The doors slammed shut again.

‘Asa! Open up! You have to leave, now!’

The door stayed closed.

Just then there came a distant rumble, like thunder, coming from the east. Mount Bara! Joe had no time left. The volcano was starting to erupt. How long before it blew? He glanced once, seeing the sky stained with a spray of orange lava.

‘Save yourselves!’ he yelled at the palace, hoping Yannic at least would hear him. He clambered to his feet, ignoring the pain, and sped back to where he’d left Ren, fear lending him speed. ‘Come on, Ren,’ he told her. ‘Can you run?’

Aark! she said, darting after him.

Joe checked over his shoulder. Could Ren keep up? He couldn’t carry her, she was too big now. And he wouldn’t leave his precious dragon behind. He peered backwards, 296anxiously. She’d never flown before, but by spreading her purple wings, Ren managed to do a strange mixture of running and jumping, flapping and clambering after him. She was keeping up.

Spurred on by relief, Joe ran faster than he’d ever run in his life, arms pumping, legs stretching, eating up the ground with every stride.

He didn’t know how long they had left. There was no time to reach the city. Instead, he veered round, heading for the stables and the tunnel entrance there.

His breath was burning in his throat now, his chest heaving. He flew round a corner – only a few more strides. He reached the stables and slackened pace, momentum carrying him forwards. Then he stopped, bent forwards, catching his breath and checking for danger.

Something caught his eye: a strange yellow wing, flutter­ing in a low bush. But hadn’t all the birds gone? There was something bulky dumped under there.

Ren rushed awkwardly past him, falling head over tail and righting herself again.

Mrraa? Aark? She sounded as though she couldn’t decide if it was danger or not.

Then, with a flap of wings, the yellow dragon, Della, ran out of the bush, behaving strangely, dipping her head low, wings wide. She came straight to Joe, caught hold of his trouser leg with her teeth and tugged him.

‘Della, no! Get off me. We have to leave!’ He pulled himself away, ripping away a shred of fabric, and turning back to the gate. 297

But Ren stretched up and nipped his ear lobe, gesturing frantically with her head towards the yellow dragon.

‘Really? Now?’ Ren nipped him again. ‘Ow! All right,’ he sighed, and followed Della back towards the bush.

With a shock he realised there was a person there, sprawled facedown in the dust: a person wearing a yellow dragonrider jacket and leggings.

Noah.

He must have been caught up in the fighting – Joe saw a shocking bruise on his face, where someone must’ve hit him. He bent and touched his wrist: it was still warm, with a faint thready pulse.

Ren growled, glaring up at him.

Joe couldn’t leave Noah here: he would be a murderer. He would be worse than him. But time was running out.