Werewolf versus Dragon (9 page)

A STRONG, SHARP PAIN BURST IN THE BACK OF
Ulf's neck. He drew his knees up under him, trying not to let go of the Roc's feathers.

He could feel his backbone bending and his chest cracking. In the moonlight, his skeleton was realigning. His skin stretched. He could feel his muscles tightening and growing, ripping his T-shirt and tearing his jeans.

He gripped tightly. The hair on the back of his hands started spreading. His nails lengthened, turning into claws. His tail was emerging and thick dark hair was growing over his whole body.

Fangs split through his gums, pushing his lips open. He felt his tongue lengthening, dripping with saliva. His lower jaw thrust forward and his whole face twisted into that of a wolf.

Ulf looked up at the full moon. He threw his head back and howled.

With wolf eyes he could see further. He could hear every sound. Smells were filling his nostrils.

In the distance, the landscape darkened. He could see a vast blanket of trees.

“That's Furnace Woods,” Tiana said.

As the Roc thundered onward, Ulf sniffed the air. He could smell the scent of humans. He glanced down as the Roc shot over the tops of tall pine trees. They flashed below in a blur.

Up ahead, Ulf saw a circle of bright lights. His ears pricked up. He could hear humans cheering.

A man was speaking through a megaphone. “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Ring of Horrors!”

In the shadows, Ulf could make out a crowd of humans.

They were gathered beside a huge round pit dug into the ground. They were waving money and shaking their fists.

On either side of the pit, the tall arms of two cranes were poking from the treetops. As the Roc swooped lower, Ulf looked down.

He saw Dr. Fielding, gagged and tied to a post. Next to her, standing on a mound of earth, was a man dressed in a fur coat. His face was twisted and rotten.

Tiana gasped. “Who's that?” she asked.

Ulf bared his fangs and snarled: “That's Marackai!”

Baron Marackai waved, then held a megaphone to his lips. “I, Baron Marackai, welcome you to an historic night.”

The crowd cheered.

The Roc swooped lower, circling.

“I would like to thank our special guest, Dr.
Helen Fielding, for helping me gather you all together.”

Ulf saw Franco Ravioli the chef, Lucretia Da Silva the boutique manager, and Billy Buck the factory owner. Baron Marackai had invited all the criminals from Dr. Fielding's files!

“For too long, the RSPCB has meddled in our world,” Baron Marackai said. “Now it's their turn to suffer. The RSPCB is over! The beasts shall soon be ours!”

The Baron removed his gloves and raised his right hand. “Death to the RSPCB!”

All the humans in the crowd folded down their little fingers and held up their right hands.

“Death to the RSPCB!” they cheered. They began chanting: “Ba-ron, Ba-ron, Ba-ron, Ba-ron.”

“And so to the main event,” Baron Marackai said. “For your entertainment I give you a fight between two heavyweights. The first, a fire breather!”

From out of the trees a crane trundled to the
edge of the pit. Swinging from the crane's arm on a steel wire was a huge metal cage draped in a tarpaulin. It was rocking and clattering.

A big man with a thick beard and long greasy hair stepped out of the crane's cabin and climbed down a ladder into the pit. Hanging from the bars of the cage was a chain. The big man attached the chain to a metal ring at the bottom of the pit and climbed back out.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Baron announced. “I give you Aziza, the firebelly dragon!” The doors of the cage burst open, and Aziza the dragon tumbled out screeching into the Ring of Horrors.

The dragon stood in the pit beating her wings. She tried to take off but she couldn't. She was tied to the ground, the chain attached to a metal collar on her neck. Her back legs were tied together with another chain so she couldn't run.

The dragon roared, and a jet of flames shot out of the pit.

“Facing Aziza, we have a beast with the strength of a hundred men.”

The crowd parted as a second crane trundled to the edge of the pit.

“Here for the first and possibly last time, our challenger—the RSPCB's very own giant!”

Hanging upside down from the crane's steel wire was Orson. The crane jerked, and the wire slackened.

Orson fell crashing into the pit.

FROM THE BACK OF THE ROC, ULF COULD SEE
Orson standing in the Ring of Horrors. The giant's clothes were torn and dirty. His face was covered in mud. His feet were tied with chains.

