Page 64 of His Greatest Treasure

She dragged me around the side of the castle and I realised she was going to take me through the back door, to wherever she wanted me, and nobody would know where I was. Nobody would see us. I’d be completely at her mercy and nobody would know.

The hag dragged me into the castle for the first time and I realised she’d covered the barbed-wire spells in slime, dulling their senses. Lord Somerville wouldn’t know that I’d passedthrough, and he wouldn’t know that the hag had been coming and going at night, either.

I had never been so afraid.

That is until I heard the first shout, and then I somehow managed to feel more fear than I thought I could contain inside me. I was utterly, utterly terrified.

Because that shout came from Alfie.

Chapter 26

Alfie

Iwoke from a troubled sleep with a jolt. At first, I didn’t know what had woken me up, but then I felt my chest vibrate in a way that I had never felt before.

Even in the gloom of my room, without any lights on, I could see the bond I had with Blaze suddenly flare up. It burned almost red, the hottest fire, and I felt the fear that ran through it in shocks.

I was up and out of bed in an instant. I had never run as fast as I did right then, following the bond I had with Blaze. My only thought was to get to Blaze.

Automatically, I began to head outside, since Blaze had always stayed out there, in the woods,but as I reached the end of one corridor, I realised that the bond led me inside.

I hesitated for just a moment. Barely a second. But in that time, something inside me snapped. This wasn’t natural. This wasn’t something I could solve alone. If Blaze was inside, and our bond was screeching with fear the way it was, something truly terrible was happening.

I didn’t even realise I was doing it at first, but I sprinted along the corridor after that bond, following it, trusting that it would lead me to my Blaze. And with my bonds drawn up in front of me so I could see them, that bright bond, the most important one, right there in front of me, I was aware of the rest of them in a way I had never been before. Suddenly they seemed so real. So tangible.

Before, I’d been able to see them. I’d been able to tell a lot about people from their bonds. But I hadn’t been able to touch them. It had never occurred to me that I could.

But since I’d discovered that Great Aunt Evangeline could see them too, I’d realised they were real in a way I hadn’t before. She had told me to protect my bonds.

Had she meant protect my bonds, or protect the people I was bonded to?

I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I could feel every bond I had with my clan, that they shone gold in the darkness, and I could feel them sparking out from me in different directions, each leading to one of my family.

As I ran, I grasped hold of them – I wasn’t even sure how – and tugged hard. Each bond jolted, except for the bond I had with Blaze. He was so frightened that I didn’t want to hurt him.

The bond was brighter now, which meant I was nearer. I screamed, “Blaze!”

And nearly cried with relief when I heard the answering shout, “Alfie! Help me. The hag’s got me.”

I screamed at the top of my lungs then. Instinct told me to make as much noise as I could, to get the whole clan up, wake them, make them come to me.

I tugged on the bonds again, jolting them awake, telling them I needed them to come to me.

When I rounded the corner, I froze. The hag was standing, lit by Blaze’s flames, which flickered overher face and cast deep shadows across her visage. She was more shadow and gaping maw than light.

“Blaze?”

“She caught me.”

I could see that, but I couldn’t tell how she’d done it. There was some kind of shadow reaching through Blaze’s flames to his core. It almost looked like it was magical fire tongs. I had no idea how she’d managed to keep hold of him while he was fire, though.

For a second, I was too afraid to do anything. If I did the wrong thing, she could hurt my- my Blaze.

Then Blaze gave a little sob, though it was almost lost in the crackling sound of his flames. I could hear it, though, and it nearly broke me.

I drew myself up and spoke as loudly and clearly as I could. “Let him go.”

“Child,” began Madame Trevellian.

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