Over the sea Mordred’s army did ride While the living drowned on its ghostly tide. They hurried out into the sunset to find the tops of the mountains on fire. A black-winged silhouette swooped through the orange smoke, terrifying the horses. “The shadrake!” Rhianna gasped, gripping Excalibur tighter. “Where’s Cai?” She looked anxiously for Alba. The two mist horses and Sandy shivered behind the finger of rock. She couldn’t see Cai’s grey mare with them and peered over the cliff edge, afraid she might see her friend’s broken body far below. Then Elphin pointed to the far side of the peak, where the boy bravely sat his horse in front of the injured red dragon, which pressed itself to the ground and hissed at its enemy. “Looks like that shadrake got more than it bargained for,” he said with a smile. Cai’s horse reared as the creature swooped towards it.
