The Dragon's Game

by James Erith

  Kemp grinned. ‘Is that alright, mother?’ he said. ‘Back in less than forty minutes, gives you a little time. But remember, not a single word, right?’

  ‘Yes, my son,’ she replied, squeezing him till his breath tightened. ‘Not even a little pip, I promise.’

  Mrs Pye smiled her biggest smile, or grimace, and watched as Kemp slipped his arms into the coat, his body morphing into a curious ashen creature.

  Then, calling out the words, ‘dreamspinner, dreamspinner, dreamspinner,’ with a dive, the ashen body disappeared into a ring of bright, neon-blue light.

  69 SOLOMON ENTERS

  Isabella reached into Old Man Wood’s overcoat pocket and pulled out the tablet. She held it, twisting it slowly around her fingers. The others leaned in, mesmerised, examining the familiar circular tree-like patterns as it rotated.

  ‘Woah!’ she said, as the stone lurched. She placed it carefully on the table, double checking it. ‘Did you see that?’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘It’s as if it has a magnetic force,’ Isabella said. ‘As if it demands to join up with the others.’

  Daisy cuffed her on the shoulder. ‘Yeah, well of course it does,’ she said, yawning. ‘That’s what it’s here for, dur brains.’

  ‘Thanks, Einstein,’ Isabella muttered. ‘Most helpful. Where are the other joined tablets?’

  ‘I locked it in my special cellar,' Old Man Wood said. 'I’ll bring it out when the time is right.’

  Almost immediately, Daisy’s frame stiffened. She raised her eyebrows and pointed at the door.

  Archie suddenly found his hair spikes erect on his head. He sidled up to the side of the thick oak-framed door.

  ‘What is it now?’ Isabella muttered. ‘Really? Haven’t we had enough excitement?’ She examined Daisy. ‘You know who it is, don’t you?’

  ‘Might do,’ she replied, grinning.

  The door inched open.

  ‘Hullooo,’ came a familiar voice.

  ‘Mr Solomon,’ Archie said, relaxing, his hair softening. ‘Good to see you again, sir. How is the leg?’

  ‘A little sore, if I’m honest,’ he said. ‘And to be frank, I’m utterly exhausted,’ he shuffled further in, leaning on a stick. ‘I am a classic example of a deeply unfit schoolmaster, I’m afraid. I’m not cut out for this kind of drama.’

  Isabella went over to him and helped him into a chair.

  ‘Dickinson’s been hunting around for Sue but, mysteriously, they haven’t located her,’ Solomon continued. ‘I do hope nothing untoward has happened especially after all she's put up with. And, on that note, you’ll be pleased to hear that Stone is being escorted away as we speak, leaving you a clear run for whatever it is that you have to do next.’ He eyed the tablet. ‘Gosh, look at that. It is rather beautiful in its way, isn’t it.’ He suddenly had a great urge to touch it. He moved his hand across the table. ‘May I?’ He looked from one to the other.

  ‘Go on,’ Isabella said. ‘But not for long. It seems to have a force field around it. I’m not sure I totally trust what it might do,’ she said.

  Solomon pushed his hand close but then retracted it quickly.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘But I’m probably quite close enough.’ He smiled, his round face pink from the exertion, his eyes sparkling in the dim light. He pushed his small metal-rimmed glasses along his nose and took a deep breath. ‘You’ll be cracking on to the next bit now, I suppose — whatever it is? I must say, you do look a good deal better than when I first found you. How are the wounds?’

  ‘Much better,’ Old Man Wood said, speaking on everyone’s behalf. ‘How about I fix you up with a nice cup of tea, or would you care for something a little stronger. I have a dram of rum somewhere. Or did you finish the bottle when you put some in my tea, Archie?’

  ‘Tea for me,' Solomon said. 'But no rum. Thank you.’

  Isabella knelt down by the headmaster’s chair. ‘I’m going to do something about your bullet wound if you’ll let me.’

