“Thank you, my dear friend,” I said.
“Friend? An illustrious, noble dragon a friend to a simple human? Ha!” Cynder rolled his eyes, pointed his snout in the air, and blew smoke.
“Yes, friend. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for teaching me the ways of the dragon and for helping me with my magic.” I bowed to him.
“You should be so lucky, little Hellsfire. But I must say it was fun getting to know a human who is young and bold, rather than one who is tired and old.” Cynder and I laughed at his joke, glad Master Stradus wasn’t around to hear it. “It has been fun trading quips with you, even though you were outmatched by a far superior being.”
I grinned at him. “Yeah, right.”
“Try and take care of yourself. I know how fragile you humans are. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. I’d hate for you to die before our next fight. Next time we meet, it will be I who will get the best of you, oh Chosen One.”
“I’m sure our paths will cross again, you pretentious, arrogant smokestack.”
“Bye.” Cynder blew a puff of smoke in my face, causing me to choke and gag. I hated when he did that. I summoned a gust of wind to dissipate the smoke. He raised his mighty wings and flew back up towards the cave before I could get my revenge on him. He soared through the harsh, freezing weather as if it were nothing to him.
For the second time in my life, I realized I was alone and about to set out into a world I knew little about. Images of my vision burst into my mind. I dropped to one knee from the overwhelming force. The pain eased up and passed. I stood up and peered off in each direction, trying to figure out which way to go and praying I was not too late.
Then I remembered the shooting star.
CHAPTER 10
After a couple of days of traveling in the direction of the shooting star, my journey brought me into the middle of Sharald’s Forest.
It was strange to be in a forest again. It had been close to three years since I’d last been among the trees, but my body hadn’t forgotten how much I loved having moist dirt under my feet and the smell of pine in my nose. The air wasn’t stale, as it was in the caves. It was alive and moved of its own will, constantly changing its currents.
I made camp, and a chorus of crickets surrounded me. A family of spiny hedgehogs scurried past me, just out of reach of the light of my campfire. An owl's big eyes settled on me before she turned her attention to more manageable prey.
After settling in and eating, I went to sleep. In the middle of the night, a loud rustling noise woke me. It sounded like a large animal, maybe even a boar. The hairs rose on the back of my neck. It was close. The swaying of the forest ceased, and a tense silence surrounded me. I knew that silence could mean only one thing—danger.
I was too used to the safety of the caves, and so I was caught completely off guard. A strong, sturdy net was thrown over me. I grabbed onto the net and grasped the red mana inside of me. My hand glowed crimson, causing the net to burst into flame and incinerate. I got up and pulled my hood back. Three small, shadowy figures moved towards me with blinding speed. I readied a spell just as I caught glimpse of a sword's blade glistening in the moonlight.
“Wait!” one of them yelled. “He’s not one of them.”
“Who are you?” I asked, squinting my eyes and keeping my guard up.
One by one, the trio came into the thin moonlight, and my eyes adjusted to see them. I gasped, taken aback.
They were elves.
Elves were legendary. I had seen one or two in my life, from a distance. I’d never met any until now.
“We’re from Sharald,” one of them said, his voice light and polite. His light green skin and dark green tunic blended in with our surroundings. It was no wonder I hadn’t seen them before they netted me. “My name is Prastian of Meridian.” Prastian lowered his longbow and bowed his head slightly. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. The big one is my trusty companion Behast of Olyn, and the little one is my younger brother, Demay.”
“I'm Hellsfire.” I bowed in return, but never took my eyes off the muscular Behast.
“Unusual name for a human,” Behast said.
I opened my mouth to say the same, but decided not to when I saw his hand tighten on his sword hilt.
Behast glowered at me.
Prastian stepped in front of him. “He was honored enough to be raised by dwarves, so he’s different from the rest of us. What are you doing out here at this time of night, Hellsfire? Judging from the way you look and the fact that you’re away from the main roads, you aren’t a bandit or part of a caravan. You don’t look like a simple traveler.”