Page 109 of Spark of Sorcery

I snap my gaze back to the little dragon and run his way, leaping over logs and ducking under branches.

When I reach him, he leaps up at my face to lick me and spins somersaults in front of my eyes, panting with excitement.

The footsteps are louder now, pounding the ground. Many of them running in my direction.

I have a split-second decision to make.

“Blaze,” I say, “you need to fly away and hide.” The little dragon stares at me with his big round golden eyes. “Blaze!” I say, with more urgency, “you need to go hide.” I push at him but he doesn’t move, just hovers in place. “Blaze!” I snap more aggressively, making him flinch away from me. “You need to go hide NOW! I’ll come find you later I promise. GO!” I yell.

The little dragon dips his head and whines pathetically.

“It’s for your own good,” I tell him. I try to push at him again but all that achieves is the little dragon licking at my hands.

Real fear bubbles in my gut. I don’t know if these people mean me harm – although I strongly suspect they do – but, regardless, if they find Blaze I don’t know what will happen to him – except that he’ll most definitely be snatched from my care.

“Please, Blaze,” I beg, “please just go! Go hide!”

I point my hand out towards the forest.

He looks at me again with a big soggy, clueless grin on his face. Should I snatch him from the air and hide him in my coat?

But whoever is coming would find him before I’d even buttoned up my coat.

Desperately, I scrabble at my feet, finding a stick and two big stones.

“Blaze,” I say, “I don’t want you here. Go away! Go away now!”

I throw a stone in his direction. He dodges it, panting like this is the best game ever. But I throw the second one in quick succession and the stick right after. The second stonehits him smack in the chest and the stick whacks one of his wings.

He whimpers, then whines again, looking at me like he doesn’t understand.

I pick up another handful of stones, lifting them to my shoulder in a threatening manner. “Go on, get!” I yell, in an aggressive voice.

He blinks at me, his eyes full of a sadness that makes my heart crack. Then, as the torch swings through the air and the ground beneath my feet seems to shake, Blaze spins in the air and darts off through the trees. I watch him go until he’s out of sight, trying to memorize the direction, praying he’ll stay hidden, praying even harder he knows that I love him, that I didn’t mean to hurt him.

There’s no time for me to run now, I reach for my pocket and the collar, but I’m not wearing my skirt. I don’t have it with me.

I am going to have to stand my ground and face whoever is coming. And I’m going to have to do it alone.

I turn slowly around as the pounding footsteps slow and the torch burns right into my face.

I hold my hand up, trying to shield my eyes and see who is there, but it’s no use. I’m blinded and they are hidden in the darkness.

“Who’s there?” I call out, clutching the handful of stones – my only weapon. “And what do you want?”

“What we want, Slate scum,” says a muffled voice, “is to teach you a lesson.”

“Is that wise?” I say, trying to calm my voice and keep my face neutral. “The Princes have said that if anyone–”

I don’t finish my words. Something large and heavy swings through the air. I catch sight of it too late, no time to duck or jump away or even throw my stones. It smacks meacross the side of the skull and I tumble straight down onto the floor, the world spinning and my skull screaming with pain.

There’s no time to catch my breath before the blows and the kicks start. The torch shines in my eyes, blinding me completely, and I have no warning of where they are coming from or when. All I can do is curl myself up into a ball, wrap my arms around my head, and attempt to protect myself from the worst of it.

I’m kicked in the stomach, punched in the ribs. Someone spits in my face and another stamps on my head.

The pain is sharp and brutal and I dissociate, removing myself from this world and this pain and accepting the darkness with open arms.

Chapter Forty-One