Myvanwy and the House of Dragon Read online

  MYVANWY

  and the

  HOUSE of DRAGON

  by

  K J SHEERIN

  Copyright © 2011 K J Sheerin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author.

  Published by:

  ArmchairPublishing

  P.O. Box 248

  Geelong

  VIC 3220

  Australia

  Web: www.armchairpublishing.com.au

  Cover Design by BookPOD

  Cover images by iStockphoto

  ISBN: 978-0-9870848-3-5

  Contents

  The Hand of Fate

  Sweet Pea

  Paradise

  Love Grows

  Forewarned

  Dancing with Dragons

  Message from Nowhere

  Blood Oath

  Going Home

  A Flying Visit

  The Face of Evil

  Cards in the Air

  Busy Times

  Under Pressure

  Wedded Bliss

  Incoming

  Show Time

  Flotsam

  The Hand of Fate

  The local show came around in October and caught Josh unprepared as usual, not that it mattered—he just didn’t get any pocket money. The little he had saved was not enough to pay the entrance fee and have a ride as well. Still, he wasn’t about to be put off, especially with the large number of hot-air balloons on display this year—it meant he would have to go over the fence, that was all.

  Clare lay awake in her bunk, despite the late hour—the excitement of competing in the next day’s dressage event was proving too much. She went over every aspect of the discipline she and her horse, Toby, would be scrutinised for, and mentally pictured a faultless round for them both. Together they had been runners-up in their division last year, and with another twelve months training under their belts, were hot favourites to take out this year’s event.

  From outside came the sound of Toby as he snorted and pawed at the earth. Something had spooked him, which alarmed Clare. She looked over towards her father and saw that he was asleep in his bunk, so she got up and dressed before stepping outside the caravan to check on her horse.

  They were camped just inside the perimeter of the showgrounds, with Toby confined to the area between the horse float and caravan by a makeshift fence. Clare called Toby over and stroked his neck and shoulder while talking softly to soothe him. Afterwards she looked around to see what had frightened him.

  At first glance everything seemed in order—not a soul stirred. She ran her eyes along the fence and caught the outline of someone in the branches of a tree, moments before they dropped down on the inside of the showgrounds. Clare quickly covered the distance to where the trespasser had landed and found a youth on the ground rubbing his ankle.

  ‘Serves you right, frightening my horse like that!’

  Josh looked up surprised, and remembered seeing her with the white horse earlier that night.

  He put a finger to his lips, ‘Shhh, you’ll wake everyone up.’

  ‘So what if I do?’

  Josh looked around worriedly, ‘I can see that you’re upset, but it wasn’t me that spooked your horse.’

  Clare wasn’t convinced, but lowered her voice anyway.

  ‘Well if it wasn’t you, then who was it?’

  ‘I don’t know. Some girl was in your horse float. She took something from it and went over that way,’ he said, pointing the way.

  ‘And how do you know all that?’

  ‘I’ve been watching for a couple of hours—waiting for things to settle down so I could sneak in.’

  Alarm bells started to ring inside Clare’s head.

  ‘How is your ankle now?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Josh said, putting his weight on it gingerly.

  ‘Will you come with me while I check out your story?’

  ‘If you want,’ he said, limping after her.

  Clare turned back and put an arm around Josh for support as he hobbled along. He in turn put his arm around her shoulders and trailed a small backpack in his free hand.

  Josh glanced sideways to take in her short dark hair and angelic face. Well if I’m going to be kicked out at least it’s been worth it, being close to a babe like her, he thought.

  They stopped on reaching the horse float.

  ‘You wait here,’ Clare said, and went inside to check his story. She returned a few moments later with a surprised look on her face.

  ‘All of my gear is gone.’

  ‘I told you.’

  Clare looked at him a moment longer and realised that he couldn’t have done it. But then who had? She couldn’t compete without her saddle and boots—which meant all of last year’s training would have been for nothing.

  She thought back to what he had said.

  ‘Did you see where the girl took my gear?’

  ‘Not exactly, just that she went over that way,’ Josh said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

  Clare hesitated a moment longer before going over to support him again and they walked slowly in the direction he had indicated. Actually his ankle felt much better, but Josh wasn’t going to spoil the moment.

  ‘Where did she put them?’

  ‘Somewhere over there near the hot-air balloons.’

  Josh eyed the balloons wistfully as they approached them. They were tethered with their baskets just off the ground—all different shapes and sizes, inflated and straining to be free.

  Clare scanned the surrounding area without success.

  ‘Where exactly did you see her?’

  He pointed to the huge blue balloon at the end.

  She went over to it, but still couldn’t see her saddle or boots anywhere.

  ‘Can you boost me up and I’ll look inside?’

  Josh stood to one side of the basket and clamped his fingers together to form a cradle. Clare stepped into it and he boosted her up before stepping back to watch as she struggled over the edge.

  ‘They’re here!’ she exclaimed, and lowered the balloon’s rope ladder over the side moments later, so Josh went up to investigate.

