The Dragons' Call. Judy Hayman

22 Homecoming

       Glossary

       Acknowledgements

       About the Author

       About the Illustrator

      Chapter 1

      Spring on the Way

      A loud yell from Tom made everybody jump. Emily, Alice and Ollie, who had been looking out of the other three windows of the Tower room in Aunt Angelica’s Castle, looked round startled. Des, sorting his travelling bundle in the middle of his untidy hay bed, even leapt to his feet. Then they all began to laugh. Tom had leaned too far out of his window and a huge dollop of melting snow had fallen from the roof onto his head, covering one eye and lodging itself onto his bright blue spikes.

      “Idiot!” said Ollie.

      “Don’t shake your head!” said Emily, but was too late. A vigorous shake from Tom sent drips of wet snow flying across the room. Des growled as the largest dollop landed on his bed.

      “Why are you lot lurking up here anyway?” he complained. “We know the snow’s melting at last. There’s no need to watch it happen!” He gave a suspicious glare round the four young dragons. “I don’t suppose you’re watching out for those little Human friends of yours, are you?”

      Emily and Alice assumed expressions of innocence, but Ollie scowled. “They’re no friends of mine!” he declared.

      “Huh, you like playing with that ball they gave you as much as Tom does,” Alice said, making Ollie scowl even more. “And we’re NOT looking for them, Des. There’s been no sign of them. They promised to leave us alone, and they have done. You’re far too suspicious. Typical grown-up! Come on, Emily – let’s go out.”

      She flounced out of the room with her nose in the air and Emily followed, flashing Des an apologetic glance as she went. Tom tried to stay behind, but a determined shove from Ollie sent him out after the girls, and the battered door was firmly shut behind him. He sighed and trailed slowly down the stairs as Alice and Emily squeezed through the hole in the front door, and disappeared into the garden.

      He headed for the kitchen. Maggie might feel sorry for him left on his own, and find him a snack.

      Out in the garden, Emily and Alice headed for their favourite place. It was a flat branch growing sideways out of the trunk of an ash tree at the edge of the garden. The trees of the wood grew thickly behind it on the other side of the boundary fence, so there was little chance of being spotted from outside. Fortunately they were mainly fir trees, so even in winter the dragons were well hidden. They flew up, settled side by side facing the Castle and hoped that nobody would disturb them.

      “When the leaves come out we’ll be completely hidden up here,” said Alice.

      Emily looked at her, puzzled. “We won’t be here then,” she said. “Dad’s wing is nearly better. As soon as the snow’s completely gone, and he’s strong enough, we’ll be heading home to our cave. And you’re coming too, aren’t you?”

      “I hope so,” said Alice. “But it will depend on what the parents decide. I think they quite like living here, even with old Ange. It’s better for Grandad.” She sighed heavily, and Emily decided to change the subject.

      “I was looking out for Lisa and the others,” she admitted. “I know we said we wouldn’t, but I’d LOVE to see them again, wouldn’t you?”

      The young dragons had had a fright a few weeks previously, at the height of the snowy winter, when four Human children had discovered their secret hide-out in the old ruined house that was Alice’s Aunt Angelica’s home. The winter had been so severe that she had invited all her family to join her in her ‘castle’, and had taken in Emily’s family too, when their cave had been blocked with snow. There was plenty of room for them all, but Emily knew that as soon as her father’s broken wing had healed, he would want to return home to their cave in the Scottish glen. And she wanted to go home herself – but she wanted her friends to come too!

      “I knew they’d keep their promise,” Alice said. “There’s been no sign of any other Human in the woods, so they can’t have told anybody else about us. And Des blocked up the hole in the fence, so they couldn’t get back in, even if they sneaked back this way themselves. I’m glad the parents never found out, though.”

      “It was nice of them to give us those books,” Emily said. “I wish I could have said thank you!” She twiddled the coloured bobble on her arm, looked at the blue one that Alice wore, the token of friendship that Lisa had given them, and decided to confess. “I’d love to sneak out and get a proper look at the place they live in! Wouldn’t you?”

      Alice, who was a little older and a good deal more sensible, looked at her severely. “Don’t even DREAM about it!” she said. “Forget them. It was great, but it’s finished. We were lucky only Des found out. Stop talking about them.” Looking at the scowl on Emily’s face she added hastily. “It’s chilly out here. Let’s see if it’s supper time.”

      They flew down from the branch and across to the front door, over patches of bright green that were appearing as the snow gradually melted. There were still deep drifts in many places, and the clouds were low in the sky, threatening rain. Winter was departing, but the outside world was not inviting, and the young dragons were still confined to the tangled garden of the old house, inside the high fence. Sighing for the summer and the wide open spaces of her beloved Scottish glen, Emily followed Alice inside.

      Meanwhile, up in the Tower room, Ollie had taken advantage of having Des to himself, and was using his most persuasive tactics. The sight of the battered travelling gear had made him realise that it would not be long before Des’s itchy wings got the better of him, and he set off on his travels again. As Des himself had said several times recently, he had never stayed so long in one place since he was a youngster.

      “I have to get going again, Ollie,” he was arguing. “I’m a Traveller. I’m getting fat on all this good cooking. Not enough exercise. I can’t stay here forever.”

      “Neither can I!” said Ollie. “OK, it was good of old Ange to take us in, and we couldn’t have camped out this winter, but I’ll go MAD if I have to stay in this place for much longer. Winter’s just about over. Can’t I come with you? Honestly, I am old enough! You wouldn’t have to protect me, or anything stupid like that. I can fly fast and keep going. Why not?”

      “Are you sure you’ve got over that fright in the summer, when the Humans captured you?” Des stared seriously at Ollie. “That was enough to panic any dragon.”

      “Course I have!” Ollie lied, crossing his tail, and not admitting that he still dreamt about his ordeal and woke in the night, sweating and terrified. It was a good thing Tom, who shared his cellar room, was such a sound sleeper! He changed his tactics. “You’ve got to admit I did a good job of getting rid of those Human kids. And they haven’t been back, so I must have REALLY scared them.”

      “True. Though I seem to remember I helped!”

      “PLEASE, Des! I’m sure Dad will agree if you ask him, and then we can talk Mum round. Old Ange would be glad to see the back of me. She’d like you to stay, though,” he added, sniggering. Angelica’s persistent flirting was a source of great embarrassment to Des and amusement to everyone else.

      Des ignored this. “I’ll think about it. I was planning to take a short trip to