War of Dragons

by Andy Holland

  We'll make some shelter, John replied. He landed, transformed into a Worm Dragon, bit into the side of the stony river bank with his powerful jaws and started excavating a hole.

  Excellent idea, John, Dinah said as she landed. Can I help? I'm afraid I never learnt how to transform into a Worm Dragon.

  Move the stuff I dig out, John replied. We'll want to keep the entrance small, so only one of us can dig, but we don't want anything to give away where we are. Clear away as much of the rock as you can. I'll grind it as I dig so the river should be able to wash a lot of it away.

  John dug quickly, chomping away the hard rock and burrowing deep into the river bank. He tunnelled in about three or four metres before starting to form a circular chamber large enough to accommodate them both. Then he dug a second tunnel, continuing horizontally past the chamber before going diagonally upwards until he just reached the surface.

  Just in case the river rises during the night, he explained to Dinah as she watched what he was doing. We need to be able to get out.

  This is perfect, John, Dinah said enthusiastically as they moved away the rest of the excavated rock. And just in time too. I think the light is about to go. They transformed back to their human forms before retreating into the tunnel. It was pitch black inside.

  "Have you a lamp or anything?" John asked.

  Dinah laughed. "Of course not! How much do you think I carry in my bag? No, I'm afraid we'll have to live without it. Probably for the best anyway. If anyone walks down the river the last thing we want is them to see this hole lit up."

  "Fair enough," John replied. "Do you have any food with you?"

  "Not much," she replied. "I didn't think we'd get stuck out here overnight. Do you have any?"

  John nodded before realising that she couldn't see him. "Yes, I have enough for both of us. I can share it. Where are you?"

  She reached out and touched his arm. "I'm just here. But I don't think this is going to work, trying to eat in the dark. Let's eat by the river's edge; we can have some water from the river and go back in the hole once we're done."

  They crawled back outside, carefully looking around the hole before slowly venturing out into the twilight and looking over the edge of the bank.

  "There's no one nearby," John whispered. "And they've all transformed back to people now so no one will fly over us, but let's hurry anyway." They ate their food hastily, anxious to get back into the safety of their dark tunnel. John had managed to keep the entrance to the tunnel small, and it would be easily overlooked in the dark.

  "Shall we?" Dinah whispered after she wolfed down the last of their provisions, nodding towards their tunnel. John nodded too, and they crawled back into their tunnel and to the chamber he had created.

  "Very nice; this is just perfect. I doubt they'll hear us if we talk here," Dinah whispered, "but there's no reason to take any chances. I suggest we just get some sleep now and then we'll be able to wake up fully refreshed in the morning and get going as soon as it's light. Agreed?"

  John nodded again, forgetting again that it was dark. "Oh, yes, agreed." He moved his bag so it could form a pillow and tried to make himself comfortable lying on the uneven rock surface. As soon as he managed to establish a sleeping position, he found that Dinah had positioned herself leaning against him.

  "Sorry, I hope you don't mind. You haven't made the bottom of this chamber quite as comfortable as I thought."

  "Oh, um, I guess not, it's just—I have a girlfriend, back in—"

  Dinah interrupted him with a laugh. "John, relax. No offence, but you're just a child. I'm over ten years older than you. Just go to sleep. That's all I'll be doing."

  John was glad that the darkness hid his embarrassment. "Of course. Sorry. Goodnight."

  Despite it being quite early and the sleeping arrangement being cramped and uncomfortable, John found that he couldn't keep his eyes open even if he had wanted and within seconds they were both sound asleep.

  Chapter 13 - Raising the alarm

  Mark headed straight for the coast after leaving John; he knew that although the Blue Dragons were happy enough living by the clear, shallow waters of the coast, they distrusted the open ocean and rarely ventured over it. There he would be safe to transform back to a Golden Dragon unobserved, enabling him to fly uninterrupted straight back to his homeland, travelling at speeds even the nimble Dark Browns could only dream of. He loved flying over the sea and dreamed of seeing one of the Sea Dragons in their home environment, knowing that it was nearly impossible so far from the distant islands they hailed from. Despite his friendship with Clay, he had never seen him as a dragon and looked forward to entering his underwater world. Learning to transform into a Sea Dragon was high on his wish list of things to do when he had some free time. He skimmed low over the sea, admiring his shiny reflection in the clear water. But he had no time to indulge; he had to move quickly to raise the alarm. He had abandoned his plan of going to the Dark Browns first—he had no faith in their willingness to act on the information, knowing that they had no reason to do so. No, he had to inform his own government and leave it to more experienced and wiser heads to determine how to communicate this information to not just the Dark Browns, but to all of their neighbours.

  Mark left the sea, ascending high above the clouds where no dragons other than the Golden Dragons ventured, and travelled without resting, flying as directly as he could back to the capital. It was late afternoon when he arrived, so he flew straight to the Department for Defence. This was a matter that would be addressed by several different departments, but he trusted this one the most. He landed on the balcony, transforming as he did, and ran straight into the building. There was a lady he recognised sitting in the reception, and she looked up at him and smiled warmly.

  "Mark, you look like you're in a hurry. Who are you hoping to see?"

