by Katie Tsang
Feeling silly, but not wanting to upset Ling-Fei, Billy gave the cave a thumbs up. ‘Thanks,’ he said. Charlotte and Billy did the same.
They stood at the edge of the mountain range, heads tipped back to gauge how high the peaks reached. In the daylight they could better see how foreboding the range appeared. The mountains were inky black, like smoke smudges against the red sky.
‘So do we go up and over?’ Dylan asked after a moment. ‘Too bad none of us got flight as our power.’
‘To be fair, we thought we’d be able to fly on our dragons,’ said Charlotte.
‘There has to be a way to go through them,’ Billy said, eyeing the mountains ahead. He too felt daunted by how far they would have to travel on foot. He had a terrible feeling it was going to take them days to reach the red dome. By then, it might be too late. If they made it at all.
Suddenly, Ling-Fei got down on her hands and knees and put her ear to the ground.
‘Er… what are you doing down there?’ asked Dylan, looking alarmed.
‘Shh!’ said Ling-Fei. ‘I’m listening.’
‘To what?’ Dylan said.
Charlotte thwacked Dylan on the arm. ‘Shush! Let her listen.’
After a minute, Ling-Fei looked up and smiled. ‘There’s a river that cuts through the mountains. It flows south, towards the red dome. If we follow it, I bet we’ll get through to the other side.’
‘And you know this how?’ Dylan said incredulously.
‘Because of her power, you pickle-brain,’ snapped Charlotte.
‘I heard the river in the earth,’ said Ling-Fei patiently. ‘I think this is the right way to go.’
Billy was glad that somebody had an idea what to do. ‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ he said definitively. ‘We have to trust each other. And our powers. It’s the only way we’re ever going to get to the red dome.’
* * *
Ling-Fei was right.
The group only had to walk a few hundred metres before they came upon a river that made a natural pass through the mountain range. Its banks were steep and narrow, but it was still better than attempting to climb the towering mountains around them. They hiked in silence along the riverbank for most of the day, walking in single file, with Ling-Fei at the front and Charlotte at the back. As they marched on, Billy started to feel as if they would never get out of the inky mountain range. That he’d spend the rest of his life walking along this river, surviving on nothing but peaches – the peach trees that had disappeared in the dead forest had re-emerged alongside the river. Billy’s earlier confidence in Ling-Fei and her power began to waver. So she’d been right about there being a river, but did she know how far it went? And in what direction? He wanted to believe her one hundred per cent, but as the day went on doubts kept wiggling into his brain. It didn’t help that Ling-Fei kept stopping to examine rocks, speaking to some and collecting others in her pockets as they went.
Twice they saw nox-wings flying overhead and had to duck behind boulders, waiting, breathless, hoping they hadn’t been discovered.
Billy had lost track of how long they’d been walking when they finally stopped underneath a peach tree to rest and have lunch, all sunburned and hungry.
‘I’m exhausted,’ said Dylan, opening his backpack and passing round some pork buns.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of pork buns,’ said Charlotte as she took a big bite.
‘That’s good,’ said Dylan, ‘because those and peaches are all we have.’
Billy stretched his legs in front of him as he sat and ate a peach. He didn’t think his body had ever felt so sore. ‘Hopefully we’ll get out of these mountains tonight,’ he said. ‘And closer to the red dome.’
‘Hopefully,’ Charlotte echoed.
‘Hey, what’s that?’ asked Dylan, pointing to a grey blob in the river.
The group stood up and took several steps back.
‘It might be another crab,’ said Charlotte, picking up a nearby stick.
But the animal that hopped out of the water looked nothing like a crab. Billy thought it was more of a cross between a small dog and a fish. Its face was scrunched between two big eyes, and it had a squat body with four stubby legs underneath and a small tail that waggled furiously as it hopped up and down on the shore. A big tongue hung out of its open mouth.
‘It’s a little river pup!’ said Ling-Fei, walking towards it.
‘You know what that animal is?’ asked Billy. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it!’
Ling-Fei laughed. ‘Neither have I, but can’t you tell it’s a river pup? What else would it be? You’re a good river pup, aren’t you?’ she cooed, going closer.
