Chapter Fourteen
Taking a deep breath as the dragon had ordered, she said shakily, through her tears, “I promised to meet Barnaby. Is there another way out, please? I don't want to break my word.”
“You are a good child, and will become a good woman, Jay,” pronounced the dragon. “Now let me help you. I had intended to send you straight back to your own world, but now shut your eyes and sit very still on the ground so that I may blow you with my breath. I will send you to the mountain outside my cave, where the boar boy awaits. You will come to no harm as you leave, but be cautious on your way home.”
She knelt down, put her arms around the egg, clasped it tightly to her and sat waiting, curled around it as best she could. It was warm and round and very slightly comforting.
“Ah,” said the dragon, “I see a problem. Let go the egg and shut your eyes, child, there is something I need to do.”
Obediently Jay moved away and sat next to the egg. She squeezed her aching eyes shut as the dragon's hot, rather intimately smelly breath surrounded her.
“Now we are ready. Open your eyes and take the egg. Put it in your pack and stand up.”
Jay again did as she was told. The egg had become an oval, multi-coloured stone which was now small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. She tucked it carefully away and got to her feet.
“Now, there is something you need to know about my egg. As long as it is touching your skin in this world, it will help you do more than you could if you were in your own. It augments your own abilities...”
“What does that mean, please?” interrupted Jay, puzzled.
“It means that whatever you try to do, you will be able to do better, up to a point. I think you should try it out. You may need to know how to use it before you get home.”
Jay took out the eggstone again, and held it in her hand. It still felt warm, and fitted perfectly in her closed fist.
“Jump up!”
Jay was amazed to find that she could jump almost as high as herself. She jumped, partly for the sheer joy of it, several times before the dragon said:
“Now, come along the ledge here and try it out again.”
She bent down to retrieve her pack and slung it back on her shoulders. With the eggstone still held firmly in her hand, she turned and walked along the wide path to her right for several yards before finding her way interrupted by a large gap, more than three times her length. She looked at the dragon inquiringly.
“Use your head, Jay! Take a run at it!”
“But I can't possibly jump that! I'll fall down the hole!”
“Don't worry, Jay, you can certainly do it. But if you fall short I will catch you safely.”
Doubtingly, she walked back along the ledge, turned and ran as fast as she could, lifting into the air at the edge of the gap. To her utter astonishment, she found herself landing not only the other side, but several feet further along the ledge.
“Now run!”
Grinning now, she ran. Each step was huge, and she found herself at the end of the path, near the other side of the den from where she had entered.
“I will help you out onto the hillside. It is time for you to go now.”
The dragon's breath surrounded her again, and she was lifted and set down so swiftly and gently that she had little time to react to the experience. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye, or to thank the dragon. For which she felt guilty, of course; but there was nothing to be done about it.
The feel of the sun, warm on her head and folded knees, was very welcome for she felt chilled all through, in spite of the warmth of the dragon's breath. She opened her eyes and stretched her legs. The slope ahead and downhill of her was yellowish, sandy and dry, with outcrops of dark grey rock and parched, brittle-looking bushes. Barnaby was lying a little way away from her, arms behind his head, just gazing into the sky. She looked away, unwilling to speak to anyone for the time being. Everything was too much to take in. Apart from the constant sound of drumming which had almost become part of her, there was absolute silence, with no wind or birdsong to disturb the stillness. She lay down in the sunshine and dozed a little.
Feeling too hot, she eventually sat up and opened her eyes. Barnaby was still there, a little way off, and she was more ready to speak to him now. She picked up a small pebble and tossed it in his general direction, so that he turned his head and gave one of his enormous grins.
“How did it go? Nice old creature, didn't you find?”
“Oh, Barnaby, I was so frightened! And afterwards was so awful, even though it was kind it told me... it told me... I can't talk about it. Sorry.”
“That's all right. I know what you were told, and I'm sorry too. Were you going to be sent straight home?”
“Yes, but I couldn't not meet you first. Now I don't know how to go. ”
“Don't worry. I can take you some of the way, and you'll find it won't be difficult to go the rest of the way yourself. Come on!”
He stood up and stretched, came over to Jay and held out a hand to help her to her feet; the other hand was still clasped around the egg.
