Chapter One
Eleyna woke in the middle of the night, feeling thirsty. She quietly climbed out of bed and padded barefoot onto the landing, making her way down the creaking staircase, before sneaking over to the closed kitchen door.
Stretching up to the handle, she heard muffled voices, and paused. She recognised her aunt’s voice, and a man’s voice. She thought better of opening the door; her aunt disliked being disturbed. At last the voices stopped, and she heard the door opening, then closing.
Cat locked the back door. A knock made her jump, and press her eye to the small peephole. Then she realised it came from behind her. Frowning, she walked over to the other door. Eleyna stood there. “What are you doing awake at this time of night, girl?” she demanded.
Eleyna twisted her shirt in her fingers. “I’m thirsty,” she replied. Catherine sighed, and walked to the sink to fill a cup. Eleyna trailed after her. “Who was here?” she asked. Cat quickly turned off the tap.
“Never mind, you nosy brat. You don’t eavesdrop on me,” Cat scowled. Eleyna shrank in on herself, and Cat felt bad. “No, wait. I’m sorry. You’re not a brat. Just nosy.” She tweaked Eleyna’s nose playfully. “If anyone else comes to talk to me at night, ignore them. Don’t tell anyone else about this, or they’ll start asking awkward questions.”
“Okay, Auntie.” Eleyna took the cup and went upstairs. “Night, night.”
~~~
Agates had to earn their names; until then, each had a calling-sound, a nickname made with sounds. Drakes were called by aggressive noises, drakainas were called by softer sounds. Fee-Bee called her daughter with a trill, because of her joy at the little one’s hatching. They hoped she’d grow big and strong, but Trill remained small.
To get food before the other youngsters, Trill waited for certain adults at their usual landing spot, hoping to catch them returning from a hunt. One day, Growl-Hiss found her and pounced on her from behind.
Trill lashed her tail and snarled. “Get off!” she shrieked, writhing as he pinned her under his claws. Being squashed against the ground hurt.
“I’m playing. Don’t you want to play?” he asked mock-innocently, tilting his head. His friends watched, chittering and yipping with laughter.
Trill hissed. “No! I don’t like you. Leave me alone!”
“She’s waiting for Shark Catcher,” said one of his friends, “trying to get food before us. That’s why she’s hiding. She’s a little sneak!”
Growl-Hiss glared at Trill. “You want food before us? Go run back to mummy,” he mocked. “We’re bigger and stronger and higher ranking than you, so we get the food first. You’re a runt,” he growled at her.
Trill remained still and lowered her gaze, so he’d let down his guard. “You see? Now why don’t you – ” Growl-Hiss lurched back with a shriek when she suddenly sank her fangs into his leg. Trill leapt to her paws and fled, dodging rocks to get away from her bullies as fast as she could. She scrambled into an ash-filled hollow before they caught up.
“Keep looking! She can’t have gone far!” Growl-Hiss snarled. They sniffed, but didn’t find her. Perhaps they couldn’t smell her, in the ash.
When they were gone, Trill went to her nest. Her dam was there, wet from the ocean, and gave her fish to devour. “Mother,” she asked, “why are we so low ranking?” It wasn’t fair. “Why aren’t you in a harem?” The highest-ranking drakes had lots of drakainas as their mates.
“I know it’s hard, sweetling. Our flock thinks strength and bright spines are greatest of all, but there are other ways to be strong. As for harems … your father wants no other mate but me, and we’ve always wanted a daughter. We are heart bound, and you are dear to us.”
Lightning arrived, and she scampered over to nuzzle snouts with her sire. “Can you tell me about being heart bound again?” she asked.
“Of course, dear. Your sire and I love each other so much, we can’t live without each other,” Fee-Bee explained, purring at her mate. She flamed the ground, and Trill got comfortable on the hot patch of earth.
Lightning said, “we heart bound the night I earned my name. Many years ago, we were hunting together, when a storm began. We flew to land as fast as we could, but the lightning was faster. It struck me and I fell out of the sky. I almost fell into the ocean, but she caught me.”
Trill listened raptly, eyes wide. She never tired of this story. “She carried me to the nearest island. I was very weak, and I couldn’t fly. I could barely move. I told her, when the storm passed, she should leave me and find her way back to the nesting place,” said Lightning.
“I told him he was an egg-for-brains, and I wasn’t going anywhere,” added Fee-Bee. Trill chittered. She went on, “I didn’t want to leave him, or him to leave me. We made the pledge, and blended our blood in each other’s veins. Our souls came together, and we were one.”
“What’s the heart-bind pledge? Why did you mix your blood together?”
“Our blood is full of life force. I have a little of Fee-Bee’s blood in my veins, she has a little of mine in hers. Our life forces are combined. We’ll die together. Don’t worry, we’re not going to die anytime soon.”
