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Kraa scrutinised the dragon like a prey animal that he had spotted down by the roots of a tree as he flew past.
‘Of course!’ he growled. ‘Why not? A griffin should crown his victory with magnanimity. You have my word, lindworm.’
‘Liar!’ cried Barnabas, as loud as he could. ‘Don’t believe a word he says. Firedrake! Griffins take no prisoners. And certainly they don’t let anyone go. I forbid this fight! Do you hear, Firedrake? Take Ben and fly away!’
Kraa bent so low over him that Ben cried out in fear. The snake-tail fell over Barnabas’s throat.
‘Humans!’ snarled the griffin. ‘You chatter all the time like monkeys. Not surprising, considering the close relationship. I’m sure you‘ll go on chattering even in my belly!’
Then he opened the claw holding Barnabas on the ground.
‘Get out!’ he snarled. ‘And let the jenglot go as well, Nakal. Then we’ll see whose word can be trusted. The word of a griffin or the word of a dragon!’
Hesitantly, Barnabas stood up.
It was too good to be true.
Nakal gave Twigleg a regretful glance, but in the end he opened his fist. Barnabas felt Twigleg’s heart beating like the heart of a frightened bird in his fingers as he reached for him.
‘O terrible Kraa!’ he stammered as he threw himself on his knees in front of the griffin. ‘I will get you treasures, I will fill your palace with gold, but please let the dragons go. They are here only because of me!’
And because of three unborn Pegasus foals, Twigleg added in his thoughts. He really did hope they were worth all this.
Kraa did not condescend to answer Barnabas. He had eyes only for Firedrake.
‘What do you say, lindworm? I have fulfilled your condition. What about you? Will you fight?’
Firedrake exchanged a glance with Tattoo. If the griffin killed him, what would become of Maia and his unborn children? He hardly dared to think of them for fear it would make him vulnerable. But Tattoo understood and nodded. Yes, he would look after them.
‘Wait!’ cried Ben. ‘There’s one more condition. If Firedrake wins, you give us one of your sun-feathers!’
Kraa growled with amusement again. ‘I’m going to dip all my feathers in the blood of your dragon friend, little human, but yes, if he wins you will get one of my sun-feathers. Kraa’s word on it!’
‘I wouldn’t give a button mushroom for his word,’ whispered Sorrel as she tightened the belt holding her on Firedrake’s back.
Ben did the same. The belts revived memories: of a golden dragon and a cave full of dragon-fire. At the time they had had to fight. There had been no alternative. But this time fighting seemed so useless. Only a feather, that was all they had wanted to ask for. Would they have set out at all if they had known how high the price would be? Ben saw the same question on Barnabas’s face. He was standing high up beside Kraa’s nest, and he looked desperate. No, they probably would not have come here at all. But perhaps it was better that they hadn’t known how the whole story would end. Maybe some things just had to happen.
Nakal climbed on Kraa’s back. A few wingbeats that brought a stormy wind into the tree, and the griffin landed on the back of his throne. He was a fearsome sight.
‘Firedrake, let me fight him,’ Tattoo whispered. ‘There’s no one waiting for me. It won’t even interest the others if I don’t come back. But you are their leader.’
Firedrake bent his head, so that neither Kraa nor Nakal could read his answer from his lips. ‘The griffin will break his word!’ he whispered to Tattoo. ‘As soon as he thinks I can defeat him he will call on the other griffins to come to his aid. That’s when I’ll need you, so be ready for that moment. And tell Shrii.’
Kraa was watching them furtively.
‘I want that feather, Sorrel,’ Firedrake whispered. ‘Try to pluck it out.’
Kraa leaped down to the seat of his throne, and from there to the platform.
‘What are you waiting for, lindworm?’ he croaked. ‘Do your friends have to encourage you? Or are you getting them to tell you how to fight a griffin? Look at the pictures adorning my palace. They’ll show you how a fight like that ends.’
‘Oh yes? Any fool can see that your pictures tell lies, you boastful great beaked show-off!’ Sorrel called back. ‘I mean, do you see a brownie on the dragon’s back?’
By way of answering, Nakal drew a machete out of the sheath that he wore on his belt, and swung it threateningly through the air.
‘The pictures don’t show our riders either!’ growled Kraa. ‘They show only the main point: the griffin always wins.’
Then, with a hoarse attacking cry, he beat his wings and made for the dragon.
