Two larger areas of fire burned fiercely away to his right and Denser could see so easily how the dragons had ruined their land. Nothing but torrential rain could stop this blaze completely engulfing the entire plain which had to cover hundreds of square miles and, looking about him, he saw nothing but blue sky and light cloud. No respite would come today.

He flew on beyond the flames, in the direction of the mountains, reasoning that any survivors would try to move onward. He was quickly rewarded by the sight of grass swaying and flattening in a careless swathe ahead.

‘Styliann,’ he breathed. He swept down over the grass, calling for them to stop. Close to, he could see three Protectors in a wide arc and, though they appeared to be shadowing no one, the movement of the stems ahead told him that Styliann was there but under a CloakedWalk. Not a bad idea when you didn’t care for the safety of your companions.

‘Styliann, stop. We need to regroup.’ He overflew and wheeled in the air.

‘No,’ came the disembodied voice, breathless with effort. ‘We need to get away. I’ve lost Jatha and three of my Protectors have been killed.’

‘Calm down, the dragon has gone.’

‘Don’t you believe it.’ And as if to give credence to his words, a roar from his right told Denser all was not good. Bursting through the smoke, the dragon pounced to the ground and grabbed one of Jatha’s men, or possibly Jatha himself, soaring back into the air and tearing the man in two with his front claws, feeding each piece into his mouth, blood spraying and scattering.

Denser’s heart hammered in his chest and he twitched reflexively away, fighting to hold on to his concentration, his breath ragged, his mouth dry. A shudder coursed through his body and his hand was shaking as he moved it to wipe his sweating forehead.

‘Get out of the sky, Denser; you’re a sitting target. And get Hirad to call his bloody dragon friends in or we’re all dead. Understand? Now stop giving away my position.’ Styliann and his Protectors changed direction and Denser soared away, very aware of his total exposure. Hugging the top of the grass, he flew hard to The Raven’s position, surprised at how far he had come, and trimming his wings for more speed.

With a note of surprise in its tone, he heard the dragon bark. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw it bank and wheel, all the while its eye fixed on one thing.

‘Oh dear God,’ muttered Denser. He was closing on The Raven and he and they only had one chance. He could hear the dragon’s wing beats as it raced towards him, he dived deeper still, his body skimming the tall fronds of grass. He flew into the smoke of the fire ravaging the cleft, holding his breath and turning a sharp left, flying along the line of the fire. Arrowing back into fresh air, he saw that the dragon had carried straight on, missing The Raven in its search for him.

Seizing the only time he had left, Denser flew hard back to them, pulling up to land just as the dragon realised it had been fooled and turned again in the air. It wouldn’t be long in reaching them.

‘Quick,’ he said, talking as his feet hit the ground and he dismissed the wings. ‘Back down the slope. The dragon’s coming back. Erienne, we need anything that may keep off fire. More HardShield. I’ll try an IceWind defence. You never know.’ They cast as they scrambled down, keeping themselves in close formation, with Hirad cajoling them all the way.

As they descended, they knew it was hopeless. They were running back into the flames, the dragon’s shadow passed over them once more, the force of its wings loud and terrifying and, this time, they could all see it bank and turn to fly down the length of the gully, opening its mouth to breathe.

It never reached them. At the top of the gully a huge set of jaws clamped around its neck and drove it into the ground which shuddered violently underfoot. Flame lit up the sky, a dual roar split the air, one was abruptly silenced. There was the sound of wings in the air and the shadow of Sha-Kaan hung over them, huge and comforting. His mouth dripped blood and he heaved great lungfuls of air as he hovered. The Raven’s relief was palpable.

‘I heard your call but I was far from you. Get away from the fire and head towards the mountains, I will bring Jatha and your people to you. You must be ready to close the gateway when our orb reaches its height thrice from now.’ And with that, he was gone.

Denser collapsed on to the ground. ‘Give me a moment,’ he said. ‘Move when you get too warm, eh?’ said Hirad, indicating the flames and smoke scant yards away. ‘Good move into that smoke, by the way, but a pity he saw you landing. Work on that for next time.’

Denser looked up, anger in his eyes, but it evaporated when he saw the smile on Hirad’s face. ‘Funny, Coldheart. Very funny.’

Hirad reached down his hand. ‘Come on, Denser, we’ve still got a long way to walk.’

Chapter 31

Lord Senedai awoke to the smells of campfires, cooking meat and damp, and the sounds of Shamen leading their warriors in songs and chants calling for the alignment of spirits and the ancient lords of war to be with them this day.

He rolled over on his low pallet, eyes to the slightly billowing roof of his tent. He listened to his men, he caught the whisper of the wind through the camp and he sighed, a deep slow exhalation, before sitting upright and rubbing a hand across his face and through his knotted hair.

‘Attendant!’ he shouted, and his tent door was pulled back immediately to admit a tall young warrior, barely more than a youth. His tanned frame was hard-muscled beneath a tight-tied sleeveless grey shirt and his hair was cropped to his scalp as his rank dictated.

‘My Lord.’

‘Battle furs and breakfast,’ ordered Senedai.

‘My Lord.’ A half bow and he left.

Senedai dragged himself reluctantly from his bed, walked a little stiffly to the door flap and pulled it open a crack. Outside, the pre-dawn gloom was deepened by a misty rain that fell from a heavy sky, punctuated only by the cook-fires dotted around the camp. He set his jaw and moved back into the relative warmth of his tent.

‘So much for the songs of fortune,’ he muttered. A damp battlefield was all he needed. Yes, blood would slick the ground underfoot but rainfall on grass would make the ground slippery from the very start and he had a feeling they would need every bit of help they could get despite their overwhelming numerical superiority.

During his sleepless night he had gone over every option, wishing fervently his catapults weren’t still in Julatsa, awaiting the move to Dordover. He could attempt to simply overrun the enemy, sheer weight and press of numbers driving their bodies into the mud, but that was a charge he would have to lead himself and he found no desire to die this day.

He ate and dressed quickly and walked outside into the slowly lightening sky, to be accosted by a tribesman who thrust a message into his hands. It was unopened.

‘Who brought this message?’

‘A fast rider from Understone, my Lord. He arrived just before you awoke.’

Tessaya had sent word. Excellent. Senedai turned away and unsealed the message on his way to the nearest cook-fire with enough light to see by. He made his way through a mass of warriors sharpening weapons, hefting furs, practising strikes or just talking among themselves, and everywhere the sounds of a camp coming to life filled his ears. Dogs snarled and barked, orders were shouted, fires crackled and popped, tent sides thumped, loose guys snapped and song filtered from all sides. It was hard not to feel confident. The enemy had nowhere to run and it was obvious to even the untrained eye that they were too few.

Yet Senedai felt doubt deep in the pit of his being. And reading the message from Tessaya multiplied his fears. He had hoped to see his Lord marching over the fields to make victory certain that very morning. But there had been a change of plan. Tessaya had had word from the remnants of Taomi’s army that a large force was marching from the south. Senedai was to complete his task with no further help, the message said. Tessaya would join Taomi’s forces and crush the southern enemy. They would then muster on the road to Korina while reinforcements shored up the defences of Julatsa.