I shake my head, the scales of her face burning hot through the sleeves of my coat. Three are missing from above her eye, leaving gaping, bloody craters. I know who’s responsible. Back when he worked in Germany, Ralph learned how to slice off a dragon’s scales one by one.
‘I didn’t know you were here. But I’m going to get you out.’
I stare up at the chains holding Chumana, wishing it was just a question of cutting out a detonator.
‘Viv?’
Atlas’s voice calls out from below.
‘I’m up here.’
Atlas stares up, shielding his eyes from the light, and I see his expression turn to one of horror as he realises what he’s looking at.
‘We need the keys,’ I call down to him. ‘Or some tools.’
But he’s already crashing up the stairs behind me. ‘How did they get you in here, Chumana?’
‘Bulgarian dragons,’ Chumana mutters weakly. ‘They built the tent around me.’
I turn to him, feeling the terror seep into my bones. ‘What are we going to do?’ I say, my voice barely a whisper.
‘You must leave!’ Chumana roars.
Atlas stares at me with wide, shining eyes. I have no idea what he’s thinking.
‘The rebels are attacking,’ he says. ‘What if we—’
A slicing sound fills the tent, so loud that I jump, causingthe stairlift to sway. Atlas grabs me as I let go of Chumana and we cling to each other, swinging mid-air. There’s a second slash, the sound of fabric ripping, and I scream as a dragon’s open jaws bite through the tent at our backs. We lurch against the side of the stairlift and I close my eyes, waiting for the hot sting of teeth on my skin. But it doesn’t come. An eye is staring through the hole in the tent. It disappears and is replaced by a red snout. The face of a Bulgarian dragon pushes through the gap and I feel the fear chase the breath from my body and Atlas’s arms tighten around me. The dragon snarls and I gasp in recognition.
‘Daria?’
The sound of battle – roaring and clashing and the gnashing of teeth – rings outside.
‘This contraption is about to come down,’ Daria growls. ‘Get out.’
I shake my head. ‘I’m not leaving her, she’s my—’
‘I know who she is, human girl!’ Daria growls.
Human girl.
But only Chumana calls me that.
‘Do you have a knife?’ I gasp at Atlas.
He pulls one from his pocket and hands it to me.
‘Keep me steady,’ I tell him.
I turn to Chumana and reach over the top of her head. The stairlift sways again and Atlas’s hands come down on my waist, holding me still. My fingers search the back of her neck, where the scales were removed many years ago. I find the tough ridge of an old scar and, beneath it, a fresh cut.
‘I’m sorry, Chumana,’ I whisper to her as I slip the bladeinto the wound until it touches metal.
I angle the knife and push upwards, my other hand catching the bloody metal box. She doesn’t even growl.
Ralph bursts into the tent. ‘Intruders!’ he screams. ‘Rebel Number One has breached the prison!’
I duck as hot flames scorch the top of my hair. Ralph dives and the fire hits the front of the tent instead, engulfing it hungrily. I press the detonator to my chest and cling to Atlas as we stumble down the stairs, shying away from the heat devouring the fabric around us. Daria has disappeared and Chumana is still hanging from her chains. The dragonfire spreads across the tent, reaching up into the canopy and closing in on Chumana. I carry the detonator to the far side of the tent and gently place it in the sand. Through the smoke I see Ralph crawl outside.
