Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight by D. M. Fife

  Chapter 9 - Arrival

  ours passed. Danny watched the world below with mesmerized attention from high atop Tyramear's back, the lights beneath stretching out like a reflection of the glittering stars above.

  "Are you cold?" Sabrina asked, pulling his attention from the wondrous sight.

  Caught off guard, Danny could do nothing but stare at her as words caught in his throat.

  "You are shivering," Sabrina pointed out to him.

  So taken in by his vantage point and Sabrina's proximity, Danny had failed to notice his body's reaction. He finally realized that he was definitely cold. The wind had grown colder over the past few hours. It was cutting through his clothing, chilling him to the bone.

  "Just a little," his teeth chattered in between words.

  "Here," reaching forward, opening a small compartment in front of her. Pulling out a heavy blue blanket, "Put this over you."

  Draping the blanket over his shoulders, Danny noticed that Sabrina held on to the opposite half.

  "We can share it," she said, smiling broadly at him.

  Danny's neck hair stood on end at the prospect.

  Sabrina told the boys behind her that similar caches of blankets were stowed in front of each of them. She turned and pulled the blanket over her body, causing it to pull taut as Danny held the other half.

  Danny felt the buildup of body heat, he ceased to shiver.

  "Better?"

  "Much," said Danny, smiling, blushing.

  Free from the biting sting of the cold, feeling self-conscious regarding Sabrina's proximity, Danny returned his gaze to the view below.

  More hours passed, causing the lights beneath to disappear as the Earth began its nightly slumber. However, cities twinkled well into the night, a mass of illumination spreading out from a bright collection of lights, thinning as they neared the edge of civilization. Danny watched large cities coming into view, passing them with interest, trying to guess the amount of people that inhabited each one.

  Time seemed to slow as the combination of Sabrina's warmth, the lull of the moonlight and the sway of Tyramear's beating wings took their toll. Danny's eyelids grew heavy, inviting him into the embrace of a restless slumber. On the verge of unconsciousness, Danny fought against the pull of sleep, causing the night to pass in a flutter of images.