The Night Rider

Chapter 12

The wind blowing through my hair makes me feel like the deepest point in my soul. I've never been able to leave this place in the clouds. The decision I made at the time is still so much harder than I expected. I would prefer to stand on my feet and climb the clouds with the dragon, but I know I can't

At that moment I want to put my head against Jamie's shoulder when my vision is taken over by something I never thought I'd see again. My breath is taken away as if it's nothing and I can feel the blood running out of my veins. I'm perplexed and it feels like my tongue has been cut off. The sight almost brings tears to my eyes.

A deep black dragon with silk wings is visible between the clouds. There is only one dragon that carries this color, one dragon with this power and this size. A Nazu is hanging before us with The Night Rider on his back. I feel behind me that Jamie's lost his breath too. His muscles are tight against my back.

The red dragon that carries us through the air has stopped and now hangs in the air dead silent. 'Is that it?' I just nod at Jamie's whispering question. The view is beautiful, especially with the knowledge that Rafiki is currently wearing the black robe. However, her face is not visible through the cloth that hides her mouth and hair.

I turn my head and look into Jamie's eyes. His gaze is completely set on his daughter. His eyes radiate different emotions, but amazement and pride are best readable. 'Wow,' he's mumbling. 'This is your daughter,' I'm mumbling now. His eyes are starting to shine even more than ever.

Seeing Rafiki, in her full elements, has taken our breath away. Rafiki has always been a daughter to me and Jamie as her father owes less explanation. At that moment she turns her head, the deep blue eyes look at us. They go from rest to panic in seconds.

I have a last few seconds to see what the spectacle looks like for me, before the dragon and his rider disappears between the white clouds. Something that clearly struck me was the attitude she had on the dragon. The saddle had no reins, it had several footrests. I vaguely remember a drawing of this saddle, but I can't place it.

Jamie just gave the order to go after Rafiki and the Nazu when I take the reins. 'stis Ándeis' I pronounce to the dragon. His ears spit before he totally ignores Jamie's command and flies to the Andes like crazy.

This time it's Jamie clinging to me. The speed at which the red dragon moves is a speed it will not fly very often. There are only a few people who have the gift of being able to speak Gravics, or dragon language. A dragon will always listen to you better when you speak this language than in human language.

The world is raging past us like crazy. The wind flies in our hair and the clouds make my dress float through the air. 'Celeste stop him!' Jamie almost screams in my ear which makes me fall out of my trans and pull the dragon's reins. In a matter of seconds we go from tremendous speed to almost a standstill. I fly forward and end up in front of the dragon's neck.

'Are you okay?' I look around me disillusioned and then I see a face that for the second time this hour takes my breath away. The white peaks of the Andes are all around me. Just above the clouds they emerge with their full beauty. These summits were once my home, which I haven't visited in a long time.

'Yes'. It almost comes out of my mouth in one breath. My eyes follow the beauty of the summits. As soon as I take in my old friends, I get up. My feet find balance on the dragon's neck. Like it's nothing, I'm walking back where Jamie's gawking at me. He almost looks at me with his mouth open while I take my place again.

'Never stood on a dragon before?' I ask grinning as I take the reins in my hands. I'll get the dragon moving again and let it fly past the summits. 'Not like that.' Jamie, answer my question. ' Normally, I'm the one who flies. Then you're not the one Gravic talks to or walks down his neck like you're walking down the street.'

I can only grin. We're flying by for a long time hoping to find Rafiki but we don't see anything, until suddenly a black dragon appears less than a metre in front of us. The red dragon we're sitting on arranges and rears like a horse in the air. I look up and look straight into the night blue eyes of Rafiki. She's in the saddle. Her mouth is covered with a black cloth, her hair with a hood and her body with a black coat.

She says nothing and just looks at us. It's breathtaking to see her like this. 'Not a word' Those are the only words Rafiki speaks before she disappears behind clouds. Jamie and I both didn't say anything, we just didn't know what to say. 'What now?', Jamie mumbles. 'Shut up, like your daughter told you to'