by David Sinden
The door creaked open. Tiana flew out and he ran after her, shaking. The door slammed shut behind them.
“What was all that?” Tiana asked.
Ulf looked at the book in his hand.
On the cover of the book, written by a finger in the dust, were the words: I KNOW WHO HAS HER.
Chapter 12
CLUTCHING THE BOOK, ULF BOUNDED DOWN the back stairs with Tiana following him. They raced into the yard and along the edge of the paddock toward Ulf’s den.
The sun was going down behind Sunset Mountain, and the light was fading. Suddenly they heard a trumpeting roar.
Ulf and Tiana both stopped.
“What was that?” Tiana asked.
Out in the paddock Ulf saw Orson pulling the biganasty on a thick rope. The biganasty was roaring, rearing onto its hind legs. Its three horned heads were gnashing as it bucked and thrashed. The spines along its back were sticking out like knives from its thick black fur. It crashed its clubbed tail to the ground, then snorted, scraping the dirt with its hoof.
“Come on, girl,” Orson called. “Nice and easy does it.”
“What’s Orson doing?” Tiana asked.
“He’s locking it up in case the beast hunter comes here,” Ulf explained.
“Here?”
“It’s just a precaution,” Ulf told her.
The biganasty dug its hooves into the ground. With his massive arms, Orson heaved, and the biganasty slid across the mud. Orson dragged it to the safety of the Big Beast Barn. “Is everything okay?” Ulf called.
Orson closed the barn doors on the biganasty and gave a thumbs-up. “Everything’s locked up. The electric fences are on, and the alarms are set. I’ll be keeping watch.”
Ulf ran to his den.
Tiana followed him inside.
Ulf lay on his straw clutching the book. It was old and bound in soft black leather.
I know who has her, he read.
Ulf opened it excitedly:
The Book of Beasts
by Professor J. E. Farraway
He turned the page.
To whom it may concern.
My name is Professor Farraway. You have in your hands my most precious possession, my field notes from expeditions around the world, observing beasts in the wild. Inside you will discover things you could never have imagined—the secrets of beasts.
Use this knowledge well.
“Who’s Professor Farraway?” Tiana asked.
“Professor Farraway was the world’s first cryptozoologist,” Ulf said. He looked out through the bars of his den at Farraway Hall. It was nearly dark. The light was on in the observatory, and Dr. Fielding was standing at the window, peering through her binoculars. “He used to live here. He’s dead now.”
Ulf flicked through the pages. The Book of Beasts was Professor Farraway’s very own notebook, full of diagrams and drawings, jottings and photographs. It contained sections on every kind of beast, from wartolumps to griffins, electrodactyls to jellystoats. Ulf saw photographs of a giranha, a phoenix, and a mermaid. He found a drawing of a troll digging a tunnel. In the margin was a note on how to hypnotize an eight-headed hydra using walnuts suspended on strings, and instructions on how to treat a fairy’s sparkle.
“Look,” Tiana said. She saw a picture of a golden Roc. The book said that golden Rocs live on the orchid mountains of Tanzania, and that orchid scent will revive a homesick Roc. “There are orchids in the forest!” Tiana said. “We can make the Roc better.”
Ulf turned the pages, looking for the picture of the dragon.
“Wait,” Tiana said, seeing a photograph of a stone gargoyle on a rooftop. “That’s Druce!” The gargoyle was sticking his tongue out.
“Here we are,” Ulf said, turning to the drawing of the dragon chick. “It opened on this page.”
“Aziza the firebelly dragon,” Tiana read.
“This is Professor Farraway’s dragon. He hatched it from an egg.”
“How do you know that?” Tiana asked.
“Dr. Fielding showed me a newspaper clipping in the observatory. That’s the dragon that’s been kidnapped.”
Ulf closed the book. I know who has her, he read on the cover. He remembered the book being pushed into his hand in the library.
“He knows who’s kidnapped the dragon.”
“Who does?”
Ulf looked at Tiana. “Professor Farraway. I think he’s a ghost.”
