Jonah and the Last Great Dragon
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Authors: M.E. Holley
First published by Our Street Books, 2014
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Text copyright: M E Holley 2013
ISBN: 978 1 78279 502 5
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This book is for my husband Brian, who went with me to see the church at Cascob.
The Radnor Forest is ringed by villages whose churches are dedicated to St Michael the Dragonslayer. An old legend tells that if the link between the churches weakens, the last great dragon will awake and ravage the countryside. Because there is a service only once a month, I joked that the link could weaken and the dragon would wake up. Brian said, ‘Now write the story.’
Also available
Jonah and the Last Great Dragon: Legend of the Heart Eaters
With thanks to Wing Commander Bob Best AFC, who worked out Ffyrnig’s normal flying and landing speeds, and to Wing Commander Peter Hereford OBE, a member of the Hereford family of Mordiford, who suggested to my mind the character of Sam Hereford, the captain of SAS Air Troop.
Thanks also to ‘Tony’, a soldier in the SAS, who answered my questions about communicating with signals, and preparations for travel inside the Arctic Circle.
I also want to acknowledge the young men in our family, who lent their names to the dragon-riders:
Sam, Henry and Oliver Carter, Max and Oscar Holley, Isaac Christiansen, Jack Allen and Toby Warren.
Meet Jonah and Ffyrnig at
http://www.jonahandthelastgreatdragon.co.uk
IN THE RADNOR FOREST
It was very quiet in the little Welsh valley. In the shade of a clump of trees some cattle and a couple of ponies were panting in the August heat. They didn’t seem to notice a sudden gleam of brilliant light that swept down from the sky and disappeared into the woods on the hilltop. For a moment something glowed in the trees. A few moments later, a young man, dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, came striding out of the woodland to make his way down towards one of the farms.
Jonah Drake came downstairs and went into the kitchen at Maesglas Farm, where his Uncle Bryn was filling the kettle.
Bryn smiled. ‘Have a good sleep?’
‘Yes, thanks.’ Jonah glanced at the kitchen clock. ‘Hey, is that the time? I didn’t realise I’d slept that long. Sorry. I’m not much help, am I?’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said his uncle, patting Jonah’s shoulder. ‘If anyone deserved a good night’s rest, it’s you. Let’s face it, you were up nearly all night twenty-four hours ago. Want some breakfast?’
‘Just toast, thanks. I’ll get it. Shall I make you a coffee?’
‘Please.’ Bryn pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. ‘I don’t know. It doesn’t seem possible that your mum and dad only left on Wednesday.’
Jonah nodded. His parents had brought him down from Lancaster to spend his summer holiday in Wales, before leaving for Saudi Arabia, where they were going to work for a few weeks. On Thursday, Jonah had woken early and
gone out into the meadows behind the farm. One moment everything had been peaceful, quiet and ordinary, and then, in an instant, his world had changed forever. It had begun, when a terrifying dog chased him down the hill, and he had only just managed to escape by sprinting into a neighbour’s farm. Later, feeling rather silly, he had admitted to Erin Morgan, the farmer’s daughter, that he wasn’t sure that the animal that had gone for him was actually a dog.
‘I mean,’ he had said, reddening, ‘if I didn’t know wolves are extinct in Britain, I’d have thought that’s what I saw. A really big wolf.’
And that was just what it had turned out to be.
Bryn stirred his coffee and grinned at Jonah. ‘Don’t know what we did for excitement till you got here. Other kids go down the lane with friends, ride their bikes, have a game of footy. You meet Erin Morgan, her mum asks you to lunch, you go for a bit of a walk and next thing there are Night Creatures on the church roof and a pack of demon wolves chasing you home!’
‘Beats counting your Herefords for something to do. Cows don’t run that fast.’ Jonah tried to sound offhand but last night he had dreamed about the moment when the pack leader’s jaws bit down on his shoulder, and had woken up shaking and covered in sweat.
Bryn spluttered with laughter. ‘Well, it certainly makes your heart beat faster. Mine, at any rate. Not to mention finding out that my nice new nephew is descended from some ancestor who fought with dragons. Amazing, that! Particularly as nobody by here believed in dragons till you arrived.’
