Dragon Whisper by Niamh Murphy

Author:Niamh Murphy [Murphy, Niamh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NIM Publishing
Published: 2018-12-03T18:30:00+00:00

Northern Border

A line of mighty elms stretched across the horizon, as far east and west as the eye could see in the late-afternoon light. The line was only broken in the road directly ahead, and Leasha and Cassian slowed down as they approached. Broc pulled on the reins to let their buck know to do the same.

The dirt road continued beyond the line of trees but now they trod carefully. As they crossed the border, Breanna noticed the land beyond seemed strange, stranger to her even than the vast, open lands of Meadowvale. For here there were trees and the beginnings of a forest, yet so different to the woodlands in which she had grown that it felt like a dreamworld. Or a nightmare.

The ground was uneven, damp in places and with puddles and ponds in the deepest hollows. There were willows and sycamores alongside other trees she did not know: deep, slick, green leaves with black trunks, tall with a high canopy, they seemed to watch her as she passed by. The sounds of the woods were new to her. There were clicks and squawks, low grumbles and, as the sun began to grow heavier in the late-afternoon sky, so the louder the unbroken cacophony became.

A mist was falling on the borderlands. As frightening as Breanna found the place in the light, with darkness and mist, the land was truly terrifying. She hoped that the far side of the border, the new land they would be entering, would be a more welcoming refuge.

Cassian turned off the well-trodden path and onto a trail with more weeds, bracken, and thronging with midges and the occasional darting dragonfly. The others followed silently along, and Breanna felt she wasn’t the only one intimidated by their surroundings.

The path eventually opened out to a clearing. It was a flat, hard-earth yard without grass, weeds, or bracken, leaving only the bare, worn-down ground of frequent visitors. A wooden hut stood to the north, next to a wooden jetty that disappeared out into the long reeds. The mist had now fallen so heavy that it was impossible to tell if they were on the edge of a river or a lake, and even the gentle lapping of waves told her nothing.

Leasha dismounted and Broc suddenly drew the buck to a halt and followed. His legs wobbled slightly as he landed, and he turned to check on Breanna who slid down carefully onto the unfamiliar land. Although she had been seated all day, she felt exhausted and her muscles ached.

Breanna’s stomach panged as Broc walked over to Leasha, but she was relieved when he spoke. “I apologise for my words this morning.” Leasha turned to him, a smile ready at her lips. “When I spoke, I did not know she was your kin.”

Her smile was gone before it had a chance to emerge. “But you knew she was my Queen.”

“Where is the ferryman?” Cassian walked along the wooden jetty, looking either way along the water. Breanna wondered if his Elven eyes could see through the mist.

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