Chapter 13
ULF HEARD A NOISE OUTSIDE HIS DEN. HE looked at Tiana. “Ssh,” he whispered.
Ulf listened. “Who’s there?”
He heard a stone fall to the ground and someone climbing onto the roof of his den.
Tiana put out her light and hid in the straw.
“Professurrrgggh Farrawurrrgggh,” a croaky voice gurgled. At that moment, Druce the gargoyle appeared, his ugly face hanging upside down in the doorway. He smiled, tapping his nose. “What have you got there, Fur Face?”
Ulf pushed The Book of Beasts under the straw and stepped to the door.
“What are you doing here, Druce?”
The gargoyle vanished. Ulf heard him scuttling across the roof. Then everything went quiet.
“Where did he go?” Tiana asked. Druce’s face appeared at the window. His long tongue flicked through the bars, darting under the straw. It coiled around the book.
“Hey, leave that alone!” Ulf said.
The gargoyle sucked his tongue in, pulling the book between the bars of the window.
“Give it back, Druce!”
Ulf ran outside as the gargoyle bounded away on his knuckles and feet.
Druce scurried to the yard and jumped onto the roof of the kit room.
“Give that book back!” Ulf called, running after him.
Tiana came flying past. “I’ll get it,” she said.
The gargoyle hopped from roof to roof over the yard buildings. He leaped onto the incinerator and sat on top of the chimney, gurgling in the moonlight.
“Professor’s book!” Druce said. He started flicking through the pages.
Tiana flew up to Druce and pinched his nose. “Give it back,” she said.
“Stop messing about, Druce!” Ulf called.
The gargoyle looked down the incinerator chimney.
“Poor Professor, dead and gone,” he muttered. He looked back up. His face was black with soot.
Tiana stamped on his toe. “Now, Druce,” she said.
Druce threw the book into the air, then bounded away across the yard buildings, muttering. The book hit the ground.
“Stupid gargoyle,” Tiana called.
Ulf picked the book up. He wiped some soot off the cover, then clutched it with both hands. He watched as Druce scurried into the shadows, climbing up the moonlit tower to the roof of the house.
The light in the observatory had gone out. The yard was dark and shadowy. Ulf glanced toward the courtyard. He could hear the scrunch of footsteps on gravel. In the darkness, he saw the silhouette of a man walking into the yard.
“Who’s that?” Tiana asked.
“I don’t know,” Ulf whispered.
Tiana clung to Ulf’s T-shirt. “What if it’s the beast hunter?”
Ulf crouched behind a wheelbarrow.
The man turned on a flashlight and shone it at the door of the operating theater.
“What’s he doing?” Tiana whispered.
The flashlight beam swung to the hatching bay, and the man walked over and rattled the door handle, then he walked to the quarantine unit and lifted the hatch. He shone his flashlight inside. Ulf heard the troll growl.
The man jumped back and walked across the yard. He shone his flashlight toward the Big Beast Barn.
Ulf stood up to follow him, and knocked against the wheelbarrow. It scraped on the concrete.
The man swung his flashlight in Ulf’s direction. Ulf ducked. He could feel his heart beating as the man crossed the yard toward him.
The man stopped at the wheelbarrow. He was standing di
rectly over Ulf.
The flashlight shone in Ulf’s eyes, blinding him.
Tiana flew up. “Who are you?” she asked.
Her sparkles lit up the man’s face. The man’s eye twitched.
“Inspector Black!” Ulf said. “What are you doing here?”
The Inspector pulled up the collar of his coat. “I’m on night patrol,” he told them.
Ulf stood up, hiding The Book of Beasts behind his back.
“It’s not safe for a werewolf to be out tonight with the beast hunter at large,” Inspector Black said. “You should be in bed.”
He pointed his flashlight at Tiana. “You too.”
“Come on, Ulf,” Tiana said, flying away across the yard.
Ulf looked at the Inspector, then turned and hurried away with the book. At the corner of the kit room, he glanced over his shoulder. He could see the silhouette of Inspector Black walking around to the front of the house.
