Flame of the Dragon Read online

  Stunned, the trio followed her to a quiet corner of the market. “Are you Zeal Chillchase’s friend?” Luke asked tentatively. Close up, he could see that the girl’s strangely glowing skin was also bumpy and rough, like alligator hide.

  The girl nodded. “I’m Icus – and you three stepped through a Hex Hatch in full view of the public. Zeal must be in real trouble to pull a stunt like that. This isn’t a G.H.O.U.L. community, and people like us have to keep a low profile or we’ll end up in one. Where is Chillchase, by the way?”

  “He didn’t make it,” said Luke.

  Icus listened carefully as Luke, Resus and Cleo explained how they came to be there, why they had collected the founding fathers’ relics and, as they neared the end of their quest to close the doorway, how they had been arrested by Acrid Belcher and banished to the Underlands.

  “Belcher!” muttered Icus angrily. “He’s the reason I left G.H.O.U.L. He treats normals the same way as this Sir Otto guy clearly treats people like us.” She took a deep breath to calm her temper. “What can I do to help?”

  “We need a Hex Hatch spell to get us back home,” said Resus. “And some reanimation gel to help bring back an old friend.”

  “We also need to make a sleeping potion strong enough to subdue a werewolf,” added Luke. “Apparently, for that we’ll need a piece of shell from a dragon’s egg.”

  “A dragon’s egg?” smiled Icus. “I know just the person…”

  Half an hour later, Luke, Resus and Cleo found themselves waiting nervously in a dark alley behind a restaurant. As soon as they had arrived, Icus had wished them luck and left. “I wouldn’t put it past Belcher to be watching former Trackers like me,” she had explained. “I don’t want to put you in any extra danger.”

  “Well,” said Resus, prodding at the remainder of what appeared to be sweet and sour chicken with his shoe. “This is a lovely place for a meeting. What did Icus say the guy’s name was?”

  “She didn’t,” replied Luke. “She just said we’d know him when we saw him.”

  “That’s a bit vague,” Cleo commented.

  “…and that’s the way I like it,” said a voice from the shadows.

  “I like it better than you,” said another.

  Whatever the trio was expecting to step into the glow of the streetlight, it wasn’t this. The creature was dressed in a bright orange suit and matching shoes. Two heads sprouted from a single body – although each face only had one eye.

  “A cyclops!” exclaimed Resus.

  “He’s a cyclops,” corrected the first head, nodding towards the other. “I think you’ll find that I’m perfectly normal.”

  “Oh, don’t listen to him,” sighed the second head. “And we’re actually a biclops.”

  “A what?” asked Cleo.

  “A biclops,” replied the second head. “A cyclops with two heads and two eyes – therefore, a biclops! My name is Stan, and this ugly mug here is Ollie.”

  “Ooh, watch who you’re calling ugly,” snapped Ollie. “We’re twins, remember?”

  “Twins, my nostrils!” cried Stan. “I’m better looking than you’ll ever be.”

  “Excuse me,” interrupted Luke. “But Icus said you might be able to get us a Hex Hatch spell and a dragon’s egg.”

  “I can,” said Stan smugly. “The only thing he’ll get you is trouble.”

  “How dare you?” retorted Ollie. “I know exactly where all our spells are stored. Probably because I’m the only one who ever tidies the storeroom!”

  “You never do,” cried Stan. “I swept up all that broken glass last week.”

  “Well, who broke the glass, hm?” teased Ollie. “You’re the one who knocked over the bottle of wine because you can’t see properly out of your ONE EYE!”

  “That’s not fair,” sobbed Stan. “I was born like this – and so were you.”

  “Yes, but I’ve learnt to cope with my visual limitations. You’re too busy preening yourself to give it a second thought!”

  At that, Stan raised the hand on his side and slapped Ollie across the cheek. Ollie looked shocked for a moment, then returned the slap with the other hand. Within seconds, the biclops was rolling around on the ground, fighting with itself.

  “Stop it!” shouted Luke, grabbing the hand on Ollie’s side while Resus grabbed the other. “This is ridiculous!”

