by M E. Holley
Some fell lifeless instantaneously and lay like broken ornaments. Others threw themselves over the edge of the great roof, clinging to the guttering and gibbering. The choking fumes made the children cough, and they had to blink back tears. As the dragon passed and re-passed over the roof, emitting jets of flame, the Night Creatures screeched in fury as they scrabbled to get away.
Erin tugged urgently on Jonah’s sleeve. ‘Get Ffyrnig away from the roof, Jonah! Now!’ She was screaming.
Jonah swivelled round. ‘Why? What’s the matter?’
‘Look at the way they are sliding and skidding about. I think Ffyrnig is melting the roof! The leads look red-hot. The cathedral could burn down. Get him away!’
‘Ffyrnig!’ Jonah yelled. ‘They’re running on to the grass. Let’s do the Cathedral Green now.’
The dragon swept over the trees, raking the lawns with flame. The scorched grass was covered with broken bodies as the demons left them and fled, vanishing into the night to find their way back to the Abyss. In Capuchin Lane and at the barriers, angels were swooping on gargoyles that had escaped Ffyrnig’s fire. Golden swords flashed through the dark, as the angels dispatched the creatures. The children saw Saint Michael swing his sword down on a gargoyle’s neck, severing head from body. Erin yelped as the grotesque head bounced into Capuchin Lane.
Jonah hammered on Ffyrnig’s shoulder. ‘That was great!’ he coughed. ‘Let’s go back to finish off the roof.’
Ffyrnig hovered over the cathedral nave, beating his wings slowly as he peered down to look for any movement. The roof was strewn with bits of the broken stone images the Night Creatures had used. It looked as if the demons had all fled.
‘I think we have finished here, Master,’ the dragon boomed. ‘And, in any case, I can’t hover for much longer.’
‘Why? What’s wrong?’
Ffyrnig’s wings were beating more slowly and the children could feel him taking great gasping breaths.
‘At this height there isn’t enough volume of air to hold me up. I am too big.’
Jonah patted Ffyrnig’s shoulder. ‘Oh, I see. Go on, then.’
Ffyrnig rose higher and they wheeled slowly around the city centre. Jonah looked down. Below them, two angels shone out of the darkness as they floated above the courtyard of the bishop’s palace. He saw one raise his sword and heard a demon howl.
As the dragon turned, Jonah glanced to his right up the road that ran in front of the cathedral. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a movement at the end of Broad Street, beyond the press of people at the barriers. A tall figure in a long robe was crossing the road. It was the whisperer in Jonah’s nightmare visions; he was sure of it. The figure turned its hooded head towards the cathedral and, just for a second, Jonah got the impression that there was just blackness where its face should be. He shuddered, and then it had gone. As his eyes adjusted to the thicker darkness away from Cathedral Green, he noticed dark shapes speeding along the road.
‘Erin! Look down there! Wolves. There are the wolves!’
‘Where?’ she yelled, leaning out over the webbing cage. ‘Oh, no! They’ll go for all those people!’
Helplessly, the children stared down as the wolves raced down Broad Street. People at the back of the crowd turned as they heard running feet and then the wolves were upon them. There was pandemonium as people fell beneath the creatures’ weight or tried to break away. Jonah grasped Erin’s arm.
‘That’s weird,’ he shouted. ‘Look. They’re not actually attacking.’
‘Totally weird. They are just pushing through.’
Jonah screwed up his eyes to gaze down. He watched as the biggest wolf knocked a policeman down and realised Erin was right. The creature took no notice of the man but just scrabbled over his body and leaped across the barrier, while screaming people scattered, and let the rest of the pack through. The wolves streamed on to Cathedral Green and then milled about, running up and down, rooting about among the gargoyle bodies. As Ffyrnig wheeled over the cathedral again, the pack leader raised its muzzle and howled. All the people who had been crowded at the barriers were retreating down the three roads that met at the Green, and the children, looking down, saw heads turn in alarm at the mournful wail.
‘What’s up with it?’ Jonah said.
‘I think it didn’t find what it was looking for.’ Erin sounded scared. Jonah, puzzled, turned towards her. ‘What do you think it was looking for?’ ‘You,’ she said, in a tiny voice.
