Silence - By Kailin Gow Page 0,35

have ripped out his heart had they wanted to do it, run errands for creatures so old that the sheer weight of years had driven them to the brink of sanity, and drank blood alongside the worst of them.

Anything he’d had to do, Fal on had done, hiding his disgust as best he could. He had played the good little vampire so that he could listen, and learn, and hopeful y find a way back to Briony. At every step, Fal on had kept her face in his mind, reminding himself that the dangers were worth it, that anything that got him close enough to learn about accessing Palisor was worth it.

Except that wasn’t what Fal on had learned.

Al his sneaking around had not earned him a single hint about the other world. He had learned something far worse instead. Now Fal on just had to hope that he could get back to Wicked in time to warn people.

Fal on ran on, hoping he was going the right way. Kevin would know, of course. Kevin always seemed to know that kind of thing. Just like Kevin seemed to be able to say the right thing to Briony, do the right thing around her. Sometimes, it wasn’t just the fact that he was a werewolf that made Fal on hate him.

Yet Fal on knew he would need him.

Apparently, only shifters could get past the gate without a dragon or Hugtandalfer royal to act as key, so even if Fal on were able to find the gate, he wouldn’t be able to go after Briony. Kevin could. And Fal on wasn’t about to sacrifice Briony’s safety just because he would have vastly preferred to be the one helping her himself.

That, though, was a problem for another time. For now, he had to get back, to warn people about what was coming. And that meant finding his way back. Deciding to risk a smal jump to get some sense of direction, Fal on hopped up between the trees, looking out over the green expanse of forest canopy, his better than human eyes picking out the distant glimmer of windows and houses. That way then.

Then his eyes picked out something else. It was no more than a greenish-blue blot against the sky at first, but the color and the size made Fal on take a second look, landing on the nearest of the treetops so that he could look out. He stood there for almost a minute as the blot grew closer, growing in detail as it did so until Fal on could final y make out…

A dragon. It was massive compared to Archer, its scales green on its upper parts and blue beneath. It flew with calm beats of wings bigger than a bus, gliding for long stretches between each magnificent stroke. It was the sort of creature that they wrote stories about, only Fal on couldn’t imagine any knight or hero defeating something like that. It looked like it could have burnt whole cities if it wanted to, yet al it was doing was flying. Perfectly, beautiful y flying.

A dragon meant a gate. It wouldn’t stay in this world. Even Archer had only done that in order to find Briony. So somewhere, there was a way home for it. And that way home meant that, just for a little while, Fal on and Kevin would have a chance of getting Briony back where she should be.

Except that Fal on had a warning to deliver.

He had to get back. Had to tel people what was coming, before it did. Could he afford to take the time to go running after a dragon, when there were potential y so many lives at stake?

Could he afford to ignore it, though? When would he just happen on another dragon? And without a dragon, how would he ever find the gate to this

‘Palisor’? Hadn’t Briony’s Aunt Sophie and Pietre spent decades looking for a way in? Could he real y afford to squander a once in a human lifetime chance like that?

Couldn’t his warning wait? Fal on knew that people had to hear what he had to say, but did it make a difference whether they heard it ten minutes from now, or a couple of hours, once he’d had a chance to fol ow the creature flying above?

And retreating rapidly. The dragon was on a new course now, and it was heading away from Fal on as quickly as it had come. Looking up, Fal on