To Patrick, the newest DragonChild

  Contents

  Map

  The Story So Far…

  Chapter One: Stop Thief!

  Chapter Two: Time Bubbles

  Chapter Three: The Horsemaster and the Headwoman

  Chapter Four: Kettil

  Chapter Five: The Race

  Chapter Six: Bronze Horse, Jade Dragon

  Chapter Seven: Bandits!

  Chapter Eight: The Battle of Alda Valley

  Chapter Nine: Firefight

  Chapter Ten: To Catch a Thief

  Map

  The Story So Far…

  The High Witches stole the DragonQueen’s jewels of power and drove the mighty beasts away. In revenge, a dragon kidnapped the youngest witch’s child. Raised by dragons and tormented for being a ‘witch-brat’, Tia sets out to prove herself a true DragonChild by retrieving the jewels. She is helped by her DragonBrother, Finn, and the jackdaw Loki. Finn can blend invisibly into any background.

  Tia has the emerald, which grants the power to talk to animals, the opal, which lets its owner change shape, the topaz, which controls the weather and the sapphire, which can transport the holder anywhere in the blink of an eye.

  Finn safeguards the jewels, except for the emerald, which Tia keeps with her so that she can talk to Loki. By accident she made the sapphire take her to Askarlend, ruled by High Witch Hyldi. Hyldi has the ruby, which enables her to stop time.

  Tia is alone. Hyldi knows a thief is coming for her jewel. Tia is in greater danger than ever before.

  Chapter One

  Stop Thief!

  As the sun rose over the town of Askarlend everything changed. Light spilling from windows and doors faded and noisy music fell silent. Tia crept through quiet streets lit by faint morning light and an eerie red glow from the ring of volcanoes surrounding the town. It’s like being the only person alive, she thought.

  She hurried down sprawling lanes towards the castle that spread untidily over a low hill in the centre of the town. She had to get into the castle somehow and find where the High Witch Hyldi kept the magic ruby that gave her the power to stop time.

  She turned a corner and found herself face to face with a group of people wearing brightly coloured caps and carrying brushes and buckets.

  ‘Hey!’ A woman pointed at her. ‘Isn’t that the thief girl, Nadya – the one Lady Hyldi’s offering a reward for?’

  ‘A reward!’ The man next to her dropped his bucket with a clatter and started to push his way through the group towards Tia.

  ‘I saw her first!’ The woman tripped the man up with her broom. He fell against her, she bumped into another man and the whole group tumbled down like ninepins.

  Tia ran. She couldn’t believe she’d been recognised so easily. It was lucky that the people who’d spotted her had been too busy fighting among themselves to stop and catch her. Other people would be cleverer. She had to find a way to make herself less conspicuous before anyone else recognised her.

  When she’d left the bumbling group safely behind, she slowed to a walk.

  More people wearing the distinctive caps were clearing up the town. There was a lot to tidy away. The night revellers had trailed rubbish and mess everywhere and the sweepers had to work hard collecting all the litter before brushing the flagstones then swabbing them down.

  Tia kept to the shadows and planned what to do next. Her DragonBrother, Finn, and her friend, Loki the jackdaw, didn’t know where she was. She’d accidentally used High Witch Skadi’s magic sapphire and it had brought her to Askarlend town. It was lonely without Finn and Loki but until they found her she would have to make her own way. She set her mouth in a determined line and headed towards the castle.

  In the squares and open spaces of the town people had begun setting up stalls and arranging goods. They chatted and called to one another, taking no notice of Tia as she strolled past, making sure she looked as casual as them.

  The castle was a gigantic, sprawling, ugly building, with gaudy pots hung all over the walls. Under the pots, smears of dirty ash streaked with bright colour trailed down the stone. Tia was surprised to see that the colourful splashes glimmered faintly with magic. Servants, scampering up and down ladders, were filling the pots with vividly coloured fire-rock that also sparkled with magic. That must be what lit up the castle at night – magic flashing through the darkness.

  Tia pulled up the collar of her jacket to cover as much of her face as possible and walked up to the castle’s iron-studded gate, trying to seem confident. The open gate had a poster nailed to it.

