The Case of the Stolen Film (18 page)

Dark grey smoke billowed from Dirk's nostrils but he didn't move, having no desire to be on the receiving end of a faceful of Desert Dragon poison.

‘Where is he?' said Dirk.

‘Who's the who you're referring to?' replied Sorrentino.

‘Don't play games with me, Sorrentino,' said Dirk. ‘You know who I mean – Vainclaw. I know those two are Kinghorns. I know Vainclaw's looking for the Turning Stone. I know that it was last seen out here with Minertia and I know that you aren't going to find it.'

‘He seems to know a lot, this one,' said a low voice. ‘Perhaps I should have employed him rather than you, Mr Sorrentino.'

From behind a rock stepped a dragon who at first looked like a moving shadow, but, as he stepped into the moonlight, he revealed his yellow belly.

‘Fairfax Nordstrum,' said Dirk, instantly recognising the yellow-bellied, coal-black Cave Dweller that he had helped escape from the Dragnet cell.

‘Dirk Dilly, the dragon detective. What brings you to the desert this evening?' replied Fairfax.

‘So you're working for Vainclaw too?' said Dirk.

Fairfax smiled then slunk towards Dirk. ‘Come, let's join the others,' he said.

‘One move I don't like and you'll feel my poison, Dilly,' said Sorrentino, remaining behind him as Fairfax led him down the hill to where Kitelsky and Putz had been clamped down by the Kinghorns.

‘Get yourself off of me,' said Kitelsky.

‘Eh, Jegsy, I got spikes in my belly, like,' said Flotsam.

‘They're a prickly pair, ain't they?' said Jegsy, ramming Putz's head against the ground.

‘Mo Sorrentino,' said Kitelsky. ‘You double-crossin', no good …'

‘It's nothing personal,' said Sorrentino. ‘It's just business.'

‘Be careful with our spiky friends,' said Fairfax. ‘I'm sure these fine Desert Dragons will join us once we explain the situation.'

‘What situation?' demanded Dirk.

‘First things first,' replied Fairfax. ‘What makes you so sure we won't find the Turning Stone?'

‘I went to the Inner Core' replied Dirk. ‘I spoke to Minertia. She told me it was safe. I believed her.'

Again, Fairfax laughed. ‘You see, Sorrentino?' he said, prowling around Jegsy and Flotsam, who were
still struggling to hold the Desert Dragons down. ‘Now that's initiative.'

‘I didn't need to ask. I know it's here,' replied Sorrentino sharply. ‘She had it when she arrived but not when she left.'

‘And yet it doesn't seem to be here now. Maybe I should employ Mr Dilly to help me achieve my goal.'

‘I wouldn't take your gold, Nordstrum,' snarled Dirk.

‘What about power? Come and join the One-Worlders and you will be powerful,' said Fairfax.

‘One-Worlders,' said Dirk, remembering what Karnataka had said about the Kinghorn splinter group. ‘So you're Vainclaw's challenger.'

‘Vainclaw Grandin,' sneered Fairfax. ‘That half-winged idiot will soon bow down before me.'

Jegsy looked up from his struggle with Putz. ‘Never,' he said, leaping off the Desert Dragon on to Fairfax's back. ‘Vainclaw is the true leader of the Kinghorns,' he said, sinking his teeth into Fairfax's neck. Fairfax howled and lashed out with his tail, sending Jegsy flying.

‘What are you doing, you idiot?' I am your leader now,' said the Cave Dweller, thick green blood trickling from his neck.

‘I don't think so,' said a thundering baritone voice from behind Dirk.

Dirk spun round to see three shapes come from the darkness. It was Vainclaw Grandin, smoke billowing from his nose, with the two Scavenger brothers, Leon and Mali, standing on either side of him.

‘Eh, it's Mr Detective,' said Leon.

‘So it is. Hey, Jegsy,' said Mali, nodding hello.

Flotsam flew angrily at Jegsy, claws thrashing. ‘You led Vainclaw here, didn't you, you fool?'

‘You wanted to follow the Cave Dweller but I'm a Grandin. Vainclaw is my leader.' Jegsy shot a defensive burst of fire at him and shouted over to the Scavengers, ‘Leon, Mali, lend us a hand, lads.'

‘Come on, ar kid,' said Leon.

‘I'm right with you, bro,' said Mali.

‘Who's the fool now, Flotsam?' said Jegsy.

The Scavenger brothers approached Flotsam but Kitelsky and Putz landed in front of them, rose up on to their hind legs, extended their claws and made their spikes point outwards, threateningly.

‘Calm down, boys,' said Leon. ‘We got no problem with you. We just want to help our mate here.'

‘You come wanderin' into our territory, acting all tough, and you think you can tell us what to do?' said Putz.

‘And I don't know how you do things back home, but out here in the desert we fight dragon to dragon,' said Kitelsky.

‘What do you say, ar kid?' said Leon. ‘Shall we respect the local culture or what?'

‘Yeah, let's snap off their spikes one by one,' replied Mali, lunging at Putz as Leon spun round, sweeping his tail across the ground, knocking Kitelsky off his feet, then diving at him. The Desert Dragons were quick and dodged the flames that the Scavengers sent their way. Behind them Jegsy and Flotsam continued to fight viciously, tearing and scratching each other.

Dirk stepped back to avoid getting drawn into the brawl and felt something spike his tail.

‘I've still got my poison,' said Sorrentino.

‘Aren't you going to help your friends?' said Dirk.

‘I help whoever pays me,' replied Sorrentino.

Also staying out of the fight were Fairfax Nordstrum and Vainclaw Grandin, standing nose to nose, maintaining eye contact. Grey smoke poured
from Vainclaw's nose, mingling in the air with Fairfax's yellow smoke.

