Billy was so shocked, he couldn’t move. He just stared at the man he thought he knew. The man he’d trusted. The man he’d thought was supposed to keep them safe. Next to Billy, Charlotte stared open-mouthed, and Ling-Fei was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Billy wanted to do something, anything, but it felt as if his whole body was made of lead. He was frozen to the spot.
‘I always knew children would be my way into the mountain,’ he said. ‘After all, who has a braver heart than a child? So brave. And so foolish.’ Old Gold moved closer to the portal. ‘Why do you think I wasted all that time setting up a ridiculous culture and language camp? I got as close as I could to the entrance. Oh, yes, I knew about Dragon Mountain from the oracle bones. It took me decades to work out what those bones said. And, when I did, I tried everything. But I still couldn’t get in! That infernal tiger kept chasing me away. And, even when I realized it wasn’t real, I couldn’t get past it. But I knew I was close. I needed –’ his lip curled – ‘four hearts. But that wasn’t all. No, it was a matter of finding the right combination of hearts. The strange alchemy that would match all the desired traits of these dragons. The ones who would break the curse. But I had my own bits of magic, scavenged over the years. How do you think I found you brats in the first place? All it took was a little persuasion to convince your nitwit parents and teachers to send you to my camp.’
Old Gold looked directly at Ling-Fei. ‘I’m glad I kept you alive all this time, although I’ll admit I never thought you would be such a key part of this. Thank you for opening the mountain.’
Old Gold surveyed the dragons surrounding them. ‘I will be the one to bring the Great One back. I will succeed where you have failed. I will not be denied. I have seen what glory the future holds for her and any others by her side, and I will stop at nothing to fulfil the Great One’s vision. I will be the one to win her favour. I will be the one by her side when we rule both realms. All of you will bow to me. And the only being I shall answer to will be the Great One herself.’
‘You fool,’ said Dimitrius, who was still hovering above. He seemed to be watching all this with amusement, Billy thought. ‘You need a dragon to travel through that portal.’
Old Gold laughed again and flashed a vial of golden liquid in the hand holding Dylan. ‘And I do. I have the blood of the Great One herself, and it will take me straight to her! The portal may be too damaged for the Great One to return now, but we will return. Be prepared for the reckoning.’
Old Gold still had the ball of purple electricity pressed against Dylan, whose face was frozen in terror. Billy willed him to fight back, to use his power against Old Gold, but Dylan appeared to have gone into shock. Billy wanted to rush forward and grab his friend, but he was terrified that if he got too close Old Gold would carry out his threat and kill Dylan instantly.
‘This one will come in handy,’ Old Gold said, jerking his head towards Dylan. ‘You brats and your hearts seem to be good for opening doors. Who knows what else I can use him for?’
‘No!’ shouted Billy, a sickening realization dawning on him. But, before he could do anything, Old Gold jumped into the portal, pulling Dylan with him. The portal closed behind them and disappeared.
The Promise Of A Dragon
Billy stared at the ground where Dylan had been moments before.
A loud howl went up from Dimitrius. ‘Idiot human! He closed the portal! All our efforts for nothing! He will pay. You will all pay! I will find the Great One. I won’t be stopped.’
Over a hundred good dragons, ones who had been caged, closed in on the nox-wings and Dimitrius. Bitter rage flashed across his face and he flew high into the sky. The red dome had disappeared along with the portal. ‘You may outnumber us now, but this is not over,’ he roared. ‘Noxious! To me!’ With that, he and the rest of the nox-wings flew away.
Billy almost didn’t hear any of it. He couldn’t stop staring at the place where Dylan had disappeared with Old Gold. How could this have happened? He felt a stab of guilt as he remembered that Dylan had wanted to turn back and Billy had convinced him to keep going. With everything they’d gone through together, Dylan had become one of Billy’s closest friends. And now he was gone.
Billy squeezed his eyes shut, unable to face it all. He felt a nudge on his shoulder and opened his eyes. It was Spark. She had shrunk to her usual size. ‘I am so sorry, Billy.’
Billy looked back down at the ground where Dylan had disappeared.
‘We’ll find a way to reopen the portal, right? We have to get him back.’ He looked around and realized the sun was shining. The dark clouds had cleared, revealing a bright blue sky. The three moons still sat above the oval sun. Vibrant green grass was beginning to sprout rapidly from the earth, and the foliage at the edge of the clearing turned from deep shades of purple and
