior became suddenly shocking. She was now in front of the Green, looking down at the dragon, and Allie felt the heat of fire in her mouth as Bellacrux sent short bursts of flame flickering across the ground, so that they curled around the delicate feet of the Green and sent her hopping from one foot to another—much to the amusement of the other Raptors. Allie saw the whites of the young Green’s eyes as they widened in fear and she felt her Lock feel … what was it … yes, it was shame.

  Now the young Green began to hesitantly speak in dragonsong, and Allie understood what her Lock heard. Fellow dragons, I am Herlenna. I come as ambassador from the Greens. You have taken our entire clutch of eggs. You have stolen our future. I beg of you; let me take one egg back home: just one to give us hope.

  Allie felt the warm, leathery surface of the egg she shared the nest with and realized that it must be from the stolen clutch. She waited for Bellacrux to offer to return it, but Bellacrux did no such thing. You will get no egg tonight, Allie heard her say. Go home while you can still fly.

  Allie was so shocked at the harshness of her Lock’s response that for some moments she lost her connection with Bellacrux. It returned with a terrifying image—a massive red dragon, its wings raised in fight stance, its mouth wide open, showing its long, glistening incisors. This was, although Allie did not know it, Valkea. In a sudden movement, the red dragon brought her wings down in such a way that their sharpened barbs gouged deep grooves through the scales of the Green and tore into one of her wings.

  From somewhere in the night, through the open door, Allie heard a scream of pain, and she knew it was Herlenna. She threw her arms over her head, trying to get rid of the image of the cruel Red. She wanted to lose the connection with Bellacrux now—she didn’t want to see anything else bad happen to the Green—but the connection would not go. Dismayed, Allie saw Bellacrux ordering Herlenna to be taken prisoner; she heard her Lock saying that she did not even believe all the Greens’ eggs were gone, that the Green was no more than a low-down spy and she must be made to tell them where they were hiding the rest of the clutch. Allie heard the baying of delight from the Raptors, and the last image that came into her mind was the young Green, streaming dark blood, being hustled away.

  The connection with her Lock vanished and left Allie in turmoil. Suddenly needing fresh air, careless of whether she would be seen or not, Allie pushed her way up from the cushion and sat, breathing in the cold air that tasted of stone and, Allie thought, of fear. She looked out onto the night and saw the mountains beyond, their jagged peaks dark against the starry sky. She heard the howling of the wind as it found its way through the canyons below and she felt like a stranger marooned upon a distant planet.

  A brisk flurry of footsteps in the atrium outside sent Allie burrowing back under the cushions, her heart racing. Whoever it was had stopped outside the door. She heard the little viewing hatch in the wicket being flipped open, and she lay stone still. She could almost feel the gaze of the watcher traveling around the chamber. At last she heard the hatch flipping down again and she breathed easily once more.

  Suddenly Allie felt overwhelmed by loneliness. The two beings closest to her—her brother and Bellacrux—were not who she had thought them to be. Joss had become a Lennix and Bellacrux was no more than another cruel and heartless Raptor. Her brother had betrayed her and her Lock had deceived her. Allie curled up around the egg for comfort, thinking that at least she had something in common with the tiny creature inside: Both of them had lost their true family and were utterly alone in Fortress Lennix.

  Joss’s day had been one long mire of misery. Allie, Allie, Allie was all Joss could think about. He had just about managed to get through breakfast by avoiding the twins’ smug glances and keeping qui
et. D’Mara had put the redness of Joss’s eyes down to some kind of allergy. Edward did not notice. Kaan did not care. But it did not escape Declan’s shrewd gaze.

  Joss had spent the day with Declan on a tour of the lower levels of the Roost, starting with the dungeons, and Declan, assuming Joss was feeling the strain of his new position—being a Lennix was never going to be easy—had been very gentle with his adopted brother. But after a strained family supper when Declan had seen Joss’s eyes brimming with tears, he had decided to accompany Joss down to his room at the end of the evening. And there, after some persuading, Joss had told him what had happened to Allie.

  Declan was aghast. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “They can’t do that. That’s murder.”

  Joss gulped. He had never thought he would hear that word associated with Allie.

