THE WALK UP the Magmaroo was not fun.

There was everything whirling round in my brain, for starters. I couldn't figure out whether I wanted to cry or scream or just sit down and stare blankly at something and never move again. I knew that if I thought too much about it, though, I'd probably cry, so I tried to focus on somebody else.

Not that anybody else's feelings were all that pleasant, either.

It was quite literally as hot as hell inside the lava-lined tunnels, and we were all feeling it. The uncertainty about what we were going to find on top of the volcano had us on tenterhooks. I could practically feel Cristine chewing her tongue, and Nick was gripping his staff hard enough that I was just waiting for it to shatter. There was pity, which made me want to spit, even though Cristine was my best friend and probably had every right to feel sorry for me. And even though it was a little buried by everything else going through their minds, there was still that stupid bloody beautiful emotion – love – that made me want to cry even more.

And then there was Erik.

I was trying even harder to escape his emotions than I was mine. Saying he was angry would have been an understatement. He was furious – beyond furious – cycling between fury and suppression with an intensity that made me shudder. Every muscle in his body was tense. It was terrifying. Intoxicating, almost. And even though I tried to pull away, it kept pulling me deeper into it.

We'd been walking through the tunnel in these lovely frames of mind for about ten minutes before I decided I couldn't take it any more. I couldn't do anything about nerves or pity or me wanting to cry – but those weren't the worst, anyway. Erik was. So, steeling myself, I moved closer to him. "Erik," I said quietly, "let it go."

Slowly, he turned to look at me. His face was determinedly neutral – if it hadn't been for empathy, I'd never had known that anything was wrong. In almost unnaturally quiet and controlled voice, he said, "Excuse me?"

I swallowed. "Let it go," I said again. "Whatever it is that's got you so angry. It's drivin' me mad, and I'm not even the one who actually has to feel it! I don't know what it is, but it's not worth it."

He looked at me for a long moment, and I didn't look away, despite the fact that his anger was really freaking me out and I could see something stirring in the backs of his eyes.

"Let it go," he said quietly. We'd both stopped. Nick and Cristine paused and glanced over at us. "Yes, I suppose that is what I ought to do. Let it go." He took a step towards me, and I almost shrank back. The neutral mask was slipping away from his face, and anger seemed to thrill every fibre of his body. Every word seemed to verge on a shout when he snapped, "Have I not already explained to you, Tammy, the bond between master and apprentice? I have, if memory serves – and I believe I mentioned the fact that you would never be able to understand the depth of such a bond!"

Oh, the anger was out now. He seemed to tower over me, hatred and anger in every line of his face. I struggled to keep it out of me, and to remember it wasn't really me he was so angry at. I certainly pitied Aquila if Erik ever got hold of him.

"By your own testimony, you do not have a father, not one who is a true father figure. I did! Strange and fierce as he may have been, he was my master, as close to a parent as any Celestrian has. I ask you, how would you feel if your father were to betray you?" He glared at me. "But of course, you would not know, because you, through your stubborn, mortal stupidity have pushed away anyone and everyone who may have had some slight feeling of affection towards you – even your own father! So do not dare to speak to me of letting it go, Tammy Doffish."

He turned on his heel and stalked away, leaving me standing there like I'd sprouted roots and grown them deep down into the volcanic rock. I stared and felt my face twist into a slow scowl. There were a thousand things I wanted to do to him in response. How would he feel, I could shout, to have grown up all alone, without any father figure at all? To feel like he was a freak for something he couldn't control? I could run up, whirl him round, and punch him in his stupid face – I could turn round myself and leave him to stew in his angry madness – I could – I could –

I could, I realised, but I won't. It wasn't me who was so angry. Well, it was a little – I didn't think anyone could have taken that outburst without getting at least a little mad – but not entirely. Not even mostly. It was just Erik.

I clenched my fists, wondering whether my conscience would let me punch him anyway.

Then I sighed.

It wouldn't.

For a long moment, I watched him walk away. I was aware of Nick and Cristine doing the same thing from beside me. Erik's outburst had startled them even more than it had me. But I wasn't paying much attention to anything inside the cavern. I was searching through my memories for the right song.

It wasn't easy to find. Everyone's emotions were still swirling round in me, not distracting me really but colouring my mood and making it harder to sift for something different. Finally, though, I caught hold of the right chord. It started echoing through my head, and I smiled.

