Stormdragons

Chapter 26

All that day Joe used the power of the orb to train the dragons. He and Clare had set themselves a tight schedule and this worried him. Yet he was careful not to work the dragons too hard. Whenever the dragons showed any sign of tiredness or impatience, he stopped immediately. The orb was switched off and put away. Then he would sit with his friends until the dragons were calm and ready to be approached again.

Even with these interruptions, Joe made steady progress. Every time he switched the orb on or off, the dragons couldn't resist responding to its mysterious power. There seemed to be something in the smoke that compelled them to action. Whatever it was, Joe couldn't smell it; nor could the village boys.

'It is magic of the highest order,' said Ali. 'Without doubt this orb was made by a great wizard.'

The first thing Joe taught the three dragons was to lower their necks when he approached with the orb. Next he got them used to having someone climb onto their back. By the end of the first day, he had ridden each of the three dragons with one of the boys as his companion. The boys were overwhelmed by the experience. They chattered merrily as they made their way back to the cave.

'I saw our village. It was so small it looked like a model made from clay,' said Ibrahim, his eyes shining with excitement.

'And I flew up into the clouds. I felt like an eagle,' said Ali.

Ibrahim laughed.

'Me too! But many times larger and stronger than any eagle that has ever lived,' he said.

Joe was too tired to talk. He couldn't remember a day when he had concentrated so hard or so long. As they approached the mouth of the cave, a wave of exhaustion swept over him. Once inside, he collapsed on his bed of straw and let the others light the fire and prepare the food.

The next day was even tougher. It took the boys nearly two hours to find the three dragons they'd been working with before and to separate them from the herd. Joe had to use every ounce of his new found skill and patience.

'You are getting very good at using the orb, Joe,' observed Ali as Joe finally brought the largest of the three dragons in to land.

The next stage was to train the dragons to respond to their individual riders. That way they would be far more effective when they joined in the battle for Bandar-e-Abbar. But training the dragons to act in this way proved very difficult. When the orb was on a low power setting, only one dragon would take off, the one carrying Joe. When Joe turned the setting higher, all the dragons took off but merely followed each other in a straight line.

By late afternoon, Joe was ready to call it quits.

'I don't think we're getting anywhere,' he said. 'They may be dragons but when the orb whistles they follow one another like sheep.'

'Don't be disconsolate, Joe. We will still cause the Caliph problems,' said Ibrahim.

'We must talk to our dragons more,' suggested Ali. 'They must get used to our voices and the smell of our clothes.'

Joe's face brightened.

'That's it! Well done, Ali, you may have come up with the answer. The dragons will not obey us, but they will obey the orb. Here, boys, take off your shirts.'

Reluctantly the two boys took off their thin, cotton shirts and handed them to Joe. When the orb smoking, Joe wrapped each shirt around it in turn. The boys stood and watched, their arms wrapped around their thin bodies. When Joe was satisfied that each shirt had absorbed plenty of smoke, he handed them back

'Now we carry the magic with us. In our skins; in our sweat,' said Ibrahim who felt he was already half-way to becoming a wizard.

'Let's see what effect it has. And this time we'll use the ropes,' said Joe.