‘Careful, Ling-Fei,’ said Dylan, taking a few steps back.
‘I can tell this creature is gentle,’ said Ling-Fei. She walked right up to the animal and picked it up. ‘Hi, little one!’
The animal gave a small yap and licked Ling-Fei’s face, before squirming out of her grasp. It hopped up and down a few more times, then trotted towards Dylan.
Dylan let out a yell and ran round the group in a circle as the animal chased it.
‘Relax, Dylan!’ said Ling-Fei with a smile. ‘I bet it just wants one of the pork buns.’
Dylan grabbed a pork bun and turned to look at the creature. He moved the bun in a large circle in front of him. The river pup followed the bun’s movements with its whole head.
‘Aha!’ said Dylan. ‘It’s the pork bun you’re after, isn’t it? Not me.’
Dylan slowly crept forward with the pork bun held out in front of him. When he was a few paces away, the river pup leaped up and snatched the bun out of Dylan’s hand, swallowing it whole. It gave a satisfied yap and hopped directly at Dylan, who caught the pup in his arms instinctively.
‘Now you want to cuddle it?’ asked Billy.
‘I couldn’t help it! It was looking at me with those big eyes. Ling-Fei is right,’ said Dylan, as the animal nuzzled his chest. ‘This little pup is sweet.’
‘I knew it,’ said Ling-Fei.
Charlotte looked on warily. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘My mama always said not to pick up strays you find in the street because you don’t know where they’ve been.’
The animal yapped again and licked Dylan on the cheek, leaving a trail of saliva. Dylan made a disgusted face and the other three laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh. It melted some of the tension of feeling lost without their dragons and reminded Billy that, even though they didn’t have much of a plan, at least he wasn’t alone.
The river pup continued to nuzzle Dylan, nosing around on his chest. Dylan laughed harder. ‘That tickles!’
Still laughing, Billy watched the strange creature press its nose harder against Dylan’s chest. The Granite Pearl began to emerge out of the top of Dylan’s suit, and as it did Billy realized with a sharp pang what was about to happen. It was like the moment before a falling glass shatters.
‘Dylan! Your pearl!’ he said, lunging towards Dylan. But it was too late. The animal grabbed the Granite Pearl in its mouth and leaped out of Dylan’s arms. The chain around Dylan’s neck snapped, and the pearl went with the river pup.
Billy felt as if everything was moving in slow motion, like he was trapped in a bad dream. He knew how much they needed the pearls – not only to help them stay alive in this dangerous world, but also to have a chance of defeating the Dragon of Death.
‘No!’ yelled Dylan.
‘Get it!’ said Charlotte.
They chased the river pup as it ran back to the river. It glanced over its shoulder at them, and then jumped in, swimming downstream with its head above water.
‘We’re never going to be able to keep up!’ said Dylan, running along the edge of the river.
‘Billy, you’re a surfer, right?’ Charlotte asked between panting breaths.
‘Yeah,’ said Billy, keeping his eyes on the river pup.
‘So you’re a good swimmer?’ said Charlotte.
‘Sure,’ said
Billy. ‘But there’s no way I can swim fast enough to catch that thing.’
‘Do you trust me?’ she asked.
‘Of course,’ Billy said.
Without warning, Charlotte picked Billy up by his waist and spun round twice.
‘What are you doing, Charlotte?’ Billy yelled.
‘Try to keep your body straight and stiff,’ she said. And she flung Billy into the sky.
Billy cut through the air like a javelin. ‘Great thinking!’ Billy yelled as he used his new agility skills to fly through the air and keep himself on track.
‘You can do it, Billy!’ yelled Charlotte. ‘Go! We’ll catch up with you!’
Billy sliced into the water just behind the river pup. He swam as fast as he could, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t reach it. His arms and legs grew heavy, and he knew he’d have to stop and rest soon. Then, as the river pup was almost out of sight, it leaped from the water and dashed into a cave at the side of the river.
‘I’m going to follow it!’ Billy shouted over his shoulder, hoping his friends could still hear him as they fell further and further behind. Billy swam until he reached the cave entrance, pulled himself up on the riverbank and warily went in.
