The Dragon's Game

by James Erith

  She stumbled on, finding that moving on her hands and knees was her safest mode of transport even if the going was slow and uphill. She knew she had to find the track at the top. Then, with any luck, a left turn would lead her straight to the ruin.

  She scrambled up a small hillock, her calf muscles straining as they pushed down to lever her up. The higher she went, the more she noted that the fog had lightened. Visibility, she guessed, was now a metre or two.

  She sat down to catch her breath when suddenly a hand clamped tight around her mouth.

  ‘Shhhh,’ a familiar voice said. ‘Lie down, behind the rock.’

  She struggled, trying to scream.

  ‘Don’t move a muscle, Sue. I swear, if you don’t shut up and remain completely silent, you’re going to be caught.’

  Kemp?

  At that moment, the stomping of boots broke into the small space directly in front of her on the other side of a large rock.

  ‘Look, very carefully over there, Sue,’ the voice whispered in her ear again. ‘It’s Commissioner Stone. If he finds you here, you know what he’ll do to you. And believe me, his method of interrogation is liable to be painful.’

  The hand was removed, and she found herself turning to see the bald head of Kemp eying the troops as they collected in front of them, the far side of the boulder.

  His expression implored her, a finger to his lips, to keep silent. She did.

  The three troops murmured amongst themselves when the distinct tone of Stone’s slight Yorkshire lilt rose above them. ‘Team two. Team two, do you read me?’ the commissioner said, talking into his radio.

  The radio hissed and crackled. ‘Come in, team-leader.’

  ‘Are the traps laid? Trip wires rolled out?’

  ‘Affirmative.’

  ‘Good. Anything else to report?’

  ‘A couple of the crew reported seeing light through the fog, sir.’

  ‘Exactly what kind of light? Over.’

  ‘A glow, sir. Faintly — pink to orange in colour. Mills thought it might be a flamethrower, sir.’

  Stone flicked a lump of mud off his boot. ‘Interesting, where did it come from?’

  ‘Our coordinates point to the ruined castle on top of the hill, sir, over.’

  The radio remained quiet as Stone pondered the news.

  ‘What are your coordinates right now, Talbot?’

  Stone signalled for the man next to him to record where it was.

  ‘Right, I’ll tell you what we’ll do,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the boys to engage our flamethrower and give it a blast into the air. From your position, can you see if the light looks similar and then report in. We might have company, so full alert from now on in. Over.’

  18 FINDING THE ENTRANCE

  Although he was almost entirely swamped by the old man, whose head and feet dangled only a few inches from the ground, Archie casually tilted his head towards the band of animals. ‘Tell the fox and his kin and pass on our plan to all the groundlings. Eagle, do the same with yours.’

  The animals made affirming noises as Isabella rounded the corner.

  Isabella clapped her hands playfully and burst into song, ‘Oh! We’re going to Ibiza … we’re going to the morning sun, oh! We’re going to Ibiza … whoa.’ She studied the scene, rubbing the bull and wolf on their coats.

  ‘Wow, the zoo just turned up,’ she said, before dancing off out behind a stone.

  Archie faced them, his face beetroot. ‘Sorry. She’s had a bit of a bash on the head.’

  ‘I’m not sure I can take much more of her,’ Daisy said. ‘Arch, I hope you know what you’re doing.’

  Isabella reappeared shaking her head. ‘Where’s the hotel? I can’t remember where it went.’

  An idea shot into Archie’s head. ‘Yes, you can,’ he said, gently. He wondered if she might be referring to the entrance. ‘Why don’t you take us all there?’

  Daisy cottoned on remembering Isabella’s extraordinary guiding skills when she’d navigated the sports field in the torrential rain. ‘Yeah! We could have a bit of a party in your hotel room, right?’

  Archie frowned and turned back to the animals. ‘My sister will lead us. Go now, back to your brethren, tell them what is about to happen. You will know when we have found the entrance. When the time comes, don’t hesitate or flounder. Be filled with courage and greatness. We will be waiting for you.’

  ‘WHERE DID I PUT IT?’ Isabella said holding her hand out at right angles. ‘Somewhere over here, I’m sure.’