Jonah began to laugh, too. ‘And if I tell my mates at school what’s been happening here, none of them will believe me either.’
The day after the wolf attack he and Erin, together with lots of people from the villages around the Radnor Forest, had stood in the churchyard and watched in terror, as the last Great Dragon of Wales emerged from his long, long sleep beneath the Forest. As the crowd cowered, the Archangel, Michael the Dragon Slayer, had appeared in the sky with other angels. When the dragon had said that it liked the look of the cattle in the valley, Jonah had yelled at it without thinking, begging it not to attack Bryn’s Herefords. That’s when he had found, to everyone’s astonishment, that he and the firedrake could understand each other. And then Saint Michael had told Jonah that he must have descended from a warrior who had fought with a dragon and eaten its heart. If anyone ate a dragon’s heart, the Archangel had said, he and his descendants would be able to talk with, and control, dragons.
When the demons, the Night Creatures, had used the passageways around the dragon’s cavern to emerge from the Underworld and attack Hereford Cathedral, everyone found that modern weapons were useless against them. Only dragon-fire would work, and there seemed to be nobody else but Jonah whom Ffyrnig, the dragon, would willingly obey. He and Erin had flown on the dragon’s back to help sweep the Night Creatures back to the Underworld. And they had nearly been killed. At the very end of the battle in the cathedral precincts, Jonah had been ambushed by some demon wolves with their master, the terrible hooded wraith known as the Wolfmaster, who had intended to drag him down to the Underworld. Only Erin’s quick thinking had saved him. She had seen Saint Michael’s sword lying by the altar and had used it to fight off the wolves.
‘How are you feeling? Got some nasty bruises, I expect,’ said Bryn.
Jonah shook his head. ‘Not too bad. I’m sore where Ffyrnig grabbed me as I pitched off the cathedral roof, though. His claws are terribly sharp.’ Jonah glanced out of the window. ‘Where is he, by the way? Have you seen him this morning?’
Bryn nodded. ‘He’s up in the field by the church.’ He started to laugh. ‘My darling wife bid me eat cereal or cook my own breakfast, because it was far more important that she drove up the lane with meat for your dragon’s breakfast. Only married six months and already second in the pecking order.’
Jonah grinned. ‘Poor old Bryn. I shouldn’t worry. Claire will get used to having a dragon around soon. Everyone will. ’
‘Don’t count on it,
bach
. As soon as the phone and TV systems are restored, you and Ffyrnig, not forgetting young Erin, are going to find yourselves famous. Then all your friends
will
know what’s been going on in the valley. I’m a bit worried, to tell you the truth. It won’t be easy to protect you from newspaper reporters, here.’
Jonah laughed. ‘I reckon Ffyrnig can look after them. Breathe a bit of fire their way. Show his teeth. That should get rid of them, don’t you think?’
‘It would get rid of me,’ said a voice, and the young man who had walked down from the hilltop put his head round the door.
‘Mike! Come in. Want a coffee?’ asked Bryn.
Mike nodded. ‘Please. I think I saw Erin in the lane.’
There was the noise of an engine coming up the drive. Jonah went to look out of the door. ‘Oh, yes, Erin’s here,’ he said. ‘And the mail van is, too.’
Erin came across the yard with the postman, who was carrying a handful of letters and cards.
‘Somebody’s got a birthday, I see,’ said the postman.
‘No, more of a family celebration,’ Bryn answered. He winked at Jonah. If they started telling the postman what had been happening in the valley, he would never finish his round!
As the man left, Erin beamed round at everyone.
‘Want a coffee or juice or something?’ asked Jonah.
‘Yes, please. I’d love some orange juice.’ She glanced at the envelopes. ‘Hey, Jonah, these all seem to be for you and me. Look.’
‘Oh, yeah. Bit early for birthday stuff though, isn’t it?’ Jonah and Erin would both be thirteen soon.
‘Only one way to find out,’ said Mike. ‘Go on, you two. Open them.’
Erin pushed some cards towards Jonah and began to open one herself.
Jonah leaned over. ‘Who’s it from?’
‘The Bishop! It’s to thank us for fighting the Night Creatures. Isn’t that lovely of him!’