“Why is he snooping around here?” Ulf asked Tiana. “He’s supposed to be out looking for the dragon.”
Ulf could feel his fangs growing inside his gums.
“He’s keeping an eye on things,” Tiana said.
“He gives me the creeps,” Ulf told her, heading toward his den.
Tiana flew after him. “Try to get some sleep,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“What about you? Will you be okay?”
“Of course I will. Fairies are safest in the forest at night.”
“Good night, then,” Ulf said, as Tiana flew off. He went into his den and closed the door tightly. Through the bars, he watched the fairy’s sparkles shoot across the paddock toward the Dark Forest.
Down by the freshwater lake, Ulf could see Orson the giant. He was standing on the edge of the lake with his big boots beside him, dipping his toe in the water. He’d be up all night, keeping watch over the beasts.
Ulf lay down on his bed of straw. He opened The Book of Beasts and flicked through it to a page headed: Werewolves.
Werewolves belong to the beast-man family of beasts. They live in colonies and are similar in appearance to humans, but underneath the skin is a beast. On the night of a full moon they undergo one of the great miracles of the beast world, a complete physical transformation. The skeleton realigns from biped to quadruped, the hair and claws grow, and the teeth become fangs. With the first howl, the beast is unleashed.
I have seen werewolves leap into rivers and run fearlessly into fire. They will die to protect their own.
Do not trespass onto a werewolf’s territory. Do not threaten his family. If you do, beware. Werewolves, in my opinion, are the bravest beasts of all.
Ulf looked out at the moon. It was nearly full. There was only one day to go until his transformation. He pulled the straw over him and tucked his knees up into his chest.
Chapter 14
THE NEXT MORNING, WHEN ULF WOKE, THE sun was already high in the sky. He could hear the sound of the Jeep. Dr. Fielding was driving back through the paddock from the beast park.
“Has something happened?” Ulf called, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
“Everything’s fine. Orson’s been guarding the beasts. Come inside, I’ve got something to show you.”
Ulf hid The Book of Beasts under the straw and followed Dr. Fielding to her office.
“The Helping Hand has been busy,” she said, opening the door. On her table was a pile of papers, each with a name at the top and a photograph of a human.
“These are all the people we have on file who’ve been convicted of cruelty to beasts.”
She picked the top piece of paper from the pile and handed it to Ulf. On it he saw a photograph of a man with a tall white hat and a thin mustache. Franco Ravioli, chef. Caught serving impossipus tentacles in his restaurant.
On the sheet below he saw a photograph of a woman with red lipstick and a diamond necklace. Lucretia Da Silva, boutique manageress. Caught selling jackalope-fur coats.
On the next sheet was a photograph of a fat man with a bald head. Billy Buck, factory owner. Caught dumping chemical waste in Farleigh swamp, polluting a crocoon habitat.
“None of them sound like hunters,” Ulf said.
“Criminals tend to flock together,” Dr. Fielding told him. “These should give us a lead to finding the beast hunter.”
Just then, the telephone rang.
Dr. Fielding picked up the handset. “Hello, RSPCB.”
Ulf thumbed through the pile of papers. There were over a hundred criminals.
“Yes, I’ve got some names to give you,” he heard Dr. Fielding say. She picked up a rubber band, then glanced out of the window. “Yes, Orson’s here. He’s been keeping watch. No one gets past Orson.”
She winked at Ulf. Then she wedged the handset between her chin and her shoulder, and stretched the rubber band around the pile of papers. “Yes, yes,” she said. “Ulf is looking a bit tired now you mention it.”
Dr. Fielding smiled. “Okay. See you in half an hour.” She put the phone down.
“Who was that?” Ulf asked.
“Inspector Black. He says he’s got some news.”
“Has he found the dragon?”
“He’s coming over.”
Dr. Fielding stood up. “Well, I’d better get on with my work now, Ulf.”
Ulf opened the door to leave. As he did so, from upstairs he heard moanings and groanings. He listened. The ghosts sounded restless.
“Dr. Fielding, can I ask you a question?” he said, turning back to her.