  ‘Go for it, Bells,' Archie said. 'I’m sure you know where it is.’

  Daisy prodded Archie in the back. ‘You’re suddenly all confident,’ she said. ‘What makes you so certain we’ll succeed?’

  ‘Because we dreamt about meeting and talking with the Ancient Woman,’ Archie said, jogging the old man on his shoulder casually. ‘All our dreams are based on truth – they’re real. So finding this tablet must be possible. I suddenly realised that as long as we believe in ourselves, no matter what, above everything else, we can succeed.’

  Daisy raised her eyebrows. ‘OK. But what makes you think Bells can find this entrance now that she’s gone totally crackers?’

  ‘Dunno,’ he said. ‘Just do. It's around here, somewhere, I’m sure.’

  A commotion to their left stopped them dead in their tracks, like statues. Up until now, they had sensed that a body of assorted animals had been following them; their hooves occasionally clacking and clipping on rock or stone. But now, the animals began running in circles as if trying to avoid being snared.

  ‘Quick, under here!’ Archie said, lowering the old man. The children nestled under the overhang of rock and listened. They held their breath as the commotion around them increased. Something was going to happen. They could feel it.

  A part of a snake’s body slithered out of the fog past their hiding place. Instinctively, Daisy lent over and muffled Isabella’s mouth before she had a chance to scream. ‘Oh my God!’ she squeaked. It’s the width of a slide.’

  ‘More like an oil drum,’ Archie whispered back, as he sat on top of Isabella. ‘Why are they running?’

  ‘If I were them, I’d run too!’ Daisy whispered. ‘It’s probably hungry?’

  A strange noise filled the air, like an old tractor spluttering into life. The noise grew louder and louder until it reached a frenzied pitch and stayed there. The sheep were darting in and out, bleating and snorting like crazy. Daisy covered her ears as the noise reached a climax.

  The children weren’t expecting to see the serpent’s head. But when it burst out of the fog a couple of feet from their hiding place, Daisy and Archie smacked their heads together trying to recede even further under the hard incline.

  Its head looked like that of a red dragon or a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Daisy thought, with jaws stuffed full of sharp white teeth. Its marbled green eyes were the size of cricket balls, and two small arms with clawed talons protruded out of its thick body.

  The dragon swooped high above them silently, only the beating of its wings making any sound. It was as though the engine had been turned off, and then with a whoosh followed by a sickening crunch it pounced.

  Only the desperate bleating of the sheep could be heard until this too faded away.

  The children, crammed under the rock, breathed hard. For a while, none of them dared to make a move or speak.

  Eventually, Archie, fed up with having a slither of rock digging into his side and Old Man Wood snoring on the other moved out into the open and broke the silence, ‘OK. Sure, it’s pretty big, but we can do this. I mean, it wasn’t that big.’

  ‘Not that big?’ Daisy responded incredulously.

  Isabella stared at him. ‘The hotel is just over there,’ she said, ‘by the cafe.’

  With Old Man Wood once again balanced over his shoulder, Archie grabbed her hand. ‘Excellent, Bells. Lead the way. Let’s check in.’

  They moved off, Isabella singing as she went until she stopped by a large, sem
i-domed grey boulder.

  Archie looked at the rock. ‘Daisy, quick update. What’s the beast doing?’

  Daisy poked her head around the corner. ‘Urrghh!’ Daisy replied. ‘It’s now a huge snake, pulling the entire sheep into its mouth as though on a conveyor belt.’

  ‘Gross,’ Archie said. ‘It’s our chance to find the entrance.’

  ‘You’re kidding me.’

  ‘No, I’m not. Come on, hurry!’

  ‘Seriously, Arch? We don’t have the faintest idea where it is,’ Daisy said. ‘And anyway Bells is a wreck. She couldn’t guide us to a science lab even if the words were written on the door.’

  ‘What do you suggest then?’ Archie countered, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘Stay here in the fog? Offer ourselves up as a dessert? If we can discover the end of the snake - it might lead us to somewhere near to the entrance. Come on.’ He smiled at Isabella. ‘Lead on, Miss Einstein.’

