Shilan could make out her house and the ones going up and down the street. They were nearly all engulfed in flame. Most were still standing, but a couple had already collapsed, their owners running frantically from their homes, and into the surrounding fields. Many were crying and wailing, having loved ones whom they did not see with them. Others ran into the blazing buildings towards the screams of others, in hope of saving the few who lay trapped within their wooden cages.
Her eyes turned to her father, who remained motionless on the ground. A small flame chewed hungrily on the corner of his shirt. Shilan swatted at the flame, extinguishing it after a few short attempts. She pulled her hands away, which were now slightly blackened from her father’s charred garment, and wiped the oncoming tears from her eyes, as her vision was beginning to fail her once again. The introduction of soot from her hands made her eyes sting.
She looked around for any sign of the rest of her family. Kalinon and Willion both lay on the ground. Kalinon wailed loudly while Willion was crumpled into a ball, weeping uncontrollably.
Where’s mother, thought Shilan. She scanned the faces of the other villagers through her tears, hoping to see her amongst them. Shilara was nowhere to be seen.
An ear-splitting roar echoed across the sky, and many of the townsfolk ducked down and dove to the ground. Shilan covered her ears with her blackened hands, trying to soften the monstrous sound, though just as before, her efforts gave her no relief. Everyone around looked to the sky, and her eyes followed theirs. Her view eventually met the dark red scales of a dragon…
- Read more in Shilan: Book one of the Dragon Wars
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