Flame of the Dragon Read online

  “I can’t,” the gnome called back. “The Bridge of Truth has a mind of its own – and it doesn’t like being lied to. There’s only one way to stop it…”

  Suddenly, one end of the bridge rose up like a tidal wave and Cleo was flipped right over the side. She managed to keep one hand on the handrail, but her legs were now dangling free over the churning mist below.

  “Cleo!” cried Luke. “You have to tell the truth – NOW!”

  Closing her eyes tightly, Cleo roared, “I stole a necklace from the emporium!”

  As quickly as it had started, the bridge stopped moving, leaving the trio swaying gently in the breeze. Resus and Luke raced back to pull Cleo to safety and the three of them sank down, trying to catch their breath.

  “You stole a necklace?” Luke asked Cleo.

  Wiping away tears, Cleo reached into her bandages and produced a silver chain with a sparkling sapphire flower pendant hanging from it. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed.

  “I’ve never seen Eefa selling anything like that,” said Resus.

  “It wasn’t strictly from Everwell’s Emporium,” Cleo admitted. “It was from Higginbotham’s Emporium, in nineteen sixty-one – when we chased the baby yeti through your cloak. I’d never seen anything so beautiful, and I just couldn’t help myself.”

  “That doesn’t sound like the sort of thing you’d do,” Luke said, surprised.

  “I know,” said Cleo. “I kept telling myself not to, but it felt as if the necklace was calling to me. So as soon as Cuffy wasn’t looking…” She sniffed. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s OK,” Luke assured her. “We’re all safe now.” He peered back towards the edge of the ravine. “I see that Meg has disappeared.”

  “Probably gone home to make herself a Pie of Tastiness for tea,” quipped Resus.

  Cleo gave a weak smile. “Can we get off this bridge now?” she asked.

  “Good idea,” said Luke, helping her to her feet. “We don’t want to keep the terrifying dragon waiting, after all…”

  Resus followed them onto the far bank. “Thanks for the reminder,” he said. “For a minute there, I was almost starting to enjoy myself!”

  “Are we really going to do this?” whispered Resus as he, Luke and Cleo crept into a cave set in the side of the mountain. “Are we really going to try to get a piece of shell from a dragon’s egg?”

  Luke nodded. “Without the dragon finding out and burning us to a cinder, that is.”

  Resus grinned. “There’s nothing like a challenge…”

  “Can you two hear something?” asked Cleo.

  The boys strained their ears. “I can’t,” the vampire admitted. “Just the breeze blowing in from outside.”

  “Except the breeze isn’t blowing in from outside,” said Cleo. “It’s going in the opposite direction – and it’s blowing in a regular pattern. Like breathing…”

  “She’s right!” exclaimed Luke after a moment. “It is breathing!” The trio kept walking, the space around them widening until they arrived at a vast cavern, lit by weak beams of sunlight seeping in from some unseen entrance far above.

  “This is incredible,” gasped Resus. “All we need now is—”

  The words caught in his throat as his cape flapped out behind him and he realized that, just ahead, lay a huge, sleeping dragon.

  The creature was at least the size of a house, and covered in glistening silvery-blue scales. It lay curled up in a giant nest made from branches and bundles of crisp, yellow grass, and as its snout was facing the children, they were hit by a powerful gust of wind each time the dragon breathed out.

  “That,” whispered Luke, “is awesome.”

  “And dangerous,” Cleo reminded him. “Let’s get a bit of shell and go.”

  “That might not be so easy,” Resus commented. “I can’t see any eggs.”

  “He’s right,” Luke said. “What if the dragon hasn’t got any?”

  “She’s laid some eggs all right,” Cleo assured them.

  “How do you know it’s a she?” asked Resus.

  Cleo rolled her eyes. “Female dragons have longer snouts than males. And that –” she pointed to the creature’s head “– is an elongated snout. Plus, they only make nests when they’re ready to lay eggs – and I’d say that one was made quite a while ago.”

  “How on earth do you know all this stuff?” asked Luke.