  Archie, with the old man draped over him, followed Isabella who danced and skipped and sang all the way to a position some distance behind the head of the beast.

  ‘Over here,’ Archie whispered. ‘Look!’ He pointed to the outline of the main body of the serpent that stretched and wove around several rocks dotted nearby.

  Archie put a finger to his lips. ‘Not … a … sound!’

  Very quietly the children tiptoed around the rocks following the thick black scales until they came to an obelisk-shaped rock the size of a small pickup truck.

  The children stared at it in dismay.

  ‘It just stops,’ Daisy whispered. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘The entrance must be around here somewhere,’ Archie said. He disappeared into the gloom as far as he dared before feeling his way back. ‘I can’t see a thing out there,’ he said, as he returned.

  The tail suddenly started moving, and the children backed off behind a rock.

  When they looked again, there was no sign of the tail at all.

  Daisy crept nearer to the rock and peered around it, trying to see if there was another way. ‘Why are these things always so damn complicated?' she said. 'All these silly tricks and weird magic.’

  Archie attempted a shrug.

  Daisy walked around the boulder one more time. Returning, she raged. ‘This is stupid. I don’t understand and, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty fed up.’ Annoyed, she kicked out at the stone.

  But instead of impacting on the hard surface, her foot continued on its arc, and Daisy found herself connecting with thin air. The next thing she knew, she had landed firmly and somewhat painfully on her bottom.

  Archie, watching, burst out laughing, trying hard to contain himself. But when Daisy walloped his leg to shut him up, it only made matters worse. He found himself chuckling so hard that his shoulders began to gallop up and down.

  And now Isabella was roaring with laughter too.

  ‘You’re going to get us killed,’ Daisy said. ‘Shut up, both of you.’

  Archie tried to bring his coat to his face to smother the noise but, in the process, he lost his hold on Old Man Wood. He swayed, but couldn’t re-balance and, as he pushed a hand out to steady himself against the hard surface, the two of them toppled through, disappearing.

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ Daisy huffed suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable.

  ‘Wasn’t that utterly hysterical,’ Isabella said, slapping her leather trousers. ‘I wonder if there’s a taxi?’

  Daisy’s face was thunderous. ‘Hysterical?’ I’ll give you—’

  An ear-splitting cough echoed around them.

  Daisy instinctively crouched and turned. Marble-like, luminous-green eyes stared directly into theirs.

  ‘Don’t look at it!’ Daisy shrieked. But already Isabella was staring back, transfixed, her eyes large and watery, unblinking. Hypnotised.

  Daisy shielded her eyes and shuffled in front of her sister. ‘Bells,’ she said, slapping her sister hard on the bum. No reaction. ‘Only one thing for it, sis,’ she said. She hugged her. ‘Let’s hope this works…’

  And with a big shove, she pushed her sister, at the same time launching herself. Moments later both had disappeared into thin air straight through the obelisk.

  19 ISABELLA’S MEETING

  As she grappled with the feeling of airlessness, of sailing through the hole, a dark voice had entered Isabella’s mind.

  The huge reptile with the dragon’s head had spoken to her intimately, right inside her brain, full of intent, menace, pain and destruction.

  ‘Daughter of Adam,’ it had said. ‘You have arrived at long last. Welcome to my labyrinth. You come in here with nothing, and you will never leave. There will be no trace of your passing through these walls. Soon, I will be free.’

  Isabella shuddered as the ground hit her. Her legs folded on the rocky surface and her head smacked on the rock below.

  She lay still, seeing stars. A curious swimming sensation washed over her as if her head had, momentarily, been injected with jelly.

  Isabella groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position. She dabbed at the impact mark on her skull wondering if she could feel the stickiness of blood running through her fingers.

  Blinking, she examined her hands. Clear. As reality set in, and her mind returned to normal, Isabella tried to recall what had happened. The one thing she truly understood was that the beast was far, far worse than anything she had ever dreamed.

  20 KEMP EXPLAINS

  With clinks and metallic snaps of the thrower coming together and the general stomping of the soldiers’ boots, Kemp and Sue shrank down out of sight.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she seethed. ‘You’re the last person I want to see.’

