‘I’d rather go down swinging than just lie down and let someone stomp all over me,’ said Charlotte. ‘And it isn’t like it would just be us versus dragons. We’d be fighting with dragons.’
The red dragon let out a snort that might have been a laugh. ‘I like your fire,’ it said.
Billy ran his hand through his hair. ‘Charlotte’s right,’ he said.
‘She is?’ said Dylan incredulously.
‘I am?’ said Charlotte.
‘I think so too,’ said Ling-Fei.
‘We can’t go back to camp, back to our old lives, and pretend none of this happened,’ Billy went on. ‘We have to do whatever we can to help stop this future from happening.’ Here was a chance to do something extraordinary. The chance to be a hero. To do something that would make his family, make everyone, proud. And, on top of that, he knew he would never forgive himself if he missed out on an adventure like this. He looked up at the dragons. ‘And you’re sure it’s the four of us?’
‘The combination of four hearts coming together that match our own is rare. We have been waiting a long time,’ said the red dragon.
‘I mean, this mountain is kind of in the middle of nowhere. No wonder you’ve been waiting so long,’ said Dylan.
‘Don’t be insolent,’ hissed the silver dragon. ‘The curse cannot be fooled. It has to be you four. Even you, despite your constant mewling.’
Dylan took a small step back, eyes wide behind his glasses. ‘Understood.’
‘It is your choice now,’ said the green dragon.
‘I want to help you,’ said Ling-Fei, her eyes shining.
‘Me too,’ said Charlotte.
Billy turned to his friends. ‘Aren’t you guys scared? This sounds huge. Huger than huge.’ He wanted to say yes, wanted to go and do this world-changing, world-saving thing. But that didn’t mean the idea of it didn’t terrify him.
‘Of course,’ said Charlotte. ‘But just because something scares you isn’t a reason not to do it.’
Billy nodded. He knew what she meant. He got a little scared every time he took on a wave bigger than he had before. Every time he entered a surf competition. But he was always glad he did it. And this… this was so much more epic than anything he’d ever done or even imagined he’d ever do.
‘Nothing is certain,’ said Ling-Fei. ‘But at least we’ll be together.’
And that was when it clicked inside Billy, like a jigsaw piece being snapped into place. He remembered when they’d faced the tiger outside the mountain. How it was something about their very togetherness that seemed to save them.
‘I’m in,’ said Billy. A mix of fear and excitement shot from his fingertips all the way to his toes, sending a warmth buzzing through him.
‘All right, all right,’ said Dylan. ‘I can’t be the one who says no and dooms all of humankind and dragonkind. I’m in too.’
Billy grinned at his friend. ‘We couldn’t do it without you, Dylan.’ Then he looked up at the dragons. ‘Is that it? Are we bonded now?’
‘Not quite,’ said the blue dragon with a smile. ‘But I am heartened you want to accept the bond and all that comes with it.’
‘Your willingness to accept shows you four do indeed have the kind of bravery and loyalty that we will need for the battle ahead,’ said the red dragon. ‘But there are steps to creating and cementing the bond.’
‘Is there some kind of official dragon–human bonding ceremony?’ said Charlotte. ‘I love a ceremony.’
The green dragon grinned, its teeth sharp and glinting. ‘First things first. As you have now committed to accepting the bond, we should show you our hoards.’
‘Your hoards?’ said Dylan. ‘Like treasure?’
‘Exactly like treasure! All dragons hoard,’ the green dragon went on. ‘And if we are going to be working together you should get to know us better. A dragon’s hoard is their most precious possession, and gives excellent insight into their personality and their heart.’
‘Which is why my hoard is the most impressive, and your hoard is… well… not,’ said the silver dragon.
‘We do not have time to argue about the merits of our hoards,’ said the red dragon. ‘But I agree, it is important for the children to see them.’
‘Follow me,’ sang the silver dragon, floating by in the air.
Billy and his friends looked at each other. ‘You guys sure about this?’ said Billy.
‘Please,’ said Charlotte, tossing her hair. ‘It’s just seeing some treasure. This isn’t the bit we should be scared about. This is the fun bit. Come on.’ She strode after the silver dragon.
‘She’s got a point,’ said Ling-Fei, hurrying after Charlotte.
‘Wait up! We should stay together!’ Billy called after them.
‘You are all definitely, one hundred per cent going to get me killed,’ said Dylan.
‘You don’t sound too upset by that,’ said Billy, nudging him.
‘If you’ve got to go, death by dragons seems a pretty good way to go,’ said Dylan with a wry grin.
Billy laughed and shook his head. ‘This… it is all a bit unbelievable, isn’t it?’
‘I figure as long as you three are seeing the same stuff as I am, at least I’m not going completely bonkers,’ said Dylan cheerfully.
‘Hurry up!’ Charlotte yelled from up ahead. ‘You guys will want to see this!’
Billy and Dylan raced after the others, going down a long corridor. Shimmering crystals overhead lit their way.
At the end of the corridor, Billy had to shield his eyes.
Diamonds, some as big as baseballs, shone next to glistening emeralds. Red rubies winked in the light. A whole stack of jade bracelets towered so tall it almost touched the ceiling of the cavern. There were necklaces and earrings, pendants and rings. The silver dragon flew round her hoard with pride, and then dived head first into it, sending jewels and gems flying.
The children stared, open-mouthed.
‘Well,’ said the silver dragon, popping her head out from her sparkling pile of jewels. ‘What do you think?’
‘It’s incredible,’ said Ling-Fei, her dark eyes reflecting the shine of the jewels.
‘It’s like something out of a dream,’ said Billy.
