“He’ll be OK for a minute,” Resus whispered. “Come outside where we can talk.”
The pair crawled under the bed after the Tracker and out through the makeshift exit. They found Chillchase waiting for them at the back of the hospital shack.
“Acrid Belcher told us he’d sent you here too!” cried Cleo.
“He did,” said Zeal. “Obviously not long before you. I was just searching for a place to make camp when I found Resus hanging out of a tree.”
“Mr Chillchase brought me here to get checked out,” Resus added.
“But why all the secrecy?” asked Cleo. “Why were you hiding under the bed?”
Zeal pulled off his mirrored sunglasses. “I was the one who condemned most of the residents of Dead End to the Underlands,” he explained. “I don’t think they’d be too happy to see me again.”
“Then why not shapeshift into someone they don’t recognize?”
“My power is almost completely drained,” said Zeal. “Acrid Belcher made sure of that. If I draw upon my reserves, I might have just enough left to open a Hex Hatch out of this terrible place.”
“Can we really escape from the Underlands a second time?” asked Cleo.
“We have to,” said Resus. “We have to save everyone at home. There’s just one more relic to return and then we can close that doorway for ever.”
“I can’t believe Belcher’s working with Sir Otto now,” said Cleo. When the head of G.H.O.U.L. had found out that Scream Street’s landlord was charging tourists to visit the street, he had allowed him to continue in return for a cut of the profits.
“I’ve always had my suspicions about Acrid Belcher,” said Chillchase. “But I never thought he’d go this far.”
“Zeal helped me shapeshift so that I won’t be recognized when we get back to Scream Street,” Resus told Cleo proudly. “That’s how I became a skeleton.”
“But how?” Cleo asked the Tracker. “You said you hardly had any power left.”
“Gutweed,” explained Chillchase. “It contains the same chemicals as shapeshifters have naturally inside them. Eating it can mask your true identity for short periods of time.”
“Eurgh!” said Cleo, pulling a face. “You mean the stuff that grows in sewers?”
Chillchase nodded. “I keep a small supply in my boots in case of emergencies.”
Now it was Resus’s turn to make a face. “You might have said that before I ate the stuff! I didn’t think—”
“Well, well, what have we here?” a shrill voice interrupted. Zeal and the children looked up to see Rooney the leprechaun coming over. “Here’s me on my way home after a long shift on the gate, and who do I find but the very fellow who sent me here?”
“I don’t want any trouble, Rooney,” said Chillchase.
“That’s a shame,” snarled the leprechaun. “’Cos trouble’s the one thing we’ve got plenty of around here.” He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. “Hey, lads – would you come and look at this!”
Shack doors began to open all over Dead End and the angry faces of ogres, zombies and demons peered out. What appeared to be an exceptionally large lizard slithered over to join the leprechaun. “Ith that who I think it ith?” the creature lisped.
Rooney cracked his knuckles. “It most certainly is, Higgs!”
“What is that?” whispered Cleo.
“A lamia,” replied Chillchase. “I banished him here for smuggling zombie parts over to Hollywood to be used as movie props.”
The lizard creature whipped its tail angrily from side to side as it slid closer. “I have a thcore to thettle with you, Chillchathe!”
“So do I!” barked an orc. “I had a nice little sideline in illegal weapons till he busted me.”
“He sent me here for kidnappin’ an elf,” snarled an ogre.
The mood was getting increasingly ugly. “Get behind me!” Zeal hissed to Resus and Cleo.
Rooney chuckled nastily as he and the crowd of convicts closed in. “It seems like just about everyone here is delighted to see you and your little friends…”
Chillchase began to back away. “It’s me you want. Let the children go.”
Higgs licked his thick, scaly lips. “And mith the chanthe of a thlap-up meal?”
“Save a leg for me,” gurgled another voice. “I like a bit of vampire.” A zombie appeared from the other direction, leading a second pack of furious offenders.
“We’re surrounded,” gulped Resus.
“Any ideas?” asked Cleo nervously.
“There!” cried Chillchase, pointing to a unicorn tied to a post outside one of the huts. “If I can distract them, you two get out of here on that!”
