Page 28 of Dragonbound

Erann lay gasping. Any relief he felt from escaping his dream was replaced by fear as he listened.

‘At least I closed and bolted both doors,’ he said to himself. ‘But is it enough?’

He sat upright, reaching for his backpack and scrambled to his feet. Quickly, he stamped out the fire. He didn’t want the wolves to smell someone who was still alive.

Earlier, he’d noticed a small loft space in the annex. He fumbled around in the faint light from the dying fire until he found the ladder and hauled himself up, dragging the ladder up after him once he’d reached the top.

‘I hope they can’t get in,’ he mumbled to himself, just to hear something that wasn’t the howling wolves or the shrieking wind. ‘I wish I’d burned the bloody steading. Anything would be better than sitting up here, freezing on this bloody wooden shelf, waiting for the wolves to go away.’

Suddenly, the wolves stopped howling.

Even above the shrieking wind, Erann could hear the soft crunch of their paws in the snow as they circled the annex.

Had they caught his scent after all?

He’d no idea how far into the night it was, or how long it would be before dawn broke. He didn’t think he’d been asleep long, but he couldn’t be sure. He glanced upwards, wishing he could see the sky to track the planets on their nightly journeys.

He sat huddled, alone, shivering and cold, listening to sharp nips and low growls from the wolves, wondering if daybreak would ever come. His teeth were clamped together to stop any sound escaping.

Erann had almost managed to convince himself they weren’t going to attack when he heard it.

Scratching at the walls.

It echoed through the empty shed, setting the hairs on his neck on edge. He had no weapon with him and now the wolves had found themselves a feast.

What would he do if they got in? He couldn’t run for it – there was nowhere to go, and anyway, they’d be on him the moment he left the safety of the annex. Even if he had a weapon, what good would it do against a pack of starving wolves?

His heart hammered faster and faster. His breath came in uneven gasps.

He couldn’t fail now, not when he’d come so far. He had to make it to Rankil’s. He had to help his mother.

Lost in his panic, he didn’t realise the scratching had stopped, nor did he hear the soft shuffle of the wolves’ paws fading away. It was only when he’d finally managed to still his breathing that he realised how utterly quiet the night had become. Even the shrieking wind had died away.

A shaky sob escaped as relief washed through him. He made himself comfortable against the rough wall and sank almost immediately into a deep and disturbed sleep.

20

ERANN

He woke once more after a restless sleep. He’d dreamed of flying, the world spread out before him in an endless expanse of shimmering silvers and rich purples, the mountain peaks poking through thick clouds promising more snow. The joy of soaring through the air still lingered as he tried to remember more. It left him feeling hopeful. One more day, maybe less, and he’d reach Rankil’s. Then he’d speak to his sister about Anya. Then, he could return home.

But first, there was a less pleasant task to perform. He descended from the annex loft, ensured he had his belongings with him, including his heatstone, and opened the outer door just enough to peer out. He darted his head back inside, blinking. It was too bright to truly see, but he could just make out the steading, and he didn’t sense any movement from it.

Quickly, keen to be away from the sad location, he pulled his backpack into position, opened the door fully and stepped out. Turning, he took care to close the door firmly. It was a good building. Perhaps someone would one day build a new steading nearby and be able to make use of it.

Blinking with confusion, he looked around, not understanding what he was seeing. It wasn’t just that it was too bright to see far. Fog swirled around the steading. Was it fog? He sniffed. The sharp bite of smoke made him cough.

He turned the corner and his breath caught in his throat.

‘What?’ he gasped. The steading was charred and smoking, flames still licking at the grass roof in places. ‘What’s happened here?’ he repeated, and then shook his head. There must be someone else here. They’d found the bodies too.

‘Hello? Is anyone there?’

He was met with an eerie silence, broken only by the occasional hiss as water dripped on the charred skeleton of the steading.

‘Hello,’ he called again, but once more, there was no reply. ‘How has this happened if there’s no one here but me?’ He shook his head, coughing again because of the smoke. ‘It makes no sense. How did the fire start? The steading wouldn’t have caught alight without someone setting a flame to the structure.’

Turning, he swallowed heavily. It was a small miracle the annex hadn’t gone up in flames along with the main steading. The two were almost close enough to touch, while still being separate.