The Hidden Beast (8 page)

“What was that?” Cindy asked, jumping.

Watch turned off the flashlight. “It was something.”

“Could the dragon be back already?” she asked anxiously.

“It's possible.”

“We should run back to the tunnel!”

“Shh. We're both exhausted. We wouldn't be
able to run that far. Besides, the sound could be something other than the dragon.” Watch stood in the pitch-black and then finally stepped forward. “Let me check it out.”

Cindy grabbed him, having to find him by touch alone.

“No,” she said. “We're not separating.”

“All right.” He patted her on the back. “I know you're scared, Cindy. I'm scared, too. But I think we have to risk it and go forward. To return to the cave is all but a death sentence. We'll get trapped there, and then we'll be at the mercy of the dragon.”

Cindy nodded. “Then if we're going forward, turn the light back on. Darkness won't save us. The dragon will hear us coming. At least this way we can see what we're up against.”

“Agreed.” Watch flipped on the flashlight.

Their next steps were the hardest ones of their lives.

They heard their breathing, their hearts pounding.

And something else. Yes, something big—definitely big.

Stirring in the dark in front of them.

Finally the beam from their flashlight fell on it.

All hope died inside them.

They knew they were dead.

It was another dragon.

“Oh no,” Cindy moaned.

Watch hugged her to his side. “Close your eyes.”

But neither of them closed them.

The dragon spoke. He spoke modern day English.

He sounded more like a kid than an ancient monster.

“Hi,” he said happily. “Who are you?”

Watch almost choked on his own voice he was so relieved to hear the welcoming tone. “I am Watch,” he said. “This is my friend, Cindy. Who are you?”

“Harve,” the dragon said and offered a sharp clawed talon. “Pleased to meet you.”

They stared at his huge claw. “Would it be OK if we didn't shake just now?” Watch asked. “We don't mean to be rude.”

Harve withdrew his claw. “Sorry. I guess my
hand is too big for you guys. Hey, how did you get in here? Did you take the tunnel down here?”

“Yes,” Cindy muttered.

“Cool,” Harve said. “I have been hoping somebody would use that tunnel one day.”

“How long have you been down here?” Watch asked.

The dragon seemed to shrug. He was not nearly so big as Slatron.

“I don't know,” he said. “Maybe five hundred years.”

“But you sound so young,” Cindy said.

Harve nodded. “Dragons grow slowly. I didn't learn to walk until I was a hundred. My mom thought I would never learn to talk.”

“But you speak good English,” Watch said.

“Thank you. My mom says it's the language most people use nowadays so she taught it to me.”

“Is your mother Slatron?” Cindy asked.

“That's her. We're the only dragons who live here. I guess you must have met her?”

“We sure did,” Watch said. “She tried to kill us.”

Harve seemed to frown. “Oh. Sorry about that. You must have made her mad. What did you do, play with her treasure?”

“This girl we know stole a few pieces of her treasure,” Cindy explained. “Two of her crystals.”

Harve snorted. “That explains it. She loves those crystals almost as much as she loves me.”

“What are they?” Watch asked. “What can they do?”

“You can talk to anyone anywhere anytime if you have them,” Harve explained. “As long as the other person has one as well. My mom uses them to talk to dragons on other planets.”

“She talks to other planets!” Cindy said, astounded.

“She has to,” Harve said. “There aren't many dragons to talk to here.”

“I see your point,” Watch said.

“Hey,” Harve said. “Do you know where my mom went? I haven't been able to find her.”

“She left this mountain in order to torch our friends and our city,” Cindy said. “We need to stop her. Can you help us?”

“I can try,” Harve said pleasantly. “I like humans more than my mom does. I want to tell you right now that I've never eaten a person. I'm a vegetarian.”

“That's good to know,” Watch said. “Can we communicate with your mother right now using one of the crystals?”

“Not unless she's got one with her,” Harve said.

Cindy looked at Watch. “Slatron left here in a hurry,” she said. “I doubt she took a crystal with her.”

