by Katie Tsang
‘You look like a superhero!’ said Ling-Fei.
‘I feel like a superhero!’ said Dylan, stretching in it. He looked up at Xing and Spark. ‘Thank you!’
Xing snorted. ‘Thanks are not required,’ she said. ‘We’re taking necessary precautions.’ She looked over at Billy, Charlotte and Ling-Fei. ‘Who’s next?’
Charlotte leaped forward. ‘Can mine have a skirt on it? You know, just to be fashionable? Ooh, and pockets?’
Xing stared at Charlotte a long moment, and then grinned, showing her diamond teeth. ‘I understand wanting a bit of aesthetic appeal,’ she said.
‘And pockets are very useful,’ said Charlotte.
After Xing and Spark were done with Charlotte’s suit, it looked almost like Dylan’s, but in bright red and gold to match Tank’s scales and with a skirt over the trousers. And pockets. Charlotte twirled in delight, hands stuck deep in her pockets, and the skirt flared out.
Ling-Fei’s suit was shimmering silver and gold, with a high collar and a hood draped down her back. ‘I gave you pockets too,’ said Xing with a wink.
‘Now it’s your turn,’ Spark said to Billy.
Billy let himself be encased in blue shimmering fabric. It pinched a bit, and he felt small shocks as Spark’s electric power morphed the material round him. When his head emerged out of the top, he gasped.
His suit ran from his ankles to his wrists and, even though it was snug, he could still move freely in it. It was like the most amazing wetsuit he had ever dreamed of. A magical wetsuit.
‘We look amazing!’ cried Charlotte. ‘I feel ready for anything.’
‘Well, that is good,’ said Spark. ‘Because we need to be ready for anything.’
The joyful mood that had filled the cavern while they were being fitted for their clothes evaporated.
‘We will do everything we can to protect you, but we can’t deny how dangerous it will be,’ said Spark.
‘We know,’ said Billy.
Before yesterday he hadn’t even known dragons existed. And now he knew there was an entire world of them. A world at war. A world at war that needed their help.
The Keeper Of The Curse
‘We’re ready,’ said Billy, clenching his fists at his side. Adrenaline coursed through him.
‘Before we go, you must get some rest,’ said Tank.
‘I don’t think I can sleep,’ said Billy. ‘I’m way too pumped up.’
‘And no offence, but the rock floor doesn’t look very comfortable,’ said Dylan.
‘There will be far fewer comforts ahead,’ said Xing.
‘I will sing you to sleep,’ announced Buttons.
‘That sounds nice,’ said Ling-Fei, lying down.
‘What?’ asked Charlotte, incredulous.
‘Lie down,’ said Spark. ‘You will see.’
Billy, Charlotte and Dylan joined Ling-Fei on the hard stone ground.
This won’t work, Billy thought. Then Buttons let out a low hum that sounded like a cello and, before Billy could think anything else, he was fast asleep.
* * *
Billy woke to the smell of grilled fish. He blinked, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Yes, he was still in a cavern with dragons. Yes, his friends were right next to him.
And so was a giant grilled fish. It was bigger than he was.
‘Where did that come from?’ he asked, running his hand through his hair.
‘How do you think we survived all this time? There’s an underground lake in this mountain. We’ve been eating fish for years,’ said Buttons.
‘I am so sick of eating fish,’ added Xing. ‘I cannot wait to get back home.’
‘Enough talking,’ said Tank. ‘Eat quickly. Spark has had another vision. The Dragon of Death is closer than ever. We need to hurry.’
* * *
And then it was time. ‘This is your chance to turn back,’ said Spark. ‘Once we enter our realm, you will be in greater danger than you have ever experienced.’
Billy looked at his friends. At their dragons. And he knew that no matter what lay ahead of them, he was ready to face it. His friends nodded back at him, and he realized they felt the same.
‘We’re ready,’ he said.
‘Good,’ said Tank. ‘Follow us.’
The dragons led them down a long dark corridor until they reached a wall of dark purple fog. As they approached, Billy saw lightning flash from within it. He swallowed and shifted closer to Spark.
