understand.
‘The Midgard Serpent, or Jormungandr, as it’s called, was supposed to curl right round the Earth,’ Sam yelled to Jonah, who now realised why the dragons were so agitated. ‘Let’s hope there’s only one round here and let’s also hope the stories exaggerated!’ Then, as the dragons flew towards the Thames again, Sam stared down at the massive coils of the creature on the South Bank, and tightened his mouth in a grim line. ‘I’m going to have to think how we deal with this,’ he called.
Jonah peered down, thoroughly alarmed. This would not be the firefight they had all been imagining, where the dragons would swoop down, spew flame and shoot away. This time, they would have to come in close to the enemy and that meant they would all be in real danger.
Swallowing hard, Jonah beckoned to Sam and cupped his hands round his mouth.
‘The dragons say fire won’t be enough,’ he yelled. ‘They’ll have to use their teeth and claws.’
Sam nodded and waved to show he had understood and then relayed the message to the other riders.
Jonah turned round and thumped the Great Dragon to get his attention. ‘Ffyrnig, you know about this serpent-thing and we don’t. What’s the best way to attack?’
‘I’ve been thinking. I suggest Llandeilo dives first to attract its attention and then the rest of us can swoop on it together. Mordiford and I will attack the head and the others can go for its body.’
‘But what if it catches Llandeilo?’ Jonah asked anxiously. ‘Mordiford said it can swallow a dragon whole!’
‘He’s exaggerating!’ Ffyrnig groaned. ‘In any case, Llandeilo’s very fast and he’s small for a British drake. He’ll be able to wheel in and out, and keep those trees along the footpath between him and the serpent. Don’t you worry, Jonah. A child of Jormungandr can’t easily outwit a nimble Welsh gargouille!’
‘OK. I’ll take your word for it. Tell the other dragons, would you, and I’ll try to make the soldiers understand.’
‘We want to get it well away from there before we kill it,’ Ffyrnig said. ‘If we destroy it there, behind those railings, it will be an awkward business to remove the carcass. No, we need to drive it towards the river, if we can. The railings seem to run right along the front of the buildings, though.’
Jonah drew a deep breath to steady himself, grabbed the harness and carefully pulled himself to his feet, hanging on to Ffyrnig’s wing bone for support. The rush of air tugged at his coverall, snapping the fabric against his body. His heart was thudding in his chest. What if the dragons did not understand what Ffyrnig thought they should do? Some of them might take fright and fly away, and then there wouldn’t be enough of them left to overpower theserpent. He caught sight of the sea monster again, as Ffyrnig wheeled around, and his head filled with pictures of riders being torn off the dragons’ backs and sucked into the serpent’s throat. He turned to see the SAS troopers looking at him, waiting to know what to do.
Then Oscar suddenly waved to get his attention and pointed along the south side of the Thames. For a moment, he did not understand what the trooper was trying to show him, and then he saw the people. Some distance away, behind barriers that had been erected well away from the Globe, there were crowds of people. Now he noticed tiny shapes that were police cars and fire engines blocking the ends of all the streets that led down to the river. London south of the river had not emptied after all.
As the drakes circled high above the city, Jonah planted his feet firmly on Ffyrnig’s warm hide, leaned back against the dragon’s wing-bone and raised his hands in the air. He pointed at Llandeilo ridden by Jack, and then held up a finger for “one”. Then he pointed down at the monster, slapped his hand against his own head and pointed at the monster again. Jack signed that he understood. Llandeilo was going in first and
‘The Midgard Serpent, or Jormungandr, as it’s called, was supposed to curl right round the Earth,’ Sam yelled to Jonah, who now realised why the dragons were so agitated. ‘Let’s hope there’s only one round here and let’s also hope the stories exaggerated!’ Then, as the dragons flew towards the Thames again, Sam stared down at the massive coils of the creature on the South Bank, and tightened his mouth in a grim line. ‘I’m going to have to think how we deal with this,’ he called.
Jonah peered down, thoroughly alarmed. This would not be the firefight they had all been imagining, where the dragons would swoop down, spew flame and shoot away. This time, they would have to come in close to the enemy and that meant they would all be in real danger.
Swallowing hard, Jonah beckoned to Sam and cupped his hands round his mouth.
‘The dragons say fire won’t be enough,’ he yelled. ‘They’ll have to use their teeth and claws.’
Sam nodded and waved to show he had understood and then relayed the message to the other riders.
Jonah turned round and thumped the Great Dragon to get his attention. ‘Ffyrnig, you know about this serpent-thing and we don’t. What’s the best way to attack?’
‘I’ve been thinking. I suggest Llandeilo dives first to attract its attention and then the rest of us can swoop on it together. Mordiford and I will attack the head and the others can go for its body.’
‘But what if it catches Llandeilo?’ Jonah asked anxiously. ‘Mordiford said it can swallow a dragon whole!’
‘He’s exaggerating!’ Ffyrnig groaned. ‘In any case, Llandeilo’s very fast and he’s small for a British drake. He’ll be able to wheel in and out, and keep those trees along the footpath between him and the serpent. Don’t you worry, Jonah. A child of Jormungandr can’t easily outwit a nimble Welsh gargouille!’
‘OK. I’ll take your word for it. Tell the other dragons, would you, and I’ll try to make the soldiers understand.’
‘We want to get it well away from there before we kill it,’ Ffyrnig said. ‘If we destroy it there, behind those railings, it will be an awkward business to remove the carcass. No, we need to drive it towards the river, if we can. The railings seem to run right along the front of the buildings, though.’
Jonah drew a deep breath to steady himself, grabbed the harness and carefully pulled himself to his feet, hanging on to Ffyrnig’s wing bone for support. The rush of air tugged at his coverall, snapping the fabric against his body. His heart was thudding in his chest. What if the dragons did not understand what Ffyrnig thought they should do? Some of them might take fright and fly away, and then there wouldn’t be enough of them left to overpower theserpent. He caught sight of the sea monster again, as Ffyrnig wheeled around, and his head filled with pictures of riders being torn off the dragons’ backs and sucked into the serpent’s throat. He turned to see the SAS troopers looking at him, waiting to know what to do.
Then Oscar suddenly waved to get his attention and pointed along the south side of the Thames. For a moment, he did not understand what the trooper was trying to show him, and then he saw the people. Some distance away, behind barriers that had been erected well away from the Globe, there were crowds of people. Now he noticed tiny shapes that were police cars and fire engines blocking the ends of all the streets that led down to the river. London south of the river had not emptied after all.
As the drakes circled high above the city, Jonah planted his feet firmly on Ffyrnig’s warm hide, leaned back against the dragon’s wing-bone and raised his hands in the air. He pointed at Llandeilo ridden by Jack, and then held up a finger for “one”. Then he pointed down at the monster, slapped his hand against his own head and pointed at the monster again. Jack signed that he understood. Llandeilo was going in first and
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