The Case of the Vanished Sea Dragon Read online

  Holly looked at his grubby fingernails. No one had ever asked to be her friend. The only real friend she had was Dirk. She had spent too long hating Archie to trust him, but weighing up the options she could see that it would be easier to pretend to be friends than keep him as an enemy. Besides, she liked the idea of humiliating him in front of all his friends.

  ‘Any name I want and you’ll agree?’ she said.

  ‘Yep,’ replied Archie.

  They shook on it then Archie rummaged in his coat pocket and pulled out a couple of jelly beans. ‘Let’s seal the deal with a jelly bean,’ he said, offering one to Holly.

  ‘Have they just been loose in your pocket?’ she asked.

  ‘Yep,’ smiled Archie.

  ‘No way,’ she replied.

  ‘Suit yourself.’ He threw them both into his mouth. ‘So you’re going to tell me how you turn invisible?’ he asked.

  Dirk had once told her that the art of telling a good lie was to tell as much of the truth as possible and change only one or two key details.

  Holly said, ‘It’s called blending and it’s easy, you just have to stay very still and think like whatever it is you’re trying to blend with.’

  She left out the small detail of swallowing the blood of a Mountain Dragon first.

  Alba was still pulling against the chain but Dirk had decided it was better to conserve his energy.

  ‘Where are we taking them, Pappy?’ asked Junior.

  ‘When you is in the lithosphere tunnel, you ain’t never too far from a lock-up,’ replied Pappy.

  The Drake stopped in front of a metallic door, lifted up his droopy nose, and pulled out from underneath it a large key made from the same black metal as the door. He slipped it into the keyhole.

  ‘Watch your old pappy demonstrate how to get an unwilling prisoner like this Sea Dragon into a lock-up. I call this move, the swing’em, smash’em ’n’ slam’em.’

  He entered the cell, then, using the door as leverage, he pulled on the chain and swung Alba inside. She screamed. The Drake stamped on the chain, bringing her head smashing to the ground. While she was recovering, and with surprising agility, he undid the cuff, dived through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

  ‘I want to be getting out,’ cried Alba through the small barred window in the door.

  ‘Now your turn, son,’ said Pappy.

  Before Dirk could say he would go willingly, he felt the sharp edge of the metal cuff dig into his neck as Junior copied his dad, swinging him into the cell, smashing his head against the ground and slamming the door shut behind him. Dirk rubbed his sore neck.

  ‘Good boy,’ Pappy congratulated Junior, locking the door and handing him the key. ‘You stay here and guard the convicts while I go and alert the Petty Patrol Officer.’

  ‘What will he do, Pappy?’

  ‘He’ll inform the Chief Area Patrol Officer, who will tell the local magistrate, who will bring up the matter with the Dragnet Regional Manager at the next bi-millennial meeting. The Regional Manager reports directly to Captain Karnataka.’

  ‘Couldn’t you just tell Captain Karnataka yourself?’ interjected Dirk. ‘I’m an old friend of his.’

  Pappy turned to look at him. ‘This is Dragnet procedure,’ he sighed. ‘Tell them why we have procedure, Junior.’

  ‘Because procedure is all that stands between Dragnet order and dragon chaos,’ replied his son.

  ‘Very good. Now, I won’t be too long. You keep this door shut tight.’

  ‘Yes, Pappy.’

  ‘Remember, dragons can be tricksy. No matter what they say to you, do not open this door.’

  ‘Yes, Pappy.’

  ‘That’s my boy.’

  Pappy waddled down the corridor.

  ‘What are we to do now?’ asked Alba.

  ‘There’s not much we can do,’ replied Dirk. ‘Black metal was used to build these cells. It runs through the rock. The only way out is through that locked door. And the thing about that locked door is that it’s locked.’

  ‘But you said Captain Karnataka was your friend. He will let us out.’

  ‘You heard them. It could be months before news gets to Karny.’

  ‘Years,’ said a low voice, which made them both jump. It came from the back of the cell. ‘I’ve been here for six hundred and twenty-two years, four months and three days and my case hasn’t even got as far as the magistrate yet.’

  Dirk turned around to see two eyes set in a black head. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded.

