03 Sky Knight Read Free Page A

more than a vanguard. That means their army is probably already on the move. We need to make preparations. Return to the village and wait for me.’
    Obsidian inclined his head slightly, and then strode away. Just before he vanished into the gloom, Nimbus shouted after him. ‘Captain, take Onyx. I think my father would have wanted you to.’
    Obsidian saluted, and then he was gone.
    ‘I guess neither of us found what we were looking for tonight,’ Captain Spectre said, materialising beside Nimbus.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ Nimbus said. ‘This hasn’t exactly been one of my greatest successes.’
    ‘Nonsense, you reclaimed the fort with just a handful of archers, many who have only a few weeks of training with a bow. Great tacticians of my time would bow before you for this deed.’
    ‘I nearly got my arm cut off.’
    ‘A calculated risk.’
    ‘A stupid mistake.’
    ‘You’re too hard on yourself.’
    ‘I have to be. Without my father here... He used to be hard on me. I know now why that was. When he’s not here, it feels like...’ He sighed heavily. ‘I’m lost.’
    ‘Lost as you may be, your people are still going to be looking to you for their answers.’
    ‘Answers I don’t have.’
    Spectre chuckled. ‘Now is not the time for this, Nimbus. We have won a victory today.’
    ‘And what was the point? I have won this fort, yet have no men to hold it. There has been no word from Crystal Shine for days. No soldiers to help us.’
    ‘You forget one thing, Nimbus. This fort is of great tactical significance. Making sure it does not fall into the hands of the enemy can be just as important as holding it yourself.’
    Before Nimbus could say more, there came the heavy flapping of gargantuan wings as Cumulo swooped down to perch on the edge of the wall, causing the stone to crack as his massive claws clamped on. He pumped his wings one time for balance, and then settled into a majestic pose, as noble as any dragon Nimbus had seen painted in Mother’s temple.
    ‘Bad news,’ Cumulo said.
    ‘They’re out there, aren’t they?’ Nimbus said.
    ‘There is an army on the march, pouring out of the Spine Mountains,’ Cumulo confirmed. ‘Whatever forces attacked Landmark and this fort must have been nothing more than a raiding party.’
    ‘How many troops are coming?’ Spectre asked.
    Cumulo snorted, and a puff of smoke drifted out of his nostrils. ‘Viewed from above, it was as if the very ground was moving. A dozen dragons could not stop their advance.’
    ‘They will take back Flint Lock,’ Spectre said.
    ‘They will swallow it,’ Cumulo corrected.
    ‘Then the time has come,’ Nimbus said. ‘I cannot spend any more time looking for my father.’
    Cumulo leaned in close. His breath was hot. ‘But, Nim. We need him.’
    ‘I know that, but I can’t keep chasing after phantoms and rumours. We need to accept that maybe he... Maybe he can’t be with us right now. I need to get back to the village. Move the people on somewhere safe.’
    ‘Where?’ Spectre asked.
    ‘The Grey Mountains. A hundred men could hold the passes there against thousands of invaders.’
    ‘But the vampyr.’
    ‘The vampyr and I have an arrangement. He will not risk harming my people until I have done what he asks.’
    ‘And what about Flint Lock?’
    Nimbus looked around at the tumbled bricks and mortar, the angular spikes of shattered scaffolding, and crumbling stone. ‘Burn it,’ he said.
    ‘But, Nimbus...’ Cumulo began.
    Nimbus shook his head. He knew what he was asking the dragon to, and he understood the enormity of the request. His father had designed and built this fort. If it burned, then his father’s legacy burned with it. All that was left of the old order of Wing Warriors would be destroyed.
    ‘Burn it all, Cumulo,’ he said. ‘Leave nothing behind that they can use against us.’
     
    ***
     
    Nimbus and Cumulo arrived back at Landmark shortly after Obsidian and the triumphant archers. As the dragon landed in