Angel In Yellow by Astrid Cooper Read Free Book Online Page B

now!
    “Let me,” a darkhaired woman said. She lay the kitten on her palm, placed her other palm over it.
    Ben stared as golden light flowed from her fingertips to engulf the kitten. Her frown of concentration grew as the kitten struggled to live. Minutes later, she smiled as it purred.
    She looked at Ben, tears in her brown eyes. “Thank you. You saved this little one.” She walked away, taking the kitten to another woman who had set up what looked like an infirmary underneath the verandah.
    “Hey, wait.” That kitten was his responsibility. Ben went to follow, but two men blocked his path. The taller man held his arm in a hold that would have been painful if he resisted.
    “Here it comes, Darius!”
    The man who held Ben nodded. “Yes. Prepare.” His grip fell away as his attention diverted.
    Ben pivoted. In the distance he saw the flames leaping high above the tree line, a ring of fire surrounding the homestead. He and the animals had been saved, only to die here. He glanced around. There was no place to run. No shelter.
    Overhead the dragons screamed, circling. The lion and tiger roared. Other animals added to the cacophony. Ben frowned. Screaming at the fire wasn’t gonna do a damn thing. The only option was to defend. Ben grabbed Darius’s arm. “You got firefighting equipment?”
    “Yes.” He pointed to the dragons.
    “Christ, mate...”
    The man’s amusement faded. “Stay here and watch. Do not interfere, or you will be put in a cage.”
    Ben hardly had time to register the threat, before the dragons bellowed—a sound of challenge, and anger.
    The dragons screeched and dipped, wheeling in the air like birds, but their movements were slow and cumbersome. For the first time, Ben noticed each dragon had a rider sitting in the V where shoulders met neck. Five riders were men, the other a woman, all wearing black overalls. A seventh dragon, the one that had carried him to the homestead was riderless and appeared to be directing the manoeuvre—whatever it was. What the bloody hell was happening here? The riders held aloft blue crystals, and each dragon also clasped, in its talons, a boulder-sized crystal that glowed with all the colours of a rainbow.
    Now in a circular formation, the dragons streaked outwards towards the fire. The crystals pulsed, shards of light exploding, joining together to form a massive blanket of light that spread above the homestead, then folded down, flaring outwards, encasing all within a hundred metre radius. As the protective bubble shimmered and sparked, Ben’s ears hummed. Nearby someone was singing. He looked around. Who the hell was singing at a time like this? And what was that song? As he concentrated, his body thrummed, his heart raced, his blood becoming a torrent sweeping through his veins. Around him, power crackled, like the moment before a storm.
    The lion, tiger and several cats stood side by side, snouts raised, tails bristled. A wolf, a greyhound, and a fox joined the assembly, adding their voices to the song.
    Flames roared towards the homestead. Ben stood his ground, flinching as the fire slammed against the bubble, spreading over it. The song intensified. He watched as minute by minute the fire retreated. What the hell. ..?
    A woman’s voice behind him made him turn. She stood, arms raised, in the centre of a circle, within it a six pointed star drawn on the lawn. At each point another of those crystals glowed and each shot a beam of rainbow light upwards to the crystals the dragons and the riders held.
    The cadence of the song grew harsh. Commanding. As if in response, the flames reared backwards, toppling, imploding. A tsunami of flames slammed against the bubble. The song deepened with more voices, the rhythm and texture becoming almost painful. Ben put his hands over his ears. And then he saw. It shocked, made no sense...
    Flames fell, twisting, retreating. Fire extinguishing fire. The sky, once brilliant azure was now black and roiling. Thunder rumbled.