  "The Blue Dragons have begun the invasion! I've just come straight from there. They're mobilising for a second wave."

  Her eyes widened and she jumped to her feet. "Alright, just take a seat. I'll fetch someone." She ran out of the reception hall, leaving Mark standing at her desk. Moments later she returned with a man that Mark didn't recognise.

  "Thank you, Eve. I'll take it from here," he said dismissively, gesturing for Mark to follow him. He led him down a hallway to an office, where he took a seat behind a large table and pointed Mark to a chair opposite him. "Mark, I'm Jeremiah, and I report directly to the minister. I'm familiar with your mission and need you to tell me exactly what happened. Please don't leave out any details."

  Mark spent an agonising couple of hours detailing every step of their mission—from when they first met Theo and the others right up to this meeting. Mark had exhausted his patience by the time they finished.

  "Now what?" he asked. "Time is precious here. If we delay, the war could be over before we have a chance to act."

  "Do not worry, we are perfectly aware of the situation and will give this matter the attention it deserves," Jeremiah replied pompously. "But it wouldn't do to rush matters and make mistakes."

  Mark glared at him, his frustration beginning to boil over. "It wouldn't do to waste time either. I rushed here as fast as I could to deliver this message and you've kept me here for hours already. You haven't answered my question. What happens next?"

  Jeremiah puffed himself up, clearly riled by Mark's tone. "Look, young man, remember who you are talking to. There will be no wasting of time. I will convene an emergency meeting of the Department of Defence Foreign Affairs Council tomorrow morning. It's too late to issue any communications to our neighbours; we will issue that first thing in the morning."

  Mark stood up and banged on the table. "Too late because you've kept me here instead of relaying the message straight away! You've already wasted enough time. Convene your wretched meeting. I'm going to notify the Red Dragons."

  Mark left the office and slammed the door behind him without waiting for Jeremiah to respond. He changed his mind as soon as he left the
building. Telling the Reds wouldn't help at all; they were just a group of children far away from their home. He needed someone who could help here, with his own government, so he decided to go and see his father instead. While he was in the capital he stayed in accommodation attached to the Department of Foreign Affairs, and their building was just a minute's flight from the Department of Defence. He transformed and took to the air, flying as quickly as he could across the Government Quarter, before landing on the sixth floor of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The man who worked on the front desk knew Mark and waved him through to the apartments.

  "Hello, Mark," Paul said, looking up in surprise as his son entered his apartment. He was sat at a small desk and reading a report. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. You're lucky to catch me actually, I was about to leave—"

  "The invasion has begun," Mark announced. "I've rushed back as fast as I can to warn our government and have just wasted hours with some idiot who isn't going to do anything till tomorrow."

  "Calm down," his father told him as he paced back and forth irritably. "Just tell me what happened."

  Mark related the details of his meeting with Jeremiah and how it had ended.

  Paul frowned. "Hmmm, probably not the best way to have left it, although I doubt you changed anything. I know Jeremiah; he'll still arrange that meeting and it might be helpful."

  "Tomorrow! We need action now! I can't believe how much time he wasted."

  Paul nodded. "I agree. It was a shame that you met him rather than one of his colleagues; he is rather particular. But have you thought through what you want done now? It's not enough to say we need action now."

  Mark paused; he hadn't really thought this through. "Well, something! We can't just sit here!"

  Paul shook his head. "No, we can't, but you need to be clear in your mind what you are trying to achieve. As far as I see it, there are three things that need to be done. Firstly, our neighbours need to be informed, which you're right, Jeremiah should have ensured happened straight away but there's no point worrying about now as it's already too late to relay that message. We can arrange for that message to go first thing in the morning. And we don't need to wait for that meeting; bypassing Jeremiah would be easy—you have enough contacts yourself to spread the word amongst our neighbours. I know there are no Dark Browns in the Sanctuary, but you regularly meet with the Department of Trade and have friends there, do you not? Have them alert the Dark Browns as well as the Sandy and Wasp Dragons."

  Mark cursed himself quietly for not having thought of this. "Of course, I didn't think of going through the Department of Trade. How shall we tell them? We need them to act now, before the Reds are destroyed."

  Paul sat back in his chair, thinking it through. At that moment Mark was reminded of how alike John and his father were.

  "They will act according to their own best interests, Mark," his father told him. "They're all smaller nations than the Reds and are just as threatened by the Blues. I suspect that the only reason that the Blues are going for the Reds first instead of the Dark Browns is to delay a war that brings them to our border. What we do is more important than what the other nations do, which brings me to the second and third tasks, but I will discuss those with you once you've completed the first. I need to speak to an old friend to get his advice and hopefully his support. I'll see you at Immigration House when I'm done."

  Mark finally stopped pacing and nodded, although didn't really feel any better. "But what will you do? If Jeremiah is anything to go by, the government won't do anything."

  His father closed his report and stood up to leave. "Don't worry about that. You may be right about the government, but they are rarely the answer anyway. Go and see your friends at the Department of Trade; go quickly before they finish work for the day. I'll see you in a few hours."

