"Firewater, is that-?"
"Yep. Fire."
"What do we do?" Thankfully, the fire seems to be remote from any settlement, but it's spreading fast, and soon I can feel the heat on my face, even from a distance.
"I think we have to sound the alarm." Firewater sounds nervous.
"As in, the alarm which will summon all firefighters, including our mentor?"
"Yep that one."
For a second I worry about the trouble we will be in if Amanda discovers it was us who sounded the alarm, but another look at the spreading flames pushes that thought from my mind. "How do we do that?"
"It's like what we did with the glove. You have to send out pulses of energy. The alarm is six regular pulses, then wait a minute. Then you repeat. When someone else hears, they will reply with three, but we do not stop until Miss Lionheart has received the message. She will join our encounter when she arrives on scene, and through the shared encounter, everyone can communicate." Firewater pauses, realising he's overwhelming me.
"Let's just send the alarm."
"Right." he agrees. "I'll send the energy, and all you need to do is channel it outwards in all directions - though it might be worth focusing back towards the coast where the meeting place is."
"Got it." I say, just as the first pulse of energy hits me, so strong I almost lose my position on Firewater's back.
"Let it flow on!" Firewater instructs urgently.
Unsure exactly how to go about this, I try visualising all the energy bursting from me at once in a shower of white sparks. Unfortunately, this is all that happens. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't for the urgency of the situation.
"Think of flowing, not bursting," Firewater says, then sends another pulse. This time I shut my eyes, and imagine all the energy passing straight through me and on into the world outside. The energy rushes though me like a gust of wind through grass, pulling at the blades for a few moments, then allowing them to drift back into their place, unharmed.
"Perfect." Firewater says, and then we repeat it five more times, and wait.
"Is that a minute?" I ask a little later.
"Near enough." And so we do it again, and this time, transmitting the energy comes naturally.
After our sixth pulse, we pause, gliding carefully at a safe distance from the flames. And then suddenly, I feel a reply.
A strange sensation passes through me, as though someone has rubbed all my hairs back the wrong way. I shiver, and let the energy flow into Firewater, who acknowledges it, then conducts it on into the night. Two more reach us. Someone has heard the alarm.
The dragons and their companions are first to arrive, four of them, and among them Connie Lionheart and Argot. The orange flicker of the flames dances off the golden scales of the young dragon as she flies fearlessly towards the fire, knowing it cannot hurt her or her companion.
The dragons swoop in and out of the flames, sometimes flying higher, sometimes almost along the ground, planning what can be done to halt the rapidly advancing blaze.
Firewater's circle begins to take us slightly closer to the fire again, and as we approach, the tingling feel of magic energy grows, until suddenly, whoosh, we join the shared encounter held up by Connie Lionheart.
Firewater falters. The shared encounter is overwhelming.
We have shared encounters with other Phoenix and their companions before, of course we have, but never with different companion species. The feeling of space is overwhelming, and I sense Firewater beginning to panic. I place a hand reassuringly on his neck, and look around at the battle commencing below us.
In the shared encounter, all companions stand out. For the first time, I notice fifty or so sylph trying to blow the flames backwards, and fire imps flitting among the flames, trying to coax them into retreating. The dragons are creating a fire break, ten or so metres in front of the advancing forest fire, flying close to the ground and burning the vegetation to nothing with white hot dragon fire. Any dragon fire which catches is immediately smothered by Connie and Argot and their companions' immunity.
Suddenly, in a brief lull as the dragons move on to the next section, a voice calls out to us, and Firewater flinches away sharply. I slip sideways, and by the time I regain my balance, the voice is apologising for alarming us.
"It's fine," I say, realising with significant embarrassment that the voice is Connie Lionheart's, and she is speaking through the shared encounter.
Work on the second fire break is beginning, and she speaks urgently. "You are young, Alex, too young to be here."
"I'm sorry." I say at once. "We saw the fire and we couldn't leave without sounding the alarm."
"For which I am very grateful." she says reassuringly. "If you hadn't been here, the fire still might not have been spotted, and our job would be much harder and more dangerous. But I can't have you firefighting with us."
Firewater speaks for the first time. "Please don't send us home. Now we're here, we want to help!"
I nod in agreement, and hope that this can be conveyed via shared encounter.
"I know," I can tell Connie is smiling. "I was exactly the same at your age. Which is why I am not sending you home." She breaks off as she and Argot smother a stray tendril of flame. "I need eyes. I can't see the bigger picture from on the ground. Will you two be my eyes and fly above? Show me what you see?"