  ‘I’ll exchange my name for yours,’ said the dragon, standing to reveal a yellow underbelly.

  ‘The name’s Dirk Dilly. This is Alba Longs. And if I’m not mistaken, you’re a yellow-bellied, coal-black Cave Dweller,’ said Dirk.

  The dragon nodded. ‘They call me Fairfax Nordstrum,’ he said. ‘Well, they used to call me that when anyone called me anything.’ He spoke slowly, as though carefully considering every word before speaking it. ‘I’ve counted the days of my imprisonment on the wall.’

  Dirk saw that the cell wall was covered in small lines scratched into the rock.

  ‘What did they put you in for?’ he asked.

  ‘That’s the funny thing, I can’t actually remember. When my trial comes up I won’t know whether to plead guilty or innocent.’ He smiled wryly. Yellow smoke drifted from his nose. ‘And what brings you to my little home?’

  ‘Mr Dilly is a detective,’ Alba started. ‘He is helping me to finding my sister. But in the cave where she is living Mr Dilly found an outline of ash and this means that a Sky Dragon materialised there and I always thought Sky Dragons were just stories but then we met two Drakes and they threw us in this cell and now we are being on the wrong side of a locked door and we still haven’t found my sister. Ow!’

  Dirk slapped Alba in the face with his tail. ‘You talk too much,’ he said.

  ‘I can help you find your sister,’ said Fairfax.

  ‘You can?’ Alba started. ‘How? Do you know her? Have you seen her?’

  ‘No, but I know where Sky Dragons go after materialising.’

  ‘Where?’ asked Dirk.

  ‘I’ll tell you if you help me,’ he replied.

  ‘Help you do what?’

  ‘Get out,’ spoke Fairfax. ‘Get me out of this cell and I will tell you where you can find this Sky Dragon.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Junior was feeling mighty pleased with himself. When he graduated from the Dragnet Cadet Academy his teacher, Sergeant Golub, had described him as the worst pupil that the DCA had ever passed. He said Junior had come closer than any other student in the whole of Dragnet history to failing the painfully easy exams. He said Junior would make the worst officer the Dragnet had ever seen.

  Well, Junior had proved him wrong. He had assisted his pappy in capturing two traitors and now he had the very important job of guarding the cell until Pappy got back. He puffed his chest out and imagined the look on Sergeant Golub’s face when he told him.

  Junior’s thoughts were disturbed by a voice.

  ‘But if we cannot be getting out we will not be able to attend the meeting of secrets.’ It was the Sea Dragon inside the cell.

  ‘You mean the secret meeting,’ said the Mountain Dragon, ‘when all the Kinghorns in the world will be meeting in one place?’

  ‘That is what I am meaning, yes, the secret Kinghorn meeting.’

  ‘Will you keep your voice down about the secret Kinghorn meeting?’ hushed the other.

  ‘What does it matter? We are stuck in this cell.’

  ‘Someone might overhear.’ The Mountain Dragon lowered his voice, but Junior put his ear to the door, so he could still hear. ‘If that Dragnet officer out there overheard and if he was smart he would cook up a devious plan.’

  What sort of plan? thought Junior.

  ‘What sort of plan?’ asked the Sea Dragon.

  ‘He could unlock the door, wait for us to escape, then follow us to the secret location.’

  Ju
nior listened intently.

  ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘Because then he could bring more officers there and arrest every single Kinghorn in one go,’ said the male voice.

  ‘Wow, that would be bad for us, but good for him. They would probably be giving him a medal,’ said the female voice.

  ‘They’d cover him in medals. So you’d better keep your voice down about the you know what.’

  ‘You mean, the secret meeting of all the Kinghorns?’

  ‘Exactly.’

  Junior’s mind was working overtime. This was big. Really big. Sergeant Golub would look pretty dumb when Junior was given a medal.

  Pappy had told him to keep the door locked no matter what the traitors said to him, but they hadn’t said anything to him. What they had said, he had overheard, and how could they trick him if they didn’t know he was listening?

  He lifted his nose and pulled out a key. He remembered how Sergeant Golub had said that he had no initiative. He would show him. He unlocked the door and crept back into the shadows.

  It didn’t take long for the door to open and the Mountain Dragon’s head to appear.

