7. Blaze

Iwalked the woods just before dawn, in the hopes that nobody would be up and around at that time of day. It didn't make much difference to me what time it was, seeing as I didn't sleep like other beings. I was awake and restless.

I'd been alone for so long that it felt strange to be so near to people now. Especially people who could see me, if they chose to. People who would recognise me for what I was.

I'd never been seen while I burned in the factory fire and, even if I had been seen, I'd have looked like a trick of the light, a flicker of someone's imagination, and then I'd blend perfectly with the flames again and that would be it. And, even if those humans could see me, they certainly couldn't catch me.

The witches had been able to catch me and only luck and speed had saved me.

The dragons could catch me, too.

My greatest defence was to turn to flame.

The only part of me that was solid was my wick and people couldn't grasp hold of me. If they did touch me – just as Alfie had discovered – my flames would burn them.

I felt a twist of guilt for burning him. He had been so kind to me, and I'd burned him. I hadn't meant to. I'd just been in my flame form, that was all, and he'd shoved his hand into my core.

That had felt strange.

I'd had people touch my flames before and it barely made an impression on me. I was insubstantial, I burned, their fingers could pass right through me. That was it. I hardly noticed they were there, if it was an accident.

With Alfie, though? I'd felt a surge of heat and energy that made my flames seem to burn hotter. And I hated that I'd hurt him, even a bit. He'd healed quickly, but it must have hurt for a while.

I was so grateful for his dragon healing.

I pulled his coat closer around me and snuggled into it. It was ridiculous to feel safer inside a coat, especially if it was likely to be a dragon who attacked me if they found me, and a wad of cloth was not going to be able to protect me. Yet I did feel safer with it on.

I felt warmer, too.

When I got to the edge of the woods, I paused. I didn't want to be seen. Didn't want to alert anybody to my presence. But I was sure that the Guardian had been by here and had been layering up more spells.

I needed to see what they were, to know that I could still get out.

You know, if I needed to.

Something inside me sank at the thought of me needing to. I wouldn't have to leave. Alfie wouldn't betray me to his elder and nobody ever noticed me. I was too small and insignificant.

Even the Guardian, who clearly knew that something had got through the boundaries – which was far, far more than anyone had ever known before when I passed through – didn't know what I was. He wasn't sure. He felt that someone had slipped past, but he knew consciously that it was impossible for a living being to break through those protections. He'd done a very good job of them.

I slipped out of the tree line and hurried across to the boundaries. I just needed to see.

There were new spells down, including ones that could sense movement. He'd know if I got too close to them.

Fortunately, he'd built them to stop people getting in, not to stop people getting out. I could leave, if I needed to.

As soon as I knew it was possible to escape if I needed to, I turned and hurried back to the shelter of the trees. I kept an eye on the sky around me, just to make sure that the Guardian wasn't circling and might see movement. He wasn't there. It seemed a rather big job for one dragon to do alone. Most clans had several layers of protections, built up over generations, rather than just one person's spells.

I slipped along between the trees, learning my way to and from the little hut that Alfie had given me.

Well, not given to me. It wasn't mine. He'd let me stay there.

When I saw it, though, it looked so small and cosy that I wished it could be mine. I could stay there for years, living quietly, seeing Alfie sometimes and not disturbing anything. It would be a pleasant way to spend my life, I supposed.

I opened the door and jumped back in fright when somebody was standing there. I think I gave a little cry of shock and turned to flame instinctively.

"Blaze? Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump. Are you alright? Do you want to come in? Do you want me to leave? Because I can, you know. I don't mind, if you don't want me here. Well, I might mind a bit but I want you to be comfortable and this is your place, not mine anymore, so you get to decide who comes in and out. Maybe I should have waited outside, but I was worried when you weren't here."

Alfie hadn't even paused to draw breath and he took a deep breath now, having exhaled every last molecule of air.

I couldn't stop the smile that broke over my face. Even though I was still a flickering flame form, I knew that Alfie could make out my facial expression because his face went from worried to happy in an instant. He smiled at me and he had the sweetest smile. His lips were rose petal pink and soft-looking.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here," I said.