The cave was huge, and completely empty apart from a large pile of rocks in the middle. The river pup was running round the rocks, yelping and looking remarkably pleased with itself.
‘You are a naughty river pup,’ said Billy, walking up to it. Then something caught his eye. ‘What’s this?’ Behind the rocks was a jumble of random items, including a large claw, a bloody fang, a gold coin the size of Billy’s palm and, most importantly, the Granite Pearl. The river pup barked twice, and Billy could have sworn it grinned. ‘Sorry, buddy, you can’t keep this,’ he said, reaching for the pearl.
As his hands closed round it, there was a loud scraping sound. Billy looked over his shoulder and let out a yell.
A Bargain
Walking towards him was the strangest creature Billy had ever seen. It was made entirely of rocks, with distinctive legs and arms that were covered in moss and barnacles. An almost-human face stared out from its large rock head. As it scraped its way towards Billy, he could tell it was angry.
‘MINE!’ it roared, charging straight at him.
Billy dropped the Granite Pearl immediately and jumped to the side.
The rock creature practically dived into its pile of treasure. It stared at Billy, who now found himself trapped between it and the back of the damp cave.
The river pup ran up to the rock creature and started wagging its tail, clearly proud of having found and fetched the Granite Pearl.
‘Billy! Did you find the pearl? I can’t believe that little rascal stole it!’ Dylan said as he and the others reached the cave entrance.
‘Don’t come in here!’ Billy shouted. ‘It’s not safe!’
‘What do you mean, not safe?’ Charlotte shouted back. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m not sure!’ Billy yelled.
The rock creature was still staring at him. The more Billy looked at it, the more he thought it looked like a troll, or what he imagined a troll would look like, at least. A rock troll.
‘Well, this is ridiculous,’ he heard Charlotte mutter. ‘Either you are okay or you aren’t.’ Her voice rose. ‘We’re coming in! I’ve got a stick!’
As Billy’s friends charged inside, the rock troll stood up and roared. Charlotte, Ling-Fei and Dylan slid to a stop, mouths open.
‘What is that?’ said Dylan.
‘I think it’s some kind of troll,’ Billy called from behind it.
‘Is it… friendly?’ asked Dylan, taking a few steps back.
‘I don’t know. It definitely doesn’t want me taking any of its stuff. And it seems to think it owns the pearl now.’ Billy wasn’t sure what the rock troll wanted, but he sensed that it wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. It seemed as if it liked to collect things and Billy was worried that he was now part of its collection. At least it hadn’t tried to kill him. Yet.
Very slowly, Ling-Fei took out a smooth stone from her pocket and held it out to the rock troll. ‘For you,’ she said.
The rock troll snatched it with its gnarled, rocky fingers and tossed it onto its pile.
‘Is that… its hoard?’ said Charlotte. ‘Like the dragons have?’
‘I think so,’ said Billy.
‘Not like dragon hoard,’ the rock troll roared.
‘You can talk?’ said Dylan. He cleared his throat. ‘Hello, I’m Dylan O’Donnell,’ he said slowly. ‘We come in peace.’
‘It’s not an alien,’ said Charlotte.
‘No, it’s just a pile of walking, talking rocks. Much more normal than an alien,’ said Dylan. ‘Guys, we’ve got to get my pearl back. Otherwise I’ll be extra useless.’
‘I was trying to get it back,’ said Billy through clenched teeth. ‘But right now I think we need to focus on getting me back, and then the pearl.’ He looked up at Dylan. ‘And you aren’t useless.’
‘I’ve got an idea,’ said Ling-Fei suddenly. She went closer and nodded her head towards the rock troll’s hoard. ‘Your hoard is very nice,’ she said.
The rock troll nodded. ‘Mine.’
‘Right, I know,’ said Ling-Fei. She glanced at Billy, who was still trapped in the corner. ‘Can you get out from behind it?’
‘I don’t want to risk making it mad,’ said Billy.
‘It doesn’t think that… you are part of its hoard now, does it?’ asked Charlotte, looking the most panicked since they’d walked in.
‘I really hope not,’ said Billy. He cleared his throat. ‘Um, excuse me,’ he said, taking a small step forward.
