“We don’t have all night,” said Vainclaw.
Dirk looked up at the overcast sky, bathed in the reflective glow of the city lights. He stared at the clouds, trying to distinguish a shape among them. It brought back a long-forgotten memory of being a very young dragon lying on a mountainside, looking up at the sky, trying to spot Sky Dragons.
“Hurry up,” growled Vainclaw.
As Dirk’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw that Vainclaw was right. There was no chance of rain that night in London. Upon closer inspection it was obvious that each cloud was shaped like a dragon. Some had been stretched and misshapen by the wind but they all had wings, tails and long, pointed noses. Some flew high, others much lower. The herd of Sky Dragons was drifting peacefully over the city but once they were summoned, they would form a formidable army for whichever side they chose.
“I see one above now,” said Vainclaw. “Time is running out.”
A bulbous dragon-shaped cloud was passing directly overhead, its huge jaws wide open.
“Now!” ordered Vainclaw.
“No!” Holly cried.
“We’re not joking about killing her,” warned Leon.
Dirk understood that he faced the choice of preventing war or saving his friend, but there was no doubt in his mind as to the right course of action.
“Bottom’s up,” he said. Shutting his eyes in anticipation of the pain, he took a large swig from the flask. He tipped his head back and held the liquid fire in the back of his throat.
The pain tore through his body, scorching his insides. He screamed in agony and spat out the liquid fire. It shot up into the sky like a burning arrow but he had misjudged how quickly the Sky Dragon was moving. He missed. The jet of liquid fire rained down, splattering Vainclaw and the Scavengers. They shielded their eyes but otherwise seemed unconcerned by the scolding downpour. Dirk collapsed to his knees.
“What was that?” asked Mali, flicking a burning ember from his nose.
“Mr Detective missed the target,” replied Leon.
“Try again,” urged Vainclaw.
“Water,” uttered Dirk, his throat as dry as a desert. The last thing he wanted to do was take another swig of the burning liquid, but he focused on Holly. He thought he could hear her saying something but the sounds around him were all blending into one.
“Summon the dragon or we drop the girl,” said Vainclaw.
Dirk struggled back to his feet. Looking up, he saw another cloud dragon drifting overhead. Dirk lifted the flask to his lips and poured. The agony was excruciating. His vision was blurred but he steadied himself, took aim and spat the fire high into the sky.
This time, the liquid fire hit the Sky Dragon’s wing. Bolts of white lightning zigzagged through the cloud.
Dirk dropped on to all fours, his head bowed. He couldn’t speak but he heard Vainclaw’s distinctive baritone say, “If you don’t get it next time, we will decorate the pavement with your friend.”
Dirk lifted himself back to his feet with his last bit of energy and checked the flask. There was only enough left for one more attempt and the cloud was almost out of range. He had to move fast. He took the final gulp of liquid fire, charged forwards, leaped, then spat the orange liquid at the dragon.
“Aghhhh yeahh!” he roared as the fire hit the target. The cloud fizzed, sizzled, hissed and cracked as the molecules of gas transformed into solid living flesh.
“Kinghorns, prepare!” ordered Vainclaw.
The Sky Dragon crashed down on to the top of the skyscraper, its soft wispy edges hardening and revealing a dragon three times bigger even than Vainclaw himself. Its back was sky blue, its belly cloud-white. Its eyes burned like the summer sun and its wings were the size of ship sails. It clasped a yellow claw to its heart in agony, then dropped on to its belly, shaking the building to its foundations.
Dirk gasped for breath. He could barely speak but he managed to mutter “I’m sorry,” before he passed out altogether.
“Nooo!”
Holly cried out in despair and agony. She had watched Dirk being tortured, broken and defeated, all for her sake.
“Oi, little girl, keep a lid on it,” said Mali, his stinking breath warming her face. He spun round and held her over the edge. She looked down at the Londoners in the streets below, oblivious to the drama unfolding on top of the skyscraper. It was a long way to fall.
“But I need to help him,” she whispered.
