Free Firestorm by Mark Robson

won’t be long now,’ he said, his soft voice tight with suppressed excitement.
    ‘I hope you rot in hell!’ Elian responded, spitting at the man’s back as he turned to follow his men towards the eastern edge of the woods.
    Kasau did not look back. Within a few heartbeats he was gone, leaving Elian all alone next to the smouldering fire pit. ‘Why haven’t the dragon-hunters left a guard?’ he
wondered aloud. ‘Because I’ve already served my purpose,’ he breathed. ‘Ra’s back and I haven’t managed to get loose. They’re right. Why should I suddenly
be able to get away now?’
    ‘Because you have help,’ whispered a voice right next to his ear.
    Elian nearly jumped out of his skin. ‘Who—?’
    ‘Shh!’
    It was a girl! Who was she, and why was she helping him? He felt the cord tying his wrists to his ankles part with a jerk and he stretched out his legs, luxuriating in the relative freedom. She
cut the cords binding his wrists next, followed swiftly by those around his ankles. Within a matter of heartbeats he was free, but he could not move.
    ‘Come on! Quickly! We’ve got to get out of here!’ she urged.
    ‘I can’t. My feet are numb, and my legs are cramping. I don’t think I can walk,’ he replied, deeply shamed by his weakness.
    ‘Here, take my arm,’ she offered. ‘I’ll try to support you, but we have to move now. Aurora won’t be able to buy us much time.’
    ‘How do you know Aurora’s name? Who are you?’
    ‘I’m Kira; and my dragon, Longfang, told me. No more questions. There’ll be time for that later. Come. We must go.’
    She was a dragonrider! Elian grabbed his fur-lined gear, which was in a convenient pile within arm’s reach. He shoved the hat on his head, fumbled the jacket on, stuffed the gloves
clumsily into the jacket pockets, tucked the trousers under his right arm and slung his pack over his shoulder. There was no sign of his sword anywhere, but while having a weapon might have brought
comfort, he knew nothing of fighting with a blade. If the hunters found him holding a sword they would be more likely to kill him. He was better off without it, he decided.
    The blood was returning to his hands and feet, and the pain it brought with it was excruciating. Kira dragged him to his feet, pulling his left arm around her shoulders and tucking her right arm
around his waist. Without her support he would have collapsed in an instant.
    In the shadowy half-light, Elian could see she was almost as tall as he was; slim, but with surprising strength for one with such a slight build.
    ‘Come on! Come on!’ she whispered through gritted teeth, as she all but carried him off into the trees. From what he could tell they were moving just north of westwards.
    Elian did his best to comply. Behind them Ra roared a challenge from some distance to the east of the woods. With the racket she was making, it would be hard for the dragonhunters to ignore
her.
    ‘Whatever you do, don’t look back,’ Kira warned.
    ‘What about the traps?’
    ‘Let me worry about those. I know where they are. Fang is waiting for us just beyond the western edge of the trees.’
    With feeling returning to his extremities and the pain receding with every stride, Elian progressively leaned less on Kira. His hands and feet felt as if they were being repeatedly pricked with
a million needles whilst roasting in a hot oven, but he knew the sensation would pass. By the time they reached the outer edge of the woods the worst of it was over, but to Elian’s dismay
Kira’s dragon was nowhere to be seen.
    A sudden bright flare from behind lit the countryside around them with an extraordinary golden light. Cries of wonder from the dragonhunters quickly turned to yowls of dismay and pain. Elian
began to turn, but Kira stopped him.
    ‘Don’t look. If you do, you won’t be able to see properly for a long time. Come on. Let’s get out of here. Give me a moment and I’ll give you a hand up.’
    She unhooked