The Hidden Beast (6 page)

His meaning was clear.

If we surface we get cooked.

The wall of flame began to dissipate but then another came and once more the surface exploded with steam. This time the blast from the superheated water began to reach them, and they had to swim deeper to keep from being scalded. But now they were each desperate for a breath. Watch pointed to the side and shook his arm.
Once more his meaning was clear. They had to swim away from the boiling water before they could surface. Cindy shook her head frantically.

She wanted to go up.

Even though it meant she would be burned.

She just wanted to breathe.

But Watch wouldn't let her go up. He knew if they could just get a little ways from the fireball, the water would be a safe temperature. He shook his head firmly and continued to pull on Cindy's arm. But this struggle cost them both energy—and oxygen—and even Watch began to despair of getting to cooler water. His chest was a furnace in itself. He needed to breathe!

A third fire ball did not come.

The red light overhead began to diminish.

Suddenly they encountered cool water.

Cindy jerked to go up.

Watch jerked her back down. He flashed five fingers at her.

Let's move over five more feet.

He knew it could mean the difference between having the skin melted from their limbs and coming up in nice cool water. But he practically had to drag Cindy with him. But then, finally,
they did surface, in warm water. As they gasped for air—and it had never felt so good to breathe—he put his hand half over her mouth.

“Breathe quietly,” he whispered. “She's still close.”

Cindy nodded as she tread water. Nearby the clouds of steam continued to glow a gruesome red, but the light was fading fast. If they could elude the beast a few more seconds, they might fool it into thinking they had perished.

But for all they knew the creature could see in the dark.

“Do you know where she is?” Cindy whispered when she had caught her breath.

Watch gestured back the way they had come. “Over there. She seems to be moving away.”

“She's growling.”

“She's mad,” Watch said. “Her home has been broken into and her things disturbed.”

Cindy pointed to the steps that ran through the center of the pool.

“Maybe we should make a run for the tunnel,” she suggested.

“We'll take your earlier suggestion. We'll try walking there quietly.”

While the beast lumbered about in the vast cavern, growling to itself, they climbed onto the path. They were drenched but far from cold because the water was now hotter than most Jacuzzis. In all the excitement, Watch had managed to hold on to the flashlight. But he couldn't turn it on to see if it was still working.

“We just have to follow the stone path,” he said. “We can do without light for a few minutes.”

Cindy clutched his arm. “Thank you for saving our lives. I would never have thought of jumping in the pool.”

“I haven't saved anyone yet,” Watch said.

They moved toward the tunnel at what they thought was a cautious and quiet pace. Yet once more they realized the beast had become aware of them and had begun to rush their way. But it had taken too long for her to realize they were still alive, so they were able to run far into the tunnel before the monster could unleash another fireball. In fact, she didn't even bother to try to kill them this time, when she saw how far into the tunnel they had climbed. She just smashed her
massive face against the tunnel opening and then turned away in disgust.

It was then that Watch did something quite remarkable. Insane, Cindy thought at the time. Watch stopped running up the steps and turned to speak to the monster.

“Hello!” he called back down the steps. “We didn't take your crystals.”

The beast stopped. A huge shadow of a face appeared at the end of the tunnel. Once more, they could see only few details: a large scaly snout, dripping gold teeth, sharp purple ears. It was only the faint red light cast by her smoldering nostrils that allowed them to see anything. Yet the creature's eyes seemed to shine with their own light. They were as green and clear as the fairest emerald, and as massive as the largest TV screen. Overall the creature was larger than the biggest dinosaurs they had fought.

“Do you know what it is?” Watch whispered to Cindy.

“No. I don't have my encyclopedia of monsters with me. Why did you talk to it?”

“It's a dragon.”

“No. There are no dragons.”

“I am beginning to believe there is just about everything. This is definitely a dragon. And I called out to her because I wanted her to know we didn't steal her crystals. I want to talk to her.”

“Dragons can talk?” Cindy asked.

“They're supposed to be able to. They're supposed to be very smart. But you have to be careful when you speak to them, the old books say. They can hypnotize you.”

“I'll let you do all the talking,” Cindy said.

“Fine.” Watch raised his head. Once more he shouted down to the dragon. “Do you understand English?”

There was a long pause, so long it seemed the creature could not possibly have understood him. But then she replied and her voice was as wonderful and as terrifying as her physical form. Her tone was as deep as a well and as powerful as thunder. Yet there was a gentleness to it, too, a subtlety that perhaps could hypnotize. Watch and Cindy listened as if struck.

“Yes, I understand your tongue,” she said. “Long before you were born I lived across the sea, where they also spoke English. That was in a
green land filled with green hills and many lovely trees. But your accent is yet strange to me. What do you call yourselves?”

“My name is Watch and this is my friend, Cindy. What's your name?”

“I was called Harome by the Englishmen, a name that sounded like both my large size and fiery temper. But I never liked that name, and I prefer you call me Slatron, which is the name I was given at birth, many of your centuries ago.”

“Hi, Slatron,” Cindy said, despite her vow to remain silent.

Watch spoke carefully. “We just wanted you to know that we're sorry that we woke you up, and that we didn't steal your crystals.”

“Do you know who did steal them?” the dragon asked in a soft voice.

“Leah,” Cindy blurted out.

“Shh,” Watch whispered. “Be careful.”

But Slatron was interested. “Who is this Leah?”

“Well,” Watch said, also finding the dragon's mysterious voice hard to resist, but at least he was aware of the fact. “She's this girl we know. She's the one who led us here.”

“Where is she now?” Slatron asked casually.

“She's heading back to town,” Cindy said.

“I told you not to speak,” Watch hissed at her.

Cindy fidgeted. “I don't want to lie to it.”