And then I started to sing.

None of the songs had ever had words, of course, and generally I was bad at making up lyrics on the spot, but this time seemed to be the exception. I wasn't conscious of the words until they left my mouth, but once they did, they felt right. The song made my heart rise, a smile come over Cristine's face, a blissful look over Nick's, and made Erik's anger cool. It was one I'd only heard once or twice, but it was wonderful.

It was peace.

I started walking like I would have normally, even though everyone else – including Erik – had stopped. As I reached Erik, I smiled slightly and touched his arm. Then I let the song end.

"Like I said," I murmured, "it's not worth it. I'll be first in line to admit that life can be really awful, but I've learnt enough about it to know that there's always good in it somewhere. Even when it looks hopeless."

He looked down and said nothing for a moment. Finally, he muttered, "When did you stop being the cynic of this group?"

I snickered. "There's a difference between cynicism and being realistic," I informed him. "I said there's good in life, and it's true, but I don't waste time lookin' for it when I could go out and make a little good on my own. It's faster to do that anyway."

Erik rolled his eyes. I smiled. It was good to have him back, if only just for a moment.

"Hey," I said then, glancing at Nick and Cristine. "Are we heading for Greygnarl or not? Let's get goin'!"

Cristine smiled. "Right," she said. "Greygnarl. Let's see what we find."

So we set out up the volcano with peace playing through our heads.

The summit was warm, but not nearly as hot as the inside of the volcano. We circled round the path and across a thankfully stable bridge to a stone platform on the opposite side of the crater. An enormous cave was set into the rock backing the platform. It was easily three metres high and five across.

"Is that where he lives?" Nick whispered. "It doesn't look like anyone's inside – too dark."

"Only one way to find out," I said, trying and failing to sound confident. I stepped forwards and called, "Greygnarl, are you there? We need to talk to you!"

There was a deep rumbling noise from inside the cave. Something gleamed, and I swallowed. They were eyes. Gleaming, yellow eyes. And they were a lot further up than any normal human's could be...

The four of us stepped together as a deep, rich voice boomed out. "Who dares disturb me?"

Thump. Thump. Thump. The ground shook as the yellow eyes moved closer.

Slowly, they moved into the ambient light at the front of the cave, and my eyes went wide.

Greygnarl exited the cave, stretching his white wings, ridged and veined and thin and large as sails. He examined us with his huge yellow eyes, approaching us on clawed feet. Every step was accompanied by a thump and a shaking of the ground. And I knew how he'd been able to have defeated Barbarus three hundred years before and still be alive.

It was because he was a dragon.

Clearly, he was not as shocked to see us as we were to see him. He sniffed once and said, "Hmm. You are not villagers, I see." He shook his massive head, ruffling his mane. "I am Greygnarl, Hero of the Heavens. What business do you have with me, wander –"

And then he broke off, upper lip curling into a growl. We shrank back.

He glared at us suspiciously. "The stench that surrounds you… It is one I cannot easily forget. It is the very rancor that lay thick about the denizens of the Gittish Empire…"

My eyes went wide. Wait, he thinks we're –?

"So, you are agents of the House of Gitt, sent to destroy me? Do you fools never learn?"

I could feel Erik's anger bubbling back up at being mistaken for a Gitt. "Scaly fool -!" he snapped.

"Very well," Greygnarl growled. "Since you insist, you shall bear witness to the awesome power of dragonkind!"

He roared, rearing back.

I rolled my eyes. "Can't anything be easy?" I muttered.

But we had to fight, if only just in self-defence. If we didn't, we'd probably have been reduced to charred skeletons within seconds. I couldn't quite believe what was going on, which made it easier. If I'd thought about the fact that we were fighting the Hero of the Heavens, the star of all the legends I'd heard growing up - not to mention the entire reason we'd come to Upover in the first place - I don't think I'd have been able to fight him.

Erik was the only one of us who seemed to be actually willing to fight. I sighed inwardly. If I hadn't been so worried that something bad was going to happen if he didn't find a way to release his anger, I'd have been really annoyed at him. How were we supposed to convince Greygnarl we weren't Gitts if Erik acted like he was trying to kill him?

We ducked behind shields as Greygnarl breathed a jet of flame across the platform.