Mali swung back to face the others but Holly’s view of Dirk was obscured by the collapsed Sky Dragon. As magnificent as it was, the dragon was in a sorry state. In the centre of its blue back was a black burn mark, where the liquid fire had torn through its body. It coughed and a cloud of ash flew off its skin, landing on the ground, producing a perfect outline of its body. The Sky Dragon raised its enormous head wearily and looked at Holly. Its eyes that had burned so brightly were now creamy white, revealing the poor animal’s obvious pain.
Vainclaw stepped forwards and bowed respectfully.
“Sky Dragon, I, Vainclaw Grandin, greet you. I am sorry we were too slow to prevent the humans from summoning you. What is your name?”
“My name is Nebula Colorado,” replied a female voice as soft and warm as a summer’s breeze. “It was a dragon who did this.”
“Yes, this dragon traitor works with humans,” said Vainclaw, pointing at Dirk. “They summoned you so that they might kill you. We raced as fast as we could to stop them but we were too late.”
“It’s not true!” shouted Holly with all the energy she could muster. “Don’t listen to—”
Mali clasped a clammy paw over her mouth, preventing her from speaking.
“Nebula, you must summon the herd.” Vainclaw’s words dripped like poison. “The humans are planning to attack. You have stayed in the sky too long. It is time to return and join us to defeat them.”
The Sky Dragon tipped her head back and blew, sending a swirling tornado of smoke into the air. “It is done. I have called the Skies. They are coming.” Nebula shut her eyes and slumped to the floor.
Vainclaw inspected the body. “She’s out,” he announced.
Dirk? What can we do? Holly thought hard, remembering how he had spoken in her head when they had been up against the Kinghorns the last time. There was no response.
Vainclaw turned to Holly, smoke pouring from his nose. “I imagine you’re waiting for your detective to save the day,” he said.
Holly tried to answer but the words came out as a painful cough.
“Alba Longs, check on Mr Dilly,” ordered Vainclaw. “Do it quickly or Leon will slice up your sister.”
“They mean what they say,” said Delfina, her voice quivering with fear.
“That’s right. I’ll cut up your sister and feed her to the pigeons.” Leon dug his claw further into Delfina’s chin.
Shaking with every step, Alba made her way around the Sky Dragon. “Mr Dirk is still here,” she said. “There is no movement from him at all.”
“You see, little girl?” said Vainclaw to Holly. “We’ve won. All we have to do now is wait for the other Sky Dragons to appear then we will take our new allies straight down to the Outer Core to build up their strength ready for the beginning of the war. Dragons against humans. And we’ll win because we will be united. All dragons, under one sky.”
“Er, boss…” said Mali, sounding nervous. “Won’t the humans notice all them Skies appearing over the city?”
“Who cares?” snapped Vainclaw, with a dismissive wave. “The time is upon us. We have waited too long for this. Finally, we will have the ultimate weapons… Sky Dragons. With the Skies on our side, all of dragonkind will join us. Then we will pluck humans from their position of power. Once we have won they will bow down to dragons. Kinghorns will rule them all and I, Vainclaw Grandin, the first up-airer, shall rule the world!” Vainclaw shouted triumphantly.
“Nice speech, boss,” said Leon.
“Yeah, it was really stirring,” Mali said enthusiastically.
>
“It won’t work,” said Holly weakly.
Vainclaw looked at her with an amused smile. “What would you know, a mere human child?”
“You won’t be able to trick the Sky Dragons. They won’t join you,” said Holly stubbornly.
“Shall I drop her, boss?” said Mali, dangling Holly over the edge again.
Vainclaw brought his face close to hers, pungent smoke blowing from his nostrils. He extended a claw and pushed it into Holly’s cheek.
“So soft. So vulnerable.” He smiled. “Yes, drop her.”
Holly felt Mali’s grip loosen.
He let go and she fell.
Karnataka would have happily ignored Dirk’s fire flare but Archie saw it too. “That means they’ve found the truck, doesn’t it?” he said.
“Maybe,” mumbled Karnataka.
“It does. Come on. We have to help them,” said Archie, who had noticed that Karnataka hadn’t exactly been searching very hard for the truck.
“Why?” demanded Karny.
