Firestorm

by Mark Robson

  Pell burst out laughing. To Elian and Kira his laughter sounded cruel.

  ‘This isn’t funny,’ Elian said, with cold frankness, forcing himself to contain his irritation within a mental wall of ice. ‘Nolita had to face something that terrified her to get here today. Are you as brave?’

  ‘I fear nothing,’ Pell said, glaring at Elian with anger in his eyes as if the mere suggestion that he might suffer fear was a deadly insult.

  ‘Only a fool fears nothing,’ Kira retorted quickly. ‘Even the bravest hunter is scared sometimes. It’s his ability to turn fears into strengths that makes him brave.’

  Elian ground his teeth with frustration. Kira seemed set on antagonising Pell with every sentence. It did not take the wisdom of a dragon to see that the label of ‘fool’ would not sit well with him. Without care, their fragile pact would be destroyed before they had begun. To his surprise, however, Pell did not rise to the bait this time. Instead he fixed Kira with his icy eyes and stared. If Kira was intimidated she did not show it.

  ‘Listen!’ Elian said firmly. ‘We all have our differences. Live with it. All this arguing isn’t getting us anywhere.’ With a flash of surprised insight he recognised some of his father’s inflections in his speech. ‘Kira, I know you’re skilled at woodcraft. If Pell and I collect the makings of a shelter, can you begin clearing a suitable site and start building with what we bring you? Nolita can start collecting firewood and I’ll ask Ra to coordinate a hunt. I’m sure the dragons will be able to bring us plenty of fresh meat.’

  With clear tasks to perform, the group worked quickly and efficiently. Pell and Elian began by finding and stripping straight branches to build a framework for the shelter. Kira scouted the area until she found a suitably flat space between two trees and not too far from the stream. Pell brought a long, straight branch that proved perfect to form the main supporting bar. This she lashed horizontally between the two trees at waist height. Then she sorted the rest of the branches and trimmed them to appropriate lengths with her belt knife.

  Over the next hour she constructed a lattice framework between the crossbar and the ground that formed a one-sided roof, leaving a wedge-shaped shelter underneath. With the framework complete, the four young people set to collecting ferns and large leaves. These they placed in overlapping layers, all pointing tip downwards, over the framework. Layer upon layer went on until not the slightest glimmer of light could be seen through it from beneath. Then they collected more ferns and bracken and piled the fronds in a thick carpet inside the shelter to act as an insulating layer between their bodies and the ground.

  The shelter took almost half a day to complete. Once finished, Pell and Elian stacked the firewood that Nolita had collected and supplemented it with larger branches, too large for her to manage alone. Kira also found several sources of dry tinder. When she was satisfied that they had plenty of wood on hand to sustain the fire through the evening, she lit the fire and set a pot of water to boil.

  By this time it was late afternoon and they relaxed for a while in silence. They watched the dancing flames and listened to the crackling of the wood, all thinking through the words of the Oracle and trying to decipher them.

  A whoosh of air overhead heralded the return of the dragons. To Pell’s obvious pleasure, it was Shadow who deposited a sheep at the edge of the trees. Pell and Elian worked together to butcher the carcass, removing the best cuts. If they had cured it, there would have been enough meat to last more than a week, but they took only enough for the next couple of days. Shadow obligingly finished off the remains, bones and all.

  Later, sitting around the fire with full stomachs as dusk faded into night, they discussed the meaning of the Oracle’s riddles.

  ‘Well I’d say the first verse sets the scene and gives us a sort of summary of our task,’ Kira offered. ‘Listen:

  ‘Beyond time’s bright arrow, life-saving breath,

  ‘Love’s life-force giving, slays final death.

  ‘I might be wrong, but it just seems to say that we’re supposed to “slay the final death” of the Oracle. What do you think? It would be good to hear the dragons’ thoughts on it too.’

  Nolita shivered at the suggestion and sat with her arms crossed, rocking gently and hugging herself. Heartbeats passed silently, but no one had anything to add.

  ‘Ra suggests that “Love’s life-force giving,” could be to do with us accepting the Oracle’s task. You know, that it’s our life purpose,’ Elian offered eventually.

  ‘That makes sense,’ Pell replied. ‘Of course the next two lines are easy,’ he continued quickly.

  ‘Orbs must be given, four all in all.

  ‘Orbs to renew me, stilling death’s call.

  ‘Our task is to find the four Orbs and give them to the Oracle. This will somehow stop it from dying.’

  ‘Genius,’ Kira muttered, rolling her eyes.

  ‘Kira! Don’t start again. Remember the Oracle said if we don’t work together we’ll fail,’ Elian warned. ‘So there are four orbs – does anyone have any clues as to what the orbs are like? What are we looking for?’

  ‘Well there are four following verses and each seems to talk about a different orb,’ Kira offered. ‘Each orb looks like it’s linked to one of the four breeds of dragon in the order day, night, dusk and dawn.’

  This time it was Pell who rolled his eyes in an exaggerated imitation of Kira.

  Elian ignored him. ‘Agreed,’ he said. ‘Let’s try to make sense of the first. Delve ’neath the surface, life’s transport hides. Does anyone understand that? It doesn’t mean much to me.’