“Well, you got a present! I thought that might happen, but I wasn't sure. That is a great privilege, you must take care of it. Keep tight hold of it as we go. Now, I want you to picture the place in your own world where you came here from, the place you told me about outside the cave. Try to keep it as clear as you can in your mind.”
The slope ahead of them was sandy and dry, with outcrops of rock and brittle looking bushes. There was no obvious track leading to the tree line far below, but Barnaby seemed to know the way and headed downwards to their right. As they found a pace that suited the moderate slope, Jay found herself taking longer and longer strides, covering more ground between each footfall until she was fairly leaping down the mountain. She could hardly feel her feet touch the ground. She glanced at Barnaby, who was grinning from ear to ear and looking remarkably smug. She grinned back, but the wind was so loud in her ears that it was impossible to talk to him.
The scrub gave way to sparse and then thick pines.They were forced to slow their pace to follow the path, which wound down and down until Jay, badly out of breath, with a stitch in her side and longing for a rest, saw that the path led alongside a fierce little stream.
“I really need to sit down for a while. Can we stop here, please?”
“Just a little further,” answered Barnaby, who seemed not to be affected at all by their long run. “Look, there's a sheltered gully not far ahead. That would do, I think.”
He took her by the hand as they strolled, more gently now, round the bluff and into the gully. This turned out to be more of a gorge, with a trickle of brook chuckling down the middle; Barnaby led them further than Jay wanted to go, right to the narrow blind end of it, where it was bare of all but a boulder and a couple of thorny bushes.
“Right,” said Barnaby, letting go of her hand and looking round with satisfaction. “This is just the place. This is exactly where I meant to bring you. Now,” he continued, “you can take your pack off. Let's see what it's got for us.”
Jay glanced at him, on her guard suddenly for he sounded so different. She sat down, taking off the pack, palmed the talisman and turned away from him. Carefully she tucked the stone into her breastband next to the knot, wishing she'd done it before. It stuck there, quite lumpy and uncomfortable against the skin of her breastbone but as secure as she could make it. If it slipped, it could only fall as far as her waist, where it would be caught safely.
“What are you doing?” Barnaby's voice sounded harsher and older: more like a man's than a boy's. She dropped the pack and turned round, now thoroughly alarmed.
“Give me the talisman! Give it to me now,” he snarled at her.
Jay was speechless with indignation and betrayal. She stood up and backed away from him.
“Don't be silly. You're just a little girl. Don't defy me, Jay! Give it to me now!”
He was advancing on her now, grown suddenly tall and adult and threatening. She backed further. A largish pointy stone banged against her heel. Reaching down quickly, she picked it up and carried on backing away from Barnaby's advance until her way was blocked by the boulder she'd noticed on their way in. She tried to edge round it, but Barnaby was upon her, pushing her up against the stone and shaking her roughly by the shoulders until her head banged against rock. Tears of pain and fury came to her eyes.
“I won't give you the stone. It's mine, the dragon gave it to me, not you!”
One more harsh shake and Barnaby let her go. “Give it to me! I've wanted one of the dragon's eggs and its power for many years. It's mine by right,” he shouted. “Give it to me now or it will be the worse for you!”
What a bully, thought Jay. I never noticed that before, he seemed so nice and friendly. Well, I was warned to look out for trouble.
Barnaby stepped back. His features began to change: his nose lengthened and turned into a hideous, stubbly snout. His ears lengthened, his shoulders hunched, his neck thickened and disappeared. He dropped face forward to the ground and suddenly Jay saw a huge, ugly, tusked boar in front of her. With a roaring snorting snarl, the boar turned full circle, its hooves throwing up the ground as it turned again to face her.
It was about to charge, Jay realised with horror. There was nowhere to run... she bent her knees, remembering her leap in the dragon's den, and jumped up and behind her, still clutching the rock in one hand.
The boar screamed with rage. It leapt up at her but couldn't quite reach. It raced with stiff legs around and around the rock, squealing so loudly the sound bounced off the walls of the cut; then it settled down betwen Jay and the way out. Jay sat on the rock, her heart still pounding. There was no way down without confronting the boar, even if she could do one of her amazing leaps, because the walls of the gully were too close around her apart from where he was sitting. After a while, she realised that her pack was still on the floor of the gully. The boar only had to wait until Jay was hungry enough to come down: he could starve her out, and there was nothing, nothing at all she could do about it.