  ‘Dickinson tells me I was rather lucky,’ he said, smiling up at her. ‘The bullet passed straight through my thigh, missing the bone. Apparently, it’s not uncommon to pass out when such a thing happens.’ His expression changed. ‘Will it hurt?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ she said. ‘Soon, you’ll be as good as new.’

  Isabella laid her hands on the leg and shut her eyes. Moments later, pink, swirling energy flowed around the limb, spiralling around the thigh.

  ‘Done,’ she said at length, removing her hands.

  The headmaster looked on transfixed. He flexed his joint. ‘Astonishing. Absolutely astonishing.’ He shook his head. ‘Thank you, my dear girl.’

  ‘My pleasure! It’s the least I can do in return for your help turning Dickinson and for trying to find Sue.’

  ‘Well, I have a duty, not least to dear Gus Williams, to find out what has become of your friend. And I have no intention of getting in your way; I’m probably the very last person you wish to see right now. By the way, has anyone seen Kemp? He seems to appear and then disappear with remarkable regularity. He’s becoming rather hard to keep track of; I’m quite sure I heard his voice drifting in the air as I lay in wait for the soldiers.’

  Daisy leaned forward a little. ‘I think I saw him with Mrs Pye as we came in. But I wasn’t concentrating.’

  Solomon beamed back. ‘Then I’ll try Mrs Pye’s apartment before I venture out to look for her again - now that I can.’ He smiled once more at Isabella and drained his mug.

  A rap at the door.

  ‘That will be Dickinson, I suspect,’ Solomon said. ‘We decided to make some arrangements.’

  Dickinson’s head appeared at the door. He smiled warmly at the fresh-looking children. ‘My, you’re all looking a great deal better,’ he said. ‘Now, if you’d like to follow me, there’s one thing I think we should do.’

  Archie, Daisy and Isabella shot nervous glances at one another.

  Dickinson laughed. ‘No, it’s nothing scary. We located Gus’ body and have brought it down. I think we should lay it to rest, appropriately, don’t you think?’ He took on board their relieved faces. ‘I found a lovely spot halfway down the track. Why don’t you follow me? I promise it won’t keep you from whatever you have to do.’

  AS DICKINSON SAID, GUS’ body lay in a hole where a large oak tree had once stood. A bright sky beamed overhead, the sun beginning its slow descent across the vale.

  They held hands and bowed their heads.

  Solomon began.

  ‘I do not know what creed or belief system Gus followed, so I will be brief and without bias.’ He coughed and pushed his glasses up his nose.

  ‘In this spot lies Gus Williams, a boy who will be remembered by all as a man, a great man, who lived and loved life. Like a staunch tree that finds each season by the regular movement of our sun, we will remember Gus for his strength, his resilience, his fortitude in the face of turbulence, his majesty in taking on the uncertainty of the seas, his creativity, his good sense and the graciousness he displayed to all. He offered hope, where there was none. He showed bravery in the face of true darkness, he showed love to all those who knew him, and his smile will forever drift over these lands, as a quiet reminder of our human spirit.

  ‘For whatever may happen upon this noble sphere of ours, in good times and in bad, Gus was a hero. And I, for one, am honoured to have known him.’

  Daisy leaned into Archie who rubbed her back.

  ‘Dear Gus, mate,’ Archie began, addressing the body. ‘I can honestly say, on behalf of us all that we have nothing but the hugest love and respect for you. You are a god, my friend. Braver, funnier, kinder than all of us. Rest in peace, dear friend,’ he croaked. ‘May your spirit come again, in better times. No one ever did a bolder thing than you. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes my friend.' And he added, softly. ‘I will do you bidding, mate, as long as there is breath remaining in my body.’

  Isabell
a squeezed his shoulder.

  Solomon turned away, tears in his eyes, bent down and, grabbing a handful of soil and, while saying a private prayer, sprinkled the earth over Gus’ body.

  With that, each one of them followed Solomon’s example before making their way arm in arm down the track to the cottage.