  ‘The door’s open,’ he said. ‘Come on, the coast is clear.’

  Junior held his paw to his mouth to stop himself from chuckling.

  The door opened wider and the two dragons stepped out.

  ‘Does this mean we can go to the secret meeting after all?’ asked the Sea Dragon.

  ‘Be quiet about the secret meeting,’ scolded the Mountain Dragon. ‘You never know who might be listening. Come on. Let’s go.’

  Junior removed the chain and cuff so that he could follow them without clinking. He was feeling extremely pleased with himself. On his end-of-term report, Sergeant Golub described him as ‘stupider than an exceptionally, stupid small-brained sizzle lizard’. He would have to eat those words when Junior had caught all the Kinghorns.

  The feeling of immense pride that was growing in his large belly suddenly vanished with a sharp pain that appeared in his head. A great force hit his back. He fell forward, landing on his face, pinned to the ground.

  He saw the Mountain Dragon and Sea Dragon turn around.

  ‘I order you to release me. I am an officer of Dragnet,’ he protested.

  He couldn’t see the third dragon that had jumped on him from behind but he could feel its weight on his back and its claws dig into him.

  ‘This is for all those years in that cell,’ it whispered.

  ‘Don’t hurt him,’ said the Mountain Dragon. ‘Just bring him back to the cell.’

  The first rule of being a Dragnet officer, Sergeant Golub had always said, was never lose your chain and cuff. Dragons were naturally stronger, faster and better equipped than Drakes, but the standard-issue black metal Dragnet chain and cuff enabled a Drake to control even the biggest, toughest dragon. He felt himself dragged to his feet and hauled backwards.

  Junior assessed the situation. He was unarmed, outnumbered and outwitted. He struggled helplessly as the Mountain Dragon attached the cuff around his neck before swinging, smashing and slamming him into the cell. The situation was bad.

  ‘You’re being awful silly. Locking a Dragnet officer in a cell is against the law, you no good traitors,’ he said, through the grate in the door.

  ‘I’ll leave you the key, then,’ replied the Mountain Dragon, dropping it within sight, but out of reach. ‘And don’t call me silly,’ he snarled.

  Junior was depressed. He had been tricked. Maybe Sergeant Golub was right, maybe he was the stupidest, most useless Dragnet officer on the force.

  ‘Don’t leave me here,’ he begged.

  ‘Your imprisonment will be a blink of an eyelid compared to mine,’ said the black and yellow dragon bitterly.

  ‘Yes, your old pappy will be back soon enough to let you out,’ added Dirk.

  Junior groaned. ‘I don’t want him to find me like this,’ he said.

  ‘We can’t have you following us, can we now?’ said Dirk, feeling a little sorry for the Drake.

  ‘That is right,’ said the Sea Dragon. ‘We are going to the secret meeting.’

  The three dragons turned around and walked away.

  ‘You know there isn’t a secret meeting, really, don’t you, Alba?’ said the Mountain Dragon.

  ‘No secret meeting? Why did we … oh, I see. We were having a trick with him.’

  The last thing Junior saw of them was the Mountain Dragon shaking his head in despair before the three dragons disappeared around a corner.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Upstairs on the bus home Archie spent the whole journey trying unsuccessfully to blend with the grubby chequered seat.

  ‘You’re not sitting still enough,’ said Holly, smiling to herself.

  ‘The bus is too bumpy,’ complained Archie.

  ‘Try it later, when you’re at home.’

  The thought of Archie spending hours on end, trying to think like a sofa, without moving a muscle, was sweet revenge for his horrible behaviour.

  Holly pressed the bell and stood up. ‘This is my stop,’ she said, heading downstairs.

  ‘Where are you going?’ asked Archie, following her.

  ‘I’m going home,’ she replied.

  The bus stopped and she got off.

  ‘Can’t I come with you?’ pleaded Archie, jumping off after her.

  ‘No, you can’t.’ Holly still had Mrs Klingerflim’s book in her pocket. She wanted to get home and read it. ’You can come and call for me tomorrow if you want,’ she suggested, striding off towards Elliot Drive.

  ‘Can’t I come round now?’ asked Archie, catching up with her.