“He means we won’t leave you. As for the pledge, you say, I give my life and my love to my other half, and bind my heart to theirs forevermore. Remember, if you find your other half and want to heart bind with them, you must be certain, because it can never be undone.”
“Your dam saved my life, and only this scar was left, as a reminder.” He spread his wing to show off the jagged burn. Trill was glad her parents were heart bound, if it meant they could hatch and love her.
~~~
One night, after dinner, Catherine went into the attic. She returned with a basket of clothes, took up a needle and thread, and began to sew. Eleyna looked up from her toy cart. “What are you doing?”
“Mrs Lopez next door gave me her son’s old clothes to pass down to you, but they’re a little too big, so I’m resizing them,” explained Cat.
“How come she gave you her son’s clothes?” Eleyna wondered.
“Folks round here keep old clothes and toys, and pass those down to their children, siblings and neighbours, if someone has a new baby.”
“Oh.” After a few minutes, she inquired: “how come … sometimes you say ‘rogue betray them’, but who’s the rogue? Can I meet him?”
Cat snickered. “The Rogue isn’t a person. He’s a god. Some of us risk a lot, like a rogue, so we pray to the Rogue for luck and protection.”
“Oh. Do people who don’t have to risk a lot pray to the Rogue?”
“No, they don’t. You know that building with a three-pronged crown on the door?” asked Cat. Eleyna nodded. “That crown is the symbol of the Celestial Triarchy. That’s the Imperial religion. The Empire believes in three gods; the King rules over all things, the Judge fits punishment to crime, and the Knight protects those in need.”
“I thought that’s what you said the Rogue did,” Eleyna protested.
“Different sorts of people call on different gods. Nobles call on the King, middle-class folks call on the Judge, soldiers and commoners call on the Knight, and riff-raff like us,” Cat winked at her, “call on the Rogue. But don’t take the Rogue for granted; he prefers to help those with a sharp wit, not folks who act like fools,” she warned.
Eleyna liked the sound of this god. “The lullaby you sang when I was little, is that about the Rogue?” She still remembered that song.
“No, it’s a sea shanty – a work song for sailors. There’s a song called Acorazaria, which means ‘warding song’, that’s about the Knight. Sailors changed the lyrics to make a sea shanty for good luck. To ask some … sea goddess for protection or mercy, or something like that.”
“Oooh.” Eleyna was fascinated. “Mum was a sailor, wasn’t she?”
“Your mum could barely get off ships,” Cat chuckled. “She’s the one who taught me that lullaby, shanty, whatever you want to call it.”
Cat grew quiet and pensive, lost in thought. Eleyna, oblivious to her aunt’s inner turmoil, inquired, “can you tell me about mum again? And her ship. It’s called the cor- cora-son, isn’t it? Was it a really big ship?”
“The Corazon, that’s right. It was a big ship indeed, with huge white sails. Your mum was a beautiful woman,” she replied. “You look so much like her. It’s uncanny. Well, except you have your dad’s eyes.”
Eleyna pulled a face, imagining someone giving her mum a pair of eyes to make her with. It sounded gross. “Didn’t he like me?” she asked. Her mum had died when she was a baby, but sometimes she wondered why her aunt was looking after her instead of her dad. Especially since Cat wasn’t really her aunt, just a friend of her mum.
“I don’t think he knows about you, dear. Your mother didn’t tell him.”
“Oh.” Eleyna lost interest in her parentage. “Aunt Cat? How come Mrs Lopez next door is called Mrs Lopez, and you’re called Miss?”
With a chuckle, Cat replied: “women get called Mrs if they’re married.”
“Aren’t you married?”
“Nope. I don’t like boys.” Cat held her nose. “They smell.” Eleyna giggled. “Now then, I think it’s high time I taught you how to sew.”
~~~
Trill’s wings fluttered. She dug her claws in, perched on her sire’s shoulders as he zig-zagged through the air, teaching her to balance, or so he claimed. Her dam flew alongside them. “What’s it like being heart bound?” she asked, not for the first time. It fascinated her.
“Remember, a heart bind is sacred, dearest. It means you’ve found your other half; someone who understands you, makes you want to be better. You need them. You can’t imagine life without them.”
“I was very shy as a fledgling,” explained Fee-Bee, “but Lightning crashed head-first into trouble. He crashed into me, that’s how we met. Now he encourages me, and I keep him from being too reckless. He’s not allowed to fly in storms anymore, are you, my love?”
Lightning crooned sheepishly. “No, dearest.”
Trill squirmed, kicking her back paws and pawing at her sire’s shoulders. “I gotta pee!” she whined, as he languidly stretched his wings and continued to glide without a care. Once they landed on a sea stack, she dashed off to relieve herself. Her parents purred in amusement.