“Of course you can, Ulf.”
“Is Professor Farraway a ghost?”
Dr. Fielding looked at Ulf strangely. “Professor Farraway? Why would you think that?”
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Ulf asked.
“Not everyone becomes a ghost, Ulf,” she said. “Ghosts only come from unfinished lives.”
Ulf glanced up the stairs. “What was Professor Farraway like?” he asked.
“I never knew him but I understand that he was a kind man,” Dr. Fielding said. “When he died, he left his entire fortune to fund the RSPCB.”
“I think he knows who’s got the dragon,” Ulf said.
Dr. Fielding looked out of the door as the groaning noises grew louder. “What on earth’s the matter upstairs?” she asked.
“I’ll go and see,” Ulf said.
He ran up the back stairs two at a time. He raced along the Gallery of Science and through the Room of Curiosities, his hairy feet skidding to a stop outside the library door.
The door creaked open, and the sound of moaning and groaning stopped. Ulf peered into the gloomy room. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. An icy draft swept through him, and the door slammed shut.
Ulf stood listening in the darkness. He could hear the rocking chair rocking on the floorboards. From up high came the sound of footsteps.
Ulf walked through the room, feeling his way around the bookcases.
“Professor Farraway?” he whispered. “Are you in here?”
As he spoke, in the gloom, a candle flickered on, the flame lighting by itself. It lit up a large painting on the wall. Ulf walked toward it.
It was a painting of an old man wearing a tweed suit, sitting at a writing desk. His hair was gray and thin, and he was looking up from his notebook. His eyes were smiling. Underneath, a gold nameplate read:
LORD JOHN EVERARD FARRAWAY
PROFESSOR OF CRYPTOZOOLOGY
Ulf shivered, feeling the hairs on his neck and back standing on end.
“Professor?”
The candle flickered. It was standing on a little table. The table started shaking.
“Who has the dragon?” Ulf asked.
On the table, a line appeared in the dust. An invisible finger was sliding over the wood, writing the letter M.
Ulf watched: A…R.
Letter by letter, a word appeared in the dust. MARACKAI.
Ulf looked up at the picture. “Marackai? Who’s Marackai?” he asked.
<
br /> An icy draft swept through him, and the candle blew out.
From outside, Ulf heard the sound of a truck pulling up in the courtyard. He raced out of the library and bounded downstairs and out through the front door.
Dr. Fielding was standing by a huge black truck. Inspector Black was back. The driver’s door opened, and the Inspector jumped down.
“Dr. Fielding! Quick, Dr. Fielding!” Ulf called.
“Bad news, Ulf,” Dr. Fielding said, as he ran over. “The Inspector’s found a pit in Furnace Woods. The rumors about the Ring of Horrors are true.”
“I know who’s got the dragon!” Ulf said.
“Dr. Fielding, do you have that list of criminals?” the Inspector asked.
“It’s Marackai!” Ulf said. “His name’s Marackai!”
The Inspector looked at Ulf, his eye twitching. “What did you say?”
“Marackai! Marackai’s got the dragon! I saw it in the library. Marackai was written in the dust.”
“Pardon, Ulf?” Dr. Fielding said, looking confused.
“Does the werewolf always act so peculiarly?” Inspector Black asked. “Or is there a full moon tonight?”
Dr. Fielding pressed her hand to Ulf’s forehead. “You are starting to get hot, Ulf,” she told him. “Your wolf brain must be activating.”
“But it’s true, Dr. Fielding. His name’s Marackai.”
“I’ll check to see if it’s in the files,” Dr. Fielding said. “I promise.”
Inspector Black put his hand on Dr. Fielding’s shoulder and started walking her away toward the house. “Try to keep the werewolf from interfering,” he whispered. “We can’t afford to get sidetracked.”
“Marackai…Now where do I know that name from?” Dr. Fielding said, opening the front door.
“Isn’t it a place in Africa?” the Inspector asked.
Ulf watched as Dr. Fielding and Inspector Black walked inside. The front door closed behind them.
Chapter 15