  ‘Delve ’neath the surface sounds like it might be talking about caves, or mines,’ Pell suggested. ‘Delving makes me think of digging deep underground. And life’s transport could be a dragon, or dragons. We are dragonriders, after all. Our transport for the rest of our lives will be dragons. I was taught that dragons hatch in caves and live underground for some time before setting off into the world on their journeys.’

  Kira pursed her lips and her eyebrows drew together in a frown as she considered his interpretation. ‘So you think there might be a dragon somewhere in a deep cave who’s guarding the first orb?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I’m just trying to guess at some possible meanings. Do you have a better idea?’ he asked, leaning back on one arm whilst casually spearing another piece of meat with his knife. His eyes held an unspoken challenge as he waited for her response.

  ‘No, I don’t, but something about it being a dragon in a cave doesn’t ring true,’ she said eventually.

  ‘Of course not,’ Pell scoffed. ‘It was my suggestion. Admit it, Kira, you don’t want me to be right.’

  ‘Offal!’ she snapped. ‘Even if that was true, I’m not fool enough to push aside the right answer just because I don’t like it.’

  Elian sighed loudly. ‘For goodness’ sake, will you two cut it out! Nolita, do you have any ideas?’

  The blond girl shook her head quickly. She remained staring into the flames and rocking back and forth, her knuckles white where they gripped her sides.

  ‘All right, if no one’s got any more ideas on those lines,’ Pell said, seizing the initiative, ‘let’s go on: Healing, restoring – bright river tides. Any ideas on this? I reckon the first two words probably describe the effect of the orb on the Oracle, but bright river tides? What’s that all about?’

  No one had anything to offer.

  ‘What about the next line then?’ Pell started, but whatever he was going to say next went unsaid as a wail of anguish broke from Nolita’s lips.

  ‘Nooooooo!’

  ‘What’s the matter, Nolita? What’s the matter?’ Elian asked urgently.

  Kira leaned to place a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder, but Nolita shrugged it away. ‘Don’t touch me!’ she snarled. ‘Stay away from me. This can’t be happening. It can’t be true.’

  ‘What can’t be true, Nolita?’ Elian persisted gently. ‘What’s wrong?’
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br />   ‘It’s Fire— the voice of the beast in my head,’ she sobbed, almost naming her dragon for the first time in her distress. ‘It says it knows what the next two lines mean. It says they relate to me. It’s a lie! It has to be!’ With that she staggered to her feet, stumbled away from the fire and ran off into the darkness weeping bitterly.

  ‘Let her go,’ Elian said, restraining Pell as he moved to follow her. ‘She won’t run far, and Firestorm can always find her for us when we need to leave. Ra, could you ask Firestorm what he told her, please?’

  ‘Of course, Elian.’ There was a pause. ‘Ah, it’s no wonder that Nolita is upset,’ she said a moment later. ‘Enter the sun’s steps; shed no more tears. Attain ye the orb; vanquish the fears. Firestorm tells me there’s a special chamber at the enclave of the day dragons called the Sun’s Steps. He feels the lines are a personal message to Nolita. If so, then the task of attaining the day orb is to be hers, but in order to attain the orb she’ll have to stop crying and overcome her fears.’

  Elian related Firestorm’s words to the others.

  ‘This Sun’s Steps cavern wouldn’t happen to be the home of a dragon by any chance?’ Pell asked, glancing across at Kira with a distinctly smug expression.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Elian replied, ‘but there’s only one sure way to find out.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  Breaking Point

  ‘I’m not coming,’ Pell stated.

  Elian and Kira looked first at Pell, and then at one another. For a moment Elian thought he must have misheard what Pell had said, but as his memory played back the words he realised he had heard correctly.

  ‘Why on Areth not?’ he asked. ‘We’re supposed to work together, aren’t we?’

  ‘Work together, yes, but that doesn’t mean we have to travel together. Me and Shadow wouldn’t be welcome at the day dragon enclave. There’s always been trouble between day and night dragons. If we came, who knows what might happen? We’re not going to risk it. We’d be foolish to try. And despite what you might think, Kira, I’m no fool.’

  ‘Frightened, are we?’ Kira asked, her voice carrying a taunting edge that made Elian throw his hands in the air with frustration.

  ‘I told you, Kira, I’m not afraid of anything,’ Pell retorted angrily. ‘It’s not about fear. It’s about common sense. Go to the chamber. Get the orb with Nolita. I’ll start looking for the night orb. Nolita’s going to need your help to complete her part of the quest. I’m going find the brave ones at the enclave of the night dragons and see what they can tell me about the night orb.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s what the lines in the third verse mean?’ Elian asked, his voice laced with doubt. ‘No offence, but I would have thought the brave ones were the day dragons.’

  ‘Ha! And I suppose you’ll hold up Nolita as proof of this?’ Pell scoffed.

  A deafening roar from one of the nearby dragons made all three riders jump.

  ‘What’s going on? What’s wrong?’ Elian asked Ra in a flash.

  ‘Firestorm is letting Pell know that he disapproves of anyone slurring his rider. He stands ready to defend her.’

