The Last Dragon Chronicles: Fire World: Fire World

www.orchardbooks.co.uk

for Angelo Rinaldi

Thanks, as always, to Catherine, for herpatience, support and ongoing belief. Mr

Henry would surely love you as his own.

Likewise, Lisa in the US, and everyoneinvolved in touring me through North America. If I tried to remember you all I’dcome unstuck, but I can’t forget SheilaMarie, who was always on the end of aphone when I needed her. Emily, Ann and

Edie, my wonderful media escorts. Elliotand Kevin, the alligator dudes. Rachaeland her Reading Rockets at WETA, and

Barb Langridge at ABookandaHug.

Nearer to home: the Balne family, Peta

and Paul Seedhouse in Dudley, Joanne and

her Tigger, Rachel and the crew at

Chilwell, Amanda in Norwich, Marilyn

and friends at Norfolk Children’s Book

Centre, Karen and Dennis in Melksham,

Libby and Charlotte in Plymouth,

Margaret and Bethan in North Wales,

Kathy in Hitchin, Christine in Leighton

Buzzard, Ros and Julie in the West

Midlands, Diane at Dixie, Tina in

Northampton (enjoy your retirement), and

Sue and Andy at Simply Books in Bramhall. Guys, you all know why you’re

here.

And last but not least a big thanks to thetireless Agent Ed, Rod Duncan and hiscamera, everyone at LWC, and Jay, whokeeps it all going.
 
Hrrr!

ORCHARD BOOKS

338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH

Orchard Books Australia

Level 17/207 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW

2000

First published in 2011 by Orchard Books

This ebook edition published in 2011

ISBN: 978 1 408 31442 5

Text © Chris d’Lacey

The right of Chris d’Lacey to be identifiedas the author of this work has beenasserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library.

Printed in Great Britain

Orchard Books is a division of Hachette

Children’s Books,

An Hachette UK company.

www.hachette.co.uk

Fool! All that is, at alllasts ever, past recall;earth changes, but thy soul and Godstand sure:

what entered into thee

that was, is, and shall be:

time’s wheel runs back or stops;

Potter and clay endure

Robert Browning

Part One

which has its beginnings

in the

Strømberg Centre for

Auma Therapy

November 3 031

1

“Professor Merriman. Eliza. Please, come

in.”

Counsellor Strømberg stood at thedoorway of his office and swept awelcoming hand into the room. He was atall, well-built man with pastel-blue eyesand shoulder-length fair hair. He noddedat Eliza as she went past, noted her lookof concern, but said nothing. He shookhands with Harlan and guided himtowards one of the two aumatic chairs

positioned in front of the helegas screen on the far wall. A gradient of soft pink colours was playing across it. In the corner nearest to Eliza, a tall
 
frondulus
, with bell-shaped flowers of variegated

colours, was suspended from the ceiling. She ran a knuckle down the twisting stem of the plant and smiled when the flowers opened a little. She came and sat down beside Harlan.

Strømberg positioned himself behind a kidney-shaped desk and placed his hand on the v:com terminal. “Lara, could you bring David in for me, please?”

A moment later another door opened. A petite young nurse in a pale yellow uniform walked in with a boy of some ten or twelve years. The fringe of his nut brown hair was almost digging into his dark blue eyes. “Mum,” he said, going straight to Eliza. She swept one half of her stunning red hair behind her ear so they could touch cheeks in the standard

Co:pern:ican fashion.

“You look great,” Harlan said, patting the boy’s arm. “Have you been OK here?”

Dad, all I’ve done is sleep
, David ‘said’, extending his thoughts to everyone present.

They all laughed and Strømberg said, “Thank you, Lara.”

The nurse waved to David and left the

room.

Eliza gently tugged her son’s sleeve. Hewas still wearing the blue gown andtrousers of the auma centre. They suitedhim rather well. “I’ve told you before, it’spolite when you’re in society to speak, notcommingle.”

“Ah, that’s my doing,” Strømberg said,coming to the boy’s aid right away. “I’vebeen encouraging David these past threedays to use his mind to commingle or

imagineer as much as he likes. It helps us

to measure the full extent of his fain.”