“Do we have to?” Cleo gulped. “The last time I tried to ride one of those, it skewered me with its horn.”
“Hang around here and you’ll be skewered by a hungry lizard instead,” Resus pointed out. “Over a roasting fire! So no complaints – we’re taking the unicorn.”
“What will you do?” Cleo asked Zeal.
“I’ll be fine,” replied the Tracker. “I’ll meet you at the tree where I found Resus. Now, we just need some sort of distraction…”
Right on cue, one side of the hospital hut suddenly exploded in a shower of wood and tin, and Luke’s werewolf sprang out. It leapt through the crowd, using its powerful paws to swipe Rooney and Higgs out of the way, then stood, fangs dripping, as if awaiting further instructions.
“I thought you said he was injured!” exclaimed Resus.
“He was!” Cleo insisted.
“Thank goodness he has more control over his transformations than he did last time we were here,” said Resus.
“The tables have turned,” Chillchase declared, taking a step forward and scratching Luke’s werewolf behind the ear. “Move aside and let us go.”
The leprechaun laughed scornfully. “Most of us here want your skin, Chillchase! Your doggy can’t take us all down.”
The Tracker calmly pulled his sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them back on. “He doesn’t need to take them all down, Rooney,” he said. “Just you.”
The leprechaun glanced nervously up at the snarling werewolf, then back at Chillchase. “Let them through!” he commanded the baying crowd.
“But I haven’t tathted meat in nearly theven yearth,” moaned Higgs.
“I don’t care!” snapped Rooney. “I said, let them through!”
Reluctantly, the angry group parted. Zeal Chillchase strode through the crowd, Luke’s wolf beside him, teeth bared. Resus and Cleo followed closely.
“I’ll get you!” Rooney spat. “You might get away this time, but I’ll find you!”
Chillchase climbed onto the unicorn’s back after Resus and Cleo and glared down at the seething leprechaun. “I look forward to it,” he growled.
Then, with a click of his heels, the Tracker sent the unicorn crashing through the frail wooden gate and off across the dreary plains of the Underlands, Luke’s werewolf racing along behind.
Chapter Four
The Plan
When the group reached Zeal Chillchase’s campsite, the Tracker helped Resus and Cleo down from the unicorn before sending it running free across the plains. Luke’s werewolf slumped to the ground and began to transform back into human form.
Cleo dashed over to him. At first she couldn’t see the wound on his leg through the thick brown fur, but as that began to recede, the neatly stitched scar slowly became visible. “You need to rest,” she told Luke.
“I feel fine,” he retorted.
“Luke Watson, you stay right there and don’t move until I tell you!”
Her friend smiled. “Whatever you say!”
Resus unclipped his vampire cape and lay it over Luke. “Best idea,” he whispered. “Don’t argue with her.”
Chillchase sat beneath the blackened tree and began to stuff his few belongings into a battered old backpack. “We need to open a Hex Hatch and leave as soon as possible,” he said.
“Do you think Rooney and his gang will come looking for us?” asked Resus.
“It’s possible,” replied the Tracker. “But unicorns, for all their speed, don’t leave tracks. The convicts of Dead End shouldn’t know which way we headed.”
“Are we going straight back to Scream Street?” asked Cleo.
Zeal Chillchase shook his head. “We’re going to China first.”
“China?” exclaimed Resus.
“A former G.H.O.U.L. Tracker I know lives there,” Chillchase explained. “She’ll be able to help restore my power and provide us with supplies.”
Cleo looked at him. “What supplies?”
Zeal Chillchase reached up to snap a dead twig from the tree and use it to scrawl some numbers in the black earth. “The way I see it, we have six tasks ahead of us. 1. Return to Scream Street. 2. Retrieve The G.H.O.U.L. Guide. 3. Evict all the normals from Scream Street. 4. Resurrect Samuel Skipstone from the pages of The G.H.O.U.L. Guide. 5. Get Skipstone to transform into his werewolf. 6. Return the final relic – the werewolf’s claw – to Skipstone, and in doing so close the doorway for ever.”
