Bad News Page 19

  As the dragons descended on the Keep, their wings drew closer together, darkening the sky like a great cloak. Peering over Ariella’s neck, Clay had to strain his eyes to see what was happening down below. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d left the Keep, but in that time enormous progress had been made. The remaining walls of the old castle had been knocked down, and the frame for a new building was already being erected. Most of the rubble had been carefully stacked in piles or already removed.

  “Howzit look down there?” Leira asked in his ear.

  “All I can say is the Midnight Sun works really fast.”

  At this rate, the Keep would be back in business in a few days. But Clay didn’t intend to let that happen. And neither did the hundreds of dragons flying with him. The plan was very straightforward: All humans and dragons were to be removed from the crater—forcibly if necessary. The lab was to be destroyed. The Midnight Sun would have to move on.

  Alighting on the crater’s rim, the majority of the dragons took positions around the sides of the crater. They sat like enormous gargoyles, guarding the pathways out into the desert.

  Ariella, meanwhile, led a smaller group of dragons down toward the bottom of the crater to begin a sweep.

  Where in the darkness below was Satya? Clay wondered. Had she and her father already escaped? For her sake, he hoped they had. And yet he wanted nothing more than to see her again.

  First things first, Ariella chided him. The hatchlings. Where are they?

  From over the tents, Clay steered Ariella toward the laboratory. The long building was dark, and no one was outside.

  “That’s where the baby dragons are,” he said to Ariella, pointing at the lab.

  Ariella headed toward the entrance, then abruptly pulled up before landing. Are you certain? I don’t feel them in there.

  “I dunno, actually,” said Clay, peering down at the building. “I feel like something’s wrong, too.”

  They circled the laboratory a few times, each time making a wider loop. Clay started to feel apprehensive.

  Then he heard a familiar squawk. Not too far from the laboratory building, Hero was perched on a tree branch that hung over a jungle path. Beneath her, six little dragons were frantically hopping up and down in distress. And lying between them…

  “We need to get down there now!”

  Ariella landed, and Clay jumped to the ground.

  “Satya!”

  As Clay approached, the little dragons hissed, but Ariella silenced them with a stern growl.

  “Clay?”

  “I told you I’d come back.”

  Satya sat up shakily and propped herself against the meat cooler. She looked pale and frazzled but unharmed.

  “What’s with the helmet?” she asked, peering at the graffiti lettering. “Just feeling sort of radical?”

  Clay blushed. “Long story. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I fell, but I’m fine.… I was just catching my breath. Bluebeard was about to pounce on us, and then the next second the sky was filled with dragons, and Bluebeard split.” She gestured to the little dragons. “These guys were pretty freaked.”

  “They don’t look so freaked now,” Clay observed.

  While they were speaking, Ariella had started speaking in a low rumble with the smaller dragons. They yelped and whined but sat still, their eyes fixed on the older dragon. Even Houdini and Bodhi.

  “Guess Ariella is talking some sense into them.” Satya smiled. “So, that army of dragons up there—did you bring them?”

  Clay shrugged, nonchalant. “Those guys? It’s only a few hundred dragons. Whatever.” He smiled.

  Satya nodded. “Yeah, right. No big deal.”

  They both laughed.

  “You ready to climb onto Ariella’s back with me?”

  Satya’s eyes shone with excitement. “Wait—I get to fly with you?”

  Clay grinned. “What do you think I’m here for? I mean, that’s okay, right, Ariella?” he asked, backpedaling.

  The dragon snorted in a way that seemed to say, Now you ask?

  “What about these little guys?” asked Satya.

  The little dragons were all standing at attention now, like dragon Cub Scouts. In unison, they bowed to Ariella and made a strange humming sound deep in their throats.

  “Well, how about it?” Clay asked Ariella. “Are they Lost Ones?”

  Not anymore, said Ariella, with a hint of pride.

  It was a brief flight, about a quarter of a mile. For Satya, nonetheless, it was memorable; it was the first time she’d flown on a dragon. For Clay, it was memorable, too, but for a different reason; it was the first time Satya had put her arms around him, even if it was only to keep herself from falling off.

