The Dragon in the Library

by Louie Stowell

  Faith was muttering the spell to herself, then she started to walk with slow, purposeful steps, each foot placed ever so carefully. She walked three times clockwise round the tree, then turned back on herself, waving her hands once again. As she walked round the tree one last time, a door opened in the bark of the trunk. Inside, Kit could see the start of a staircase.

  Faith started down the stairs. Before she could think about it, Kit followed her through the magical door. She tiptoed as quietly as she could down the white spiral staircase, going further and further down. At this point, she knew she was doing something wrong, but it was too late not to do it, so she might as well finish doing it. Half a wrong thing was just as bad as a whole wrong thing, and a lot less fun.

  After walking for about ten minutes, Kit’s legs were starting to ache with the effort. She felt a little dizzy. It was so bright on the staircase, and the muffled sounds made her feel very far away from herself.

  But, finally, she reached the bottom. There was a golden door in front of her, engraved with swirling carvings that looked like snakes. There was no door handle, and no keyhole. And there was no sign of Faith.

  Without thinking, Kit put her hand against the door. It just felt like the right thing to do.

  The door swung open, revealing a vast, high-ceilinged chamber.

  In the centre of the chamber lay huge piles of golden coins, jewels, shining cups – a hoard of treasure. Normally, that would have blown Kit’s mind. She would have shrieked with excitement and dived into the shining pile of coins and gems. But there was something even more incredible on top of the treasure.

  The creature was colossal and covered with glistening green scales. Its huge horned head rested on the pile of treasure, and it appeared to be asleep.

  That, thought Kit, is a dragon.

  And it was.

  She stood there for a moment gazing at the gigantic beast. It had a long face, with a nose that came to a sharp, beak-like point. Folded wings spread on either side of its body, sprouting from muscular green shoulders. For a moment, Kit imagined what it would look like flying over London, flapping those wings. The thought made her stomach drop with excited fear.

  The dragon’s scaly sides were rising and falling very, very slowly. Each time it breathed out, a puff of smoke emerged from its nostrils.

  Kit felt drawn towards the dragon. She could sense a hum of magic coming from it. It felt a part of her. Before she knew it, she was kneeling down. She carefully placed her right hand on its side. Its scales were cold and a little scratchy. Her fingers began to tingle, growing warmer. She felt a rush of heat wash over her.

  Then everything went dark.

  Just for a moment.

  Kit blinked when the light returned. She was still in the dragon’s cave, but something was different.

  The dragon was awake and looking at her. Its eyes were a shining green. Its sharp teeth showed between its scaly lips as it opened its mouth and roared.

  “Oh!” Kit stepped backwards. “Please don’t eat me. I’m sorry I woke you.”

  “You didn’t,” came a voice from beside her. “The dragon’s still asleep. We’re in the dragon’s dream. No one’s getting eaten. Probably.”

  Kit turned to see Faith standing by her side. She didn’t look happy. But she didn’t look like someone who was about to turn anyone into a toad either, so that was a plus.

  “So you followed me,” said Faith.

  “Slightly. A bit. Maybe. I saw you walking, then I started walking. In the same direction. Behind you.”

  Faith raised an eyebrow. “Well. You’re here now. We can talk about the dangers of following wizards into the unknown later.”

  “But … where IS here?”

  “Think of it as the dragon’s imagination. This is where the dragon lives its life, as its body sleeps. Here, anything can happen.”

  “Can it hurt me?”

  Faith shook her head. “You’ve left your body in the real world. So have I. We’re guests in the dragon’s dream, but we’re not physically here.”

  Kit looked around. “This is a pretty boring dream. It’s just dreaming about its bedroom.”

  “This is only a part of my dream, wizard. My dream is vast. You’re only on the doorstep.” The voice was as smooth as honey and as warm as cocoa. But beneath the warmth and the smoothness was danger and fire. Kit shuddered and stepped back.

  “Oh. It can talk!” She gasped.

  “Not it. She.”

  Kit looked from the dragon to Faith to the dragon again. “How is this possible?”

