Stormdragons

Chapter 28

The shock waves of the explosion almost halted the dragons in their flight. Their huge, leathery bodies shuddered. For a few seconds they soared upwards barely in control. When he was flying level again, Joe looked across to Ali and Ibrahim. Mercifully, they were all still astride their dragons.

'What was it? An earthquake?' asked .

Joe pointed to the massive plume of smoke arising from the city walls.

'The Sheik's men have blown the gates. They're pouring in,' he said.

The boys didn't understand what Joe meant but they could see for themselves a mass of desert horsemen streaming through the smoking gap where the main gate had been.

'Looks like we've timed it perfectly,' said Ali.

Joe turned the dial of the orb up a notch and returned it to his pocket. He wanted to whip up winds over the city, raising sandstorms that would ruin the defending archers' aim. But he didn't want to make conditions too difficult for the army of farmers and villagers as they covered the last few miles of their march.

'Remember, our aim is to terrorise the palace guards. Try to frighten them into laying down their weapons,' Joe called out to his friends.

'We understand,' came the reply.

'So let's go,' said Joe.

He kicked with his right heel and pushed on the dragon's neck. The dragon needed little prompting. Its curiosity had been aroused and it dived on the city like an eagle on a lamb.

As the crows circling over the dock began to attack, Uncle Toby and Mehmed took refuge in a warehouse. Others were not so lucky. Two of Sinbad's crew went down clutching their eyes. Another threw himself into the water, the talons of a bird entangled in his hair. As quick-thinking as ever, Sinbad ordered his men to seize any fishing nets they saw.

'Use the nets to trap the birds!' he shouted.

But the birds were sneaky and quick. They avoided the nets, darting up and away and then circling round to attack the sailors from behind.

Uncle Toby and Mehmed opened the warehouse door.

'In here, quickly,' they shouted.

Sinbad and the rest of his crew ran into the warehouse. Several birds came with them only to be cut down in mid-air by sword-swipes from Uncle Toby and Mehmed.

The last two crew members helped to bar the door before throwing themselves behind a stack of bales. Everyone looked at Sinbad. They were panting and afraid.

'We're safe but we're trapped!' said Uncle Toby.

'And vulnerable to fire,' said Sinbad, whose instinct for danger was greater than any man Uncle Toby had ever met.

Sinbad looked around the warehouse. His eyes narrowed and a smile spread across his face. It was a smile his crew knew well. He'd had an idea.

'Cork! Look men, there are sheets of cork bark there at the back. Break into four teams of eight. Each team get yourself several sheets of cork, enough to cover you on all sides and from above. Make some straps from whatever leather, twine and netting you can find to hold the sheets in place. Go on! Fast as you can!'

Within a few minutes, four large cork boxes were lined up by the warehouse door, with men inside holding the sides around themselves.

'It's like the tortoise formation used by the Roman army,' thought Uncle Toby.

Sinbad laughed to see them.

'Let's see what the crows make of this,' he said, as he flung open the door.