Chapter 1

"Flame, I really don't think we're going to get away."

"Oh, trust me, Skulduggery, we are."

Valkyrie Cain looked back as the leading rebel dragon nipped at Flame's tail.

"Flame, I'm definitely with Skulduggery on this one."

"Don't...worry..." Flame said as she swerved up and left the tightly woven trees, causing a few rebel dragons to crash into the oaks.

"I have it all..." She swerved towards the cliffy mountains.

"Under..." She shifted her tiger-stripe wings and soared upwards.

"Control!" She reached the summit of the highest mountain and suddenly folded her wings tightly around Valkyrie and Skulduggery and plummeted downwards into the blinding light of unconsciousness.

Valkyrie sat up suddenly, looking around her. The first thing she noticed was Flame in her semi-dragon form slumped against an old maple tree. Her scaly tiger-striped tail was curled around her bare feet and her wings were slumped awkwardly on either side of her. The rest of her was completely human, her long arms and legs sprawled and her wavy chocolate blonde hair hung loosely over her shoulders.

She wasn't as pretty as China Sorrows, but she was ok for someone who just had a stunt flight through a forest carrying two people.

From looking at her you would think she'd be about twenty, but Valkyrie knew for a fact that she was even older than Skulduggery.

The second thing she noticed was that Skulduggery was nowhere to be seen.

The third and final thing she noticed was a pounding headache that instantly forced her back to a lying position. She bit her lip to hold off the cry, but it was almost unbearable. She let out a silent groan but it was enough to wake Flame.

Flame was at her side in an instant and was about to pull her to her feet when she saw the crimson blood protruding from a cut on her forehead. She changed tactics and instead helped Valkyrie to a sitting position. Valkyrie clung desperately to Flame as she was leaned against a tree. She looked dazedly around the thick forest they were in and immediately noticed the pair of emerald green eyes staring at her from the gloom.

But these weren't any sort of human eyes.

They were dragon eyes.