5. Blaze

I'd thought I'd be afraid of a dragon if I got up close to one but Alfie didn't frighten me at all. I was actually embarrassed that I'd run.

On the other hand, it was Alfie that I trusted, not any of the others. I wasn't so sure I'd feel safe if that other dragon had found me, the one who patrolled the boundary and the sky.

That was why I stayed inside the den. Alfie had loitered with me for a while and then he'd gone back to the castle, telling me that he needed to sneak back inside for dinner before anyone noticed he was missing.

I sat in the den and took a good look around. It was very basic and obviously home-made. The walls were solid, though, and there were no big cracks for the wind or the rain to get through. The roof looked watertight. It was basically a very large wooden box. The floor even had floorboards so the damp from the ground wouldn't get on my feet.

On one side of the room, there was a small table with two wooden chairs pulled up to it. Above the table was a little shelf where there were books piled up as well as a couple of mugs and a jug.

I sat in one of the chairs and peeled a banana. I was so hungry. Fire spirits needed fuel. It had been ages since I'd eaten. Hours. Maybe even a whole day.

I ate two of the bananas before I forced myself to stop. I'd wait for Alfie to get back with some more food.

Outside, it grew dark and the air became chilly. I shivered, wishing I could become flame but I didn't dare. In the darkness, any fire would be visible from a distance and that patrolling dragon would see me. At least, they'd see the flames and investigate.

I paced around the small den, but it wasn't very big and it only took a few steps to cross it.

I wasn't usually this restless. I liked staying still and as long as I was warm and comfortable, I could sit still and burn for hours. Even in my human form, I liked to curl up and watch the world go by.

As I paced, I tried to tell myself that it was just a natural reaction to the changes in my circumstances. I was still adjusting.

I'd spent a lot of years flitting from one place to another and staying as long as I could before moving on. I'd spent most of my recent years giving myself over to my spirit form and simply burning, burning, settling myself at the heart of a fire and letting the flames take me. It was almost as though I went to sleep.

The last place I'd settled was the intense heart of a fire in a factory. It burned 24/7 and never stopped. I'd been lost among the flames, warm and safe and hidden away. No bother to anybody. Nobody knew I was even there.

I'd lost track of time, which was one of the reasons that spirits tended to find it difficult to keep track of years. We didn't respond to time in the same way that others did.

All I knew was that, one day, the fire had burned less hot. It had died down and then, suddenly, stopped.

I'd forced myself out of the place. Cold, disorientated and hungry, I'd found myself floundering.

All I could do was flit to the next fire and the next. I hadn't been thinking properly. It was as though I were waking up and my brain had been sleepy and slow, my eyes blurry. The world around me had changed and I had blinked at it, trying to take it all in. The new cars on the roads, the new sounds that filled the streets, the strange fashions that paraded up and down the high street as I stood there in the last clothes I'd worn that had once been incredibly trendy.

And then the witches had seen me. They'd wanted me.

I'd barely managed to escape their traps, the cold, wet spells. I'd been confused and terrified, and I'd run. It had been a long time since I'd had to protect myself from avaricious eyes, and I wanted to burn again and forget that I was alone and vulnerable.

Seeing a dragon's territory had been ideal. Fire spirits had an affinity for dragons. Long before my time, we'd been natural allies. There was probably some residual, lingering feeling inside me that drew me towards them. At least, that was how I explained the warm feeling in my belly that I wanted to be here, that I was meant to be here.

When I heard footsteps outside, I rushed to the door and then realised that it might not be Alfie. I cursed myself for not thinking of it before but we really needed a password or something so I knew it was him.

Looking around, I shifted into my flame form and shrank down, scurrying behind the table to conceal myself. Hopefully, anyone looking in wouldn't notice me.

The door opened, footsteps entered, and then the door closed and latched again. Alfie spoke, just as the aroma of home-cooked stew hit me.

"It's okay, it's only me. We really need a password or something so you know it's me and not someone else. Although nobody else comes here except me so you don't need to worry."

I stepped out from behind the table leg and looked up at Alfie, towering over me. He was looking straight at me. So much for hiding.

He smiled. "I managed to get you a whole portion of beef stew. I hope you're not a vegetarian. That didn't occur to me until now. If you are, that's okay, I can—"

I cut him off, already knowing he'd apologise round in circles if I let him carry on. He made me smile. I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked to a person this friendly.

"Beef stew sounds lovely. It smells good, too."

Alfie beamed and my heart gave a little pitter-patter at the sight of it. He was bundled up in a large parka and he looked incredibly sweet and warm.

"Can you eat like that or do you need to be in human form?"

I flickered back to my solid body and sat down in the chair where he'd laid the tray.

"Are you staying a while?"

Alfie sat in the other chair so fast, he nearly tumbled right out the other side. He scrambled to stay sitting and I pretended not to notice. His cheeks flamed red and although the sight of him all flushed did something to me, I didn't like him being embarrassed.

Instead, I took a spoonful of the stew and nearly moaned at how delicious it was. It had been ages since I'd tasted food like that.

