The Wrath of the Lizard Lord (16 page)

Dakkar stared at the enormous creature. It resembled the Gacheela in shape, with its pointed head and stunted body. But its wings stretched on forever, the leathery membranes between its body and bony arms rippling like the sails of a galleon. This beast was enormous. It swooped around, responding to Gweek’s alarmed cries. Its wing tip grazed Dakkar’s shoulder and then it wheeled suddenly, as if searching for Gweek. It brought itself under Dakkar and stabbed at him with its long beak, prodding and probing for the little flying lizard.
It heard Gweek’s cries and thought it was food!
Dakkar realised.

Not wasting another second, Dakkar arched his back and straightened his body into a dive, trying to increase the speed of his descent. He crashed into the giant Gacheela, gripping his arms around its neck and his legs around its body. Gasping and panting, Dakkar ignored the bristly skin that rubbed against him like sandpaper. The monster tried to peck at him but its long head prevented it from hitting him with any force. It twirled, trying to shake him off, but Dakkar gripped tightly. All this time Gweek clung to his jacket and squawked in panic.

Dakkar felt his scalp prickle and realised that they had lost height. Clearly the beast didn’t have the strength to support them both. Dakkar took a deep breath, holding it as the cloud grew thicker.

The giant Gacheela flapped its wings but still couldn’t shake Dakkar loose. As it struggled to free itself, the creature plunged deeper into the cloud bank. Dakkar squeezed his eyes shut. His skin stung as if a thousand needles had been stuck into it. The static charge that the clouds generated made his hair stand on end. His breath tightened in his chest.
If I breathe in now, the cloud will burn me inside
.

They were descending fast now. Gweek had somehow crept on to Dakkar’s chest and inside his jacket. It croaked feebly. Even the giant flying reptile seemed weakened by the cloud and its heavy load. It spread its wings and tried to glide down through the cloud. Dakkar’s lungs felt as if they would burst. His head throbbed and his grip weakened.

Then Dakkar saw the green of the jungle through the thinning mist. It grew clearer and he let out a huge gasp, drawing in fresh air. The Gacheela seemed to awaken too, swooping down towards the trees and then beyond to the sea.

The jungle became a green blur as they whipped across the treetops, then it vanished to be replaced with steel-grey water. Spray and salt water slapped Dakkar’s face as once more he fought for breath. He thought about letting go but the impact at this speed would break every bone in his body. The Gacheela was taking him far out to sea!

Chapter Twenty-three

Dead Man Walking

Clinging tightly to the underside of the Gacheela, Dakkar tried to think quickly. Every second took him further and further out to sea. He looked across the slate-grey water to the horizon. He could see the land curving round the edges of this huge expanse of water. In the far distance, massive water spouts curled up into the clouds.
Admiring the scenery isn’t going to help me now!
he thought, wondering what he could do to save himself.

If he tried to pull the creature down, he would be plunged into the depths with no way of getting back. The swell of the waves rolled a few feet away from him, hissing and snapping at his back like a wild animal eager to pull him in and devour him. Gweek’s cries of alarm had grown louder since they had left the cloud.

I’ve got to turn this beast round
, he thought, gritting his teeth against the ache in his arms and legs. He reached out and shifted his weight slightly to the left of the Gacheela, bringing a flurry of squawks and attempted pecks. The beast was gliding over the waves rather than flapping now and so, gradually, Dakkar’s weight began to ease it into a slow arc. The Gacheela quietened and kept low to the waves.

Eventually, they faced land again. By dangling his head down, Dakkar could see the upside-down strip of jungle on the horizon with the tower poking up into the clouds. The reptile tried to turn but Dakkar eased his weight over, making a crooked line back for shore. Each time the Gacheela changed direction, Dakkar swung himself to the left or right, forcing it to hold the right course.

Soon, Dakkar risked dangling down again and could see individual trees dotting the shoreline. A colossal shadow just under the surface killed the whoop of joy in his throat. With a yelp, Dakkar dragged himself up on to the side of the Gacheela’s body, dragging it round and making it wheel back towards the seas. It snapped at him, its toothed beak snagging on his ragged jacket.

