apologising,’
she continued.
‘I hope you understand. I know you’d never deliberately hurt me, but my fears will not go away. It
doesn’t make any sense, but I can’t stop the feelings. That’s just the way it is.’
‘You have come further than you realise, dragonrider,’
he said, his tone flavoured with pride.
‘I have watched you learn to control your fears in two short weeks. New
circumstances inevitably cause them to flare. The fears have dominated your life for a long time, but I can see your bravery is more than a match for them. Be assured I will not test your strength
unnecessarily, Nolita. We will press southwards and continue to look for the others as long as we can.’
The light was fading and the snow showed no sign of letting up. The bitter cold had long since numbed the feeling in Nolita’s toes, fingers and cheeks. Her fur-lined clothing had insulated
her body against the worst of the wind chill, but they had been airborne for a considerable time now. Her body was cold-soaked and she knew she would have to land soon or risk permanent injury.
Visibility was very limited. Even during occasional lulls when the snow’s intensity thinned, Nolita could see about a league at best. In the heavier bursts, she was unable to see more than
a few hundred paces. The constant bombardment of snowflakes forced her to half close her eyes so that her lashes kept the flakes from blurring her vision. The fading light heralded the impending
fall of night. It would not be long before the darkness effectively blinded her altogether.
When Fire made the link with Fang, Nolita felt his surge of excitement and relief through the bond and guessed he had found at least one of the others. Her mirrored emotions were short-lived.
Fire’s thoughts moved instantly to urgent concern, bordering on panic.
‘What is it? What’s wrong, Fire?’
‘It’s Fang and Kira,’
he answered, his mental voice sounding clipped in her mind.
‘They’re in trouble, but I can help. Hang on.’
Hanging on was not easy. With no sensation left in her fingers and her limbs weakened by hours of flying in the bitter cold, all Nolita could do was lean forwards and wrap her arms around the
ridge in front of the saddle. Fire dipped into a shallow dive and began to drive forwards with all his might in an effort to reach Fang and Kira as quickly as possible. Nolita closed her eyes,
feeling the wind rush increase as Fire accelerated through the blizzard.
‘Brace yourself. We will land shortly,’
Fire warned.
‘Keep your head down. This will be like when we had to burn our way out of the wood, except this time we’re
going in.’
Nolita did not know how she could possibly brace herself any more, but she was glad of the warning. The abrupt change of speed and body angle was almost too much. If she had not known it was
coming, the sudden deceleration and running landing would most likely have thrown her from the saddle. The abrupt strain as they landed made the muscles in her arms feel as if they were exploding
as she fought to stay on Fire’s back.
Fire slowed to a walk and Nolita felt his chest expand beneath her as he inhaled ready to breathe his hottest fire. Eyes closed, and half dangling by stirrups and arms, she wriggled backwards
until she settled into her saddle. The rumbling roar of Fire’s flame made her instinctively hold her breath. She expected him to pause before entering the trees, but he continued walking
forwards into the burning path ahead.
The crackling of burning wood and the stinging smell of smoke filled the air. The reflected heat of Firestorm’s torching breath was so hot that Nolita feared her numbed flesh might blister
without her feeling the damage. He paused his deluge of fire and suddenly she could hear Kira’s voice ahead.
‘Kill them, Fire! Kill them all!’
She was hysterical! The shock of hearing the normally fearless huntress in such a state was enough to make Nolita risk opening her eyes.
she continued.
‘I hope you understand. I know you’d never deliberately hurt me, but my fears will not go away. It
doesn’t make any sense, but I can’t stop the feelings. That’s just the way it is.’
‘You have come further than you realise, dragonrider,’
he said, his tone flavoured with pride.
‘I have watched you learn to control your fears in two short weeks. New
circumstances inevitably cause them to flare. The fears have dominated your life for a long time, but I can see your bravery is more than a match for them. Be assured I will not test your strength
unnecessarily, Nolita. We will press southwards and continue to look for the others as long as we can.’
The light was fading and the snow showed no sign of letting up. The bitter cold had long since numbed the feeling in Nolita’s toes, fingers and cheeks. Her fur-lined clothing had insulated
her body against the worst of the wind chill, but they had been airborne for a considerable time now. Her body was cold-soaked and she knew she would have to land soon or risk permanent injury.
Visibility was very limited. Even during occasional lulls when the snow’s intensity thinned, Nolita could see about a league at best. In the heavier bursts, she was unable to see more than
a few hundred paces. The constant bombardment of snowflakes forced her to half close her eyes so that her lashes kept the flakes from blurring her vision. The fading light heralded the impending
fall of night. It would not be long before the darkness effectively blinded her altogether.
When Fire made the link with Fang, Nolita felt his surge of excitement and relief through the bond and guessed he had found at least one of the others. Her mirrored emotions were short-lived.
Fire’s thoughts moved instantly to urgent concern, bordering on panic.
‘What is it? What’s wrong, Fire?’
‘It’s Fang and Kira,’
he answered, his mental voice sounding clipped in her mind.
‘They’re in trouble, but I can help. Hang on.’
Hanging on was not easy. With no sensation left in her fingers and her limbs weakened by hours of flying in the bitter cold, all Nolita could do was lean forwards and wrap her arms around the
ridge in front of the saddle. Fire dipped into a shallow dive and began to drive forwards with all his might in an effort to reach Fang and Kira as quickly as possible. Nolita closed her eyes,
feeling the wind rush increase as Fire accelerated through the blizzard.
‘Brace yourself. We will land shortly,’
Fire warned.
‘Keep your head down. This will be like when we had to burn our way out of the wood, except this time we’re
going in.’
Nolita did not know how she could possibly brace herself any more, but she was glad of the warning. The abrupt change of speed and body angle was almost too much. If she had not known it was
coming, the sudden deceleration and running landing would most likely have thrown her from the saddle. The abrupt strain as they landed made the muscles in her arms feel as if they were exploding
as she fought to stay on Fire’s back.
Fire slowed to a walk and Nolita felt his chest expand beneath her as he inhaled ready to breathe his hottest fire. Eyes closed, and half dangling by stirrups and arms, she wriggled backwards
until she settled into her saddle. The rumbling roar of Fire’s flame made her instinctively hold her breath. She expected him to pause before entering the trees, but he continued walking
forwards into the burning path ahead.
The crackling of burning wood and the stinging smell of smoke filled the air. The reflected heat of Firestorm’s torching breath was so hot that Nolita feared her numbed flesh might blister
without her feeling the damage. He paused his deluge of fire and suddenly she could hear Kira’s voice ahead.
‘Kill them, Fire! Kill them all!’
She was hysterical! The shock of hearing the normally fearless huntress in such a state was enough to make Nolita risk opening her eyes.
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