Page 16 of His Greatest Treasure

You know, if I needed to.

Something inside me sank at the thought of me needing to. I wouldn’t have to leave. Alfie wouldn’t betray me to his elder and nobody ever noticed me. I was too small and insignificant.

Even the Guardian, who clearly knew thatsomethinghad got through the boundaries – which was far, far more than anyone had ever known before when I passed through – didn’t know what I was. He wasn’t sure. Hefeltthat someone had slipped past, but he knew consciously that it was impossiblefor a living being to break through those protections. He’d done a very good job of them.

I slipped out of the tree line and hurried across to the boundaries. I just needed to see.

There were new spells down, including ones that could sense movement. He’d know if I got too close to them.

Fortunately, he’d built them to stop people getting in, not to stop people getting out. I could leave, if I needed to.

As soon as I knew it was possible to escape if I needed to, I turned and hurried back to the shelter of the trees. I kept an eye on the sky around me, just to make sure that the Guardian wasn’t circling and might see movement. He wasn’t there. It seemed a rather big job for one dragon to do alone. Most clans had several layers of protections, built up over generations, rather than just one person’s spells.

I slipped along between the trees, learning my way to and from the little hut that Alfie had given me.

Well, notgivento me. It wasn’t mine. He’d let me stay there.

When I saw it, though, it looked so small and cosy that I wished it could be mine.I could stay there for years, living quietly, seeing Alfie sometimes and not disturbing anything. It would be a pleasant way to spend my life, I supposed.

I opened the door and jumped back in fright when somebody was standing there. I think I gave a little cry of shock and turned to flame instinctively.

“Blaze? Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump. Are you alright? Do you want to come in? Do you want me to leave? Because I can, you know. I don’t mind, if you don’t want me here. Well, I might mind a bit but I want you to be comfortable and this is your place, not mine anymore, so you get to decide who comes in and out. Maybe I should have waited outside, but I was worried when you weren’t here.”

Alfie hadn’t even paused to draw breath and he took a deep breath now, having exhaled every last molecule of air.

I couldn’t stop the smile that broke over my face. Even though I was still a flickering flame form, I knew that Alfie could make out my facial expression because his face went from worried to happy in an instant. He smiled at me and he had the sweetest smile. His lips were rose petal pink and soft-looking.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” I said.

He indicated the door. “Do you want me to go?”

“No, please stay. If you can,” I added.

He smiled again and stood back inside the hut so that I could enter. I had the sense to become my solid, human form first so that a stray spark wouldn’t smoulder and burn the whole thing down.

“What did you go out for?” Alfie asked. Normally, I wouldn’t tell anyone where I went or what I did in case they tried to trap me.

When Alfie asked, though? I answered.

“I went to look at the boundary. I thought the Guardian was putting more spells down.

“Was he?”

“Yes, he was. He’s made it even more secure now. Nobody can get in.”

Alfie nodded. “Glimmer’s the best Guardian.”

He sounded so sure. He also sounded like he hero-worshiped this Glimmer just a little bit. I got curious.

“I suppose the Guardian is important,” I said. I didn’t want to outright ask him about his Guardian because that was bad manners. I knewthat dragons were secretive and clannish. Since I wasn’t part of his clan, he probably wouldn’t tell me anything and it would be awkward for him to have to tell me to mind my own business. I didn’t want to put him in that position.

To my surprise, Alfie’s face lit up.

“Yes, he is! Glimmer’s one of the most powerful dragons in the world. He’s very clever, you know. He uses this very cool magic and I’m not supposed to talk about it but maybe one day you’ll get to see it for yourself.”

That was very sweet of him to say. And he’d managed to answer my question without giving me details, which was smart. After all, he didn’t know that I wasn’t a threat. He didn’t know that he was literally the only person in the world that I knew right at that moment.

And he’d told me something else he hadn’t meant to, too.

---