  ‘I needed to find you,’ Kemp whispered, matter-of-factly.

  Sue looked confused. ‘Find me? In this? Why?’

  ‘Because I need to tell you what happened,’ he whispered. ‘And I need to tell you why it happened.’ Kemp twisted his head first one way and then the other making sure the soldiers were out of earshot.

  ‘I’m all ears, Kemp,’ she spat back.

  ‘First things first. I’m not responsible, Sue—’

  ‘Don’t give me that—’

  Kemp opened his eyes wide as imploring her to keep her voice down. ‘It’s this ghost, this spirit who calls himself Cain. He put both of us up to it — he made us fight each other to the death.'

  ‘You expect me to believe that,’ Sue said.

  ‘He’s the one I travelled through to get here. It’s complicated, neither of us wanted it—’

  ‘Why should I believe anything you tell me—?’

  ‘Because you have to,’ he replied. ‘How else do you account for me popping up here and there? Do you seriously believe I rowed across the flooding - without sat nav? Look, I promise you. Gus came at me as hard as anything - he had me, but…’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘He’d won. Here.’ Kemp lifted his shirt showing a swathe of blue and black bruises.

  She sucked in a breath. ‘That was from Gus?’

  ‘Yes. Then something happened—‘

  ‘What, Kemp?’

  Kemp hesitated. 'I … I was lying on the ground, finished, defeated, when I saw — out of the corner of my eye — someone hiding in a crevice, nearby.’

  Sue’s eyes bulged. ‘Do you know who it was?’

  Kemp stared at the floor.

  ‘Who was it, Kemp?’

  ‘It was…’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘It was Daisy,’ Kemp croaked. ‘I could tell by the red glow of her weird eyes.’

  Sue reeled. ‘I don’t understand. So, so what? She told us she’d seen you fight. That’s how we knew he was missing—’

  ‘But you don’t know the whole story,’ he cut in.

  ‘Then tell me. I want to know everything.’

  Kemp looked at his knees and took a deep breath. ‘Daisy kicked a grey round stone the size of a tennis ball to me. Instinctively, I gr
abbed it.’

  Sue’s heartbeat thumped in her chest. ‘Daisy gave you a weapon?’ she said, dumbfounded.

  He nodded.

  ‘And…’

  ‘And when Gus came over, to finish me off, I … I swivelled and cracked him on the shin with it. He went down and…’

  ‘And what, Kemp?’ Sue said, wiping tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘What…?’

  ‘Well, I struck him a couple of times.’

  Sue shrieked into her jumper.

  ‘I had to—’

  Sue held her head and sobbed. ‘You beat Gus to death with it?’

  ‘Honestly. You’ve got to believe me; I didn’t want to. Gus was about to do the same to me.’

  ‘Why?’ she cried. ‘Why didn’t you just leave him? You didn’t have to.’

  Kemp squeezed his eyes together, tears running over his cheeks. ‘I tried. You don’t understand.’

  Her body convulsed. ‘Don’t understand? What, exactly don’t I understand?’

  For several moments they sat in the kind of silence you can almost touch.

  Kemp knew he had nothing to lose. ‘The thing is, Sue,’ he said, his voice full of remorse, ‘this Cain-ghost-person, believes - no, he’s convinced - that the de Lowes won’t make it out of this labyrinth alive.’ Kemp turned on his knees to see what the soldiers were doing.

  ‘How does this ghost-thing know?’

  ‘Because, before this ghost-thing called Cain was burned alive, the beast belonged to him. Cain told us that until the dragon’s capture nothing had ever defeated it.’

  Sue’s brain reeled. It was hard enough to contemplate Old Man Wood coming from a very distant past. But a ghost?

  Kemp sensed her unease. ‘And, even if they do get out alive, there’s one other thing the de Lowes have to do,’ he said, pausing and letting the hook hang.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘They have to do something … unspeakable. It’s so awful that, to all intents and purposes, they’ve already failed.’

  ‘Are you sure? Sounds a little far-fetched to me.’