My breath catches in my throat.
‘She’s been found out,’ Marquis croaks.
‘But not arrested,’ Atlas says quickly.
I glance at the second document, which sports a government stamp.
17thApril, 1924
Hebridean Wyverns are rarely seen on Canna but their presence has been confirmed by the Royal Observatory of Dragons and Dragonlings. They have no dealings with other species and are not well-liked by Canna’s dragons, on account of their fickle, snobbish nature. The Hebridean Wyverns speak only one language: their own unrecorded tongue. Researchers claim that even this may be redundant as large groups are able to understand each other simply, from, the source claims, ‘instinctive mannerisms which act as a sort of sign language’.
– Information procured through enhanced interrogation techniques from the source Arabesqua, a Sand Dragon detained by the DDAD, whose offspring is currently a ward of Dr Arthur Burke.
‘Do you think Wyvernmire always knew the rebels were searching for the wyverns?’ I ask hoarsely. ‘Do you think she knows why?’
‘I doubt it,’ Atlas says.
‘Unless . . .’ says Marquis.
He doesn’t need to finish his sentence.
My eyes fall on the wordsenhanced interrogation techniques.
Unless Hollingsworth has been arrested since the newspaper article was published, and had the information tortured out of her. I feel a wave of nausea as I imagine the Chancellor at Highfall, her fur coat and rings replaced by undignified prison clothes, cowering as Guardians force her to give up rebel plans, identities, locations.
I hand the papers back to Atlas. ‘We can’t win,’ I hear myself say in a small voice. ‘Not if the Bolgoriths have gained control of the rebel headquarters. Not if there’s no other plan but the wyverns—’
He turns to me abruptly, grabbing me by the shoulders, and plants a kiss on my mouth. Marquis lets out a disgusted groan. Atlas smells of peppermint. I push him away.
‘What are you doing?’ I mutter impatiently. ‘Didn’t you say I never listen? Didn’t you—’
‘If we haven’t lost then we can still win, Featherswallow,’ Atlas says with a wink. ‘Did you see Soresten in the sky earlier?If he’s flying free, then Eigg hasn’t fallen yet. This isn’t over.’
I think of Ursa and feel a flicker of hope. ‘We go to Eigg, then. But first, we need to make sure the Guardians aren’t torturing a wyvern inside that tent.’
Atlas nods. ‘Except we can’t just walk in there.’
‘Yes, we can,’ Serena says.
We look at her. She leans one arm on the cliff face and points at the entrance to the tent. Ralph is standing guard, looking smug.
‘Featherswallow,’ Serena says sharply. ‘Ralph wants you and your loquisonus machine. So you’re going to walk out there and let him think he can have both.’
‘No!’ Atlas and Marquis exclaim together.
‘Yes,’ I say, nodding. ‘I’ll distract him so you can get into the tent.’
‘And then what?’ Marquis says. ‘How the bloody hell will we get you back again?’
Another loud roar comes from inside the tent.
‘The only way to control a dragon is to insert a detonator under its skin,’ I say. ‘So you cut it out, like I did last year with Chumana, and whichever dragon is in there will burst from that tent so fast that the whole camp will go up in flames. I’ll run and then we’ll escape to Eigg.’
‘That’s a stupid idea,’ Marquis snaps.
Serena rolls her eyes. ‘No more stupid than hanging around here talking about it.’
‘Viv is my cousin, Serena! And while you might not give a damn what happens to her, I can’t—’