“You don't need to lie to me,” Slatron said in her soothing voice. “Just tell me what I need to know, and then there will be no danger for you. Where is this town you speak of?”

“It's not far from here,” Watch said vaguely.

“What is it called?”

“Spooksville,” Watch said. “At least that's what all of us kids call it. Its real name is Springville. But like I was saying, the town is not important. Getting your crystals back is all that matters, and we can help you do that.”

“How can you help me?”

“If you would just open the door at the end of the tunnel,” Watch said, “we could go out and find our friends.”

“Your friends?” Slatron asked. “You have more than one friend? More than this Leah?”

“Leah is not our friend,” Cindy blurted out.

“Yet she led you here you say,” Slatron replied slowly. “Led you here to this place of great
wealth. Are you sure you and your friends are not working with this Leah?”

“We are sure,” Watch said with great difficulty. It was as if the dragon's voice were speaking from deep inside his brain, and he couldn't disagree with what she said, or withhold information from her. Yet he knew it could be dangerous to point the dragon toward Spooksville, or toward his other friends. Clearly the dragon could cause massive destruction with little effort.

“If you want to leave here,” Slatron said, “I can show you another way out. All you have to do is walk down here.”

“OK,” Cindy said, taking a step forward. Watch grabbed her arm.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

“I want to get out of here,” she said. “The dragon knows another way out.”

“But if you go down there the dragon might kill you.”

Cindy seemed puzzled. “It seems friendly enough.”

“You can trust me,” Slatron said, obviously overhearing them. “My word is as good as gold.
Come down here so I can show you the way out. Then we can talk about Leah and your other friends.”

Watch continued to hold on to Cindy. “No,” he said.

Slatron paused. “Why do you say no?”

Watch swallowed. He had to strain to do what he wanted, and not what the dragon wanted.

“We don't want to come down there because we fear you might harm us,” Watch explained. “But that doesn't mean we don't want to help you.”

“We can only help each other if we trust each other,” Slatron said. “Come down here now and I will help you in every way I can.”

“No,” Watch repeated.

“Watch,” Cindy said, trying to pull away. “We should do what she says.”

He had to pull her back up a step. “No. We can talk to her from up here. We're safe up here.”

“But how long can you remain there?” Slatron asked. “Soon you will need food and water. I have both down here, plenty for both of you. Come to me and you can relax and eat and we can talk of the crystals your friends took from me.”

“We told you,” Watch said. “Leah took the crystals. She's not our friend.”

“But you haven't told me exactly where this Leah is,” the dragon replied, sharpening her tone. “I need to know. I need to speak to her.”

“We don't know exactly where she is,” Watch said. “But we have offered to look for her for you. If you'll just let us go.”

“But if I let you go,” Slatron said, “how do I know you will return with my treasure?”

“We promise,” Cindy said.

“What if I go with you?” Slatron asked. “I haven't left here in a long time—a very long time. I would like to visit this Spooksville of yours. I would like to meet the people there.”

“I don't think they'd want to meet you,” Watch muttered.

“I heard that,” Slatron said, sounding slightly annoyed. “Now you begin to insult me, besides lie to me. I have offered to help you, and you have refused my help. I think perhaps you should remain here until I return with my crystals.” The dragon paused and somehow wiggled one of her huge green eyes farther up the tunnel. It was literally impossible not to stare at it, to sink deep
into its liquid green. Both Watch and Cindy felt pulled by its mysterious gaze into a void where they lost their own wills. Slatron added in a gentle voice, “I only need from you the direction your friends have gone.”

Watch drew in a deep breath. “We can't tell you that.”

“Why can't you tell me?” the dragon demanded quietly. “You must tell me.
Now.”

“They went toward the o . . .” Cindy began, before Watch could clamp his hand over her mouth.

“We don't know where they went,” Watch said quickly.

But the dragon was already chuckling. “They went toward the ocean? Is that the direction of this Spooksville? It would seem so, would it not, Cindy? Very good, I will go that way. But if you think you can escape while I am gone, think again. It will take you a long and hard search to find the other exit, and I will be back long before then, with your thieving friends. I must tell you it has been a long time since I enjoyed human meat, but enjoy it today I will!”

Watch started to protest, but the dragon had
already made up her mind. To emphasize the fact, Slatron blasted a stream of fire in their direction. Like a river of rushing lava, the red mass flew up the stone steps and rebounded off the hard walls. Even though the flames did not touch them, the heat from the blast forced them back and let them know that they were prisoners of an old and deadly foe.

“That creature could devastate an entire town in a few minutes,” Watch whispered as the flames died down. Cindy cringed by his side.

“But I told it Leah was the thief,” she said.

“I don't think Slatron cares.” Watch sighed. “We told the dragon too much.”

A
dam, Sally, and Bryce were less than halfway to the truck—or where they hoped the truck was still parked—when Slatron attacked them. One minute they were hurrying along worried about their friends trapped back in the cave, and the next they had a fire-breathing lizard descending on them from above. Sally saw the dragon first and pointed at her in horror.

“What the heck is that?” she screamed.

“Looks like a dragon,” Bryce said.

“Looks like the ancient female pet we woke up,” Adam said.

Sally grabbed Adam's arm. “It looks like she's mad! Let's get out of here!”

They were lucky there was a series of caves nearby. They had their pick so naturally they chose the nearest one. They were barely into the shelter when a massive ribbon of flame poured across the cave opening. No fire touched them but the heat from the blast was painful. Particularly when the dragon made pass after pass through the air. The cave was not deep, so even when they huddled in the rear of it the superheated air was unbearable.

“Why doesn't she ask us what she wants?” Sally complained as the sweat ran down her face. The guys were in as bad shape. They knew they couldn't stay in the cave forever.

“She wants her crystals back,” Adam said. “Isn't that obvious?”