The crowd booed and hissed.

Aziza the dragon lurched forward, roaring at the giant.

“Fight!” Baron Marackai shouted.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” the crowd chanted.

“We have to save Orson!” Ulf growled, looking down. “How do you land this beast?”

Tiana whispered into the Roc's ear, then leaped off.

“Tiana!” Ulf roared. “Wait for me!”

Tiana flew down toward the pit as the Roc carried Ulf away.

 

At the bottom of the pit, Orson faced the dragon.

“Whoa there,” he said, holding his hands out. “There's a good dragon. Easy girl.”

The dragon clawed the ground. Steam was pouring from her nostrils. She looked up and let out a series of short, high-pitched screeches, calling for her baby.

“Your baby's gone,” Orson said to her. “It's dead.”

Baron Marackai reached into the pit with a long, sharp pole and jabbed the dragon in the eye. Aziza the dragon roared, baring teeth as sharp as knives. She thrashed her tail, snapping the pole into pieces.

As her tail whipped around, Orson tried to jump out of the way. The chains around his ankles tightened, and he stumbled and fell.

The dragon saw him and beat her wings. A jet of fire erupted from her mouth.

Orson crouched in the dirt, burying his head in his arms. The dragon's fire engulfed him. The crowd cheered.

“Stop it!” Tiana yelled. Her tiny voice was drowned out by the cheering. She flew into the pit, and the dragon spewed another jet of fire, forcing her back.

Orson rolled out of the way, crashing against the dirt wall. He jumped up and threw himself at the dragon, wrapping his arms around her neck. Aziza was raging, shaking her head, trying to bite Orson. The giant pressed his shoulder into her side, holding on with his massive arms. Aziza's legs started to buckle. Orson heaved, trying to pull her to the ground.

Just then, the dragon's tail whipped around, smashing against Orson's head.

Orson clung on. “I'm not going to hurt you,” he said, trying to calm her.

The Baron reached in with a pole, jabbing Orson in the neck. “Ow!” Orson said, letting go.

The dragon lashed with her tail. It smashed Orson's jaw, knocking him backward. He tripped on his chains, crashing to the floor of the pit. The back of his head hit the metal ring poking from the ground.

Orson lay still. His eyes were closed.

“Orson!” Tiana cried.

The dragon stood over him, red-hot spit dripping from her mouth.

“Kill!” Baron Marackai shouted.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!” the crowd chanted.

Just then a long, loud howl sounded from the woods. It echoed around the clearing.

The chanting stopped.

The crowd gasped as a werewolf leaped from the trees and jumped into the Ring of Horrors.

“
WEREWOLF!” BARON MARACKAI HISSED
.

Ulf crouched between Orson and the dragon, baring his fangs. He could smell blood, sweat, and fire.

“You're going to die, werewolf!” Baron Marackai shouted. He held up his megaphone. “Ladies and gentlemen. This beast wants to die!”

The crowd cheered.

“For your pleasure and delight, I give you werewolf versus dragon!”

Ulf looked up and saw humans cheering, waving their fists.

“Werewolf versus dragon. Werewolf versus dragon. Werewolf versus dragon,” they chanted.

Ulf saw Dr. Fielding desperately trying to free herself from the ropes.

Ulf faced the dragon.

He could smell her fiery breath. He looked into the dragon's eyes. Inside they were burning and swirling with rage.

Aziza screeched, smoke pouring from her nostrils. Then she lunged, her mouth wide open, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Ulf jumped backward.

The dragon lunged again, and Ulf leaped up the side of the pit.

He dug his claws into the earth and ran around the pit wall, dragon fire licking at his heels, singeing his fur.

Aziza twisted and turned.

Ulf leaped off the wall onto the dragon's tail. He scrambled up her hard scaly back and clung
on, hooking his claws into the metal collar around the dragon's neck. It was wet with blood.

The dragon tried to turn and bite Ulf. She was roaring, throwing her head one way, then the other.

Baron Marackai threw a rock, and it hit Ulf on the shoulder. Ulf's grip loosened, and he fell crashing to the floor of the pit.

The dragon came for him with her claws outstretched. The crowd cheered, shouting for more: “Kill him! Kill him! Kill the werewolf!”