“I'm sure she didn't,” Watch said. “But Leah has two with her. We might be able to talk her into bringing them back.”

“That sounds like the best plan,” Harve said. “Once my mom gets in a bad mood, it's hard to calm her down. The only thing that will cool her off is to see the crystals again.”

“Let's go to the treasure chamber,” Watch said. “We'll see if Leah will answer us.”

“Are you guys tired?” Harve asked. “Would you like a ride there?”

“You don't mind?” Cindy asked. “We are exhausted.”

“Not at all,” Harve said. “I love giving humans rides.”

They climbed up on the dragon's back.

“Have you seen many humans before?” Watch asked.

“A few. Nice creatures.”

“Where are they now?” Cindy asked.

Harve lowered his voice as he lowered his wings for them.

“I'm not sure,” he said with a note of reluctance. “I think my mom ate them.”

In the treasure chamber Harve explained how to use the crystals to communicate with Leah.

“Hold one in your right hand and think of her,” he said. “Then begin to speak. If she has a crystal nearby, she will hear you.”

Watch picked up a crystal and offered it to Cindy.

“Do you want to try to reason with her?” he asked.

Cindy shook her head. “No.”

“I'll try it then.” Watch held the crystal tight and closed his eyes. He had no trouble
visualizing Leah. Indeed, the image of her face and other features popped into his mind with unusual clarity. He wondered if the crystal was responsible. It seemed to boost the power of his thoughts. He spoke in a soft but clear voice. “Leah,” he said. “Can you hear me?”

There was a long pause. Then a worried voice seemed to speak from the center of the room. “Who's there?” Leah asked.

“It's me, Watch. I am speaking to you via the crystals. They are interstellar communication devices, but they can also be used to make local calls.”

There was another pause.

“I don't believe it,” Leah said.

“It's true,” Watch said. “How else could you hear me? But I don't want to argue about that right now. We need you to bring those crystals back. You see, there's this dragon looking for them and she's in a really bad mood. If she finds you, she'll probably kill you.”

“Are you calling for Bryce?” Leah asked impatiently. “He just called an hour ago and said the same thing. I hung up on him.”

“He was telling you the truth. Where are you right now?”

“Why should I tell you?” Leah said. “I'm home free, that's where I am. If these crystals are so magical then I should be able to sell them for millions of dollars. I won't have to worry about working the rest of my life. That's why my father gave me the treasure map, you know. He wanted me to be taken care of. I don't know why all of you are treating me like a criminal.”

“We don't judge you for wanting financial security,” Watch said. “We're just worried about this angry dragon. When she left here, she said she was going to wipe out our friends and all of Spooksville.”

“Your friends are with Bryce and they are fine,” Leah said. “But Spooksville is going to have to take care of itself. I am not going to return my inheritance.”

“But you didn't inherit these crystals,” Watch said.

The connection was abruptly broken.

The strong image of Leah vanished from Watch's mind. He opened his eyes and spoke to
Cindy and Harve. “I think she hung up on me,” he said.

“I hate when that happens,” Harve said sympathetically.

“What are we going to do?” Cindy asked. “We have to stop Slatron before she reaches Spooksville.”

Watch spoke to Harve. “Can these crystals also be used as a homing device? Can we use them to locate Leah?”

“Yes,” Harve said. “If these crystals move toward the other crystals, they will get warmer.”

“But even if we know where she is,” Cindy said. “How are we going to catch up to her?”

Watch studied Harve. “You say it took you a hundred years to learn to walk?”

The young dragon was embarrassed. “A hundred and twenty years to be exact.”

“Can you fly?” Watch asked.

Harve stuttered. “I don't understand.”

“You have wings,” Watch asked. “Do you know how to use them?”

“Yes. I can flap them.” Harve flapped them to show he was not boasting. “I have very strong wings.”

“But you haven't answered my question,” Watch insisted. “Can you fly?”

Harve cleared his throat. “Yes. Of course. Sort of.”

“You can either fly or you can't,” Cindy said. “What's the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“You seem uncomfortable talking about flying,” Watch said.

