“What’s the song going to be this time?” Lucy asks as her yellow Williynx glides silently through the night sky.
“I’m thinking Rebel Blues,” Noah says before he blasts out the first few lines. “Evening’s falling / I’m here all alone / Feel rain coming / Can’t make it on my own …”
It’s a depressing song about being rejected and ignored — perfect for Noah’s obsession with Zoe Tallis — which doesn’t stop us enjoying it, adding our little rhythm between each line. Noah doesn’t need encouragement: a natural comedian with a gift for the ridiculous. The song takes the edge off an eventful evening, involving taming Silverbacks and saving a shifty Domitus: all in a night’s work for a Night Ranger.
Noah adds a little spin on the back of his Williynx, getting more into the song at the most depressing part. “How could you leave me broken? / Hopeless, bitter and blue / But here I am still hoping / That there’s a chance for me and you …”
To be honest, I wish Zoe Tallis would just go on a date with Noah. Then again, that might actually make him worse, babbling on about her until one of us has to use the Vyoxal charm to shut him up. The Vyoxal charm restricts your vocal cords, removing the ability to speak. It’s the one charm I love using above ground, mainly for old school friends I can’t stand.
Conrad, Lucy and I add the single-line chorus. “Chance for me and you,” we sing together, Conrad dragging out the ‘you’ part as he flies higher, arms spread out as he hits the notes Noah never quite can.
I love his unpredictability, hating public displays unless he’s in trusted company. High up in the night sky above Drandok, he can be as ridiculous as any teenage boy, enjoying the freedom of adolescence, temporarily unburdened by Society business.
As I watch him belt out the chorus one more time, drawing fits of laughter from Noah and Lucy, I remember the first time I met Conrad — a timid boy standing on the ground floor of The Cendryll lost in grief. He hadn’t found himself then, discovering his gift for flight on his first trip to Gilweean.
He’s the youngest leader of the sky-rider army in the Society’s history, and the boy I love completely rides alongside Noah as the comical performance comes to a close — our friendship framed by a starlit sky on a night that’s brought clarity to the purpose of a hidden few.
With other Society soldiers on the trail of Odin and Neve, we can rest for now, knowing our part in their arrest can be put on hold, meaning we can enjoy the strange silence that falls over Drandok — the Riadek resting in their dark cells and our Williynx enjoying the freedom of an untroubled sky. If we race, we’ll get back to Rebel’s Rest in time for last orders.
We appear through a Perium in the sky accessible to our feathered companions, gliding above the quiet evening streets. The sight of groups of witches and wizards exiting the building suggests it’s near to closing time so we descend quickly, dismounting from our Williynx who bid us good evening with a parting squawk.
“Remember, you lost the bet,” Noah says to Conrad as we enter the noise of Rebel’s Rest.
“How did I lose the bet?” Conrad challenges, brushing Drandok dust off his grey jeans.
“We bet that Odin would quit in the taming range, leaving us to rescue him.”
“But he didn’t quit; he got stuck.”
Noah turns to Lucy and me, gesturing for support.
“He was hanging in mid-air as the Silverback closed in on him,” Lucy adds, shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn’t call that quitting.”
“But we had to rescue him,” Noah says, realising he’s about to lose another thousand Kyals, having recently lost money to Lucy and me when Conrad suddenly burst into song.
“Rescuing him only if he quit was the bet,” Conrad counters with a smile, holding out his hand for payment. “Odin didn’t quit so pay up, unless you don’t honour your bets, of course.”
Noah’s face clouds at this suggestion, questioning the honour of any Society soldier the easiest way to trigger a response.
“Jysyn Juice on you,” Noah says grudgingly as he hands Conrad the bag of Kyals: Society money that comes in handy in magical establishments.
Noah’s face lights up at the sight of Zoe Tallis behind the bar, untroubled by the groups that normally occupy her time and attention.
“Perfect timing,” Lucy whispers encouragingly, nudging Noah towards the bar. “Remember, cool, calm and collected and don’t sing.”
I suppress a giggle, walking to the empty table closest to the bar, providing a view of the busy evening streets — full of colour and sound as Society members joke and laugh, ambling past closed shops in a world hidden from above-ground eyes.
Soon, they will use portable Periums to return them to faculties or above-ground dwellings. It’s always fun to sit and watch as sparks of light fill the evening streets, forming into arches of colour for witches and wizards to vanish through.
I sit between Conrad and Lucy in the emptying resting rooms of Rebel’s Rest, secretly wishing Noah good luck with Zoe Tallis. Zoe’s friendly with all the regulars, her wit and wisdom making her aware of those with hopes for romance. She’s never given Noah any obvious signs which hasn’t put him off yet, so I divide my attention between the first portable Periums appearing on the streets outside, and Noah trying to work a different type of magic at the bar.
“That’s a good sign,” Conrad says at the sight of Zoe laughing at something Noah’s said.
“The magic’s happening, at last,” Lucy adds with what I sense to be a glimmer of jealousy.
Is she into Noah, after all? If so, why’s she secretive about it? Lucy’s a mixture of
