Firestorm drew another breath. Fiery twigs and charred
pine needles were dripping from the trees around them in an orange and black rain. Smoke and steam filled the air, but Nolita could just see the outline of Fang through the swirling murk ahead. In
the brief moments before Fire began spraying more bright flames from his mouth, she had time to make out what looked like dozens of ropes holding Fang in place. There was also a wide ring of red
around him where his blood had stained the snow.
‘What the . .
.
?’ she spluttered.
A second roaring jet of fire sprayed from her dragon’s mouth. He played it back and forth across the snow between them and Fang. To her amazement the snow did not just melt. It retreated
in a wriggling mass of serpentine whiteness. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things, but the rubbing made no difference. The squirming wave of white was definitely alive. Alive with
what, she did not care to know.
Gradually, Fire breathed the flames closer and closer to Fang. Nolita no longer cared about burning embers. Her attention was focused on Kira and Fang. With startling abruptness, all the
rope-like creatures released their grip on Fang and joined the multitude in the fast retreating wave. Fang opened his mouth and roared. Nolita could see he was still straining against something.
The dusk dragon’s muscles were bunching hard as he pushed up from the ground with all his strength. Quivering with the effort, he surged to his feet and turned. Another long line of the
creatures was attached to his other side. Firestorm breathed more fire at them and they were quick to detach and snake away at an alarming speed to join the myriad others.
‘Kira? Are you all right?’ Nolita called anxiously.
‘A lot better for seeing you and Firestorm,’ she called back. ‘If you hadn’t come along, we would be dead for sure.’
‘Is it safe to climb down, Fire?’
Nolita asked.
‘So long as you stay in the area I’ve cleared of snow, you will be perfectly safe,’
he replied.
‘The swarm won’t venture onto the bare ground by
choice.’
Although she was tempted to ask him about the swarm, Nolita wanted to see Kira. She slid down Fire’s side and hit the ground running. The earth steamed beneath her feet, still warm from
Firestorm’s torching breath. Kira was dismounting more slowly. As Nolita drew closer, her run faltered first to a stuttering walk and then to a complete stop. Fang was every bit as big as
Firestorm. His looming presence set all the alarms going inside her head again. Her legs refused to take her any closer, so she waited.
Kira slid the last few hand spans to the ground and promptly collapsed, clutching at her right leg. Fixing her focus firmly on her friend, Nolita gritted her teeth and blanked the hulking
presence of the dusk dragon from her mind. Forcing her legs to move, she stumbled the final short distance to Kira’s side. The Racafian girl was curled on the ground, sobbing. Nolita knelt
down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘It’s all right, Kira,’ she said softly, her heart racing. ‘It’s all right. Fire will heal your leg. You’ll be fine. Hush now. It’ll all be all right.
You’ll see.’
Kira looked up at her, eyes filled with tears not just born of pain, but of anguish and guilt. ‘I hesitated, Nolita,’ she said. ‘
I
hesitated! I didn’t do as Fang
said and I nearly got us both killed. If you hadn’t come along those . . . those
things
would have eaten us and it would have been
my
fault.’
‘You don’t know that for certain, Kira,’ Nolita protested. ‘There were masses of them. Who’s to say they wouldn’t have pinned Fang down anyway? They must be
strong to hold down a dragon. It looked to me as though flames were about the only thing that would shift them.’
‘That’s just it,’ Kira sobbed, ‘I couldn’t even light a fire. What sort of a hunter can’t light a fire? If I’d got a fire going, they
pine needles were dripping from the trees around them in an orange and black rain. Smoke and steam filled the air, but Nolita could just see the outline of Fang through the swirling murk ahead. In
the brief moments before Fire began spraying more bright flames from his mouth, she had time to make out what looked like dozens of ropes holding Fang in place. There was also a wide ring of red
around him where his blood had stained the snow.
‘What the . .
.
?’ she spluttered.
A second roaring jet of fire sprayed from her dragon’s mouth. He played it back and forth across the snow between them and Fang. To her amazement the snow did not just melt. It retreated
in a wriggling mass of serpentine whiteness. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things, but the rubbing made no difference. The squirming wave of white was definitely alive. Alive with
what, she did not care to know.
Gradually, Fire breathed the flames closer and closer to Fang. Nolita no longer cared about burning embers. Her attention was focused on Kira and Fang. With startling abruptness, all the
rope-like creatures released their grip on Fang and joined the multitude in the fast retreating wave. Fang opened his mouth and roared. Nolita could see he was still straining against something.
The dusk dragon’s muscles were bunching hard as he pushed up from the ground with all his strength. Quivering with the effort, he surged to his feet and turned. Another long line of the
creatures was attached to his other side. Firestorm breathed more fire at them and they were quick to detach and snake away at an alarming speed to join the myriad others.
‘Kira? Are you all right?’ Nolita called anxiously.
‘A lot better for seeing you and Firestorm,’ she called back. ‘If you hadn’t come along, we would be dead for sure.’
‘Is it safe to climb down, Fire?’
Nolita asked.
‘So long as you stay in the area I’ve cleared of snow, you will be perfectly safe,’
he replied.
‘The swarm won’t venture onto the bare ground by
choice.’
Although she was tempted to ask him about the swarm, Nolita wanted to see Kira. She slid down Fire’s side and hit the ground running. The earth steamed beneath her feet, still warm from
Firestorm’s torching breath. Kira was dismounting more slowly. As Nolita drew closer, her run faltered first to a stuttering walk and then to a complete stop. Fang was every bit as big as
Firestorm. His looming presence set all the alarms going inside her head again. Her legs refused to take her any closer, so she waited.
Kira slid the last few hand spans to the ground and promptly collapsed, clutching at her right leg. Fixing her focus firmly on her friend, Nolita gritted her teeth and blanked the hulking
presence of the dusk dragon from her mind. Forcing her legs to move, she stumbled the final short distance to Kira’s side. The Racafian girl was curled on the ground, sobbing. Nolita knelt
down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘It’s all right, Kira,’ she said softly, her heart racing. ‘It’s all right. Fire will heal your leg. You’ll be fine. Hush now. It’ll all be all right.
You’ll see.’
Kira looked up at her, eyes filled with tears not just born of pain, but of anguish and guilt. ‘I hesitated, Nolita,’ she said. ‘
I
hesitated! I didn’t do as Fang
said and I nearly got us both killed. If you hadn’t come along those . . . those
things
would have eaten us and it would have been
my
fault.’
‘You don’t know that for certain, Kira,’ Nolita protested. ‘There were masses of them. Who’s to say they wouldn’t have pinned Fang down anyway? They must be
strong to hold down a dragon. It looked to me as though flames were about the only thing that would shift them.’
‘That’s just it,’ Kira sobbed, ‘I couldn’t even light a fire. What sort of a hunter can’t light a fire? If I’d got a fire going, they
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