The Dragon's Game

by James Erith

  ‘Please, please find it, pleeease,’ bleated several sheep over and over again. The pleading spread and in no time at all the other animals had joined in until there was a cacophony of bleating and mooing and twittering and quacking echoing down the passage.

  Moments later, a mixed group of animals split from the central group, hurtling down the passageway in search of the water source.

  They rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

  ‘Silence!’ Old Man Wood boomed.

  The animals quietened.

  ‘The sound is there to confuse. Do NOT listen to what you think is water. It is an illusion. The beast is playing tricks with your minds. Think about something else: the long grass blowing in the meadows or the swishing of wind in the trees.’

  ‘Bless my curls! He’s right,’ said Himsworth, the ram standing next to Archie.

  The animals re-grouped.

  ‘Know thy neighbour,’ they said.

  As they turned the corner, a heap of animal carcasses lay prostrate, necks slit, blood spilling over the floor, eyes staring at the ceiling.

  Isabella screamed and almost slipped off her mount, as the surrounding animals nestled closer together, warm blood washing over their hooves and paws as they moved slowly past the dead bodies of their comrades.

  27 THE WAITING ENDS

  ‘Q uickly now!’ Old Man Wood ordered, ushering them down the passageway. ‘Know your neighbour.’

  Daisy, who had been concentrating until her head hurt, her senses deeply tuned in, suddenly heard a tiny sound, like a gecko walking on the ceiling dislodging a crumb of earth. And the noise, she reckoned, was coming from directly above her. As subtly as she could, she slowly bent her head slightly back and flicked her eyes up scanning the ceiling.

  Nothing. Phew. Her body uncoiled.

  She breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘Arch,’ she whispered, ‘I think I heard something. Keep guard.’

  Archie leaned forward, his hair spikes aside the unicorn's neck, a bevvy of animals surrounding him. He scoured the floor.

  ‘Archie,’ she repeated, as she turned to see if he’d heard her. ‘Did you hear me?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I’m checking the floor.’

  From nowhere, a set of long, sharp, yellow teeth in a set of saliva-filled jaws flashed out of the darkness. Sharp claws flailed savagely at everything in their path.

  Pandemonium broke out. The crowded passage erupted in terrified bellows and calls.

  Archie and Daisy slipped off and crashed to the floor, hitting the surface just before the unicorns bucked and kicked out, once, twice, three times — then instantly swivelled and charged, head down, their spiralled long tusks flashing like swords.

  Moments later, a flurry of wings clouded past, aiming at the beast’s head, directly at its eyes, checking its progress.

  ‘Run!’ the birds urged as they regrouped for another attack on the snake’s head like kamikaze pilots flying to their deaths, the monster clawing them off its face, many thudding into the walls.

  But where one moment the beast was thrashing and clawing, the next, it had entirely vanished from view.

  Archie’s unicorn, immediately twisted back towards Archie who grabbed the mane and hauled himself up.

  They galloped to the next corner, slowed, caught their breath, and, along with the others, searched for a misfit.

  ‘Know thy neighbour,’ they said as one, looking around, nervously.

  Around the next corner were the remains of another encounter. Rodents, cats, geese and other animal remains lay strewn upon the path, the carnage of brutal death all around them.

  In front of them, littered with corpses, was the longest passage so far and, at its end, a high vaulted room. In the middle stood a large stone plinth, like a grand square altar, with five-foot-high pillars supporting each corner. Underneath, water ran around it.

  ‘Daisy!’ Archie cried. ‘Daisy, can you see the tablet?’

  Daisy stared into the distance. ‘Yup, it’s there. Bang on top of that altar thing! Hurry.’

  A smaller group of animals flashed past them down the long tunnel.

  ‘GAGOG, GAGOG, BARK. GAGOG - BARK!’

  The sickening, ear-piercing sound of Gorialla Yingarna made them turn. At the far end of the tunnel, an immense beast rounded the corner like a train, filling the passage; it’s face that of a prehistoric dinosaur, blood staining its long, sharp fangs.

  ‘Go,’ she shouted. ‘All of you.’

  ‘OH MY GOD!!’ Isabella screamed.

  The beast was making up ground, fast.