  The biclops climbed to its feet, smoothing the creases out of its suit. “He started it,” mumbled Stan sulkily.

  “I did not!” cried Ollie. “You were the one who said—”

  “That’s enough!” exclaimed Luke. “Now, can you give us the things we need, or shall we take our business elsewhere?”

  “We’ve got what you need,” Ollie assured him.

  “But it depends on what you’ve got to trade,” added Stan.

  Luke turned to Resus. “Over to you…”

  The vampire began to rummage around inside his cape. “I’ve got a pair of hedge trimmers, a table-tennis bat, a Mexican hat…”

  “I’d look good in that!” cried Stan, snatching the hat from Resus.

  “You haven’t got anything to wear with it,” declared Ollie.

  “It’ll look wonderful with anything,” Stan retorted.

  “There’s a baby’s rattle,” continued Resus, “two light bulbs … a football scarf…”

  “Now you’re talking,” said Ollie, taking the blue and white woollen scarf and wrapping it around his neck. “What else?”

  Resus continued to produce random items from his cape while the biclops gave a running commentary. “A silver-plated picture frame…”

  “Tacky!”

  “…a jar of pickled gherkins…”

  “Does he want our breath to smell?”

  “Yours already smells.”

  “Oh, be quiet!”

  “…a rugby ball, a train conductor’s whistle, a pair of sunglasses…”

  “STOP!” cried both Stan and Ollie at once.

  Resus paused. “What? You want the sunglasses?”

  Ollie snatched them from Resus, and pressing its heads together, the biclops just about managed to squeeze the dark glasses over its two faces.

  “We look wonderful,” sighed Stan.

  “Like a dream,” cooed Ollie.

  “Thank you,” they both said together.

  “You’re welcome,” said Luke. “But don’t forget your side of the bargain…”

  “Of course!” beamed Stan. He plunged his hand into the pocket on his side of the suit jacket and produced a jar of clear goo, which he handed to Luke.

  “This must be the reanimation gel,” Luke said.

  Ollie gave Cleo two sheets of parchment. “This one looks like the Hex Hatch spell,” said Resus, taking one of them. “But where’s the eggshell?”

  “You said…” Luke looked up, but the biclops had disappeared. He, Luke and Cleo were alone in the alley.

  “They conned us out of the egg!” Resus cried.

  “No, they didn’t,” said Cleo, examining the second sheet of parchment. On it was drawn a map that showed a cave marked Dragon’s Lair. “I think we have to get it ourselves!

  Chapter Six

  The Bridge

  Luke clenched his teeth as the wheels of the rickshaw crashed into yet another pothole. If he wasn’t careful, he would bite off the end of his tongue before they got anywhere near the dragon’s cave.

  The trio had had to barter even more items from Resus’s cloak in return for the trip. The driver – a local man – was racing up ahead, pulling the children along at breakneck speed in what was little more than a wooden wheelbarrow.

  “Do you think we’re nearly there?” asked Cleo, clinging on as the driver turned a corner, one of the rickshaw’s wheels lifting clear off the ground. It spun wildly in the air for a few seconds, then crashed back down onto the tarmac with a thump.

  Luke struggled to hold the biclops’s map steady enough to read. “We’ve definitely left the centre of the town,” he said. “And as far as
I can tell, we’re travelling north.”

  Resus glanced up at the buildings around them. The shops and food stands had long since given way to small houses and blocks of flats. Ahead, he could see where the buildings stopped altogether, opening up to green fields that stretched towards the horizon. “Let’s just hope he’s taking us in the right direction,” he muttered.

  After another twenty minutes or so, the rickshaw driver came to a sudden stop at a battered fence. He turned to the trio and began to point at the fields around them, shaking his head. “No go!” he barked. “No go!”

  Luke climbed out. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Stop now,” continued the driver. “No go!”

  “I think he’s saying he won’t take us any further,” said Cleo helpfully.

  “But we’ve paid him to take us all the way to the dragon’s lair,” said Luke. “At least I think we have…” He turned to Resus. “What did you give him?”

  “A set of colouring pens, a tube of toothpaste and a pair of inflatable armbands.”

