The Flame Dragon Read Online Free Page A

shards slicing through the air. The floor shook with energy. This was Quinn’s moment; his aunt was giving him a chance.
    ‘Now!’ Marta yelled to Quinn. ‘Run!’

CHAPTER 4
UP IN FLAMES
    Quinn hit the back door with his shoulder and barged it open. He stumbled through, put his head down and ran.
    Behind him, he heard Goric roar in anger and something smash inside the cottage as he took out his fury on their furniture. If Quinn could get to the forest, he could hide and he would be safe. The Guard wouldn’t chase him in; it was too tangled and dark, and everyone knew there were things in there that you didn’t want to mess with. Then he could go back for Marta.
    The door smashed off its hinges behind Quinn, and Goric pushed his way out.
    ‘Stop him!’ the Captain of the Guard yelled.
    Quinn couldn’t let that happen. He sprinted across the yard, legs pumping. He pushed his hair away from his eyes to clear his sight, and only just in time. One of the guards loomed up in front of him. Quinn darted around him, but his foot slipped and he almost fell. He pushed himself up and ran on.
    Just another hundred yards, he thought, and I’ll be free!
    He put on a burst of speed.
    Quinn saw two enormous black figures step out from behind a neighbouring house. He tried to dodge them, but he was running too fast. One of the guards caught him by his arm, spun him around and threw him to the ground. The breath exploded out of Quinn’s chest. His head swam as his skull bounced off the hard earth, dirt clouding his vision.
    Before he could even blink his eyes clear, the guard had hauled him up. Quinn struggled, butthe other guard smacked him around the head. Quinn felt suddenly sick.
    ‘Stop struggling or I’ll do more than bruise your head,’ the guard growled.
    Quinn let out a cry as the first guard twisted his arm behind his back. He recognised him as Jarin, the one who’d mocked him the day before.
    The other guard grabbed his arm – Rowena . Together, they dragged him back to the cottage. As they reached it, Quinn saw Goric emerge. The captain’s face was still red with anger, and he was hauling Marta behind him like a sack of turnips. She looked only half conscious.
    ‘Let her go!’ Quinn shouted. Goric’s black metal gauntlet squeezed her thin arm so tight Quinn was sure he was going to break it.
    ‘As you wish, Quinn,’ Goric smirked, as he threw Marta down on the ground. She landed loosely and Quinn winced. Goric turned to his guards with a cruel laugh. ‘Burn the house!’
    ‘NO!’ Quinn yelled. He struggled with the guards, but they were too strong.
    Rowena left Jarin to hold Quinn back andgrabbed a thick branch from the woodpile. She dashed into the house and returned with the branch aflame, lit from Marta’s own fire. She flashed Quinn a sinister grin, then tossed the torch onto the thatched roof. Quinn watched as the flames caught and the dry straw started to crackle. He threw himself forward, but Jarin jerked him back. He saw the fire leap across the roof as though it were alive, and there was nothing he could do about it.
    Everything they had was in there. Quinn knew that they’d never had much, just a few clothes and some old wooden toys, but it was all in there. Marta’s belongings, too: her one good dress from long ago, magic ingredients and her neat pile of yellowing letters and writing tools.
    He wrenched at the guard’s grip, but the man was twice his size. Jarin laughed as the flames twisted up and Quinn stared at him furiously. His breath came hot and fast. They couldn’t do this to Marta! It was her whole life! Quinn had watched Marta working so hard cleaning the guards’ clothes and sheets every day of her lifeand now they were burning her house. How dare they do this to her? he thought. Anger bubbled up in him, far more intense than when he’d hacked at the woodpile. Then he’d just been angry. Now he was furious. His skin flushed, and he felt scalding hot all over, like the rage was