  ‘Where are the animals and birds?’ Archie asked as the unicorn started to run, Daisy on hers, next to him.

  ‘They’re lying in wait - in sections,’ she replied.

  Archie flicked a look down the passageway to see the bushy white tails of the rabbits, lying still on the hard earth floor.

  ‘The rabbits have a plan. But it's madness,’ Daisy yelled.

  The beast, its massive head filling the tunnel, was crushing every animal in its path. The snarling face tight, its bloody eyes wide with fury.

  Isabella heard the voice in her head again, this time icy cold and calculating. ‘You cannot win. Give up…’

  Suddenly the trance stopped.

  The beast roared and beat its head on one side of the ceiling, and then the other, the sound reverberating like an earthquake.

  The unicorns, as one, lay down inviting the Heirs to dismount. Archie, Daisy and Isabella ran towards the middle chamber.

  ‘BARK, GAGOG A GAGOG,’ echoed through the tunnel, the beast smashing its head on the passage surrounds, stone tumbling into the corridor.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Archie whispered.

  ‘It’s the rabbits and smaller creatures, Daisy said, looking back. ‘They’re clamped over its eyes holding on for dear life digging their little claws in as hard as they can.’

  As the beast tore at one rabbit, stripping it alive, another rabbit took its place. Now another one held on, then another — every one refusing to be pulled off — until the innards and blood and fur layered over its eyes blocking its vision.

  A nauseous stench of entrails and guts filled the passage.

  ‘Bells, Archie, run for it!’ Daisy shouted. ‘Go as fast as you can straight to the plinth.’

  ‘Oh hell,’ Archie shouted. ‘It’s coming.’

  The unicorns, now in a line, faced the serpent while the other animals closed in around the Heirs.

  ‘There’s that burning noise again,’ Daisy yelled. ‘Dive!’

  A blast of flame spat out of a very different looking creature. But the unicorns stood firm, absorbing the heat, the flames never reaching the Heirs.

  In a flash, the beast charged at the unicorns, like a battering ram, but the unicorns charged back, heads down, jabbing at the reptile with razor sharp horns, forcing it back.

  ‘Now it’s a small snake,’ Daisy said, ‘and it’s trying to bite … watch out!’

  A flurry of activity above them - a mass of beating wings like a flock of starlings, flashed past, dive-bombing the snake, each one with claws outstretched aiming for its eyes.

  Suddenly, the snake disappeared.

  For all the beating of wings, and the confusion, and the stench and the searching of so many pairs of eyes, the beast was nowhere to be found.

  ‘I don’t like this one little bit,’ Daisy murmured.

  ‘Where’s it gone, sis?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’m looking for it.’ She scanned the walls. ‘It can’t have disappeared.’

  ‘Was it killed?’ Archie said. ‘Did the unicorns get it?’

  Daisy scoured the passage, from side to side, her eyes blazing.

  ‘What do you see?’

  ‘Little lumps and bumps, which could be anything. There’s nothing. It’s vanished.’

  Isabella said, ‘Do you think the unicorns will find it?’

  Daisy rounded on her. ‘Thing is, Sis, they’ve disapp
eared too.’

  They stared down the long empty passageway.

  ‘Maybe they’ve chased it around the corner,’ Archie said.

  Daisy shook her head. ‘I’d have seen it. Anyway, remember what Leo Magna said. “They will protect us from our greatest peril”.’

  ‘That’s not good,’ Isabella’s voice trembled. ’What could be worse than this?’

  They ran on in silence, their hearts thumping in their chests and their minds in a state of high alert nearing the chamber entrance, a feeling of deep vulnerability building.

  The animals around them now less than a half of the original band that had set out.

  28 STONE’S NEW PLAN

  Kemp and Sue stared at one another as the soldiers moved away into the fog.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ Kemp said. ‘He’s going to burn them out. He’s an even bigger lunatic than I thought.’

  Sue looked crestfallen. ‘Yes, I know. That flame-thing was horrible.’ A thought struck her, and she stiffened. ‘Kemp, the only person left up there at the cottage, is Mrs Pye.’

  Kemp stood up and then, realising where he was, crouched down again. ‘I’ve got to get her out; there’s no way she’ll move until it’s too late.’

