Free A Time of Darkness (The Circle of Talia) by Dionne Lister Page B

onto, Arie looked over at Agmunsten climbing onto Zim, the older realmist moving smoothly, showing nothing of his age. When Agmunsten was seated and had found his grip, he turned his head and looked at Arie. “You good to go?”
    “Yep.” Arie nodded sagely once, a gesture he’d seen his father do many times when discussing important matters with the village council. He gripped the scales tighter when Arcese shifted beneath him as she stood.
    Arcese spoke to him, mind to mind. Okay, Arie hold on. If you feel like you’re slipping or getting tired, make sure you let me know quickly, as it takes time to land, and I’d hate to lose you .
    He could hear the mirth in her mind voice at the last, but that did nothing to calm his nerves.
    Arie felt Arcese’s smooth gait as she walked backwards. Zim followed her, not stopping until they were some twenty feet from the opening. Arie watched as Zim started running, his stocky, powerful legs accelerating at a pace the boy would have thought impossible. When the dragon reached the opening, he kept going, and Arie held his breath. Half a second before Zim launched off the ledge, he threw his wings out and glided away, quickly reaching a thermal and rising, instead of falling, as Arie had feared. Arie giggled when Agmunsten’s fading Woohoo of joy reached him.
    The boy fell silent when Arcese crouched slightly before exploding into a run. The opening sped towards them, and Arie leaned closer to Arcese, digging his fingers in as hard as he could, his adrenalin-filled body tense yet excited. Vellonia’s walls disappeared as they were birthed into fresh air, and the dragon leapt off the ledge. Arie forced his eyes to stay open—either he would die or fly, and he wanted to watch, no matter what was about to happen—he didn’t want to have to say, when asked about his first flight on a dragon, that he had kept his eyes scrunched shut.
    Even sheltered behind Arcese’s strong neck, Arie felt the wind tug at his hood. He was forced to squint his eyes against its assault as tears blurred his vision—he dared not try and wipe them away. And then, suddenly, he could open his eyes as the dragon caught a thermal, slowing, yet still rising. Arie kept his grip strong but cautiously looked down. When the momentary dizziness cleared, Arie gasped at the valley shrinking beneath them. They were climbing fast, now almost in line with the top of the tallest peaks surrounding Vellonia. The massive trees and buildings in the valley were no more than different-colored blots on the green landscape, and the river was a slim serpent silently wending its way through the unreal scene.
    When they cleared the mountains, Zim stayed his northerly course, and Arcese pumped her wings twice to catch up to her brother. When she drew next to him, Agmunsten turned to smile at Arie and spoke into his mind, So lad, how did you like that?
    Arie was so excited that he started speaking out loud, “It was fantastic! I can’t believe I’m flying!”
    Agmunsten interrupted in his mind. Arie, lad, I can hardly hear you, what with the wind and my hood covering my ears. Speak to me in here .
    Agmunsten, more confident of staying on the dragon’s back than Arie, let go of Zim’s scales and tapped his head with a finger.
    Oops, sorry. Is that better? Agmunsten nodded. I was saying that it was the most incredible thing ever, and I can’t believe I’m flying. The land looks so strange from up here; it’s like I can see patterns I couldn’t before, kind of like one of mum’s tapestries. If my parents could see me now, they wouldn’t believe it . He shook his head and grinned.
    Agmunsten watched his protégé and took heart in the boy’s momentary happiness. He hoped Arie would see his parents again one day, because if anything happened to him he would never forgive himself. Out of all his apprentices, the old man thought he liked Arie the best. The boy was a quick learner, laughed at Agmunsten’s bad jokes, and it was