‘Wait!’ said Tank, motioning for the group to stop.
The kids came to a halt and stared at the swirling wall of fog.
‘Is this the entrance to the Dragon Realm?’ Dylan asked.
‘It is,’ said Xing, narrowing her eyes. ‘Though the dark magic cast by the Dragon of Death is still sealing the entrance.’
‘Does that mean what I think it means?’ Buttons said, exchanging a look with the other dragons.
‘Let us find out,’ said Xing. She lowered her head and plucked a scale from her body with her teeth. With a flick of her neck, she tossed the silver scale towards the wall.
A bolt of light shot out and struck the scale in mid-air. Billy heard a soft pop as the scale disintegrated into a puff of ash.
‘What was that?’ asked Dylan, taking a few steps backwards.
‘Children,’ said Tank, the scar across his face turning a deep crimson red as he spoke. ‘I am afraid you will be tested sooner than we would have wished. The curse will not let us dragons get any closer. The four of you will have to pass through this fog to reopen the entrance to the Dragon Realm. Your four hearts together opened the path to the Human Realm, and it will have to be you four again to open the entrance to the Dragon Realm.’
Billy felt light-headed and he took a deep breath to calm himself. This was it. This might be the last thing that he ever did. He thought about his life at home, his life before dragons. And he realized that even if this was the end it would be worth it. To get a chance to experience magic in the world. To be a part of something epic.
‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ said Dylan, holding up his hands. ‘You’re telling me that we have to walk through this lightning-shooting wall by ourselves? Did you see what it did to that scale? Surely there’s another way? A back entrance we could use that isn’t cursed quite as much as this one? One that shoots, I don’t know, water balloons instead of lightning?’
Billy turned to Dylan and gripped him by the shoulders. ‘Dylan, you know the answers to these questions. It has to be us. We can do this. We are doing this.’
‘And we’ll have each other,’ said Ling-Fei, coming closer.
‘Yeah,’ added Charlotte. ‘And, if anything tries to get us, I’ll pummel it with my fists.’ She shook her clenched fist in the air for emphasis.
Dylan let out a small laugh and managed to smile at his friends. ‘All right then,’ he said, looking at their dragons.
Xing cleared her throat. ‘Whenever you are ready, warriors.’
‘We believe in you,’ added Buttons.
Everyone grew silent as the children approached the wall that wasn’t a wall. Billy steeled his nerves. He took a big step towards it, waiting to see if he’d be zapped by the lightning. He counted to three. Nothing happened. He looked at Charlotte, Dylan and Ling-Fei and gave them an encouraging nod. They could do this. He took another step forward, more sure of himself this time, and then another. The others followed until they were standing so close to the wall that the swirling purple fog licked at their faces. Billy reached his hands out on either side of him. ‘Are we ready?’
‘Ready,’ said Charlotte.
‘Ready,’ said Ling-Fei.
‘Let’s do this,’ said Dylan.
They joined hands and stepped into the fog together, leaving their dragons behind.
* * *
Walking through the fog felt no different from walking through a thick morning mist. They emerged into another dark cavern, one with a faint purple glow. As Billy’s eyes adjusted, he saw thin purple v
eins climbing the walls like ivy, twitching as if blood coursed through them. Dark clouds carpeted the floor.
‘What do we do now?’ whispered Dylan.
Billy scanned their surroundings. He couldn’t see any other passages – just this one, large cavern. They were trapped.
Before Billy had time to respond, a shape rose out of the storm and purple lightning flashed across the cavern.
Something resembling a tiger emerged, its body made of the same thick black fog and laced with bright purple veins that flowed to a massive heart beating in the centre of its chest. It studied the four children and seemed to smile. ‘Well, well, well. We meet again, tiny humans. I see you’ve dressed for the occasion this time.’ It threw its head back and let out a bark of laughter that sounded like a thunder strike.
The children pulled closer together. Billy stared hard at the purple tiger. There was something familiar about it. ‘Are you the tiger that chased us?’