“Because Holly is my friend,” replied Archie resolutely. “And because this is all way too much fun to give up on now. Oh, and I think there was something about saving the world.”
They came to a rest on top of a bakery with air vents churning out delicious smells. Karnataka craned his head round to look at Archie. “No.”
“Scaredy-cat,” goaded Archie.
“I’m not a cat and I’m not scared. Just naturally cautious,” replied Karnataka in his high-pitched whine, pacing around an air vent.
“Oh, well, you won’t mind if you get seen, then will you?” said Archie, placing two fingers in his mouth and whistling to attract some attention.
“Quiet! Stop it!” said Karnataka, stepping away from the edge.
“Only if you take me to the others.”
“I hate humans,” Karnataka grumbled, but he turned and headed towards the Thames where the flare had come from.
After they crossed the river, the trail went cold. No more flares went up and they couldn’t find any trace of the reddish-coloured truck. Karnataka was prepared to give up but then Archie spotted an orange streak in the sky, above a skyscraper in central London.
Karnataka landed on a low roof near the building, above a bar playing loud electronic music. He could feel the bass beneath his feet. The clink of glasses and hum of human chatter rose up into the warm night air.
“We should go up,” Archie said.
“This is close enough,” replied Karnataka.
A second streak of light appeared above the tall building, then a third. Something was happening but it was too high up to see what.
“It looks like the sky is going to collapse,” said Archie.
“It’s this kind of thing that makes us Shade-Huggers prefer to stay underground,” said Karnataka.
They continued to watch. Something was being dangled over the edge of the building.
“What’s that?” exclaimed Archie.
A scream cut through the air.
“It’s Holly! Go!”
Karnataka was surprised both by the way Archie kicked his heels into his belly and by the way he understood the command and obeyed. He spread his wings and flew up towards the falling girl.
“Hold tight,” he yelled to Archie as he swivelled upside down, causing the boy to dangle precariously from his neck. There was a jolt and Archie almost lost his grip as Holly landed on the Shade-Hugger’s soft underbelly. Karnataka clamped a foreleg over the girl, holding her safely in place, then turned and flew upwards.
Hurtling up the side of the building, Holly and Archie found themselves face to face over Karnataka’s shoulder.
“Good timing,” said Holly weakly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Archie.
“My leg’s broken, Dirk’s passed out and the Kinghorns have the Sky Dragons on their side.”
“Kinghorns, you say?” Karnataka quickly changed direction and began to fly back down.
“What are you doing?” said Holly and Archie together.
“When it comes to fight or flight, I’m more of a flight dragon,” said Karnataka.
“There … won’t be anywhere to hide once … the war begins,” said Holly, agony in every syllable.
Karnataka knew they were right. “You’re really starting to bug me,” he said, reluctantly changing direction again and flying back up the side of the building towards the top, zooming past the floors of empty offices.
On the roof, Mali was looking down. “It’s the Shade-Hugger, the one that took your captain job, bro. He’s rescued the girl and he’s got another kid. Let me at him!”
“No,” said Vainclaw firmly. “Allow him to land. From all I hear about this Captain Karnataka it will be easy enough to persuade him to switch sides.”
Karnataka landed on his hind legs next to Dirk’s unconscious body. Archie slid off his back, then Karnataka laid Holly gently down beside Dirk.
“Di-Dirk?” Holly put her hand to his face. Dirk said nothing. Holly rested her head on his cheek and closed her eyes.
“How exquisitely pathetic,” said Vainclaw. “Welcome, Captain Karnataka. Firstly, let me congratulate you on this marvellous Sky Dragon plan. How inventive you are.”
“Mr Captain Karnataka, sir,” said Alba. “You did lie to me—”
“Keep quiet, Sea Dragon,” said Leon. “Else I’ll cut your sister’s throat.”
“I do not think he is fooling,” said Delfina.
“Enough!” barked Vainclaw. “Shade-Hugger, I’m going to come straight to the point. I have a proposal. Shortly, the rest of the Sky Dragons will appear. Look – they are already gathering.”
Karnataka looked up. The edge of the purple sky was blackening as though a storm was closing in from all sides. The Sky Dragon herd was nearing.
