"There's no way a dragon will spot her, now," she heard Lilly say.
Martin's voice was very low, and a little quavery. "She's not the one I'm worried about."
Carole followed an overhang to the open stretch of sand, where she stopped and looked skyward again. A dragon was circling high overhead. She froze.
A second creature crossed the sky to join the first and the two began what looked like a spiraling dance. She waited until both dragons had drifted into the smog cloud, before bolting across the clearing and ducking into the gully.
The gully was a lot wider than it had seemed from the cave, but it did lead away from the beach. A small stream ran along one side. It was little more than a trickle now, but from the polished appearance of the rock, a good portion of the gully had been carved out by water. That likely meant the passage continued uphill a fair distance, possibly even as far as the forest.
She stuck her finger into the water and tasted. A little sulfury, but otherwise fresh. Keeping a close eye on the sky, she motioned for the others to join her.
Zack led, followed by Lilly and then Martin, whom Runt seemed to be head-butting in a coaxing sort of way. They shuffled single file, hugging the rock face and sneaking frequent glances skyward. They'd come halfway when Carole sighted another dragon. She held her breath, but this one flew directly into the smog ringing the mountaintop.
She was still staring at the clouds when a flicker caught her eye. Something else was up there, a darker smudge against the dirty orange. She stared until she saw the flicker again. Wings near the rock face.
Just then the dragon plummeted, like a shadow hurtling down the mountainside.
Carole flapped her arms in warning, but Zack, the only one who could see her, was staring at the swamp. She reached into her rucksack and grabbed an oatcake. Taking aim, she fired it across the clearing.
It smacked solidly against Zack's shin.
He jumped back, bumping into Lilly, who fell against Martin. All three tumbled to the ground, leaving Runt able to see Carole who was waving and pointing.
Runt squealed a sharp warning. Lilly, Zack and Martin stopped threshing about and looked towards Carole. All three were white-faced.
Carole pressed against the gully wall. If the rapidly descending dragon flew straight past, odds were it wouldn't notice the tumble of bodies against the base of the cliff.
The behemoth soared silently overhead. It didn't look down.
Carole waited until it had traveled well beyond the swamp before even daring to breath. She was about to motion the others to come ahead, when the dragon somersaulted and dropped from sight.
Where'd it go? She craned her neck, trying to see through the lacy fern canopy. How could something so big just disappear? The sky was empty.
Suddenly the swamp erupted. A massive reptile lunged ashore and charged up the beach.
"Run for it!" she screamed.
With Martin in the lead, the four sprinted towards the gully.
The reptile bellowed and gave chase.
A deafening roar split the air. Spinning about in a shower of sand, the reptile raced back to the swamp. It splashed into the water at the same time as her companions dove into the gully.
Before the reptile could plunge beneath the surface, it was engulfed by a gigantic fireball.
This time Carole saw it all.
The dragon must have circled the swamp to come up from behind. Although it wasn't as large as the one they'd seen earlier, it was still gigantic. Its two-toned body was luminescent orange underneath and dark purple on top. It had two stubby, powerful rear legs, two long and dangerous looking forelegs, and two pair of shimmering wings. Its head, neck and tail were broad and flat, and its three glowing eyes sparkled with a cold iridescence.
A strange thrill coursed through Carole's body as the dragon pounced upon its still-twitching prey, hooking the roasted reptile with its front claws. Its neck weaving like a gigantic serpent's, it roared again and sprang easily into the air.
The dragon's body flattened out as it became airborne. Carole was astonished to see that it could glide with its body as well as fly with its wings. Carrying the reptile's limp carcass, it flew towards the smoldering, upper slopes of the mountain.
Hearing sounds behind her, Carole turned to see four heads emerge from the first bend in the gully. "You can come out, they're gone."
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" Martin mopped his face with his sweat-soaked shirt. "Did you see the size of that thing?"
"Which thing?" Zack was swatting at the swarm of bugs circling his head. "They were both huge and they both had huge teeth. I take back what I said about seeing dragons. The sooner we get out of this place the better."