  “Stay right there,” Declan said, “I’m going to find out.” It was Declan’s footsteps that Allie had heard, and Declan’s gaze she had felt, traveling across the chamber.

  Declan was not inclined to search Bellacrux’s chamber. The Lennix Grand was notoriously bad-tempered and Declan had no wish to be found rooting around in her precious cushions when she returned from wherever she had gone. He knocked on Harry’s door and was greeted with some hostility. Harry was one of the few people in the Roost who was brave enough to show his contempt of the Lennixes to their faces. “What do you want?” he demanded.

  Declan explained about Allie. Harry looked troubled. “I wasn’t here,” he said. “Your sisters deliberately chose my evening off. They knew I’d have stopped their nastiness. But yes, the Roost Guards told me. They pushed a girl in and Bellacrux took her.” Seeing Declan’s horrified expression, Harry defended the dragon he loved. “You mustn’t blame Bellacrux; it’s only her nature. But I am surprised even so; she’s never taken an innocent child before. But Bellacrux is a bit unpredictable right now. She took my lunch box today and wouldn’t give it back. I suppose it’s the egg they gave her. She’s gone broody.”

  Feeling shaken, Declan thanked Harry and walked slowly away. Harry watched him go. That boy’s too soft to be a Lennix, he thought. Needs to toughen up or he won’t last long.

  Declan sat with Joss in the Lock’s room, trying to give him some hope. “All I can say is I looked through the viewing hatch really carefully and there was no sign of … well, of anything at all. You know, no, er …”

  “Blood,” Joss finished for him.

  “Exactly. So it all must have happened very quickly.”

  Joss gave a sob and Declan put his arm around his shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry. Even Harry is shocked that Bellacrux would do such a thing. He seemed puzzled …”

  They sat silently while Joss choked back tears. After a while Declan said, “You know, Joss, something does not quite add up.”

  Joss looked up at Declan. “How do you mean?” he asked.

  “Well,” Declan said, “sometimes I wonder about Bellacrux. It’s true she has a bad track record of kills, but I made a list of the victims once and discovered that every single one of them had killed someone themselves. If she’d taken Tamra and Mirra, I’d believe it right away. But your sister … well, it’s odd. It makes no sense to me.”

  “Or to me,” Joss said miserably.

  “No. Well, of course it doesn’t,” Declan murmured.

  Declan left Joss curled up asleep with Lysander and tiptoed away. Furious, he told the story to his mother, but D’Mara merely laughed. She said that was one less problem to bother about and told him not to be so sentimental. Declan went to sleep almost as troubled as Joss.

  The next morning Joss woke up beside Lysander with the feeling that he had decided something while he slept. As he wriggled out from beneath his Lock’s warm, soft tummy, Joss knew what his decision was: He must go and see Bellacrux’s chamber for himself.

  Lysander did not stir as Joss tiptoed toward the Lock’s room. At the door Joss paused and sent: See you later, but there was no reply. Joss went back to Lysander and gave him a gentle prod, but there was no reaction. Hey, Lysander, he sent, are you in your dragonsong sleep? There was, of course, no response. Joss smiled. He was so looking forward to hearing Lysander speak the dragons’ lyrical language, and he knew that Lysander would teach him too. Declan had told him how speaking dragonsong made you feel even closer to your Lock.

  In his Lock chamber, Joss dressed quickly. He picked up his silver sash, and then he stopped. What was he doing? He had allowed himself to become part of a family that had killed his own sister. And here he was putting on their sash with no thought about what it really meant. Joss took a deep breath. He wanted to throw the sash to the floor but, he told himself sternly, if he ditched being a Lennix now, he would never make them pay for what they’d done to Allie. The Lennixes had used him to get Lysander, but now they were going to discover they would get a lot more besides a stolen Silver. Angrily, Joss wound the rest of the sash around his waist, checked his timetable—there was a muster at 8:00—checked his Lennix watch: 7:15, stuffed the Roost map into his pocket, and hurried out.

