Free The Topaz Quest by Gill Vickery

Chapter One

The Ice Storm
    Tia stared in horror at the shrieking ice-storm blocking the pass into Stoplar. She had walked a long way to reach the town and its lands hidden deep in the forbidding Eldkeiler Mountains and now the way was barred by the storm. Raging wind threw splinters of ice like broken sword blades against the towering, frost-coated sides of the pass.
    The screaming storm made it impossible to talk to her friends so she pointed to a grove of stunted trees huddling by the river flowing past the foot of the mountainside. The little dragon and the jackdaw nodded in understanding and flew into the thicket.
    Tia stumbled after them over the rocky ground, the bitter wind pushing her along like a cold hand. ‘It’s not fair,’ she grumbled. ‘If they’d let me be a falcon again I could move as fast as they can.’
    When she reached the trees she found that her DragonBrother, Finn, had started a campfire and pushed a mossy log close to it. She sat on it and warmed her hands at the fire.
    â€˜DragonTeacher warned us that High Witch Luona uses the topaz to control the weather and rule Stoplar, but he didn’t tell us about that ice-storm,’ Finn said. He nudged Tia anxiously with his nose. ‘We need to find another way to get you in.’
    Tia patted him. ‘Don’t worry so much, Finn.’ She turned to the jackdaw perched on a rock next to her. ‘As we can’t use the pass, what do you think we should do, Loki?’
    â€˜I think I’m going to find myself some food,’ he said, and flew off.
    Tia realised she was hungry too and rummaged in her bag. ‘I’ve only got stale bread and a lump of cheese.’ She skewered the food on a stick and toasted it over the flames.
    When she’d finished, she licked melted cheese off her fingers. ‘That was good but I wish I’d brought some sweet pies from Kulafoss before we left.’
    â€˜You were too busy turning yourself into a bird and showing off,’ Finn said.
    Tia touched a large opal set into a collar round her neck. She’d used the jewel to turn into a falcon.
    â€˜Don’t change now!’ Finn said.
    â€˜I’m not going to. I was just thinking, I could become a falcon again and fly over the mountains.’
    Little puffs of smoke burst from Finn’s nostrils. ‘It’s far too high for a small bird. And you mustn’t use the opal in Stoplar – what if you were seen changing?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t be,’ Tia said indignantly. ‘But I won’t use it.’
    Leaves rustled above their heads and Loki flew down.
    â€˜You’re talking about the opal aren’t you?’ he said.
    Tia nodded. Though Loki didn’t understand Finn Tia could speak to the jackdaw because she kept the magic emerald with her. It gave her the power to speak to any animal.
    â€˜After you’d been a bird in Kulafoss,’ Loki said, ‘you wanted to be one all the time. If you change into a falcon to get into Stoplar you won’t be able to resist doing it again once you’re there. Remember how Yordis ended up more like a bear than a woman? It was because she couldn’t stop using the opal, and you won’t be able to either.’
    Her friends didn’t understand, Tia thought. It wasn’t turning into another creature that was tempting – it was being able to fly!
    â€˜What do you two think I should do, then?’ she asked.
    â€˜I’ll disguise myself and carry you over the mountains,’ Finn said.
    Tia flung her arms round the little dragon’s muzzle. ‘No! That’s too dangerous. I know you’ve practised camouflaging yourself but if you make a mistake, even for a second, the spell will catch you.’
    She knew the power of the spell cast by the High Witches around each of the lands of the six towns. The dragon who’d snatched her from her parents when she was very small had been caught up in it