  “Simple,” replied Cleo. “I paid attention when Dr Skully taught us about it. As I seem to remember, you two spent the entire lesson drawing zombie hedgehogs in your exercise books.”

  Resus glanced around the cavern. “So … where are these eggs?”

  Cleo let out a grunt of frustration. “In the nest, of course. Under the dragon.”

  “This is going to be even harder than I thought,” sighed Luke.

  “Don’t be so negative,” said Cleo. “We only need a bit of shell, and we should be able to scrape that from the outside of one of the eggs without harming it. In fact, we might even get lucky and find a few broken bits in the bottom of the nest.”

  Resus looked at the branches, crushed under the weight of the dragon’s bulk. “So we have to go over to the nest and search?”

  “Well, she’s not going to bring the eggs to us, is she?” said Cleo, and before Resus could reply, she was darting across the cavern towards the sleeping beast.

  “Cleo, wait!” hissed Luke, but it was too late. The mummy was already trying to lift the dragon’s massive tail and peer into the nest beneath.

  By the time the boys had caught up with her, Cleo had squeezed her head between the dragon’s body and the twisted branches. After a moment, she reappeared.

  “No bits of broken shell, I’m afraid,” she said. “And the eggs are far too big to lift out. There’s only one way we can do this.”

  “How?” asked Luke.

  “One of us will have to climb into the nest.”

  Chapter Eight

  The Nest

  Resus and Cleo grabbed the sleeping dragon’s tail and lifted it as high as they could, allowing Luke to squeeze into the darkness of the nest below, a torch clamped between his teeth.

  Once his friends had lowered the tail again, Luke found himself pressed into the sticks and dead grass beneath him. The thin beam of the torch had little effect in the gloom, and the heat was stifling.

  Grabbing a couple of branches, Luke was able to wriggle forward, the torchlight glimmering weakly off the dragon’s underbelly. He was beginning to sweat, but he continued to climb deeper and deeper into the nest until he reached the three large eggs in the centre.

  Twisting himself round into a sitting position, Luke pulled out the penknife and Horror Heights-themed lunchbox Resus had given him, then reached for the nearest egg. He began to scrape at the shell with the knife, holding the lunchbox underneath to catch the tiny fragments. He didn’t know how much eggshell was required to make the sleeping potion, so he planned to fill the box and hope that was enough.

  A fine, bluish dust came away with each scrape and seemed to hang thickly in the air. Luke wiped the sweat from his eyes and shifted the knife round to tackle another part of the egg. The lunchbox was about a third full now, and if he continued at this rate he would…

  Suddenly the egg jolted as the baby inside moved, and Luke was thrown backwards. The penknife was knocked out of his hand and the contents of the lunchbox spilt over his lap. Now he’d have to start all over again!

  As Luke felt around for the lost knife, he heard a rumbling and the nest began to creak. The dragon was moving! Luke was shaken from side to side, the torch still gripped between his teeth, its beam swinging to and fro like a wartime searchlight. It was then that he spotted the knife – embedded between two glimmering scales at the base of the dragon’s tail.

  From the back of the cave, Resus and Cleo looked on in horror as the dragon rose up and roared. The sound was unlike anything Resus had ever heard, and he quickly covered his ears. Then the creature’s tail swung across the caver
n. The vampire hurled himself to the ground to avoid being hit.

  The dragon stomped across the shaking stone floor, still shrieking.

  Cleo landed with a crash beside Resus, and the two of them watched as Luke, coated in fine blue powder, appeared groggily from the bowels of the nest.

  “What did he do to make her so angry?” hissed the mummy.

  Resus pushed Cleo’s head down as the tail swept over them again. “That!” he exclaimed, pointing to the knife as it flashed by, still embedded in the creature’s hide. “He’s only gone and stabbed the dragon in the bum.”

  “I didn’t mean to!” protested Luke. “The egg jumped and pushed me backwards!”

  At the sound of Luke’s voice, the dragon swung its head round and roared again – and this time its cry was accompanied by a jet of red-hot flame.

  “Luke!” bellowed Resus. “You have to get out of there!”