‘Very good!’ exclaimed the tiger. ‘Why, yes, indeed. It is me! They say a tiger never changes its stripes, yet here I am. Orange yesterday and purple today. You can call me Victor. I picked the name myself. Oh, what a joy that was – so many options! Now if you’d come last week you would have had to call me Diana. So boring, being tied to just one name, don’t you think? I like to switch it up. Those hopeless dragons of yours on the other hand really take the whole naming thing seriously, but that’s another conversation.’
The tiger blew out a cloud of smoke that churned around in the air until it formed a huge floating throne. Then it hopped up into the chair before placing a crown made of lightning on its head.
‘I think we were zapped by lightning and now we’re dead,’ said Dylan, his eyes gigantic. ‘This can’t be happening.’
‘Do you want me to pinch you again?’ said Charlotte. ‘Focus! Now is not the time to fall apart!’
‘It’s strange,’ said Ling-Fei, addressing the tiger. ‘I sense you are both alive and… not alive. How can this be?’
‘Clever girl,’ said the tiger. ‘I am the Keeper of the Curse.’ His voice deepened and boomed:
‘Four dragons trapped far from view,
Waiting for four hearts – loyal, strong, brave and true.
Four hearts to match their own,
To open this mountain made of stone.’
The tiger returned to its normal voice. ‘As you see, there’s nothing in the curse about you four going into the Dragon Realm. Just opening the mountain.’
‘Opening the mountain on both sides, surely,’ said Billy.
‘It doesn’t specify that. And, as the Keeper of the Curse, I’m the one who decides what means what. I didn’t fry you alive when you came through the wall as I would have done to your four dragons, which was very kind of me, you must agree. Now the only way to get through into the other realm is to beat me, and I’m afraid four children against an almighty tiger gifted with the powers of the Great One have no chance.’ Victor licked its lips.
Billy felt his lungs constrict. Stay calm, he told himself. He felt a tug on the thread that connected him to Spark. She was telling him to stay calm too.
Then he remembered their powers. ‘Dylan,’ he whispered. ‘Do the thing. Your thing!’
Dylan nodded and raised his voice. ‘What an honour it is to meet you properly, Victor. A wonderful place you have here. I love what you’ve done with the lighting, really sets the mood. Now, I’m sure this is all just one big misunderstanding. Perhaps you could bend the rules just this once and let us through to the Dragon Realm?’
The tiger let out another deep, cackling roar. ‘Oh, what a funny boy you are! Your ignorance and tenacity are impressive in equal measure. Your pitiful persuasions and charms won’t work on me. But that was a half-decent try. You’ve come a long way since we last met. Quite the runner, you were.’
Billy sensed a change in the air just before the tiger unhinged its jaw and released a tidal wave of electricity towards them. ‘Watch out!’ he shouted, jerking his friends to the side before the wave reached them. ‘We’re going to have to fight.’ An idea struck Billy. ‘I’ll do my best to distract the tiger, and you guys figure out what its weaknesses are.’ He felt braver than he ever had, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of his new powers or because he was with his friends, but in that moment he wasn’t afraid at all.
He stood steady before the tiger. ‘Is that all you have?’ Billy shouted. ‘That’s pathetic! Any average human could have dodged that blast. Why don’t you try to get me… if you can?’ He dropped Charlotte’s hand and raced along the wall of the cavern, hoping the tiger would focus all its attention on him. He felt reckless and exhilarated, but also strangely confident. He believed in his friends and that together they could defeat the tiger. He believed in himself.
‘Oh, you are even more dim-witted than your long-legged friend!’ said the tiger. ‘But you do seem faster, I’ll give you that.’ Victor turned to Billy and let out another torrent of electricity. Billy leaped high into the air, just dodging the tiger’s attack. He kicked from the wall and shot off in another direction. The tiger let out a disgruntled roar and aimed more lightning at Billy.
Billy found he could sense the streams of lightning coming at him before the tiger shot them out, and he dodged the attacks with ease, flipping off the walls and bending in every direction. As Billy darted round the cavern, he looked back towards his friends. He could only keep this up for so long. The boldness and confidence he’d had before started to waver, and a tendril of fear crept in. He stumbled, and one of the tiger’s lightning bolts came dangerously close to his face. He yelped and dived in the other direction.