The Dean and Clergy of the Cathedral, the parish council and many other people from the city and from villages in the Radnor Forest had sent messages of thanks, and praised Jonah and Erin for their bravery. The Mayor of Hereford and the Chairman of the County Council both suggested a celebration in appreciation of what the children had done.
Erin shook her dark curly head, looking dazed. ‘This is what it must be like to be the Duchess of Cambridge.’ She turned to Mike with a huge smile. ‘If there is a party or anything, you will come, won’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Jonah agreed. ‘We would never have won against the demons without you.’
Mike, who had turned out to be the Archangel Michael, smiled but Jonah thought he seemed distracted.
‘Is something wrong?’
Mike sighed as Jonah handed him a mug of coffee. ‘It’s not good news at all, I’m afraid,’ he said, as he sat down.
A NEW THREAT
Mike’s news made their hearts sink.
‘Are the demons really back again?’ asked Erin.
Jonah pulled out a chair and looked anxiously at Mike. ‘Didn’t we drive them back to the Underworld after all? Don’t tell me the whole battle was for nothing.’ He chewed his lip. ‘What now? Have we got to go back to Hereford?’
Mike shook his head. ‘No, Hereford is all right. It seems to be back to normal.’ He grinned. ‘Well, except that everyone’s standing around in High Town talking about
their
dragon. And a certain young hero and heroine.’ He chuckled as Erin’s mouth fell open and Jonah’s face reddened.
‘No need to blush,’ said Bryn. ‘You did better than good, the three of you. But what’s happened now?’
Mike rubbed his forehead. ‘We thought that the Night Creatures had only interfered with the communications systems around here, in the Welsh Marches. It’s much worse than that. They are bringing the UK to a standstill.’
‘What? The whole country?’
‘Looks as if it could go that way. They have swarmed on London now.’
Bryn stared. ‘London!
Duw
, this is terrible. What are you going to do?’
Mike glanced at Jonah.
‘Oh, no, Mike. Please. You’re not going to ask Jonah to fly to London, are you? Look, we nearly lost him Friday night. Claire will go spare!’
‘Oh? Why should I go spare?’ asked Claire, coming into
the kitchen. ‘Hi, Erin. Oh, Mike! Hello. Any idea when we’ll get the telephones and the Internet back?’ She moved over to the sink and began washing her hands. ‘Eugh, my hands smell of blood. It was hot work pulling all those joints of meat out of the van. I hope Ffyrnig won’t need to feed again for a few days.’
She wiped her hands dry and turned to Mike, smiling. ‘So, what’s going to upset me?’
‘I’m sorry about this, Claire, but we’re going to need Jonah again. The Night Swarm has re-appeared in London.’
‘Oh, Mike.’ Claire sat down heavily. ‘Please, no. You know Jonah and Erin were nearly killed. Please don’t put them in danger again.’
‘I’ll be all right,’ Jonah put in. ‘Ffyrnig will take care of me.’ He could see how upset Claire was. ‘Look, don’t worry so much. I won’t take risks, honestly I won’t. After all, I don’t want to get hurt, do I?’
Claire gave a small smile. ‘I know. And I trust you, honey. But the Night Creatures are so dangerous. Look what happened to Erin on the Cathedral roof. That big demon grabbed her off Ffyrnig’s back so easily.’ She sighed. ‘I thought the whole thing was over. And now you’re telling me that it’s going to start all over again. And in London! That’s going to be much worse. How will you ever track down all the creatures in a huge city like London?’
Mike folded his arms on the table. ‘Well, I’ve an idea,’ he said slowly, ‘but I’ll need you to help me persuade Ffyrnig, Jonah. He won’t necessarily do anything just because I ask him to, but he’ll agree if you ask.’
‘What is it? Will this put Jonah at risk again?’
Mike shook his head. ‘No. No! It’s just that I think we need some of the other local dragons to come out and help, and if
I
wake them they won’t be at all pleased to see Michael the Dragonslayer! I’m not their favourite person.
But Ffyrnig could persuade them. Will you help me convince him, Jonah?’ He paused as he noticed that the others were staring at him, open-mouthed. ‘What?’
