The Boy Who Dreamed of Dragons Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1. The Marshmallow Wins It

  2. Watch Your Step!

  3. Flying Cabbages and Flailing Dragons

  4. A Tricky Sticky Situation

  5. Off with the Dragons

  6. Abominable Dragon Slobber

  7. Happy Flappy Floppy

  8. Monday Apocalypse

  9. Zip, Zoom, Zing

  10. Dragon 1, Solar System 0

  11. The Answer You Seek Is Poo

  12. A Flicker of a Dream

  13. Dragon on the Loose

  14. Cows Go Moo, Dads Go Quack

  15. Seedlings and Superheroes

  16. Cake-Fuelled Discovery

  17. Bang Goes the Superhero Squad

  18. A Flicker of Light

  19. Zapow!

  20. Queen of the Dragons

  21. Jam Tarts and Warrior Spiders

  22. Slugs and Stomach Flips

  23. Spill the Beans, Chipstick

  24. The Big Red Button

  25. King of the Dragons

  26. That’s Magic!

  27. Hello, Rosebud

  28. Poo Patrol

  29. Singing Penguins and Remote-Controlled Dragons

  30. A Gulp of Giggling Gas

  31. Hola, Aurita!

  32. Nobody Likes Jam Kippers

  33. Shining a Spotlight

  34. Zing Gets Zingy

  35. Follow That Dragon!

  36. A Supercharged Stink

  37. Crash Bang Zing

  38. Time to Own Up

  39. The Superhero Squad Forever

  40. A Buzz and a Flicker

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright

  For Mum, Dad and Pete

  With my love and thanks always

  We dream of dragons. Soaring, roaring, fire-flickering dragons. While we’re tucked tight in bed, they light up our sleep. Sparking, glittering, aglow.

  But dreams are only the beginning of an even greater story. And if you carry on reading, you’ll discover that there’s a whole lot more story still to be told.

  Because the truth is, our dragons don’t just visit us in our dreams.

  You see, a few of us know a secret. And that secret is that some dragons grow on trees. A very special tree, which grows at the bottom of my grandad’s garden, in among the brambles and nettles.

  If I blurted this out to most people, right about now they’d roll their eyes and think I was joking – and that’s good. Because we don’t want everyone knowing about this. In fact, it means we’re doing our job. Keeping the dragons safe and secret.

  But how about you? Do you think I’m pulling your leg?

  No, I think you’ve got that glint in your eye, like a dragon’s fiery breath sparking across your sights. And you know what? That tells me you’re the right person to hear this. So, are you ready?

  I gripped my knees tightly to Flicker’s back and wrapped my arms around his neck. A flash of colour pulsed across his scales, lighting up my hands. Red, green, indigo and bright gold. It was like there was a rainbow shooting from my fingertips, as the colour raced on towards his head.

  He twisted, one diamond eye catching mine. And then we dived.

  Yup! This was my life now, riding on the back of dragons!

  I kept my head low and hung on, the wind tugging at me, trying to pull me free. But there was no way I was letting go. Even though I’d left my stomach doing somersaults up there somewhere.

  A roar came from behind me and I saw the golden shape of Ted’s dragon, Sunny, rocketing towards us as we levelled off.

  ‘I’m coming for you, Tomas,’ Ted yelled, as they shot past. Flicker swerved to avoid the fiery blast coming from Sunny’s rear end.

  ‘Not fair,’ I shouted. Flicker was fast, but he didn’t stand a chance against Ted’s dragon when he got one of those turbo boosts. I was beginning to think we should disqualify Ted, or at least ban Sunny from scoffing giant marshmallows before a race.

  And then came the rest of the superhero squad. First Liam, riding Maxi, one hand raised, a massive grin plastered across his face. And to my left, Kat and Kai riding Crystal and Dodger, still neck and neck, their tails flicking out every so often, trying to make the other veer off course. Good. That meant they were too busy trying to beat each other to be a serious threat.

  There was a rumble and Flicker opened his jaws and blue flames shot out. This race wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Flicker’s wings beat hard and fast. He let out another bellow as he gained on Sunny.