  “You’ve walked into a book, haven’t you?” said the dragon. “Why not a dream? A dream and a book are very similar things, when you think about them. They both make pictures in your mind.”

  Kit thought the dragon was pretty weird. But, then again, she didn’t know what normal looked like for a dragon. This was the first one she’d met. Or at least the first-and-a-half, if you counted Dogon.

  “How long have you been down here?” she asked.

  “I’ve been here since the beginning, I think. Time passes but I don’t know how long it’s been.” The dragon turned its long, pointed face to Faith. “Remind me. When was that event … with the fire? And the burning?”

  “The Great Fire of London?” offered Faith. “That was about three hundred and fifty years ago.”

  “That’s the last time I woke up then.” The dragon blinked. “Bad things happen when I wake. The wizards keep me asleep; they tell me stories to populate the world of my dreams. They keep things quiet.”

  Faith approached the dragon, slowly but confidently, and rested her hand on the creature’s head. “We do our best to keep the library quiet. Luckily a little noise won’t wake her. But it can get a bit hairy when a very lively school trip comes to the library. And author visits. It’s a good thing Draca loves stories. Even the loudest of stories don’t wake her.”

  “It’s true.” The dragon showed all her teeth. Kit thought it might be a smile. “Stories make my dreams bigger. I have more space to roam.”

  “So that’s why you had me do Storytime?” asked Kit.

  Faith nodded. “It’s an important part of your duties as a wizard. The dragon is where our power comes from, so even if it wasn’t dangerous for the dragon to wake, we owe her.”

  Kit absorbed the information that her powers came from a dragon. But then she had a thought. “So is it OK that Alita and Josh are doing Storytime? They’re not wizards.”

  “It doesn’t technically have to be a wizard who reads the stories. Stories are their own magic. We just need to make sure that SOMEONE does. So it’s traditionally a wizard’s duty. Along with keeping the shelves tidy and all the books in their proper places.”

  “I don’t like it when the books are out of order,” said the dragon. “When someone shelves a history book with science fiction, or a gritty detective novel with the children’s picture books…” The dragon gave a shudder. “It makes me itch. It makes me feel wakeful.”

  “So that’s why we have to do shelving?” asked Kit. She suddenly felt a bit better about doing the boring stuff. Slightly.

  “Shelving isn’t boring,” said the dragon. “It brings order to the world.”

  Kit felt a shudder. “You read my mind?”

  “Well, you could say that. But you’re in MY dream,” said the dragon. “So you could say I’m reading my own mind.”

  Kit tried to make sense of that but it felt as though her brain was melting. She focused on things that did make sense instead. “So … if the dragon … if she … if you … wake up, why does bad stuff happen? Is it because you’re grumpy when you wake up? Did you set fire to London last time you woke up? Like when I wake my big brother up before midday and he throws things?”

  But the dragon gave a little whimper in the back of her great throat. “That’s not fair,” she said. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “She doesn’t do it on purpose, do you, Draca?” said Faith. She turned to Kit. “When a dra
gon wakes, she releases a burst of magic. This magic is dangerous – it’s too much power to be floating about in the world. It can change reality. It can cause plagues, earthquakes … and worse. But it’s not the dragon’s fault. It’s the fault of whoever WOKE the dragon. Well, if they woke it on purpose, anyway.”

  “Why would anyone do that?” asked Kit. “Why would anyone cause plagues and earthquakes and stuff on purpose?”

  Faith shook her head. “All my wizard training, and no one’s ever been able to explain that to me.” She pointed to the dragon. “But I know that our duty is to protect the dragon. Keep her asleep. Keep her safe. Read her stories.”

  “Salt!” said Kit, suddenly afraid. “If he comes and digs up the library and builds a shopping centre, he’s going to wake the dragon, isn’t he? The diggers would wake her!”

  “Diggers!” said the dragon. “I like stories about diggers!”

  “But you wouldn’t like the real thing. Noisy,” said Faith. “However, now you know about the dragon, I can set your mind at ease about that, Kit. The Wizards’ Council have put a temporary muffling spell around Draca. The diggers won’t wake her.”