  Luke’s head reappeared above the rim of the nest, but Cleo gestured frantically for him to stay down. “No, don’t move!” she yelled. “The dragon won’t risk harming her eggs. As long as you stay where you are, you’re safe!”

  The dragon spun round to face the pair and let loose another sheet of searing flame. Resus pulled Cleo down again, feeling his eyebrows being singed by the blast. “But we’re not safe now, are we, blabbermouth? We need to open the Hex Hatch and get out of here!”

  “What about the egg?” said Cleo.

  “I guess we’ll have to take one with us…”

  Suddenly, a large shadow fell across Resus and Cleo, and the dragon’s head loomed over the pile of rocks where they were hiding, its snout sniffing at the air just above them.

  “JUMP!” cried Resus, and the pair managed to dive aside just as a jet of flame hit the spot where they had been crouching. They raced for the nest and dived inside, tumbling down through the branches and dead grass to land beside the eggs.

  “Are you OK?” Luke asked, crawling over to join them. “I heard the dragon roar and I thought…”

  “We’re fine,” said Resus. “And – even better – I’ve got an eggs-ellent plan!”

  “I hope you’re not yolking…” Luke quipped back. Resus grinned and gave him a high-five.

  “We don’t have time for this!” Cleo snapped.

  “OK,” said Resus. “Here’s what we’ll do. Luke will activate the Hex Hatch spell over on the far side of the cave while I grab one of the eggs.”

  “I don’t think we should steal an egg,” warned Cleo. “It’ll make the dragon angry.”

  “Yeah,” said Luke, “’cos it’s been the model of calm up until now!”

  “We’re not stealing the egg,” Resus explained, “we’re borrowing it. Once we’ve scraped off enough of the shell, we’ll get Eefa or Twinkle to open another Hex Hatch so we can return it.”

  “OK,” Cleo conceded, “but we have to bring it back.”

  “Once the Hex Hatch is open,” Resus continued, “Cleo will distract the dragon so I can grab an egg, then we’ll all make a break for home.”

  “One question,” said Luke. “How do I get over to the far side of the cave with that thing out there?”

  He had barely finished speaking when the dragon’s head plunged into the nest, mouth open and teeth bared. Giant jaws snapped together, gripping Luke’s T-shirt and lifting him into the air. With a flick of its powerful neck, the creature flung him across the cavern, where he landed with a sickening crash.

  “Well,” said Resus. “That seems to have done the trick!” He clambered up the side of the nest and saw that the dragon was now making its way across the cave towards Luke. “Cleo!” he hissed. “You have to go NOW!”

  The mummy scrambled up beside him. “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Do what you do best,” Resus replied. “Go out there and cause trouble!”

  Chapter Nine

  The Zombies

  Luke shook his head to clear it. His back ached where he had crashed into the wall of the cave, and he could already feel bruises forming under his torn T-shirt. His vision was blurred, but he could just make out something large and blue heading his way. No, not just see it – he could feel it. The ground was shaking beneath him.

  The dragon thundered towards him and Luke knew he had to move. He tried to stand, but a bolt of pain shot through his head. The dragon would be on him any second, and this time—

  “Hey, big girl!” yelled Cleo, jumping down in front of the furious beast. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

  “What are you doing?” Luke cried in amazement.

  “Saving your life!” shouted the mummy. “Now hurry up and read out that Hex Hatch spell!” She spun back round to face the dragon. “I mean it, ugly mug – I’m the one you want!” She snatched up a rock and threw it at the enraged creature.

  The dragon twisted round and gave chase, breathing out another plume of searing flame. Cleo dropped under the jet of fire and rolled quickly to one side.

  Luke pulled the parchment from his pocket. The words, written in a shaky hand and already difficult to read, swam across the page in front of him. He held the spell at arm’s length and willed himself to focus. The lives of his friends depended on it.

  Inside the nest, Resus grabbed the nearest egg and tried to lift it. It was far heavier than he had imagined: helping his parents move their new wardrobe up the stairs at home had been easier, and that was made of Transylvanian oak.

  A cry echoed around the cave: “You call that breathing fire? My dad has fiercer breath after a bowl of nettle chilli!”