Then he snapped his jaws shut as a voice echoed up towards us: "Hang on! Wait up! Wait just a bloomin' second!"

We all turned round to see the old woman from the mayor's house hurrying up to the platform. She was scowling.

"I get a feelin' in me bones that something's up, so I hoof it all the way up here, and what do I find?" She glared round at us. "The whole ruddy bunch o' yez, fightin' like nippers! I thought you wanted Greygnarl here to help yez with this dark dragon?"

"It's not our fault!" I said, indignant. "He wouldn't give us a chance to explain!"

"'Dark dragon'...?" Greygnarl growled. "So Barbarus is abroad once more... Three long centuries have passed since I defeated that evil fiend."

The old woman rolled her eyes. "Well you musta done a ruddy shonky job of it if he's up and about again, eh? Now look here, these nippers need your help..."

"I understand," Greygnarl said. "You wish me to take to the skies and vanquish mighty Barbarus as I did so long ago..."

"Oh," the old woman said, and bit her lip. "Ah, I dunno about that... um... Maybe just a few words of advice or something, you know?"

Greygnarl glared. "So you think me a wizened old lizard too feeble to face one such as he? Hmph!" he snorted. I flinched back as a jet of flame passed about ten centemetres in front of my face. "Either way it matters not. I will not help you." He turned his glare on us. "Do I seem frail and foolish enough to believe tales of Barbarus's return told by maggots who come to me reeking of the Empire?"

"It's the truth," Cristine said pleadingly. "Please, if you'd just listen -"

The old woman shook her head slightly. "All right, all right, keep yer bloomin' hair on," she told Greygnarl. "You won't help. We get it." She shrugged at us. "Well, you heard the old coot. Sorry. There's naff-all I can do if he wants to act like such a big bloomin' baby. Sorry, chookies. It's probably best if yez skedaddle now."

"Too bloomin' right!" Greygnarl agreed. I blinked and looked at him with my eyes wide. "Rack off, the lot o' yez!"

The old woman shooed us away, so we went. I shook my head in disbelief. "Bloody hell, he's got more of an accent than me!"

Nick snorted. "Really?" he asked. "After all that, his accent is what strikes you as weird?"

I laughed. "Well, not just his accent," I said. "But you gotta admit, it's hilarious!"

"I suppose you are right," Erik said. Then he sighed. "The fool. How could he mistake us for agents of the Gittish Empire?"

Cristine sighed. "Who knows?" she said. "I just wish he'd been willing to listen to us. There's nothing we'll be able to do alone when Barbarus comes."

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "At least then he might believe us," I muttered. "I just hope it doesn't take that much."

"Blimey!" Stella said then, popping out. "Well that was a bit of a turnip for the books, the Hero of the Heavens turning out to be a grumpy old dragon! I suppose that's how come he can have fought the Empire three hundred years ago and still be alive, eh? But he didn't look up to much, did he? If he ever was a hero, he'd be the only one old enough to remember! He wouldn't listen to a word you said, and he can't even fly anyway. Looks like we were flogging a dead donkey. Let's go."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Did you listen to a word we just said?" I asked. "Because I'm pretty sure we just covered basically all of that. We didn't really need your help to sum it all up."

She flushed angrily and retreated back to her little ball of light. I rolled my eyes.

The journey back down wasn't quite as bad as the one up, but when we came out of the cave back in Upover, I realised something was wrong. The air in the village was thick with tension. I hurried to see what everyone was staring at down on the lower tier, and then skidded to a halt as I spotted it. "What the -?"

Three monsters were standing in the midst of a group of injured people: a fright knight and two stenchurions. They were standing up straight and tall like a trio of soldiers. And then the fright knight spoke.

"We are, as I am sure you are aware, soldiers of the almighty and eternal Gittish Empire," he said importantly. My eyes went wide. "Upover has long been a hotbed of anti-Imperial sentiment, so we felt a spot of total obliteration might rather improve the place."

"Uh-oh," I muttered. "Guys -"

"Let's go!" Cristine exclaimed. "We've got to hold them off."

We raced down the stairs as one of the stenchurions said, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to let us wipe you and that ghastly Greygnarl off the face of the planet, we'd be much obliged."

"How about no?" I called, drawing my sword and leaping down the last few steps.

