Fire Star by Chris D'Lacey

beside her.
    “The best,” she said. “What’s with the blood on his lip?”Russ knelt forward and opened the bear’s mouth. Its thick black tongue lolled sideways, into its upper palate.
    “We took a tooth,” he said, showing off a gap in the lower jaw. “Messy, but it’ll heal all right.”
    “Tooth?” said Zanna, looking up at the bird.
    “Umm,” Russ grunted, laying the head flat. “Every year, they add a new layer of enamel. If you section through it you can count the layers, just like you can with the growth rings in a tree. Easiest way to age them. This guy’s about twelve. In his prime. It would have been a travesty if the goon that shot him had finished the job.”
    Zanna pursed her lips and made her straight hair dance. “I think he’s got a really big future, this bear.”
    “He’s got a big journey, that’s for sure,” said Russ. “Fifty miles, up the coast.” He stood up and patted her shoulder. “Come on, we need to get this package wrapped. It took a lot of dizzy juice to knock this guy out. He’s strong. He won’t be asleep for long. Tootega, lend a hand, here.”
    With a shuffle of feet, the Inuk stepped forward. Zanna immediately stood up and faced him.
    “The bird knows,” she said quietly. “You’d bettergive it back.” She rubbed her fingertips together, guiding a smear of blood across her skin.
    “Tootega, come on, take a paw,” Russ called.
    But the Inuk was watching in horror as Zanna pushed her hand inside her sleeve and carried the blood of the ice bear, Ingavar, to the scratches on her arm. With a lurch, he stumbled past her and helped the other men roll the bear onto the netting.
    “OK, have it your way,” Zanna whispered and raised her dark-eyed gaze once more.
    The bird extended its sleek black wings.
    “To the ice,” said Zanna.
    Caaark!
went the bird, and flew away.
    North.

21 W HAT TO D O A BOUT L UCY
     
    S he can’t raise Gawain. That’s impossible,” said Liz. She put aside the tapestry cushion she was clutching as David handed her a cup of strong tea. He put a plate of cookies on the sofa arm beside her.
    “Well, Gwilanna obviously believes she can. And in three months’ time, she’s going to give it a try.”
    “But it’s ridiculous. She’d need his fire tear for that. How can she revive him when he’s locked in stone?”
    David sat down, focusing on the space between his knees. “We’ll talk about the tear in a minute. Tell me what you know about this star.”
    “Nothing. I’ve never heard of it before.”
    “You don’t know how dragons came to be?”
    “There are myths,” Liz said, “about a dragon called Godith.”
    “Oh? You’ve never mentioned him before.”
    “Her,” Liz corrected. “Godith was supposed to have created the world with one gigantic outgoing breath, making dragons in her image — as you would.”
    Hrrr,
went the Pennykettle dragons in turn, who had gathered as a group on the mantelpiece.
    David scratched the side of his neck. He looked at Gadzooks, Gretel, Gruffen. All of them had their ears cocked forward. “I thought dragons were created from clay and their fire was born from the center of the Earth?”
    “They are,” said Liz, “but something had to kick the process off. It’s like saying how did
we
get here? How far back can you go? No one truly knows. Actually, Henry’s very knowledgeable on this subject.”
    “The birth of dragons?”
    “No, cosmology. If you’re looking for a connection with this so-called fire star, he might be able to identify it for you. He’s got dozens of books on the subject.”
    David nodded and broke a cookie in half. “What about Lucy, then? Why would Gwilanna take her away?”
    On the floor at Liz’s feet, Bonnington mewed. Liz widened her arms to let him jump onto her lap. The cat sniffed at the cookies and drew his nose away. He circled twice, then settled down and started to groom his paws. Liz stroked him gently as she spoke. “It was always going to happen