  To her horror she saw that the poster showed a picture of her face.

  Six hundred marks – that was even more than High Witch Skadi had offered in the town of Iserborg. No wonder people were keen to catch her.

  She pulled her collar higher still and strode through the gate, her heart beating fast. Once inside, she kept to the shadows under the walls. Even so, a man walking by stared at her, paused and said, ‘You – wait!’

  Tia knew what he wanted. The six hundred mark reward for her capture. She hurtled through the bustling courtyard, scattering hens and setting a dog barking. She swerved to avoid his gnashing teeth and ran straight into a line of washing. The more she twisted and turned and tugged at the damp clothes, the more she got entangled.

  ‘What are you doing, girl?’ A tall, strong woman grabbed her in one hand and started to unwind the washing with the other. Tia wriggled furiously.

  ‘Keep still, you’re dragging the clothes in the dirt!’ The woman shook Tia and the clothes line fell to the ground. She squirmed out of the woman’s grasp, grabbed a green cap from the washing and pelted away, cramming the cap over her hair as she ran. At least that would make her look like a proper Askarlian worker.

  She darted inside a large wooden stable built against the castle walls. It was cool and shady and smelled of hay. Rows of empty stalls ran down one side, with a big box-stall at one end. The top half of its door was barred and, staring through the bars as though she’d like to bite Tia very hard, was a furious-looking horse.

  Despite its flattened ears and swishing tail, the horse was beautiful, with its golden hide and creamy mane and tail. Tia longed to stroke its velvety nose. She went closer. The horse snaked its head at her.

  ‘Another human come to annoy me,’ the horse said, swirling her tail angrily and showing the whites of her eyes.

  ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ Tia said.

  The horse stamped and backed up a little. ‘You can talk to me! You’re a witch! Has that High Witch Hyldi sent you?’

  ‘No!’ Tia said indignantly. ‘I’m only a hedge witch, that’s why I can understand you.’

  That was a lie. She kept the magic emerald that enabled her to talk to animals and birds tucked under her shirt, on a chain round her neck.

  She risked going a bit closer to the bars. ‘I know about horses because the Traders taught me. My special friend was a grey called Fari. I learned to ride on him.’

  The golden mare eyed Tia warily. ‘You don’t look like a Trader, even though you’re wearing Trader clothes.’

  ‘The Traders found me abandoned and brought me up. They called me…’ Tia thought quickly. She didn’t want to be known by her false name of Nadya; that was on the posters. ‘…Sura,’ she decided. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Yufa.’ The mare tossed her head.

  Tia rummaged through her pockets and found an apple she’d bought in Iserborg. She offered it to the horse. ‘Would you like this?’

  ‘I might,’ the mare said.

  Tia carefully opened the door and held out the apple. Yufa, still eyeing Tia suspiciously, reached forward and took the fruit with soft lips.

  Tia patted the horse’s neck. ‘Why are you so angry?’

  Yufa stamped again and shook her mane. ‘My rider, Shandor, brought me to Askarlend to run in the races. When the High Witch saw me she wanted me for herself. Shandor refused. She took him away and brought me here.’

  ‘Where’s Shandor now?’ Tia asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Yufa said sadly. ‘Will you find him for me?’

  Helping Yufa would make Tia’s task of stealing the ruby much harder and more dangerous. She was going to refuse but the little mare looked so lost without her rider that she couldn’t. Tia knew all about feeling lost. Besides, the Traders had always been kind to her. She had to help bring Shandor and Yufa together again.

  ‘All right, I’ll try,’ she said.

  Yufa butted Tia gently with her nose. ‘Thank you.’

  An angry voice outside the stable doors made the mare’s head jerk up again and her eyes widen in fright. ‘It’s her – Hyldi! Hide!’ she warned Tia.

  Tia quickly shut the stall door, scurried into a corner of the next stall, threw straw over herself and lay still.

  The stable doors opened.

  Chapter Two

  Time Bubbles

  Tia peered through a gap between the wooden slats and saw two people come in. One was a big, burly man with deep creases of worry crinkling up his forehead so that his eyebrows almost met above his nose. The other person was Hyldi, the High Witch of Askarlend and Tia’s fifth aunt.

