Jonah and the Last Great Dragon (7 page)

Jonah shivered. ‘Thanks for that!' Then another thought struck him. ‘Hey, you said the monkey-things reminded you of gargoyles on the cathedral. And the gargoyles were supposed to remind people of all the horrible things waiting in Hell, weren't they? What if they've come up through that chasm in the ground?'

‘Like the dragon's cracked the ground and let them out?'

‘Yes, and you know what?' Jonah said excitedly. ‘I bet that's why Mike's here. I bet the SAS or MI5 or something found out about it.'

Erin screwed up her face. ‘But how?'

‘Well, I dunno. But you said yourself that there was something kind of special about him.'

They were so preoccupied that they did not notice Bryn beckoning to them. Jonah stared unseeingly at his feet, while he thought about all the implications. Erin looked up and saw Bryn striding towards them.

She shook Jonah's arm. ‘Bryn's coming,' she said urgently. ‘Act normal and don't say anything. No one will believe us yet.'

Bryn waved from the churchyard wall. ‘Mike's here.'

Jonah nodded meaningfully at Erin. ‘See what I mean?' he said. ‘How come he got in without us seeing him?'

Erin shook the thoughts away and began to grin. ‘Over the wall from the field, I expect, Dr Watson!' Then she ran back through the gate, as Jonah groaned.

CHAPTER 11

It was half past seven. Emlyn Morgan beckoned Erin and Jonah to come over, and introduced them to a tall, balding man with a kind face, who was talking quietly with some other clergymen.

‘This is my daughter, Mr Vaughan,' Emlyn said, putting a hand on Erin's shoulder, ‘and this is Claire and Bryn Parry's nephew, Jonah Drake. Jonah's the one who got bitten by the wolf yesterday. This is the Vicar of Knighton, you two.'

He introduced Jonah and Erin to the other ministers, who shook their heads, appalled by the thought of a wolf attack.

‘Exactly what happened, Jonah?' The vicar looked at him keenly, as Mike came up to the group.

‘I think we should start the meeting, if you don't mind,' he said quietly. ‘It's after half past seven now and everyone else will want to hear what happened to the children.'

‘Of course.' The vicar walked forward with Mike until they were at the highest point of the churchyard. Then he raised his arms to get everyone's attention.

Someone called out, ‘I think we're ready to start, everybody.'

The crowd moved forward expectantly. Fingers of early sunlight crept across the churchyard, giving an unreal atmosphere to the almost silent gathering. Jonah felt as if he might be dreaming. The beautiful little building, with its quaint bell tower, looked so timeless and peaceful in the early light, that it was hard to believe in the weird things he and Erin had just been talking about.

‘I want to thank you all for spreading the news of this meeting,' said the vicar. ‘I'm impressed that so many of you have managed to come here at this time of the morning.' He looked gravely around the throng of people. ‘I am James Vaughan, the Vicar of Knighton, and this gentleman is Mike Golding. By now, you have all realised that since yesterday we have been cut off from the world outside. There have been no phones working in this area, no radio and no television. I know how very difficult this is in a farming community. But the main reason for asking you to come here is because most of you have heard about the worrying incidents in this valley yesterday. I'll hand over now to Mike, who can tell us more.'

The crowd muttered and stirred, but quickly settled to listen again, all their eyes glued to Mike's face.

‘Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for making the effort to come. I know you all need to get to work but I wanted as many people as possible to find out what is going on here. I have been sent to Wales to assess what could become a serious situation. Something is happening which you will find very hard to believe.' He grinned ruefully. ‘In fact, when you have heard what I have to say, you may well think I'm mad, but I promise you I am not.'

People exchanged puzzled glances.

Erin nudged Jonah. ‘Bet they won't believe there are wolves about,' she muttered.

‘Those of you who live anywhere near here may have heard a terrible howling noise in the valley yesterday afternoon.' There was a buzz of talking and several people nodded. Mike beckoned to Jonah, who went to stand self-consciously beside him. ‘Lots of you know Bryn Parry from Maesglas Farm. Well, this is his wife's nephew. Yesterday Jonah was with Erin Morgan from Gilfach Farm, just down the lane here, when he was bitten by one of the animals you heard.' He looked around for a moment at the tense faces and then said quietly: ‘The children were attacked by a pack of wolves.'

