Without another word, the dragon let the rope out and nudged the raft just as Holly had seen the two crooks do before. Caught by the current, the raft bobbed out on to the dark river. The two yellow dragons watched from the shore, getting further and further away. Holly was alone, like she had never been in her life. And scared. For the first time in a long, long time she felt a genuine tear roll down her cheek.
Quietly, in the middle of the cold river, with no one to hear, she wept.
Dirk watched Holly drifting out on to the river. Poor kid – she looked terrified. He needed to work fast, but he also needed to work smart and that was tricky when he hadn’t got the faintest idea what was going on. Not even an inkling. There was something out there and it was dangerous. But what? If he flew over and grabbed Holly, the two Scavengers would see him and he would only endanger her even more. No, he needed a plan.
A twig snapped. He froze. Someone was behind him, creeping up on him. Dirk waited for his moment, acting like he hadn’t heard anything, then suddenly he lashed his tail across the ground, knocking his assailant’s feet from under him. He spun around, his claws drawn.
Lying on the ground was a dragon. Dirk stepped forwards but it lashed out its tail, catching his feet, knocking him on to his belly. Before he could get up, he felt the dragon land on his back, pinning him down, but its grip wasn’t good enough. Dirk twisted, wriggled and kicked, sending his attacker flying. He sprang to his feet and whacked the dragon’s head with his tail, knocking him backwards.
“Dirk, it’s me! Don’t hurt me,” whined the dragon. “It’s Karnataka.”
“Karny?” said Dirk, taken aback. “What are you doing here? You’re above ground.”
“Don’t I know it? It’s a lot darker than it used to be, up here. I like it. What happened?”
“It’s night time, Karny.”
“Oh, right. That explains it,” said Karnataka. “Do you mind?”
“Oh, sorry.” Dirk backed off, allowing the Shade-Hugger to get up. “How did you know I was here?” asked Dirk.
“I didn’t,” Karnataka replied. “I wanted to see for myself if it was true, what they’ve got in there.”
“You know what it is?” said Dirk.
Karnataka nodded.
“Spill the beans then, Karny.”
“Spill the liquorice, Dilly,” said Karnataka.
“I’ll get it later.” Dirk wasn’t in the mood for games.
“No liquorice, no info. That’s the rule.”
“Karny, tell me what have they’ve got before I toast your tail,” threatened Dirk.
“All right, because it’s you – but I expect double next time I see you. And laces, make sure you bring laces.”
“Tell me,” growled Dirk.
Karnataka lowered his voice. “They’ve got a Limpworm in there,” he whispered.
Dirk gulped. “How big?” he asked.
“It’s a female,” replied Karnataka, eyes wide with fear. “A big one.”
In spite of their name, Limpworms were usually very big. They were ancient beasts, older even than dragons. Dirk hadn’t met many of them as they tended to avoid all contact with both humans and dragons, hiding in the deepest regions of the oceans. Dirk recalled one he had encountered, while on a case in Egypt, where they were known as Amphipteres. It was twice the size of him, with a snake-like body, two large wings and a long flowing mane. But as soon as it saw him it had disappeared. Limpworms were not social creatures. And they could grow to Godzilla-like sizes. The females, particularly, grew really large.
“So that’s what knocked me out?” said Dirk.
“You must have swallowed some of its blood when you bit into it,” replied Karnataka. “You’re lucky you’re still around at all.”
“But what’s it doing here? Not sight-seeing, I take it…” asked Dirk.
“The word is that they’re holding it here with a chain made from black metal, the stuff the Dragnet use. Not even a Limpworm can bite through it,” replied Karnataka.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Dirk. “Limpworms are vegetarians like us. Why would they be feeding it cats?”
Their conversation was cut short by a sudden flash of fire. Dirk jumped to avoid it but something landed on top of him. A large, yellow face appeared in front of his. Its mouth opened and a flame burst forth. Before Dirk could retaliate he felt a sharp claw under his chin, preventing his mouth from opening.