In the waters below the column were the remains of crashed ships, covered in algae, barnacles and seaweed. Trill didn’t recognise them; to her, these were simply peculiar-shaped rocks under the water.
On the way home she said, “tell me about the first heart bound pair!”
“If you insist. The first dragons to earn their names did so by heart binding. That’s why we earn our names instead of giving them. Long ago, a drake and drakaina fell in love. They trusted each other with all their fears and hopes and secrets, and they were as happy as could be. Until, one day, another drake tried to claim her into his harem.”
Trill growled. “That bully! He couldn’t have her, she had a mate!”
“The two males fought fiercely, but the other drake was bigger and stronger, and mortally wounded her mate. But she refused to go with him, so he struck her down. She fell on top of her beloved’s body.
“As their blood mingled, she told him she did not want to live without him, nor he without her. Their life forces healed and changed them. To honour the miracle, they named themselves. She called herself ‘Faithful’, because that’s what she had been. He called himself ‘Forever’, because that was how long he wanted to be with her.”
~~~
Eleyna didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it sometimes. She heard her aunt and neighbour gossip as they hung their washing.
“I don’t know why you bother with that girl, Catherine,” remarked Mrs Lopez. “You should let Sir Jeromes take her in. She could do with a firmer hand raising her if you ask me.” Eleyna scowled; she was being raised just fine!
“I know life would be easier if I wasn’t raising a child,” Cat remarked. Eleyna frowned. “I promised her mother I’d look after her. It was Nicole’s dying wish. Who am I not to honour that? Besides, I’m the only family that Eleyna has.”
The only family she had … but her aunt said outright, life would be easier if Eleyna wasn’t around. “Aunt Cat, who’s Sir Jerome?” she inquired over dinner.
“He’s the man who founded the orphanage here in Sannick,” Cat replied.
“I’m an orphan,” Eleyna pointed out. “How come I don’t have to live there?”
“Because you live here with me, and they know that; and they’re okay with it, thank the Rogue. Your mother wanted me to raise you, and that’s what I’m going to do. No matter how much of a handful you are,” she teased.
So she was keeping her for her mother’s sake. “What’s it like at the orphanage?” asked Eleyna, to be prepared in case her aunt sent her there.
“I’ve never been there; they only let adults in if they want to adopt a child,” explained Cat. “But I hear it’s nice and clean, they give the children three meals a day, and there’s a large yard for them to run around in,” she continued. Eleyna felt a bit suspicious. If this orphanage place was so great, and she was such a handful, why didn’t her aunt send her there?
The next day, Eleyna rode on the back of a carriage to the right neighbourhood, wandering around until she found the orphanage. It was a large, imposing building with a wrought-iron gate, and a big wall. Eleyna wondered what the yard was like on the other side; whether it was grass and flagstones, or if there were trees. She decided to climb the wall and get a better look at it.
Thick tangles of ivy grew across one wall. Eleyna curled her fingers around the vines and tugged as hard as she could. There was a little give, but it didn’t feel like she could pull them off. So she began trying to climb. “What’re you doing?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Startled, she lost her balance and fell off. Two boys, one brown haired, the other black haired, sniggered at her.
Scowling, she picked herself up again. “I was climbing up the wall. Duh.”
“Climbing up the wall?” the black-haired boy asked. “What the heck are you wanting to climb up it for? Trying to break into the workhouse or summat?”
Eleyna frowned. “What workhouse? That building is an orphanage,” she insisted. Boys were dumb. “I was trying to see into the yard.”
“You aren’t from round here, are you? What’s your name?”
“Eleyna Skytte. Who’re you?”
The brunette boy smirked. “My name’s Pablo Diego Arintero … and this here’s Javier.”
His friend added, “Escobar. My name’s Javier Escobar.”
“What d’you wanna look in the yard for?” Pablo asked. “Ain’t nothing to see. It’s just concrete, right Javier?”
“That’s right. Behind this wall is the dullest place in the entire town.”
Eleyna figured these boys must have been inside the orphanage, if they knew so much about it. “D’you live there?” she asked. “What’s it like?”
“We wouldn’t be on this side of the wall if we lived there, would we?” Pablo scoffed. “We ain’t orphans. Well, Javier is, but some lady adopted him so he got out, thank the Rogue. Why, do you wanna live there or something?”
“I dunno. My aunt said it was nice and clean there, and they give you meals and let you run around in the yard … but I don’t know if she was lying or not.”
“Your aunt doesn't know anything,” Javier sneered. “It’s only clean because they make the orphans do all the scrubbing and dusting. You gotta get up at the crack of dawn and make your bed. If it isn’t tucked in all the way round, they pull the sheets off and make you do it all over again.” Eleyna never made her bed; what was the point when it would just get messed up again?