  Resus grinned. Cleo was still keeping the dragon distracted – and appeared to be enjoying herself! He strained to lift the egg again and prayed that Luke was close to opening the Hex Hatch.

  “Macker dah … smolian…” Luke struggled to read the words of the spell. His vision was clearing fast, but the language of magic was completely alien to him. For all he knew, this wasn’t a Hex Hatch spell at all and he was about to transform himself into a vase of man-eating roses. “Vass trashler deese … tarda!”

  Suddenly, a tiny hole appeared in the air before him. Through it he could see what looked like the living room of a house… He couldn’t be certain it was a house in Scream Street, but frankly, anywhere was better than here right now. Tossing the parchment aside, he pushed his fingers into the hole and began to stretch it wider as he had seen Zeal Chillchase do.

  Cleo ducked into a recess in the rock as another blast of flame shot past her – this one closer than before – and it was a second or two before she realized that the bandages around her feet had caught alight. Resus would probably tell me to hot-foot it out of here, she thought with a smile as she batted out the flames.

  The dragon’s head swung back into view, blocking her exit, and all thoughts of jokes died away. She was trapped, and if the dragon breathed on her now she would be burnt to a crisp. There was only one way out.

  Grabbing the dragon’s ears firmly with both hands, Cleo wedged her foot on the creature’s slavering lower jaw and launched herself upwards. The somersault wouldn’t have won prizes for acrobatics, but it was straight enough to land her squarely on the dragon’s neck. The beast roared in fury and raised up to its full height, flicking its head from side to side, but Cleo held firmly onto its scaly ears.

  Resus finally managed to tip the egg over the side of the nest and he struggled to catch his breath before jumping out after it. Across the cave he could see Luke stretching the Hex Hatch, while off to his left, Cleo appeared to be riding the dragon as though it was some kind of funfair ride.

  The creature reared up on its back legs, then slammed its front claws into the ground as it tried to dislodge the mummy. The whole cavern shook, knocking Luke off his feet and causing the egg to roll away from Resus’s grasp. As the vampire dashed after it, he realized that this was the simplest way to move it. He pushed at the shell to keep the momentum going and tried to steer the egg in the direction of the Hex Hatch.

  Luke jumped to his
feet and plunged his hands back into the gradually widening window in the air, gripping the sides and pulling with all his strength. Glancing up, he could see Resus running towards him, rolling the egg across the bumpy floor of the cave. Meanwhile, Cleo was still clinging onto the dragon’s ears as it swept its head around and bellowed in fury. If Luke didn’t know better, he would have sworn he heard the mummy shout, “Yee-hah!”

  Finally, the Hex Hatch was large enough for them to fit through. On the other side Luke could see a room unlike any he’d ever seen. It didn’t, however, appear to have an angry dragon in it, and that was a serious plus. Luke sat on the bottom of the Hatch to bring it closer to the ground just as Resus arrived, bringing the egg to a juddering stop.

  “I can’t say that’s the easiest thing I’ve ever driven!” the vampire puffed.

  Between them, the boys managed to lift the egg over the lip of the window and into the room on the other side. They laid the egg down and Luke stared around him. He ran his fingers through the deep pile of the carpet. There was something strange about it. “I… I think this carpet’s made from hair,” he said. “Human hair…”

  Resus was busy fingering the leathery curtains hanging either side of the window. “That’s skin!” he gulped. “And that coffee table is definitely made from leg bones!”

  Luke swallowed. It was true. Everything in the room was constructed from human body parts, from the real arms at each end of the sofa to the hollowed-out skull glowing softly at the top of the lamp in the corner. “Where are we?” he hissed.

  “Little dudes!” bellowed a voice, making the boys jump. “To what do I owe the most awesome pleasure of your company?”

  Luke spun round. A familiar – if rather rotten – figure was beaming at them from the doorway. “Doug!” he cried. “We are in Scream Street, then.”

  “Never a truer word spoken, wolf-man!” the zombie declared through decaying teeth. “Totally bodacious to see you, dudes. We thought we’d lost you for good!”