The large Scavenger yelled, “I got me a Mountain Dragon here! What you got, Mali?”
Out of the corner of his eye Dirk could see Karnataka also lying on his back with the smaller of the two Scavengers on his belly.
“Shade-Hugger, by the looks of things, Leon.”
“Above ground? Must be lost,” he said. “Now start talking, mountain boy.”
“We’re researching a new, fresh-breath, minty mouthwash for dragons,” murmured Dirk through his teeth. “You should try it.”
“Eh, this one’s got a sense of humour, Mali.”
“I’m not joking. You have some kind of problem,” said Dirk.
“Can we kill ’em, bro?” said Mali.
“Not yet. Humans are one thing, but we can’t have the Dragon Council finding out about all this. Remember, it’s supposed to look like an accident.” He turned to Dirk. “What’s your name? And what do you know?”
“I’m the Loch Ness monster and I know that your breath smells like you’ve been snacking on badger droppings,” replied Dirk.
The dragon jammed its claw further into Dirk’s jaw, drawing blood that trickled down his chin.
“What about you?” Mali asked Karnataka.
“My name’s Karnataka,” he said quickly. “I’m only here because he asked me to find out what you were doing!”
“Nice,” said Dirk sarcastically. “Thanks, Karny. I knew I could rely on you.”
“Why?” asked Mali.
“He’s a private detective,” said Karnataka, shaking with fear. “He works in the human world.”
“And did you find out what we’re doing?”
Karnataka nodded.
“Hey. What’s going on?” said another voice.
The Mountain Dragon and Sea Dragon appeared, rubbing their heads.
“Where have you been?” demanded Leon.
“We were attacked by those two,” said Flotsam.
“It wasn’t me,” said Karnataka. “It was just him.”
“Again, cheers,” said Dirk.
“Move! The show is about to start. And you have just earned yourself front-row tickets.” Leon released Dirk. “One step out of line and you’re charcoal, OK, Mr Detective?”
The four dragons surrounded Dirk and Karnataka and led them out of the woods into the clearing by the river, emitting bursts of fire to keep them in line. The odds weren’t good. Even if Karnataka fought on his side, Dirk and he were outnumbered two to one. And those were exactly the kind of odds that would make a dragon like Karnataka think twice about fighting on his side in the first place.
They stopped by the wooden post that kept the raft in place and Leon opened his mouth and roared, sending a line of fire straight through the rope, setting the raft adrift.
Leon picked up the remaining rope in his teeth and, with the others’ help, pushed Dirk and Karnataka into place and tied them back-to-back against the post. Wrapping the ropes around Dirk’s snout, Leon said, “Don’t want you burning your way out, do we?”
He then pulled a large, dark, metal key shaped like a dragon’s head from behind his wing and threw it at Flotsam. “It’s time to give her some slack,” he said. “Make sure she can’t escape, mind.”
Flotsam caught the key and dived into the river.
They waited in silence for a couple of minutes and then the water began to lap against the shore as though a boat had just passed. But there was no sign of a boat.
Flotsam climbed out of the river and said, “She’s coming up.”
Holly lay flat on the raft, which rocked violently fro
m side to side. Her hands were numb with cold; her clothes soaking wet. Her body shivered and her teeth chattered. She had gone beyond crying. She was too scared to feel any self-pity. All that was left now was fear. Desperately she grabbed the rope but it came too easily – it had been cut loose. The undercurrent was too strong to swim. She was stranded.
Suddenly something broke the surface. It was as though a grassy island was slowly emerging from under the water. A light appeared in the side of it, round like a full moon but fire-red and bigger than Holly’s head. She was trying to work out what it was when another one appeared. They blinked. Eyes. This was no island – it was an enormous head. What she had seen as long strands of grass was, in fact, a thick mane of hair.
The creature opened its mouth, revealing hundreds of teeth, and then shot high into the sky, revealing a long body and two expansive wings. And all the time, more and more of its smooth body appeared from the depths below.
