Firestorm (22 page)

Ever since she was a little girl, she had enjoyed a special relationship with the stars. It had started when one of the elders from her village had sat with her one evening and told her a story
of how the Creator had made the heavens and the world. The kindly old man sat by her side and asked her what she could see in the sky. When she described the patterns she saw, he told her that
there had not always been so many stars. ‘Each star is actually a departed soul set in the sky by the Creator’s hand,’ he said. ‘He puts them there to shower the world with
the light of all the good things in the departed person’s heart. Some burn brighter than others, but they’re all there if you look hard enough.’

The old man had passed away not long afterwards. ‘Can I see his star?’ she wondered. ‘Such a lovely old man would surely have a really bright one.’

She smiled at the thought. It was nonsense, of course, but the man’s words had brought her comfort. She liked the idea that when her life in this world was over, something of her might
live on indefinitely. If she believed with all her heart that the death of her body would not be the end, then many of her fears would become irrelevant and fade away. Would she ever feel such
certainty? Others managed it, but then, others were brave.

Nolita had trodden the circular arguments before, but this time they felt different. The encounter with the Oracle had changed her somehow and these logical conclusions did not seem so pointless
any more. A feeling of progress gave her a glimmer of hope that warmed her inside.

‘The least I can do is to try to complete my part of the quest,’ she whispered. ‘I’m not alone, and my brave companions can help me.’

She began to get up with the intention of returning quietly to the campsite, but a stealthy movement on the other side of the stream caused her to freeze. Cold clamped her gut and her breath
seized in her chest as she realised something was creeping towards her through the darkness. All thoughts of bravery vanished. A wave of goosepimples raised the hairs on her arms and her mouth felt
suddenly dry. What was it? What predators stalked Orupee?

She concentrated hard on remaining totally still and watching for further hints of movement. As she watched, she saw not one, but several dark shadows moving forwards in a line. It was well that
her eyes were adjusted to the dark, as it helped her to identify the shapes. They were human. What was more, they were all carrying spears.

Chapter Nineteen

It took a heartbeat or two for Nolita to realise what the men were doing. Their movements were cautious and silent. They were hunting the beasts.

For a moment her heart surged with excitement. If they killed the beast, then she would be free of him for ever. As soon as the thought entered her mind she realised she had to stop them. If the
hunters killed the beasts, then the Oracle would die. Despite her fears she really wanted to help the Dragon Spirit. Through the Oracle hope had been reborn in her heart. She was not ready to risk
losing that hope before it had time to grow.

What would Elian or Kira do now? she thought. Would they shout a warning, or run to fetch help? No. That would just alert the hunters that they’d been discovered. The answer was simple,
but she instinctively shied away from it. She would have to speak with the beast through the mind contact they shared. The problem was that she did not know how.

‘Concentrate, Nolita,’ she breathed, willing her heart and mind to be still. ‘Just concentrate on the beast and think your warning to him.’

‘Beast?’
she thought, focusing her mind as totally as she could on the name. ‘
F
. . .
Firestorm, can you hear me?’

‘Yes, Nolita,’
Firestorm responded immediately, clearly surprised by her call.
‘Your mental voice is strong. I can hear you clearly.’

‘You’re in danger. There are hunters near the stream. They’re coming closer,’
she projected, strangely pleased to have anything she did described as
‘strong’.

‘Dragonhunters! Try to remain hidden. I’ll alert the others and we’ll get you to safety as soon as we can. Can you tell how many there are?’

‘No,’
she replied.
‘I can see a line of them. I’d guess at least a dozen.’

‘A large party! Your warning may have saved us all. Thank you, Nolita.’

Tears welled in Nolita’s eyes. Firestorm’s voice had sounded proud. It had been a long time since anyone had been proud of anything she had done. She should feel unclean after
speaking to the dragon, but for once the instinct to wash did not touch her, and the sense of freedom this brought felt wonderful.

Husam crept forwards, spear at the ready. The hulking shadow of Tembo to his right calmed some of his jitters. The big man’s presence had always given him comfort. Husam
had looked forward to this attack with excited anticipation, but now the moment was approaching, he could not shake off the bad feelings that haunted his conscience.

To reach this valley had taken three weeks of the most gruelling travel that Husam had ever known. Kasau had pushed the party relentlessly, to the point where Husam suspected the strange man had
become obsessed beyond reason. Several of the party had given up and turned aside, unable to cope with the punishing pace. Kasau had let them go without a word. The remaining hunters had ridden
halfway across one continent, sailed over a sea and penetrated deep into a second. Aside from the sea voyage, which had lasted two days, Husam had enjoyed no more than a couple of hours’ rest
each day. He felt tired, but the adrenaline flowing through his body as the hunt neared its conclusion heightened his senses, giving him a feeling of alertness that he hoped was not false.

How Kasau had tracked the dawn dragon here was still a mystery. However, the strange hunter appeared to have a sixth sense when it came to dragons. If he said the dawn dragon was here, then
Husam would not question him. Kasau had proved his abilities on more than one occasion.

A sudden noise caused Husam to look up. A dragon was getting airborne. The unmistakable sound of huge wingbeats caused his heart to leap. Had the dragons detected their presence? Had they
travelled all this way only to have their prey escape at the last moment? No. He could only hear a single set of wingbeats. Squinting, he could just make out the dark outline of another dragon
ahead.

He paused, looking down the line to his left to see if Kasau would relay instructions. A few heartbeats later the man to his left gave a series of exaggerated hand signals. The light from the
moons and stars was plenty for him to be able to see and interpret the signals. ‘Target ahead. Continue.’

