More days of searching brought Nikulas no closer to finding his sister. Numerous groups of houses and girls didn’t even give him a hint of where to search for her. Mother had guarded Birgith’s location from the brothers, knowing their desire to find her, so it was harder than looking for a specific coin dropped in the storeroom.

Leaving the river behind, he flew over the smaller villages away from the water’s edge. The only positive of being out of the valley was the variety of creatures he’d found to eat. Larger than goats, one made a meal for multiple days. Even better, they didn’t move fast, especially in the dark of night, so he could catch them easily.

As the sun rose, Nikulas made a den under the trees at the edge of the next group of houses. These looked the same as all others he’d visited. Stone buildings with tile roofs standing in a circle, all facing inwards. Children and dogs ran free in the centre. Ladies in stiff dresses sat chatting while they watched everyone else. Men came and went in groups to do whatever they did during the day.

Nikulas stayed hidden, only coming out at dusk to explore. Moving on to a new settlement when he felt he had assessed every person in that one.

This was a larger place, though still small enough not to have a wall or guards. He’d already been in the area for a few days, but was no closer to finding his sister. Where could she be? Surely she wanted to find them as well? Or had their father not told her anything about them? He was curious about human life, so it stood to rights she would also be curious about her dragon half. As long as she knew what she was. Maybe their father had deemed it too dangerous for her to know? Maybe he’d left her? Maybe they were both dead?

Nikulas shook his head. No, he had to believe he would find her. Otherwise, he might as well return now to the valley to face whatever consequences there would be. The thought of being bound to the valley, never able to leave again kept him searching. So much of the continent remained. This might be the only time her got to see it.

A scream alerted him to the small child running back towards the houses. Soon a mob headed in his direction brandishing swords, rakes, and large sticks.

He looked around. What scared the child? He saw nothing out of the ordinary. Apart from himself. Could she have seen him? He settled down deeper into the leaf mulch regretting his decision not to shift into human form.

He’d stuck with his dragon form, as it felt the most familiar to him. Now he second guessed that decision.

Voices from the group were now audible.

“Whatever it is, we’ll scare it away.”

“No beast is going to keep stealing our livestock.”

“Dragons are only stories. I bet it’s a spy from over the mountains.”

“Cowardly, to hide out here. Can’t be good for the village if they’re doing that.”

Oh, by the Great Squirrel, they were looking for him. Nikulas looked to each side. With only sparse tree cover, the humans would spot him easily. He’d only stayed hidden so long as the copse was out of the way.

He considered the surrounding grasses. None of them were the flat, pointed leaves of the valley. So he couldn’t use them to produce flame, not that he wanted to hurt the villagers. He had to choose whether to fly away, or hope they didn’t find him. Well, that was a slim hope now, given they were headed right towards him.

The swords would be sharp, and with no dragongrass, he’d be reliant on his claws to defend himself. They weren’t the most manoeuvrable. Too much of a risk. No, better to fly away without letting them close, even if he would be seen. Better to be recognised and get away, then to be captured and hurt.

With a stretch, he spread his wings, pushing himself above the trees and away. Below, shouts and screams confirmed he’d been spotted. A spear flew in his direction, but without enough power to reach him.

Once airborne, Nikulas considered his options. The mountains loomed behind him. Why had he left? This world was much bigger than he’d realised. Far more people inhabited it. Finding one girl among the multitudes was almost impossible.

No, that was not the way. He couldn’t give up before he’d searched the whole of Kaitstud. He had barely started. He had to keep going. If only because the only way to return to the valley, and his mother, was with his sister. Otherwise, he’d face the consequences of his departure.

With a thought towards his brothers, and the increased restrictions they no doubt suffered under because of his leaving, he turned his back on the mountains, gliding in the air current further from where he grew up. Hopefully, he flew high enough not to be spotted again.

Underneath him, the land undulated gently, with scraggy hedges separating areas of different crops. Further away from the last group of houses, the crops gave way to scrub, bushes and ferns. Here and there, groups of horned animals grazed.

Nikulas’ mouth watered. He prepared to dive and capture some lunch. He selected one on the edge of the herd. Talons outstretched, he aimed for it. Before he could catch it, he was bombarded with stones.

A small boy dressed in shorts and a ragged shirt twirled a sling above his head. He shouted as he repeatedly let off stones.

Most had little power, and barely thumped against Nikulas’ scales. But the distraction allowed the animals to run free. Nikulas considered catching the boy instead, but with a growl in the boy’s direction, he returned to the skies. Catching a human would bring too much attention. Make a hunt almost inevitable. Avoiding being spotted was proving harder than he’d anticipated.