“Six tasks,” murmured Luke. “Just like the six relics.”
“Exactly,” said Chillchase. “And if we want to succeed, we’ll need supplies.”
“I’ve got loads of stuff inside my cape,” Resus reminded him. “Surely there’s no need to go all the way to China.”
“I suspect that what we need can’t be found inside any vampire cape,” said Zeal. “Black-market Hex Hatch spells for a start, plus reanimation gel to bring Skipstone back – and we’ll need the shell of a dragon’s egg, too.”
“What for?” asked Luke sitting up, the cape still wrapped around his shoulders.
“You’ll need a strong sleeping potion to use on the werewolf,” Chillchase explained. “An angry werewolf won’t sit still while you reattach its claw. The shell of a dragon’s egg will give you the strongest kind of sleeping potion possible.”
“That’s right!” exclaimed Resus. “That’s what Cuffy said when we were trying to catch that baby yeti.”
“Where can we get a dragon’s eggshell?” asked Luke.
“Don’t tell me,” said Cleo. “China!”
Chillchase nodded. “My contact should be able to provide us with one.”
“And you’re sure she won’t tell G.H.O.U.L. what we’re up to?” asked Resus.
“I’m certain,” said Chillchase. “She resigned as a Tracker shortly after Acrid Belcher took charge and started ordering everyone around.”
“I’d forgotten about Belcher,” said Luke. “What shall we do about him?”
“You leave Acrid Belcher to me,” answered Chillchase. “First things first…”
“Right,” said Resus, jumping up. “China it is!”
“But Luke has to rest,” Cleo argued.
“I’m fine, really,” said Luke, climbing to his feet and handing the cape back to Resus. “A bit tired, but my leg’s healing nicely.”
“All right,” grumbled Cleo. “Then Mr Chillchase might as well give us our gutweed…”
“Our what?” asked Luke.
“Eating gutweed turns you into a shapeshifter,” Cleo explained. “Temporarily, anyway. We can use it to disguise ourselves once we’re back in Scream Street.”
Resus pulled a frond of gutweed from his trouser pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. “It tastes vile,” he said, “but you can do stuff like this!” He shut his eyes, and within seconds his skin and muscles had faded away to reveal the bones underneath.
“That’s incredible!” breathed Luke.
“I know,” grinned the skeletal Resus. “Give it a go!”
Zeal handed Luke some gutweed, and tentatively he put it in his mouth and began to chew. The taste was awful – like every bowl of sprouts his mum had ever served up on Christmas Day strained through a pair of sweaty socks. Before long, however, he could feel his muscles begin to tingle.
“Now close your eyes and think of someone else,” Chillchase commanded. “Maybe someone you know from Scream Street.”
Gradually, Luke’s skin began to peel and turn green. Weeping sores and boils appeared on his cheeks, and his eyes grew dull. His clothes became rags and his fingers twisted out of shape.
Cleo squealed with excitement. “You look like Doug!”
Luke opened his eyes and peered down at his new zombie form. “Cool, dude!”
“My turn,” said the mummy, taking a piece of gutweed for herself. “But I don’t know what you’re moaning about – this tastes like my dad’s nettle turnovers.”
“Told you it was disgusting,” grinned Resus.
Curly blonde hair began to sprout from the bandages on Cleo’s scalp. Her eyes grew bigger and twinkled in the weak sunlight, and soon she was swathed in a shimmering, silver silk dress.
Luke stared. “You’re… You’re a witch!” he gasped.
“Complete with enchantment charm,” added Resus.
Zeal Chillchase gave the remaining gutweed to Resus to look after. “It’s time to turn back,” he instructed. “Just think of something from your own lives, like a member of your family or something you keep at home.”
Within seconds the trio looked like their normal selves again. “I was just getting used to that,” grinned Cleo.
Luke surveyed the desolate landscape around them. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to anything in this place,” he said with a shiver. “Let’s get out of here.”
The Tracker began to move his hands through the air, muttering the spell that would allow him to open the Hex Hatch. The strain of using the very last of his power was clear, and soon Zeal was breathing heavily and sweating.