Firewater and I agree eagerly, but as we turn to go, Connie calls out again.
"And Firewater?" she says with a smile. "I'm glad to see you doing so well."
"Thanks," he replies awkwardly, but before I have a chance to ask what she means, an updraught created by the heat of the flames below lifts us sharply upwards.
.
More companions are arriving now: frost wolves freezing the ground in the fire break, Nemian Lions carrying the frightened, displaced wood sprites to safety. And then the Phoenix, Amanda and Tara among them.
"What if they've noticed us?" Firewater asks anxiously. "We'll be in huge trouble."
I think about it for a second. "I'll probably be in trouble already for sneaking out. And they will have noticed us by now if they're going to. But you never know," I add, watching my mentor flying in formation with two other Phoenix, "they might be too distracted to realise we're here."
I can tell my companion is still uncertain, which is unusual – more often, our roles are reversed, and it's Firewater who wants to take the risks.
"Look, we can't go back now!" I say decisively, and my companion gives in and takes us higher to observe the situation and report to Connie.
Feeling very important indeed, I seek out the Universal in the overwhelmingly large shared encounter, and begin to describe the scene to her.
"The fire is still spreading, but not as fast as before," I inform her. "The sylph are doing well at slowing it on the right flank, but there's some escaping towards the bottom of the slope. And even though the wind is against it, the fire is still spreading slowly upwards. There is no fire break here, and no one but the Phoenix companions holding it back.
"But the fire break at the bottom of the slope is holding and the flames are running out of fuel and beginning to shrink. Although, they're producing a lot of smoke, and making it hard for the dragons to see what they're doing."
"How does it look to the left?" Connie asks.
"The firebreak is holding for now but it doesn't look like it will be wide enough. A fallen tree could probably breech it."
In response to my words, I see a couple of dragons, and Connie herself, head over to strengthen it. They burn a wider strip of woodland, and then the Frost Wolves gather and strengthen the break with snow and ice. I watch, impressed at the efficiency and organisation of the battle, and continue my commentary to Connie.
But as the firefighting progresses, the smoke becomes thicker and it becomes harder and harder to see and breathe. It's just as my eyes begin to sting too much to see clearly, that Connie speaks to us again.
"Alex and Firewater," she says. "I need you out of the way now. The weather giants are arriving, and they will create storms and rain to put out the fire. The smoke will be overwhelming and the wind at your height too turbulent. I can't have anyone flying that high, it's too dangerous. Go home and get some rest now." she adds kindly. "Thank you so much for your help, you've made coordinating everything so much simpler and more efficient."
"We were just doing our duty," Firewater says awkwardly, obviously flattered. "Thank you for letting us help." I nod my agreement, by now having decided that this can indeed be conveyed through an encounter, if not the movement, then the feeling.
"No, thank you. Really." Connie says seriously. The suddenly she grins at us. "Your mentor doesn't know you're here." She winks at us conspiratorially, and then out of the corner of my eye I catch sight of the approaching Weather Giants, and we hastily say goodbye to Connie, and make for the campsite. Though I know the Giants are on 'our side', their huge, shadowy forms nevertheless instil a sense of awe and terror in me and my companion alike.
.
By the time we reach the clearing in the nature reserve, the storm is setting in with earnest. The wind, which started as a gentle breeze, is now tearing at the treetops, and the rain is coming down in nearly horizontal sheets. Landing is difficult, and for once, even Firewater is relieved to be on the ground.
"Will you get back safely?" Firewater asks in concern as we prepare to leave each other.
"I'm walking, I'll be fine." I assure him. "It's you who we need to worry about – you're not going to fly in this are you?"
Firewater contemplates the sky doubtfully, just as a gust of wind ruffles all his feathers up the wrong way and nearly knocks me off my feet. Hail begins to add to the sting of the raindrops and a distant flicker of lightening illuminates the world in alarming contrast.
Firewater shakes his head. "No. I think I'll roost here tonight. It's not the most secluded place, but no one will be out in this storm anyway. Flying to the mountains now would be far too dangerous."
"Good plan." I hug him goodbye, remind him I love him, and with promises to meet him tomorrow, I start off at a run back to the tent.
Yay! I managed to finally write another chapter! And what with applying to university and this being a relatively long chapter, I reckon that's not so bad.
Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, and I'm still aiming for chapter thirty before 2017!
Best wishes,
SJP