Pablo elbowed him. “Hey, tell her about the food at Sir Jeromes.”
“Oh yeah, the food’s nasty too. It’s all mashed yams and creamed corn, and tapioca,” Javier informed her. Eleyna pulled a face; she hated tapioca. “You don’t get seconds, and they make you scrub the pots they cook in. Oh, and in the yard they make you run laps and do push ups for hours on end.”
“You’re not allowed to leave,” said Pablo. “If you break the rules they beat you. If you’re really bad, they lock you in the cellar with rats everywhere.”
It sounded horrible. Eleyna hated to think her aunt might send her there. “Don’t any grown-ups know how nasty that place is?” she demanded.
Pablo rolled his eyes and spat on the ground. “They don’t care. Say, how come your aunt was telling you about it? What about your mum and dad?”
Eleyna couldn’t tell them her parents weren’t around; they might tattle to the orphanage. What else could she say? Wracking her brain desperately, Eleyna suddenly remembered what Aunt Cat told her about her mother. “They’re, uh, out at sea,” she lied. “So I live with my aunt most of the time.”
“Oh, yeah? What does your aunt do, then?” Pablo asked curiously.
“My aunt has an apoc- apoth- a shop where she sells magic crystals,” Eleyna replied, “and my parents are … sailors? On merchant ships. Yeah.”
At the words “magic crystals”, his eyes widened. Then he scoffed. “Pfft. Magic crystals? Yeah right. You’re having us on. There ain’t no such thing.”
“Is too!” she snapped.
Pablo sneered. “Prove it, then, go on. Show us what these ‘magic crystals’ can do. We’d love to see it, wouldn’t we Javier?” They both smirked.
“It doesn’t work like that,” she retorted. “Besides, I don’t have any with me.”
“Oh that’s too bad, Ellie; guess we won’t believe you, then,” Pablo sneered at her. She scowled, hands balling into fists.
Javier hissed, “Quick! Someone’s coming!” Pablo grabbed Eleyna’s wrist and dragged her behind some barrels. A tall, middle-aged gentleman strode past in a hurry. Javier grabbed at his coat. “Wait, sir! Help, I’m lost!”
“Get off! Filthy urchin,” the man spat, swatting Javier aside. Much to Eleyna’s bewilderment, the two boys ran off, leaving her crouched near the barrels. She watched as the man stopped, patted himself down and spun on his heel. “Thief!” he shouted, furious. Then he spotted Eleyna. She shrank back.
He hurried over. “What are you doing down there, little girl?” he asked, reaching out to help her to her feet. Eleyna scrambled away from him. “Easy, now. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said gently, before asking, “Did you see which way that ruffian went? He stole my watch, the little street rat.”
Eleyna hesitated. The boys turned left when they ran out of the alley. “He went that way,” she answered, pointing to the right. He nodded in thanks.
“You’re young to be out on your own. Do you live here at Sir Jeromes?”
“No!” Eleyna said quickly without thinking. “I can find my way home,” she smiled. Despite this, he insisted on walking her to the nearest carriage back to her neighbourhood. Eleyna was glad to get away from that horrid place.
When she got back to the house, Eleyna ran over and clutched at her aunt’s skirts. “Aunt Cat, please don’t send me to Sir Jeromes!” she begged, eyes filled with crocodile tears. “They beat the kids and make them eat tapioca!”
“What… ? Eleyna, don’t be silly. I’m not sending you anywhere. I told you yesterday.”
“You said I was a handful. I was scared you’d change your mind so I asked someone who’s been there and he said it was the worst place to live ever.”
“I think he exaggerated,” Cat told her,“but if they treat children badly there, may the Rogue betray them. It doesn’t matter anyway, because I’m not sending you to Sir Jeromes. So don’t worry about that.”
You’re only looking after me‘ cause you promised mum, Eleyna thought. The idea made her want to cry for real. “I wish mum was here.”
Her aunt sighed. “You and me both.” Catherine tilted her head thoughtfully. “Come with me,” she said, leading Eleyna to her bedroom. She rummaged in one of the drawers under her dressing table, and came back holding a small box in her hands. Inside was a beautiful golden necklace, with an amethyst embedded in the centre.
“Your mother wanted me to give it to you when you were old enough. I think you are now.” She showed Eleyna how to part the locket halves. Etched on one side were the words To My Treasure, and on the other side, her date of birth, 05.06.1638. The date made her frown. “I thought I was born in 1683?”
“You were,” Cat nodded. “Someone got the engraving wrong. Nothing we can do about it now. Remember, you mustn’t lose this. It’s a present from your mother.”
She clicked the locket shut, and turned it over. “Made In Ocaranes” was engraved on the back. She held it tight; it thrummed against her palm, so she knew the amethyst was charged. Merely holding it made Eleyna feel confident. “I’ll keep it safe forever!” she declared.