‘We have to do something before he gets fried alive!’ he heard Dylan shout to Charlotte and Ling-Fei.
‘Its heart!’ Ling-Fei suddenly blurted, hope in her voice. ‘I don’t know how I can tell, but we have to get to its heart.’ Her voice sounded very far away to Billy, who didn’t dare take his eyes off the tiger even for a second. He wasn’t sure he had heard Ling-Fei right. Getting to the tiger’s heart sounded like an impossible task.
All Billy knew was he was getting tired, and the tiger wasn’t. If anything, it was starting to feel like the tiger was toying with him the way a cat would play with a mouse.
‘Hurry,’ Billy croaked out, as he dodged another lightning strike just in time.
And then his friends crept closer. Billy used his last burst of strength to run up the wall to keep distracting the tiger.
As he glanced below, he saw Charlotte dash straight towards the tiger, who was still focused on Billy, and punch her hand through its back, ripping out its beating purple heart.
Billy dropped down from the wall as the tiger collapsed with a roar.
‘What? How can this be? Defeated by tiny humans,’ the tiger choked out, turning its gaze towards each of the children. ‘You may have won this battle, but you will never stop the Great One!’
The heart in Charlotte’s hand disappeared and the tiger gave out a final cry as it shimmered into nothingness.
The Other Side Of The Mountain
‘We did it!’ yelled Ling-Fei. ‘Billy, you were amazing! And, Charlotte, that was… wild!’
‘What a punch,’ said Dylan, who looked shell-shocked.
Charlotte grinned. ‘I told you I would pummel anything that tried to get us with my fists.’
‘We survived! We broke the curse!’ said Billy. He felt invincible. If they could defeat a magic tiger and break an evil curse on their own, they would be unstoppable with their dragons. The glow from the purple veins on the walls was fading quickly, and soon it was so dark Billy couldn’t see his own hands. He pulled his friends closer as the ground began to shake.
‘I think the mountain is opening into the Dragon Realm!’ said Charlotte.
Billy looked up to see one side of the cavern slowly cracking open until it looked like a giant doorway, filling the entire cavern with sunlight. It was so bright, Billy shielded his eyes, unable to see past
the light-filled entrance. He turned back round, blinking, and saw the dragons emerge from the wall of fog.
‘Spark!’ he cried.
‘You did it!’ thundered Tank. ‘You broke the curse!’
‘I knew you would,’ said Spark.
‘You have done very well, for such small humans,’ said Xing. She nuzzled Ling-Fei with her snout.
‘We’re going home!’ cried Buttons. He turned towards the sunlit entrance and rolled around on the cavern floor. ‘Sunshine! Air! I’d almost forgotten how wonderful it is.’
‘Stop acting like a common lizard,’ snapped Xing. ‘Get off the ground. I’m eager to see our home, and you can roll around on the ground as much as you like then.’
‘Fine, fine,’ said Buttons. But he was smiling widely as he stood and lifted his face to the sun like a giant sunflower.
‘Before we re-enter our realm, we should be ready to fly,’ said Tank. ‘Quickly, now.’
‘The bond will help us to fly as one and keep you secure on our backs,’ said Spark as she kneeled low enough for Billy to climb on.
Billy climbed up on Spark’s back, his hands still trembling with the adrenaline of the battle with the tiger, and in anticipation of riding a dragon.
‘Hold on,’ Spark said, straightening up to her full height. He was riding a dragon. It was like all his childhood dreams had come true. They hadn’t even taken flight yet and it was already amazing. Billy’s face split into a wide, irrepressible grin. He hoped he would remember this exact moment for ever.
Billy looked over at each of his friends astride their dragons. Dylan gave him a salute from the back of Buttons. Charlotte looked like an avenging warrior queen on Tank’s back. Ling-Fei sat proudly on Xing, like she’d been riding dragons all her life.
They were no longer the children who had arrived at summer camp.
They were champions, ready for anything.
‘Onwards,’ roared Tank.