Chapter 1. No good deed goes unpunished

The Somme, France. 1916

The cold squalling rain had finally stopped - but with heavy

cloud cover, dawn appeared to be hours late breaking over

the battlefield. A red cross dog walked over a tangle of

bodies and sniffed at a soldier lying still and caked

in mud. It pawed at his shoulder and licked his face.

When it picked up the soldiers' helmet to return to the lines

for help, Ithaniel rolled over, wiped mud from his face

and smiled. "Hello there."

The saddle bags the dog carried contained medical supplies

and water, and had a name written on it.

"Achilles, is that your name?"

Achilles wagged his tail and dropped the helmet.

"You are very good at what you do Achilles, but there are others

who are in more need of your help than me."

Ithaniel patted the red cross dog.

"I'm just waiting for a friend - I want to surprise her you see,

and I'm sure she'll be along any day now."

There was a burst of flares and the sound of an

artillery barrage close by.

"In the meantime, I'm taking in the sights and enjoying

the show - it's all rather entertaining."

The dog licked his face one more time and moved on.

Achilles crisscrossed the shell cratered ground looking for

fallen Allied soldiers to assist.

A badly injured German soldier who was snarled in rolls of

barbed wire nearby gasped and moaned.

Ithaniel turned and looked at him. A bursting shrapnel shell

had caught the soldier and his patrol out in the open.

"The interesting thing is," Ithaniel said,

"that dog has been trained to know the difference in uniforms

worn on the battlefield. He knows one side from the other."

Ithaniel adjusted his helmet strap.

"He would of sensed you were alive, but he had no intention

at all of helping you. A bit like me really - although to be fair,

I don't care which side your on."

The soldier opened his eyes and spat blood at him.

Ithaniel laughed.

"That's the spirit. Maybe the rats will save you."

There was a gunshot and the unmistakable sound of

a dog whelping - then a second and a third shot.

Ithaniel scowled.

He stood up. His body glowed like molten metal

as he looked across the battle field.

A bullet hit him in the jaw and made his head twist to the side.

He smiled and burst into flames.

*

Achilles lay on his side next to the soldier he'd tried

to help. The flames that surrounded Ithaniel changed

to a golden aura as he knelt down next to

the red cross dog.

The side of Achilles' face was torn open.

Ithaniel gently stroked his muzzle.

"It looks like you could use some help yourself, my friend."

Achilles whined softly.

In the glow of Ithaniels' outstretched hand, the bleeding

stopped and connective tissue started to form on the

bare bones of the open wound.

Ligaments and tendons followed, then clusters

of nerves and small blood vessels. Flesh, skin and hair

knitted together until the wound was healed.

Achilles lifted his head and licked Ithaniels' hand.

"Lie still." he said gently.

Ithaniel traced Achilles' spine until he felt where another

bullet had struck and broken the pelvis.

The bones reshaped and realigned themselves.

Tendons, cartilage and muscles re-attached.

Achilles slowly sat up and wagged his tail, then he

nosed the hand of the fatally wounded soldier beside him.

Ithaniel shook his head. "Not him - just you."

Achilles jumped into his arm and licked his face.

Ithaniel smiled, sat back and patted him one more time.

"Go on, off you go."

Achilles returned to the Allied lines.

There was the crack of a gun shot, and a bullet ricocheted

off Ithaniels' back.

The golden aura that surrounded Ithaniel instantly raged

into flames. He turned and looked for the heat signature of

the bullets path in the cold morning air. Seeing it, he followed

it back to the German snipers' position.

The body warmth of the hidden soldier was clear to him.

Ithaniel growled.

"You should of run while you still had a chance."

*

Authors Note.

This is the first chapter of Book 2 in my FIRE Series.

It is an ongoing work and I will add chapters

to it in the next few weeks.

Thank you for reading what I have written so far.

Any feedback or ideas you have about the story

would be welcome.

Book 1. Sleep now in the fire, is available as an

E-book on Amazon/Kindle.