~~~
Trill hunched down, wings and tail tucked in tight. She closed her inner eyelids, an opaque membrane that hid her distinctive eye colour.
This was no game of hide and seek. Trill concealed herself from Growl-Hiss and his cronies, whose favourite pastime was bullying her. Trill’s sire had warned them to stop, but they didn’t listen. He wasn’t high ranking enough. Their sires always said they were only playing.
Claws scratched on the rocks. Before she could dart out, another hatchling landed on top of her. They yipped and scrambled off, but Trill was nearly flattened nonetheless. “Sorry!” the hatchling whined as she got back to her feet. “I’m so sorry, I was – I didn’t see you there!”
She shook herself and blinked at the young drake. “Who are you?”
Before he could reply, three more drakes ran over. Trill flinched. “Look what we have here!” Growl-Hiss chittered. “Two baby drakainas, making friends. How cute. What’s the matter, runt? Are you scared?”
The drake beside her snarled. “What are you picking on her for?”
Growl-Hiss rolled his eyes. “Because I can. She’s low ranking. Even more than you are, Chirr-See. Drakes don’t get called by sounds like that. Did your dam think you were a female when you hatched?”
“No! The whistle in my calling-sound is the noise hunting birds make!”
Huff-Grunt snorted. “I get it. Your dam thought you were a baby bird!” He mimicked the yawk of a seabird. The bullies fell about laughing. Trill and Chirr-See glanced at each other. He gestured, let’s leave.
Trill nodded. They tried to sneak away, but Huff-Grunt and Snarl-Caw overtook them. “Where are you going?” Growl-Hiss demanded.
Chirr-See hackled. “Go away!” he growled, “or … or I’ll bite your face!”
“I’ll claw your eyes out. You think you can beat us? It’s three on one!”
“No. It’s three on three.” Another drake appeared. He was a little bigger than Chirr-See and definitely bigger than Trill. But who wasn’t?
“Nice try,” Growl-Hiss sneered. “You mean three on two. The runt can’t fight!”
“She doesn’t need to. Neither do we. My sire and uncle are over there,” the newcomer replied, gesturing at two large adults nearby. “I’ll get one to come over and then it will be even.” He took a deep breath, but never roared. Growl-Hiss and his friends were spooked, and turned tail.
“Cowards,” their rescuer rolled his eyes. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Snort-Snarl. I live here on the eastern side of the nesting place.”
“I’m Chirr-See; my family’s spot is further north, near the mountain.”
“Our spot is in the south, away from everyone,” explained Trill.
Snort-Snarl told her, “I saw you hiding over there, but I thought you were playing hide and seek, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Trill cringed. “I don’t have any friends to play with,” she admitted.
“You do now,” Chirr-See declared. “We should all stick together.”
Snort-Snarl nodded. “Can my friend Click-Coo play with us?”
Trill nodded eagerly. She couldn’t believe it! She had friends now; real friends, who liked her and helped her even though she was a runt.
~~~
Not long after meeting them, Eleyna bumped into Pablo and Javier. Or rather they bumped into her, running from something or someone.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry!” Pablo said over his shoulder, then skidded to a halt. “I know you, you’re that girl we found outside Jerome’s. Oi, Javier! It’s Ellie!”
“Eleyna,” she corrected. Javier walked over. “Why’re you running?”
“Robbed some merchant, he’ll be winded by now. Never mind us; what are you doing by yourself? Little girls shouldn’t be alone.”
She stuck her tongue out and retorted, “I live on this street, moron.”
“You don’t gotta be rude,” he chided. “Does that mean your aunt’s shop is here? The one with all the ‘magic crystals’?” Pablo wondered. “Can we see the magic crystals doing magic things, pretty please?”
Eleyna was torn between telling them to get stuffed, and proving that the crystals really were magic. Then she remembered, “the shop isn’t even open. It’s the weekend … but my aunt might let you see “em.”
The boys smirked as Eleyna led them to her flat. The shopfront was on the ground floor, with a sign reading CAT’S CRYSTALS. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, beckoning them to follow.
“Where are the magic crystals then?” asked Pablo. “I don’t see any.”
Eleyna retorted, “That’s ‘cause they’re locked up in chests so no one can steal any. Hi Aunt Cat,” she grinned sheepishly. “I know the shop is closed and all, but these guys don’t believe we have magic crystals. Please can you show them one to prove they’re really magic?”
“Well, I can show you the different kinds we sell and describe what they do,” she offered, bending down behind the counter, and re-emerging with a case. She opened it and tilted it for them to see. Inside were six crystals: orange, pink, yellow, green, blue and purple.
