Read Book of One 04: A Child of Fire for Free Online Page A

focusing on calming the flames that smoldered deep within him and he pictured himself transforming into his old self. A few moments later, he opened his eyes and saw his shadow, cast on the ground before him, still in the shape of dragon. Frustrated, he shuffled his clawed feet beneath him and tried again, this time determined that he should succeed. He pictured himself standing in the yard of the farm, his skin smooth with no scales, his fingers long and thin with no claws, just fingernails, like a normal person, like he had always been, but the fire still burned deep within him. Borrican knew it was not going to work. He was stuck in dragon form.
    "Damn," he cursed, or at least that was what he meant to say, but it came out as a growl. At least that was what he heard. He tried to say a few more words. "I am Borrican Akandar, Prince of Kandara." Again, the thoughts and words he meant to say came out as snarling growls and roaring bellows. Borrican was frustrated. His father and uncle had been able to speak when they were in their changed forms. Borrican even remembered speaking the night before, when he had fought Cerric, and when he had yelled at his brother. Borrican knew something was wrong, but he was distracted from his worries by movement.
    A flight of small birds that had been hiding in a stand of trees nearby, startled by the sounds of a dragon growling, flitted away to another group of trees further away. Borrican heard each of them, their tiny wings beating the air, tiny morsels that might make for a snack. His stomach rumbled and he realized he was very hungry. Without even thinking, Borrican leapt into the air and with a few powerful flaps of his wings, he was soaring skyward, scanning the ground for prey. He flew past a few farms, which were uninhabited except for a few chickens, and made his way toward a dense forest that spread out toward the foothills and the mountain ranges that surrounded most of Kandara.
    Through the foliage below, he spotted several deer and he picked out a sizeable one and tucked his wings in tight to his heavy, scaled body, diving from the sky. The trees snapped like twigs as he tore through them, coming down directly on top of the deer and grabbing it with the claws of his feet, killing it in an instant. Borrican leapt with his powerful legs, up over the trees and beat his wings, flying away with the deer limp in his grasp. He saw a clearing ahead and dropped from the sky once more, spreading his wings to slow his descent and coming to a landing. Within moments, he had torn the head off the animal with one of his sharp claws and he picked up the rest of it and stuffed it into his mouth. His powerful jaw crushed the bones and flesh between his teeth and blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he chewed the deer to pieces. He swallowed the mass of meat, fur and bones and licked the blood from his face, snorting with satisfaction. It was only after his hunger had subsided that Borrican realized what he had done.
    It was not so much that he had eaten a deer, since he had certainly hunted game many a time and enjoyed many a feast, but the fact that he had killed the animal without even realizing he was doing it. His hunger had overwhelmed his senses and the dragon part of him had taken over. Borrican worried that it might get worse, the longer he remained in this form, the more he might lose himself to the dragon. He would have to find a way to change back, and soon, but first he was determined to find out if Ariana and the people of Kandara had managed to escape the city. He leapt skyward again and angled toward the mountain range that ran westward from the capital city, searching for any signs of his people, hoping they had made it to safety.
    *****
     
    The trees of the forest whispered that someone was coming and Ariana held up her hand, signaling a halt. The countless murmurs and voices from the long train of people behind her on the mountain path made it somewhat pointless to