Rainbow Magic (Dragon Rider #1) {EDITING}

Chapter Nineteen: Following the String

Her back ached, the feeling of cold stone under her cheek making Sora startle as the memories came rushing back. The weird room. The old lady... and the floor dropping out from under her... then... darkness. Groaning, she rubbed her head, wincing at the feeling of the oncoming headache. "What in the actual hell?" she grumbled, sitting up slowly, patting herself down for any injuries. "Ugh." She shook her head, glancing up at the ceiling, blinking as she found it only a few metres above. "Huh?"

She was in a large room, a ballroom or something of that sort, pale sandy stone tiles underneath her, matching pale brickwork making up the walls. Her fingers dug into the tiles she sat on, gaze darting down as she felt the swirling engravings she sat on. The place seemed ridiculously fancy, and Sora felt oddly out of place in her battered training gear. She clambered to her feet, flinching at how every single sound seemed to bounce off the walls and amplify around the room. Disturbing the eerie silence was the last thing she wanted to do, especially when she had no idea where the hell she'd ended up. The floor had dropped out on her, so she'd been expecting to wake up at the bottom of some sort of cavern – possibly in a pool of her own blood, considering the height from which she'd fallen. She hadn't expected to wake up in some strange building. Hesitantly, she stepped forwards, biting her lip as she tapped the floor, checking its solidity before she walked away from the strange sigil she'd woken up on.

"Um... Rae?" she called softly, frantically glancing around the place. "Silver? Anybody?" She hurried towards the nearest door, cracking it open an inch. Clear. Yanking the door open and closed, she slipped out. The hall was quiet, just like the ballroom, and it had windows lining one wall too. Sora wasted no time in taking a look outside, blinking at the sight she was met with.

Trees. She was still in the forest.

Shudders ran down her spine, eyes locked on the murky green colouring of the leaves. She doubted any other forests had quite the same feel to them. Besides, she'd fallen down – a straight line down – and that meant she was still in the same place, unless someone had moved her, of course. "Oz?" she called, half desperate for someone to answer her. "This isn't funny..." she muttered, the hairs on the back of her neck pricking as she looked around the empty corridor. She was alone. All alone... as per usual. Her hands curled into fists.

A tug on her finger made her pull her head out of the clouds. Sora blinked, staring down at the strange gold string wrapped around her pinkie. Curious, she pulled at it, eyes widening as it went taut, yanking her hand towards wherever the other end was attached to.

"Don't forget to follow the string..." she mumbled, echoing the old lady's parting words back to herself. A clue to passing whatever weird test she'd found herself in. She stepped forwards, gaze fixed on the string as it slackened. "I guess it's this way."

"What's this way?"

Sora leapt a foot in the air, shrieking as she jumped forwards, spinning around to face the man who'd just whispered the words in her ear. She hadn't sensed him in the slightest. As though he'd just materialised behind her out of thin air. "Who in the blue blithering blazes are you?" she hissed, hands up, ready to defend herself against the strange man. "How did you get in here?" She was supposed to be taking a test by herself. All the rest of her teammates were.

"Huh? How did I get in here?" He snorted, running a hand through his inky hair. "Kid, I should be asking you that."

"But... the test..."

Dark eyes narrowed, and Sora edged back slowly. She didn't like that look. "Oh, so you're here for the Monster Cloak?"

She blinked in surprise. "How'd you know that?"