“There are twelve kinds of magic crystals. I only sell six, because these are the ones that have healing properties. Three of them make you feel confident, and three of them make you feel relaxed, so long as they’re charged. Alchemists draw out the power, and they vibrate slightly. The more charged they are, the stronger the feeling. Confidence becomes arrogance, and relaxing becomes laziness.”
Javier asked, “Which three of those crystals are which, miss?”
Cat pointed at the red-orange, yellow and purple crystals. “These are the three that give you confidence. Carnelian heals bones, citrine heals the lungs, amethyst heals muscles. These three,” she pointed at the pink, blue and green crystals, “relax you. Rose quartz is for blood, blue chalcedony cheers you up, and aventurine is for digestion.”
Rose quartz had another use, and it was what many of her customers wanted, but she could hardly explain that sort of thing to children.
Pablo realised, “The Imperial guards have purple stones like that on their armour, don’t they?”
“Yes; those amethysts are charged,” Cat told them,“because we wouldn’t want the strong manly guards to get nervous when they’re marching around shouting ‘in the name of the Knight!’, now would we?” The boys sniggered. Eleyna grinned as well, but her mind was on the amethyst in her locket. She wondered why it was charged.
Javier inquired, “Um, Mrs … Cat? What are the other six crystals?”
“Let’s see … charged ruby, morganite and iolite make you feel angry, whilst topaz, sapphire and emerald make you feel scared. But the chances of you coming across any of those are very slim.”
Catherine closed the box and stowed it beneath the counter. “I keep my crystals well protected from thieving hands.” She gave them a pointed look, especially the boys. “Don’t be getting any ideas about nicking some and using them to mess with each other, understand?”
They nodded. “Good. Now run along; it’s a nice day, you should go play with your friends, Eleyna,” her aunt prompted. Before she could protest that they weren’t even her friends, Cat went back into the rest of the house again. Eleyna sighed and turned back to the boys.
“We believe you now,” said Pablo, holding out a hand. Eleyna shook it. “Tell your aunt thanks for explaining. D’you wanna hang out? I figure, if you helped us learn summat new, we oughta return the favour.”
Eleyna considered it, and nodded. “Yeah. What’re you gonna teach me?”
They left the shop. “Oh, just a few street smarts we’ve picked up … ”
~~~
Lightning gathered Trill and her friends together, to warn them of dangerous creatures they might encounter if they ventured too far.
“Long ago, dragons nested wherever we liked, so long as there were firestones. Then one day, strange creatures came to empty islands on floating-nests. They walked on two legs and had no scales, only bits of fur. They brought prey-beasts with them that were easy to hunt.
“We called them wingless ones. They were no threat … but then more of them arrived. A different kind of wingless one, that attacked and hunted us. They smashed eggs and stole firestones. The ones who survived fled to nesting places like this, gathered in large flocks to protect our young. Those creatures are still out there somewhere.”
The hatchlings cringed. Fee-Bee swatted him. “Don’t frighten them!” she scolded, before crooning “Don’t worry, little ones. The wingless ones have never found our home. You’re all as safe as can be.”
Trill and her friends felt relieved, but she was also curious. There were other places far beyond this fire-mountain to explore. She wanted to see these other islands for herself one day, when she was grown up.
~~~
Eleyna loitered around the docks. Vendors boasted about their wares, sailors called out warnings as they unloaded cargo. Sunlight beat down on warping timber; a pungent smell of fish, seaweed and spices filled the warm air.
She found a stall that sold ripe, juicy peaches, which made her mouth water. The merchant had said he’d tan her hide if he caught her, whatever that meant. He was haggling with a woman who had a baby in a sling on her chest. She looked around and spotted a cat perched on a bollard, staring at the fishermen nearby. Eleyna liked cats, but in desperate times, well …
She pulled its tail when no one was looking. The cat yowled and whipped round to swipe needle-sharp claws across her skin, but Eleyna had dodged away. That inhuman screech startled the baby into wailing, much to the mother’s annoyance. With everyone looking at the crying infant, in pity or irritation, nobody noticed her hand dart out and snatch a peach for herself.
Once she was far enough away, she grinned and bit into her delicious prize. Up ahead she heard familiar voices, and the tock of wood on wood. Pablo and Javier were having a stick fight, doing their best to whack each other instead.
“You will never defeat me!” Pablo declared grandly, “for I am the great general, Hernán Almagro Diego de Fransisco Vasquez Coronado!”
“I am the great Moctez – Mocteziqua – the great native king, so there!”
Both names were so absurd, Eleyna was sure they were made up. She scoffed, and they jumped, realising she was there for the first time. “Oi, don’t sneak up on – oh, it’s you. Hey, Ellie. What’cha got there?” asked Pablo.
“None of your business,” she sneered. “For the last time, it’s Eleyna.”
