War of Dragons (2 page)

"That's ridiculous!" Jenna said scornfully. "Impossible. How could they do that?"

John smiled. "When you put it like that, could you explain to me how it is possible that you can transform into a Red Dragon? You can change shape into a creature almost ten times your size. That should be impossible as well, yet you can do it."

"That's totally different," Jenna replied quickly.

John shook his head. "No, the only difference is that you've seen it and you can do it. But talking about this is a waste of time and will get us nowhere. Let me ask you another question. What happens to your eyes when you transform?"

Jenna hesitated. "Well, they turn red—the same as everyone else's eyes."

John shook his head again. "Not everyone's eyes. If you'd watched your cousin's eyes, you'd have seen them flash through a range of colours first."

Jenna shrugged. "If you say so."

"I do say so. The same is true for me. I change too fast for anyone to notice, but my eyes do the same. Watch!" John's eyes changed colour, flashing through the colours of the rainbow at a dizzying pace.

"Wow!" Jenna said, staring at the spectacle in front of her before managing to regain her composure. "Well, that's very pretty, John. But I don't see what it means."

"You can't do this," John replied, his eyes still flashing before her. "Once your eyes turn red, you'd find it impossible to stop or even pause your transformation. I can. I have total control over my transformation. Which is why I can do it so quickly."

Daisy gripped her brother's arm with excitement. "Watch this, Arthur." Arthur was stone-faced, staring at John with suspicion.

Jenna shrugged. "Great. But I already knew you could transform quickly. You've been showing off with that trick all year."

"No, not showing off," John replied, his eyes still changing colours. "
Concealing
. I didn't want you to see my eyes when I transformed because Red Dragons can't do this."

John stepped backwards and his eyes blazed gold. Brilliant shiny gold scales formed on his face, reflecting the sun as they slid over each other. Jenna gasped, staggering backwards, and Seth shouted "Wow!" After the scales covered his head, John somersaulted backwards, wings sprouting as he did, the transformation complete when he landed on the ground. He gazed at them, his scales shimmering in the morning light. Daisy turned to face them all, beaming proudly.

"Very good," Arthur said, clapping slowly. "Now I've seen as much as Crystal and my sister. But I fail to see how having one small dragon accompany us is going to be of much help. You're even smaller than a Blue Dragon. How are you going to be much use in a fight?"

John the Golden Dragon nodded, unable to communicate to Arthur any other way, then without any warning he leapt into the air and beat his wings hard, flying directly upwards with breathtaking speed until he was high above them.

"Wow!" Jenna exclaimed breathlessly. "That's incredible. How can he fly that fast?"

John continued to climb until he was several hundred metres above the ground. He abruptly changed direction and began dropping back towards them in a dive. He beat his wings rapidly as he plummeted towards them, accelerating towards the ground alarmingly fast and pulling out of the dive when he was just above their heads and releasing two fireballs in succession, which struck the ground to the left and right of Arthur, causing him to cry out in alarm. John flew overhead twice, passing them with incredible pace before returning to land in front of them.

Daisy squealed with delight and clapped her hands. "Impressed, Arthur?" she asked her brother. She walked away from the others and turned to face them. "Shall we?" She loosened her cloak and began her transformation. Arthur and Seth quickly turned away, a little embarrassed. She completed the transformation, stepped up towards John and gently touched noses. He was half her size and looked strange next to her. He reached over and picked up his bag, attaching it to his chest before taking off again and then circling above their heads. Daisy, now a Red Dragon, nodded at them, somehow conveying a smug pride before performing a less impressive take off to join him in the air.

"You're not... You can't do that, can you?" Jenna asked Crystal. "Are you the same as him?"

She shook her head. "I can't do that. At least I don't think I can. I didn't know any of this before yesterday." She turned to Seth and Arthur and said, "turn away," before undoing her top.

"A little more warning next time, please," Arthur requested indignantly, holding onto Seth's head and turning his gaze from the rapidly disrobing Crystal. "Let's do likewise," he instructed Seth. They faced away from the girls and started removing their clothes. Crystal pulled Jenna's shoulder to turn her around to face away from them.

"Behave, Jenna, and hurry up."

"Me, behave? I'm the only girl here who hasn't started stripping with the boys staring straight at them. What's got into you two?" Jenna reluctantly started to undress.

"Just hurry up," Crystal replied impatiently. She wasn't sure why, but seeing John transform had made her feel a little more free. She began her transformation, wishing that she had let John start teaching her earlier; perhaps now she would be flying as a Golden Dragon. She spread her red wings and gazed at them.
What would it be like to have golden wings?
she wondered to herself. Jenna nudged her with her head.

Ready?
Crystal nodded and they took off together, flying parallel to each other. The others were all circling above, with John much higher than the others.

Stay here,
he told them.
Get as high as you can. I'll be back shortly; I just have to deliver a note for the twins.
With that, he flew to the north as quickly as he could, leaving them behind rapidly.

Pretty fast, eh?
Seth said to Arthur.
See what I mean now?

Arthur didn't reply; he just continued to soar in parallel to Seth.

What's the note for?
Jenna asked.

To let everyone know where we're going,
Daisy replied.
It's going to be sent to my father. Arthur and I wrote it this morning before you were up. Don't worry, we've added a couple of lines to let them know that you and Seth are coming too.

Great
, Jenna replied flatly.
A suicide note. That'll reassure them.

A while later John returned, startling them all with his sudden reappearance.
I've delivered the note to a small village and asked them to have it sent on. It won't be sent on for a couple of days. I've managed to buy some provisions for the journey as well. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid—my budget is quite limited—but it should suffice. Now, follow me,
he commanded.
I will fly some distance ahead of you. That way if there are any dangers, I will see them before they can see you.

