ESCAPE

Motley began organising them into three groups, each led by a dragonette.

‘Jack, you can go with Fergus, Berry and Raggs. Camelin join Morris, Lester and Podge. Midge, Timmery and the Dorysk can come with me.’

The other rats fell in behind the Night Guard. Before Jack joined his group he pointed the huge key he was holding at the small keyhole on his locket. The key shrank immediately and once the chain was safely round his neck again he followed the rest. The dragonettes swooped down and each collected one of the big crystals to light the way. Snook flew over to the head of Motley’s group, Norris joined Camelin, and Charkle circled in front of Jack.

‘Follow me,’ shouted Snook as he set off at speed down one of the smaller tunnels.

The rats were able to scamper quickly after the little dragonette but it wasn’t long before Jack and Camelin were struggling to keep up. The further behind they got, the darker the tunnel became. Soon it would be pitch black.

‘Any idea why we had to come?’ asked Camelin.

‘To help,’ panted Jack even though he couldn’t see what use they were going to be.

‘You might have brought a crystal with you,’ Camelin grumbled. ‘That would have been helpful.’

Jack lifted his wand and made the tip glow. There wasn’t much light but there was enough to see that the small tunnel was about to branch in three different directions.

‘Oh great!’ said Jack. ‘I’ve no idea which way to go now.’

‘But I do,’ a tiny voice said from above.

Jack looked up and saw Charkle flitting around overhead.

‘Motley sent me back to look for you. I’m supposed to tell you how important it is to keep up with the rest.’

‘It’s easy if you’ve got four legs or the tunnel’s wide enough for you to fly through,’ complained Camelin.

‘It’s not that far, this way.’

They followed Charkle into the middle tunnel and soon Jack could hear lots of scampering feet and Motley giving commands. The tunnel ended in a small cave. Even in the dim light, the contents sparkled and twinkled. The cave was filled with gold, silver and jewels. The pile was so high it almost reached the top of the cave.

‘It’s vast, it’s going to take ages to search through all this,’ groaned Camelin.

‘It’s going to be noisy rummaging around. What if someone hears?’ said Jack.

‘Camelin, keep watch,’ Motley ordered.

‘Do this, do that,’ mumbled Camelin as he shuffled back to the opening.

Jack couldn’t begin to estimate how much the contents of the cave would be worth. He sank knee deep in a pile of silver coins as he tried to make his way over to the middle.

‘What we’re looking for is huge,’ Jack told them as he tried to describe what he’d seen in Nora’s Dragon Lore book. ‘It’s a triangular piece of gold, one that will fit over the tip of Ember’s tail. It shouldn’t be too hard to find something that big.’

They began to try to dig down through the coins but it was impossible to make a space. The mound slid and moved each time they moved an object. Jack could see coins of all shapes and sizes, jewellery, plates, cups and strange objects, but nothing like the size and shape they needed. The rats frantically tried to burrow into the hoard but their tiny paws weren’t big enough to move the heavy objects. It occurred to Jack that he might not be able to lift the tail shield even if they could find it.

‘This is useless,’ panted Fergus, ‘the pile’s too big. It’ll take us weeks to get down to the bottom.’

Jack knew the little rat was right. He’d come to the same conclusion himself. The only place the great tail shields could be was on the bottom. He was about to go and tell Motley they needed Nora’s help when a sudden thought struck him. He’d been faced with an almost impossible task before, when he’d looked inside the key drawer in the herborium. He’d asked for the right key and it had come to the top of the pile. Maybe he could try to do the same again. It was worth a try.

‘Motley,’ he called, ‘I’ve got an idea.’

Jack made his way over to the left-hand side where Motley’s group were busy searching. All the rats looked tired. Jack held up his wand.

‘Can I try something?’

‘Step aside men,’ Motley ordered.

By the time Jack reached the mouth of the cave everyone was behind him.

‘Is it time to go?’ asked Camelin.

‘No not yet,’ replied Jack, ‘I want to try something and if this doesn’t work Timmery will have to go and fetch Nora.’

Jack concentrated hard. He visualised the size and shape of the triangular shields and directed all his energy into the tip of his wand.

‘Where are the tail shields?’ he commanded.

A bright light from the end of his wand lit the chamber and when the light faded the precious hoard began to erupt. Gold coins rose into the air like a fountain. Jack watched in amazement as the pile began to ripple until the tips of gigantic triangular objects appeared. The little dragonettes flew around the cave.

‘Look!’ cried Norris, ‘over here.’

‘And here,’ called Snook.

‘They’re everywhere,’ said Charkle, ‘we just need to find the right one.’

Jack hoped Ember’s was going to be there. He concentrated again but he couldn’t get the tail shields to rise any higher out of the heap.

‘That’s the best I can do,’ he told them.

‘Not to worry, not to worry, said Motley as he leapt into action. ‘One at a time men, one at a time, help to pull them out.’

