Raven Girl

Chapter 23

Nadine was freezing, and she couldn't see the ground. Her numb fingers clutched the dragon's scales and she whimpered as she pressed herself against it. The only sound was the roar of wind and the steady boom of the dragon's wings as it flew. It had put her on its back on purpose, she thought, and tried to figure out why, but a torrent of fear drowned everything out. It felt like they had been flying for hours. Nadine's body was stiff and sore, but she couldn't move. Her breasts were pressed uncomfortably against the dragon's spine and her legs trembled. The two wings on either side of her blocked out most of her view – she had no idea where they were heading. In front, the dragon's head bobbed slightly with its movement.

The wind was scalding and tears slipped from Nadine's eyes, even though she had them narrowed to slits. "Can you drop me off at Ravenna, please?" she whimpered quietly. She shrieked as the dragon's entire body suddenly tilted. Her legs swung into air. She clutched a spike that protruded from the beast's spine, holding on for dear life. And risked a glance down.

Her stomach swooped into her mouth at the sight of the green, rolling mountains so far below. The land spread out like a map, but it seemed like the dragon was banking, getting ready to... land? They'd flown to the opposite end of the same mountain range, Nadine realised with relief. She'd expected to find herself in the barren ice tundra lands of the Far North, or somewhere across the Open Sea.

Nadine watched the mountains come rushing up towards them with alarming speed. The dragon angled itself towards the largest mountain, and Nadine shrieked as a wall of rock loomed – she ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut, praying for a quick death –

Darkness slid over her. She opened her eyes to find herself in a cave. The dragon landed lightly, and she finally managed to unclench her corpse-stiff fingers. She fell onto the ground and wheezed, pressing her palms into rock. It was real, solid, unmoving.

She had just flown on the back of a dragon. Her head whirled.

It took a while to recover, but Nadine finally rose to her feet, dropping her pack on the floor. "Why have you brought us here?" she whispered to the dragon.

She realised that something was moving inside her pack, and undid the straps. A bedraggled, angry-looking Kutkh flapped his way out, and she bit back a laugh. It was lucky he'd been in there when she woke up, or else she'd have left him behind forever.

A noise sounded from the dark depths of the cave. Nadine looked up, and recoiled as something huge and golden emerged in front of her. For the first time she realised that the black dragon was small. Small in comparison to... to...

A gigantic golden head was staring straight at her. Another dragon. She had just been brought to its lair.

Nadine stumbled back, bleating in terror, until her foot nearly slipped off the edge of the cave. She glanced back. The mountain was a sheer drop, and wind buffeted her, making her sleeves billow. There was only one way to escape.

Nadine bolted inside, skidding underneath the chin of the monstrous golden beast. She ducked beneath its underbelly and zigzagged, dodging its massive talons. She dove out from under it and lost herself in the blackness of the cave. She was running blindly, her breathing coming in painful bursts, until a cavern opened up around her – there seemed to be light coming through cracks in the roof. A shimmering trove of gold and jewels blanketed the floor. This dragon was a hoarder.

Nadine tripped on a bejewelled belt and went flying along the sea of treasure. Jagged metal cut into her skin, and coins scattered everywhere. The rattling and clinking would go on forever – the dragon would always know where she was, even if it couldn't see.

Whimpering, Nadine dragged herself up and kept running, her boots crunching and sliding. A thundering sound told her that the monster was in pursuit.