Eventually, the portal was ready. On the other side, the group could see a bustling Chinese market, stalls piled high with all kinds of unfamiliar merchandise.
“Last one in buys the noodles!” cried Resus, and he jumped through.
“Won’t be me,” smiled Cleo, following. She turned back and held her hand out to Luke. “Here, let me help…”
“I’m fine,” Luke insisted, and he limped through after her.
Then, just as Zeal Chillchase was swinging the backpack over his shoulder and preparing to follow, a large lizard dropped out of the sky beside him, a small red-haired man in a green suit clinging to its back.
“Did you forget lamias could fly, Chillchase?” asked Rooney, jumping to the ground. “All we had to do was climb high enough to spot you – and there you were!”
Chillchase raced for the Hex Hatch, but Rooney caught hold of his long, leather coat, dragging him back.
“Zeal!” yelled Luke, trying to grab the Tracker’s hand, but the unstable Hex Hatch was beginning to fail.
“Say goodbye to your friends, dead man!” screeched the leprechaun with delight. Then, with alarming finality, the Hex Hatch snapped shut.
“NO!” Luke shouted, waving his hands in the air in a vain attempt to reopen the window, but it was too late.
Zeal Chillchase was stuck in the Underlands.
Chapter Five
The Deal
Luke slumped against a stall selling herbs and spices. “It’s my fault,” he moaned. All around them, shoppers bustled through the busy marketplace in the warm sunshine.
“There’s nothing you could have done,” said Cleo.
“We didn’t know Rooney would find us so quickly,” Resus added.
“Yes, but if Zeal hadn’t waited for me to rest before he opened the Hex Hatch, we’d have been here long before that stupid leprechaun could find us!”
As he spoke, a young Chinese woman with a faint eerie glow around her set up an easel in front of the trio. “You want portrait?” she asked in broken English.
“No, thank you,” said Luke as politely as he could, and they moved away.
“There’s no point worrying about who’s to blame,” said Cleo. “We need to keep going. It’s what Zeal would tell us to do if he was here.”
“But how?”
asked Resus. “I might not pay much attention at school, but even I know that there are more than a billion people in China. How are we supposed to find the person Zeal Chillchase was planning to meet?”
The artist picked up her easel and scurried along to stand in front of the children again. “Portrait very good!”
“I’m sure they are,” said Cleo kindly, “but we’re not really in the mood right now.” She led the boys over to a stall selling clay pots and began to examine one without any real interest. “Zeal must have opened the Hex Hatch here for a reason,” she said. “His contact must be here in this town – wherever ‘here’ is.”
“OK,” said Resus. “So that narrows it down to several thousand. It could still take us weeks – and we can’t exactly stop people in the street and ask them if they used to be a Tracker for G.H.O.U.L.!”
The artist scuttled through the crowds to catch up with them once again. “Portrait time!”
Trying to hide his irritation, Resus took a deep breath. “We don’t have any money.”
“Portrait free!” the artist beamed.
Resus shook his head and turned away. Luke and Cleo followed him to a table piled high with exotic fruit.
“If this person has been a Tracker for G.H.O.U.L., she must be one of us,” said Luke. “A vampire, or a zombie, or a shapeshifter or something. We just need to figure out how to spot her.”
“Without G.H.O.U.L. spotting us first,” Resus added. “If we attract attention, we’ll be back in the Underlands faster than a pickpocketing poltergeist!”
“Talking of attracting attention…” began Luke. The young artist was just behind them again, her paintbrush darting across the canvas. “Look, I’m really sorry,” he said, “but we don’t want to have our picture painted!”
“Portrait done,” smiled the artist, and she spun the easel round to show them. The picture showed the trio deep in conversation in the middle of the bustling market.
“It’s very nice,” said Resus, “but…” He stopped and stared. In the drawing, Luke was sporting a werewolf’s tail.
“If you really don’t want to attract attention, I suggest you stay quiet and follow me,” hissed the artist, this time in perfect English.
Flame of the Dragon Page 2