Chapter 55

Blue had a very restless night thanks not only to the hard floor, but also to a very bad nightmare. In his dream he was alone with the dragons and no other riders were around, when a group of dark figures appeared all around him. They had no defined edges and did not walk towards him, but drifted instead. Blue tried to push them away to no avail as his hands were unable to even touch them. They on the other hand could easily take whatever they wanted, and these dark figures wanted the dragons. Starting with the Gronkle, the dragons were taken one by one, dragged away into the darkness. Blue tried to hold onto them but he could not maintain his grip until even Speedy disappeared screaming into the black void.

Blue's entire body shook as he jerked back into consciousness.

"You okay Babe?" Calla mumbled when she heard Blue gasp.

"Wha? Umm... uh yeah... just a bad dream."

It isn't easy to crawl while inside a sleeping bag, but Calla did manage to roll over onto her stomach and shimmy on her elbows for a few meters until she could rest her head on Blue's chest.

"What's wrong?" she asked "You're hyperventilating so much you sound like a bicycle pump."

Blue sighed as he slipped his arms out of his sleeping bag to embrace her.

"What was I thinking Calla? Why did I assume we could help re-introduce dragons to the world and keep them safe? Some day they're all going come pouring out of their hidden world and the second dragon war won't be far behind."

"You don't know that" Calla counter argued.

"Don't I? Look at the trouble we ran into on the Faroe Islands; and not everyone on the Shetlands was happy to see us either. Put it all together with what happened last night and things are not looking very rosy for the future of human/dragon relations."

"Hey... don't forget though; we did make friends in both the Faroes and the Shetlands, and although we are not there anymore, they in turn will spread the truth about the dragons. And don't forget Scotland; one boy who is now able to tell everyone he knows not to be afraid of the dragons they saw flying overhead. Telling his story of seeing the dragons up close and meeting their riders, all of this will have an impact, along with what will happen when our current hosts start telling their neighbours that they are alive today because the dragons decided not to burnt them to a crisp; they did not want to hurt anyone, they only wanted to protect themselves... and us."

"Yeah Haley and I were talking about this last night; do you think this kind of thing will happen everywhere we go?" Blue asked.

"Probably... yes so maybe we'll have to work out a better strategy for future arrivals in new places, but for now I think it would be best if you just realised that you are not alone, we are not alone, and more people will hopefully join the dragon fan club in the days, weeks and months to come; now go back to sleep."

"Thank you" Blue smiled to himself "I love you."

"Of course you do; I'm wonderful."

'

'

Everyone awoke early the next morning when the large hanger door was opened only slightly. Chance entered and switched on a small light on the side wall, illuminating the hanger just enough so he wouldn't step on anyone.

"Bonjour mes amis."

"Chance says good morning to you all" Mallory added as she came in behind him.

"I may not speak French but I still managed to work that one out" Haley mumbled as she hid her face from the light.

"The sun will be up soon and so we must prepare to leave" Mallory informed her guests.

"Yes I suppose it would be best if we got an early start on... wait a minute, did you say we?"

"Oui, I did say we; as soon as you are ready we will fly twenty five kilometres north to a little place near the River Saone. There we will meet with my old friend, Monsieur Jeremie Leclerc."

"But we're headed southeast to..."

"Maybe so, but first you must come with me to see Monsieur Leclerc" Mallory insisted.

"Does he know something about dragons?" Calla asked.

"Non, in fact we must approach with care or we may give him the heart attack."

"I don't understand why we have to go to see this man" Blue admitted.

"Do not worry, you will" Mallory smiled "So pack up your gear and I will prepare my plane."

"Plane; you're not riding with us?" Blue wondered.

"Oh no, and you are coming with me dear boy; your dragon can follow with the others."

Mallory and Chance then left the Dragon Riders to pack, and to wonder what was going on.

"What do you think is going on?" Abigail asked, making the author's last line superfluous.

"Maybe we should just pack up and leave" Haley suggested.

"We could, but I must admit, I want to know what's so great about this Leclerc guy" Calla admitted.

"Yeah... Mallory has got me curious too" Blue agreed.

After pushing the hanger door wide open, the Dragon Riders could finally see their surroundings in the morning light. The large hanger was situated on the side of a taxiway leading from the rear apron, where Blue had chased Chance the night before, out to the main runway of the airport. There were four hanger bays and the dragons had been housed on the extreme west bay while Mallory's plane was in the next one over.

At the far eastern end of the hanger, Andre and Eloise stood with three thoroughly amazed children. Two were quite young but the third was a little older, and Blue suspected he was the boy he had seen the night before. A small aircraft soon appeared from bay three of the hanger being pushed by Chance and Mallory. Although it was not very big, it looked very sleek and well maintained.

"Have you ever seen one of these before?" Mallory smiled proudly "It is a Pipistrel Alpha Electro; over forty years old now but still going strong."

"Cute" Calla said about the high wing plane.

"Oui, and it was one of the first commercially available electric aircraft too."

"That thing's electric" Abigail gasped "I thought little planes like these had internal combustion engines."

"Most do, but not this one; we have solar panels up on the hanger roof to keep it charged."

"Cool" Calla added a second word to her admiration.

