Grandma is shaking me. The walls of my room are shaking too. And the bookshelf. And the glass of water on my bedside table. Rain clatters on the roof, and the wind howls outside my window. It feels like the storm in Grandma’s story. Or like a wolf the size of the world is trying to blow our house down.

“The lantern, Deryn!” Grandma cries. “The lighthouse lantern’s gone out! There’s no more oil in the tank! There’s a fishing boat out there in the gale, getting pulled towards the rocks! We have to warn it! We have to re-light the lamp! Is there any spare oil anywhere?”

Grandma picks up the lamp by my bedside and shakes it, but its reservoir is empty. She puts it back down in despair. “Think, Deryn!” Grandma says. “We need to make light!”

Then I remember my dream. I look around for Tan, but she’s gone.

“Oh no!” I say. “I’ve lost Tan!”

“The little bird?” Grandma asks. “Don’t worry about her just now. We have to find a way to get the lamp lit.”

I nod. But I have a horrible feeling that I know exactly where Tan is.

“I think my bird might be able to help us, Grandma,” I say.

“How?” she asks, confused.

“Trust me.”

Grandma grumbles, but she lets me take her hand and we rush down to the cellar.

There is Tan, sitting on the edge of the empty oil tank. She’s shining as bright as day, just like in my dream. My mouth drops open. The dream was true.

“Tan,” I say. “You really are a firebird!”

Grandma looks at Tan and then at me, utterly shocked. “How on earth?” she says.

“Remember the story, Grandma?” I say. “About the firebirds who would drink the oil and light up the route for lost sailors?”

“That’s just a fairy tale, Deryn,” Grandma says. “It can’t possibly be true!”

“It is!” I say.

I hold out my hands for Tan, and she flaps over to them.

I cup her in my palms. Tan is not hot, but her light is so powerful it pours over my fingers like water, making the skin of my hands glow bright orange.

“Look!” I say. “Look how brightly Tan is shining! Maybe she can light up the lighthouse lantern?”

Grandma looks amazed, but she is quick to regain her composure. “Do you really think Tan will be strong enough to light the way?” she asks hesitantly.

“There’s nothing else to try,” I reply. “There’s no more oil in the house, and we have to help those people in that boat!”

Grandma still looks unsure, but she knows that this is our only chance.

“All right,” she agrees, finally. “I can’t believe this is happening, but I hope it works!”