He indicated the door. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, please stay. If you can," I added.

He smiled again and stood back inside the hut so that I could enter. I had the sense to become my solid, human form first so that a stray spark wouldn't smoulder and burn the whole thing down.

"What did you go out for?" Alfie asked. Normally, I wouldn't tell anyone where I went or what I did in case they tried to trap me.

When Alfie asked, though? I answered.

"I went to look at the boundary. I thought the Guardian was putting more spells down.

"Was he?"

"Yes, he was. He's made it even more secure now. Nobody can get in."

Alfie nodded. "Glimmer's the best Guardian."

He sounded so sure. He also sounded like he hero-worshiped this Glimmer just a little bit. I got curious.

"I suppose the Guardian is important," I said. I didn't want to outright ask him about his Guardian because that was bad manners. I knew that dragons were secretive and clannish. Since I wasn't part of his clan, he probably wouldn't tell me anything and it would be awkward for him to have to tell me to mind my own business. I didn't want to put him in that position.

To my surprise, Alfie's face lit up.

"Yes, he is! Glimmer's one of the most powerful dragons in the world. He's very clever, you know. He uses this very cool magic and I'm not supposed to talk about it but maybe one day you'll get to see it for yourself."

That was very sweet of him to say. And he'd managed to answer my question without giving me details, which was smart. After all, he didn't know that I wasn't a threat. He didn't know that he was literally the only person in the world that I knew right at that moment.

And he'd told me something else he hadn't meant to, too.

He'd told me that he was a pure soul.

Very few people could brag about another person in their clan like that. With admiration and not an ounce of resentment at the Guardian's power and status. Or without taking some reflected glory for themselves.

Alfie just thought Glimmer was great.

"Do you get to see him much?" I asked. I sort of wanted to hear Alfie talk some more about his Guardian, and not because I even wanted to know more about him but because I wanted to see the way Alfie's eyes lit up when he did it.

Unfortunately, I'd chosen exactly the wrong thing to say. Alfie's face fell and he mumbled, "No, I don't get to see him much."

"Why not?"

"He's very busy protecting the clan. He doesn't have time for me."

I felt a surge of anger burn inside me and had to squash it down. I didn't want to become flame right now. I didn't want to frighten Alfie or get mad. But I was mad.

"Why doesn't he have time for you?"

"He's very important, you know," said Alfie, as though it were self-evident. "I didn't mean to imply that he wasn't nice. He's nice to me. It's just that he's busy and he has to do a lot of work. Protecting the territory and stuff. We can't leave the boundaries unprotected."

"No, I suppose not," I admitted. "The protections are strong. It's very safe here."

For some reason, I just didn't like Alfie implying that he wasn't important.

Maybe it was because he was literally the only person I knew, but it didn't sit right with me that other people didn't think he was as important as I did.

"Wow, your eyes change colour, did you know that?"

I started, and saw that Alfie was leaning forward, studying my face.

"Do they?"

"Yes. They change like flames. They're darker than they were before."

"I didn't know that."

"Have you never seen yourself in a mirror?"

"I have a few times. When I went past one. I've never really bothered to look at myself, though. It doesn't matter what I look like."

"You look beautiful. I-I mean, you look nice. Well, you do look beautiful but that's not really important. You have lots of other good things about you as well."

I smiled, charmed by Alfie's rambling mouth.

"I've never really thought about what I look like. Unless I'm thinking about my size. I can control how big I am when I turn to flame."

"That's very cool!"

My smile grew bigger. "Is it? Well, it does take more energy to burn bigger, but sometimes it's necessary."

"And burning smaller?"

"Takes more concentration but less fuel. I tend to do that. It makes me feel safer, being small."

"It doesn't matter how big you are here, Blaze. You're safe either way."

I gave a non-committal hum at that. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, because I knew he meant it. It was just that he didn't understand how small and frightened I felt all the time. He didn't know that I needed to keep myself safe. I didn't trust other people to do it.