  70 CAIN’S PLAN

  Unbeknown to the small ensemble, Cain watched as a ghost from the side of the grave.

  So here they were, he thought, these Heirs of Eden who had defeated his beast, his beast who would remain uncelebrated, the beast whose remains would be stuck in the chamber of the labyrinth forever more. The memory of Gorialla Yingarna erased, except maybe in legend. A bitter end to a magnificent life that had spanned aeons.

  Cain thought of the future. If these children shed tears at this boy’s demise, moisture dropping out of their eyes like small streams, the task that lay ahead of them would never happen. Death was hard to fathom for the young.

  He needed a plan, a strategy to bring life back to Havilah, and fast. This dead child in front of him, his spirit now flying around in the sky, was the girl’s love. More importantly, this spirit was the one who had defeated Gorialla Yingarna.

  A notion sprang into his mind.

  Could he save the boy's spirit, as that confounded boy, Archie had said? Not here on this pithy planet, of course. That would never do. The vanquisher of the greatest beast ever known probably deserved another chance. And, furthermore, saving the boy gave him options.

  He had an idea and called out into the universe.

  * * *

  ‘SPIRITS AWAKEN, spirits come near.

  Spirits come close; you have nothing to fear.

  I call out to the one whose spirit lies here.’

  * * *

  IN A FLASH, the boy floated next to him.

  ‘You?’ Gus said.

  ‘Me,’ Cain replied.

  ‘You’re the one who got me into this fine mess. Look, I’m dead, alright. Leave me alone.’

  ‘Well perhaps, dear boy, I can get you out of it.’

  ‘Yeah, right?’ Gus replied. ‘Fat chance. I’m dead.’

  ‘Is there one thing you truly desire?’ Cain asked. ‘One thing that your spirit would want that is above all else?’

  ‘Seriously, Cain, I’m a goner. I’m air, like you, just a piece of energy.’

  ‘I am serious,’ Cain implored. ‘There is one thing that can give you life once again. But it must come from a force within you.’

  Gus flew off.

  ‘Drat,’ Cain said. How can I do this?

  Moments later Gus reappeared.

  ‘What I meant,’ Cain said, ‘was – is there something you wish you could do just one more time?’

  ‘Well if you really must know, I’d like, more than anything else, just to be with Sue again. Just for a bit. I’d like to see her again, say goodbye properly. ’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘You wouldn’t understand. And besides, as you can see, it’s all a little too late.’

  ‘If you tell me. I might be able to help you.’

  ‘What, after everything, why should I tell you anything? I’ve got better things to do—’

  ‘Sue is in Havilah, with me. She has made up her mind.’

  ‘You captured her?’ Gus’ ghost said in disbelief.

  ‘No. She is there willingly. She waits,’ he paused, ‘for a new time.’ Cain dangled the carrot right in front of his face. ‘She is there with the other boy.

  ‘Kemp!’

  ‘Yes. There with the boy, you call Kemp. The boy with whom you got into this muddle, the boy you couldn’t finish off.’

  ‘But Kemp doesn’t love her.’

  ‘Then you’re saying you do?’

  ‘Of course. I love Sue with every fragment of energy that I currently don’t possess a great deal of.’

  Cain smiled. ‘Then come with me, Gus. It will not be easy, but if you truly love her, with all your soul, then, believe me, there is another way. And this time,’ he said, treacle in his voice, ‘I will not let you down.’

  71 THE ANCIENT WOMAN’S NEW DILEMMA

  Excitement grew as news filtered back: the Heirs of Eden had defeated Gorialla Yingarna.

  Tucked out of harm's way in her corner, away from the fast-moving dreamspinners, the Ancient Woman’s arms and legs clattered as if she were invisibly knitting like crazy. Her internal organs were pumping harder than they had for millennia making her bones rattle, the sound like rickety ivories on a piano.

  The Heirs of Eden have the third tablet. They had defeated Gorialla Yingarna.