"Don't -" one of the villagers yelled, but I had a little too much momentum to stop. I drove my sword clean through a chink in the breastplate of the closest stenchurion. It had about half a second of shock before it exploded into dust.

We were tired from fighting Greygnarl earlier and the monsters/soldiers were tough, but we had enough energy left in us to put up a fight. I almost got shanked by the fright knight and only escaped by stumbling back and falling over. Cristine distracted it with Hot Lick before it could try to attack me again.

The other stenchurion fell to Erik's claws, and the fright knight, realising both its cronies were gone, took a step back. "G-Goodness..." he stammered. "It...seems that some of these insurgents are...a little less b-backward than we thought. We...must inform His Goreship..."

"Hoo, hoo, hoo," chuckled a familiar voice. My head snapped up. "There will be no need. I am already aware of your hoomiliating defeat."

Then Hootingham-Gore dropped down in the middle of the village.

We turned, weapons drawn.

"L-Lieutenant Hootingham-Gore!" stammered the fright knight. "P-Please! Your Goreship! You must h-help -"

"Hoo..." Hootingham-Gore said coolly. "I hardly think that one incompetent enough to allow himself to be bested by mere mortals, to wit yourself, deserves help. Those hoo disgrace the great name of the Gittish Empire should be made an example of, don't you think? Hoo, hoo, hoo..."

I shuddered. Didn't these people even take care of their own?

"M-My goodness!" exclaimed the fright knight, backing away. "No, Y-Your Goreship! I - Oh! Oh my! S-Somebody help meeeee!"

The last bit was because the end of Hootingham-Gore's staff had started to crackle with energy. The fright knight tried to run, but Hootingham-Gore let the energy loose. Nick, Erik, Cristine and I scrambled back and it passed us by, but the fright knight wasn't so lucky. The energy hit him dead on. His shape flickered, and he screamed - I gasped and stumbled back - and then the pain vanished along with every trace of the fright knight. "St-Strewth!" exclaimed one of the villagers.

Then Hootingham-Gore turned his attention on us. "Ohh, hoo interesting..." he said, looking at Erik. "I knew I recognised you from somewhere. Hoo should it be but Aquila's apprentice."

Erik's nostrils flared. I wanted to touch his arm or something, try to calm him down, but I didn't really want to open myself up to everything I could feel going through him. So I just shifted slightly, making sure that he couldn't charge out and attack.

"So, you are alive..." Hootingham-Gore said. "Then it's not only Greygnarl and his rabble hoo need eliminating around here. Well, it doesn't matter a hooge amount. You, Greygnarl, Upover, and all hoo infest this wretched hillside will soon cease to trouble us."

Then he vanished, which was probably a good thing for him. Erik had started forwards like he was planning to gut the bird-man.

After a long, silent moment of shock, the villagers started to move to help the injured people. Nick, Erik, Cristine and I joined them. Maybe we couldn't get Greygnarl's help to take care of his village, but we could certainly do our best to help take care of it ourselves.

The injured were put up in Upover's inn. Since it was full up except for one room, the four of us squeezed in there and spent the night surprisingly cosily.

The next morning, we were wandering aimlessly round the village when the old woman waved to us. We hurried over, since she looked like she wanted to talk.

"Just the chookies I was lookin' for," she said, smiling. "It's Greygnarl. He gave me a message to give to yez. Strewth alone knows why, but the old flibbertigibbet says he'll hear you out after all. There's a couple of conditions, though... He said that if ya head up there on yer own -" she nodded to Erik - "and take a keg of Drunken Dragon with ya, he'll give you another go. Drunken Dragon's a drink we make here in Upover. Old Greychops is partial to a schooner or twenty of the stuff."

I grinned. "A dragon after my own heart."

Erik rolled his eyes.

"We make it in a storeroom down the stairs over there," the old woman continued, hooking her thumb at the stairs. "Best get down there and grab yerself a keg."

I sighed quietly as she left. "How come the grumpy old dragon gets a drink?" I wondered aloud. "I think if anyone deserves it, it's the four kids who risked their lives yesterday to kick the Gittish monsters out of the village..."

"Is that really all that goes through your mind when we receive a second chance to convince the dragon to assist us?" Erik asked, raising an eyebrow.

I grinned. "Did you expect anythin' else?"

He sighed. Cristine shook her head, smiling slightly. Nick opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he closed it again, rubbing his nose. "Oh my..."