  Luke turned back to the driver. “We’ll give you more if you take us further.” Resus pulled a teddy bear from his cape and waved it as alluringly as he could.

  The rickshaw driver shook his head again. “No go!” he insisted, then he ushered Cleo and Resus out of the seat, spun the vehicle around and began to race back the way they had come.

  Cleo took the teddy from Resus and gave it a quick cuddle. “I guess we’re walking from here, then,” she said.

  A while later, Luke, Resus and Cleo found themselves trudging through fields of long grass. The town was nothing more than a thin, grey line on the horizon behind them, and ahead lay the foothills of a desolate mountain range.

  “Does this strike either of you as odd?” Luke asked.

  “What, that we’ve been abandoned in the middle of nowhere and ended up walking for miles towards certain danger?” questioned Resus. “Nope, not in the slightest!”

  Luke grinned. “That does sound like us – but I meant these fields.”

  “I’ve never seen grass this long before,” Cleo put in.

  “Exactly,” said Luke. “But you’d think all this land would be used for something.”

  “Like what?” asked Resus.

  “I dunno,” replied Luke with a shrug. “Growing food or something.”

  “Well, for your information, this is the fallow field in a yearly cycle of crop rotation. Leaving the grass to grow improves soil structure and helps replenish nitrogen.”

  Luke stopped walking and stared at Cleo. “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t say anything!” replied the mummy. “Resus…?”

  “Since when did I know anything about crop rotation?” asked the vampire.

  “You don’t need to – I’m an expert on the subject!”

  Intrigued, the trio followed the voice. Luke parted the long grass with his hands and saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. He cleared a bit more to reveal an extremely small woman standing before them, hands on hips. “Although, I admit, the crop rotation cycle is not the only reason why this field is untouched by either crops or livestock.”

  “It, er … isn’t?” asked Luke.

  “Nope,” replied the tiny figure. “That’ll be ’cos everyone’s terrified of the dragon.”

  “Dragon?” cried Resus. “So we are heading in the right direction!”

  “You’re on the right path for the dragon,” agreed the figure. “Seen it with my own eyes.”

  “Who are you?” Cleo asked, peering down into the grass.

  “Meg G. Nome, at your service!” the little woman beamed. “Wearer of the Boots of Magic and Keeper of the Rock of Wonder.”

  “The Boots of what?” asked Resus.

  “Magic,” grinned Meg. She lifted her leg to show off a shiny blue boot. “That’s them there – well, one of them, anyway!”

  Resus frowned. “So … what exactly is magic about them?”

  “They let me walk anywhere I want to go,” explained the gnome.

  “That’s it?”

  Meg shrugged. “What else would you expect a pair of boots to do?”

  “And the Rock of Wonder?” asked Cleo.

  The gnome frowned. “That doesn’t walk anywhere. It’s a rock.”

  “No, I mean – what is the Rock of Wonder?”

  “Ah…” replied Meg as mysteriously as she could. “The Rock of Wonder is a rock … of wonder!”

  “You’re winding us up,” grunted Resus.

  “I am not!” insisted Meg.

  “Save your breath,” said the vampire. “I don’t want to see the Rock of Wonder, or sit on the Chair of Destiny, or even use the Toothbrush of Secrets…”

  A look of terror flashed across the gnome’s tiny face. “Who told you about the Toothbrush of Secrets?” she gasped.

  Resus sighed. “For goodness’ sake—”

  “STOP!” commanded Meg. “Or you’ll fall into the Chasm of Doom!”

  “The what?” scoffed Resus.

  “The Chasm of Doom,” Meg repeated. “It’s filled with the Ghosts of Regret and the Monsters of Oblivion.”

  “Keep talking and you’ll get a kick up the bum from the Foot of Irritation,” laughed Resus, beginning to walk on. “We need to find the— Aargh!”

  Luke leapt forward and grabbed his friend just in time. The pair were standing on the edge of a ravine. Swirls of thick mist obscured the bottom, so there was no knowing how deep it was.

  “That’ll be the Chasm of Doom, then,” said Cleo.

  “That’s the one,” confirmed Meg. “And over there on the other side are the Mountains of Terror and the Cave of Certain Death.”