"Reeeet!"
"This gully looks like our best bet," Carole said. "Keep close to the walls, just in case."
"And keep quiet, too," Martin said as he glanced skyward. "Keep very quiet."
* * *
- 24 -
The ravine was steep, the air hot, the insects vicious, but no one complained. Not because they didn't feel like it, but because they were to miserable to talk. Martin had given up whining, finding it wasn't worth gagging on the foul-tasting bugs.
He was the last to squeeze through a particularly narrow passageway when something burnt him on the leg. He began jumping around, yelling, "Ow, ow, my leg, my leg!" Still hopping, he fished into his pocket and pulled out a blackened object, covered with steaming cracks. Before he could drop the thing, it exploded in a puff of smoke.
Out of the smoke appeared a tiny golden dragon, the size of a kitten; twin spirals of steam curling from its snout. It stared into Martin's eyes, before coughing out a short flame and springing into the air. After flitting around them, it hovered a moment longer, and then settled lightly onto Martin's shoulder.
"Oh, isn't that cute. He thinks you're his mother," Lilly stroked the creature's back.
The dragon's eyes sparkled.
"Cute? The beast nearly burnt off my leg. What if it decides to take a chunk out of my nose?"
"Oh, come on." Lilly giggled. "He's just a baby."
"Where'd it come from?" Carole said, her arms crossed.
"An egg."
"What egg?"
"Uh...a golden one."
"From back in the cave? The orb I told you to get rid of?"
"Well I--" A particularly large bug flew past Martin's face. Quick as a flash the dragon flamed the insect and snapped up the blackened morsel before it could hit the ground.
"Guess we don't have to worry about feeding it, anyway," Zack said quickly. "As far as I'm concerned, the little flamer can have all the bugs he wants."
"Little Flamer! That's what we'll call him," Lilly said.
Little Flamer seemed content to perch on Martin's shoulder and wait for lunch to come to him. When they ran into a particularly thick swarm of insects, the tiny dragon circled the bugs, herding them into an ever tighter knot before flaming and devouring the whole lot.
The next time Little Flamer landed on Martin's shoulder, he groaned, "Ugh, I think he just gained five pounds."
"And you're complaining?" Zack shook his head. "This is the first time in hours we haven't been bitten raw."
"Easy for you to say, but I'm the one carrying him and my pack was already heavy enough."
"Oh, stop your bellyaching. You're the one who pocketed the egg in the first place."
As the gully snaked up the mountain, they encountered fissures spewing out jets of scalding steam and clouds of vile smelling gas. Getting past was thoroughly unpleasant for all except the dragon. At one point Little Flamer even took a bath in a hot and pungent pool.
"I bet he doesn't mind the stuff 'cause that's what his insides are like," Martin said, as the dragon shook itself dry and flew off, dipping and swooping about their heads as graceful as a swallow.
Finally, after hours of tortuous climbing, they reached a dead end. The ravine had been plugged by a wall of glassy rock, down the fr
ont of which trickled a ribbon of water.
"Looks easy enough." Zack ran his hand along the pitted surface. "Who wants to be the first up?"
"I suppose I should," Carole said, when no one else volunteered, "since I've the advantage of camouflage. In the meantime, dig out some food. I'm starving."
She wormed out of her rucksack, stuffed an oat cake into her mouth, pulled on her hood and began a slow ascent. Her dress immediately darkened to match the black of the wall. When she reached the brim, she eased herself high enough to peer overtop, but moved no further. What she saw caused her stomach to drop.
"What's the news?" Zack said, when she was again at the bottom.
She studied the black wall. "This rock face is a dam holding back a small lake. The forest is just beyond the water."
"So why the frown?" Martin said.
"Because there's a bunch of dragons out there. Sleeping on the ground between the water and the woods."
Zack glanced quickly overhead. "How many?"
"Five. They're not totally huge, but still..."
"We've no choice then," Lilly said, shrugging. "We'll just have to wait until they leave."