CHAPTER 24
THE DEMON ON THE ROOF
Jonah turned in his harness and stared at Erin. She gazed at him anxiously from under her helmet.
‘I think you’ve been the target all along.’
‘But – but why?’
‘I don’t know. It’s just, like, a feeling I have.’ She bit her lip.
The wolf pack had moved past the cathedral’s north door and disappeared in the darkness at the other end of the great building. Some of the crowd were running back up Broad Street, but Jonah saw that others had pushed the barrier over and clambered over it, venturing cautiously on to Cathedral Green.
‘Oh, the idiots! Don’t they realise how dangerous it is?’
Erin pointed down towards the east end of the main cathedral building where a couple of wolves were casting about, sniffing the ground, and looking around in search of something.
‘Jonah, do something!’ she gasped. ‘There are too many people round the cathedral now. When those wolves don’t find you – if it is you they’re looking for – they’ll get angry, and then they might start killing people.’
He stared round at her in desperation. They both guessed that dragon fire might destroy people as well as the demon wolves.
‘Ffyrnig, we’ve got to find Saint Michael,’ Jonah shouted urgently. The dragon swung away towards the bishop’s palace, passing carefully over the cathedral while the children anxiously searched for the Archangel. Ffyrnig flew as low and as slowly as he dared, close to the pinnacles that decorated the cathedral roofs. Jonah felt a tug on the webbing as Erin twisted to look round and then, without warning, a big, grey, leathery arm shot out from behind one of the ornamental pinnacles and yanked her out of the webbing cage.
Next moment, Erin was dangling in the air, shrieking with terror. A huge gargoyle was gripping one of her arms, while her body was still attached to Ffyrnig by the safety harness. Horrified, Jonah saw that, with all the noise and confusion below them, the dragon hadn’t realised who was screaming. If he flew on, Erin would be ripped out of the harness, and either savaged or dropped to her death.
‘Stop, Ffyrnig. Stop. It’s got Erin!’ He was thumping on the dragon’s back, yelling to him to stop moving. Ffyrnig swung his head round, saw Erin hanging from the demon’s claws and drew in a great breath. Gingerly, he edged nearer to the roof of the nave, beating his wings as slowly as he could, so that he could hover there.
‘Master,’ he panted, ‘tell her to keep still. If she fights, the creature might drop her.’
‘Erin, don’t fight. Don’t fight.’ Panic made Jonah’s voice sound high and squeaky.
The Night Creature, which looked like a deformed, horned ape with wings, chuckled as it swung Erin backwards and forwards. It dropped her down suddenly, pretending to let go, and then yanked her upwards again. Even in the dark, Jonah could see that she was white with terror. He twisted round, desperately searching for Saint Michael and then jumped with shock as Ffyrnig sent a great jet of fire down to the ground.
‘What are you doing?’ Jonah yelled.
‘Hot air helps me hover for longer.’
Turning back to Erin, he saw the gargoyle ape was starting to pull her on to the roof.
She’ll be torn in two! Jonah saw at once what he had to do. He took a deep breath and fought down the panic that was making him shake. He reached over and began to free Erin’s harness from the netting. His fingers felt like clumsy sausages as he struggled frantically with the buckle. At last it was undone. Even if the gargoyle dr
agged her away or, worse still, threw her over the parapet, at least she wouldn’t be ripped apart.
The creature had both its skinny claws round her arm, and was dragging her up and over the guttering. She grabbed at the parapet with her free hand and the demon, face contorted in fury, jumped on her and savagely bit her neck. Erin screamed with pain. The demon began to pull her up the scorching leaded roof. Jonah knew he had to do something fast. Ffyrnig couldn’t help; if he burned the demon, he would burn Erin too. And they could not wait for the Archangel. Jonah gritted his teeth and began to unbuckle his own harness.
‘I’ve got to get on the roof, Ffyrnig! Can you go closer?’