  Back when Flicker was only small and hiccupping sparks, I used to dream of flying, wondering what it would feel like to ride on a dragon. And now I knew. Above the clouds, arcing through the sky like a shooting star, I hollered with him.

  Up here everything was so bright and clear, with the colours of the sunset lighting our way. Just us, in this brilliant moment that might last forever. Everything else hidden below.

  Even at dusk, the dragons wouldn’t fly down through the cloud cover until we were right over Nana and Grandad’s house. The people in our village might be too wrapped up in their busy lives to notice they were living alongside small hatching dragons, but we couldn’t risk someone glancing up and spotting five fully grown dragons flying over the neighbourhood!

  The trouble was, if we left it too long we’d overshoot and have to double back. And then the race would be over for me and Flicker. It was all about timing it just right.

  I felt myself tilt forward as Flicker flew lower.

  ‘Not yet …’ I whispered.

  But he didn’t listen. I opened my mouth, about to urge him to pull up, but then I stopped. Sometimes you just have to trust your dragon.

  So I wrapped my arms around his neck and braced myself as Flicker headed straight into the billowing cloud.

  The blue sparks that he blew out crackled like a tiny lightning storm. I just hoped those diamond eyes of his could see more than I could. Which was absolutely zilch.

  Just when I was beginning to wonder if he’d actually got lost, he finally flew down through the cloud and we were out the other side. I couldn’t help giving a whoop of delight as I shook off the water dripping from my hair.

  There below us was Grandad’s garden. I could see the trees with their little twinkly fairy lights sparkling through the dark, and the glittery horns of Tinkle, Lolli’s dragon, lying curled beneath them. And then I spied Grandad. He was walking very slowly in a straight line, arms outstretched. I wondered what he could be doing, until I saw Lolli brandishing a stick, her other hand holding down the wobbly pirate hat that was far too big for her. She looked up and waved. Then pointed her sword away from her lily-livered captive and up to the sky. I turned just in time to see Sunny rocketing out of the cloud. Seconds later Ted was flying alongside me, grinning.

  ‘Thought you had us there, Tomas,’ he cried.

  As I was about to answer I saw Lolli reach into her pocket. I grinned.

  ‘Not over yet.’ I laughed and nodded towards Lolli, who was casually hurling marshmallow after marshmallow into the air.

  ‘Not fair,’ Ted wailed, as Sunny swerved away from the finish line, all his attention on the sweet treats raining down onto the grass.

  I yelled in triumph as Flicker flew over Grandad’s shed in first place.

  Best dragon race ever!

  By the time the others joined us, Ted had forgiven Sunny for his betrayal with the marshmallows and was tucking into the packet himself.

  If I’m honest, there wasn’t a lot of room once all the dragons had landed.

  Kat laughed. ‘I’m not sure they’d fit in the Dragons’ Den these days.’

  ‘Good job
they’ve had an upgrade!’ Ted said.

  It was Kat who’d suggested where the dragons could stay on their visits. An old quarry a few miles away had been flooded and turned into a nature reserve. Out in the middle of the lake was a small wooded island, which had become the perfect place for the dragons to hide out.

  As I stood and watched Flicker and the others soar into the sky, I wondered how long they would stay this time. Although they had only just arrived, I knew we would have them for only a few days at most, before they headed north again. After that, who knew when they’d return?

  Kat, Kai and Liam headed home, but I stayed in the garden with Ted. Lolli and Grandad had planted some chilli peppers and she was whispering to the little seedlings and tickling their leaves, while he filled a can from the water butt. Once they’d finished, Grandad declared it was time for a cuppa and led her up to the house.

  We watched her skipping away, singing ‘Tinkle, Tinkle, ’ickle dar’ and then went over to the dragon-fruit tree. Its long cactus-like leaves trailed across the ground and you could hardly see the thick hairy trunk. It had been growing well and looked strong and healthy. Which was a relief, given that as far as we knew it was the only dragon-fruit tree that actually grew dragons. With the superhero squad’s help over the last few months we’d been growing and releasing dragons galore. In fact we’d just had one of our biggest crops of dragon fruit so far.