Carole chewed on her bottom lip. "Except, I think there's a vortex nearby." She looked at Runt who nodded.
"Close to the dragons?" Zack said.
"No, I think it's in the forest. Maybe even a little beyond."
"So what do we do now?" Martin said.
"Eat," Zack suggested.
"We might as well." Carole sat down and grabbed some food. "We can't go anywhere until that pack of monsters take off."
A trumpeting roar jolted her back to her feet, before she had even taken a bite.
* * *
- 25 -
Thankfully the heavens remained empty.
A second roar shattered the quiet. Little Flamer shot from his rock perch, chittering excitedly. Carole scrambled back up the wall to see what was happening.
"It's another dragon, bigger than the others," she called down. "I think he caught one of those reptiles."
"Showoff," Martin grumbled. "Can't they leave a guy to rest in peace?"
The dragon bellowed again, and this time there was a faint answering echo. The exchange continued, with the answers sounding louder each time.
"What's happening now?" Lilly said.
"Another dragon's circling towards that loudmouth. And the rest of 'em are all riled up. Maybe it's some sort of challenge."
Lilly and Zack scaled the wall in time to see the newest arrival drop to the ground. It was large and scarred and snapped its long tail like a bullwhip.
"He's the biggest one yet," Lilly gasped.
"Those two are definitely going to fight," Carole said, gripping the stone so tightly that her fingertips blanched white. "And I betcha we could make it past the rest while they're enjoying the show."
Zack's face paled at the suggestion. "Sneak past seven dragons?"
"We can use that jumble of rocks along the shoreline for cover, and hop between boulders the rest of the way."
"What about the vortex," Lilly said. "Is it still there?"
"Oh yeah, it's there." Carole was now feeling the pull of the tunnel like an incessant tapping on her forehead.
"I guess there's no harm in getting ready."
They dropped into the gully.
"Are you out of your minds?" Martin said, when told.
"You prefer sitting here being devoured by bugs?" Zack picked up his pack and wiggled into it.
"Better bugs than dragons!"
"We only move when they fight." Carole hefted Runt onto Zack's shoulders and started back up the wall. "Of course you're always welcome to stay behind."
After following the others up the wall, Martin gaped at the scene before him. "We're supposed to sneak past those monsters?"
"That's the plan," Carole said.
"This is insanity. You're all crazy!"
Carole shrugged, "If we want to get to the vortex before it shuts down, we have no choice."
"It's still crazy."
In front of them, the smaller dragon picked up the reptile and hurled it into the air. The carcass thudded against the larger dragon's chest. Outraged, it charged.
"Now's our chance," Carole announced.
"What? No, wait!" Martin cried.
Carole plucked Runt from Zack's shoulders. "Head for that large rock dead ahead, Runt, I'll meet you there."
Needing no encouragement, the pig scampered for the cover of the jumbled shoreline.
She scrambled over the lip of the dam with the twins and Martin close behind, and scuttled over to where Runt was waiting. "Quick, to the end of the shoreline!" Without looking to see if the others were following, she started off in a crouch with Runt by her side.
Carole took a quick look to make sure the other dragons were still watching the fight, before stepping out onto open ground. She zigzagged between boulders, making it three quarters of the way across to the forest, before a spine-tingling scream reached her ears. Holing up behind the next boulder, she peeked around it to see the challenger lying on the ground, bloodied and beaten. Hovering above, the scarred dragon screamed, again and again. The challenger tried to get airborne once more, but collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Guess that's it for the small guy," Zack said.
"And our escape," Martin panted.
The large dragon folded its wings and with claws extended, dropped like a house. However, instead of landing on the challenger, it swooped over to the abandoned carcass, where it ripped out and swallowed a hunk of flesh. Then grabbing the remainder in one claw and bellowing a final time, the brute flew off.
Making one final supreme effort, the challenger lifted its battered body into the air and with its wings barely beating, slowly followed.
Lilly shook her head with amazement. "I thought he was going to be torn apart."
"Come on," Carole ordered, "we've only fifty feet to go, and the others haven't noticed us yet." She bolted for the safety of the forest.