  “But if the library closes, we still won’t be able to come down here,” said Kit. “We still have to stop him!”

  “We will, I promise,” said Faith. “But now we need to go. The magic required to stay here is tiring. If we stay too long, I won’t be able to get us out again.”

  “Come back any time,” said the dragon. “I like to meet people. People bring me stories.”

  “I will. And I promise to keep you sleeping,” said Kit.

  “They always say that,” said the dragon sadly. “But I end up waking up in the end. I heard about another dragon, long ago, who wasn’t just woken. He was killed. Then all the big lizards died.” The dragon, to Kit’s surprise, began to cry.

  “The dinosaurs!” gasped Kit. “Killing a dragon wiped out the DINOSAURS.”

  “Say goodbye,” said Faith. She gave a huge yawn. “Getting … sleepy.”

  Kit said goodbye to the dragon. The dragon bowed her own farewell.

  They climbed the endless stairs, up away from the dragon’s lair. They walked slowly through the wood beneath the library, then up the slope to the revolving bookcase, until they were back fully in the real world.

  Or as real as a world can be that has a sleeping dragon in it.

  Kit’s punishment for following Faith was scraping chewing gum off the undersides of all the library tables.

  “You didn’t think you were getting off with a stern look, did you?” said Faith, giving her another stern look for free.

  As soon as she’d finished scraping the gum – and then done Storytime – Kit went to find Josh and Alita, to show them exactly why it was so important that they save the library. She had Faith’s permission this time. The librarian led them all through to the stacks and down to see the dragon.

  Josh and Alita were amazed when they saw the creature sleeping beneath the library. They were astounded when Faith took them into its dream. They almost lost their minds when the dragon spoke to them.

  Alita was very upset when she heard about the dragon that had been killed – the one who led to the death of the dinosaurs. She swore that she would protect this dragon from harm.

  “I swear to protect you, Draca, like Lara Fandango protected the Sphinx in book four!” said Alita.

  I swear to protect you like Danny Fandango protected the good Manticore in book three!” added Josh.

  The dragon’s huge eyes were glistening.

  “You like those books?” asked Draca.

  “YES!” Josh and Alita replied.

  “I love it when Faith reads me Danny Fandango!” said the dragon, letting out a hiss of hot, happy breath. “Huge fan. Who’s your favourite character?”

  After that, it was almost impossible to get Josh and Alita to leave. Faith had to bribe them by saying that the new book had just come in and was upstairs.

  When they returned to the book wood, above the dragon’s lair, Alita took Dogon up into her arms and gave him a hug.

  “What if next time a dragon is killed, it wipes out all the puppies in the world?” she said. “Or all the ferrets? Or the blue whales? Or little Dogon here?”

  “Or all the humans?” suggested Josh.

  Alita thought about that. “Yes, that would be bad too.”

  “Come on. Let’s have something to drink,” said Faith. “How about some ginger tea? It can get cold down in the book wood. There’s a damp chill to everything.”

  “Then can we have our copies of the new Danny Fandango?” asked Josh, who seemed more worried about missing out on a new book than about the end of the world.

  Faith nodded.

  Josh and Alita made a lot of high-pitched noises and jumped up and down. Kit sighed. Sometimes her friends were basically aliens. Aliens with giant, throbbing brains.

  Faith started making them ginger tea in the staff room, chopping up ginger, scraping it into a pan, pouring in water, then setting it to boil while she found some cups from the cupboard and the children made themselves comfortable. Dogon was curled up on Alita’s lap. The creature was snoring happily, filling the room with little puffs of smoke each time it breathed.

  Kit wondered what Dogon dreamed of.

  Alita stroked Dogon’s fur. “How can you have a dog that’s half dragon? Can dogs and dragons have babies? Is Dogon Draca’s baby?”

  “No, they’re not related,” said Faith. “Dogon is still technically a dog. I mean, he was born a dog. But being so near the dragon and its magic – it’s changed him. He’s absorbed some of the dragon’s wild magic. Just like wizards do, who work here.”

