The Flame Dragon Read Online Free Page B

burning him up, like fire was creeping over his skin,
    The guardsman holding him yelped and snatched his hand away, looking at it in surprise.
    ‘A spark from the burning cottage,’ he muttered. ‘It must have been …’
    Quinn didn’t wait for the man to grab him again. He lunged forward, past the guards to where Marta lay near the cottage. It was all burning now. Quinn knew there was no way he could save it. He could see the walls cracking with the heat and the wooden door smouldering. Inside, the flames had found their way to Marta’s laundry. Quinn saw it blazing like a furnace. Marta was so close to the fire, even her clothes were starting to char. Quinn grabbed her and pulled her back. He was so angry he didn’t even notice the heat.
    Quinn glared at Goric with fury as he pulled his aunt to safety. He knew he should be bowing and stammering apologies to the Captain of the Guard, but he couldn’t. Goric hadn’t had to do any of this. Quinn would have gone to be a trainee to protect his aunt, but Goric was enjoying this. He was laughing.
    ‘The cottage can be rebuilt,’ Goric said. ‘But next time you defy me, boy , your aunt will be inside it when I burn it down.’ He swung up onto his horse, gathering the reins in one hand. ‘Take the boy to the garrison for training,’ he told the others. He kicked his horse viciously and set off ahead of them.
    Marta stirred and coughed weakly. To Quinn, her face looked red from the heat of the fire, and there was a smear of blood under her nose. She reached up with thin, trembling arms and hugged him. Quinn blinked away tears.
    ‘Don’t worry,’ Marta whispered. ‘I’ll go into exile. He won’t be able to hurt me any more, and he won’t be able to use me to threaten you. You’ll be all right.’
    Quinn felt his throat choking up. ‘What am I going to do?’
    She stroked his cheek and smiled. ‘Stay safe. Do what Goric tells you. Keep out of trouble, but stay true to your heart. I’ll come for you as soon as I can, I promise. This won’t last forever.’
    ‘Enough!’ Rowena growled, stalking over to them. She grabbed Quinn’s arm and jerked him up. Marta slumped back to the ground. ‘Come with me. You’re one of us now.’
    Quinn turned his head to stare at the blackened remains of his home as the guards dragged him away.
    I might have to be a trainee, he thought, but I’ll never be one of you. Never.

CHAPTER 5
THE GARRISON
    They had been riding for hours by the time they came in sight of the garrison and despite the sunshine dipping through the trees, Quinn felt a dark cloud of despair hanging over him. He’d clung on to Jarin in a daze as the horse clipped through the forest, Rowena and Goric travelling up ahead. Every time the horse had taken a step, Quinn’s backside had thumped on the hard saddle and the jolt had travelled all the way up his back to clatter his teeth. He could actually feel the purple bruises forming with each whack of the saddle – though it was nothing comparedto the pain of seeing his house burned to the ground or the look on Aunt Marta’s face.
    The garrison’s outer gate was a massive, stone construction at least four storeys high. Two round towers flanked the enormous gateway, with arrow slits piercing the stonework every couple of yards. A heavy iron portcullis hung above the gate. As he rode beneath it, Quinn peered up at it with a shudder. If it dropped, he and the horse would both be squashed flatter than one of Marta’s pancakes.
    At least I wouldn’t have to be in the Guard , he thought darkly.
    The courtyard in front of him was almost as big as Quinn’s village. To the left, straw targets in the shape of huge dragons had been set up. Quinn watched as the guards fired arrow after arrow into them. To the right, he saw a group of trainees a year or two older than him battering at each other with wooden swords. Nerves crept across him like vines across the forest floor, but he held them in check. He wouldn’t let