Free The Twiceborn Queen (The Proving Book 2) by Marina Finlayson Page B
Authors: Marina Finlayson
through and the intersection behind us filled with cars from the cross street. The woman in the white car couldn’t follow, trapped behind stationary cars.
Garth roared down Epping Road, doing at least fifty over the speed limit. Two intersections later he picked his gap and ran the red arrow, turning off into a residential area. I clutched at my seat as we skidded through the turn. Then he ducked and weaved through side streets, still heading in the general direction of the city, as Lego rattled and slid around in the back. I held on tight and hoped there were no police around.
Finally he slowed to a more sedate pace, a smug look on his face.
“We won’t be seeing her again.”
“I may not be seeing my stomach again any time soon either. Where’d you learn to drive like that? A dodgem car ride?”
He grinned. “You talk too much. I definitely should have killed you.”
I grinned back. “You and whose army, Skywalker?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lachie was overjoyed to be reunited with his beloved Lego. Even Garth had to smile at the squeals of delight as each new set was carried in from the car. I left them to it and went to Google “Sydney dragons CGI”.
I found Tanya’s video straight away. Was this supposed to be the same CGI program used by the big special effects studios? But those big movie effects took months. How could people believe this had been done in a matter of days?
“Come look at this,” I called to Ben once I’d watched it through. He came into the study and stood behind me, massaging my neck with his good hand, as I hit replay.
The world watched in shock and amazement as two dragons fought over Sydney Harbour in the early hours of New Year’s Day , the voiceover began. The familiar footage rolled and Valeria stooped upon me once again. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the memory. That had been too close.
Dragons exist! The supernatural live among us. Or do they?
On screen I fled under the Bridge, Valeria in hot pursuit.
How could anyone doubt the evidence of their own eyes? Here they are, captured on film for all the world to see.
I backwinged and landed briefly on the bridge before taking off again. I’d been dropping Lachie to safety, to free myself up to fight Valeria, but the view was too distant to see the small figure stumbling from my cradling claws.
But how closely is the world looking?
The camera zoomed in, as it always did at this point in the footage, and the picture shook, presumably because the cameraman’s hands were shaking too. None of the videos I’d seen were perfectly polished. Despite the presence of a gazillion TV cameras around the harbour earlier in the night, this had taken place at least two hours after the fireworks had finished, and the camera crews had all gone home. Only amateurs, mostly with iPhones, remained to capture the action.
But this time, as we took to the skies again, the familiar footage shook even more than usual. A dark, boxy mass could be seen under the bellies of the two dragons. Both dragons moved far less naturally.
Close enough to notice the engines that powered these two “dragons”? Notice how slowly they’re moving now? What if we speed this footage up again and add a little CGI magic?
As if at the touch of a magic eraser, the engines gradually disappeared and the jerky movements became graceful, showing realistic muscles flexing beneath golden skin.
Let’s see that again.
The screen split in two, and the same piece of footage played on both sides. But one side had the “before” image, with engines showing and jerky robotic dragons. The robotic dragons appeared smaller against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge. The “after” side showed large, lifelike dragons waging acrobatic war.
Are you still amazed that dragons exist? Or are you just amazed at what computers can do these days?
I spun in my chair to face Ben. “What do you think?”
“Pretty impressive. Plays well to the sceptics. Elizabeth, I
Garth roared down Epping Road, doing at least fifty over the speed limit. Two intersections later he picked his gap and ran the red arrow, turning off into a residential area. I clutched at my seat as we skidded through the turn. Then he ducked and weaved through side streets, still heading in the general direction of the city, as Lego rattled and slid around in the back. I held on tight and hoped there were no police around.
Finally he slowed to a more sedate pace, a smug look on his face.
“We won’t be seeing her again.”
“I may not be seeing my stomach again any time soon either. Where’d you learn to drive like that? A dodgem car ride?”
He grinned. “You talk too much. I definitely should have killed you.”
I grinned back. “You and whose army, Skywalker?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lachie was overjoyed to be reunited with his beloved Lego. Even Garth had to smile at the squeals of delight as each new set was carried in from the car. I left them to it and went to Google “Sydney dragons CGI”.
I found Tanya’s video straight away. Was this supposed to be the same CGI program used by the big special effects studios? But those big movie effects took months. How could people believe this had been done in a matter of days?
“Come look at this,” I called to Ben once I’d watched it through. He came into the study and stood behind me, massaging my neck with his good hand, as I hit replay.
The world watched in shock and amazement as two dragons fought over Sydney Harbour in the early hours of New Year’s Day , the voiceover began. The familiar footage rolled and Valeria stooped upon me once again. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the memory. That had been too close.
Dragons exist! The supernatural live among us. Or do they?
On screen I fled under the Bridge, Valeria in hot pursuit.
How could anyone doubt the evidence of their own eyes? Here they are, captured on film for all the world to see.
I backwinged and landed briefly on the bridge before taking off again. I’d been dropping Lachie to safety, to free myself up to fight Valeria, but the view was too distant to see the small figure stumbling from my cradling claws.
But how closely is the world looking?
The camera zoomed in, as it always did at this point in the footage, and the picture shook, presumably because the cameraman’s hands were shaking too. None of the videos I’d seen were perfectly polished. Despite the presence of a gazillion TV cameras around the harbour earlier in the night, this had taken place at least two hours after the fireworks had finished, and the camera crews had all gone home. Only amateurs, mostly with iPhones, remained to capture the action.
But this time, as we took to the skies again, the familiar footage shook even more than usual. A dark, boxy mass could be seen under the bellies of the two dragons. Both dragons moved far less naturally.
Close enough to notice the engines that powered these two “dragons”? Notice how slowly they’re moving now? What if we speed this footage up again and add a little CGI magic?
As if at the touch of a magic eraser, the engines gradually disappeared and the jerky movements became graceful, showing realistic muscles flexing beneath golden skin.
Let’s see that again.
The screen split in two, and the same piece of footage played on both sides. But one side had the “before” image, with engines showing and jerky robotic dragons. The robotic dragons appeared smaller against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge. The “after” side showed large, lifelike dragons waging acrobatic war.
Are you still amazed that dragons exist? Or are you just amazed at what computers can do these days?
I spun in my chair to face Ben. “What do you think?”
“Pretty impressive. Plays well to the sceptics. Elizabeth, I