Even fear left Holly now. There was no escape. No hope. She was going to die. She clung to the raft and awaited her fate.
Dirk watched the Limpworm emerge. She was the biggest he had ever seen. She flapped her wings and roared. He could imagine the panic on the faces of the humans in the surrounding area that could see her, but there was only one human he was worried about… Holly.
“We call her Mandy,” said the large Scavenger, laughing. Then he turned to his brother. “Hey, keep an eye on Mr Detective here.”
“Keep an eye on him yourself,” replied Mali.
“When are you going to understand that I’m in charge?” asked Leon.
“When your name is Vainclaw, that’s when. He’s the boss.”
“But while he’s not here, I am.”
“Oh yeah?” challenged Mali.
The two dragons squared up to each other.
“Leave it out, you two,” said Flotsam. “Shouldn’t we get going?”
“I want to see if she eats the human,” replied Leon.
Having reached full height – three times higher than any surrounding buildings – the Limpworm was flailing in the water, making an awful screeching noise.
Dirk needed a plan. His limbs and wings were all bound tightly and his mouth was tied shut – but his tail was free. He stretched it as far as he could. The dragons were all just out of reach.
“Flotsam’s right. We should get going,” said Mali.
“All right, ar’ kid, we’ll go in a minute,” said Leon.
“Don’t call me that,” snarled his brother.
“Give it a rest,” said Jegsy.
“Take it back,” said Mali.
“Calm down, I was only joking.” Leon took a couple of steps back, bringing him just within Dirk’s reach. Dirk stretched out his tail, aimed carefully, then whacked Leon with the tip, before quickly drawing it back to his side.
“What did you do that for?” Leon said to Mali.
“Do what?”
“Oh, don’t play the innocent with me. If you want a fight, just say so.”
“I’m ready any time, bro. You want a piece of me?”
The dragons stood nose to nose. Smoke billowed from their nostrils, then Leon reared up on to his hind legs and sent a burst of fire from his mouth. Mali ducked and it missed him, instead singeing Dirk’s chest. It hurt but it had done the job – it had burned straight through the rope. Dirk hastily grabbed the charred ends and held them together, but the dragons were too preoccupied to notice as Jegsy and Flotsam held the brothers away from each other.
“Come on, lads, there’s no need for this,” said Jesgy.
“Yeah, we haven’t got time,” said Flotsam. “We need to go.”
“We go when I say so,” Leon snarled.
“But what about Mandy?” asked Flotsam, pointing at the Limpworm thrashing around in the water.
“It’s true, bro,” agreed Mali. “We hang around much longer and there won’t be anything much left of us to fight.”
“I have decided,” announced Leon, “that we should go.”
The other three dragons looked visibly relieved. Leon turned to Dirk, who bowed his head to hide the loose rope.
“Enjoy the show, Mr Detective,” he said. “See you around, Shade-Hugger,” he added to Karnataka.
“Mwhmnmmrmdl,” replied Karnataka, wriggling to get free.
Dirk was glad Karnataka’s mouth was still bound. No one likes to hear a grown dragon beg for mercy.
Leon slapped his tail hard against Dirk’s face and said, “That’s for sticking your big, green, mountain nose into other dragons’ business.” He turned to the others. “Let’s go.”
All four spread their wings and leaped into the sky, flying into the night without a glance back.
The Kinghorns had gone.
Dirk jumped up and quickly ran around the post. He released Karnataka from the ropes and said, “I need your help, Karny. Holly’s in danger. I need you to grab her while I distract the Limpworm, OK?”
“Of course, Dirk,” said Karnataka, standing up. “You can rely on me, Dirk. When have I ever let you down?”
“Come on then,” said Dirk, spreading his wings and rising into the air.
“Just one thing, Dirk,” said Karnataka.
“What?”
“I know what they’ve got planned for Mandy and if you take my advice, you’ll forget the human and get out of here now.” He turned, dropped down on to all fours and ran full pelt into the trees.