  Tia stared in amazement. The fearsome witch was tiny!

  Hyldi strutted towards Yufa’s box-stall like a bantam hen, as though swaggering would make her appear taller and more important. Her clothes were in gaudy shades of pink, yellow and purple, all mixed up together, and her fair hair was topped by a huge bun. It reminded Tia of a gigantic honey cake and she had to squash her lips together to stop herself from laughing.

  Then Tia stopped laughing. The ridiculous bun was pierced by a golden comb mounted with a huge, shining red jewel. The magic ruby!

  The High Witch stamped her foot like a little child. ‘Why has no-one been able to tame this animal?’ she shouted at the big man.

  ‘She’s a spirited horse and misses her rider.’

  ‘You should beat the creature into behaving!’

  The man shook his head. ‘Beating won’t help. The Traders have a special, secret way with their horses. I’m not sure we can ever tame her.’

  ‘Then I’ll go back to the Trader and get this secret out of him,’ the witch shrieked. She elbowed her way past the man, who followed her silently.

  The stable door banged shut and Tia went back to Yufa, feeling ashamed that she was related to this terrible woman. Hyldi was just as cruel as the rest of the High Witches. She hated them all.

  Yufa was trembling. ‘What was the witch shouting about?’ she asked Tia.

  ‘She’s going to Shandor, to talk about you.’

  The horse kicked out, making the stall shake. ‘Follow her! Make sure she doesn’t hurt Shandor.’

  But I’m only a girl! Tia thought. She’s a powerful witch. Still, if she did follow Hyldi, she might discover something useful about the ruby. ‘All right,’ she agreed and hurried back into the courtyard. It was busier now. Tia pulled her cap down firmly, and followed the witch into the castle.

  Askarlend was the strangest of the five castles Tia had seen. It was just as muddled inside as out. Hyldi stormed past a huge dining hall, ornate chambers and lush dressing rooms. As she went by, people bowed, turning their eyes away from the glowering witch. Tia followed at a careful distance.

  Hyldi entered a long, downward-sloping tunnel lit by pots of the magic powder. She passed an armoury and rooms where soldiers were practising fighting skills. That tunnel led into another, tucked away behind a bulge of rock. It wound round and round, dipping deeper as it went. The ground suddenly lurched under Tia’s feet – the volcanoes were grumbling deep under the earth.

  A strange, pulsing red glow lit up the darkness ahead. Tia wondered if it came from molten lava but as she followed Hyldi round a final bend and entered a vast cavern, she saw that it was caused by something quite different. She gasped in astonishment.

  Dozens of huge, luminous red bubbles floated around the cavern, bumping into the walls, drifting high into the roof and down again.

  Inside each bubble was a person.

  Tia crouched behind a tumble of rocks and watched as Hyldi slid the comb from her hair. She held it by the ruby and pointed its sharp glittering prongs at one of the bubbles. It drifted towards her.

  Inside it knelt a Trader, his hands held out, palms up, his mouth and eyes wide open, as though he was pleading. Shandor, Tia thought and shuddered. The poor man was frozen in time inside the red bubble, neither properly awake nor properly asleep.

  Hyldi stabbed the bubble with the comb. It dissolved into shimmering red dust and the man fell at Hyldi’s feet.

  ‘Get up!’ she ordered.

  He shook his head as though waking from a nightmare and staggered to his feet.

  ‘Tell me your secret – the secret you Traders use to control your horses – so that my Horsemaster can tame that wild golden mare.’

  Shandor smiled grimly. ‘There is no secret, Lady. Yufa can only be ridden by people she trusts. It will never be you or your minions.’

  ‘Never is a long time, Trader,’ Hyldi snarled. She lifted the comb and made sweeping movements with her hand. Long stands of red light from the ruby began to form another bubble round the Trader. He stood proudly and waited for it to close around him. When it was done the High Witch waved the bubble away and stabbed the comb back into her bun.