  Clare was relieved to have found her gear and inspected the leatherwork for any scratches.

  ‘I wonder who could have done such a thing.’

  Josh was too busy checking out the inside of the basket to reply. He examined the pilot flame and burning arrangement for the hot air—awed by all he saw.

  Seconds later they were brought back to reality when the basket lurched suddenly. It caught them off balance and sent them sprawling in a heap on the floor. On regaining their feet they reached for the wire ropes that supported the basket and peered over as the balloon began to ascend into the night sky. Looking down they saw the pavilion tops and lights of the showground as they fell away rapidly beneath them.

  A girl stood looking up at them as they sailed away.

  ‘Rita!’ Clare said, surprised.

  She turned to Josh, ‘What are we going to do now?’

  Both turned to see what lay ahead in the balloon’s path. They were drifting towards the city, where steeples and spires reached up to snag them.

  ‘Quick, pull the rope and ladder aboard!’ Josh yelled.

  They worked frantically to recover the items and once they were aboard the teenagers turned to see one of the church steeples was directly in their path. A wave of horror swept over them as the balloon picked up speed. Josh saw the terror in Clare’s eyes so he turned to the burner and pilot light benea
th it. He put a hand on the gas valve and opened it up, the resulting flame sending a huge gust of hot air into the balloon above to gain the altitude needed—the basket grazing the steeple as they sailed past. Clare watched in amazement as Josh gave another short burst to send them higher. She looked below at the sleeping city and marvelled as they glided silently over it, and somehow felt safe with their new-found freedom. She switched her gaze to the fair-haired boy beside her, his features outlined in the moonlight and glow of the flame. He appeared to be of similar age to herself, if not older.

  ‘My name is Clare, what’s yours?’

  ‘Josh.’

  ‘Well Josh, that was some piece of flying. How come you know so much about hot-air balloons?’

  ‘I’ve been reading about them for months. They’re one of the reasons I came to the show in the first place—to see the operators.’

  ‘Why would you want to do that?’

  ‘To ask if I could get some flight-time with them, so I could qualify for an achievement badge.’

  ‘Are you a scout?’

  ‘Yes, a Venturer. I had hoped to go onto Rovers next year.’

  ‘Do you think you can land it?’

  ‘Probably, but these things only go one way. There’s nowhere to land right now and it looks like we’re headed out over water.’ Clare looked at the city lights as they grew smaller and then at the red and green channel lights blinking in the harbour below.

  Josh opened up the gas valve again to send another short burst of hot air into the overhead canopy. ‘What do you think we should do, bring it down now with land in sight?’

  Clare looked down and shuddered involuntary, ‘What are our chances?’

  ‘It depends—water landings are always risky, especially at night. The envelope could come down on top of us and we’d be trapped.’

  ‘What about when we reach the mouth of the bay, won’t the onshore breeze blow us back again?’

  ‘It could do, but if it doesn’t this airstream could take us out over open water,’ Josh replied.

  He gave another short burst of flame and both looked in the direction of the headland that loomed ahead. The channel markers had dropped away and were replaced by the lights of the sleeping fishing villages either side of the bay.

  Both watched in dismay as the balloon sailed through the middle of the heads and lifted higher, missing out on the air turbulence either side that might have sent them back over land. The water below them was more agitated than the placid bay—the swell building the waves up to roll in and break over the rocks onshore. They looked at the deep troughs between the waves and knew that ditching there wasn’t an option.

  Looking back they saw the flashing beacon from the lighthouse as it sent out a warning to mariners—to help guide them safely through the narrow heads and rocks waiting below.

  ‘What are we going to do now?’ Clare cried.

  Josh saw the forlorn look in her eyes as she stared at the receding light.

  ‘Don’t look so worried.’

  ‘And you’re not?’ she snapped.

  ‘No, well at least not yet.’

  ‘How come?’

  ‘The ‘Roaring Forties’ rip through these straits and should take us in an easterly direction.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘There’s a chain of islands that stretches from the mainland to Tasmania, the remnants of a land bridge that existed thousands of years ago. Hopefully we can ditch on one of them.’

  ‘And if we don’t?’

  ‘Then I’ll be worried.’

  ‘What if we don’t see them?’

  Josh smiled, ‘Now that’s the easy part.’

  Clare’s apprehension eased. She knew there was a logical answer, but somehow it escaped her, ‘How, then?’

  Josh pointed to the receding light. Clare still didn’t understand, so he explained it to her.

  ‘Most of the islands will have a lighthouse on them, so we’ll have plenty of warning, especially if we go higher—we’ll be able to see them sooner.’ Clare nodded and watched as he gave a series of short bursts of flame to gain the altitude needed.

  ‘Come here and take over while I look around.’

  Clare stepped over and placed her hand on the gas valve.

  ‘Keep us at this altitude and use short five-second bursts every twenty seconds or as needed,’ he said, and then dropped to his knees to secure the rope and ladder while taking a closer look at the equipment onboard.

