Vedra and Krimon the Twin Dragons (2 page)

T
HE RIVER CHURNED ALL AROUND THEM
. T
HEY
had been swept along on the dark water for hours.

“Oh no!” Elenna said, peering forward. Tom looked. There was a thin line of whiteness in the water ahead. The noise of the river had become louder and more urgent.

“Rocks!” Tom gasped. “And the current is pulling us toward them!”

The two friends dug their oars into the water, fighting to turn the boat out of the path of the rocks. Sweat ran down Tom's face, his muscles aching as he thrust the oar into the water over and over again. Tom knew that the splinter of Sepron's tooth that was fitted to his shield worked as a protection against fast-flowing water — but he wasn't so sure it would save them from these rocks! They were very close now. He could see them glistening in the torchlight.

“Come on!” Tom shouted. “We can do this!” He wasn't going to lose heart so early in the Quest. Gradually, the boat began to turn.

“We did it!” Elenna cheered as the first of the rocks slid by. But there were more sharp black rocks stabbing upward out of the swirling water. White foam broke against them as the river tried to dash their boat to pieces.

They rowed furiously, and at last they came through the rocks and were able to get their breath back.

“I hope this river doesn't have any more nasty surprises for us!” Tom gasped.

They became aware of a faint blue light far ahead — not daylight, but a soft blue glow that was like a steady flame.

As the light grew, they were able to make out the banks of the river and the ridged stone roof high above their heads. The blue light played on the water, getting brighter and brighter.

Their boat floated gently into a wide, calm lake under a high dome of rock.

“The light is coming from the rocks,” Tom said. “And look! There's something in the water.” He pointed.

A large shape was cutting through the water, sending up spouts of white foam. They recognized the Beast at once.

“It's Sepron!” Elenna shouted joyfully. The huge sea serpent was snaking through the water toward them, his scaly green body crested with a long fin and the seaweedlike mane streaming back from his head.

He opened his massive jaws and let out a deep, bellowing cry of welcome.

“Hello, Sepron!” Tom shouted. The Beast was huge — he swam around the boat, surrounding it with his long, shining coils. Then they saw the other Beasts gathered together on the shore.

Cypher the Mountain Giant came striding out into the water, his massive feet making loud rumbles with each step he took.

“Careful, Cypher!” Tom shouted up. “You'll swamp the boat.”

None of the Beasts could speak, but Cypher gave a grunt as though he knew what Tom meant. He leaned down and gently picked up Tom and Elenna, then turned and waded back to shore.

The huge fire dragon Ferno lay under a cliff, his black wings folded along his back, smoke drifting from his nostrils, his red eyes friendly. Tartok shambled forward, making welcoming snuffling sounds as she squatted down in front of the two friends. She reached out her two great hairy arms and pulled them into her fur. It felt to Tom as if he was being wrapped in a huge fleecy blanket until Tartok let them go again.

There was a loud croaking at their backs and they found themselves staring up into the fiery eyes of Epos the flame bird.

A mighty clopping of hooves announced the approach of Tagus the Night Horse. He reached down to Tom and Elenna, lifted them up with his human arms, and placed them onto his broad back.

He made a sound that was half speech and half neighing, and then he went cantering off along the glowing blue shore of the great underground lake with Tom and Elenna clinging to his back.

“Hang on tight!” Tom called to Elenna. He looked back and saw that the other Beasts were following. Tom felt good to be surrounded by all of his extraordinary and powerful friends.

They quickly came to a large cavern. A little way off, the stone floor sloped upward and they could see daylight — it was the way out of the Nidrem Caves! Tom and Elenna jumped down from Tagus's back.

The two newborn dragons lay together in a nest of golden straw. One was emerald green, the other red as a ruby. Their trusting eyes gazed at Tom and Elenna, white steam rising from their nostrils.

“That's why the Beasts are all here together,” Tom said to Elenna. “They're protecting Vedra and Krimon.”

Even newly hatched, the two Beasts were twice Tom's height.

“We're here to help you,” he said soothingly as he approached them. He realized they didn't know what he was saying but the Beasts often seemed to understand the meaning behind his words.

Vedra, the green dragon, let out a nervous hiccup of excitement and a small spurt of red fire belched from between his jaws.

“Oh! They're wonderful!” Elenna said, reaching out her arms to the Beasts. The two dragons clambered out of the straw and moved forward unsteadily, their wings scraping the floor, their necks stretching out as they made little sounds in their throats.

Tom patted the hard, shining scales on Vedra's neck, allowing the Beast to cuddle up against him. He was aware of a faint burning smell, like the smoldering embers of a fire. He felt awed by the baby dragons, but also strangely protective of them. He knew he had a duty to keep them safe!

Krimon was standing in front of Elenna, gently nuzzling at her hair, a low rumbling sound coming from his belly, as if he was purring in contentment.

“They're so trusting,” Elenna said, looking at Tom with concern. “Malvel mustn't be allowed anywhere near them!”

Tom looked at the other Beasts, gathered in the cave mouth.

He turned to Elenna. “Do you think they know what we have to do?” he said.

“Even if they do, how are we going to get the dragons to Rion?” Elenna asked. “How far is it — and how will we know when we're there?”

Before Tom could reply, he felt a tingling against his chest. Puzzled, he pulled out the magic map Aduro had given him when he had started his very first Quest. It was not flat like an ordinary map; it was alive! Snow-covered mountains rose up in sharp points from the parchment and Tom knew that if he touched the blue threads of the rivers, his fingers would be wet. The map had led the way to all his previous adventures, spinning out paths to guide him.