So the dawn dragon is still on the ground, he thought. Even if we lose the dusk dragon through bad timing, the dawn dragon is the kill of choice.

A stream cut across the meadow in front of him. The water was not wide or deep, but it had eroded a steep-sided course across the field, the banks of which were about as deep as the average man
was tall. Taking care not to make any noise, he slipped silently down the bank to the water’s edge. It was easy enough to cross silently, though he did hear a slight splash to his right. It
was Tembo. He had jumped the stream comfortably, but where he had landed was slick with moisture and one of his feet had slipped back into the water. Given Kasau’s obsession with this hunt it
was probably a good thing that Tembo was out towards the end of the line. He winced. Had the big man been closer to Kasau, their leader might have killed him for his error.

As he eased up the far bank of the stream, Husam could clearly see the outline of their target ahead. A quick glance to right and left revealed that the line was reforming at the top of the
bank. This was it.

It took a moment or two for the stragglers to get to the top of the bank. Kneeling, he waited for the final signal. The man to his left raised a hand. He raised his left in an imitation of the
signal and glanced right to make sure Tembo was similarly poised. To his left the man’s hand dropped and he began to move forwards swiftly and silently as the final charge began. Husam
dropped his hand and was up and running a split heartbeat later, but as he leaped forward his doubts suddenly swelled within him like an abscess, the pressure building rapidly until it threatened
to burst.

A huge roar split the air as the dragon sensed their approach and the dawn dragon’s outline suddenly began to glow with rapidly increasing brilliance. Back in Racafi, the hunters who had
been unfortunate enough to look at the dawn dragon when she had done this before had seen spots before their eyes for days afterwards. Some still complained of blind areas in their vision now.
Husam had no intention of letting the dragon damage his eyesight, so he lowered his eyes to focus on the ground directly in front of him. He found the light from the dawn dragon was actually
helpful, as he could see every lump and bump in the ground ahead.

‘Throw!’
the call from Kasau was loud and filled with triumph. Husam drew his arm back, and squinting into the now brilliant light, he hurled his spear with all his might
towards the body of the dragon. A rapid series of grunts from either side of him told him that the rest of the hunters had likewise loosed their weapons.

There was a breathless pause for no more than a heartbeat before chaos erupted. The light from the dawn dragon suddenly dimmed to a bearable level. Simultaneously a monstrous jet of flame
erupted, seemingly from the body of the dawn dragon, to consume the flight of hurled spears. All the weapons had wooden shafts tipped with dragonhorn except that of Kasau, which was made totally
from dragonhorn, tip and shaft. There was little short of molten lava that could melt dragonbone, but the shafts of the majority of the weapons disintegrated in an instant within that flaming
inferno, leaving the tips to fall harmlessly short. The only weapon that sailed on in a deadly arc was Kasau’s.

Husam, shielding his eyes against the flare of fire, followed its flight. He held his breath as it dived towards its target, but just as he thought it must strike home, the dawn dragon’s
tail whipped around and swatted it aside with immaculate timing. For a moment he was stunned. He froze, unable to move as his mind tried to grapple with what had just happened.

The dawn dragon roared again; a deafening bellow of defiance as she turned to face the hunters. To Husam’s amazement, from behind her arose the shape of a second dragon that strutted
around to stand alongside her. Lifting its head, this second dragon also roared with fury. Suddenly all became clear. This was not the dusk dragon they had met earlier, but a day dragon –
proud, strong and full of wrathful fire.

‘Gods!’ Husam exclaimed. The potential presence of a day dragon had never entered their thinking when they had discussed how they would strike.

The two dragons were beautiful, yet terrifying. Hunters normally killed them through stealth, but the element of surprise had been lost here. Husam knew it took a brave or foolish hunter to
assault an alert and angry dragon.

In the light of the dawn dragon’s glowing scales, every ridge and horn on the two creatures seemed sharper, larger and more deadly. The day dragon opened its jaws again, drawing in a deep
breath. Its huge teeth gleamed ivory white for a moment before its head whipped forwards on its long neck, spewing a new jet of deadly flame across the meadow. It twisted its head from side to
side, spraying the flames back and forth. The fire reflected in the great eyes of both dragons gave them an almost demonic appearance in the flickering light.

Although the flames fell short of the hunters, Husam was forced to turn away as the wave of heat struck him like a giant hammer. He dropped into a crouch, choking on the smoke and fumes. His
hands rose automatically to protect his face as his shirt rapidly became hot against his back. He cried out in pain as he began to feel his skin cook. Billowing smoke and terrified yells filled the
air and for a moment he thought he would bake where he crouched. Suddenly the punishing blast of heat stopped and Husam struggled upright in readiness to run.

A sudden movement caught his eye. It was Kasau. To Husam’s amazement, even as the day dragon drew another breath, the hunter sprinted forwards through the writhing coils of smoke with a
dragonbone blade in his hand. Those hunters not already running away were rooted where they stood. What did Kasau think he was doing? To attack two alert dragons alone and from a position of
weakness was suicide.

A sudden roar from a different quarter struck such fear into Husam that his throat seemed to seize and his stomach knotted as he spun to face this new threat. The dusk dragon they thought had
flown away was charging to attack the line of hunters from the right flank.

But if the dusk dragon is here, then what dragon did we see take off earlier? he thought. There were all together too many dragons. The attack had failed and if they were to escape with their
lives, then they needed to run like they had never run before.

‘Tembo! Run! Now!’ he yelled, turning towards the big man and grabbing his arm as he launched into a sprint. Tembo did not need any further encouragement. Together they pelted back
across the meadow, reaching the stream in quick time.