Cautiously, he stood up, holding on to the webbing cage. The dragon beat the air with slow, massive strokes. Jonah stepped out of the cage and crouched down, out of the way of the dragon’s wings. He edged carefully down Ffyrnig’s back until he thought it was safe to stand up again. Then he straightened, balancing with outstretched arms. He could tell that Ffyrnig was straining every muscle in a huge effort to keep in one place without jolting him off. Even so, standing on the dragon’s back felt like riding a skateboard with particularly loose wheels. He dared not look down, in case he felt giddy and fell. He fixed his eyes on the guttering, took a deep breath and jumped. He clawed at the hot stonework of the parapet, and hung on, legs frantically scrabbling for a foothold. Gasping with relief, the dragon shot away and soared upwards.
The gargoyle screeched and laughed. It had pulled Erin up to the top of the roof, where she lay like a rag doll on the hot shingles. The creature shook its fists at Jonah, glaring first at him and then back at Erin. It seemed to be wondering whether she could escape. Dare it leave her in order to rush at the boy? For the moment, it looked from one to the other, grimacing vilely, while Jonah heaved himself up and over the parapet on to the leads. They were unbearably hot.
He pulled himself upright against a pinnacle and leaned against it, hopping from one foot to the other. Thank goodness Claire had made him take the Abracadabra charm. Leaning against the stonework for support, he fumbled inside his shirt to make sure it was there, while the demon leered and snarled, making little mock runs towards him, and then turning back to crouch over Erin. Any minute now, Jonah knew, it would leave her to attack him.
He began to haul himself up the leads. His legs felt shaky and the lead strips burned his hands so that he had to keep snatching them up. His heart thundered in his chest, but he willed himself to crawl towards the demon. Don’t look down, he told himself. You can do it. You’ve got to. You’ve got to.
The gargoyle was prancing around, squawking with glee. With a mighty heave, Jonah pushed himself to his feet and struggled crabwise up the roof towards it. The creature yelled, its face alight with cruelty, and leaped at him, grabbing his shoulders and clinging to his waist with its hind feet. He staggered under its weight and it laughed into his face, almost nose to nose. Jonah pulled violently away, gagging at its stinking breath, and fell backwards.
He felt himself beginning to slide down the roof with the beast on top of him. Its bony fingers dug into his flesh, and its legs gripped his waist with all its might. Jonah turned his head away from the gargoyle’s foul stench and felt its saliva dripping on his cheek. As they bumped downwards, with Jonah’s head and back scraping painfully on the edges of the leads, he fought to brace his heels and stop the slide. His fingers scrabbled for a hold and found the edge of a burning-hot tile. Summoning all his strength, Jonah held on with one hand while he felt for the locket. He clung on desperately, wincing at the pain in his hand, while the gargoyle’s horny fingers dug into him. The demon leaned away chortling, opened its mouth wide to show yellowing fangs and lunged forward to bite. Jonah rammed the little pendant against its cheekbone, shouting the spell aloud. ‘Abracadabra, abracadabra...’
The demon shrieked and rolled off his body, holding its head. Its eyes blazed with malice as it stared at Jonah. Gripping the locket tightly with his right hand, Jonah intoned, ‘O Lord, grant that this holy charm ABRACADABRA may cure thy servants Erin Morgan and Jonah Drake from all evil spirits and from all their diseases. Amen.’
The demon, holding its face as if it hurt, chattered with anger but it retreated as Jonah inched towards it with the locket held out. He fixed his eyes on the creature as it crouched on the lead strips, glaring at him. Then, with a howl, it sprang at him again. Jonah fell sideways with the demon astride him. He heard a tinkling sound as the chain of Claire’s locket snapped. The pendant skidded down towards the gutter. The Night Creature cackled with mirth as its bony fingers tightened round his arm. Jonah felt a rush of fury.
‘What do you want?’ he screamed.
The demon opened its mouth. Out of its throat came a dreadful, echoing voice, like something moaning in a hollow cavern. ‘We want our home back. Our beautiful Earth. You must die, puny humans, and leave the land to us.’
‘No! Never! It’s not yours to take,’ Jonah yelled. ‘Get away. Saint Michael protects us. Saint Michael protects us.’