I shovelled it into my mouth greedily, enjoying the taste of it. I'd had plenty of fuel to burn in the factory and the fire had done an excellent job of sustaining me, but it wasn't food. It didn't taste like this.

It was only when I was scraping my spoon across the bottom of the bowl to get the last drops that I even looked up. I'd been totally absorbed in the experience of eating again.

When I did look up, I met Alfie's eyes. They were round and fixed on me with a strange expression. His cheeks were flushed and red.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes! I'm fine. I wasn't watching you. Maybe I was watching a little. You really enjoyed that, didn't you? Are you still hungry? Because I can get you some more if you want it."

I considered. I was still getting used to being in a physical body. After a moment, I said, "No, I think I'm full up for the moment, thank you. Are you sure you're okay because you look flushed."

He waved a hand in front of his face, fanning himself.

"It's really hot in here."

I shivered. It was not hot in here.

That might have been because I was a fire spirit, used to the warmth of an actual fire, but even so, I didn't think anyone would find it so warm in this little hut that they'd start sweating.

Alfie gave a little jump.

"Oh, actually, I meant to give you this."

He stood up and unzipped his coat, shrugging out of it. Then he pulled off his jumper, too. I couldn't help but notice that he revealed a strip of slim, toned stomach when he did so. His skin was very pale, almost like porcelain. He had a delicate beauty that made him seem fragile and expensive.

I actually jumped when he held the jumper and coat out to me.

"For me?"

"Yes. Unless you don't want them. I just thought it would get chilly out here tonight. You are staying the night, aren't you?"

"Is that okay?"

I didn't know where I would go if he said no and I had to leave the territory, but I wanted to check. I wanted to hear Alfie tell me that I could stay. That he wanted me to stay.

"Yes. I don't mind. You can stay here for as long as you want. Oh, actually, you probably meant was it okay with our clan elder. I, um, don't know about that. Perhaps we'll ask him later. Not tonight."

I nodded, accepting the jumper and sliding into it. It was warm from Alfie's body heat and I took a deep breath as I slid it over my head and was disappointed to smell only fabric softener. It was a nice smell but I'd hoped it would smell a bit like Alfie. I'd forgotten for a second that dragons concealed their scents.

Alfie held out the coat and I slid my arms into it. I couldn't remember the last time someone had helped me into a coat. It was… nice.

Almost nice enough for me not to notice that Alfie was keeping me secret from his elder. Almost, but not quite.

We stood there in the little hut, a bit closer together than was natural but neither of us moved apart. I was just starting to wonder if he was feeling the same blossoming desire that I was when he blurted out, "How do you keep your clothes?"

Alfie seemed more startled by his own question than I did. He gasped and then hurried to explain. "I didn't mean to be rude, I just meant that you were flame a minute ago and you didn't have clothes then. You would have burned them. But now you're fully dressed."

His cheeks flushed again but this time I didn't mind so much. The sight made me feel warm. It had been a long time since anyone had shown an interest in me, and he asked with such an air of innocent curiosity that it was impossible to take offense at how personal the question may or may not be.

"The clothes are a part of me. They can't burn."

"That's much more convenient than for shifters. We have to take our clothes off or they rip apart. If we have a big animal, that is. Smaller animals probably don't have that trouble. It means we have to remember to pick up our clothes when we fly off, though. Glimmer's always flying round and most of the time he has his clothes bundled into a ball that he carries in one of his claws, so he can change into the clothes when he shifts back."

"Is Glimmer the one patrolling the borders?"

Alfie nodded, looking proud. "He's our Guardian."

I didn't want to pry in case I pushed my luck and Alfie decided he didn't want me here after all. Instead, I said, "Are you going to come back and see me tomorrow?"

"Can I?"

"Of course."

After all, it was his hut and his territory.

Alfie grinned. "I'll try and bring you some breakfast. Do you have everything you need tonight?"

I pulled the coat tighter around me. It was ever so slightly too big for me, but I actually liked that. I felt very warm and snuggly inside it. Alfie's body heat had warmed it up and I felt as though it were his arms wrapping around me.

Perhaps it had been too long since I'd been in my human form, too long since I'd spoken to another person. I hadn't realised that I'd miss this as much as I had while I burned and burned.

"Yes, I have everything I need, thank you."

Alfie loitered a while longer. "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to come out and see you but I'll try to bring you something. I don't want you getting hungry. If Glimmer finds you, just tell him I let you stay here. Nobody should find you out here but, you know, just in case. Glimmer's really nice so he won't hurt you."

I smiled tightly. I was sure that his own clan were utterly charming to Alfie but I wasn't so sure that the same courtesy would be applied to random fire spirits who snuck into their territory. Probably I should have stayed outside and asked permission from the clan elder before entering, but I'd been desperate to hide from those witches. They'd never think to look for me in here.

"Good night, Alfie."

"Um, sleep well."

Alfie ducked out of the hut and I was left alone with my borrowed coat and the little table and chairs at the side of the room. At least I had a roof over my head.