Pablo sauntered closer to her, and Javier moved to cut her off. “Looks like a peach to me,” he observed. “I love peaches. C’mon, share with us.”
After what she’d risked to steal it? No way. “Go get your own. I’ve only got one, genius.” As if a single peach could be split between three, like she was even interested in sharing. Then again, Eleyna wasn’t sure Pablo knew how to count. She looked him right in the eye and licked the peach.
“Did you steal it?” Javier and Pablo moved closer. Eleyna kept chewing. “I reckon if we tell the merchant you took one of his peaches, he’ll be really grateful. Might give us some for free. What d’you say, Pablo?” he asked his companion, who smirked and nodded. Eleyna rolled her eyes at them both.
Swallowing another mouthful of peach, she said: “Go and tell him, then. I’ll be here, eating the evidence.” It was one measly fruit. A victimless crime.
Javier paused, and frowned. “Uh, Pablo? How are we gonna prove that she nicked it?” He pointed at Eleyna and said, “she’s almost eaten all of it.”
“We’ll take her with us. I know he’s seen her pinch from his stall before.”
Uh oh. Eleyna thought quickly, and pushed off the wall. “Tell you what. How about I help get more peaches? And you don’t tattle. Deal?” She held out her sticky hand, even as she sucked flesh from the kernel and pocketed it. She’d found peach pits made for good slingshot ammo, being light but very hard.
Pablo hesitated, shrugged and shook her hand. “Deal. You better not sell us out, or the peach seller catching you is the last thing you’ll worry about.”
“I won’t tell a soul. Promise,” she smiled sweetly. The trio went back to the market and found their way to the stall. The piles of fruit were much lower now. “You guys cause a distraction, I’ll grab a couple of peaches for you.”
Javier nodded. Pablo elbowed him. “Nice try. You’ll run off as soon as you get them,” he accused. “You distract him and we’ll grab ourselves peaches.”
“He knows me. One of you needs to distract him or he’ll get suspicious.”
“Ugh, fine. Javier, start a ruckus. Run into that man there, or something.”
“Gotcha.” The other boy went the long way round … and came running back, full tilt, crashing into the man buying peaches. The bag of fruit went flying, sending eight peaches rolling on the pier underfoot. Javier dodged a grasping hand and kept running, the buyer was complaining, the merchant moved from behind his stall to help pick up the fruit – now was their chance.
Eleyna nudged Pablo, and pointed to the far side of the stall, mouthing: “I’ll go there.” He nodded and they hurried towards the stall. It was only a matter of time before the merchant came back. Pablo reached out to grab a nice plump one off the pile, when a meaty hand suddenly closed around his wrist.
“Judge condemn you, boy,” the merchant growled, twisting Pablo’s arm behind his back. “I bet those other brats are your partners-in-crime, eh?”
“Lemme go! It was her idea!” he protested, pointing with his free hand at the other side of the stall. Eleyna was nowhere to be seen. “Where’d she go?!” he demanded. The wretched girl had better be waiting for them somewhere.
Eleyna had ditched them as soon as she could. They taught her to never stick around whilst pickpocketing. This time she made off with two peaches, which she ate, one after another, whilst on the move. She’d promised not to tattle on them, and she hadn’t. It wasn’t her fault if they got caught …
Both peaches were gone by the time she reached home, the kernels pocketed. Cat was chopping vegetables when Eleyna came in, a grin on her face. “What’s got you in such a good mood?” asked Cat, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing,” she shrugged, pointing at the vegetables. “Is that for lunch?”
“I made sweet potato soup and salad,” Cat replied, nodding at a pot on the stove. “This is for dinner. Oh, and I bought some peaches from the market for dessert,” she added. Eleyna snickered. “What’re you laughing at?”
“Nothing, but can lunch wait a bit? I’m not hungry.”
“Suit yourself. Now quit standing around and help me with this, would you?”
~~~
Trill learned wingless ones were strange and dangerous. Still, her wariness did nothing to curb the urge to explore. She happily boasted to her friends one day that when she was old enough, she’d fly out there and find a Special Thing to name herself after, like her sire.
“What d’you think your Special Thing will be?” asked Chirr-See.
“No idea! All I know for sure is that I’ll have to fly out there to find it.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Growl-Hiss scoffed. She spun, growling. “A runt like you wouldn’t last a day out there,” he mocked, perching in front of the sun. Trill wanted to glare fiercely at him, but the light hurt her eyes. “You’d be too scared of all those wingless ones. You as well,” he sneered at Chirr-See, “little baby bird. Fly back to your nest, now!”
Chirr-See bristled. Snort-Snarl bared his fangs. “Wingless ones are scary, egg-for-brains. They hide shiny-rock jaws, and cover up holes full of shiny-rock spikes, to catch and kill us. How do you think Missing Paw earned her name? She didn’t bite her own paw off, did she?”
