01 Wing Warrior Read Online Free Page B

the darkness. His clothes weren’t ripped, and he was no muddier or scruffier than he had been the previous night.
    ‘Hello,’ he said.
    ‘Nim!’ Glass leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around his waist. ‘I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come back.’
    ‘Good to see you again, Nim,’ Sky said.
    ‘We got a bit lost,’ Nimbus explained.
    ‘Did you have an adventure?’ Glass asked. ‘Did you find a legend?’
    Nimbus glanced over his shoulder, almost as if he expected a dragon’s head to loom out of the darkness, all fiery eyes, billowing smoke, and chomping fangs. ‘No,’ he said, quietly. ‘No, don’t be silly. Of course I didn’t find a legend. All the legends are gone.’
    ‘What happened to Tide?’ Sky asked.
    ‘He got a little bit more lost than I did. I don’t think he’s in a very good mood.’
    ‘And I’m not the only one,’ Tidal said, reappearing at the cave mouth. ‘We’re in big trouble. Your dad’s in the woods with a search party. They’re looking for us.’
    Nimbus’s head sank. ‘I’m for it now. We all are. Sorry guys.’
    Glass grabbed his hand. ‘It’s okay. At least we didn’t get eaten by a goblin.’
     
    ***
     
    Nimbus’s father, Cloud, was a very large and very serious man with a very serious face, serious grey hair, and very serious ideas about children doing what they were told. He had spent the whole night looking for the children, accompanied by three other equally serious–looking men, who were equally likely to agree with his serious ideas.
    When these men saw the children emerging from the cave, their serious expressions, just for a moment, gave way to expressions of excitement and relief. However, when Cloud spoke, his voice was just as angry as Nimbus had expected it to be.
    ‘What’s going on here?’ Cloud demanded. He waved his big, callused hands in the air to emphasise his words. This was totally unnecessary as his booming voice was emphasis enough.
    Nimbus hung his head, and kicked his toe in the ground. ‘Sorry, Dad. We got lost.’
    ‘Lost! You should never have been here in the first place. Especially here.’ Cloud waved his arms at the cave mouth, at the jagged white rocks sticking out of the ground, and the hunched trees with their horrible clawing branches. ‘I’ve told you so many times about coming into the woods.’
    ‘We’re sorry,’ Glass said, desperately trying to hold back her tears. ‘We just wanted to go fishing, but then somebody took down all the white ribbons, and we were lost, and we couldn’t go home. And we really just wanted to go home.’
    ‘What are you talking about? We’ve been finding white ribbons everywhere.’
    Nimbus swallowed, kept his arms behind his back, kept his eyes down. ‘We must have missed them in the dark and the mist,’ he muttered.
    ‘But you were sure somebody had taken them down last night,’ Sky said.
    ‘I must have been wrong.’
    ‘But...’
    ‘I was wrong,’ Nimbus snapped.
    ‘Well, never mind that now,’ Cloud said. ‘Let’s just get you all home and warm. Everyone is worried sick.’
    ‘Everyone?’ Sky asked, winding the sash of her dress through her fingers nervously. ‘You mean... My dad too?’
    Cloud’s stern face softened considerably. A lifetime of wrinkles and worry lines melted away. He suddenly seemed more youthful, and not nearly as intimidating. ‘He’s waiting for you.’
    ‘How is he?’
    ‘He’s... concerned. I told you, everyone is. Come on.’
    Glass allowed herself to be picked up in her father’s huge, strong arms. He was wearing a travelling cloak, and he wrapped it around her shoulders as she clung to his chest. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ he said to Nimbus. ‘Bringing your sister to a place like this. It could be dangerous.’
    Nimbus nodded, looking back at the cave. It receded into the darkness like the long throat of a terrible monster. And only he knew what was down there.
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    The