Taking a deep breath as the dragon had ordered, she said shakily, through her tears, “I promised to meet Barnaby. Is there another way out, please? I don't want to break my word.”
“You are a good child, and will become a good woman, Jay,” pronounced the dragon. “Now let me help you. I had intended to send you straight back to your own world, but now shut your eyes and sit very still on the ground so that I may blow you with my breath. I will send you to the mountain outside my cave, where the boar boy awaits. You will come to no harm as you leave, but be cautious on your way home.”
She knelt down, put her arms around the egg, clasped it tightly to her and sat waiting, curled around it as best she could. It was warm and round and very slightly comforting.
“Ah,” said the dragon, “I see a problem. Let go the egg and shut your eyes, child, there is something I need to do.”
Obediently Jay moved away and sat next to the egg. She squeezed her aching eyes shut as the dragon's hot, rather intimately smelly breath surrounded her.
“Now we are ready. Open your eyes and take the egg. Put it in your pack and stand up.”
Jay again did as she was told. The egg had become an oval, multi-coloured stone which was now small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. She tucked it carefully away and got to her feet.
“Now, there is something you need to know about my egg. As long as it is touching your skin in this world, it will help you do more than you could if you were in your own. It augments your own abilities...”
“What does that mean, please?” interrupted Jay, puzzled.
“It means that whatever you try to do, you will be able to do better, up to a point. I think you should try it out. You may need to know how to use it before you get home.”
Jay took out the eggstone again, and held it in her hand. It still felt warm, and fitted perfectly in her closed fist.
“Jump up!”
Jay was amazed to find that she could jump almost as high as herself. She jumped, partly for the sheer joy of it, several times before the dragon said:
“Now, come along the ledge here and try it out again.”
She bent down to retrieve her pack and slung it back on her shoulders. With the eggstone still held firmly in her hand, she turned and walked along the wide path to her right for several yards before finding her way interrupted by a large gap, more than three times her length. She looked at the dragon inquiringly.
“Use your head, Jay! Take a run at it!”
“But I can't possibly jump that! I'll fall down the hole!”
“Don't worry, Jay, you can certainly do it. But if you fall short I will catch you safely.”
Doubtingly, she walked back along the ledge, turned and ran as fast as she could, lifting into the air at the edge of the gap. To her utter astonishment, she found herself landing not only the other side, but several feet further along the ledge.
“Now run!”
Grinning now, she ran. Each step was huge, and she found herself at the end of the path, near the other side of the den from where she had entered.
“I will help you out onto the hillside. It is time for you to go now.”
The dragon's breath surrounded her again, and she was lifted and set down so swiftly and gently that she had little time to react to the experience. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye, or to thank the dragon. For which she felt guilty, of course; but there was nothing to be done about it.
The feel of the sun, warm on her head and folded knees, was very welcome for she felt chilled all through, in spite of the warmth of the dragon's breath. She opened her eyes and stretched her legs. The slope ahead and downhill of her was yellowish, sandy and dry, with outcrops of dark grey rock and parched, brittle-looking bushes. Barnaby was lying a little way away from her, arms behind his head, just gazing into the sky. She looked away, unwilling to speak to anyone for the time being. Everything was too much to take in. Apart from the constant sound of drumming which had almost become part of her, there was absolute silence, with no wind or birdsong to disturb the stillness. She lay down in the sunshine and dozed a little.
Feeling too hot, she eventually sat up and opened her eyes. Barnaby was still there, a little way off, and she was more ready to speak to him now. She picked up a small pebble and tossed it in his general direction, so that he turned his head and gave one of his enormous grins.
“How did it go? Nice old creature, didn't you find?”
“Oh, Barnaby, I was so frightened! And afterwards was so awful, even though it was kind it told me... it told me... I can't talk about it. Sorry.”
“That's all right. I know what you were told, and I'm sorry too. Were you going to be sent straight home?”
“Yes, but I couldn't not meet you first. Now I don't know how to go. ”
“Don't worry. I can take you some of the way, and you'll find it won't be difficult to go the rest of the way yourself. Come on!”
He stood up and stretched, came over to Jay and held out a hand to help her to her feet; the other hand was still clasped around the egg.