  ‘But you’ll never beat the soldiers up there, even if we try and follow those guys. We’d still have to work our way around them, and the worst thing that can happen is that we get caught—‘

  ‘Is it?’

  ‘Well, yeah. Of course, it is,’ Sue said. ‘Stone will figure something’s up and I’d bet money he’d torch the place anyway - and make us watch.’

  Kemp rubbed his bald head. ‘Where’s Solomon?’ he said. ‘Isn’t he there too?’

  ‘No,’ Sue replied. ‘I got separated from him when I fell down the bank. With any luck, he went on towards the ruin.’

  ‘Perhaps he’ll stall the other group?’

  Sue twiddled her thumbs. ‘That was the original plan,’ she said. ‘But it’s impossible to see anything so it’ll be pure luck if he stumbles on anyone. He’s got an old radio, he calls it a wireless; they found it in one of the bedrooms. I’m not even sure he knows how to turn it on. The thing is, it’s still not going to stop Stone.’

  Suddenly she remembered the tablets. She ceased her twiddling and went stone-still.

  ‘You alright, Sue? What is it?’

  She caressed her forehead. ‘The first two tablets are in the cottage. What if they get ruined? I’m going to have to get them before they get there.’

  ‘It’s impossible.’

  ‘We’ve got to do something. We have to risk it.’

  ‘It’s not worth it,’ Kemp snapped. In a flash, Kemp knew this was his chance. ‘Look, Sue. There is another way. It’s a bit of a mad one, and you might think I’m crazy but, you know that spirit I was talking about, he’s the one who can save you…’

  Sue gave him a sideways look. He took it as a sign to continue.

  ‘Well, we could go with him — he has this way of being able to go absolutely anywhere.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘He’s not from here—’

  ‘You’re telling me he’s an alien?’

  ‘No,’ Kemp cringed, realising it sounded absurd. ‘I mean, yes — kind of. Look, he’s a spirit who comes from another place, another planet very like Earth, I think. Because I agreed to go with him, he saved me from the storm. In return, my body gives his spirit substance, so he can do things, like walk and see a bit. That’s all there is to it.’

  Sue shook her head. If it were anyone else, she’d have walked away already.

  ‘He’ll help,’ Kemp insisted. ‘I mean, it’s a bit uncomfortable at first — if you relax it’ll only tingle a little, I promise it won’t be too bad.’

  Sue shot him a look. ‘Kemp, after everything you’ve done to ruin my life, why on earth should I trust you with this frankly ludicrous scheme now.’

  ‘Because it’s the only chance you’ll get to save these tablets and even yourself. For me, it’s the only way I’ve got any chance of being with my mum.’

  Sue shook her head. ‘I take it this is the same thing, the same spirit that led you and Gus up to the ruin? How did Gus know?’

  He nodded. ‘Yeah. I was coming to that. Gus found out when we had a fight in the attic room. Gus had me by the neck and nearly killed me. He only let me go when he learned that I’d travelled via the ghost. Gus insisted that he went with the ghost and afterwards, Cain – the spirit guy – decided we needed to fight each other to see who would have the right to go with him. That’s how we ended up at the ruin.’

  ‘You really expect me to believe that?’ she seethed. ‘You’ve made it up.’

  ‘On my mother's life I haven’t,’ he said. ‘Gus only did it because he wanted to save you. He wanted you to be together. He was trying to protect you.’

  ‘You are so full of crap, it’s unbelievable,’ Sue said, eying him suspiciously.

  ‘No, not this time, Sue. Believe me. Everything I’ve told you is the truth. Why would I hide it? Why would I go to these lengths to tell you lies? Gus would have wanted you to be safe, more than anything. He did it for you.’

  Sue chewed her bottom lip. ‘But … how does it work?’

  Kemp shrugged. ‘It’s simple; you put on a coat and a hat, that’s all there is to it. Then go with whatever the ghost does. The less you resist, the less painful it is.’

  ‘Painful?’

  ‘Yeah. Burns,’ he said, patting his head. ‘See? If you think my hair simply fell out, you’re sorely mistaken. My barnet burned off, all of it - and every single hair on my body, because … because I didn’t understand how the ghost worked. And,’ his voice slipped to barely a whisper, ‘because I was afraid. I resisted.’

