The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon (15 page)

‘The Kinghorns are rising, Dirk,' replied Karnataka. ‘They're waiting for the right time to attack. If we don't stop them it will be war, dragons against humans. The Drakes are tough enough but they haven't got the brains or power to defeat Vainclaw's army. Besides, offer them a big enough bribe and they'll swap sides before you can say liquorice laces.
We need allies, Dirk. We need the Skies on our side. You've heard the stories; they have powers beyond any of us. Firewalls, Dirk.'

Angry smoke poured from Dirk's nostrils. ‘Why involve me?'

‘Because I knew you could find the answer but I also knew if I asked you directly, you wouldn't help me.'

‘You were right about that,' said Dirk.

‘Alba was supposed to meet me at this address as soon as she learnt how to contact a Sky Dragon in exchange for her sister's release. I just got word from Balti that she was here. Where is she, anyway?'

‘She got in a truck and it drove away,' said Archie.

Karnataka looked at the blond-haired boy. ‘Not more of your human pets, Dirk?'

‘This one wasn't my fault,' he replied. He turned to Archie. ‘You mean she was in that truck we saw leave?'

‘Yes, someone called her in and it drove off.'

‘Where's the truck going, Karny?'

‘I don't know anything about a truck. She was supposed to meet me here in exchange for her sister's release.'

‘But if the truck is nothing to do with you …' began Dirk, his words trying to keep up with his
racing thoughts. ‘Who else knows about this place?'

‘No one, just me and the Drake.'

Dirk swung his head to address Archie. ‘What did the truck look like?' he asked.

‘It was sort of reddish-coloured,' he replied.

‘Anything else?'

‘Only the two letters printed on the side.'

‘What two letters?'

‘G and S.'

‘Global Sands,' gasped Holly.

‘Rats on a stick,' exclaimed Dirk.

‘You think Brant Buchanan knows more about dragons?' said Holly.

‘I'm worried that it's looking that way,' said Dirk. ‘Right, Captain Karnataka the Fearless, a Sea Dragon has been kidnapped by humans. It's time for you to live up to that name.'

‘Ah, well … yes, right,' stumbled Karnataka, edging away. ‘These days I have to follow correct Dragnet procedure. I'll alert the nearest duty officer, who will assemble an emergency action committee meeting.'

Dirk spat a mouthful of fire at him. ‘If you don't help me I'll go before the Dragon Council and tell them what I know about those missing Welsh gold reserves.'

Karnataka could tell Dirk wasn't joking. ‘All right,' he sighed. ‘What do you want me to do?'

‘Take the boy with you and search east. We'll look west.'

‘You want me to carry a human? Are you mad?'

‘While I'm chatting to the Council I could also mention this little Sky Dragon scheme of yours. I wonder how they'll view your actions,' added Dirk.

‘But, Dirk … a human,' protested Karnataka.

‘He'll help you identify the truck.'

Karnataka looked warily at Archie. ‘All right, get on,' he said, ‘but no kicking.'

Archie climbed on. ‘Another dragon ride, brilliant!' he said happily.

‘Whoever finds the truck first sends up a fire flare to let the other know where he is.'

‘I'm the Captain of Dragnet,' whinged Karnataka. ‘Do you know how risky carrying a human is for a dragon in my position?'

‘You should have thought about that before you set me up,' said Dirk. ‘Let's get going.'

Both dragons flew to the roof of the shack, Holly on Dirk's back, Archie on Karnataka's.

‘And don't even think about ditching the kid and heading underground,' warned Dirk, ‘It looks as
though one of the most powerful humans on the planet has kidnapped a Sea Dragon. If we fail to rescue Alba you can kiss goodbye to your cushy job as captain and say hello to full-scale war.'

There were a surprisingly large number of reddish-coloured trucks in south-east London that evening. With the warmth of Holly's arms around his neck, Dirk searched the streets, but each time they found a truck that fitted the description, they would get close only to find it wasn't the one they were looking for. They had reached Waterloo, when Holly eventually spotted one with the letters G and S printed in white on the side.

‘That's it,' she said.

Dirk soared over two parallel railway bridges and landed on the oval top of a cylindrical 3D cinema in the middle of a large traffic island.

‘It's heading for the bridge,' he said.

The truck was crawling in traffic towards the river. Dirk jumped over an office block and landed on a rectangular pillar that jutted out of a building on the South Bank of the Thames. Holly recognised it as the National Theatre, having been there with Dad and Big Hair once to see a boring play about a man who spent four hours moaning about his dead father before getting into a fight and dying.

Below them, a crowd of theatre-goers had crammed themselves on to the balcony overlooking the river to enjoy an interval drink on this warm summer's evening. A bell rang twice, which Holly remembered meant two minutes until the second part of the play began.

Dirk took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, tilting his neck vertically. Holly struggled to cling on.

‘What are you doing?' she asked, feeling his stomach swell.

He exhaled and Holly felt the skin around his neck get warm as a ball of fire flew from his mouth, shooting high into the London sky.

‘It's a fire flare,' he said, ‘so Karnataka will know which direction to head in.'

‘Or which way to avoid,' said Holly cynically.

‘Yes, he'll probably see it, dump Archie and head
back to Dragnet HQ,' agreed Dirk.

‘The truck's getting away,' said Holly, seeing that it was already halfway across the bridge.