  ‘Well tell him to back down. Pell doesn’t understand Nolita. He’s tactless, but I don’t think he’s out to start a fight,’ Elian projected. ‘It’s not good to speak badly of a dragonrider when her dragon’s around, Pell,’ he continued aloud. ‘Firestorm might not be as big as Shadow, but I wouldn’t like to see what he could do if he became really angry.’

  A flash of doubt passed across Pell’s face, but he was quick to regain his composure after a rapid mental exchange with his dragon.

  ‘Shadow’s not afraid of Firestorm,’ he said. ‘Nor am I. We’ll leave in the morning. I expect to return to the Oracle with the night orb within the fortnight.’

  ‘What about the first line of that verse, Pell?’ Kira asked. ‘The lines seem full of hidden meanings, but I don’t like the sound of death brings me life. Whatever the rest of the third verse means, I’ve got a bad feeling about that phrase. I think it would be safer to look for one orb at a time. A quest like this sounds great – full of excitement and adventure. The thing is, in lots of the quest stories I’ve heard, people die. It doesn’t matter what we think of one another. We’ve all got different strengths and weaknesses. If we work together, we’ll stand a better chance of getting through this thing alive.’

  ‘I agree,’ Elian said. ‘I don’t like the idea of splitting up. How would we know if you failed? We could end up wasting time trying to find you.’

  ‘That’s offal, and you know it!’ Pell responded, his stance defensive and set. ‘Whoever gets back to the Oracle first can leave a message for the others. If the Oracle won’t relay it, then the Guardians will. I’m not going to the enclave of the day dragons and that’s final. I suggest you worry about how to help Nolita get brave enough to beat her fears. From what I’ve seen, it won’t be easy.’

  Nolita ran from the campfire and into the forest, but she had not gone more than fifty paces before new fears assaulted her. It was dark under the trees – very dark. There were strange noises and smells that ignited her imagination with thoughts of stalking predators and unknown dangers lurking behind every tree. She stopped. Her heart hammered. When she turned she could see the glow of the campfire, warm and friendly. To go much further would mean being blind and alone. It would be easy to get lost.

  She sank down against the trunk of a tree and began to cry. Tears streamed down her face as deep sobs of misery shook her to the core. She so wanted to be brave like her brother Balard, who would have made a fine dragonrider, or her sister, Sable, who seemed as fearless as Nolita was fearful. Why was she cursed with being different? It was so unfair.

  The Oracle had conveyed its trust in her during the moment it had held her in its gaze. She had felt its faith course through her and for that short time she had felt as if she could face anything. Now, however, that feeling had long gone and she felt small, alone and vulnerable again. The weight of the Oracle’s charge hung heavy on her heart. She felt neither worthy of its trust, nor capable of seeing the quest through.

  Three times now she had ridden on a dragon’s back. Despite her fears, and the turbulent conditions, no harm had come to her. Why was she still terrified?

  Just thinking about flying brought to mind the sensation of touching the dragon’s scales. Suddenly she felt unclean again. The instinct to wash her hands was overwhelming. The stream was the other side of the campsite, but if she moved carefully, she could reach it without alerting the others to her presence.

  The beast would know, of course. She could feel its presence in her head. It seemed to be there constantly, lurking in the dark recesses of her mind. Would it tell the others? If they came after her she would run. She desperately needed to be alone. It had been bad enough when she had been on the run from the beast. Now she had to cope with the added pressure of this strange quest.

  The others seemed so perfectly suited to this sort of thing. Elian, with his obvious hunger for adventure and his love of flying, was in his element. Kira was tough and at home in the wild. She was so fierce at times that Nolita was sure lions would run if they saw her coming. Then there was Pell: tall and strong, calm and self-confident. Why then was it her destiny to face the Oracle’s first challenge? If this was the Creator’s will, He had a sick sense of humour.

  ‘Mother and Father would have a fit if they knew you were thinking such blasphemy, Nolita,’ she chided herself. ‘Come on. Pull yourself together.’

  Dashing the tears from her cheeks, she climbed back to her feet and leaned against the tree to gather her composure. Steadier in mind and body, she skirted around the campsite and headed down towards the stream.

  It took a little while, but she moved so silently that the others were not aware of her. The beasts were all some distance away and were unlikely to bother her until the riders were ready to leave in the morning.

  Plunging her hands into the cold, clear water was bliss and sh
e could feel her body relaxing as soon as she began the familiar ritual. Nolita set to scrubbing her hands vigorously, taking care to avoid making any noise. As she washed, her thoughts drifted back to the moment when the Oracle held her in its gaze and she had felt brave enough to face any danger. Was it possible? Could the Oracle have furnished her with a hidden measure of bravery? If so, how could she access it?

  Dipping her hands back into the cold mountain stream, she suddenly noticed the silvery reflection of the great moon shimmering on the surface of the water. It had been there all along, but she had been too preoccupied to notice. The sky was totally clear of cloud. The two minor moons and the stars burned with breathtaking brilliance. Awestruck, she reclined on the bank and gazed up into the infinite depths of space, lost in wonder at the vast number of stars lighting the heavens.

  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.