“Well,” Harve said quietly, lowering his head, “I can fly but I prefer not to. You know what I mean.”

“We don't,” Watch said. “Explain what you mean?”

“I'm afraid of heights,” Harve mumbled.

“But you're a dragon,” Cindy said. “How can you be afraid of heights?”

Harve was clearly humiliated. “That's what mom always asks. But, I don't know, I just get scared when I get up high. I feel like I might fall and hurt myself.”

Watch grabbed the other crystal from the silver pedestal. “Well, you're going to have to fly us to Leah now. Too many lives are at stake.”

Harve buried his head under a wing. “I have to?” he asked in a worried voice.

Cindy stepped over and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don't worry,” she said. “We will be with you.”

“Not that we'll be any help if you start to fall,” Watch said.

A
s they were floating in their raft toward Spooksville, Sally came up with an idea to stop Slatron. “What are dragons supposed to love the most?” she asked Adam and Bryce.

“Treasure,” Bryce said.

“Gold,” Adam said.

“Exactly,” Sally said. “Now this raft is going to float right by Spooksville's main electrical power plant. The power lines that run out of there pass over a stone ledge that isn't far from the plant gates. What if we get some paint and spray that ledge a bright gold? Maybe she'll see the gold, think it's treasure, and swoop down to
peck at it. While she's doing that, we can hide in the rocks above the ledge and shoot out the power lines so they fall on her back. The high-powered electrical charge would kill a human, but will only knock her out so she can calm down. Bryce, I assume you can get hold of some gold paint and a laser-guided sniper's rifle?”

“I'll need a bit of time but I can get both,” Bryce said, interested. “I like the plan.”

Adam nodded reluctantly. “It could work. But I hate to hurt the dragon. We were the ones, after all, that invaded her home.”

“And now she wants to destroy our home,” Sally said seriously. “There is a time for quiet diplomacy and there is a time for full-throttle battle, Adam. We have no choice. We have to stop the dragon and we have to stop her now.”

Adam nodded. “I suppose you're right. But I keep thinking how she mentioned her family.”

“You saw her temper,” Sally said. “If she has a husband then we are doing him a favor by knocking out his wife.”

Adam sighed. “I don't think he would see it that way.”

*   *   *

The current of the river was fast. They reached the power plant minutes later. Bryce disappeared, probably to dig up another one of his secret stashes. He wasn't gone long, and when he did return he had a rifle that looked as if it had been invented in a secret laboratory in the basement of the Pentagon. The bullets were as large as mustard jars. He also brought cans of gold paint and rollers.

“I couldn't find a spray gun on such short notice,” he said as they rolled up their sleeves and began to paint the rocky ledge, just below the humming power lines.

“I guess you're not perfect, after all,” Sally said.

“It's been a while since you thought I was perfect,” Bryce grumbled.

Sally laughed and reached over and painted his right cheek gold.

“Cheer up,” she said. “I'm only hard on you because I know you have potential.”

They had their bait ready in less than thirty minutes. The painted ledge actually did look like—from a distance—a genuine vein of gold. Hiking away from the ledge, they huddled behind
a bunch of nearby trees. Bryce carefully began to load his sniper rifle.

“Where did you get such a weapon?” Sally asked.

“That's classified information,” Bryce muttered.

“I don't like guns,” Adam said. “Certainly not in the hands of minors. There are laws against such things.”

Bryce gave him a hard stare. “This town is about to be attacked by a fire-breathing dragon and you are lecturing me on gun laws?”

Adam shrugged. “I just don't like guns. Too many accidents happen around them.”

“Of course you do have a laser pistol in your chest of drawers in your bedroom,” Sally said.

“That's different,” Adam said defensively. “I only take it out when aliens invade the earth.”

They had laid their trap none too soon. Slatron appeared a few minutes later. The sight of the gold definitely caught her eye, and she swooped down with red fire flaring from her nostrils. Bryce didn't give the dragon a second to examine the ledge. The moment the beast landed he sprung their trap. Using the laser-guided
sight, he took aim at the power lines above the dragon and opened fire.