Stormdragons

Chapter 29

Nothing anyone could say could wipe the smile of satisfaction from Spud's face. He was a war hero and he had the scars to prove it. The hair on his head had been singed to a frizzle. His back and his legs were pockmarked with ugly cuts where his flesh had been pierced by splinters of wood and shards of flying brick. Yet he and Mac had been remarkably lucky. A huge lump of masonry from the city walls had landed close to their heads.

'See, I told you we couldn't be seriously hurt,' Mac had said when he had regained consciousness. Spud had been in too much pain to hit him.

Now they stood on the edge of the desert saying their farewells. Spud pulled at a piece of skin flaking off a burnt ear as Uncle Toby stepped towards Joe.

'Here you are Joe, it's not much but it should do the trick,' he said as he handed Joe a large bag.

The bag contained pieces of wreckage from The Lazy Susan. The pieces had been carefully chosen. They included a small part of the stern with part of the boat's name on it and a radio handset upon which Uncle Toby had scratched his initials.

'So, let's get our cover story right,' said Clare turning to Spud and Mac. 'You two agreed to accompany Joe and me as we went looking for evidence to explain what had happened to Uncle Toby. We found these bits of wreckage washed ashore a day's drive down the coast at a place called Harker's Reach.'

'Yep, that's it,' said Spud. 'You can let me do that talking, I'm a good liar.'

Clare shook her head.

'That's the last thing I'm going to do, Spud.'

The aim of the pieces of wreckage and the story was to provide proof to the authorities that Uncle Toby had died at sea. Uncle Toby put an arm around Clare and Joe.

'My will is with my lawyer. I have named you two as my heirs, so you will inherit the bungalow and all the money I've put aside.'

'Are you sure about this?' asked Clare.

'Yes, I'm staying in this world. I'm happy here. But promise me you'll keep an eye on Pete Copsey and try to keep him off the booze.'

Clare and Joe nodded but as they lived in Watford, it wasn't going to be easy.

'I don't mind popping round now and then. I'll make sure the old boy's okay,' said Mac

'That's good of you. I appreciate it,' said Uncle Toby.

'There might be expenses...' said Spud.

Everyone laughed. They knew Spud was still smarting about the decision not to allow him and Mac to walk away from the Caliph's palace with their pockets full of treasure. Sheik Suleiman had travelled back to the desert with his horse and two camels loaded with valuables, but Uncle Toby had pointed out that appearing back in Cornwall with jewellery and golden coins would only get the boys into trouble. The police would soon take an interest in two teenagers trying to sell diamonds and rubies without a good explanation of where they found them.

'I've been thinking about that. After all, you are heroes and your bikes do need replacing. So why don't we say that Clare will give you £500 each once she and Joe have inherited my money,' said Uncle Toby.

Spud beamed.

'A thousand quid! That's great.'

'Yeah, it'll buy you a decent pair of sunglasses, for starters,' said Joe.

'And a year's supply of chewing gum for Mac,' added Clare.

Joe and Clare detached themselves from the group. Joe went to where Ali and Ibrahim were waiting patiently.

'Good bye, Joe. We will never forget you. You have helped our whole village,' they told him.

Joe shook their hands and wished them luck. He said one day he would come back but they all knew that was highly unlikely.

'Mehmed will be a fine Caliph. He will look after us,' said Ali.

'And with the experience you have given us, I will become the world's expert on dragons and their behaviour,' said Ibrahim

'And we're both going to kick Abdul the Merchant's fat behind next time he tries to cheat us,' said Ali.

Suddenly Joe had an idea. It was blindingly obvious. Why had he not thought of it before?

He drew Ali aside.

'You know these Forty Thieves who cannot be caught or found,' he whispered.

'Yes,' replied Ali.

'Well in my world there is story about Forty Thieves too. They hide all the goods they have stolen in a cave whose entrance is covered by a great rock. This rock can only be moved by saying a magic password. And the password is Open Sesame.'

Ali's eyes lit up.

'So if a brave boy from a poor village was to find this cave and use this password he could take back what had been stolen and claim a reward?' he said.

'Exactly,' said Joe.

They clasped each other round the shoulders and looked into each other's eyes.

'Two worlds. One friendship,' said Ali.

If parting was sad for Joe and his friends, it was ten times worse for Clare and Mehmed. This was the moment they had both been dreading. Mehmed kissed her and gave her a silver bracelet.

'It's lovely. I will treasure it always,' said Clare.

'However long I live and whatever happens in my life, my heart will never leap in my chest for anyone else the way it leaps for you,' Mehmed told her.

Clare hugged him close and they stood together in a warm embrace. Joe took the orb out of his pocket and switched it on. Clare and Mehmed held each other until the wind whipped the sand across their feet and the sky filled with cloud.

'Get on the carpet, Clare. Don't leave it too late. Who knows when the dragons will appear,' said Uncle Toby firmly.

Clare pulled away from Mehmed with tears in her eyes.

'You will be a great Caliph, loved throughout the land but no one will love you as much as me,' she told him

She took her place on the carpet.

'You will get it right this time, won't you Joe?' said Uncle Toby.

'Absolutely. The Sheik has been giving Spud strangling lessons and I don't wan to risk it,' said Joe.

As the wind began to howl, the carpet lifted from the ground, making light of its cargo of four passengers and a large bag.

'You can always look out for me in book illustrations,' shouted Uncle Toby.

'We'll do that,' said Clare.

'Like heck I will,' muttered Spud.

The carpet rose higher.

'Hey,' said Mac. 'Quit squirming around, Spud. You're taking up too much room as it is.'

As the boys began to argue, the desert fell away and the carpet spiralled upwards to where two Stormdragons were beginning to circle. They were not dragons Joe had seen before. They were young dragons and they were being driven crazy by the smell of the orb's rich smoke. Their mighty wings cleaved through the thick cloud and churned the wind into a cyclone. Up and up they rose until a patch of night sky appeared before them in the blue. Joe relaxed and filled his mind with a picture of his Uncle's pretty home.