Then the sea erupted. A huge whale-like creature exploded from the depths below. The smell of the sea, rotten fish and seaweed engulfed them. Dakkar saw enormous, gaping jaws, a red mouth, row upon row of sharp ivory teeth, before he found himself flying unaided across the waves. Gweek croaked and squealed as they skipped across the water like a stone skimmed by a giant child. The tiny flying reptile fluttered up off Dakkar and squeaked its complaint above him. Cold water soaked into Dakkar’s thick woollen jacket, making him gasp and pulling him down.

He caught a last glimpse of the enormous whale, the giant Gacheela crumpled in its jaws as it boomed back into the water behind him. Then a massive wave from the creature’s re-entry into the sea swelled up towards them.

Turning on his stomach, Dakkar began to thrash at the water in a vain attempt to outswim the wave, but he felt himself lifted and powered along. Looking up, he saw how incredibly close the shoreline actually was. Then the wave broke, turning him head over feet. Water flooded his nose and mouth. A bubbling roar filled his ears and he found himself plunged deep beneath the surge into calmer waters below.

Dakkar opened his eyes. Ever since Oginski had taken him and introduced him to the sea, Dakkar had found he could see well underwater. Now he stared at the rocky bed below him, teeming with strange fish. Some had long filaments waving from their heads, others had pronounced lower jaws and legions of needle-sharp teeth. Strange worms wriggled among the vivid red seaweed and the black, volcanic rock. Here, too, creatures preyed upon each other with an insatiable hunger.

Glancing round for any larger fish, Dakkar kicked his way to the surface, gasping for breath as he hit the cool air. Gweek fluttered above him, croaking.

‘I’m fine, thanks,’ Dakkar panted with a grin. ‘So glad you were worried about my safety,’ he added as the tiny reptile landed on his head and rested its wings.

Dakkar surged forward, cutting through the water with a powerful stroke, and soon his feet found the sandy seabed. Within a few minutes, he threw himself on to the beach that skirted the sea. The jungle stood a few paces away but even from here he could see the tower rising upward, sheer and menacing.

The one advantage I have now is that Cryptos thinks I’m dead
, he thought, chewing his lip.

He picked himself up from the sand and trudged to the fringes of the jungle, scanning this way and that for any would-be predators. Gweek had fallen silent, content to sit on his shoulder and preen his scaly skin with his sharp beak.

The same eerie quiet hung over this part of the jungle. A few smaller lizards skittered up tree trunks and the odd bird-like creature hopped above Dakkar in the branches but the rest of the wildlife kept to the deeper forest.

Dakkar’s foot crunched against something and he leapt back, stifling a yell. His foot had sunk into the ribcage of a human skeleton. Pulling a face, he glanced around. Several bodies had lain here, all dressed in Cryptos uniforms, but now only bleached bone and filthy fabric remained. They had been shot in the head, judging by the holes broken in the skulls.
Maybe this was one of Cryptos’s own executions
, Dakkar thought.

The uniforms looked intact. Dakkar pursed his lips then pulled at one of the jackets. The skeleton fell apart, desiccated by the sun. He shook the jacket, spluttering in the disgusting dust cloud that enveloped him. Gweek gave a squawk and fluttered up to the lowest branches.

It might just fit me
, he thought.
And if I can clean it up I might just trick my way back into the tower
.

Washing the uniform jacket in the salty seawater seemed to clear the soil and other stains from it quite effectively. Dakkar scrambled up a conifer and hung it on a branch to dry. He lay back in the crook of the branch, his back against the trunk, and stared at the tower.

I wonder what’s happened to Mary
, he thought.
And what is Georgia up to? If she really had gone over to Cryptos, then she would have given Stefan the
Liberty.

Even the crowding thoughts couldn’t stop sleep from creeping up on him. A gentle breeze from the sea sighed through the needles of the tree, making it sway gently to the rhythm of the waves. Soon he was dreaming that he lay on the deck of the
Nautilus
with the sun warming his face.