“I’ll give you one chance,” continued Vainclaw. “Join us now and you can be one of us. The Kinghorns always have time for a dragon of your moral flexibility.”
Karnataka glanced at Archie.
“You can’t do it,” the boy said.
“Sorry.” Karnataka shrugged. “Like I always say … cowards survive.” He walked towards Vainclaw, edging around the unconscious Sky Dragon. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said.
“I knew you were my kind of dragon,” said Vainclaw.
Desperate, Archie turned to Holly but she was lying still, passed out in pain, oblivious to her surroundings. Archie leaned over her and whispered in Dirk’s ear. “What can I do?”
For a moment there was nothing. Then a tiny puff of smoke drifted up from Dirk’s nostrils.
“What are you trying to tell me?” repeated Archie.
The smoke formed three distinct shapes. Three letters that only lasted a moment, but long enough for Archie to read the word SKY.
Archie looked up. The storm of dragons grew closer. Dirk’s smoke formed an arrow, pointing to the large unconscious dragon in the centre of the roof.
“Kinghorns, prepare,” said Vainclaw. “When they arrive, we shall terminate these humans to show our Sky Dragon allies that the war has begun.”
Archie snuck past the unconscious crooks in the net then around the Sky Dragon’s large body, crawling through the thick line of ash that surrounded it.
“Hey, er, Sky Dragon,” he whispered in Nebula’s huge velvety ear. “Look, I don’t know what your name is … or if you can understand me … or if you’re even alive … but the point is, you have to wake up.”
Nothing.
Archie tried to lift one of Nebula’s huge eyelids up but it was locked shut. He was about to give up when the corner of the dragon’s mouth moved.
“Too … weak,” muttered the dragon. “Need what you call … su-garrr.”
“Sugar?” said Archie.
The black cloud army continued to close in on them. Leon released Delfina and stood threateningly over Arthur and Reg. Mali joined him, both Scavengers ready to kill them when Vainclaw gave the word.
“Delfina? Are you hurt?
” said Alba.
Before Alba’s sister could respond, Karnataka sprang forwards and kicked Mali in the ear. He whacked Leon with his tail, before landing on top of Vainclaw and pinning him down with his claws. “Alba and Delfina, get the Scavengers!” he cried.
“Betray me, would you?” snarled Vainclaw.
“I’m still the captain of the Dragnet and you are under arrest,” said Karnataka.
“Release him.” The voice spoke in his ear. Karnataka felt a claw around his throat.
“Delfina?” said Alba in surprise. “What are you doing? Captain Karnataka is on our side!”
Delfina forced Karnataka off Vainclaw, her sharp claws pressed against his neck. “You’re wrong, sister,” she said. “I am on the same side as my leader, Vainclaw Grandin.”
“You… You are… You are a Kinghorn?” stammered Alba in disbelief.
“I was spying for Vainclaw when that stupid Drake arrested me.” Delfina laughed. “You see, sometimes they get it right. I was the one who told Vainclaw of Karnataka’s plan to contact the Skies.”
“Next time I put you in prison I’m throwing away the key,” said Karnataka.
Delfina pushed a claw into his ribs.
Above, the dark dragon clouds were beginning to swoop down. In the streets below the humans ran for cover, fearing a storm. But no rain fell. Instead, the sky began to bubble and sizzle, as though the clouds had been set alight.
“What a shame, Captain Karnataka,” said Vainclaw Grandin. “You’re about to watch the dawn of a new era and you’ve just blown your chance of being a part of it.”
Then another voice spoke, drifting through the air like a gust of wind.
“It’s too early for dawn,” spoke Nebula. “The night has just begun.”
Vainclaw spun around to see the huge Sky Dragon looming over him, standing on her hind legs, head raised to the sky. Her pale blue back darkened to match the sky behind her. Archie stood in front of this magnificent beast and tossed a jelly bean into the air. Nebula ducked down and snatched it between her jaws.
“Sky Dragon… Nebula… Friend,” Vainclaw spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. “It is heartening to see you have regained your strength so speedily. Now we must join forces and strike against these human aggressors.”
Sky High! Page 10
