A Collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Short Stories - Special ...

The two friends laughed and debated the numbers as they continued walking.
Helisho smelled the smoke and heard the girl’s screams before Azro. He grabbed
his friend’s arm and started running.
“What are you doing?” Azro asked, confused as he trotted in the direction he was
being pulled.
“I hear screaming, and there’s the smell of smoke in the air.” Helisho pointed
towards the horizon.
Azro squinted and saw a faint red glow coming from the direction of a farm
house. If Helisho was smelling smoke, than there must be a fire. Azro pumped his legs
faster and was soon traveling the familiar trail to his cousin’s stable.
The smell of smoke suddenly hit him, and the screams of the girl reached his ears.
He knew from her voice that it must be Coravanne. He turned to Helisho. “Go to the
village and tell them the stable’s on fire and Coravanne is inside. I’ll try and save her.”
He tried to leave, but Helisho grabbed a tight hold of his arm.
“Wait, I thought we were trying to make sure I wasn’t seen by anyone.”
“Well, just… start screaming ‘fire’ when you’re too far away for them to see you.
Make sure you throw in ‘stable’ and ‘Coravanne’ so they know where to go.”
“Ok,” Helisho’s legs carried him faster than any human’s would have. He smiled
softly to himself, glad that Azro hadn’t automatically asked Helisho to save the girl.
Azro did not stand to watch Helisho. He picked up a bucket and dipped it into the
horse’s water troth, then dumped it onto his head. After repeating this twice more, he
kicked open the burning door and sprinted inside.
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