  Sue wavered.

  ‘Look, I know,’ he said, ‘it’s a huge shot in the dark, but it’s the only plan we’ve got going right now that won’t jeopardise Archie, his sisters and my mum. I don’t even know if the ghost will agree, but I do know that we haven’t got much time.’

  Sue didn’t reply.

  Now the soldiers were out of earshot, Kemp stood up. ‘I’ll walk over there and have a little chat with my friend just to make sure he’s cool with it, OK?’

  Sue didn’t say anything. The news of his body-burns filled her with a dread that hit her right in the gut.

  Kemp moved away. He looked back over his shoulder, ‘I’ll be back in a tick – so don’t worry or go walkabout. If Cain agrees, then it’s up to you. Only you can decide what you want to do. This union thing only works if you are prepared to go absolutely willingly.’

  29 TEMPTATION

  As they reached the end of yet another straight section of the labyrinth, a new passageway to their left appeared at an obtuse angle, merging with theirs. It flooded them with bright, natural light.

  A fresh wind blew over the hot animals, who stood still letting the cool air wash over them. Instantly they perked up and, almost as one, stared in wonder and longing down the new passage where they could see, not too far away, a meadow of lush grass and butterflies and flower heads nodding in the breeze. In the distance, native trees of oaks and ash, their leaves fresh and plentiful fluttered from side to side.

  A bird flew by in the distance and twittered.

  ‘Right well, good luck,’ Himsworth the ram said, as he headed down the opening.

  ‘It’s an illusion, Himsworth,’ Old Man Wood said – intense concentration on his face, his branchwand trembling in his hand. ‘Don’t do it. It’s not real. Do not go there.’

  ‘With respect, sir, but I do know my field thank you very much! Besides, we’ve done our job. The beast has gone,’ his head turned from side to side. ‘Look around - there is no beast.’

  ‘You don’t know that, Himsworth. Gorialla Yingarna is cunning and lethal. This field you see doesn’t exist. It cannot exist.’

  But the remaining cattle and deer and many others now joined in and shuffled further down. Himsworth continue
d. ‘You just need to get across that chamber, pick up the tablet and put them all together, just as the legend says.’

  ‘STOP!’ Old Man Wood pleaded, screwing up his face. ‘PLEASE! DON’T GO THERE. It is fake. It is temptation.’ He desperately tried to think. ‘The trees at home have no leaves … it’s a trap – it wants you to believe … I can’t … it is too strong—’

  Before Old Man Wood had a chance to finish his sentence, the remaining group of animals, some of Old Man Wood’s cattle and a few smaller birds and creatures sped off towards the imaginary pastures.

  In vain, Old Man Wood tried to go after them, but Archie held him back.

  ‘NO!’ Archie yelled. ‘Don't follow them!’

  The children, their faces expressing the terrible shock at what was happening, watched helplessly as, like lemmings off a cliff, the collective animals that had guarded them for so long, simply vanished without a trace.

  30 A PERFECT DISGUISE

  From the side of the passageway, a tiny, miniature tortoise, its stone-coloured shell no bigger than the palm of child’s hand, ambled slowly by. It had been so, so easy. Child’s play easy.

  By the time he’d changed his cover, and a layer of dust had settled over the floor, he was no more than a tiny bump in an altogether bumpy passageway. And more importantly, it had given him the chance to stop, to rest his exhausted body and consider his options. Sometimes, the most innocent things stare you in the face, Gorialla Yingarna thought.

  And, here they were, alone, the pathetic Heirs of Eden entirely at his mercy, devoid of their animal shield; naked, like fresh-born babes.

  The animals and those damnable birds, he hadn’t been expecting them to be quite so … sacrificial. Perhaps he should have taken his time, picked up nourishment as he went.

  Killing was such hungry work.

  And what of the unicorns with their sharp horns? He flinched. If he remembered rightly, they were protectors. Why, then, did they suddenly run away? Was there something of more harm to them out there on this awful Earth, than him? More likely they’d realised how futile their quest was, and given up. Simpler to run, he supposed, than dying while looking after infants?