There was an immediate hubbub and cries of ‘Rubbish' and ‘Come off it!'

Jonah looked towards Erin, who rolled her eyes.

Mike raised a hand for silence. ‘I know, I know. But I was there when Jonah was bitten. I was lucky to be able to drive them off. And, no, they weren't German Shepherd dogs, as I can hear some people suggesting. They were very large, grey wolves.'

An old, ruddy-faced man in a tweed cap, who looked as if he might be a farmer, scoffed. ‘You're dreaming, boyo. Hasn't anyone told you wolves are extinct in Britain?'

Someone yelled, ‘They want to bring them back to Scotland though!'

‘Maybe they are starting here,' called a young, laughing man near the front. ‘My village isn't called Bleddfa for nothing!'

People started to laugh. Jonah looked around, perplexed. ‘He means that Bleddfa is Welsh for Place of the Wolf,' said one of the clergymen, smiling.

Emlyn Morgan pushed forward and raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. ‘The animals were wolves,' he declared. ‘It wasn't just the children who saw them. Bryn and Rhodri Parry here, and Ted Lewis, were with Mr Golding and me when the wolves came out of the woods behind my farm. We saw them close up and there was no doubting what they were.'

Above the clamour a woman shouted, ‘Where did they come from, then?'

‘That's one of the things I am here to find out,' Mike replied calmly, ‘but another strange thing happened that you should know about.

‘Erin Morgan and Jonah Drake met me yesterday, after they had been looking at a huge fissure in the field over there,' Mike pointed, ‘where smoke is puffing out. You must have noticed it. Look, there it goes again, now!'

People craned their necks to follow the line of Mike's outstretched arm. There was a swell of conversation as the crowd watched a large column of smoke rise into the air and hang above the woodland.

The young man standing in front of Mike raised his hand. ‘I felt concerned,' he called out, ‘so I went into the woods to look. The smoke's coming from deep under the ground!'

‘Smoke where no smoke should be,' Mike said clearly. ‘And then, a bit later on, Jonah and Erin saw two creatures, looking just like gargoyles, scuttling all over the church.'

There was a roar of laughter. ‘Like gargoyles?'

‘Over-active imaginations at work there!'

‘Kids saw some animals and got scared, innit?' someone called. ‘Sure t' be.'

Jonah heard the word ‘squirrels' and frowned. He went back to stand with Erin.

‘They think we're just stupid little kids,' he muttered.

She tossed her curls back. ‘Don't worry about it. We know what we saw.'

The farmer in the tweed cap, who was standing on the edge of the crowd, grinned round mirthlessly. ‘Seeing as the phone lines are dead, I'd like to know how you knew about this smoking chasm in the wood before you got here,' he said, confrontationally. ‘Have you got a different kind of mobile phone from the rest of us?'

Mike met his gaze evenly. ‘The information came by courier. What I think we should—' He was interrupted by a mournful wail that sounded in the fields beyond the church.

Everyone started in alarm. ‘What was that?'

Then there were answering cries from the hills – strange, doleful howls that raised hairs on the backs of people's necks.

‘Wolves! There really are wolves.' The whisper ran through the crowd. Nobody looked sceptical now. Everyone stared up at the hills, while the howls echoed eerily round the valley.

A woman cuddling two small children cried out in a frightened voice, ‘What can we do?'

Mike raised his hands for quiet. ‘I asked for this meeting because we need to have a plan to ensure your safety, when you have to leave your homes,' he said. ‘These animals are extremely aggressive and the danger is worse while you have no telephones. For the time being, you shouldn't go out alone.'

The mood among the villagers changed. People looked at Mike, standing quietly in front of them, and now felt they could trust him. The crowd drew closer together, their eyes fixed on the wooded ridge above the church. A light breeze was wafting the pungent smoke across the churchyard. There was an outbreak of coughing. To the alarm of the villagers, sparks and tiny tongues of flame rose in the column of smoke from among the trees.