  The four youngest dragons were also riding on Ariella’s back—or, more precisely, on Ariella’s wings. They seemed to think it was a lot of fun getting flung up and down, over and over.

  The two slightly older dragons, Houdini and Bodhi, flew behind, repeatedly turning their heads to either side; they’d been given instructions to keep looking in all directions and were avidly following their orders to the letter.

  The guest tents, whatever remained of them, had been rolled up, and Clay and Satya didn’t see any signs of life until they neared the castle courtyard.

  The two bronze dragons in the center of the courtyard fountain had fallen over, and a crane was parked nearby, ready to lift them back up. As Ariella glided to the ground beside the fountain, one of the Land Rovers nearly collided with them, then sideswiped the bottom of the crane.

  Charles leaned out the driver’s-side window. “Austin, I must say, you know how to make an entrance!”

  He smiled at Clay, apparently untroubled by the dozens of fire-spitting dragons flying directly above him. “I’d stay for a chat, but Reginald and Minerva here have a game waiting for them in Palm Beach. And frankly, all these dragons are beginning to be a bit of a bore.…” The Wandsworths were sitting stiffly in the backseat, looking directly ahead, with piles of expensive-looking luggage behind them.

  “Until we meet again!” said Charles. With a casual wave, he stepped on the gas and headed out of the Keep.

  “Now, that’s what I call blasé,” said Clay to himself.

  As the one Land Rover disappeared, the other stopped in front of them, and Vicente jumped out.

  “Satya! There you are!”

  Vicente looked up at his daughter and Clay, obviously somewhat amazed to see them sitting on Ariella’s back. But all he said was “Glad you’re not alone.… Can you guys fly out of here on that thing?”

  “This thing’s name is Ariella,” said Clay. “But, yeah, we can.”

  “Good. I’ll meet you on the landing strip in half an hour.”

  “But how are you going to get there?” his daughter asked, anxious.

  “In the car. I have to help shuttle a few more employees out of here.” He pointed his thumb backward; the Land Rover was full to capacity. Blowing her a kiss, he hopped back in and drove away.

  “Okay if we don’t leave quite yet?” Clay asked Satya. “I want to make sure this thing is finished.”

  She nodded, and they both slid to the ground.

  A long, gleaming trailer, the kind used by movie stars on location, was parked in front of the dismantled castle. CONSTRUCTION OFFICE, read a sign on the door.

  As more dragons flew overhead, sending the occasional fireball into the courtyard, the trailer door slammed open and various people started spilling out, some looking terrified, other just annoyed. Last to join the commotion was Ms. Mauvais, accompanied by Amber and Gyorg. Just as they’d stepped out of the trailer, another dragon made a pass over the courtyard, and a second later the trailer erupted in flames.

  Amber clutched her arms over her head, nearly bowling over Ms. Mauvais in her haste to get away from the fire.

  “Clumsy girl!” chastised Ms. Mauvais. “Panicking because it’s a little warm.”

  When Ms. Mauvais regained he
r balance, she saw Clay standing before her. Behind him was Satya, standing by Ariella.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Ms. Mauvais said, showing no reaction. (Charles might be blasé; she was a block of ice.) “Welcome… back.”

  “I figured out who he is!” said Amber excitedly. “He’s Max-Ernest’s little brother. That man who brought him here before—he wasn’t his father; he was a spy!”

  “Pity your epiphany didn’t come a day or two earlier,” said Ms. Mauvais in a tone notable precisely for its lack of pity. She studied Clay as if he were a specimen in a museum. “But now that you mention it, I do see a bit of a resemblance. Of course, Max-Ernest was always so…”

  “What? So much cleverer than I am?” said Clay, with just a touch of bitterness.

  “So much shorter, I was about to say.”

  “Didn’t stop him from beating you, though, did it? Him and Cass?” said Clay defensively. “And they’re beating you again—we are, I mean.”

  Ms. Mauvais gave him a mocking smile. “Oh, we are, are we?”