  ‘Pah! I will learn your secret, Trader,’ she hissed. ‘You and your horse will obey me, as all who live in Askarlend do.’ Hyldi swung round and stormed back up the tunnel.

  Tia waited until she’d gone then ran back to the stables.

  ‘Did you find him?’ Yufa asked, her golden hide twitching with worry.

  ‘Yes.’ Tia leaned against the stall and told Yufa what she’d seen. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said when she’d finished.

  Yufa stamped. ‘The witch and her people will never ride me!’

  That reminded Tia of her DragonBrother. She often teased him about letting her ride him and he always said, I’m a free dragon, not a horse! But Yufa was a free spirit too; she decided who could ride her.

  The horse stamped again, harder. ‘Set Shandor free,’ she demanded.

  ‘I will.’ The words were out before Tia could help herself. I’ve got to steal the ruby anyway, she thought. I may as well use it once I’ve taken it.

  Guiltily, she remembered that she’d promised Finn never to use any of the jewels, apart from the emerald. They were so powerful they almost hypnotised anyone who possessed them. She’d discovered for herself that it was too easy for the jewels to make you do things you didn’t mean to. That was why the enchanter from over the seas had given them to the dragons. They were the only creatures strong enough and wise enough to use them without causing harm. But what if using the ruby was the only way to undo Hyldi’s cruel spell? Surely Finn would understand that?

  Tia put an arm round the horse’s neck and her cheek on its creamy mane. I hope I can rescue Shandor without the ruby, she thought.

  The stable door opened and a man strode over to the box-stall.

  ‘What d’you think you’re doing, girl? Get out of there, now!’

  Chapter Three

  The Horsemaster and the Headwoman

  It was the man who’d come to the stables with Hyldi. His face was pale and frightened. ‘Move slowly, that horse is dangerous.’

  He took a step closer to the stall and Yufa bared her teeth.

  ‘There’s nothing to worry about. She won’t hurt me.’ Tia patted Yufa and whispered, ‘Remember, I promise I’ll help Shandor.’

  The little mare dipped her head and pushed gently at Tia. ‘All right.’

  ‘I’ll be back with some apples later,’ Tia said in a normal speaking voice.

  She gave Yufa a last pat and left the box-stall. The man whistled softly.

  ‘I don’t know how you did that. It was almost as if you understood each other.’

  Tia shrugged. ‘The Traders taught me about horses.’

  She was ready to run if she got the chance but the man was blocking her way. He stroked his stubbly chin. ‘Hmm, you don’t look like a Trader child, though you dress and speak like one. What’s your name? Where are you from?’

  ‘I’m Sura.’ Tia recited her story about being a foundling baby rescued by the Traders; how she was parted from them in a fog and was going from town to town, seeking them. It seemed to satisfy him.

  ‘I need a new stable-hand. She…’ he nodded towards Yufa, ‘kicked one and broke his leg. Would you like the job?’

  ‘Yes,’ Tia said tentatively, not sure she trusted this man. He seemed kind and honest but she’d met a man like that a few days ago and he’d betrayed her.

  ‘Good. I’m Gunnar, the Horsemaster of Askarlend. No-one argues with me.’

  Apart from Hyldi, Tia thought.

  ‘You’re under my protection while you’re here.’ A friendly grin split his weathered brown face. ‘You might want to keep that cap pulled on tighter.’

  So he had recognised her as the girl on the poster.

  The cap had slipped. She yanked it back into place. ‘Master Gunnar…’

  The burly man held up his hand. ‘I’m not interested in the six hundred marks.’ His grin widened. ‘Besides, Yufa here is the fastest horse in all Tulay. If you can ride her, I’ll win far more than the reward the Lady Hyldi’s offering.’

  ‘I will,’ Tia said confidently. ‘But first, I promised Yufa apples. And I’m hungry too,’ she added.

  Gunnar let out a bellow of laughter that startled the horse. ‘Come with me, Sura. My wife will give you apples – and breakfast.’

  Still chuckling, the big man led Tia back into the castle. They passed the grand rooms, went down the rocky tunnels and climbed up again to the ground floor in another part of the castle.

 

1 2 3 4