Erik headed down the stairs and came up a minute later carrying a fairly large keg of something that I assumed was Drunken Dragon. "With any luck, I shall not be long," he said. "Wait here."

I raised my eyebrows. "And how do you intend to get up there with that thing in your arms? You can't cast your little zoom spell, and I really doubt you want to walk all the way up there weighed down by it." I held a hand out a hand. "One of us ought to hold onto it, since you're the only one who can cast the spell."

"Are you volunteering?" Erik asked.

I shrugged. "Well, I'm not big on that grumpy old lizard, but we might as well do our best to get his help. Why not?"

"You realise that Greygnarl asked for Erik to come alone," Nick pointed out.

"I'll stay out of sight."

Erik paused for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well," he said. He handed me the keg.

I grunted. "Almighty, this thing's heavy. How much drink does that stupid dragon want?"

"You volunteered."

"I'm commentin', not complainin'." I shifted the weight of the keg. "Okay. Let's go."

Erik took hold of my arm and raised his free hand to cast the spell. Then he paused, glancing at Nick and Cristine. "If anything should happen," he said, "make sure the two of you escape safely. If possible, find a way to the Observatory and alert Apus Major to Aquila's betrayal."

Nick opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but Cristine put a hand on his arm and nodded. "If anything happens," she said. "Good luck, you two."

"Thank you," Erik said. And he cast the spell.

An instant later, we were just round the bend in the path from the bridge to the platform. Erik took the keg. I helped him to steady it, then stood there a little awkwardly. I felt like I ought to shake his hand or something and wish him luck, but both his hands were full.

He looked down at the keg. "Tammy," he said, "if anything happens...promise me you will leave with Nick and Cristine. I do not want any of you injured."

I blinked. Then I shook my head. "I'm not really into makin' promises I can't keep," I told him. Then I smiled wryly. "Besides...in case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda bad at leavin' when people need help."

Erik rolled his eyes. "I have noticed," he said. "That is the reason that you have nearly died several times on this journey. It is an admirable quality, but for your own well-being I would advise that you learn to care slightly less about the welfare of others and more about the preservation of your life."

I smiled. "Now, what fun would that be?" I asked. "Here, just promise me that nothin' will happen, and we won't have to worry about it."

The corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly. "Very well, then," he said. "You have my word. So long as it is within my control, nothing shall happen."

"See, that's all I needed." I stuck my hands in my pockets. "Now shoo. You've got a dragon to deal with."

He sighed. "Do not remind me."

Then he headed round to the platform.

I stayed there, wishing I could hear them talk. Greygnarl's rumbling voice was audible, but it was too soft for me to be able to make out anything he said. I couldn't hear Erik at all.

It went on that way for a moment, and then there was a loud noise that sounded an awful lot like a hiccough. I blinked.

"Ahhh, you little beaut!" came Greygnarl's voice then, louder than it had been. "Strewth, that hits the spot!"

I snickered. Sounded like the dragon could have done with a little less drink in his keg.

Since I doubted he'd much care if he spotted me now, I snuck round to get a better view of what was going on up on the platform. Greygnarl seemed to be swaying a little. Erik was standing in front of him. I could just picture the look on his face now, faced with the drunk old dragon.

"Oh year, sorry doll, I - Hic! - plumb forgot," Greygnarl said, looking blearily down at Erik. "This is for bein' such a true blue trooper." He held out a clawed foot. Erik took whatever he'd been handed and examined it. "I - Hic! - got this when I creamed one o' the Triumgorate three hundred years back. He seemed to think it was pretty important. It ain't worth a zack to me, but I was thinkin' maybe you could sell it and make a bit of - Hic! - moolah or somethin'."

I grinned. I liked the old lizard much better this way.

Then something jolted through the air like a heavy beat on a base drum, only much louder and much lower. All three of our heads snapped up, looking for the source. "Hold up! HIC!" Greygnarl exclaimed. "What was that? Uh-oh. I'd know that - Hic! - stink anywhere..."

I recognised it through him. "Barbarus!" I breathed.

Then a ball of darkness blasted into the platform. "Erik!" I yelled, squinting through the smoke. The darkness hadn't hit him, had he?

