Read Online The Emerald Forge (Pilgrennon's Children) by Manda Benson - Free Book Online Page A

above me. He goes to the school.”
    Graeme put his cutlery together neatly on his plate. “What are you going to do?”
    “Hang around?” said Dana, aware that this was how children her own age referred to being in the company of their peers, and also uncomfortably aware that it sounded unnatural and very insincere coming from her own mouth. “There’s this biology thing at school. You can go to it sometimes at lunch. Eric and I are doing a project for it, and we were going to look for, uh, ideas to do our project on.”
    “You mean like a school club?” Pauline asked.
    “Ya, like a biology club.”
    “And it is just you and Eric, not you and a load of Eric’s other friends?” Pauline looked at Dana penetratingly.
    “I don’t think Eric’s got any other friends. Most of the people at the biology club haven’t.” So far as Dana knew, there was no biology club at the school. A prickly heat had begun to crawl up the back of her neck, and she hoped she wasn’t going red in the face.
    “And the biology club and Eric are more interesting than Sarracenia seeds?” Graeme paused to chew. Dana thought he was amused by this from the way his voice sounded, but she wasn’t sure. “And watching Demented Badger Woman on the news?”
    Pauline glared at Graeme upon speaking his last sentence. “Graeme, she is a perfectly respectable lady. Stop being mean to Dana about her! Dana, where are you planning on going with this boy?”
    “I’m just going to meet him by the school.” This much at least was true.
    “In that case I don’t see how it will do any harm, if you take mine or Graeme’s phone with you, and you get back before nine. What do you think, Graeme?”
    “Fair ’nuff,” said Graeme, cabbage trailing from his mouth.
    Dana ate her dinner as quickly as she could and excused herself from the table. Remembering what Eric had said, she found the most boyish jacket she could: a denim one with heavy metal badges sewn on it. It had belonged to Duncan but he was too big for it now, and he’d given it to Dana when he’d gone to University. Graeme went with her to the front door. “Here,” he said, giving her his phone. Dana put the phone in her jacket pocket and put her trainers on in the porch. “Now, be careful.”
    “I know.” Dana hurriedly tied her laces.
    “No, I mean be careful. We don’t know who this Eric is. It would’ve been easier if you’d found some friends of the same sex before you had a boy friend.”
    “But that’s sexist! And Eric’s nice, and I don’t know any girls that are.” It suddenly occurred to her what Graeme might be getting at. “I’m not going to see Eric so I can snog him and do stuff like that! That would be disgusting! He’s just a normal friend, like I’m friends with you and Cale!”
    “Well, okay then, but be careful anyway.”
    Dana ran all the way to the school. There was no sign of Eric yet, so she ducked inside the rhododendron bush. The sun was starting to set, and the light filtered through the gaps in the leaves and cast glints of warm colour on the metal plates covering the wyvern’s body.
    Dana concentrated again on projecting a feeling of benevolence, and reached out slowly and smoothly, and touched the fan of metal blades on the back of its cheek. She ran her fingers along the neck, to where rough, thick skin met steel plates. When she looked at it, this thing that seemed as much machine as beast, she could not help feeling awe and fascination. And she could feel from the wyvern that it was equally interested in her, and it recognised that she too was part machine. It stretched its head towards her and sniffed, nostrils dilating and narrowing like those of a horse.
    In the distance, a throbbing noise became audible. It sounded like some sort of coarse small motor, and it was getting closer. Dana sank back into the rhododendron as a motorcycle came down from the school gates and braked to a halt just before the teachers’ car park. The rider