  ***

  Crystal was surprised and concerned to see Mark when he visited her in her room in Immigration House. She hadn't expected him back so soon or back without John. "Mark, what are you doing back so early? Did something go wrong? Is John alright?"

  Mark shook his head. "John's fine—at least he was when I left him. Everything is going according to plan."

  Crystal frowned. "So why are you back? You were meant to be part of that plan."

  Mark took a deep breath before answering. "The invasion has already begun. We met two Blue Dragons who told us that they were mobilising for the second wave of attacks. I don't know what you'll find when you go back. If there's anything to go back to."

  Crystal's jaw dropped and tears filled her eyes. Her immediate thoughts were of her parents. Their home was in the south-east, in the areas that would be attacked first. If they were at home rather than the capital… it didn't bear thinking about.

  "What can we do? We have to do something!"

  Mark nodded. "We are doing something, remember? That's where John is."

  Crystal shook her head. "That'll be too late. The Browns won't act fast enough to help us. Something needs to be done now!"

  Mark shrugged helplessly. "That's why I came back. I rushed back to tell the government, so they could alert all of our neighbours and decide what to do next." He looked away from her awkwardly.

  "But they're not going to act, are they?" Crystal asked. Mark shook his head. "Why not? Why won't they help? They know what'll happen if no one helps us; we'll be destroyed and then the Blues will be unstoppable!"

  Mark gave her a glum nod. "They know alright, but it doesn't change how they will react. Too many of them are opposed to getting involved in any conflict and our laws are written to ensure we stay neutral—that we don't take sides."

  "That's ridiculous!" Crystal burst out. "The Blue Dragons will pick sides for them once they're through with us and the Browns, and then the rest of your neighbours. Don't they see what is coming?"

  "They believe we can defend ourselves against any external threat. It is far easier to defend rather than attack and we don't have the numbers to risk getting involved."

  "You don't believe that, do you? Crystal asked. Mark looked even more miserable than she felt. "The Blues will be twice as strong in twenty years if they're not checked now."

  "I'm just telling you what they'll say and think," Mark replied. "They won't authorise an attack on the Blue Dragons. Getting involved in a rescue mission is one thing, but they won't go to war."

  Crystal sank to her knees, despondent. "But you came back! You must have had some hope?"

  Mark crouched beside her, looking wretched. "I don't know what I was expecting. But the response I've had so far hasn't been good. They have delayed even sending a communication to our neighbours. That message will go out tomorrow morning anyway, but no thanks to them. I have some friends who have helped me with that. If I had left it to the Department of Defence they probably wouldn't be told till tomorrow afternoon or the day after. But my father seems to think there is some hope and told me to meet him here after he has met with an old friend. He should be here soon. I don't really see what he can do though."

  Crystal brightened at this. "Your father wouldn't say there is hope when there is none. You shouldn't give up. Anyway, we should tell the others. It's not good news, but they need to know. When will your father come here?"

  Mark shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's night time so he will have to walk. I don't know where he was meeting his friend or how far he will have to travel."

  Crystal nodded. "You go downstairs and wait for your father. I'll tell the others and we'll come down when they're ready." She decided that seeing Mark looking as gloomy as this could only make it worse for her friends.

  Mark nodded and stood up to leave, looking downcast. "I'll see you down in the reception. I'm sorry I had to give you this news."

  Crystal called Seth and Jenna to Arthur's room, where the twins were reading books lent to them by Naomi. They took the news better than she had expected.

  "It had to happen eventually," Arthur pointed out. "As far as we knew, it could have alr
eady happened. If John's rescue mission is successful, the Browns will be brought into the war at just the right time."

  "They might not even wait for that mission to succeed," Seth added. "The Blues will have moved their forces away from the Brown border; they might decide to take the opportunity and attack the undefended cities near their border while they can."

  Crystal nodded. "I suppose that's possible."

  "What about John?" Daisy asked. "Do you know how he is? Did Mark tell you anything?"

  "He was fine when Mark left him," Crystal replied. "Apparently everything is going well so far."

  "So, what's our plan now?" Jenna asked. "We were going to fly back, weren't we? Can we still do that now that the invasion has started? Do you think we should just stay here?"

  Arthur shook his head. "We have to go back. We're not going to just hide here. We always knew that the invasion might start before we travelled or even while we travelled."

  Daisy nodded in agreement. This was clearly something that the two of them had discussed, although not with the others. Jenna didn't look too happy about this decision, but didn't say anything.

  "Crystal, what will the Golden Dragons do?" Seth asked. "Did Mark say whether they would send help?"

  Crystal shrugged. "He wasn't too hopeful, but he said that his father has some sort of plan, but didn't specify what it is. He's going to come here this evening and meet Mark to discuss it."

  "That settles it," Arthur said firmly. "If they're going to send help, we have to go back. We will need to introduce them to our commanders or they won't be allowed to enter. Come, let's go downstairs and wait for Paul and see what his plan is."

  When they got to the reception they found that Paul had already arrived and was in deep discussion with Mark. Crystal was relieved to see that Mark's morose expression had been exchanged for a determined and animated one and he was nodding enthusiastically as his father spoke to him. His face lit up when he saw them enter and he beckoned them to join him.