I made out his shape and felt about half a second of relief before the base drum beat grew closer. I whirled round to see Barbarus rising up over the side of the mountains. He roared. Instead of fire, he breathed out more darkness, and it rained down on Upover. I heard screams.

No -! I thought. Cristine - Nick -

There was a soft flash from down below, and I felt a little relief. The two of them had made it out, at least. I could recognise the effects of a chimaera wing.

"Stone the crows, it's really him!" Greygnarl exclaimed. "It's that - Hic! - blighter Barbarus! What the blue blazes does he think he's - Hic! - doin' attackin' the village? He must be tryin' to - Hic! - rile me up, eh. Righto. If that's the way he - Hic! - wants to play it. I've got Erik here, so I'm - Hic! - good to go."

He looked down at Erik, who had torn his gaze from the smoke rising from the village to look up at the dragon. I furrowed my brow. What was Greygnarl intending to do? He couldn't fly!

"Guess what, Erik?" Greygnarl said. "I've got a right ripper of a - Hic! - present for ya: yer very own set of dragon warrior gear. All's you gotta do it chuck it on, climb up there on me - Hic! - back, and I'll be up and flyin' in no time."

"Watch out!" I shouted , seeing something hurtling down towards the platform. "Erik - Greygnarl -"

Whatever it was crashed down and rose. Erik and Greygnarl turned to look.

It was an aggrosculpture, and apparently, it could talk.

"Sorry...old...boy...but...we...can't...allow...th at... Lieutenant...Hootingham...Gore's...orders...are... to...give...this...little...upstart...a...hiding.. ."

I drew my sword, waiting.

"We...cannot...let...the...dragon...warrior...retu rn...to...roam...the...skies...astride...Greygnarl ... You...will...die...for...defying...the...mighty... Gittish...Empire!"

And then he lunged for Erik, and I sprinted across the bridge. "Oh, no you don't!" I yelled, slashing at the monster's stone wings. There was an awful screech of metal on rock and a nasty crunching noise as the rock structure broke.

"Tammy, I told you to leave!" Erik yelled. He dodged a slash from the aggrosculpture's claw and retaliated with one of his own.

"And I told you I wasn't makin' any promises," I replied. "Oi, stonebrain, over here!"

Erik groaned in frustration but didn't argue with me any more.

Killing the aggrosculpture didn't take long. We both turned to Greygnarl when it was done. "Nice one!" he growled approvingly. "Good - Hic! - work. Right, Erik, get this dragon warrior gear on quick smart."

He roared, and out of his cave floated a big leather bag. Erik caught hold of it and set it on the ground.

"Once you've put it all on and jumped up on me back, I should be able to channel a bit of - Hic! - magic and get airborne. I can't beat Barbarus if I can't fly, so you're with me whether you like it or not, kiddo." He turned his gaze on me as Erik started pulling on the pieces of armour from the bag. "You're gonna have to - Hic! - scarper, though," he told me. "I can't carry the both o' yez, not with me wings damaged like they are."

I scowled. "There's no way I'm lettin' the two of you go up and risk your lives alone," I said.

Erik stopped halfway through pulling on one of the armoured boots from the bag. "Oh, no," he said sharply. "Tammy, you are not to be stubborn about this. There is absolutely no possible way for you to help - and even if there was, I would not allow it! It is too dangerous!"

"When have I ever cared about that?" I asked. "I don't care about dangerous, Erik - there's no bloody way you're gettin' up there without me -"

"What did I just tell yez about me wings!?"

"And as for your not allowin' it, well, let me just say -"

Except I couldn't just say, because my mouth was suddenly busy doing something else. There was about half a second of shock and staring cross-eyed at Erik's face, which was closer than anything else I'd ever seen in my life, and then my body took over, some kind of groan escaped, and I was kissing him back.

This was like nothing else in the world. I couldn't think, I couldn't quite breathe, but I couldn't quite care about either of those things because I was on fire, Erik was on fire, and there was a storm of emotions raging inside and around us in a way that I'd never ever felt before and it was terrifying and beautiful and exhilarating all at once. Something was right here. Something was utterly right -

And then my brain turned back on and I stumbled back, breathing hard. My eyes were wide. I looked up to see Erik standing perfectly still right where I'd left him. His eyes were wide, too. I could feel him ringing with shock.

"Erik," I said quietly, "what the bloody hell was that?"

