Gates of Ruin (Magelands Eternal Siege, #6) Christopher Mitchell (classic reads .txt) 📖

extent of the approaching fires became apparent. To the north, half a dozen distinct pillars of smoke could be seen, and flames were visible, licking the upper branches. The fires to the east and west hadn’t grown as large, but they were getting bigger, and more smoke was starting to appear from the south, cutting them off.

‘We need to leave,’ she called out to Kelsey, who was still in the bottom of the hollow. ‘Grab everything.’

She raced back down the slope and began to gather their things, as Kelsey watched her.

‘We’re being surrounded,’ said Aila. ‘They must have discovered the lair’s location. The fires to the south are still sparse; if we run, we might be able to get through that way.’

Kelsey turned to the south. There was no sign of smoke from the bottom of the hollow, and she frowned.

‘Trust me,’ said Aila, swinging their bag over her shoulder and taking hold of Kelsey’s arm. ‘Move.’

‘What about Frostback?’ said Kelsey, standing her ground. ‘If we run, we’ll get lost in the forest, and she won’t be able to find us. And anyway, I’d rather burn than starve.’

‘What?’

‘I’ve told you, Aila; I can’t go through that again; the thought of starving to death in the forest terrifies me.’

‘Is that why you want to stay here? You’re worried you’ll starve if we leave?’

‘You don’t understand, do you? You didn’t even come close to dying, but I felt it. Day after day of nothing to eat, it was turning me into a different person. I won’t go through that again.’

‘What about me? You’re right that it would take a long time for me to die of starvation, but fire will kill me, and my child; Corthie’s child. I can’t take that risk, Kelsey.’

Kelsey said nothing, her gaze on the ground.

‘I don’t want to leave you here,’ said Aila; ‘please.’

‘Pyre’s arse,’ Kelsey muttered; ‘alright.’

They were about to move along the side of the slope when three soldiers burst through the undergrowth, crossbows in their arms.

‘Halt!’ cried one. ‘Where is the dragon?’

Aila lifted her hands in the air. ‘It flew off; it’s gone.’

The three men walked forward, keeping their weapons trained on the two women. All around the hollow, smoke was billowing up into the sky, but no flames were yet visible.

‘Were you the dragon’s prisoners?’ said one of the soldiers. ‘Was it holding you hostage?’

‘Yes,’ said Aila, before Kelsey had a chance to contradict her.

The three soldiers relaxed a little, but continued to gaze around the lair. A shadow flitted overhead, and then a burst of fire exploded by the edge of the hollow, aimed at the three men. They dropped their crossbows, screaming as the inferno consumed them. Aila cried out in fright, and fell backwards in her haste to get away from the flames. She was about to hit the ground when something took hold of her and she felt herself lifted into the air. She glanced down, and saw a thick, scaled forelimb gripping her, the claws enveloping her chest and waist. She struggled for a moment, and caught a glimpse of the ground as it got further away. Fires were almost completely surrounding the hollow, and beyond them, dozens of soldiers were staring up.

A yard-long steel bolt sped through the air, and Frostback twisted, her long silver body darting out of the way. The dragon put on a surge of speed, and raced south over the forest, keeping only a yard or two above the tops of the trees. They passed the ring of flames and hurtled onwards.

Aila panted and shivered as the wind lashed her. She closed her eyes to stop them streaming and tried not to think about what would happen if the dragon dropped her. Her fingers were gripping onto the scales of the forelimb, while her legs were flailing about. She felt the branches of a tree hit her feet, and she yelled in pain, her voice lost to the rushing wind.

Her thoughts emptied of everything as she tried to shut out the wind, the noise, and the pain in her waist from where a claw was digging into her, and then, in an instant, it was over, and she was released onto a wide stone ledge. She groaned and opened her eyes. Her vision swam for a moment, then she realised that she was near the summit of what passed for a hill in the forests of Northern Kinell. Ahead of her, the trees seemed to go forever, and the smoke from the fires by the hollow was nothing but a tiny wisp on the horizon. She turned to her right, and saw Kelsey crouching next to her.

‘That was amazing,’ said the young Holdfast woman. ‘Thank you, Frostback.’

‘I had to drop my goat to save you,’ the dragon said.

Aila glanced up, and saw Frostback’s head above her, looking down at the two women. The dragon was sitting at the rear of the ledge, where a dark cave led away.

‘Where are we?’ said Aila.

‘We are twenty miles further to the south,’ said the dragon. ‘Why did they do that? Why are they hunting me? You told me that soldiers were coming, but I scarcely believed it; do they hate dragons so much?’

‘You were in their way,’ said Kelsey.

‘And didn’t you kill someone?’ said Aila.

Frostback stared at her.

‘That’s what we were told back in the camp,’ said Aila. ‘We heard you killed someone.’

‘He walked right into my lair while I was sleeping,’ said the dragon. ‘I reacted in the same way I would have reacted in the Catacombs, and raised my claws to defend myself. I didn’t deliberately tear him to shreds, and I even returned the body to his comrades. It is true that I detest insects, but with so many of them employed in cutting down the forest, it was not my wish to antagonise them.’

Aila frowned. ‘And now you’ve killed another three.’

‘They were threatening you, and despite your lack of worth, you are officially under my protection. It would sully my honour if