Dakkar woke with a start. Something scratched at his cheek. He waved his hand in the air and rubbed his eyes simultaneously, causing him to overbalance. The ground loomed up at him for a moment and he only just managed to stop himself from falling.

Gweek flapped around his head, fussing and croaking at him. Dakkar shook himself.
How long have I been asleep?
he thought. It was so difficult to tell in this night-less world.

He extended his arm and Gweek settled on to it. Dakkar smiled and tickled its neck. The skin felt surprisingly soft, like kid leather.

‘You’re still here?’ he said, grinning at Gweek.

Dakkar checked the guard’s jacket, smiling when he realised how dry it was. The exposure to the salt water and the sea breeze had shrunk the fabric so that it fitted him quite snugly. His trousers looked rather ragged but with the tricorne hat he spied in the undergrowth pulled down low on his brow he might just get away with it.

Checking the ground for any concealed pits, Dakkar inched his way to the edge of the jungle and watched. A few squadrons of riders appeared, dragging giants tied at the wrists. One came close to the fringes of the forest, their prisoners stumbling – and flinching at the lashes they received as a result. The leader of the group had a round, ruddy face and one blind, milky eye.

‘Get them moving!’ he bellowed at the men, who whipped and prodded the poor giants. ‘I’ve been out of the tower too long. I need some beer!’

At the very rear of the group, a four-legged reptile with a strange beak and a frilled plate round its head pulled a small cart. The reptile slowed to a stop and its driver jumped off the cart to push the beast’s rump as if he could move it.

Dakkar stuffed Gweek under his tricone hat, pulled it down and ran from the bushes to join the breathless driver, who nodded gratefully.

‘Thank ’ee,’ said the driver. ‘Where did you spring from?’

‘Was fixin’ some pit traps in the forest,’ Dakkar lied, lowering his voice. ‘I saw you needed help.’

‘That’s the truth,’ the driver spat. ‘This bloomin’ beast ’as been playin’ up all day!’

Dakkar noticed the strange spiky fruit that comprised the cart’s load. They reminded him of pineapples but they were black and had much broader leaves. He winked at the driver and pulled one from the pile.

‘Maybe we can bribe him,’ Dakkar said, moving to the front of the beast.

‘They’re not for animals,’ the driver said, but then he noticed that the reptile was moving again as Dakkar held it a few inches ahead.

‘I won’t tell if you don’t.’ Dakkar grinned and handed the pineapple to the driver, who took over leading the creature.

Dakkar followed behind the cart, hidden from the view of the others by the pile of fruit and the bulk of the struggling giants. He desperately wanted to free them but knew only too well that in doing so he would give himself away. He had to play along and get inside the stockade. Only then could he help.

The stockade walls drew nearer and Dakkar’s heart thumped in his chest. He prayed that Gweek would keep still and silent under his hat.

The bleached, barren plain they crossed to get to the tower reminded Dakkar of a desert, except now and then they passed a gurgling hole in the earth which steamed and boiled.

As they drew closer, Dakkar could see how crude the wall was. Tree trunks had been sharpened and buried into the ground to form the tall barrier. A double gate swung open to allow the party through. Two black-clad guards stood, rifles in the crook of their arms, watching everything.

A fruit tumbled from the pile and Dakkar stooped to pick it up as the cart approached the gates.

‘Stop,’ said the nearest guard as the cart rolled on, exposing Dakkar. The guard levelled his rifle and stared at Dakkar.

He’d been caught.

Chapter Twenty-four

Caught

Dakkar froze, the sweat trickling down his back. He raised his hands, the fruit still in one, trying to decide if it felt heavy enough to use as a weapon.

‘You missed one,’ the guard said, laughing and pointing at another fruit on the ground at his feet. ‘Don’t waste any! Them pineapple things are about the tastiest dish in these parts.’

‘Yeah.’ The guard’s partner sauntered over and poked the fruit with the toe of his boot. ‘I’ll have one o’ them over fried reptile any day!’