No worries on that score
 
, Harlan Merriman thought. His son’s ability tomaterialise objects just by thinking aboutthem was unparalleled, in his experience. “So, how’s the therapy progressing? Did

you  discover  anything  –  about  the

dreams?”

I don’t remember any dreams
 
, Davidcommingled.

Strømberg came in quickly again. “David is fit and well. A very intelligentand interesting young man. He’s flownthrough every test we’ve thrown at himand kept us all amused with his abilities. We’ll be sorry to see him leave. As youknow, he’s been filmed in our sleeplaboratory   and   we   have   recorded

evidence of the disturbances you observed

at home.”

Have you?
 
David commingled.
 
Sorry, I

mean
, “Have you?”

“Yes,” said Strømberg. “And that would support the theory that you’re… imagineering in your sleep, though why you don’t remember it is still a mystery. For that reason, David, I want to continue your therapy so that we can get this resolved properly. It won’t be here, though. I need to move you to another facility.”

“Oh,” said Eliza, who’d assumed he was coming home with them that night. The sensors embedded within her chair

immediately registered a change in the auma envelope surrounding its occupant. Strømberg, looking at the readings on a

monitor only he could see, moved a dial on his com:puter. Accordingly, Eliza’s shoulders lifted and her pretty facial muscles relaxed.

Will   it   be   more   sleep?
  
David

commingled.

“No,” said Strømberg, swinging in his chair. “This will be an altogether different adventure.”

Harlan sat forward to ask more about itbut Strømberg was quick to speak again.
 
Alittle
 
too
 
quick
, Harlan thought.
 
Had hebeen deliberately cut off
?

What Strømberg said was this: “Thereare the usual tedious formalities, whichwill be of no interest to you, David. Whydon’t you go and challenge Lara to anothergame of
 
Flyng
 
while we sort this out? She’ll be keen to get her revenge, I’m

sure. You can see Mum and Dad again before they leave.”

“OK,” David said. He smiled at his parents and scooted from the room.

Eliza’s gaze trailed after him. Before anyone else could speak she said, “Listen, do you need me for this?” She waved a hand at Strømberg’s desk. “If David’s staying in therapy for now, I’d prefer to spend some time with him rather than with filing answers into a com:puter. Is that all right, Harlan?”

“Yes,” he said, getting a nod from the counsellor.

“Have as much time as you like,” said Strømberg, gesturing towards the door that David had gone through.

“Thank you,” she said. She pressed Harlan’s shoulder and left.

“So,” Harlan said, as the door closed

behind her. “What do I have to do?”

“I want you to watch something,” Strømberg said. A note of seriousness had suddenly crept into his voice. He moved his hand across the com:puter’s neural interface. An image of David, asleep in a single bed, appeared upon the helegas screen. A prompt flashed once and read ‘pause’. “I’m rather pleased Eliza isn’t with us. I don’t think she would have

coped with this very easily.”

Harlan narrowed his gaze. “What exactly have you filmed, Counsellor?”

“Something extraordinary,” Strømberg replied. And he switched the com:puter to ‘Play’.

2

“The footage is brief, but dramatic,” said Strømberg. “David slept peacefully for most of the night, with no abnormal spikes in his consciousness. This segment was recorded some six hours in, close to the break of dawn.”

Harlan turned his eyes fully to the screen. For the first few frames, David lay on his back with his hands tucked under

his therma:sol sheet. Then, just as if a pin had been stuck into his foot, his head twitched away from the camera and came violently back, making an audible whack against his pillow. He drew up his knees. His back arched slightly. His hands began to push the sheet away.

Suddenly, the screen flashed as if alight had popped. At the same time, Davidjerked up in bed with his jaws wide openand his lips curled back. Two of his teethseemed slightly extended. His eyes,normally so placid and round, slantedsidewards and briefly changed colourfrom their usual deep blue to a strongshade of brown. With both hands heclawed wildly at the space in front of him,though nothing appeared to be occupyingthat space. And out of his throat came anuncommon noise. A roar, not unlike thesound of an engine.