He didn't answer. Slowly, he raised a hand and touched his lips like he wasn't quite sure what had happened.

"Erik," I said again, more sharply. "What was that?"

"I'll give ya a hint," Greygnarl said, sounding like he was holding back a laugh. "It's called a kiss, kid!"

"You are not helping!" Erik snapped, whirling to look at him.

High above us, Barbarus roared again and let loose with more jets of darkness.

"Dammit," I muttered. "You're not off the hook, Erik, this is comin' back to haunt you soon, but get the armour on and up in the air!" I could feel my voice shaking, even though I was trying to make it sound strong. My whole body was trembling.

"You...you still cannot come with us," Erik said, not looking at me. "There is no way for you to take to the air."

I bit my lip. "Actually...I think there is." This had to be it - what Mum had talked about when she'd told me I'd need to help someone even though help seemed impossible to give. I didn't know what the dust would do, but I had to try.

Erik was pulling on the armour. "Tammy, what are you -"

"Trust me!" I pulled the little drawstring bag out and tugged it open. The dust was inside, glowing softly. My stomach did a nervous flip. This might be really stupid. I didn't know how the dust would affect me. Mum had said it would draw out my Faerie half, but I didn't know what exactly that meant.

It was my best shot, though, so I held my breath and dumped the dust out over my head.

Greygnarl blinked in shock, but that was all I saw before the dust started swirling so thick round me that it completely closed off my vision. It swirled faster and faster, closing in. It was warm inside the vortex, and bright.

This is so weird...!

When the dust vortex touched me, warmth spread all through me. I gasped as things suddenly sharpened, my senses feeling like they'd shaken off a veil that I hadn't even realised had been there until that moment. The dust had disappeared, but I knew that it had worked. Just my newly sharp senses attested to that.

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and realised that Fae dust particles seemed to shake loose and float to the ground. My eyes went wide. It was like the way the dust had acted around Mum...

"What," Erik said, "was that?" He had all the armour on, the helm under his arm, and he was staring at me.

"Mum," I murmured. "She..."

Greygnarl grinned and blew a jet of flame into the air. "Faerie dust, kid!" he said. "I don't know how she got it, but your little girlfriend's quite resourceful." Erik and I both flushed. "Ya can't see it, o' course, but that'll - Hic! - give her Fae powers." He hiccoughed again and looked at us proudly. "Right, let's get crackin'! That Drunken - Hic! - Dragon's done me the power o' good! This'll be a walkover, I can feel it!"

Erik looked at me, his brows furrowed up. I shrugged a little bit. Then he shook his head like he was trying to clear it and put on the helm.

"Hic! Look at ya!" Greygnarl said. "Every inch the dragon warrior, eh? Righto, hop up on me - Hic! - back, then."

A trio of chimaeras zoomed in as Erik clambered up onto Greygnarl's back. I swallowed nervously. I didn't know what to do with this!

"Oh yeah... Bonzer. I can feel it... All me power's comin' back to me now... We'll have Barbarus barbied and be back before dinner! Let's get crackin', kiddo!"

He leapt into the air, unfurling his wings. Throwing caution to the winds, I sprinted out and leapt off the side of the platform. A hot wind from below caught me, and I felt a rush of joy as I understood. I didn't need to know how to do this - I just could.

I soared beside Greygnarl, my sword out so I could fend off the chimaeras. It was the easiest thing I'd ever done. I could fight just as well - if not better - up in the air than on the ground. And I discovered something when one of the chimaeras darted in too quickly for me to fend it off with sword or shield: I didn't need a spell to use magic. I put a hand out in front of me instinctively and let out a jet of flame, singeing the chimaera. I grinned fiercely.

"Where are you, Barbarus?" roared Greygnarl. "Show yerself!"

We had paused, hovering over the volcano, looking round. It had started out as a cloudy day, but it seemed to be getting more overcast. It was starting to get dark.

Then a noise from my right made me whirl round. Greygnarl heard it, too, and turned.

"Over there, eh?" he growled. "I can't believe yer still alive..."

Barbarus laughed darkly. "Believe," he said in a low, growling voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. For a long moment, we all hovered there, staring one another down. Then Barbarus reared back and roared, "And die!"