While scrambling across the uneven ground, Martin and Runt crossed paths and tripped over one another. Runt kept his balance but Martin wasn't so lucky. He fell awkwardly, the pots in his pack clanking noisily together.
At the noise, one of the smaller dragons raised its head and stared. With a roar, it sprang into the air and raced towards them.
Carole was the first to enter the safety of the trees. Looking back she felt her blood turn to ice. Martin was only a few dozen paces behind, but he seemed to be moving in slow motion. He'd never make it.
She heard a huge inrush of air as the approaching dragon prepared to scorch him on the spot. She saw Martin close his eyes. Watched him prepare for death.
* * *
- 26 -
The dragon's eyes vanished behind a ribbon of flame. Screeching in agony, it jerked sideways, caught its jaw on a slab of rock and tumbled heavily to the ground, its huge body coming to rest mere inches from Martin's back.
Letting out a terrified yelp of his own, Martin kicked into a desperate burst of speed, raced through the vanguard trees and dove into the first clump of bushes he saw. Seconds later the dragon, two of its three eyes already swollen shut, shook its head and staggered off to the lake.
"Thought we were goners for sure," Zack whispered.
Martin wedged himself between the twins. "You did? I felt that guy's breath burning my neck!"
"So what happened? Why'd it crash?" Martin tried to get at his canteen but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't untie his pack. Lilly came to his aid.
"Beats me!" Zack shrugged. "We were too busy running."
Runt looked equally perplexed.
Little Flamer zipped through the foliage and landed on Martin's shoulder, chattering and scolding like an angry red squirrel.
"About time you turned up," Lilly chastised, stroking his shimmering neck. The dragon folded its wings and let out a satisfied puff of steam.
Carole joined them under the bush.
"Better get going before the rest of that pack gets curious," she said, before moving off in a semi-crouch.
Zack and his sister exchanged looks with Martin.
* * * *
"That's way too open!" Martin balked, surveying the field from the cover of the bamboo-like forest. "We'll be spotted for sure."
"Come on, its not that far across." Zack stepped forward and sank ankle deep into mud. "Eww!" He backed out quickly. "Great, another swamp."
Carole searched the sky again, before testing a clump of grass. It held her weight. She hopped to another. It also held. "We'll cross on these."
"Through a swamp full of reptiles?"
"It's just a soggy field. There won't be any."
"Then what do you call that!?" Martin pointed to tuft of grass in the middle of which sat a puny but very plump lizard.
Lilly giggled. "It looks like a bloated gecko."
"Swamp geckos, cool!" When Zack leaned in for a closer look, the lizard belched a fireball that nearly engulfed his face.
"Will you never learn?" Lilly sighed. "What if that thing had been fanged and poisonous?"
"What's it need poison for?" Zack patted his eyebrows.
A swarm of insects dropping towards the marsh were suddenly engulfed by hundreds of tiny fireballs. "Does everything around here barbeque?"
"It won't be so bad," Carole said. "I'll nudge 'em aside with my staff. Let's move."
The sheer number of lizards, plus Little Flamer's knack for swooping low to first trigger and then dodge fireballs, made the crossing a lot slower and a lot more hazardous than Carole had expected. They were still very much in the open when a booming roar shook the ground. Scrambling for cover, they plowed through the remaining grasses, scattering geckos and unleashing a frenzy of flames in their wake.
Once within the safety of the bamboo-like trees, Lilly and Martin helped extinguish Zack's rucksack, while Runt and Carole scanned the sky for signs of pursuit. A short while later they were looking out from the far side of the forest. What she saw gave Carole little cause for celebration.
The ground dropped to a small plateau, flat as a pancake, beyond which the mountain rose almost vertically, to vanish within a haze of smoke and cloud. The plateau was absolutely barren, without even a hint of ground cover or sheltering rock. To make matters worse, a huge gash was spewing out a river of lava. The valley would soon be awash in a sea of molten rock.
The Lost Witch Page 14