  She had imagined this moment more times than she could count. And now, even though she’d run through every possible situation imaginable, the more she thought about it, the more a different kind of worry nibbled away at her. A concern that she had not foreseen: what would they make of her?

  She knew that Genesis would have given the Heirs of Eden dreams that portrayed her as an ancient woman but, in reality, her skin was withered and worn, like dried leather. Bones jutted out here and there, and her heart pumped noticeably in the tiny cavity of her chest.

  Her hair and her outer ears, like her eyes, had gone long ago. Bone had replaced the flesh on her toes and, at the ends of her fingers, the nails curled out like small tusks. Her teeth were decayed stumps in a skeletal head, blackened by dirt and grime. As she probed her face and body, she fancied she looked more like a vast, decimated spider than a human being.

  Would the Heirs be strong young men perhaps two-hundred in years, full of vigour and magic and energy? Or, older, wiser men, hundreds of years old, with long, grey beards and wizened, powerful eyes?

  Whoever appeared, finding and opening the key to unlocking the Garden of Eden would take courage. She placed a hand over her beating heart. Perhaps, collectively, they might find the strength. Maybe, they had already worked out what they had to fulfil.

  She sighed. With luck, the process would be quick and painless.

  She shuffled these thoughts uneasily in her head and wondered about the next stage; the coming of the Heirs of Eden. She sensed the dreamspinners excitement; she could feel their heightened vibrations. And, unless a travesty occurred, there would be no strangers dropping in on her this time.

  This time, the coming of the Heirs of Eden would be for real.

  72 SOLOMON LEAVES

  Solomon heaved himself up.

  ‘Time for me to make my leave of you. Time for you lot to do what you’ve got to do next.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Archie said. ‘We’ve got to put the three tablets together and finish this – once and for all.’

  ‘Jolly good,’ Solomon replied. ‘Well, I’m going to grab a lift with Dickinson and the troops once we’ve had another look for Sue. They’re taking Stone down now, I believe so at least he won’t be any more trouble.’

  ‘Mr Solomon,’ Archie said his voice wobbling, ‘you must find Sue. We owe it to Gus. Please don’t give up on her.’ His tone lightened. ‘And please ask Mrs Pye if she’ll come over. Tell her that we need a hug!’

  ‘Of course, young man,’ the headmaster replied. ‘Consider both done. I’ll pop in to see her on my way out.’

  With that, Solomon walked smartly towards the door. As he let himself out, he turned and examined each one in turn. ‘For what it’s worth, I am deeply proud of you. I’m sure your parents would be, too,’ he said. ‘May the task of putting these tablets together and whatever is you do thereafter prove to be easier than the ones preceding it. And, whatever you do; no more deaths. Please. Come back in one piece for all our sakes.’ He winked. ‘Good luck.’

  With that, the headmaster smiled and shut the door and the children listened to the sound of his footsteps tip-tapping across the smooth, stone-slabbed courtyard.

  A LITTLE HELP…

  Dear Reader,

  * * *

  Please tell others what you may (or may not) have liked about THE DRAGON’S GAME by posting a review.

  * * *


  I’m working on several new projects right now. By leaving a review it will spur me on to finish the series.

  * * *

  Thanks.

  * * *

  JKE

  The EDEN CHRONICLES series:

  The Power and The Fury - Eden Chronicles, Book One

  Spider Web Powder - Eden Chronicles, Book Two

  * * *

  The Chamber of Truth - Eden Chronicles, Book Three

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  James was born in Suffolk in the UK. He travelled the world extensively, worked as a journalist in the 1990’s and then turned to his passion for the great outdoors, designing and building gardens for several years before returning to writing.

  James moved to North Yorkshire where he lived between the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire Moors. It inspired him to use these beautiful areas as the location for the EDEN CHRONICLES series.

  In 2013 James rowed across the English Channel and the length of the Thames to raise money for MND and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

  www.jameserith.com

  james@jericopress.com

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