  There were signs everywhere of the little dragons, if you knew what you were looking for. The squashed empty dragon fruits and the mush and seeds mixed up with the soil, and then of course the telltale nibbled leaves and occasional bud-free bush.

  ‘Good job your grandad doesn’t mind his hard work being demolished,’ Ted said, picking up a half-chewed cabbage. ‘My dad gets cross if next door’s cat so much as walks past his pansies.’

  I laughed. ‘A few chewed veggies is a small price to pay for growing dragons.’

  Grandad didn’t mind. Every time he saw a dragon pop out of one of the fruits his eyes twinkled with the magic of it, every bit as much as ours did. You just never knew what each new dragon would be like. I thought of the latest crop, the tiny green-winged dragon with its triple-tipped tail, the amber one that shot luminous yellow flames as soon as it hatched, and the pair of slender orange dragons, covered in spikes, their curly horns glittering brightly.

  All special. But none as amazing as Flicker, my storm dragon, with his scales that shimmered and shone. I gazed up at the sky and pictured myself riding up there with my dragon. Hollering to the stars.

  I was so distracted, remembering, I didn’t look where I was treading. It was only when I felt something squish beneath my foot that I looked down. One of the branches of the dragon-fruit tree was trailing on the ground. And with a jolt of horror I saw that what my foot had landed on was the edge of a dragon fruit. A dragon fruit that had not burst, scattering seeds and mush and an excitable dragon. But a dragon fruit that still had something very much inside it.

  I shrieked, giving Ted such a shock that he hurled the cabbage he’d been holding into the air. Quickly pulling my foot away, I peered down at the dragon fruit, terrified I’d stepped on the dragon inside and squashed it.

  As Ted dodged the incoming cabbage and hurried over, I crouched down and gently lifted up the fruit, which had come away from the branch.

  ‘What is it?’ he cried. And then he saw what I was holding. ‘You didn’t … tread on that, did you?’

  I nodded, my lips pinching back the squeak that was threatening to escape.

  ‘Let’s get it into the shed,’ Ted said, trying very hard to sound calm.

  ‘What if …?’ I said, still staring at the fruit.

  Ted gave a little shake of his head. ‘I’m sure it’s fine.’

  I carried it carefully towards the shed, Ted hustling in front, opening the door and clearing some space on the counter. I gently lay the fruit down and Ted pulled up the old stool for me to perch on. We watched it intently, time tick-tick-ticking past.

  When the fruit was still not moving ten minutes later, we both started to fear the worst. I reached out and laid a hand on it, hoping I might feel the smallest movement that way.

  ‘It feels jittery,’ I said, turning to look at Ted, who was holding his breath. ‘Like it’s buzzing.’

  Ted let out a gasp. ‘That’s good – at least there’s something going on in there.’

  You could never be sure just when a dragon would finally burst from their fruit. Having reassured ourselves that this one might just need more time, I reached up to get Grandad’s secret stash of Nana’s jammy tarts. Ted looked as if he could do with one – or six, knowing him.

  But as I pulled the tin off the shelf I dislodged a trowel. I watched in horror as it crashed onto the counter, landing right on top of the poor dragon fruit. I muttered a well-aimed insult at myself for being so clumsy.

  Now, usually the dragons burst from the fruit on their own and flew off with very little help from us. But having almost squashed this one – not once but twice – I needed to be sure that it really was OK.

  I looked around for something to break the skin of the fruit to help the little dragon on its way. Grabbing a pair of garden scissors, I leaned in close, holding the fruit with one hand.

  ‘Do you think that’s a good idea?’ Ted said. ‘I’m not saying you’re clumsy … It’s just –’

  But before he could finish, the fruit burst open and the dragon shot out – straight into my face. The little dragon was so disorientated that he started flying in crazy loops, banging into the light bulb, the shelves and every so often my head.

