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“Now listen, Firedrake,” said the rat anxiously, “you really don’t know much about what you’re looking for. You’re not used to navigating by the stars, and Sorrel’s mind is usually so full of mushrooms that she could get north and south mixed up and confuse the moon with the evening star. No, it won’t do.” Rat stroked her whiskers and looked at the dragon. “You need help, believe you me! As it happens, a cousin of mine makes maps. Very special maps. He may not know exactly where the Rim of Heaven is, but he can certainly tell you where to find the highest mountain range in the world. Stop off and see him on the way. I have to admit visiting him isn’t entirely without its risks,” said the rat, wrinkling her brow, “because he lives in a big city. But I think you ought to chance it. If you set off soon you can be there in two nights’ time.”
“City?” The indistinct figure of Sorrel emerged from the mist.
“For goodness’ sake, must you scare me to death?” asked Rat. “Yes, that’s right. My cousin lives in a human city. When you’ve left the sea behind you, keep flying eastward inland, and you can’t miss it. It’s huge, a hundred times larger than this valley, and full of bridges and tall buildings. My cousin lives in an old warehouse on the river.”
“Does he look like you?” asked Sorrel, stuffing a few leaves into her mouth. She was carrying a bulging backpack, which she had brought back from one of her excursions into the world of human beings. “Yes, of course he does, you rats all look the same. Gray, gray, and gray again.”
“Gray is a very practical color!” spat the rat. “Unlike your silly spots. As it happens, however, my cousin is white. Snow-white. He wishes he wasn’t.”
“Do stop squabbling,” said Firedrake, looking up at the sky. The moon was now almost at its height, and if they were to set out that night it was time to leave. “Climb aboard, Sorrel,” he said. “Shall we take Rat, too, to give you someone to quarrel with?”
“No thanks!” Rat took a couple of small steps backward in alarm. “There’s no call for that kind of thing. I’m perfectly happy to know the world at secondhand. It’s a lot safer.”
“I never quarrel with anyone, anyway,” Sorrel mumbled with her mouth full as she clambered up onto the dragon’s back. “Pointy-nosed persons are oversensitive.”
Firedrake spread his wings, and Sorrel hastily clutched one of the large spines on his crest.
“Look after yourself, Rat,” said the dragon, bending his neck to nuzzle the little animal affectionately. “It’s going to be some while before I’ll be back to keep you safe from wild cats.” Then he stepped back, took off from the damp ground, and rose into the air, beating his wings powerfully.
“Oh, no!” groaned Sorrel, clinging on so tight that her furry fingers hurt.
Firedrake rose higher and higher into the dark sky, and a cold wind whistled around the brownie girl’s pointed ears.
“I’ll never get used to this,” she muttered. “Not unless I start growing feathers.” She peered down cautiously at the valley below. “None of them,” she grumbled, “not a single one has so much as put his neck out of his cave to say good-bye. They probably won’t come out until they’re up to their chins in water. Hey, Firedrake!” she called to the dragon. “I know a nice little spot over there beyond those hills. Why don’t we stick around here instead?”
But Firedrake did not reply.
And the black hills rose between him and the valley where he had been born.
4. A Big City and a Small Human Being
“Oh, pestiferous parasols!” grumbled Sorrel. “If we don’t find somewhere pretty quick they’ll catch us and put us in the zoo.”
“What’s a zoo?” asked Firedrake, raising his muzzle from the water. He had landed an hour ago in the big city, in the darkest part of it they could find, far from the streets that were full of noise and light, even now when night had fallen. Ever since, he had been swimming from one dirty canal to the next looking for a place to hide during the day. But hard as Sorrel strained her catlike eyes and raised her sensitive nose to the wind, they couldn’t find anywhere that was large enough for a dragon and didn’t smell of human beings. Everything smelled of humans here, even the dark water and the garbage adrift in it.
“You mean you don’t know what a zoo is? Oh, I’ll explain later,” muttered Sorrel. “Although come to think of it, they’re more likely to stuff us. Bother, it’s going to take me hours to wash this filth off your scales.”
Firedrake was swimming like a silvery snake along the dirty canal, under bridges, past the gray walls of buildings. Sorrel kept glancing uneasily at the sky, but there was no sign yet of the treacherous sun.
“There!” the brownie suddenly whispered, pointing to a tall building. The water of the canal lapped its windowless brick walls. “See that hatch? If you make yourself as thin as you can you might fit through. Swim over there. I’ll sniff around a bit.”
The dragon cautiously let himself drift toward the wall. A large loading hatch just above water level gaped open. Its decaying wooden door hung loose from the hinges. With one bound Sorrel jumped off Firedrake’s back, got a handhold on the roughcast wall, and put her head through the opening, snuffling.
“Seems okay,” she whispered. “There hasn’t been a human being in here for years. Nothing but mouse droppings and spiders. Come on.”
In a flash, she had disappeared into the dark. Firedrake hauled himself out of the water, shook his scaly body, and forced it through the hatch. He looked curiously around him at this structure, the work of human hands. He had never been inside a building before, and he didn’t like it. Large wooden crates and rotting cardboard cartons were stacked by the damp walls. Sorrel sniffed everything with interest, but she couldn’t pick up the scent of anything edible.
Wearily Firedrake dropped to the floor in front of the hatch and looked out. This was the first time he had made such a long flight. His wings ached, and the city was full of frightening sounds and smells. The dragon sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Sorrel sat down between his paws. “Oh, I see. Who’s homesick now, then?” She opened her backpack, took out a handful of mushrooms, and held them under his nose. “Here, get a noseful of these. They’ll drive the stink of this place out of your nostrils. I expect our friend the rat would like it just fine here, but you and I had better get out as soon as we can.” She patted Firedrake’s dirty scales comfortingly. “Get some sleep now. I’ll have a bit of a nap, too, and then I’ll be off to look for Rat’s cousin.”
Firedrake nodded. His eyes closed. When he heard Sorrel singing softly to herself, it was almost like being back in his cave. His tired limbs relaxed. Sleep was laying soft, soothing fingers on him … when Sorrel suddenly jumped up.
“There’s something in here!” she hissed.
Firedrake raised his head and looked around. “Where?” he asked.
“Behind those crates!” whispered Sorrel. “You stay here.” She crept toward a stack of crates that towered to the ceiling. Firedrake pricked up his ears. Now he could hear it, too: a rustling, a scraping of feet. The dragon raised himself.