  The corridor smelled of disinfectant and was damp from having just been cleaned, but there was no one around. At the far end was an arch leading to a doorway emblazoned with a faded Lennix crest. Upon it was a brass plate reading: NO ACCESS TO LENNIX STAIRS. As he pushed open the door, Joss told himself: Remember, you’re a Lennix now. This place belongs to your family. Don’t rush, act confident, and don’t smile too much. In fact, don’t smile at all. You don’t need to please anyone: You are a Lennix.

  The door led into a small chamber hewn from the rock, bright and airy with whitewashed walls and a line of portholes that looked out over the mountains. From here a broad flight of stairs wound upward through the rock, and Joss began the climb. At last he reached Level One where he paused to get his breath back and consult his map: He needed to head for the Grand Atrium. There was only one exit door—over which a faded sign in gold announced SENIOR RAPTOR ROOST. Joss pushed it open and stepped into a wide corridor. Following his map, he turned right and headed toward a huge circular space at the far end of the corridor, passing on his way four large, ornate doors, each one announcing the presence of a Senior Raptor of the First Flight behind it. He walked rapidly past, wishing his footsteps did not echo quite so loudly—and then sternly telling himself that he was a Lennix and could make as much noise as he liked.

  Joss walked into the soaring space of the Grand Atrium, goose bumps running down his spine. He looked up in wonder at the domed roof, gilded and decorated with warring dragons breathing fire. They looked almost real. Joss had never seen anything like it. He could have looked at it for hours, but he reminded himself he had not come to gaze at paintings. He had come for Allie. And so, with some trepidation, he headed toward a pair of massive arched doors, above which he saw the words LENNIX GRAND: BELLACRUX. A movement caught his eye and he swung around edgily. In the shadows was the redheaded girl he remembered seeing with Allie.

  Carli was on forty-eight-hour duty with no breaks because, upset about Allie, she’d shouted at a guard. She was wearily mopping the floor when she looked up and saw Joss, resplendent in his Lennix uniform, coming toward her. It was forbidden for a prisoner to be alone with a Lennix, and Carli did not dare get into even more trouble. Hurriedly, she pushed open the nearby service door, but in her haste to get away she got the mop wedged across the doorway.

  “Hey, let me help,” Joss said.

  “You?” Carli looked shocked.

  Joss freed the mop and Carli backed away through the door. Joss put his hand on her arm to stop her from going, and Carli flinched. “Please don’t go,” Joss said. “There’s something I need to know.”

  Something in Joss’s tone made Carli put down her bucket. “Thought you’d know everything now,” she said. “Being a Lennix and all.”

  Joss flushed. “I had no choice,” he said.

  “We all have a choice,” Carli told him. “Some are right, and some are just plain wrong.”
/>   “My sister, Allie,” Joss whispered and then choked up, unable to go on.

  Carli’s expression softened a little. “She was a nice kid.”

  Joss heard the past tense, and any hope he’d been hanging on to evaporated. “Do you know what happened?” he asked. “I mean … did you see anything?”

  Carli nodded grimly. “Yeah. I saw your lovely adopted sisters come and take her away at supper the day before yesterday. She’s not been seen since. But yesterday morning when I cleaned up here, I heard Harry saying what a terrible fate it was for anyone, let alone a kid.”

  “Harry?”

  “He’s Bellacrux’s servant. Been with her forever.”

  “Oh. I see.” Fiercely, Joss rubbed the tears from his eyes. “Well, thanks for telling me,” he managed to say.

  Carli found herself feeling sorry for Joss, despite his hated uniform. She put out a consoling hand. “Look,” she said. “You’re a Lennix now, so if you want to know more, go ask Harry.”

  “Thanks,” Joss said, the tears beginning again at Carli’s sympathetic touch.

  “I’ve gotta go,” she told him. “My name’s Carli. If there’s anything I can do …”

  Joss nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He watched Carli set off, her mop and bucket clanking as she went, and then he rubbed his face on his sleeve and walked back into the atrium. Gathering his inner Lennix, he paused a moment outside the attendant’s room beside Bellacrux’s chamber and then he pushed the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall. Harry looked up but did not move. So this is the new Lennix kid. As rude as the rest of them, he thought, regarding Joss with a steady glare.Joss was a little wrong-footed at Harry’s lack of deference, but he plowed on. “I have come to see the Grand,” he said.