‘You remind me of your father,' said Fairfax calmly.

‘I'm stronger than my father,'Vainclaw replied, spitting fire at him.

Fairfax held his ground, simply lowering his head and allowing the flames to lick over his back.

‘Crowley was strong enough,' he replied. ‘Loyalty was the characteristic he lacked.'

‘Why should he have been loyal to you?'

‘Not to me, to the principles we laid out when we formed the Kinghorn Alliance, before you had even broken your eggshell. There were only three of us then – your father, myself and the Sea Dragon, Nessun Crumb. We all had our reasons to hate humanity and we vowed to wipe every human being off this planet. Then Crowley set up his company in the human world, Gronkong Shinard. He had always spent too much time in the company of humans for my liking. The next thing I knew he no longer wanted to destroy mankind. He wanted to enslave it. He didn't understand that humans are too spirited to live as slaves, too rebellious, too troublesome. Their entire history has been one of war –'

‘No, their history has been one of domination,'
interrupted Vainclaw. ‘The strong control the weak. Well, we are strong. And you say they cannot be slaves, and yet they have enslaved one another for centuries.'

‘The only way to restore harmony to the world is to wipe out humanity,' said Fairfax.

‘Killing all humans would be like trying to stamp out every ant or to squash every fly. Impossible,' said Vainclaw.

‘So you really are your father's son,' said Fairfax.

‘My father is dead,' replied Vainclaw. ‘It is I, Vainclaw Grandin, the first up-airer, who will lead all dragons to victory now.'

Fairfax's eyes narrowed. He took a breath then opened his mouth and sent black flames at Vainclaw. Dirk could feel the intense heat even from where he was standing. Vainclaw staggered back, his face blackened by the fire.

‘You dare to steal my title,' snarled Fairfax. ‘You were a mere youngling then. I was the leader of the Kinghorns, the leader of the One-Worlders. I am the true first up-airer. Only Minertia stood in my way.'

‘And yet it was I who got rid of her in the end, after she broke the forbidden divide in this very spot,' said Vainclaw.

‘Hold on,' said Dirk. ‘If you saw Minertia breach the forbidden divide, you would have seen what she did with the Turning Stone.'

Vainclaw kept his eyes focused on Fairfax but he replied to Dirk. ‘I may not have actually seen Minertia breach the forbidden divide but I had it on good authority from one who did. Isn't that right, Sorrentino?'

‘I got nothing to say. I respect client confidentiality,' said Sorrentino.

Dirk turned on the Desert Dragon. ‘And you took the gold that Vainclaw paid you and used it to set up your business,' he said.

‘Everyone's got a right to earn a livin', haven't they?'

‘You lowlife,' said Dirk, diving at Sorrentino, catching him off guard, knocking him over and clamping his jaw shut with his forearm.

‘Get off him. He's working for me now,' said Fairfax, breathing black flames at Dirk, which seemed to rip through his skin and burn his bones. Dirk cried out and released Sorrentino.

‘Now you're going to get it,' said Sorrentino threateningly.

‘What's that behind you?' said Dirk.

‘I've seen too many films to fall for that,' said Sorrentino.

‘Eh, there's someone coming,' said Mali.

The other dragons had stopped fighting. In the darkness, two bright white lights were approaching, sending long spiky shadows from the twisted Joshua trees across the desert landscape.

‘Humans,' said Flotsam.

‘Shouldn't we leg it?' said Jegsy.

‘Kinghorns, hold your ground,' said Vainclaw and Fairfax as one, then snarled at each other.

‘The detective must have led them here,' said Sorrentino.

‘More like you sold the information just like you sold the film,' said Dirk.

‘It's of little consequence,' said Fairfax. ‘We'll kill these humans and then settle our differences.'

‘On that, at least, we are agreed,' replied Vainclaw.

‘In the place where Minertia sealed her own fate we will seal the fate of the world,' said Fairfax. ‘We will destroy these humans as a symbol of our intentions to take back this world for all of dragonkind.'

The car came to a standstill directly in front of them. The engine cut out but the lights remained on. In their dazzling glare it was impossible to make out
the figure who stepped out of the right side door and made its way to the front, standing in front of the beam.

‘Prepare to die, human,' said Vainclaw, skulking forward.

‘Oh, when you get to my age that's one thing you have to be prepared for,' said an elderly lady's voice. ‘My Ivor used to say that being scared of death is like being scared of cheesecake, because there's really no point. Mind you, he was a silly man.'

‘Mrs Klingerflim?' said Dirk.

‘Hello, Mr Dilly,' she said. ‘Don't worry. I'm not here about the rent.'

Dirk stared at his elderly landlady in disbelief. ‘What are you doing here?' he asked.

‘Skull Rock,' she sighed, looking up at the rock behind them. ‘Do you know, I haven't been here since I came with Ivor thirty-odd years ago.'

Dirk remembered the photograph he had seen of Mrs Klingerflim and her late husband in front of the rock.

‘Eh, boss, can we kill her?' said Leon.

‘Yeah, let's rip her head off,' said Mali.

‘What a way to speak in front of a lady,' said Mrs Klingerflim, as the Scavengers approached.

Dirk needed to distract them somehow. Mrs
Klingerflim may not have been scared but he didn't like the idea of watching the sweet old lady being torn apart.

‘But if you were out here dragon-spotting with Ivor, who took the photo?' he asked, skirting around the two Kinghorns, putting himself in a position where, if need be, he could throw himself in front of Mrs Klingerflim.

Mrs Klingerflim smiled warmly. ‘You are clever, Mr Dilly. You've guessed, haven't you?'

‘And that scratch on the lens?' said Dirk.