"Here, take this radio" Mallory told Calla as she handed it over "I will circle over a field where you and the dragons should land. Blue and I will fly on to the Leclerc farm and when we have warned them about what to expect, you follow the direction I go in and land near to the plane; you understand, oui?"

"Clear as mud" Calla nodded with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Mama, je peux y aller aussi?" the older boy said as he approached.

"Non Gage, there are only two seats and I must take Blue with me" Mallory replied.

"Is this your son?" Haley asked.

"Oui, he sometimes flies with me but not today I'm sorry."

"I could take him on Boris if you're okay with it" Haley offered.

Mallory looked at the big red dragon and thought for a moment.

"Please say yes Mama" Gage begged.

"I'm sorry but although I can see you handle your dragons well, it can be clearly seen by your injuries that they are quite dangerous" Mallory shook her head.

"If by injuries you mean my leg and Calla's face, neither of them were caused by dragons" Haley stated "I was shot, and had to have my leg amputated because of infection."

"And my scars are the result of an argument with an unreasonable woman with a cup of boiling hot soup" Calla admitted "Not quite as impressive as dragon fire I suppose."

"And you saw last night how good the dragons were at avoiding trouble" Blue added.

The pleading look on her sons face, combined with the Dragon Riders reassurances, led to the nervous mother agreeing to let him go; but later as the small electric plane taxied out to the runway, Mallory began to have second thoughts.

"Are you sure Gage will be alright on the dragon?"

"I mean no disrespect, but I think he's in a much safer position than we are right now. This is a good plane but flying comes naturally to Boris, and his wings are better than parachutes."

"I hope you are right" Mallory shook her head slightly.

The plane lifted off and banked around to the north, passing over the hippodrome. Blue looked down and saw there were a few people looking to see if there were any sign of the dragons. When they heard the whine of the planes electric motor, some looked up to see their friend Mallory leading five large dragons overhead.

"I get the feeling they may get the idea to go and talk with Chance about this; do you think we should warn him?" Blue asked.

"Non, we expected this and he knows exactly what he will tell them" Mallory nodded.

After they had flown for just over ten minutes, Mallory took the plane into a sharp full turn before bringing it back on course. Behind them the dragons settled back down to Earth to await further instructions. Five minutes later, the small plane came into land on a short field strip and taxied up to a stone farmhouse next to a large stable and a small workshop. Hearing the aircraft approach, a man of about sixty years came out of the front door. He smiled and raised his arms in greeting before being helped down the front porch steps by a young lady.

"Mallory, quel plaisir inattendu" he laughed.

"Allo Jeremie, allo Jeanne; please excuse me speaking English but me friend here has no French" she told them.

"Ah, he has come over from England?" Jeremie wondered.

"Originally I came from Sumatra" Blue corrected them politely.

"Seigneur; you have come a long way."

"Further than you'd think" Blue smiled.

"How is your foot Jeremie?" Mallory asked.

"Oh much better thanks to you and Doctor Artois. I can mostly get around on my own now but I still need some help from my beautiful granddaughter" the old man replied.

"Blue, these good people are Jeremie and Jeanne Leclerc, and this young man is Blue Dias; I would consider it a great favour to me personally if you would consent to help him."

"Oh... you have no need to ask for favours, my entire family is indebted to you and your little plane; what does he need?" Jeremie asked.

"Saddles, at least four, maybe five."

"Ah you are travelling on horses" the old man smiled "I can certainly help you there."

Now that Blue knew why he had been brought to the Leclerc farm, he had to contend with the fear of what the man would do and say when he learned the truth about what kind of creature the saddles were really for. Fortunately for him, Mallory had already worked out the way she would break the news.

"It is not horses Jeremie but before I tell you anymore, I must ask you to be calm."

"Calm? What is he riding; tigers?"

Walking forward, Mallory took her friends hands in hers and looked at him seriously.

"Worse than tigers my friend... but it is probably best that we show you. Just keep in mind that I would not do anything to hurt you and your family; you must trust me."

With her warning given, Mallory walked back to her plane and reached inside the cockpit for the radio microphone.

"Calla, can you hear me, over."

"Yes Mallory, loud and clear, over" Calla responded.

"You may come now; please land well away from the house, over."

"Message received, out."

Walking back, Mallory asked Blue to go out about fifty meters from the plane to wave the dragons in.

"I'm sure I just heard you say something about dragons to the boy; you cannot be serious" Jeremie gave a sly smile.

"I won't ask you to believe me, just look to the south and remember; my own son is flying with them and you know I would not put him in danger, so please don't be afraid. I must admit though, I was at first."

There was something about the way Mallory had admitted to being afraid that worried Jeremie. What really surprised him though was when he looked to the south, and was advised by Blue to look up higher.

"Oh merde!" he gasped.

"Oui... everyone says that" Mallory nodded.

'

'

I am happy to hear about improvements in Italy Vin, but it can't come soon enough and I look forward to hearing more good news in the future. (Don't we all?)

I have some good news for you Florida Guest. You must have read my mind because I have just finished the second chapter of the next story, tentatively titled Death Rides a Dragon; and yes, it is a Thorston Twins detective story. I must apologise though because I doubt it will be very long. It was going to be added to the Berk: Year Two selection of short stories but I'll have a think to see if I can make it a full length stand alone tale. One thing is sure, it won't be as long as this story. ;D

Hope everyone is happy and safe, and I'll be back soon. Marty.