The Last Dragon Chronicles: Fire World: Fire World (47 page)

a problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Harlan.

“Gwyneth.”

David raised his eyes.

Mathew   went   on,   “Maybe   thecounsellor can answer something for me:did she, Gwyneth, ever use anothername?”

Strømberg   tapped   his   fingertipstogether. “Another name?”

“Gwilanna, for instance?”

David noticed Bernard rubbing his chinin thought.

Strømberg   replied,   “No.   Wheninducted, an Aunt’s name is always fixedto her parents’ choice. It’s part of a strictverification process.”

Mathew tightened his lips and said, “Then why would she use the claw towrite another?”

“Oh, oh my goodness,” Bernard saidsuddenly. “She must know herself – in the

other world.”

“How?” said Rosa, from the far side of the deck.

“She could have learned of it – from the Ix,” Harlan muttered.

“So where does that leave us?” Mathew asked.

The sound of wingbeats made everyonelook up. Aurielle and Azkiar, in theirfirebird form, were descending from theupper decks. They were flying side byside, carrying a rolled-up cloth betweenthem.

“The tapestry,” Rosa said. “They’ve found the tapestry.” She pushed away from the rail and hurried to their landing site further up the deck, where there was room to roll the cloth out. As David and the

others ran to join her she was already

deep in conversation with Aurielle.

Rosa turned to David and said, “They found it in the glade.”

“The glade? But why now? They must have searched there lots of times?”

“Angel told them to look again. It was there, in the leaves. Rolled up, like this.”

“Unroll it,” David said to Aurielle in dragontongue.

The two firebirds pushed with their feet until the picture was laid out fully on the deck. Aurielle sat at one end and Azkiar at the other.

Mathew   Lefarr  was  the  first  to

comment. He looked at the tapestry, then at David. “That’s not the same picture you drew, is it?”

Rosa shook her head. “This is wrong. What’s happened? We’re in different

places. What are those flying
 
things
? And who’s that
 
boy
?”

“This is Gwyneth’s doing,” Harlan breathed. “She’s given herself up to the nexus and realigned the time line. If she died on Earth where she was known as Gwilanna the events on the original tapestry were true, but if she continues to live… ”

“It all changes,” David said.

Suddenly there was a bump, followed by an elongated grinding noise as if the keel of the ark had ploughed into several acres of mud. Both firebirds took off and

Rosa rushed to the deck rail again. “David!” she screamed. “The water! Look

at the water!”

At the same time Harlan Merriman was

shouting, “The bird. David, she’s caught.”

Aurielle was flapping wildly, trying torelease a thread of the tapestry caught inher claw. But the harder she tried, theharder she pulled. And with every freshpull, the image was changing. David wasbeing drawn into the Shadow of Ix. And anew figure on the hill, who he knew mustbe Gwilanna, had her hand twitchedforward and her face slightly pinched as ifshe was smiling and waving goodbye.

And all around the ark an orange lightwas growing.

And there was no water.

There was only fire.

What do you enjoy most about writing abook?

The unexpected twists and turns the plotcan take. Stories really do have a life oftheir own sometimes.

What do you like least about writing abook?

When I can’t seethe way ahead (i.e.getting stuck!).

What was your favourite book as achild?

The Hobbit
 
by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Why did you decide to write children’sbooks?

It wasn’t a conscious choice. Writingbegan as a hobby for me –a sort of naturalextension of song writing. I tried all sortsof different genres, mostly adult, at first. Then one day I decided to write a storycalled
 
Snigger and the Nutbeast
 
as a Christmas present for my wife, Jay. Thatgot me into the idea of writing forchildren, but it was several years before Ipursued children’s fiction seriously. Asfans   of   mine   will   know,
 
Snigger
eventually became the basis for
 
The Fire Within
. The rest, as they say, is history.

Where is your favourite place to write?
 
I have a desk in a bedroom that overlooks

the sea. You can’t do much better than

that.

What book do you wish you hadwritten?

Holes
 
by Louis Sachar.

Who are your heroes?

John Lennon and the scientist, Alan Turin.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Eating far too many Fruit Gums for myown good!

What’s your dream film cast for
 
The

Last Dragon Chronicles?

David:
 
Ben Barnes

Zanna:
 
Gemma Arterton or Jemima

Rooper or…

Liz   Pennykettle:
  
Emma   Thompson

(please, someone make the film before Emma gets too old for the part… )

Lucy Pennykettle:
 
Don’t know. I get lots of letters asking to read for the part!
 
Gwilanna:
 
Helen Mirren

Arthur:
 
Stephen Tompkinson

Anders Bergstrom:
 
Kenneth Branagh
 
Henry Bacon:
 
Robert Lindsay

Tam Farrell:
 
Colin Farrell

The dragons:
 
Themselves!

Tell us a secret your readers won’tknow about you…

I once kissed Kate Bush –but I bet she

doesn’t remember!

David ran a hand through his mop ofbrown hair. Dragons. It was certainlydifferent from his last set of lodgings,where all you got were spiders and theoccasional mouse. “It’s perfect,” hesaid.

When David arrives at Wayward Crescent

he has no idea what lurks inside the

Pennykettle house. Only when he’s givenhis own special dragon does he begin tounlock their mysterious secrets, and todiscover the fire within…

The first title in Chris d’Lacey’sbestselling series,

The Last Dragon Chronicles
 
.