“Well, you got a present! I thought that might happen, but I wasn't sure. That is a great privilege, you must take care of it. Keep tight hold of it as we go. Now, I want you to picture the place in your own world where you came here from, the place you told me about outside the cave. Try to keep it as clear as you can in your mind.”
The slope ahead of them was sandy and dry, with outcrops of rock and brittle looking bushes. There was no obvious track leading to the tree line far below, but Barnaby seemed to know the way and headed downwards to their right. As they found a pace that suited the moderate slope, Jay found herself taking longer and longer strides, covering more ground between each footfall until she was fairly leaping down the mountain. She could hardly feel her feet touch the ground. She glanced at Barnaby, who was grinning from ear to ear and looking remarkably smug. She grinned back, but the wind was so loud in her ears that it was impossible to talk to him.
The scrub gave way to sparse and then thick pines.They were forced to slow their pace to follow the path, which wound down and down until Jay, badly out of breath, with a stitch in her side and longing for a rest, saw that the path led alongside a fierce little stream.
“I really need to sit down for a while. Can we stop here, please?”
“Just a little further,” answered Barnaby, who seemed not to be affected at all by their long run. “Look, there's a sheltered gully not far ahead. That would do, I think.”
He took her by the hand as they strolled, more gently now, round the bluff and into the gully. This turned out to be more of a gorge, with a trickle of brook chuckling down the middle; Barnaby led them further than Jay wanted to go, right to the narrow blind end of it, where it was bare of all but a boulder and a couple of thorny bushes.
“Right,” said Barnaby, letting go of her hand and looking round with satisfaction. “This is just the place. This is exactly where I meant to bring you. Now,” he continued, “you can take your pack off. Let's see what it's got for us.”
Jay glanced at him, on her guard suddenly for he sounded so different. She sat down, taking off the pack, palmed the talisman and turned away from him. Carefully she tucked the stone into her breastband next to the knot, wishing she'd done it before. It stuck there, quite lumpy and uncomfortable against the skin of her breastbone but as secure as she could make it. If it slipped, it could only fall as far as her waist, where it would be caught safely.
“What are you doing?” Barnaby's voice sounded harsher and older: more like a man's than a boy's. She dropped the pack and turned round, now thoroughly alarmed.
“Give me the talisman! Give it to me now,” he snarled at her.
Jay was speechless with indignation and betrayal. She stood up and backed away from him.
“Don't be silly. You're just a little girl. Don't defy me, Jay! Give it to me now!”
He was advancing on her now, grown suddenly tall and adult and threatening. She backed further. A largish pointy stone banged against her heel. Reaching down quickly, she picked it up and carried on backing away from Barnaby's advance until her way was blocked by the boulder she'd noticed on their way in. She tried to edge round it, but Barnaby was upon her, pushing her up against the stone and shaking her roughly by the shoulders until her head banged against rock. Tears of pain and fury came to her eyes.
“I won't give you the stone. It's mine, the dragon gave it to me, not you!”
One more harsh shake and Barnaby let her go. “Give it to me! I've wanted one of the dragon's eggs and its power for many years. It's mine by right,” he shouted. “Give it to me now or it will be the worse for you!”
What a bully, thought Jay. I never noticed that before, he seemed so nice and friendly. Well, I was warned to look out for trouble.
Barnaby stepped back. His features began to change: his nose lengthened and turned into a hideous, stubbly snout. His ears lengthened, his shoulders hunched, his neck thickened and disappeared. He dropped face forward to the ground and suddenly Jay saw a huge, ugly, tusked boar in front of her. With a roaring snorting snarl, the boar turned full circle, its hooves throwing up the ground as it turned again to face her.
It was about to charge, Jay realised with horror. There was nowhere to run... she bent her knees, remembering her leap in the dragon's den, and jumped up and behind her, still clutching the rock in one hand.
The boar screamed with rage. It leapt up at her but couldn't quite reach. It raced with stiff legs around and around the rock, squealing so loudly the sound bounced off the walls of the cut; then it settled down betwen Jay and the way out. Jay sat on the rock, her heart still pounding. There was no way down without confronting the boar, even if she could do one of her amazing leaps, because the walls of the gully were too close around her apart from where he was sitting. After a while, she realised that her pack was still on the floor of the gully. The boar only had to wait until Jay was hungry enough to come down: he could starve her out, and there was nothing, nothing at all she could do about it.