Michael Pryor - Heart of Gold

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

About the Author

Heart of Gold

THE SECOND VOLUME OF

The Laws of Magic

MICHAEL

PRYOR

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Laws of Magic 2: Heart of Gold

ePub ISBN 9781864714760

Kindle ISBN 9781864717358

A Random House book

Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

www.randomhouse.com.au

First published by Random House Australia in 2007

This edition first published in 2010

Copyright Michael Pryor 2007

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices.

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

Author: Pryor, Michael

Title: Heart of gold / Michael Pryor

ISBN: 978 1 86471 863 8 (pbk.)

Series: Pryor, Michael. Laws of magic; 2

Target audience: For secondary school age

Dewey number: A823.3

Cover illustration by Jeremy Reston

Cover design by www.blacksheep-uk.com

Internal design by Mathematics

For all teachers, everywhere.

One

AUBREY FITZWILLIAM KNEW THAT CRISIS WAS another word for opportunity. He simply wished that he saw more of the latter and less of the former.

AUBREY GRIMACED, TIGHTENED THE LAST VALVE ASSEMBLY and closed the ornithopter's cowling. He stretched, wincing, just as his friend George Doyle spoke up. 'Aubrey?'

'Hmm?'

'What's bright orange and floats through clouds?'

'Riddling, George? Really, you need to find something more worthwhile to do.'

'It's not a riddle, old man. It's what I'm looking at right now.'

With mechanical knowledge an important part of the ornithopter pilot's exam, Aubrey had worked hard on familiarising himself with every aspect of the complicated machine while George spent much of the evening lounging on a bench, propped on one elbow and reading a newspaper. Now, he was peering out of the window of the workshop at the night sky. Aubrey wiped his greasy hands on a rag and strolled to see what had caught his friend's attention. 'Where?'

A pearly-grey blanket of cloud hung over Finley Moor Airfield and stretched to the south, where it reflected the many lights of Trinovant, the heart of the Albion Empire. Thunder growled nearby.

'There. That glow.' George pointed to the north-east, past the control tower dark at this time of night and the dirigible mooring masts. Four long, grey cigar shapes bobbed at rest. They were the pride of the Albion airship fleet, the eight-hundred-foot-long Imperial class, the most advanced lighter-than-air craft in the world.

The orange light was coming from something in the clouds something large. Aubrey frowned, trying to make out what it was, then it burst through and he froze, all flippancy drying up instantly. A flaming dirigible stagered across the sky, its nose angling downward as it lost lift, sagging in the middle. Fire had enveloped the front third of the sleek airship, puncturing the internal gasbags. Flames lit up the airfield in a ghastly hell-light.

Aubrey's tiredness vanished. He flung the greasy rag aside and sprinted out of the hangar, a thousand decisions competing for his attention. He threw open the door of the nearest ornithopter. It was a Falcon model, not his favourite, but it was a six-seater, with a largish cargo bay, and that was what he wanted.

George caught up and seized his arm. 'What are you doing, old man?'

'That's a Gallian airship, some sort of experimental model. The crew members are going to die up there unless we do something.'

'You've never done a night flight before,' George pointed out.

I know, Aubrey thought. And I flew solo for the first time just two days ago. 'How hard can night flying be?' Aubrey vaulted into the pilot's seat. 'It's the same sky, after all.'

'It's not the sky I'm worried about.' George squeezed his broad-shouldered frame into the co-pilot seat. 'It's the ground that's waiting for us if you make a mistake.' He shook his head. 'This is madness. Shouldn't we send for help?'

'No time. Those poor souls don't have long.' Aubrey ran through his pre-flight checklist, decided it would take too long in the circumstances, then pulled the ignition lever. The engine coughed into life and he seized the controls.

The great metal wings creaked and stretched. Aubrey used the foot pedals and the landing gear whirred into action. He felt the bird-like craft settle, tense, and then give a stomach-dropping thrust as its legs kicked upwards, hurling the machine into the air. The wings twisted and beat, noisily driving upwards.

Aubrey forced the craft to climb almost vertically. He flicked his black hair as it fell in his eyes. 'Where is it?' he shouted over the crashing of the metal wings.

'Left!' George shouted back. 'Port, I mean! Over there, past the sewage works!' He pointed. Aubrey forced the ornithopter around until the dirigible came into view overhead.

He pulled back on the wheel with all his strength, and sent the machine into a testing climb. When he'd gained enough altitude, he levelled off and swept toward the crippled airship.

A huge gout of fire erupted from the nose of the dirigible. Aubrey gritted his teeth and wrenched at the controls. George shouted as a jet of flame reached for them, a wave of heat screaming like a flock of harpies. Their craft skated and heeled, the port wing canting while the starboard wing flailed wildly. His heart hammering, Aubrey held on, glad for the belt that kept him in his seat.

From the rear of the ornithopter came the shriek of struts protesting under strain. Aubrey held his breath and eased off the controls. The rending noise slowed, but then he heard the sharp pings of rivets giving up and popping loose. Immediately, metal crashed against metal, grinding horribly.