Firestorm by Mark Robson Page A

Oracle. I was three days from home when Aurora called for help. I was surprised when Fang agreed. All he’d talked about was
getting to the Oracle quickly, yet as soon as Aurora called he insisted we come.’
    Elian felt her accusatory gaze burning into him, but he did not want to show further weakness by looking away. Chance had brought them together. They were both facing similar challenges.
A
difficulty shared is more easily overcome,
his mother had always said. But above all, he needed a friend now he was a long way from home.
    Kira seemed full of fearless bravery and fiery, passionate emotion. Her feistiness and strength of character made the girls from his village seem meek by comparison. If he could win her
friendship, she would prove a useful ally.
    ‘We could travel together for a while, if you like,’ he offered, working hard to keep his voice mellow and determinedly ignoring her hostility. ‘Ra and I were also on our way
to see the Oracle when the hunters trapped me. Maybe we should share what we know.’
    ‘Really? Has Ra told you anything about the Oracle?’ she asked, her curiosity tweaked. ‘Do you know what it is?’
    ‘Ra did tell me a little. From what I understand, the Oracle is some sort of dragon spirit. When we meet it, the Oracle will give her – us – a mission. Apparently Ra has been
preparing for this mission all her life. Once we complete it, Ra can live out the rest of her life feeling fulfilled. I imagine it’ll be the same for Fang. Does that make any
sense?’
    His explanation took some of the anger from Kira’s eyes. He could almost see the thought processes whirling through her mind.
    ‘Yes, I think it does. But what will we do then? What are we supposed to do when this life mission is complete?’ she asked, her tone still sour.
    ‘I don’t know,’ Elian admitted. ‘I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I intend to concentrate on one thing at a time. Get the mission out of the way,
then—’
    ‘Of course, we have to
reach
the Oracle first,’ Kira snapped. She looked down meaningfully and Elian automatically followed her gaze to the spear. ‘He’s bleeding
badly and the effort of carrying two is tiring him fast. We’ll have to land soon.’
    ‘If we could just find some broadleaf rockcrop,’ Elian said thoughtfully. ‘The juice of the leaves helps stop bleeding. It works with people, so I assume it’ll work with
dragons. If we can find something to numb the pain as well . . .’
    ‘Broadleaf rockcrop?’ she asked. ‘What does it look like?’
    ‘At this height, we’d never spot it. When we land I’ll take Ra and look for some. It’s a common plant and it’s a good time of year for it. We should be able to find
it.
    ‘
Ra, are you familiar with this plant?’
    Elian did his best to conjure up as vivid an image as he could in his mind.
    ‘Dragons have little time for plant life, Elian,’
Ra replied, sounding genuinely insulted by his suggestion. ‘
I might take a second glance at a large bush if I
thought it was concealing prey, but I generally leave the green stuff for those at the lower end of the food chain.’
    Elian smiled at her phrasing, but discarded any thoughts of sending her down to low level to search on her own. He did not want to upset her. Instead he concentrated on looking ahead at the
landscape.
    Ideally, he would love to have seen a natural barrier like the Haleen Rift Valley with its great escarpment to put between them and the hunters, but the land ahead was flat, open savannah. There
were the purple hints of mountains in the far distance to their right, but Fang was in no fit state to fly so far.
    The brave dragon flew on for over two hours before beginning his descent. Ra had spotted a water hole ahead, and told Fang to land. She judged they had travelled far enough to render another
attack unlikely today.
    Side by side, the dragons descended in a shallow glide and landed near the water’s edge. There were a few scrubby