He brought his elbow up and rammed it into the gargoyle. The shock made the creature loosen its grip for a second and gave Jonah the chance to roll away, but the movement made him lose his hold. He shrieked as he felt himself sliding, hurtling down the hot leads towards the low stone parapet. As he slid, his body gathered momentum. There was nothing he could grab to slow his speed. The back of his head banged on the scorching shingles. Then his feet struck the parapet with a terrible jolt and a searing pain shot through his legs. The impact bounced him up and over the edge. A scream ripped from his throat, as the ground flew towards him.
CHAPTER 25
TO THE ABYSS
As Jonah was hurled towards the ground, a screeching cry rang round the Cathedral Green. He felt himself jerked upwards, held by sharp spikes which dug into his sides and made him groan aloud. The air whistled past his ears. He hung upside down from Ffyrnig’s claws, looking up at the dragon’s massive red belly. Hereford’s streets waltzed giddily below them, until Jonah began to feel sick.
The dragon turned and glided back over the cathedral, hardly beating his wings. As they came to the Vicars’ cloisters, he flew very low. Jonah could see his head turning from side to side.
‘I am looking for somewhere safe to put you down, Master,’ he said, ‘I think this should do. There don’t seem to be any Night Creatures left on this side of the precinct.’ He landed carefully in the darkened quadrangle and placed Jonah on the grass.
‘Did I hurt you much?’ Ffyrnig’s forehead was screwed up with concern. ‘I can only pick things up by digging my claws in tight.’
‘No,’ Jonah lied, panting, and hoping that a small untruth to save Ffyrnig’s feelings wouldn’t count as lying to him. ‘Thanks for catching me. That was brill.’ He stared up at the dragon’s anxious face. ‘What about Erin, though? That ape thing might have killed her! Ffyrnig, see if you can get to her. And please hurry.’
‘I’m going. I can’t take off here, though. Not enough space. I’ll have to go outside.’ He nudged Jonah with his nose. ‘I’m pretty sure the angels emptied this quadrangle of demons but be careful, won’t you, Master?’
Jonah patted his leg. ‘Yes. ‘Course. But go on, Ffyrnig, please.’
He lay on the grass for a while, breathing heavily and gingerly stretching his legs and arms. There was just enough moonlight for him to be able to examine his sides. He undid his protective jacket. It had ridden up under his arms as he slid down the roof, so Ffyrnig’s claws had ripped his tee-shirt. There were some bleeding scratches and sore red patches on his skin, but it could have been worse. He guessed he would have some huge bruises from falling down the roof, though. He fastened the jacket again and cautiously got to his feet. He felt in his jeans pockets for the paper with the spell. It was still there. Carefully, he put it in one of the zipped jacket pockets, so that it wouldn’t easily drop out. He felt sad about Claire’s pendant. Maybe someone would find it, though. He would tell Saint Michael and one of the
cathedral staff how he had lost it on the roof.
He looked all round the cloisters. A couple of doorways, opening from the cathedral into the arcaded corridors, sent fingers of light across the grass, but it was too dark to see much. Jonah unzipped his pocket again and fingered the charm paper nervously. He prayed that the angels really had cleared the demons from the area. He kept looking over his shoulder. At any moment he expected a triumphant screech, as a gargoyle came racing towards him.
His body ached all over but, even though it hurt, he could walk. He felt exposed in the middle of the quadrangle so, as quietly as he could, he hobbled to an entrance into the cloister and pressed close against a pillar. Here, it would be harder for anyone – or anything – to make him out in the shadows, and he would be able to call to Ffyrnig when the dragon came back.
Oh, please, let Erin be all right. If the demon had killed her, it would all be down to him. Her parents would never have let her come to fight the Night Creatures, if he hadn’t begged them. Miserably, Jonah wrapped his arms round his aching body, holding himself together.
As he stood there, desperately hoping for Ffyrnig to return, there was a slight sound at the other end of the corridor. Jonah swung round. He stared at the far end of the cloister and made out a denser patch of wavering shadow in the grey gloom. His heart seemed to leap into his throat. He couldn’t swallow. He could hardly breathe.
A hooded monk-like figure was standing there, its hand on the head of an enormous wolf. Behind them, the rest of the demon wolf pack clustered, their glowing eyes fixed on Jonah. He froze to the spot. His legs seemed to have forgotten how to move. Slowly, silently, the wolves and the hooded shape approached.