I darted aside as Greygnarl lunged. Then I sped alongside the two dragons as they grappled, shooting jets of flame and darkness from their maws. Erik was holding onto Greygnarl for dear life. I did the best I could to help, directing attacks at Barbarus's thick, scaly black hide. He roared every time they made contact.

It was exhausting work - the fact that I could fly and cast spells didn't mean I could do it without expending energy, and the two dragons were fighting so fiercely that I was surprised either of them was still alive. Finally, they drew apart. I moved closer to Greygnarl, putting a hand on his side. Another wave of exhaustion rolled over me, but overriding it was Greygnarl's determination. I knew that no level of weariness would stop him.

"Hm hm hm," Barbarus chuckled. "You are formidable yet, Greygnarl." His eyes gleamed a sudden, dangerous violet. "But this will not end as it did when last we met."

A net of dark lightning built itself around him.

"What in the bloomin' blue blazes?" Greygnarl snarled.

Then the lightning exploded out. Three screams rent the air as it wrapped its crackling tendrils around us, a thousand times more powerful than the curse that Morag had cast on me all those weeks ago when we'd first started this whole thing. I was stronger, too, but it didn't make it any more bearable.

When the energy finally dissipated, I felt myself drop several metres before I managed to regain control. Trying to get the altitude back left me winded.

Barbarus's eyes were still gleaming darkly. "I command a power far greater than any you have ever known," he said exultantly. Then he reared back. "And you will bow before it!"

"No!" I yelled, but the shield I tried to fling up between Barbarus and the three of us shattered into fragments of energy against the strength of the curse. All it did was slow by milliseconds the moment of impact -

And then there was just pain, and I couldn't know anything else. It was like there had never been anything but the pain - never had been, never would be, like there was only an eternity of this crackling, burning sensation through my bones and blood and tissues, ripping me to shreds but at the same time tying me to myself and to the other two with threads of molten something that weren't ever going to let us go.

It was forever before the pain stopped, and I fell from the air onto Greygnarl's back. He, Erik, and I hung limply in the air, hardly able to breathe. Please, I thought weakly. Please, don't let him do it again...I can't stand it, I can't!

"Hm hm hm," laughed Barbarus. "You have had enough? Very well."

Greygnarl looked up. I forced myself up and off of his back so that I could see what was going on.

Barbarus had reared back again. Panicked, I threw up another shield, pouring as much energy as I thought I could stand into it. Maybe, just maybe...

Darkness was gathering above the black dragon's open maw, growing bigger and bigger and bigger.

"Now watch," he roared, "and despair!"

He turned, aiming towards Upover.

"Wh-What the!?" Greygnarl roared.

"Simply to destroy you would not be enough," Barbarus said, deadly quiet. "First, you must witness the destruction of your home."

And he let fly with the ball of darkness.

Every muscle in Greygnarl's body went tense as the darkness flew. "I can't let him do this..." he growled. He flapped his wings twice, rising higher into the air. "It's been short but sweet, kiddo."

Then he bucked and flung Erik off his back.

My eyes went wide. An instant later, I was diving. I managed to grab hold of Erik and slow his descent, but I knew we were still falling. I was too tired to keep us both aloft.

"See ya round," Greygnarl said, starting forward. "We can't have you carkin' it just yet... Guardian of Angel Falls..."

He flew faster then, and put himself between the approaching darkness and the village.

"But I've got a village of me own to protect."

And then he roared, a sound like the end of the world, as the darkness reached him. Erik and I stared in mute horror as we gained speed heading towards the ground far below.

There was an earth-shattering, air-shaking concussion, and then nothing.

Greygnarl was gone.

We kept falling.

Stella's little faerie light popped out, but it managed to stay put while we hurtled down. I was sure she had something to say, but I missed it.

I struggled to pull myself together, at least for long enough to land Erik and myself safely. My arms felt like they were popping out of their sockets trying to support Erik's weight as well as my own, but I managed to soften the angle of our dive until it almost seemed intentional. We were still going down fast, but this way we at least wouldn't be left as smears on the ground of Wyrmneck.

Then we hit the ground, tumbling over one another until we managed to come to a halt. Erik groaned. I did, too.

Rubbing my head, I pushed myself into a seated position and blinked until my vision cleared. Immediately, I wished it hadn't.

Because standing right in front of us was Lieutenant Hootingham-Gore.

And I'd thought the day couldn't have gotten any worse.