"I did not mean to frighten you, my dear, but the way that one was fighting - so reckless, so near the flames, I think he must have a charmed life."
"Men like Caspian always lead charmed lives," Chloe says easily, and yawns. "I think I shall go to bed, I cannot keep awake any longer. Do you want to come too, Yiseul?"
I shake my head and she trails away.
I had not realised that fire-fighting might entail risks, and Mr. Lee's words had not been very reassuring. I could not rest until I know that Caspian is safe.
Mrs. Lee returns with a flask which she hands to Alistair.
"And now, bed for you," she says to her husband.
He stumbles to his feet and she helps him into the house.
Alistair starts towards the landrover, and I run after him.
"When will you be back?"
He shrugs weary shoulders.
"God knows - not until it's under control."
I won't be able to face the hours of waiting; scruples and resolutions vanish into thin air in a rising tide of anxiety.
The sun is coming up in a blaze of glory, but the atmosphere is heavy and sulphurous; it oppresses me unbearably. Heavy smoke clouds are rolling down from the ridge, mingling with the clouds in the sky.
I am so afraid.
I have never been so afraid in my life.
I have to see for myself, I cannot wait here. I have to see for myself, I have to make sure that he is all right.
Alistair swings himself into the driver's seat and lets in the clutch; I claw open the other door in a sudden frenzy.
"I'm coming with you."
He slams on the brakes in shock, and I fall against the front seat.
"You mustn't," he says flatly. "It's no place for a girl up there."
"Please. I promise I won't get in the way. I want to see what's going on."
He is too tired to argue.
"Mind you stay in the landrover," he says.
We begin to bump up the steep rutted ride. The trees on either side are dark and gloomy. Suddenly the road ahead is lit by a brilliant flash of light, and thunder crashes overhead.
"If only it would rain!" Alistair says hopefully.
"It usually does with thunder," I say.
"We need a deluge."
It seems he is going to get it, for by the time we reach the top of the ridge, the rain is streaming down, lit by intermittent flashes. The scene on the further side is one of desolation. The ground slopes downwards before rising to a greater height, and the downward slope is a blackened waste with the twisted trunks of trees rising like hellish spectres, swathed in blankets of ashy smoke, pointing gaunt fingers towards the sky.
Smoke is everywhere.
Ashes drift like phantom wraiths awoken from their slumber; they blow toward us mournfully, carried by the wind.
Smoke has blanketed the bottom of the slope, but now and again a stronger gust would blow it away and I could glimpse dark shapes flitting through the murk, or a sudden burst of flame, sinking and dying under the onslaught of the storm.
"It looks like an inferno," I say, appalled.
"It is an inferno," Alistair says grimly.
He drives over the burnt ground and then stops.
YOU ARE READING
Prince Caspian -Jung Yoonoh NCT
FanfictionHIGHEST RANKING #1 IN KOREANROMANCE Could she marry just to save her home? Yiseul loves her home, Ravenscrag, more than anything else in the world. Under the terms of her grandfather's will, the only way she can keep it is to marry his heir -- h...
