The Silver Door Read Free Page A

made them lighter than air, certainly, but being weightless was not the same as flying like a bird. It was very hard to move in any particular direction.
    Rye quickly found that the only way was to trail awkwardly through the treetops, catching hold of each tree as he reached it and using it to propel him on to the next.
    Twigs kept brushing the concealing hood from his head, and after a while he stopped trying to keep it on. He had to keep his mind focused on what he was doing. He had discovered that the moment his thoughts wandered, he would start to drift off course.
    Clumsy as it was, their progress was swift. At first Rye used the stream, glinting below him, as a guide. Then Sonia called out, pointing down, and through a gap in the leaves he made out the narrow, winding path that he knew led up to the place where their journey had begun.
    Yet still he could see no sign of the Wall of Weld looming ahead. He told himself the Wall must be concealed by ancient magic. He forced himself not to think about what would happen if they could not find the golden Door by sunset.
    Instead, he concentrated on following the path. Now and again he caught sight of a thick, slimy web sagging between two tree trunks, and knew a fell dragon must be lurking nearby, waiting for prey. He saw the shadowy shapes of other creatures, too, scuttling or sliding in the undergrowth. He had no idea what they were, but was heartily glad to be floating above them, however awkwardly, instead of hurrying fearfully past their hiding places.
    There were no Fellan to be seen, but he knew they were below, and aware of him. Their voices were whispering at the edges of his mind. He refused to let the whispers trouble him—refused to try to make outthe words. He gripped the feather more tightly and kept his eyes on the path.
    â€˜Rye, take us down!’ Sonia said suddenly. ‘The scarf I left as a marker is below!’
    â€˜It is not time to land yet!’ Dirk protested. ‘The Wall is not in sight.’
    But Rye had learned that Sonia’s instincts were to be trusted in matters such as this. He forced himself to think of settling to earth and at last managed to half clamber, half drift down to the forest floor, with his companions trailing behind him.
    He dropped knee-deep into the thick carpet of dead leaves he so well remembered. Pushing the feather back into the bag, he looked around warily. There were the countless trunks of giant trees. There were the great rocks, the dense undergrowth.
    And there was Sonia’s red scarf, still knotted to a straggly bush.
    The back of Rye’s neck prickled with the feeling that he was being watched. He pulled the bell tree stick from his belt. It was not much of a weapon, and he wished fervently that Dirk still carried the skimmer hook. He could see no fell dragons, but his mind was full of whispering voices.
    The nine powers …
    Edelle said too much. The treaty …
    Have faith
.
    Sonia darted to the red scarf and began to free it.
    â€˜This is foolish,’ Dirk growled, holding Faeneclose to him. ‘You should have waited till the Door was in view.’
    Sonia swung round, tying the scarf loosely around her neck. ‘The Door
is
in view!’ she snapped. ‘Where are your eyes?’
    She marched past Rye, towards a towering sheet of rock half shrouded by overgrown bushes. And suddenly, like a shape emerging from a mist, a shimmering golden Door became visible in the rock’s craggy brown surface.
    Dirk and Faene gaped in amazement for a split second, then ran to the place. Rye stayed where he was, staring at the Door. There was something different about it, but he could not think what it was till Sonia spoke.
    â€˜There is no knob on this side,’ she said in a strangely flat voice. ‘I had not noticed that before.’
    â€˜It is to keep unwanted visitors out, I daresay,’ said Dirk. ‘Stand aside.’ He put his right hand to the glinting carved