  ‘What, so you can have some scones and caviar and feed the corgis?’ said Holly pointedly.

  ‘I am sorry about all that,’ said Archie.

  ‘Why were you so mean to me anyway?’

  ‘You’re different, is all. Everything’s always the same around here. Nothing ever happens at Gristle Street. Nothing interesting, but you’ve been to loads of other schools. You’ve been to William Scrivener’s,’ Archie said, his eyes wide.

  ‘You’re not missing much, believe me,’ replied Holly.

  ‘Did you meet Petal Moses?’

  ‘I was put in the same room as her.’ Holly had hated every minute of her time incarcerated inside the celebrity school and it was made all the worse by sharing a room with Petal Moses, the spoilt daughter of an international popstar.

  ‘What was she like?’

  ‘Awful.’ Holly smiled. ‘Her mum actually paid people to phone her up and tell her how brilliant she was.’

  Archie laughed. ‘What about the Prime Minister’s son. Did you meet him?’

  Holly nodded, but she didn’t want to discuss crazy Callum Thackley. She had sent him two letters since she left the school. In his replies he sounded as mad as ever.

  Archie had followed her all the way home and didn’t look like he would take no for an answer, so Holly relented, saying, ‘You can come in but only for a minute.’

  As they approached her front door, she felt nervous. It was the first time in her whole life that she had brought a friend home.

  The door swung open and her dad almost walked straight into them both.

  He looked down. ‘Oh, hello … er … Holly. You’ve got a friend,’ he said, clearly surprised. He was dressed smartly in a suit and tie, holding a briefcase.

  ‘Hi, Dad, this is Archie,’ she said.

  ‘Are you a politician?’ asked Archie.

  ‘Was a politician,’ Mr Bigsby replied. ‘I lost my seat.’

  ‘You didn’t lose it. It was taken from you,’ said his big-haired wife, appearing behind him, brushing nonexistent dust particles from his suit. ‘Anyway, darling, you have a better job now.’

  ‘What job?’ demanded Holly.

  Big Hair glanced at her. ‘Your father has accepted a position at Global Sands, so don’t delay him.’

  ‘You’ve taken the job?’ exclaimed Holly, ag
hast.

  She couldn’t be sure but she thought she saw guilt in her father’s expression as he avoided eye contact with her and mumbled, ‘Needs must, Holly. Needs must.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want to take the car?’ said Big Hair.

  ‘The bus is just as quick. And that way I can swot up on the way,’ he replied, tapping his briefcase.

  ‘It would look a lot more professional if you drove.’

  ‘Stop flapping, Bridget, the bus is fine,’ said Mr Bigsby firmly.

  Holly could tell that Big Hair was put out by the way he said it but she pecked him on the cheek and said, ‘Well, off you go, then. Knock them dead, darling.’

  Holly’s dad coughed uncomfortably, awkwardly patted Holly on the head, and left.

  Big Hair’s gaze fell upon Archie. ‘I’m Holly’s stepmother,’ she stated. ‘I’m glad she’s finally made a friend. She’s such a lonely girl. Would you like to come in? You’ll both have to stay out of the way, mind. I’ve got a man coming in to see about new carpets.’

  ‘Actually, we’re going out,’ said Holly, turning around.

  ‘Suit yourself. Don’t be too late,’ Big Hair called after her.

  Archie caught up with her. ‘Where are we going?’ he asked.

  ‘We’re following my dad,’ replied Holly.

  Once the three dragons reached a safe distance from the cell, Dirk stopped and said to Fairfax Nordstrum, ‘I kept my side of the bargain. Now it’s your turn.’

  They were standing in the dim orange glow of the lithosphere tunnel.

  ‘First things first,’ said Fairfax, turning to face him. ‘I’ve been shut up in that cell a long time. I’d like to know what’s changed since I’ve been away.’

  ‘Listen, Cave Dweller, I’m sorry you’ve been out of the loop for a while, but all I care about is finding this Sea Dragon’s sister, so I can get back to work.’

  ‘Your detective work, yes,’ said the black and yellow dragon. ‘That does sound fascinating. What sorts of things do you …’ He paused to emphasise the word, ‘… detect?’