There was something new on the map! To the north of the palace, it glowed with a tiny point of golden light. He looked closer. The light was the cave mouth, and from it a slender golden path was spreading out, pointing the way north.

As he watched, the northern limits of the map began to expand beyond the boundaries of Avantia. New mountains rose up from the white parchment. There were new rivers and forests as well, and Tom realized that the map was changing to show him the snowy land of Rion.

He frowned. “It's a long way,” he said.

“And Malvel could be following us,” Elenna added.

Tom shivered. How could they possibly hope to get all the way to Rion without the evil wizard tracking them down and putting a spell on the young Beasts? And time was not on their side. The full moon was going to rise tonight — if Vedra and Krimon were not hidden in Rion by then, the Quest would fail!

Aduro had been right — this was going to be their greatest challenge yet!

T
OM LOOKED AT
E
LENNA
. “W
E SHOULD GO
—
as quickly as possible.”

“I'll get the rest of the food and the cloaks Aduro gave us,” Elenna called as she leaped onto Tagus's back and galloped over to the boat.

Tom looked at the baby dragons. They were sitting on their haunches, watching him with curious, innocent eyes.

“Please try to understand me,” Tom told them. “You must come with us. You will be in terrible danger if you stay here.” They blinked at him. “There is an evil wizard who wishes to hurt you!” Tom said.

Vedra and Krimon shifted uneasily, as though they sensed the urgency in his voice.

Tom tapped his hand against his chest. “I am here to protect you.”

“
We
are here to protect them, you mean,” said Elenna, riding up behind him with the bundled cloaks in her arms. “Well, let's see if they understand,” she added, hopping off the horseman. “Come on, little dragons — follow us!” She began walking toward the mouth of the cave.

To Tom's delight, the baby dragons got up and began to walk along behind them.

The other Beasts followed, too. They soon arrived at the wide cave mouth and found themselves staring out over a landscape of snow-covered hills and forests. This was a part of the kingdom Tom had never seen before.

The sky was clear and the dawning sun was low on the eastern horizon. Tom knew they must be a long way from the Royal Palace, but the map showed them that they still had a great distance to travel.

Tom and Elenna put their cloaks on. Sepron had stayed in the lake, but the other Beasts were congregated around them, as if to say farewell.

“We have to go now,” Tom said to the Beasts.

Ferno and Epos stepped forward.

“What is it?” Elenna asked. Cypher picked her up, and Tartok picked Tom up. Tom's head spun as he was swung up onto Epos's feathery back. Elenna was placed astride Ferno's scaly neck.

“Of course!” Tom said. “They know we don't have much time to get to Rion. It would be impossible to fulfill the Quest without them!”

“But what about Vedra and Krimon?” Elenna said. “I know they've got wings, but we can't expect them to fly all the way; they're far too young.”

Ferno turned his vast head to where Vedra and Krimon stood and made some deep rumbling sounds in his throat.

The baby dragons moved at once, Krimon clambering awkwardly up Ferno's wing onto the great dragon's back behind Elenna, and Vedra climbing onto Epos's back, cuddling up into the long, warm feathers just behind where Tom sat.

With a heavy flapping of wings, Ferno and Epos rose into the air. The snowy landscape fell away beneath them. Ferno and Epos circled the cave mouth once, where the other Beasts stood, proudly gazing up at them.

“Good-bye!” Tom called, reaching around to check that his shield was firmly in place on his back. The next moment, he needed both hands to cling to Epos's feathers as the great bird made a long curving swing upward and northward. Tom looked over his shoulder. Vedra was pressed tight onto Epos's back, his eyes wide with wonder as he stared down at the passing countryside.

“Malvel won't catch us now!” Elenna called.

“I hope not!” Tom called back.

They flew silently over the wintry landscape, the smooth blanket of snow shining like silver under the sun. It was early afternoon when Tom saw high mountains approaching under a sky thick with snow clouds.

Soon, they were beneath the clouds, flying through snow that filled all the sky. Their breath came out as mist, but Aduro's cloaks kept them snug and warm.

They flew over a jagged-toothed region of hills and crags. Tom pulled out the map and cleared the snowflakes out of his eyes. A golden glow showed their position. They were still in Avantia, but the border of Rion was fast approaching. It would not be long now!

Then Tom saw something odd on the map. He brought the parchment up closer to his face. One of the mountains on the map was different from all the others. It had a crater that was glowing with a fierce red fire.

“There's something strange ahead!” Elenna called.

Tom lifted his eyes. Right in front of them was the mountain that he had been looking at on the map.

“It's a volcano!” Tom shouted. “And it's erupting right in front of us!”

Epos let out a croak of alarm as a flood of molten rock and boiling smoke gushed up into the air. Tom saw that Elenna and Krimon were only just able to hold on to Ferno's back as he swerved away to the left to avoid the scalding fountain of fire.

A moment later Tom was almost wrenched from his place as Epos tried to avoid the huge flaming lumps of rock that were coming down in a deadly scorching rain. Vedra cried out behind him, clinging on fiercely to Epos's feathers.

Tom saw a fiery thunderbolt plunging toward them. He leaned back toward the baby dragon, throwing his shield up above his head in a desperate attempt to save them both.

Was the Quest going to end before it had begun?