‘Ling-Fei, aren’t bones, by their very nature, a bit… dead?’ asked Dylan.
‘What do you mean?’ said Ling-Fei.
‘Doesn’t your power help you sense… living things? Isn’t it strange that you found the bones?’
Ling-Fei nodded slowly. ‘That’s what I thought.’ She pulled out the oracle bone again. ‘But this is definitely calling to me. And it feels… alive.’
They all stared at the ivory bone, as if waiting for it to jump up in the air. A shiver ran down Billy’s spine.
‘Maybe you can sense magic too, the way Xing can,’ said Charlotte to Ling-Fei. ‘If that is the case, maybe you could try to sense the Lightning Pearl.’
‘Good idea, Charlotte,’ said Billy, even though he wished that he was the one who could sense it.
Ling-Fei closed her eyes and focused. Then her eyes flew open and she pointed to the top of a bookshelf. ‘There. There’s something there.’
Billy looked up and saw a wink of flashing blue light. ‘I see something!’ he said. He clambered up the bookshelf as if it was a ladder. He could see the pearl now. It glowed blue and inside it tiny bolts of lightning danced around, as if trying to escape.
‘A storm trapped in a pearl,’ Billy said in wonder as he reached out and grabbed it. The pearl sparked in his hands, sending small jolts of electricity up his arms. ‘Whoa.’
‘Do you have it?’ said Charlotte from below.
Billy turned to hop down from the bookshelf, but what started as a jump turned into a backflip. He landed on two feet, the pearl still clutched in his hand.
His friends stared at him.
‘Have you… always been able to do that?’ said Dylan.
Billy shook his head and then grinned. ‘I think my power has been activated.’
Suit Up
This time, the walk back to the mountain felt different. Purposeful. It was dark outside, but the Lightning Pearl lit up enough to show the path. They had decided to go straight to the mountain instead of waiting until morning. The sooner they returned to their dragons, the better. They marched in silence, excitement radiating off them like steam from a hot bowl of soup.
They found the dragons in the main cavern. As soon as Billy saw Spark, he was filled with that same sense of strength and calm he’d had when he thought about her earlier. But now it was magnified. He felt invincible.
‘You came back,’ said Tank.
‘Of course we did,’ said Charlotte.
‘Humans are fickle creatures,’ said Xing. But she was smiling. ‘I’m hoping you succeeded in what we asked of you.’
‘We found the Lightning Pearl,’ said Billy, reaching into his pocket and holding it out.
‘And?’ said Spark, giving Billy her sharp-toothed smile.
Billy leaped into the air and did two somersaults. ‘I think my power has something to do with balance and agility,’ he said, landing on silent feet.
‘My power showed itself too!’ said Dylan, telling them what had happened with Old Gold.
Buttons applauded. ‘A delightful power! And so useful too.’
‘Intriguing, that a human would have a pearl and oracle bones,’ said Xing, inspecting the oracle bone that Ling-Fei had brought back. ‘This one is about us, the return of the dragons.’
‘Do you think Old Gold has read it?’ asked Ling-Fei.
‘Humans rarely know how to read them properly. Even if he did, he wouldn’t know what it meant,’ said Xing dismissively.
‘And now… now do we go into the Dragon Realm?’ asked Billy.
Tank appraised them. ‘We will go soon. When we get there, the first thing we should do is find our old clan, alongside whom we battled the Dragon of Death and her nox-wings. Our old friend Dimitrius will have been in charge. And then we will find out why the Dragon of Death is growing in strength, even back in time when she should be unable to do anything.’
‘It has to be something to do with those wretched nox-wings,’ sniffed Buttons. ‘Odious creatures, really. Would do anything for a bit of ill-gotten power.’
‘Before we go, there’s one more thing,’ said Xing. ‘We need to get you properly clothed.’ She made a derisive sound. ‘Humans, with their soft skin and weak bones. Such a liability.’
‘I quite like my skin,’ said Dylan.
‘Then you probably want to keep it on your body,’ said Xing. ‘Now come with me!’
They followed Xing down the corridor to her hoard. She dived in, sniffing around, and then pushed out a jewelled trunk. She popped it open with her nose. Shining fabric spilled out.
‘Is that… living fabric?’ asked Ling-Fei, moving closer. ‘I can sense it.’
‘It’s magic, not living,’ said Xing. ‘But your power seems to already be growing.’ She shouted, ‘Spark! I need your help.’
Spark flew in on silent wings.
‘Use your… electricity thing,’ said Xing.
‘These bolts of fabric are incredibly rare, and very valuable,’ Spark explained. ‘They will be able to protect you from almost anything.’ She smiled. ‘It is the closest thing to dragon skin we can give you.’
‘You,’ said Xing, pointing her snout at Dylan. ‘We will start with you. Come here.’
A sheet of metallic green fabric rose up from the trunk, as if of its own accord, and swept over Dylan, covering him completely.
Xing focused on Dylan. Her eyes glowed and a light emanated from them. Spark made a low buzzing sound, and bolts of electricity zapped from her wings towards Dylan. He giggled as one hit him.
‘That tickles,’ he said, squirming.
‘Hold still,’ said Xing.
Billy stared in amazement as the fabric morphed round Dylan’s body, shaping itself to his figure. The neck hole stretched round his head, revealing Dylan’s shocked face. Then the two dragons exhaled. Dylan stood in front of them, wearing a full bodysuit of metallic green.
‘You look like a superhero!’ said Ling-Fei.
‘I feel like a superhero!’ said Dylan, stretching in it. He looked up at Xing and Spark. ‘Thank you!’
Xing snorted. ‘Thanks are not required,’ she said. ‘We’re taking necessary precautions.’ She looked over at Billy, Charlotte and Ling-Fei. ‘Who’s next?’
Charlotte leaped forward. ‘Can mine have