  ‘Watch out!’ Ted laughed, pulling me out of the way as the newly hatched dragon spun at me once more. He was moving incredibly fast, so I couldn’t get a proper look at him. But I could see he had massive wings for the size of his body, which could have been why he was having so much trouble getting the hang of the whole flight thing.

  ‘Open the door,’ I cried, shielding my head with my arm.

  Ted pushed the door and we stumbled out. Keeping low, we watched as the dragon zoomed back and forth before crashing headlong into one of Grandad’s raspberry nets.

  The more he flapped, the more tied up he became, till he’d wound himself into a tight cocoon, at which point he finally dropped to the ground.

  ‘Poor little thing,’ Ted giggled. ‘He’s certainly super-charged.’

  I reached for the scissors on the counter and rushed over. Lifting the dragon up, I started cutting the net. His whole body was buzzing, and as the net loosened he started wriggling manically in my hands.

  ‘Keep still,’ I said frantically.

  The dragon didn’t listen. He just nipped my finger and scrabbled at my hands with his claws.

  ‘Ow!’ I yelped as he twisted and squirmed even more. ‘Look I’m trying to help. But I can’t if you won’t let me.’

  ‘Go slower,’ Ted suggested.

  I took a breath and waited for a lull in his frenzied wriggling.

  As he settled down, I murmured, ‘I’m just going to cut through the net. I can’t rush in case I damage your wings. Please don’t bite me. I’m not going to hurt you.’

  Ted took a step back as if he wasn’t sure the words would have much effect and didn’t want to risk being bitten himself.

  At last I managed to cut the net away and I lifted the hand I had laid gently over his back, expecting him to zoom off again. But for a second he sat there, wings held awkwardly.

  Now he wasn’t darting around above our heads I could see the little dragon’s body and wings more clearly. He was really pretty. Sky blue. The kind of crystal-blue sky you see on a bright winter’s day. And there was a pattern of silver threads criss-crossing over his body and wings. His tail was narrow, a row of small spines running down it and ending in a glowing silver zigzag. He stared back at me and I noticed then that his eyes were different colours. One was blue, the other white. The blue one sparkled like the sapphire on my mum’s ring, while the white on
e looked like a swirling cloud.

  And then he overbalanced and tumbled to the ground, just managing to flap his wings and take off before he hit earth.

  ‘He seems to like you anyway,’ Ted said as the dragon zigzagged through the air and headed haphazardly back towards me.

  ‘In between bites,’ I said. ‘Maybe if I leave, he’ll fly off.’

  Ted’s stomach rumbled loudly and he grinned apologetically.

  ‘I could do with a bite myself. You’re probably right. Let’s hope so anyway or there won’t be anything left of your grandad’s garden!’

  ‘Those runner beans been giving you the runaround?’ Grandad said with a grin later, as I sat down to tea.

  Lolli giggled and picked up two stray carrots she’d jettisoned from her plate and started racing them across the table.

  ‘You look like you’ve crawled through a hedge,’ Nana said. ‘What on earth have you been doing out there?’

  ‘Beans can be tricky to handle, isn’t that right, Chipstick?’ Grandad said.

  ‘Especially when they’re as fast as this one was,’ I said between mouthfuls of casserole.

  Grandad laughed and gave me a quick wink.

  Nana gave us both a quizzical look and then shook her head, as if we were both as barmy as each other and welcome to it.

  After second helpings of blackberry-and-apple crumble with custard, I headed upstairs.

  We were staying at Nana and Grandad’s for the weekend and as usual Lolli and I were sharing the room that looked over the garden. I didn’t mind sharing – she’d inherited Grandad’s ability to squirrel away treats, so there were always pockets of goodies hidden for us to discover.

  I thought she’d taken it a bit far though when she squealed at me as I flopped onto my bed. Using my bed to hide things was not OK. I really didn’t want to be covered in chocolate, jam or marshmallow.

  ‘Lolli, can you not …’ But she was already pulling me off the bed and peeling back the covers. I saw her shoulders sag and a little exclamation of horror escaped.