The rock troll whirled round surprisingly fast for something so large and cumbersome. ‘BACK!’ it roared.
Billy stepped back. He was suddenly worried that the rock troll might want him in its collection alive or dead. He very much wanted to stay alive.
Charlotte swore.
Dylan put his head in his hands.
Ling-Fei took a step closer.
‘You can understand us, can’t you?’ she said softly.
The rock troll nodded.
‘Let me try,’ said Dylan, stepping forward. ‘Hello… Rock. Can I call you Rock?’ He paused. ‘Do you fancy letting my friend Billy go?’
The rock troll growled.
‘I don’t think this is going to work,’ said Dylan, taking a step back.
‘You don’t have your pearl, pickle-brain,’ muttered Charlotte. ‘That’s the whole reason we’re here.’
‘Oh, yeah!’ said Dylan, patting his chest where the pearl usually sat. ‘Still worth a shot though.’ He looked at Charlotte. ‘Why don’t you rip it apart? You’ve still got your pearl.’
‘I’m not THAT strong,’ said Charlotte. ‘Do you see this thing?’
‘Guys, can you figure out whatever it is you’re going to do?’ said Billy from behind the rock troll.
Ling-Fei stepped forward. ‘That is our friend,’ she said, pointing at Billy. ‘You can’t keep him.’ Then she pointed at the Granite Pearl. ‘And you can’t keep that either.’
The rock troll growled again.
Ling-Fei held up her hands in a pacifying gesture. ‘Don’t worry, we won’t just take either from you. Maybe we can do a trade?’
The rock troll’s beady black eyes lit up. ‘Trade?’ it asked. ‘What you have?’
‘Dylan,’ hissed Charlotte. ‘Get the pork buns.’
‘We only have three left!’
‘Dylan. It’s your pearl!’
‘And my life,’ added Billy. ‘Worth more than three pork buns, I hope.’
Dylan unzipped his backpack and took out a pork bun. He handed it to Ling-Fei, who held it out.
The rock troll shook its head and spat in disgust.
The pork bun went back in the backpack.
‘What else do we have?’ Charlotte asked, her voice high.
Ling-Fei reached into her pocket and took out a
few more rocks that she’d collected along the river. ‘Do you like these?’ she said.
The rock troll nodded. ‘But can get anywhere.’
‘I see,’ she said. ‘You want something… rare.’
‘Yes. Like this.’ The rock troll held up the Granite Pearl.
‘We’re never getting my pearl back, are we?’ moaned Dylan.
‘Right now I’m more worried about getting Billy back,’ said Charlotte.
‘Too bad we can’t just give the rock troll a piece of Billy, you know as a souvenir or something,’ said Dylan.
‘That’s genius!’ Billy burst out.
‘You aren’t going to cut off your finger or anything like that, are you?’ said Dylan.
‘Not exactly, but maybe I can give it a tooth.’
At the word ‘tooth’, the rock troll swivelled its head round. ‘TOOTH?’ it boomed. Billy noticed in that moment that the rock troll itself had no teeth inside its wide, gaping rock mouth.
‘Yes,’ said Billy. ‘You can have my tooth. If you let me go. Trade.’
The rock troll seemed to consider it. ‘Good trade,’ it said. ‘I take tooth.’ It came closer to Billy.
‘Is it just going to rip a tooth straight out of Billy’s head?’ whispered Dylan, sounding horrified. Despite being the one to suggest it, Billy also started to feel a bit horrified by what was about to happen.
‘Shut up, Dylan,’ said Charlotte. ‘You can do this, Billy. I once had a tooth knocked out in a ju-jitsu competition – you’ll be fine.’
‘Open mouth,’ said the rock troll.
‘This one,’ said Billy, pointing at one of his bottom front teeth. He didn’t want it to take a molar or one from the top. Then he closed his eyes.
His mouth was suddenly full of rocky, gnarled fingers. He felt them grind against his teeth, and then pause over one at the bottom.
‘Mine,’ said the rock troll and tugged.
‘OW!’ Blood filled Billy’s mouth.
The tooth came out faster than he’d thought it would. But, as his tongue probed the spot where his tooth had just been, he realized that there were two teeth missing.