Dragon Fire - Book 2 [discontinued due to rewrite]

Chapter 2

Dara had flown as far and for as long as Marcie could stand it.

Although he could have undoubtedly continued she insisted he land. Where she fell from his back curled and onto her side on the blessedly solid ground, bemoaning her sore butt and thighs.

She mounted again the next morning although and spent another long painful ride, clutching the two spikes on either side of Dara's neck so tightly that they cut into her hands and forced Dara to land so she could see to them.

On the third day she took a deep breath and clambered onto his back yet again. She had bandaged her hands as best she could and applied ointment. The spikes she used as hand holds she had wrapped in leather to prevent more discomfort.

She lasted a little longer this time.

She felt Dara grow smug after his initial worry that she would hate flying faded and she grumbled at his smugness.

On the fourth day she may even have started enjoying herself. The feeling of the air through her hair (although she had too pull it back in a braid otherwise it grew too tangled and took ages to comb out) the weightlessness of having nothing under her feet. It was almost relaxing.

On the fifth day she managed to keep her eyes open the whole flight.

On the sixth day she relaxed her death grip on the handholds.

On the seventh day she found that untensing and moving with the motion of Dara's wings prevented the soreness in her butt and thighs and allowed her to truly relax.

On the eighth day she gave Dara an unspoken signal to fly, not quite so carefully as she knew him to be doing so.

Dara's mind crackled excitedly and he slowed...down...

He lost height and went into a gently glide so the tops of the trees in The Forgotten Forest tickled his belly.

Marcie frowned "This is not what i meant" she shouted over the rushing air.

Dara ignored her.

Then began to glide faster and faster, the trees beneath him becoming a blur. Marcie held on tightly and may even have laughed aloud, the sound snatched from her mouth and ripped away by the wind.

Then Dara flapped his wings again and again, gaining height but going just as fast. He reached his head back over his neck so Marcie could see the concentration in his eyes then carried on the motion on and looped over backwards.

Marcie tried to scream but a weight seemed to push her down and hold her still. She gasped for breath, but then Dara did it again and she felt that force hold her in place again, felt it stop her from falling.

Dara evened out, his whole body humming in pleasure then swooped from side to side lazily, the tips of each wing scraping the leaves of the trees as he tilted. The force pushing Marcie lessened but was still their, keeping her on Dara's back, keeping her safe. She wondered if she let go if she stay exactly where she was, she shared this thought with Dara who turned his head to look at her with one huge black eye, she read the disapproval there and grinned, laughing aloud again, sharing his enjoyment of the flight at last.

On the ninth day they camped in a part of the forest Marcie had never been before. She recognized the kind of trees and a lot of the wildlife, Dara particularly loved terrorizing the flightless birds that made their nests among the roots of the trees, but the only marks on the trees were old and showed signs of an ancient Trading route, long abandoned in favor of easier terrain.

On the tenth day she saw the edge.

The edge of The Forgotten Forest.

The end of the world she knew and the beginning of a whole new one.