The Reverend Vaughan stepped forward. In his clear voice he said, ‘Let us pray for strength to help us deal with this strange situation, and for the safety of everyone in this community.' The crowd stood motionless, heads bent and hands holding hands tightly, as the vicar started to pray. Then a child's high voice rose above the prayers.

‘Mummy, look at the monkey!'

People nearby turned to look at the little boy.

‘Sssh, Jacky,' muttered his mother anxiously. ‘It's just a pussycat.'

‘No, it isn't,' the child shouted. ‘Look. Up on the roof. It's a monkey.'

Erin and Jonah gasped.

‘Oh no!' Erin said and then she stepped forward, evading Emlyn's restraining hand, and called out. ‘It's one of the animals we saw yesterday.'

Everyone who could hear her faltered in their prayers and stared up at the roof. Something skittered across the slates, whisking its tail. Girls screamed and the crowd broke up, as people backed away from the church. Several hideous little creatures suddenly appeared on the roof ridge, screaming abuse and threatening the flabbergasted faces turned up to them. An elderly man turned and rushed towards the lych-gate. And then, from the woodland deep in the Radnor Forest, came a great rumbling noise. The earth seemed to pulse and shiver beneath their feet and, high above the trees, a great column of fire shot into the sky.

CHAPTER 12

Some people began to scream as the plume of smoke mushroomed above the woodland beyond the stream. Neighbours clung to each other and looked apprehensively from the woods to the church roof, though the grotesque little animals seemed to have vanished.

The man in the tweed cap strode towards Mike and said aggressively, ‘I want to be told what you know about this smoke. We need that information now. And no flannel, boyo. Give it us straight.' He looked at Mr Vaughan apologetically. ‘Sorry, Vicar. I don't mean any harm but we need to understand what we're dealing with.'

Mike smiled at him. ‘Don't worry. I understand how you feel.' He raised his voice. ‘This is what we believe is happening. Please bear with me because it's going to sound very strange. I am glad that your local ministers are able to be here today because it all has to do with the local churches and, in particular, this church.' He stopped for a second and glanced round at the old building bathed in the early morning sunlight. Then he turned to the sea of faces in front of him.

‘Look,' he said, ‘around the Radnor Forest there are four churches all dedicated to Saint Michael – this one, and those at Cefnllys, Llanfihangel Rhydithon and Llanfihangel Nantmelon. And you all know that in English Llanfihangel means the sacred place of the angel.'

All their eyes were fixed on Mike as he reminded them how the old legend told that after the Archangel Michael's victory over the Red Dragon of Wales, Y Ddraig Goch, those churches were built to keep it asleep under the Forest. The legend prophesied that the dragon would wake up if the ancient link between the four Forest churches of St Michael the Dragonslayer should ever be broken.

‘There are only a few houses out here at Cascob, so it isn't worth opening the church every Sunday,' he said. ‘There's only one service a month. One might say it hardly counts as a centre of worship any more.'

‘So are you saying that here, at Cascob, the link is almost severed?' asked one of the other clergymen.

Mike nodded. ‘The thing is, it's not just an old legend. The last Great Dragon has been here, under Radnor Forest, all the time, and I'm afraid that the smoke we can see shows that it is actually waking up.'

A howl of protest rose from the crowd. There were some catcalls and jeering.

‘That can't be true. We're in the twenty-first century, for heaven's sake,' someone shouted. ‘That's just stories, sure t' be.'

‘It's probably a bit of volcanic action,' someone else called out.

People started to chatter amongst themselves. Some, grinning cynically, were asking how this young chap could expect anyone to take him seriously. Others pointed at the church roof, where they had all seen the horrible little animals, as proof that something weird was happening. Mike held up his arms to quieten everyone and the villagers turned back to look up at him. His quiet dignity, as he waited for everyone's attention, stopped many of them from leaving. There was a lot of head-shaking, until another ominous rumble from the woods made everyone turn to stare anxiously at the column of smoke.

‘I'm sorry but it really isn't just a legend,' Mike said. ‘I know it sounds incredibly silly, but I am in earnest when I tell you that the dragon is waking up!' He looked gravely around the crowd of people. He seemed suddenly to be taller and straighter, and his blond hair glowed in the sun. Jonah stared at him. What was it about Mike? Something pricked at the back of his mind.