  It was just as he had expected—the owner had removed all of the expensive stuff. Most of the instruments were gone along with the maps and compass—not that they would have helped much, but a two-way radio sure would have. Josh mentally counted off the seconds as Clare sent more hot air into the envelope above. He found a torch and checked out the bottles of propane in each corner. Thankfully the gauges indicated they were full and not going to be a problem.

  ‘Are you cold?’ he asked.

  She nodded, so he handed her a pair of gloves and a beanie that he’d found. He rummaged further and found a couple of tracksuits.

  ‘Here, put one of these on to counter the wind chill factor.’

  Josh stood up and shone the torch over the outside of the balloon until he found what he wanted.

  ‘Whatever you do, don’t touch these two,’ he said, pointing out the two extra wires overhead. He directed the torch beam to them in turn and explained their use.

  ‘This one opens a vent to expel air—the other one collapses the envelope and is only used on landing,’ he said, and then donned the other tracksuit before resuming his former position below the burner.

  He could see that Clare still trembled slightly, either from the cold or onset of shock.

  ‘Are you still cold?’

  She nodded, so he put an arm around her and she nestled back against him for warmth.

  ‘Who was that girl, Rita?’

  ‘One of the girls I was going to compete against in the dressage event.’

  ‘Do you think she’ll win now?’

  Clare shrugged, ‘Who knows, it’s a tough comp.’

  The signal from the lighthouse grew smaller as they drifted over the sea in the moonlight, a million stars for company and nothing else visible except the lights of a distant fishing vessel.

  ‘Are you enjoying yourself?’

  ‘Strangely enough, I am,’ Clare replied. He kissed the side of her neck impulsively and she half turned to kiss his cheek.

  ‘You know it’s perfect weather for ballooning. It is best done on cool crisp days or nights—you actually burn less gas to keep you airborne.’

  ‘How come the balloons were still inflated?’

  ‘They’re one of the main attractions at the show this year, so they’re kept on display,’ Josh explained, ‘although someone would have to monitor them to keep them up for so long.’

  ‘What, all night?’

  ‘No, only until closing time, they must have started to take them down by now and realised they’ve lost one.’

  ‘And they’ll come looking for us, right?’

  ‘I doubt it. If they don’t know we’re aboard, then they’ll think it’s just a balloon gone adrift and not place as much importance to it.’

  Clare looked back in the direction they had come from.

  ‘The light from the heads is nearly gone,’ she said, alarmed.

  ‘That’s alright—it just means you should look in the direction we’re headed, for any lights there.’

  She turned forward to scan the horizon and gave a shout, ‘There!’ and pointed excitedly.

  Josh looked, but couldn’t see anything—his night vision too affected by the constant flare of the burning gas.

  ‘Let’s take it higher and have a look.’

  Minutes later the faint glow of a chain of lights lay before them.

  Clare turned towards him, ‘I knew you would do it, I just knew,’ she said, then nestled back against him while holding his free hand in hers.

  They watched a
s the lights grew steadily. Josh kept Clare talking to help pass the time. She babbled on excitedly about her father and horse, Toby. Evidently her parents were divorced and her mother lived and worked overseas.

  ‘What about you?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, there’s just Mum and me. Dad died in a car accident a few years ago.’

  Clare sensed his pain and didn’t pursue the matter, turning instead to watch the first faint stirrings of dawn.

  One light grew larger than the rest and they could just see the outline of a small island as they came in fast in the grey of dawn. Both studied the small patch of rock and land in front of them, its outline visible by the telltale white of the waves as they broke over the rocky shoreline.

  Clare turned to Josh, ‘What do you think?’

  He studied the approach a moment longer.

  ‘It looks like the land rises sharply. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity, so we’ll have to collapse the envelope as soon as we’re over the shoreline. Is that okay with you?’

  ‘As much as I like being up here, I agree—we have to chance it,’ she confirmed.

  Josh pulled two safety helmets from their storage area and they put them on.

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ Clare asked.

  ‘Hold this handle—it’s the one that collapses the envelope. Don’t pull it until I say so. I’ll open the vent to take us as low as possible and remember to brace yourself when we land,’ he said, then turned to ease the trailing rope over the side to give them directional stability.

  The balloon came in low over the rocky shoreline and they could just make out the trees as they rushed up to greet them. Josh tested the vent and felt the balloon go lower, so opened it more for a controlled descent. Up ahead he could make out a small clearing before the land rose sharply again.

  He opened the vent all the way and at the very last moment yelled, ‘Pull!’

  Clare grasped the handle with both hands and then pulled hard to peel the envelope back and expel the hot air. The collapsed canopy caught in a tree at the furthest edge of the clearing, to leave the basket swinging only metres from the ground. The teenagers looked at each other in disbelief and then skyward again as a snapping sound rent the air and the basket fell to earth.

  Josh threw himself over Clare and yelled, ‘Duck!’ as the branch and canopy fell on top of them.