‘Other dragons?’ A huge smile spread across Jonah’s face. ‘Did you hear that, Bryn? I didn’t know there were any others. Where are they?’
Claire was looking horrified. ‘Mike, you aren’t thinking that Jonah could control more than one, surely?’
Mike put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘Well, he almost certainly can. But don’t worry. You’re forgetting that Ffyrnig is a Great Dragon. All the others who used to live around here are Lesser Dragons. They would follow his lead. I think they are still around, though people always liked to pass on the old stories about various so-called heroes – including me – killing them off.’
‘So what happens now?’
‘I’d like us to go and talk to Ffyrnig, Jonah. I think he’ll have a fair idea where the other dragons are holed up, and I hope you can persuade him to wake them and get them to fly to London with you.’
‘How many do you think there are?’
‘Well,’ said Mike, ticking them off on his fingers, ‘there are two firedrakes, one in the Forest of Dean and one at Stinchcombe in Gloucestershire. There’s also a wyrm in that area, and in Herefordshire there are two more wyrms at Brinsop and Wormbridge. Then there’s the Mordiford Wyvern near Hereford, and two gargouilles.’
Erin screwed up her forehead. ‘Gar – whatties?’
‘Gargouilles. They are small dragons that used to live on church towers. They came over from France when the Normans invaded. Lived by French rivers, originally, and then began to use buildings in the cities.’
‘Ooh,’ said Erin. ‘I’d
love
to ride one of them.’
A motorbike rumbled into the yard and Bryn’s brother,
Rhodri Parry, came in, smiling. ‘Dragon talk again, eh? How’s Ffyrnig this morning?’
‘Happy and well fed,’ said Claire.
‘But…? I can tell there is a “but”.’
‘There is,’ said Bryn. ‘Tell him what’s happening, Mike.’
Saint Michael explained what was happening in London and told Rhodri he wanted Ffyrnig to wake the other local dragons and ask them for help. ‘He’ll have to go and find them at night, when people are asleep. We can’t have them flying about in the daytime, terrifying everyone.’
Claire looked anxious. ‘Are you going to ask Ffyrnig to bring them here?’
Mike nodded thoughtfully. ‘I think the valley would probably be the best place.’
‘What about the SAS barracks at Credenhill?’ put in Rhodri, who had himself been a soldier in the SAS. ‘I think that would be better than here, Mike. There is plenty of room at Stirling Lines for them to fly in and take off again, and if they arrive at night, there will be a much smaller chance of anyone seeing them, except for the soldiers themselves. What do you think?’
‘That’s a much better idea.’
Jonah was thinking. ‘If Ffyrnig can get the dragons to help us and the SAS don’t mind them meeting at Credenhill, what about asking some of the soldiers to ride them?’
Erin creased her forehead. ‘What’s the point of that? You’re the only one who can talk to the dragons? Wouldn’t it be better if the soldiers went by helicopter?’
‘Yes,’ put in Bryn. ‘Erin has a point there.’
The Archangel sighed. ‘The Night Swarm is putting a jinx all your systems. Radar systems aren’t working. And even though helicopters might be able to fly, the authorities are afraid to use them in case the Swarm interferes,
somehow.’
‘Well, I’d feel a lot better if I didn’t have to go to London on my own.’ Jonah looked at Mike. ‘I mean, you won’t be able to stay with us all the time, will you, Mike? You’ll be chasing down demons that get away. If I had a couple of soldiers with me, they would be able to tell me what to do, and where to fly to and things. And they could tell me the commands to give to Ffyrnig and the others.’
‘And I’d feel so much better about letting him go,’ said Claire, ‘if there were some soldiers with him.’
‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ said Rhodri. ‘I can’t see the Regiment turning it down. Shall I go and see what I can arrange?’
Mike pushed back his chair. ‘Shall I come with you after Jonah and I have talked to Ffyrnig? Can I cadge a lift to Hereford on your bike?’ He winked at Jonah.
Erin stared at the Archangel. ‘Cadge a lift? You’ve got
wings
when you want them, Mike!’
A big grin spread across Mike’s face. ‘But how often do I get to ride on a motorbike?’ he said.