He headed to the south-west, ascending quickly to fly high above them and glancing back regularly to check on them.

He could easily have left you behind,
Crystal told Daisy.
You'd never be able to catch him.

He knows I'd have tried to follow him
, she replied.
He'd never leave me on my own. Besides, I wouldn't have to keep up with him. Just you.

Crystal wondered what Seth and Jenna thought about the revelation; it seemed as if they had taken John's transformation very lightly. Seth had been in awe of the Golden Dragon since John had rescued him as one, so she supposed that she shouldn't be so surprised that he was taking it well, but Jenna? She was being unusually silent.

Are you alright?
Crystal asked her.

Uh-huh,
Jenna replied, flying beside her but avoiding her gaze.

I mean about John being... different?

John was always different,
she replied noncommittally.

Never this different though,
Crystal pointed out.

No,
Jenna agreed.

What about me? Are you alright with me?

Sure,
Jenna replied flatly.

Please, Jenna, talk to me. I want to know what you're thinking.

Oh,
now
you want to talk!
she replied irritably.

Jenna!

Jenna sulked silently for a minute. Crystal waited patiently, knowing that she couldn't be silent for long.

What I want to know is this: what is he, and what are you? How can he change into more than one dragon? How is that possible?

I don't know how it's possible. How is changing into a dragon at all possible?

Crystal! That was John's stupid question.

Sorry, I know. He's a Golden Dragon, like he said. He can turn into any type of Dragon—I don't know how it's possible, or how he does it. I didn't know he could till yesterday evening. This is just as new for me as it is for you.

And you? Are you exactly the same as him? I mean, you've only changed into a Red Dragon. Are you definitely the same as him? Is this why he's been stalking you all year?

So he tells me. I don't know how to change into anything else though. I thought I was just another Red Dragon.

Jenna didn't reply.

Are you alright? You know I haven't changed, don't you? I'm still your cousin. Nothing has to change between us.

It will, Crystal. It will. Whether you like it or not.

Jenna flew a little faster, putting some distance between them. Crystal decided to give her some space and hung back, letting her cousin move to the front of the group.

They had a long flight ahead of them, so quickly settled into a steady rhythm, pacing themselves for the journey. The five Red Dragons adopted a 'V' shaped flying formation with Arthur leading, keeping a close eye on John, who was flying high above them. They had caught a strong tail wind and were rapidly approaching the point on their border where the Rhino Dragons' and Blue Dragons' borders met. This was a sparsely populated area and Crystal could feel the tension in the group as they approached enemy territory. John was just in sight, a lot higher than they were and quite far ahead of them. He wouldn't be able to hear their thoughts from there and they hadn't communicated for a while; she wondered what the plan was if they did encounter anyone.

They passed the poorly marked border without noticing and without incident; a wave of relief passed over the group when they realised, as if the danger was now behind them. They were now in a sort of no man's land, between the borders of the Rhino and Blue Dragons. No one lived here or anywhere near to here and the land looked no different from any of the mountainous areas of their own country. They continued to fly without incident until nearly midday, when suddenly John appeared amongst them, startling them all.

Rhino Dragons,
he announced.
Three of them, up ahead. They're over to the west, in their own territory and too far away to see us yet. They're unlikely to approach while we're on the border, and you can outfly them if necessary. They won't follow us far into Blue territory, although if we can avoid that it would be preferred. Just follow my instructions and you'll be alright.

John ascended, settling a few hundred metres above them. He was just near enough to still communicate with them.

Where are they, John?
Arthur called to him.
We can't see them.

They're up ahead, but they haven't seen us yet. They may not notice us.
John paused.
No, I think they must have seen us. They've turned and are headed this way. I was hoping they wouldn't do that.

What shall we do, John? Shall we turn to the east?
Arthur asked.

John took a long pause before answering.
No, I'm afraid we can't do that. I can see a patrol of Blues to the east. About ten of them. We should definitely stay away from them.

So what should we do now? Turn back?
Arthur called.
You said we could outfly them.

No, I have a better idea,
John replied.
This may work rather well, just wait for a moment and don't be alarmed.

Suddenly John disappeared, replaced by a pink falling figure. Then in his place appeared a massive grey dragon, covered in spikes, with a vicious, particularly long spike on its nose. Crystal had never seen something as large and impressive.

This will confuse them,
John the Rhino Dragon called from below them.
They do know of Golden Dragons, but they're relatively trusting so they should accept me as one of them.

Should?
Jenna asked nervously.

John was slower now and they started to catch up with him. In the distance they saw the three Rhino Dragons approaching.

Stay to my left,
he instructed them.
And don’t say anything.
John changed course slightly, on a route that would meet the three approaching dragons inside their territory.

This doesn't seem like a good idea,
Jenna said to Crystal. The three dragons were looming large on the horizon, clearly visible now. John was flying parallel to the group now, heading directly towards the three.

Start to climb when I call out to them,
John commanded.
They can't do that as quickly as you can.

The three Rhino Dragons were level with them and everyone in the group of Red Dragons was feeling the tension. Crystal badly wanted to ascend immediately, but obeyed John's instructions. The dragons were almost upon them when John hailed them.

Greetings. How are you all today?

Arthur immediately started to ascend, the other four staying with him.

Red Dragons!
the nearest Rhino Dragon called in warning.
Why do you not drive them off?

They fly between the borders and have requested safe passage. I am escorting them to ensure they do not enter.
The Rhino Dragons reached the group and fanned out, staying at John's level, but turning to fly with them.