The rats surrounded the nearest golden object. Some began digging down while the others pulled. Jack went over to help. With a lot of effort they managed to free the triangular piece of gold. Jack stood back to get his breath and looked at the tail shield. It was beautiful. It wasn’t two flat pieces joined together as he’d expected. The side he was looking at had been beautifully worked into a curved shape and engraved with circles. Near the top was a plain solid area but no name was visible.

Charkle swooped down low.

‘Allow me,’ he said as he breathed onto the metal.

Strange writing began to appear but too faint to read and it soon disappeared again.

‘I think you’re all going to have to breathe on it at once,’ called Jack.

The three little dragonettes hovered above the tail shield and blew a strong steady breath over it.

‘Here it comes,’ said Jack excitedly as he watched the strange writing appear. He’d never seen anything like it before. The letters were all capitals, some had more lines than usual but all of them were straight. They looked as if they’d been etched into the gold with a sharp object. Jack wondered if the claw of some dragon had scratched the words on long ago. The words weren’t too hard to decipher, the letters were different from those Jack was used to but not impossible to work out.

‘BRYNOG LONG TAIL THE INVINCIBLE,’ Jack read as the letters became clearer.

‘Try another one,’ ordered Motley.

They pulled the next tail shield free and Jack waited for the dragon’s breath to reveal the name.

‘WYGRYM SHARP CLAW THE FEARLESS, this isn’t it either,’ called Jack, but he remembered the name. It was this dragon’s shed skin that Nora had used to bind her book.

The next shield revealed the name ZACYRY JAGGED TOOTH THE MIGHTY and the next PETRYN LONG BEARD THE BRAVE. Jack began to worry that the one they were looking for no longer existed. It was hard work and there were still lots of tail shields to pull out. He could see the rats were tiring.

‘What’s this one say?’ asked Motley as he nudged Jack.

‘EMBER SILVER HORN THE MAGNIFICENT,’ read Jack. ‘This is it! We’ve found it.’

A great cheer filled the cave. Motley at once took charge and started giving orders. He directed groups of rats to stand along each side of the shield. He waited until everyone was in position.

‘Heave!’ he ordered.

Jack held the tip and lifted with all his might. The tail shield was heavy but between them they managed to get it off the top of the pile. It was easier once they reached the tunnel and had a flat surface to walk on. Norris and Snook flew at the front with the crystal lights while Charkle and the Dorysk flew behind. Timmery flitted around Jack’s head.

‘I can see without the lights, I’ll go on ahead and tell them the good news.’

Jack felt pleased. They’d found the tail shield and everything was going to be alright. The rats were chattering happily together too as they progressed along the tunnel. Jack hadn’t expected Timmery to return.

‘Shhh!’ Timmery cried as loudly as he could. ‘We’ve got to be quiet. The Draygull’s found Pyecroft and the sleeping Spriggans. Nora’s worried we might be discovered. Not a sound and don’t go into the barbecue pit until we know it’s safe.’

In all the excitement they’d not even thought about the noise they’d been making. Jack began to worry. He hoped the Draygull’s hearing wasn’t as good as a dragon’s. If it was they were in trouble.

Jack could see light coming from the great cavern not far ahead. He stopped and signalled for the rats to put the tail shield on the ground and then tiptoed to the entrance of the tunnel. He knew if he stayed in the shadow he wouldn’t be seen. Ember was slumped in the centre of the pit. No smoke came out of her nostrils so Jack presumed she was pretending to be asleep. The rest of the cavern was empty. Jack looked at each tunnel entrance in turn to see if he could locate where Nora and Elan were hiding. Everywhere was quiet. Jack began to feel better. Maybe the Draygull was just cross when he found the sleeping Bogie and Spriggans. He might not be suspicious at all.

An ear-piercing screech came from the tunnel leading to the platform. It filled the cavern and bounced off the rock, the echo lasted long after the screeching stopped. Jack’s heart began pounding. The sound had been terrible. All the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

The silence that followed was broken by the sound of running feet. If the Spriggans swarmed into the cavern and searched the tunnels they’d all be discovered. To Jack’s surprise the footsteps stopped and were replaced by loud shouts. Something must have happened to stop the Spriggans getting any closer. The screeching began again and the sound filled the cavern. This time, when the screeching finally died down, there were no pounding footsteps. Jack thought he knew why. The Spriggans must have discovered that all the tunnels were dark. It was pitch black from the great hall to the platform. It wouldn’t matter to the owl-like man, who could probably see in the dark, but it would be a big problem for the Spriggans.

Jack knew they’d have to make their escape soon. A slight movement from one of the tunnels caught Jack’s attention. He expected to see Nora or Elan step out but instead the strange looking owl man entered the cavern. Jack held his breath as the Draygull sniffed the air. He walked slowly round the cavern, keeping to the rock and carefully avoiding Ember. He sniffed each entrance in turn. When he got to their tunnel Jack’s heart thumped so hard his chest began to hurt. If the Draygull could see in the dark he’d already have been seen. He tried to inch backwards but his legs wouldn’t move. The Draygull lunged forwards and made a grab at Jack.

‘Charge!’ shouted Motley before the Draygull’s hand could close around Jack’s arm.