  “Ooh!” said Kit. “I’m absorbing wild magic?” She shuddered. “That’s weird!”

  Faith spooned a little sugar into the pan as it bubbled away. When it was ready, she poured them all steaming cups of ginger tea. “One moment,” she said, then passed her hands over the cups, murmuring, “Bill…” She looked up at Kit and explained, “That’s a cooling spell, so you don’t burn your mouth.

  Kit mimed the hand gesture and was about to say the word when Faith shook her head.

  “I wouldn’t. If you get it wrong, you could create a new ice age. It’s surprisingly powerful.”

  “What happens now?” said Kit. “You said the Wizards’ Council put a muffling spell around Draca. Does that mean everything’s OK? It doesn’t matter if Salt takes the library? Can we just, like, sneak through some tunnels or something to read Draca stories?”

  “And visit Dogon?” added Alita.

  “Someone will, yes,” said Faith. “I’m sure the council will send a wizard to read to Draca and protect her. But it won’t be us. If the library closes, I’ll be out of a job,” said Faith.

  “Will you be allowed to train me?” asked Kit. She felt a huge lump forming in her throat. Her eyes were stinging.

  “That’s up to the Wizards’ Council. But I think they’ll probably make you wait until you’re sixteen now.”

  “No!” cried Kit. “That’s FOREVER!”

  Faith shook her head. “It might not come to that,” she said. “I do have one last idea. But it’s not for you to worry about.”

  “But … can’t I help?” asked Kit. She was aware that her voice sounded whiny.

  Faith shook her head irritably. “You’re a very young, very new wizard. You need to leave this to me. It’s not safe. I think it’s time for you to get back to shelving.”

  “But what’s the point, if the library is about to be knocked down!” Kit could feel her voice rising. She couldn’t understand why Faith was treating her like a baby.

  “That’s enough!” Faith almost shouted. Purple sparks had started appearing at the sides of her eyes, which Kit knew wasn’t a good sign.

  “Go back to shelving now,” the librarian continued, her voice more even.

  “Come on, Kit,” said Alita. Both she and Josh were looking a bit nervously at Faith. But as th
e three of them headed back through the stacks towards the rest of the library, Kit couldn’t stop thinking about Salt and what would happen if he took over the library the next day. How was she supposed to just not worry about it? Was she supposed to have a magic switch to turn off all her worries? That was definitely not a spell Faith had taught her yet.

  Was Faith ever going to teach her another spell, if Salt destroyed the library and she got fired? Did Faith even care?

  She didn’t seem all that upset about the prospect of giving up Kit’s training. She just seemed angry that Kit was in the way.

  Maybe Faith wasn’t actually that interested in training Kit. Maybe she’d be relieved if she never saw Kit again.

  Josh and Alita started shelving as soon as they got back to the main library, but Kit couldn’t concentrate.

  Adults always thought they knew best. But Kit had imagined it would be different now that she was a wizard. She could do magic! But instead of doing something to help, she was just putting books on shelves and waiting to find out whether she would have to wait YEARS to keep training.

  Surely there was something she could do to stop Salt? Whatever Faith was doing, it hadn’t done any good so far. She just expected Kit to trust her – but she wouldn’t tell Kit anything. Would she have even told Kit about Draca, if Kit hadn’t followed her? And why was she waiting to stop Salt? If Kit was the one in charge, she wouldn’t wait.

  And what if Faith’s plan, whatever it was, didn’t work? Where would that leave Kit?

  I’ve got this power and I’m not allowed to use it. It’s not fair!

  Her frustration built and built, until she couldn’t hold on any more. She had to do something about Salt herself.

  While Josh and Alita were still shelving, she sneaked into the break room and began looking through Faith’s spell books. One book was sitting in front of the others – big and fat, with gold plating on the cover. It had no title, but there seemed to be all kinds of spells in there. There was a bookmark in it, on a page called SPELLS OF FORGETTING.