pleasure …’
Two dragons cried out simultaneously.
‘They’re torturing them,’ Brandon said. ‘Driving them in our direction!’
Panic started to spread through the crowd, but nobody seemed to know which direction to run. The dragon cries seemed to come from all around.
Jason turned to Brandon. ‘Kill them!’
‘Kill them?’ Brandon shook his head. ‘I can’t affect dragon DNA …’
‘Not the dragons. The zelfs!’
Brandon hesitated. ‘No,’ he said.
‘Kill them!’ Jason shouted. ‘That’s an ord—’
‘Too late!’ Kat said, pushing between them and breaking up their confrontation. Across the clearing, three gigantic beasts stepped out of the trees. They were twice as tall as the statue of Zaal—twice as tall as a house—and although they were clearly some kind of reptilian dinosaur type creature, the first thing that crossed Jason’s mind was that they looked like humungous featherless chickens: as ugly as anything, and with wide splayed out clawed feet and a frightening hooked beak.
They stampeded around the ruins of the temple, frightened and confused, and panicking as they tripped over the broken-down walls, and bashed into crumbling stone columns. Without even meaning to, the dragons crushed several people to death underfoot.
And then when one of them got itself trapped between a high wall and a group of equally-frightened balaks, all hell broke loose.
The dragon bent low and unleashed a jet of blue flame, like the discharge of a blowtorch. More than twenty balaks were burned to a crisp in an instant.
Jason recognised when it was time for a route. ‘Get out of here now!’ he shouted to the others, as a chicken-slash-dragon stumbled close, tripping over and colliding with the statue of Zaal. The towering jungle god rocked back and forth for a moment, then came crashing to the ground and broke up into several pieces.
Seconds later, another dragon crushed the MTV that held the lighting rig, and the clearing was plunged into a shadowy darkness, lit only by a few glowing plants and struggling flames that had managed to take hold despite the rain.
Jason held on to Doo’s hand, and together they crashed through the jungle. Brandon and Kat were lost in the chaos and confusion, and soon everything—the sound of the screams, the light of the dragonfire and the shaking of the ground—were lost too, as Jason and Doo were swallowed by the impenetrable jungle.
Jason realised that Doo was pulling him along; she was way stronger, faster and more sure-footed in the jungle than he was. And she could evidently see where they were going, so Jason daren’t let go of her hand. It took all of his remaining energy to keep up with her, and when she eventually stopped, he fell to the ground wheezing and groaning.
* * *
When enough time had passed for Jason to feel they weren’t in any immediate danger, he broke the silence.
‘Well, that was the most exciting thing I’ve seen at a wedding since uncle Dave’s, where my nan broke her hip dancing to Britney Spears.’
He waited for a response. It was pitch black wherever they were, but it felt closed-in. There was a tree root at his back. They were in a hole in the ground, or in a tree trunk, he guessed. In the almost total silence he thought he could hear Doo quietly sobbing.
‘My people,’ she sniffed. ‘Every one of their lives was my responsibility, and I failed them. We should never have left the stronghold.’
Jason groped about and put an arm around Doo’s shoulders. ‘Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault. You didn’t kill your people; the zelfs did. It’s going to happen. We’re at war!’
‘They were guest at our wedding, not soldiers!’
‘Innocent bystanders get killed,’ Jason shrugged. ‘Casualties of war … collateral damage … er, I’m not helping much, am I?’
This whole conversation was getting uncomfortable. Where the hell was Brandon and the others? Jason felt his own fingers for the bionoid
Two dragons cried out simultaneously.
‘They’re torturing them,’ Brandon said. ‘Driving them in our direction!’
Panic started to spread through the crowd, but nobody seemed to know which direction to run. The dragon cries seemed to come from all around.
Jason turned to Brandon. ‘Kill them!’
‘Kill them?’ Brandon shook his head. ‘I can’t affect dragon DNA …’
‘Not the dragons. The zelfs!’
Brandon hesitated. ‘No,’ he said.
‘Kill them!’ Jason shouted. ‘That’s an ord—’
‘Too late!’ Kat said, pushing between them and breaking up their confrontation. Across the clearing, three gigantic beasts stepped out of the trees. They were twice as tall as the statue of Zaal—twice as tall as a house—and although they were clearly some kind of reptilian dinosaur type creature, the first thing that crossed Jason’s mind was that they looked like humungous featherless chickens: as ugly as anything, and with wide splayed out clawed feet and a frightening hooked beak.
They stampeded around the ruins of the temple, frightened and confused, and panicking as they tripped over the broken-down walls, and bashed into crumbling stone columns. Without even meaning to, the dragons crushed several people to death underfoot.
And then when one of them got itself trapped between a high wall and a group of equally-frightened balaks, all hell broke loose.
The dragon bent low and unleashed a jet of blue flame, like the discharge of a blowtorch. More than twenty balaks were burned to a crisp in an instant.
Jason recognised when it was time for a route. ‘Get out of here now!’ he shouted to the others, as a chicken-slash-dragon stumbled close, tripping over and colliding with the statue of Zaal. The towering jungle god rocked back and forth for a moment, then came crashing to the ground and broke up into several pieces.
Seconds later, another dragon crushed the MTV that held the lighting rig, and the clearing was plunged into a shadowy darkness, lit only by a few glowing plants and struggling flames that had managed to take hold despite the rain.
Jason held on to Doo’s hand, and together they crashed through the jungle. Brandon and Kat were lost in the chaos and confusion, and soon everything—the sound of the screams, the light of the dragonfire and the shaking of the ground—were lost too, as Jason and Doo were swallowed by the impenetrable jungle.
Jason realised that Doo was pulling him along; she was way stronger, faster and more sure-footed in the jungle than he was. And she could evidently see where they were going, so Jason daren’t let go of her hand. It took all of his remaining energy to keep up with her, and when she eventually stopped, he fell to the ground wheezing and groaning.
* * *
When enough time had passed for Jason to feel they weren’t in any immediate danger, he broke the silence.
‘Well, that was the most exciting thing I’ve seen at a wedding since uncle Dave’s, where my nan broke her hip dancing to Britney Spears.’
He waited for a response. It was pitch black wherever they were, but it felt closed-in. There was a tree root at his back. They were in a hole in the ground, or in a tree trunk, he guessed. In the almost total silence he thought he could hear Doo quietly sobbing.
‘My people,’ she sniffed. ‘Every one of their lives was my responsibility, and I failed them. We should never have left the stronghold.’
Jason groped about and put an arm around Doo’s shoulders. ‘Don’t be silly. It’s not your fault. You didn’t kill your people; the zelfs did. It’s going to happen. We’re at war!’
‘They were guest at our wedding, not soldiers!’
‘Innocent bystanders get killed,’ Jason shrugged. ‘Casualties of war … collateral damage … er, I’m not helping much, am I?’
This whole conversation was getting uncomfortable. Where the hell was Brandon and the others? Jason felt his own fingers for the bionoid
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