“Rats on fire!” swore Dirk.
He could have gone after him of course but what was the point? He couldn’t force him to help. It would just be a waste of time and if there was one thing he didn’t have a lot of, it was time.
“Should have seen that coming really,” he muttered, flying towards the Limpworm.
Holly looked up at the creature. It flapped its wings, lifted its huge head high in the sky and pulled its body straight. It was enormous. Having reached a great height it began to swoop down, its drooling, cavernous mouth heading straight for her. Dirk had said that there were bigger, scarier things in the world than dragons but never in her wildest nightmares had she imagined anything this big or this scary.
She screamed and clung to the rocking raft. The head got nearer. She could see right down its throat. Its mouth began to close and she felt certain that this would be the last thing she ever saw. She closed her eyes, hoping only that she would die quickly and painlessly.
The mouth crashed shut and Holly felt strangely weightless. She could no longer feel the damp wood under her knees or the cold water lapping over her fingers.
She opened her eyes and saw the raft. Only now it was several feet below her, bobbing up and down on the waves.
Slowly she craned her neck round and found herself looking into its two enormous, red eyes. The hideous creature had caught her belt in its teeth and was holding her in the air. For a moment they stared unblinkingly into each other’s eyes.
Then the creature turned its head, causing Holly to lurch to one side. Something had distracted it. She turned to see what and saw a bright orange flame speeding towards them through the darkness, reflecting on the water’s surface, growing bigger and brighter as it got nearer.
The Limpworm opened its mouth and reared its head. Holly fell back on to the raft, which rocked violently, causing her to lose her footing and slip into the icy river. Sound cut out as she floated down through the murky water, numbed by the cold. A feeling of calm overtook her as she was frozen with fear. Then something grabbed her and heaved her, spluttering and coughing, back on to the raft. She gasped for breath and looked up.
“Come on,” said the familiar voice of Dirk Dilly. “I don’t think this structure is very stable.”
Looking up at him, the relief she felt instantly seeped away as, behind him, the creature’s head was hurtling towards them at great speed.
“Jump on,” said Dirk, helping her on to his back. “And hold on tight.”
The creature was almost upon them.
“GO!” scr
eamed Holly.
Dirk leaped off the raft and flew into the air. Holly looked behind her and saw the creature grab hold of the raft and crush it between its teeth, splinters flying everywhere.
Holly’s body was soaking wet. She ached all over and tears of fear and relief were streaming down her face. The only words she could manage were, “I thought I was going to die.”
“Never,” said Dirk. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to my partner.”
Dirk touched down on the riverbank by the van and Holly climbed off his back, grateful to feel solid ground beneath her feet. The Limpworm howled and thrashed wildly in the water.
“What’s it doing?” asked Holly.
“They’ve chained her to the riverbed,” said Dirk. “She’s trapped.”
“She could have eaten me but she didn’t.”
“Eating meat would have the same effect on her as it would on me.”
“Why? What is she?” she asked.
“A Limpworm. Limbless dragons from an ancient time before dinosaurs,” said Dirk. “She’s called Mandy.”
“Well, Mandy’s attracting a lot of attention,” said Holly.
Lights had come on in the flats and houses all around. People were standing at the windows, staring in horror or gesticulating at the monstrous creature hissing and snarling in the water. The sound of panic filled the air and Holly could hear approaching sirens.
“The police,” she said.
“Racing rats from Rickmansworth!” exclaimed Dirk, slapping himself hard in the face. “That’s it. That’s what the Kinghorns want. We’ve got to save her.”
“Save her?” asked Holly. “From what?”
“Mandy may look scary,” explained Dirk, “but her skin is as thin as paper. Her main defence against attack is her poisonous blood. Look what happened when I bit into her. I was unconscious for three days and I’m a healthy young dragon. But poisonous blood is no defence against bullets.” Dirk picked up the rope that had held him captive and tied one end of it around his waist.
Catnapped! Page 9