Page 58 of Fiendish Delights
I struggled against Hugo. When he refused to let go, I gritted my teeth. ‘If you don’t move away now,’ I hissed, ‘I will not be responsible for my actions.’
‘You can’t attack it!’
‘I’m not going to fucking attack it. I’m going to get Hester.’
Hugo muttered an expletive under his breath but his grip loosened. I dropped the box, behind the massive stone memorial and scrambled to my feet.
The dragon was advancing on the yew tree. I could no longer see Hester but I had to assume that she was still there. I eyed the beast, taking a moment to examine it from snout to tail and to work out how I could get close without being eaten.
I’d heard plenty about dragons and I’d seen tonnes of photos – there’d even been a viral video a few years earlier of a dragon swooping over the skies of Swansea. None of that could have prepared me for the sight of one up close.
It was huge, though not as massive as I’d expected. Its body was oddly compact, the size of a double-decker bus, and suggested phenomenal strength. Even under the cover of night, I could see the muscles rippling beneath its scales. It had folded its wings against its body, but I’d already seen them splayed out in all their glory as the dragon had flown in and I knew to be wary of their size and strength.
Most of the bobbing balls of magical flame that hadhelped Gordon see what he was doing had been extinguished the second the dragon had appeared, but there was still some light from Hugo’s. The fireballs were small but they helped me see enough of the dragon to be terrified.
Its tail was long, with barbed spikes along its length that glittered in the occasional flickers of light. I didn’t need to touch the spikes to know they would be lethally sharp. The dragon’s scales seemed equally sharp, although there was a terrible beauty to their green and purple shimmer. Its snout was vast but it didn’t disguise its cavernous mouth filled with pearly-white teeth. There didn’t appear to be any noticeable gaps, suggesting that this wasn’t the creature that had lost its tooth here many years earlier.
It had two protruding fangs the size of my torso. This must be what it felt like to be a brownie faced with elves, humans, trolls and such-like. Even the dragon’s eyes seemed impossibly massive and they gleamed a watchful golden yellow that was impossible to ignore. In fact, the sheen of its irises reminded me of Zashtum and her bizarre skin colour. There was cold intelligence reflected in those depths – together with a desperate hunger that made me shiver.
I’d faced a giant snake before but I’d never imagined I’d have to face something like this. I’d take a dozen snakes before I took on a dragon.
‘Hester,’ I whispered, urgency colouring my voice. ‘Hester!’
There was no answer. It was possible she’d been knocked unconscious when she was blown against the tree. I side-stepped to the right to get closer so I could search for her but, as soon as I moved, the dragon blinked. Its translucent third eyelid slid across before its slitted pupil swivelled in my direction, and suddenly I was pinned to the spot. It wasn’t Hugo’s body holding me in place this time, it was the fixed gaze of a giantreptile.
I licked my lips. ‘Hi there.’ My voice shook.
The dragon blinked again. It seemed to be assessing me. Did it understand English? I knew dragons possessed language skills, but maybe it only communicated in Welsh. I didn’t think it would be particularly impressed if I chanted the few words I’d recently learned; a dragon probably didn’t need to hear a poem entitled ‘Ode to the Penis’.
A thought occurred to me and I dropped my gaze to check beneath the dragon’s girth. Ah. This one was female. I should avoid the poem.
I pointed at the tree. ‘My friend is over there. She’s very small and very helpless.’
A tiny, furious voice drifted upwards. ‘I amnothelpless!’
I breathed out, relieved that Hester was alright – at least for now. ‘All I want to do is make sure she’s okay, then we’ll get out of your way.’
The dragon huffed, her breath clouding the air, then she pawed the ground. Hmm. Did that mean I could nip forward and grab Hester, or did it mean stay the fuck away? Before I could decide, Hester coughed and flew upwards, heading straight for the tip of the dragon’s snout. My stomach dropped to my feet.
‘You’re amazing!’ Hester squeaked. ‘I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon!’
The creature turned her gaze away from me towards the brownie. She huffed again and blew out another breath. This time it was gentler and Hester managed to stay where she was, although her delicate wings had to flap double speed to manage it.
‘You are beautiful.’ Hester stroked the tip of the dragon’s enormous nose and her nostril twitched. Hester stroked it again, and again it twitched.
My eyes widened. ‘Hester,’ I warned, ‘I wouldn’t?—’
It was too late. Hester reached out for a third time and, as her fingers lightly touched her snout, the dragon sneezed. The combination of dragon snot and the rush of air sent Hester tumbling backwards and into the tree yet again.
Acting instinctively, I jumped forward. ‘Hester!’
The dragon roared and swung towards me, her nostrils flaring in alarm and sending forth a lick of fire.
I sensed movement behind me and the dragon tensed further. ‘No, Hugo!’ I half-yelled. ‘Not now!’
As he reached me, he raised his hands in submission. The dragon’s eyes narrowed and it looked as if she were relaxing a little – but that was the moment that Gordon, concerned about the shouting, raised his head from behind the stone wall that encircled the graveyard.
The dragon reacted instantly and sent a jet of fire towards him. With one swift snapping motion, she unfurled her massive wings. If Hugo hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I’d likely have been smacked in the face and lost several teeth. I could already smell the unmistakable aroma of my singed hair – and I’d not been the target of the dragon’s fire.