A mass of furry bodies, with lashing tails and many legs bounded past Jack and hit the Draygull in the chest. He was knocked off his feet and lay winded on the floor. If Jack didn’t do something immediately, the Draygull would start screeching again. The whole hillside would know where to find him. Jack could see he was trying to struggle to his feet. He pointed his wand at the Draygull and repeated the word Nora had used on Pyecroft and the Spriggans.

‘Somnus.’

In an instant the Draygull’s body went limp. A strange whistling sound told Jack he’d been successful as the owl man began to snore.

‘Well,’ said Nora, ‘it looks like we’re too late. We were just coming to help!’

‘I think it’s time to leave,’ said Elan. ‘It won’t be long before the Spriggans find some torches and there are enough of them to search all the tunnels. That was a warning the Draygull sent them, they’ll know by now that something’s wrong and so will Velindur.’

Jack watched as Nora pointed her wand at the Draygull again. He rose from the floor and Nora sent his sleeping body over to the other side of the lake. She lowered it onto the shingle.

‘That should keep him out of our way. When he wakes up he’ll have a problem. Draygulls can’t swim. Now, let’s get out of here.’

Elan signalled to the rats to bring the tail shield in. They stopped in front of Ember and stepped back as she breathed gently over the golden shield. Tears ran down her face when she saw her name appear.

‘To the tail,’ ordered Motley.

The rats leapt into action and scurried back to take their places around the tail shield. They moved as fast as they could towards the tip of Ember’s tail. She carefully brought it round to meet them. Nora signalled to the rats to put the shield down.

‘Once this is in place Ember will be invisible. She’s agreed to transport you all back to Glasruhen. You all know what to do?’

Nora waited until everyone had nodded back before turning to Ember.

‘Are you ready?’

‘Most certainly,’ Ember replied as she began to unfold her wings.

‘If you lead us out of the hillside, the dragonettes will show you the way to Glasruhen Hill and we’ll be with you as soon as we can.’

‘I think it’s time to go,’ said Elan as she nodded towards one of the tunnels where a dim light flickered in the distance.

Jack could hear the high-pitched chittering getting louder and louder as the Spriggans made their way towards the barbecue pit.

‘Climb on men,’ Motley ordered, ‘and hold tight.’

The rats scampered onto the dragon’s tail. Nora, Jack and Elan struggled to lift the tail shield and held it off the ground so Ember could slot the barbed tip inside it. Jack heard a loud click as the tail and shield locked together. Although he could still feel its weight, the shield in his hand was no longer visible. Ember had also disappeared from sight.

Off you go!’ said Nora.

The noise was deafening as Ember flapped her huge wings. The draft they created sent those who were left staggering backwards. As Ember rose, great gusts of air swept them down the nearest tunnel. Jack managed to brace himself against the rock until it stopped.

‘We’d better hurry,’ said Elan.

‘Do you know which way to go?’ Nora asked the dragonettes.

‘Easy,’ replied Charkle, ‘follow me.’

Jack quickly knelt and touched Camelin’s forehead. Nora helped him out of his clothes and stuffed them, along with his trainers, into the sack with the last of the crystals. The only light in the cavern now came from the open sack.

Nora and Elan raised their arms and spiralled downwards. Jack was expecting to see two ravens but they both shape-shifted into owls. One was snowy white and the other a magnificent eagle owl. The white owl, screeched loudly as two Spriggans entered the cavern, the first one carried a rush torch which it dropped on the floor as Elan opened her wings, put her head down and also began screeching loudly.

‘Let’s go,’ Snook shouted to Jack and Camelin.

Once he was airborne, Jack looked down at the cavern floor. It was empty apart from the abandoned torch. Nora and Elan joined them as they flew upwards through a wide natural chimney towards the top of the cavern. The three dragonettes took it in turns to breathe fire to light the way for Jack and Camelin whilst Nora and Elan flew on ahead. Now Jack knew why they’d chosen to be owls, they wouldn’t need any help seeing in the dark.

They didn’t fly out of the top of the cavern, as Jack had expected, instead they turned into an opening in the rock face. Jack could see a glimpse of a light in the distance. He didn’t know how long they’d been inside Silver Hill but it wasn’t yet dark outside. They flew swiftly along the tunnel, no longer needing the dragonettes’ flames to guide them.

‘Make for the standing stones,’ Nora hooted when they were nearly at the entrance.

Jack could see that Elan had the sack safely in her strong talons. As they flew out into daylight Jack heard a rushing sound. He didn’t have time to see what it was. A torrent of water nearly knocked him sideways. He pulled hard on his wings and struggled to fly through the wall of water before it swept him downwards. When he looked back he could see he’d flown through a waterfall, which completely hid the entrance to the dragon’s lair. Camelin emerged coughing and spluttering.

‘Ugh! No one told us about that.’

Jack laughed.

‘At least you won’t need a bath when we get back. It’s washed all the Dragon’s Breath goo off! Come on, we’ve got a long flight ahead of us. I just hope my clothes and trainers dry out before we get back to Glasruhen.