  “Don’t tell me…” said Luke. “The Cave of Certain Death is where we’ll find the dragon.”

  “Exactly!”

  “How do we get across the Chasm of Doom?” Cleo asked cautiously.

  “Easy,” said the gnome. “You use the Bridge of Truth. I shall activate the Boots of Magic to show you where it is.” With that, she strode off along the edge of the chasm, head held high.

  “We’d better follow her,” said Luke, although that was easier said than done. The gnome moved quickly and it was difficult to spot her in the long grass. Eventually, however, the four of them came to a long rope bridge that spanned the canyon.

  “Behold the Bridge of Truth!” announced Meg.

  “It’s very nice,” said Cleo kindly. “Thanks for all your help…” She was about to step onto the bridge when the gnome grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

  “You can’t just walk across the Bridge of Truth!” she squealed.

  “You can’t?” said Cleo.

  “Of course not!” cried Meg. “It’s not called the Bridge of Truth for nothing. You have to tell the bridge-keeper – that’s me – a truth before you can proceed.”

  “So you want to hear us say something true before we can cross?” said Resus.

  “Now you’re getting it,” grinned the gnome. She took Luke by the hand and pulled him towards the bridge. “Tell me about your first love.”

  “Well, there hasn’t really been…” mumbled Luke, his cheeks flushing red. “I mean, there was a girl at my old school who I quite liked, but I didn’t tell anyone…”

  “You may cross,” smiled Meg.

  “Oh, er … right. Thanks.” Luke stepped out onto the bridge and began cautiously to make his way across the thin wooden planks that were strung between two lengths of rough, twisted rope that spanned the ravine. A second pair of ropes hung at waist height and Luke gripped these tightly as he made his way across, trying not to look down.

  “You next!” said the gnome, turning to Resus. “What is your greatest fear?”

  “That’s easy enough,” replied Resus with a sigh. “It’s that my family wouldn’t want me any more because I’m not a real vampire.”

  “You may cross.”

  With a glance at Cleo, Resus followed Luke onto the rope bridge.

  “Lastly, y
ou.” Meg took Cleo’s hand. “Tell me what you’ve done that you are most ashamed of.”

  Cleo’s eyes widened. “I don’t think I want to,” she said. “Can you ask me something else?”

  The gnome shook her head. “Once the Question of Interest has been asked, it cannot be unasked. Now, what are you most ashamed of doing?”

  Cleo gulped. “I… I once chased an explorer out of my tomb back in Egypt.”

  “There,” said Meg, “that wasn’t so bad, was it? Now you can cross.”

  “Thank you,” croaked Cleo, and she stepped out onto the first plank.

  Suddenly, the bridge began to jerk violently from side to side, and the trio had to cling on for dear life. The planks bucked beneath their feet, threatening to hurl them into the seemingly bottomless chasm below.

  “What’s happening?” yelled Luke.

  Meg fixed the trio with a stern look. “One of you has not told the truth!” she declared.

  Chapter Seven

  The Lair

  Luke’s foot slipped between two of the planks and he fell face first onto the narrow walkway of the bridge as it continued to rock and sway like a rodeo bull.

  “What did you say?” he bellowed to Resus, his palms burning as the rope tried to pull free of his grasp.

  “It wasn’t me!” Resus retorted. “You know my greatest fear is being cast out for not being a proper vampire. It must have been you.”

  “But I told the truth!” Luke yelled back. “I had a crush on Nicola Shepherd at my old school. It can’t have— Oof!” The rest of his sentence was lost as one of the planks jolted upwards and smacked him in the chin.

  Resus struggled to look back over his shoulder. “But that means…”

  “I didn’t want that question!” screeched Cleo as she was flung around like a ragdoll. “I didn’t want to say what I’m most ashamed of!”

  “You have to!” shouted Resus. “Or we’ll all end up at the bottom of the Chasm of Doom as flat as the Pancakes of Kersplat!”

  Cleo looked pleadingly at Meg, who watched calmly from the bank as though this kind of thing happened every day. “Please make it stop!” she begged.