Ulf rolled to the side as the dragon's claws raked the ground, gouging out clumps of earth and stones.

The dragon lunged, her jaws wide open. Ulf threw himself out of the way just in time to see the dragon's teeth slam into the ground.

Ulf sprang to his feet. He ran underneath the dragon's belly, diving at the chain between her legs.

He bit straight through the metal.

The chain snapped and the dragon's foot stamped down, just missing Ulf's head.

“The werewolf's crazy!” someone shouted from the crowd.

Ulf bounded from underneath the dragon's belly, and the dragon twisted around, trying to tear him to pieces.

Her tail was lashing. Ulf leaped onto it, hooking his claws into the scales, clinging on for his life. He clawed his way onto the dragon's back and desperately held on as the dragon started bucking, trying to throw him off.

Ulf pulled himself along the dragon's neck and Baron Marackai hurled another rock. “Die, werewolf!”

The rock missed and struck Aziza in the eye. She looked up.

Ulf growled: “It was him. He killed your baby.”

Ulf bit through the chain on her metal collar. The chain snapped. Aziza the dragon shook her neck, and the chain fell to the ground. “You're free,” Ulf growled.

“You fool!” the Baron shouted. “You stupid werewolf!”

Ulf dropped down off Aziza's back and stood on all fours, panting. He looked up to see the dragon opening her mouth. He braced himself for more flames.

Instead, he felt Aziza's hot breath warm his fur. She was panting too. She turned her head and looked up at the Baron on the edge of the pit.

Aziza roared. Ulf howled. The crowd began screaming. Ulf could smell their fear.

The dragon beat her wings, and Ulf gripped on to her tail as she rose out of the pit. He jumped off, landing on all fours in front of the humans.

The dragon took off into the air, and the crowd began running, fleeing the clearing. Aziza swooped after them, scorching the ground with her fire.

The humans ran away as fast as they could into the woods.

The small man in the ragged suit and the big man
with the thick beard leaped into the cranes. They drove off through the trees.

As they fled, the Baron was shouting, “Cowards! Come back, Blud! Come back, Bone!”

Baron Marackai threw down his megaphone and picked up a rifle. He took aim and fired at the dragon. The bullet shot across the clearing and ricocheted off the dragon's hard scales. Ulf watched as Aziza hovered in the air beating her wings, screeching at the Baron.

Baron Marackai took aim, shooting again and again.

Aziza blasted a jet of fire.

“Not my face!” the Baron screamed. He tried to shield his face as the flames engulfed him. His fur coat was burning. He furiously patted the flames, trying to put them out. Smoke was rising off him.

Ulf saw Aziza soaring away into the night sky. He looked back at the Baron's sooty face. It was clenched with anger.

“You horrible, useless, little piece of fur,” the Baron spat. He loaded a shiny bullet into his rifle and pointed it at Ulf. “You can be the first to die.”

Ulf snarled.

“Leave him alone!” a shrill voice shouted. It was Tiana. She flew between Ulf and the Baron.

“Don't worry, fairy, you're next,” Baron Marackai said. He cocked the trigger. “Say bye-bye, werewolf. The RSPCB won't save you now.”

He was about to pull the trigger when a shadow loomed overhead.

He looked up. “Noooo!” he cried.

It was the dragon. A set of huge claws reached down from the sky, plucking the Baron from the ground. As the claws grabbed him, he dropped the rifle.

“Get off me!” Baron Marackai shouted. “Get off me!”

Ulf watched as Aziza beat her wings and rose into the air with Baron Marackai dangling beneath her. He was kicking his legs.

Aziza the dragon was lifting the Baron high above the treetops into the sky. She screeched, carrying him off into the night.

“I'll be back!” Baron Marackai shouted. “You'll see!”

Ulf ran to Dr. Fielding and bit through the ropes around her arms and legs, releasing her.

She tore the gag from her mouth. “Ulf, are you okay?”

Ulf smiled with his fangs.

Then he heard a groan from the bottom of the pit and looked down. It was Orson. “Where's the dragon?” the giant asked. He was sitting up, rubbing his head.

“It's over, Orson,” Dr. Fielding called down to him.

Ulf looked up and howled at the moon.