  Gyorg had walked up and was standing stiffly beside her, ready to protect her if necessary.

  “Yep,” said Clay, willing himself not to be scared. He had Ariella on his side, after all. “I’m here to tell you you’re done. You, this place, and your dragons.”

  “Says the boy of what—twelve?” hissed Ms. Mauvais. “No one tells me when I’m done. I say when I’m done. And when I do, you will be a distant memory.”

  A sustained ROARRRRRRRRR cut into the moment.

  Clay turned to see an enormous dragon approaching. The biggest one of all. Old One. The dragon landed next to Ariella, taking up half the courtyard.

  On Old One’s back was a young man. He laughed as Clay stared at him.

  “Who’s that?” Satya whispered.

  “His name is Flint,” said Clay through gritted teeth.

  Flint grinned down at him. “Surprised?”

  Clay shook his head.

  Flint on a dragon’s back? In fact, no sight could have surprised Clay more. Surprised him and infuriated him.

  “How’d you do it?” Clay asked, struggling to contain his temper.

  “The Occulta Draco—what else?” said Flint. “You should never have let it out of your hands.”

  “You used a spell?” Clay was dubious.

  “I made a trade,” said Flint.

  Clay understood immediately; it was just what he’d done with DragonSlayer. Old One would have hated the idea of a book that might teach a human to control a dragon. Far better to take the book out of human hands, even if it meant having to give Flint a ride.

  Behind him, a rumble came from deep inside Ariella’s chest. Old One gave an answering rumble. Clay wasn’t certain, but he thought Old One was saying something like Hold your fire.

  Ms. Mauvais stepped toward Flint, clapping.

  “Bravo, darling,” she said in her most seductive voice. “I, for one, am very impressed. And very glad to see you again.”

  Flint stood up straighter and frowned. “You are?”

  “Why not? Things have changed.” Ms. Mauvais lifted her arms to the sky. “As you see, we have a veritable army of dragons now.”

  “They aren’t yours.”

  “With your help they might be.…” She met the young man’s gaze and held it. Until, with an effort, he turned away.

  Clay glanced at the dragons. He knew they would be insulted by the notion that dragons could be made into an army under human control, but they showed no reaction. Yet.

  “You just want to go to the Other Side to become immortal,” said Flint.

  “Yes, but with the dragons at our command, why, we could do so much more,” said Ms. Mauvais. “That would be just the beginning.”

  Flint looked around as if weighing the possibilities. “What do you want?”

  “To start? Take me away from here.”

  “What about me?” Amber protested.

  “You?” said Ms. Mauvais, as if only just noticing her. “Stay here and await my return. If something comes up, do whatever your instincts tell you not to do. I’m sure that will be the safest course. Gyorg will assist you.”

  Standing nearby, Gyorg coughed but said nothing. Neither he nor Amber was very happy about this plan.

  “You and I will be a team,” said Ms. Mauvais, returning to Flint. “All we need is one dragon to start. If others follow, fantastic. If not, we make more. A drop of blood is all it takes.”

  Clay watched to see what Flint would do, and what Old One would do in response. What game was the wily old dragon playing? Did Old One perhaps want something that the Midnight Sun had? If Old One went back on the deal with Clay, all the other dragons would likely follow suit, and there was nothing Clay could do about it. A bead of sweat dripped down from his forehead to his nose.

  “Really? Just one drop of blood?” said Flint at last, his feverish excitement evident in his face. “And with it we could—ahhhhhhh!”

  Flint fell off Old One’s back as the dragon let out a roar that literally made the ground shake.

  You dare speak of dragon blood? raged Old One. I promised to take you here, but I said nothing about taking you back. I am done.

  Like a huge Viking ship setting sail, the dragon spread its creaky wings and lurched into the air, while Flint watched aghast.

  Clay’s smile of satisfaction lasted only a second. Next to him, Ariella growled, ready for battle.

  Another dragon had swooped into the courtyard. The last dragon anybody wanted to see. Bluebeard.

  Clay could feel Satya tensing. What was the one-eyed monster after this time?