Dirk looked down. Jumping the river was always the most challenging part of his life in London. It meant a lot of open air, with no roofs to land on and blend into. It was OK late at night but in the low evening light with the babbling theatre crowd with nothing better to do than gaze across the river, it could be risky. Thankfully, the bell rang again, just once this time, and the balcony emptied.

‘Hold tight,' said Dirk, taking half a step back then springing up, flying high over the river. Holly looked over Dirk's shoulder at the murky Thames water below, reflecting the darkening sky.

They landed on a quadrangular building on the north bank of the river, where they could see the truck following the road towards the centre of London.

Dirk ran across the building, vaulting over a line of statues that looked like they spent a lot of time in the company of pigeons. Across the rooftops he kept up with the truck as it drove through London's theatre-land, which bustled with energy and life.

‘Why would they be taking a dragon further into
London?' asked Holly.

‘There are lots of questions that need answering. How would Buchanan know where Alba was meeting Karnataka in the first place?' said Dirk.

The truck went up a one-way road, took a right then turned left towards an underground car park, but stopped suddenly as a black cab that had been trying to overtake on the inside slammed on its brakes and sounded its horn.

Holly looked up to see they were by an ugly skyscraper that towered above its neighbouring buildings. At the top its name was spelt out in capital letters. CENTRE POINT.

The truck driver waved a hand by way of apology and the taxi backed up, allowing the truck to turn.

‘Get ready to blend,' said Dirk, jumping from a church to a grotty-looking pub, then to the top of the truck, where they vanished from sight.

‘Oh no,' murmured Dirk. ‘Height restriction.'

A yellow sign in the entrance stated the maximum height allowed into the car park. There was barely enough room for the truck, let alone the extra passengers on top. Holly rolled off Dirk's back and lay flat as the truck went in and the sign scraped across Dirk's back.

The truck drove down to the lowest level, where it came to a standstill. The car park had dim lights along the walls and concrete pillars that cast great dark shadows. On the far side was a service lift and stairs leading up. Except for the truck, the entire level was empty.

Holly heard the doors open and two people step out. Neither spoke as they slammed the doors shut and walked to the back of the truck, their footsteps echoing around the concrete walls.

The two men's features were shrouded in a dark shadow. They turned the door handles and stepped back, opening the doors, moving into the light so that Holly could see their faces.

‘It's Arthur and Reg,' she gasped.

Arthur held a dusty, wooden-handled pistol, while Reg wielded a rusty old rifle. Holly remembered the war veteran across the road from Mrs Klingerflim. They must have stolen them from him. The weapons certainly looked like they belonged in a museum.

Something was stirring inside the truck. The long head of a dragon appeared beneath them, a thin line of smoke from its nostrils drifting up, making Holly's nose itch. She stifled the sneeze. The dragon stepped into the light.

‘Alba,' Holly heard Dirk breathe.

‘You must do what we say,' said Arthur, pointing the pistol at the Sea Dragon.

Alba glanced back into the van, then looked at Reg and said, ‘I am not wanting any trouble.'

‘No one need get hurt,' said Reg, waving his rifle at her.

‘What's going on?' asked Holly softly into Dirk's ear.

Dirk motioned to stay quiet and they watched the two armed crooks escort the petrified Sea Dragon across the car park into the lift. The lift doors shut.

‘I'm going after them,' said Dirk. ‘You should stay here. This could prove dangerous.'

‘I'm coming with you,' insisted Holly, climbing on to his back.

‘There's no time to argue,' said Dirk.

‘Exactly. Go,' she urged.

Dirk sprang from the roof of the truck and flew across the car park to the lift. He extended two claws, jammed them into the gap between the doors, and strained as he pulled them wide open to reveal the empty shaft. His whole body shook with the effort of holding them open. He pushed himself and Holly inside and they shut again. It was dark inside the shaft and filled with the sound of the lift rapidly ascending.

‘Hold tight,' said Dirk. The shaft wasn't quite wide
enough to spread his wings and fly up, so he half-flew, half-scampered, using the ladder that ran up the side to propel himself faster. Holly held on as tightly as she could, locking her fingers together around his neck. They were gaining on the moving lift but she was being thrown about by Dirk, her legs flailing like a rag doll.

‘Don't lose me,' she yelled desperately.

‘I won't,' shouted Dirk above the squeaks of the lift. He tried to use his tail to secure her to his back, but lost his rhythm and collided with a wall just as Holly's left leg was outstretched. There was a CRUNCH and Holly yelped in pain.

‘Hang on,' said Dirk, flapping one wing, giving him enough of a boost to grab on to the bottom of the lift, which was still hurtling upwards. He spun round, bringing himself face to face with Holly, so he was hanging upside down with her lying on his soft green underbelly.

‘How are you doing, kiddo?' he asked.

Holly tried to smile but the pain she was feeling turned the smile into a grimace. The lift jolted violently as it reached the top of the shaft. Above them they heard footsteps as Alba Longs, Arthur Holt and Reginald Norman walked out.

Dirk jammed his claws into the underside of the lift, cutting straight through the base. He pulled his claw free and punched it until it bent back, making a hole big enough to climb through, then hauled them both inside.

Dirk placed Holly on the floor as gently as possible. Her jeans were stained with sticky red blood. Holly winced in pain as he examined her leg.

‘I'm so sorry,' he said.

‘Will it heal with sleep?' she asked, sucking her teeth.

‘Not this time, Hol,' he replied. ‘The bone's broken.'