“Wingless ones are weak. They can’t even fly! I’m not scared of them. I’d set them on fire before they even tried to attack me!” With a sneer, he spread his wings and boasted, “I’m not afraid of anything.”
Trill reared up on her hind legs and stubbornly growled, “Neither am I!”
Her friends stared. Growl-Hiss laughed. Trill hissed, and stood her ground, wings spread. “I’ll prove it. Dare me to do something scary!”
Click-Coo whined. “What are you doing?” she asked. Trill ignored her.
Growl-Hiss glared at her, and she glared right back. At last, he declared “Fine! I dare you to … to steal a firestone from my sire’s hoard.” Her friends gasped. Stone Cracker was massive, ornery and very protective of his hoard, especially the orange firestones.
“You’re on,” she declared, “and when I bring it back, you … you have to treat us like we’re high ranking for a whole day!”
Growl-Hiss snarled. “Yeah? Well when you don’t bring it back, or get caught, you and your friends have to do whatever I want!” he challenged. Her friends tensed or groaned, wishing Trill hadn’t gotten them into this. She gave them an apologetic look, and nodded firmly.
“Go on. I’ll wait here,” he said, lying down on the sun-warmed rock. Trill dropped to all fours and galloped towards his family’s nest. Chirr-See and Click-Coo hurried after her. Snort-Snarl remained behind to keep an eye on the other drake, so he couldn’t try to make Trill fail her dare.
“Why did you agree to this? Stone Cracker can crack … well, stones!” Chirr-See protested. “Let me do this, it’s safer; you could get hurt!”
“He won’t crack me.” Trill rolled her eyes. “He won’t even catch me.”
Click-Coo whined. “What if he does? I heard he sleeps with one eye open so he can see anyone trying to steal from his hoard!” She and Chirr-See easily overtook Trill. “It’s dangerous. You’ll get in trouble!”
“I have to! He dared me. I can do this. Now get out of the way,” Trill growled, pawing at the ground. They begged her to let them help, but she refused. “I have to do it by myself, or it won’t count.” Her friends slunk aside, letting her pass. Trill set off. As she ran, she kept thinking of a plan to get the stone. I hid in ash once, and they couldn’t smell me.
She found a spot covered in ash and groomed herself, covering her scales with spit, then rolled in it until she was more grey than black.
Getting to the right place was hard … she wasn’t sure exactly where it was. Sneaking past the adults – and fledglings, some of whom were her bullies – was even harder. When she heard someone coming, she hunched down and hid her head under a wing, peeking out from beneath it until they’d gone. At last she found her way to the hoard.
A huge pile of firestones lay in the cavern. Trill knew it was large, because she could see it above the flanks of Stone Cracker, curled up around it. He was asleep, and he didn’t seem to have one eye open … but he was still between her and the hoard. Trill sneaked in.
She crept towards his hindquarters. To her dismay, the only way past was to climb over his tail. Trill leapt over it, flapping her wings. She landed, and barely managed to keep from hitting him with her tail.
It must’ve taken a lifetime to find all these firestones. She started to pick one up, and paused. Her friends would be impressed if she took more than one. Trill picked up as many as she could fit in her mouth.
She gave a quiet purr, and made to sneak out again. Stone Cracker yawned, stretched and rolled onto his hoard; the firestones shifted and cascaded towards her. Trill yipped in fright and scrambled out of the way, leaping over his tail again. This time she tripped over.
Two stones in her mouth fell out and chinked against the rock. The drake’s orange eyes snapped open. Trill curled into a ball, pretending to be an ashy rock. She could hear him sniff the air, and fought not to whimper or tremble. “Who’s there?” Stone Cracker rumbled. Trill said nothing. At last, he huffed, and from what she could tell, turned away.
Heart racing, she peeked. He wasn’t looking at her, but at his pile of firestones. Trill crept towards the cave mouth. When she made it out, Trill gave up sneaking, and fled. She had three firestones. She laughed, bouncing and fluttering her wings. I did it! I actually did it!
The others were waiting for her. Trill hid the stones in her jaws. “Look who’s back,” Growl-Hiss snorted. “I don’t see any firestones! Did my sire catch you, or did you get scared?” he mocked.
Trill sat down, and dropped the firestones. He stared at them, and her, in disbelief. “Now we’re high ranking,” she declared. Her friends cheered. Chirr-See, Click-Coo and Snort-Snarl crowded around Trill, nuzzling and praising her, asking her to tell them how she had done it.
All that sneaking around had made her really hungry. “I won your dare,” she told Growl-Hiss, “and we had a deal. Go get us fish!” she ordered. He slunk off with a glare. Trill puffed her chest out. She’d never be big or strong, but she could be clever – and that was even better, really.
~~~~