  Landing in the fountain, Bluebeard perched on top of the fallen bronze dragons as if they were a recent kill and Bluebeard was protecting them from predators.

  As the dragon’s head swiveled back and forth, its good eye caught sight of Satya and Hero, and blinked. Or was it winked? I’ll deal with you later, Bluebeard seemed to say.

  “Let’s wait and see what Bluebeard does,” Clay whispered to Ariella, knowing that Ariella still had not fully recovered from the first encounter with Bluebeard. A second fight was to be avoided if possible. Ariella, he sensed, felt the same way.

  But Bluebeard appeared not to be interested in them. Instead, the dragon focused on Ms. Mauvais, the woman who more than anyone else was responsible for this place and for the dragons’ captivity. She, it seemed, was the reason for Bluebeard’s visit. The dragon dropped back down on all fours and advanced on her.

  Ms. Mauvais maintained her perfectly calm expression as Bluebeard pushed her back toward the trailer. “Gyorg, Flint, somebody, do something,” she said, with only the barest hint of urgency.

  Just as the dragon was about to reach her, its huge mouth open, Ms. Mauvais finally lost her composure. She shrieked and shoved Gyorg in the dragon’s path.

  Gyorg had no time to register his employer’s betrayal before Bluebeard’s great sharp jaws grabbed the muscleman around the middle and tossed him aside. As though nothing had happened, Bluebeard resumed its advance on Ms. Mauvais, its single eye glistening.

  “Stop, dragon!”

  It was Flint, intervening at the last second—perhaps to save Ms. Mauvais, perhaps to show off. Clay couldn’t tell.

  With his eyes locked on Bluebeard, Flint touched his lips to his fist. In a flash, his fist was on fire. Raising it in the air like a torch, he waved it back and forth in front of Bluebeard’s good eye.

  “Get down!” said Flint, as if he were speaking to a dog.

  Then, shocking Clay and probably everyone else present, human or dragon, Bluebeard knelt down. Not bowing out of politeness or respect, as Ariella had done, but in submission, as a weaker creature kneels before a more powerful one.

  “That’s right, there’s a good boy,” said Flint, smiling victoriously.

  Clay could feel waves of anger coming from Ariella; it was unbearable to see a dragon humiliated by a human in this way.

  It matters not, said Ariella spitefully. T
he dragon is a Lost One.

  When the debased dragon had almost flattened itself to the ground, Flint offered a cocky a little wave to the people watching, then climbed onto Bluebeard’s back. “Bye-bye, fools!”

  Flint kicked into the dragon’s sides. Bluebeard reared slightly, then rounded on the trailer, giving it one final blast of fire.

  Then, with Flint astride, Bluebeard rose up and took off into the night sky.

  “Good riddance,” said Satya.

  Clay watched for a moment, stunned. He thought he knew what he’d just witnessed: a kind of black magic that was described in the Occulta Draco, the magic of the Fire Breathers. But where Flint was heading now, Clay had no idea. Wherever it was, it wasn’t far enough.

  In Bluebeard’s place, other dragons began swirling around the smoldering remains of the trailer. Clay caught Ms. Mauvais staring at them, with something almost like fear on her frozen face.

  “You want to come with us instead of being stuck with those guys?” said Clay. “You’d have to be tied up, of course. And if you tried to hurt anyone, Ariella would probably kill you.…”

  “And be the prisoner of the Terces Society?” said the leader of the Midnight Sun, with all the haughtiness at her command. “I’d rather die.”

  Clay looked up at the thickening mass of dragons circling directly above. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

  He turned to Satya. “Let’s get the heck out of here.”

  Using Ariella’s leg as a ladder, they climbed onto the dragon’s back.

  A moment later, they were lifting off into the night. It was like swimming against a current; around them, dozens of dragons were diving toward a single goal.

  Looking over his shoulder for a last time, Clay saw a pair of gloved hands, unmistakably Ms. Mauvais’s, waving in the air. There was a scream of pain that sounded strangely like a cry of joy. Then the hands disappeared and she was lost in the vortex of roaring, screeching dragons bearing down on her.