Outcasts of Aquila (Aquila's Originals 2)

Chapter 9: Trouble, Part 1

IT FELT SO good to be in the air again. Vhen hadn't realised how much he'd missed it, even when Cereyn pulled his typical terrifying tricks, like trying to see how long he could fly upside down before almost dumping them both in the lake.

"Pack it in, Cereyn," Strike snapped, after the daft bird flipped over for the fourth time before they'd even left the lower valley by the citadel. "This is serious."

"So is upside down flight," Vhen's foolish partner replied, flapping sideways to tilt on a wing and snatch at Strike's wing with his talons. "You never know when it might come in useful."

Avoiding his waggling foot with ease, the bigger female clouted Cereyn over the head with her wing. "I might not know when upside down flight will come in handy, but I know how often right side up proves its worth," she growled. "Spread your wings and soar, you broken egg."

As Strike, Sunshine and Pinwheel did just that, Cereyn turned in a tight circle, cackling. "Oooh," he cooed, shivering hard enough to almost unseat his Rider. "I think she's warming up to me, I really think she is."

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Vhen replied wryly, then groaned as Cereyn snapped out his wings, hit the perfect current and flung them up to join the others. The sharp spurs of rock that separated the upper and lower valleys of Aquila passed below and the vast forest-surrounded lake opened out before them.

"Everything all right, Rider?" Strike called, when they drew level with her and Zett.

"I'm gon' be sick," Vhen moaned, half-hanging out of the saddle.

"He's fine!" Cereyn shouted over the top of him. "See!" The miryhl barrel rolled one way, then whooped and rolled the other, restoring Vhen to his rightful place in the centre of the eagle's back. And separating him from his breakfast along the way.

"Cereyn," the other miryhls complained wearily.

"For the gods' sake, Vhen, toughen up, will you?" Cereyn hissed over his wing. "It's embarrassing."

Vhen wasn't certain kicking one's miryhl was a good idea, especially in flight, but it was definitely tempting. "Are you physically incapable of flying in a straight line?" he growled back. "Do you have one wing longer than the other, is that it?"

"Uh, do I?" Cereyn asked, sticking out both wings and looking frantically from side to side. "Check for me. Check, check, check! Oh, gods, my wings are uneven!" Cereyn hugged both against his sides. "Don't look at me. Don't look!"

They plummeted from the sky and Vhen sighed, knowing he had only himself to blame.

* * *

IT WASN'T FUNNY, Zett was fully aware of that, and yet it was hard not to laugh at Cereyn's antics.

"Maegla preserve us," Strike groaned, and glared over her shoulder at her Rider. "It isn't funny! We're going to have to catch them." So saying she tipped into a sharp dive, which Zett found equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Clinging to the saddle, he tried not to get left behind as the wind roared in his face and set his coat tails flapping.

"Cereyn, stop messing about!" Strike shrieked, diving under the falling bird close enough for Zett to feel Cereyn's feathers fan his face. His heart almost stopped and he glimpsed the same breathless fear on Vhen's face, before Strike was clear and snapping at Cereyn again.

"This is serious! Ah!"

It was Strike's turn to barrel roll quickly aside as Cereyn snapped open his wings and shot upwards again. His talons dipped into the lake, scattering droplets in an entirely-too-close-for-comfort call that left Vhen draped limply over his saddle. Zett knew how his friend felt, his own spine feeling somewhat watery as Strike straightened herself, shook out her feathers and soared back up with a disgruntled growl.

"Are you ever serious?" she snapped, once Cereyn had joined the others.

"Are you ever not?" the loopy bird teased, double flapping and tweaking Sunshine's tail in a manner that left the small gold eagle shrieking in outrage.

"Behave yourselves!" Strike practically howled as Sunshine stuck out her wings, breaking midair to clout Cereyn in the face with her primaries.

"See the way I have with the ladies?" Cereyn crowed to his Rider. "They just can't keep their feathers off me!"

"This bird is going to kill me," Vhen said calmly to the air. "We will never become Riders. We'll probably never even become third years. I will be lucky to last to the end of the year."

Cereyn chortled. "I'm not that bad."

"No." Pinwheel fluttered up nervously from where he'd been hanging back, keeping safely out of the way. "You're worse."

Cereyn cackled delightedly.

"That wasn't a compliment," Vhen said.

"Everything's a compliment," Cereyn retorted. "You just have to listen the right way."

"Maegla have mercy," Strike muttered, and Zett was hard pressed not to laugh again. As badly as he felt for Vhen that his miryhl was so unruly, there was a compelling charm in the way Cereyn simply did not care what anyone thought about him. It was as if he really did hear everything - censure and criticism especially - as a compliment. He was utterly impervious to insult. While that wasn't always a good thing, especially where poor Vhen's health and sanity were concerned, but it was inspiring. Zett wished he had even a crumb of the bird's indestructible self-confidence.

"Be careful what you wish for," Cereyn said, sounding uncommonly serious for once. "Urgh, now look what you did."

Confused, miryhls and Riders looked around, but could see nothing. Until thunder shook the sky and a great dragon shot up from the edge of the lake. Lightning crackled across Rhiddyl's scales and the sky flashed.

"Incoming!" Strike yelled, and the miryhls scattered as the dragon ploughed through the centre of their formation. "Fall in and follow!" They turned on their wingtips to power after the Skystorm.

Rhiddyl didn't wait for them. Whatever had driven the dragon up from the lake was clearly too important to delay. More thunder rumbled through the clouds from the storm that had drawn up out of nowhere. Then came the rain, unleashing a torrent that slapped Zett in the face and left him breathless.

"Gods almighty," Cereyn bawled, oaring at the air with his wings. "Can't She hold off the welcome just this once? Doesn't She know humans are fragile little waifs prone to pneumonia and lung rot? Anyone would think She didn't want the new students to make it to Aquila!"

"You're a fine one to talk about the fragility of humans!" Strike screamed back. "You're constantly trying to kill yours!"

"I'm not trying to kill him, I'm toughening him up!" Cereyn protested. "It's a rough Overworld out there. You never know what might hit you."

Strike growled in a way that suggested the next thing to hit Cereyn would be her. Fortunately a crack of thunder drowned out any reply she might have considered making.

"Fly now, fight later," Vhen shouted, once their ears had stopped ringing.

The misty curtain of rain coalesced into a solid wall of stone ahead and Zett grabbed his pommel as Strike angled her wings, shooting them over the rocky spurs that separated the upper valley from the citadel below.

Chaos greeted them as a sky full of miryhls scattered before the sudden descent of a dragon. Tiny boats full of new students, rocked and tilted as the bullwings keeping them afloat panicked and tried to flee.

Lightning snapped, thunder roared and everyone was screaming and shouting.

Zett caught Vhen's eye and grimaced. This was not the calm return of the dragon they were hoping for. It hardly mattered what rumours the first years picked up about Rhiddyl if she killed them all before they arrived.

"Not g-good. Not g-g-good at all," Pinwheel stammered fretfully.

Heart sinking, Zett watched Rhiddyl shrink to her human form on the lakeshore and vanish into the infirmary. "Take us down," he told Strike, and braced himself for whatever trouble was bound to follow.