Bentwhistle the Dragon Box Read online

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in...

  Book 1: A Threat from the Past

  Book 2: A Chilling Revelation

  Book 3: A Twisted Prophecy

  Book 4: Earth's Custodians

  Contents

  Bentwhistle the Dragon

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Threat from the Past

  1 Dragon Sleighing

  2 A Tail Of Humility

  3 A Major Disappointment

  5 Smokin'

  6 A Sign Of The Times

  7 Security Sweep (Sooty Or Sue?)

  8 The Faint Whiff Of... Octopus

  9 Here Today, Gun Tomorrow

  10 An Unusual Request

  11 Holly Jockey Sticks

  12 A Member Of The Magic Circle?

  13 Nursing A Semi (Final, That Is)

  14 A Sprinkling Of Magic

  15 Fawking Hell!!!!!

  16 A King Sized Surprise

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Chilling Revelation

  1 The Shifting Sands Of Time

  2 Ice Breaker

  3 In The Freezer

  4 Knitting Nuttiness Nullified

  5 Frozen Scales Weigh In

  6 And Today's Date Is... Janice!

  7 A Few Kangaroos Loose In The Top Paddock

  8 My Kind Of Scrum

  9 Planting The Seeds Of Destruction

  10 Lavapool FC (Fatally Cauterised)

  11 A King's Ransom

  12 Sub-Zero Hero

  13 Nelly The Elephant Packed Her...?

  14 Flashback

  15 Ball Pampering

  16 A Monopoly On Magic

  17 A Gremlin In The Kremlin

  18 The Chance Of Escaping... Absolute Zero

  19 Liar, Liar, Tail's On Fire

  20 The Sorcerer's App... Friend

  21 Great Minds Think... Aloud!

  22 Regrets 'R' Us

  23 Isn't It Ironic?

  24 Spoil Sport... Stars!

  25 Worldwide Countdown Conundrum

  26 Steel Yourself!

  27 The Magic Roundabout

  28 Odd Ball

  29 Just Desserts

  30 Falling... Further And Further

  31 Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work We Go

  32 Tough As Steel

  33 In Need Of A King Sized Bed

  34 Whistle While You Work

  35 Alarm Bells Ringing

  36 Houston... There Seems To Be A Problem!

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Twisted Prophecy

  1 Trick Or Treat

  2 A Wing And A Prayer

  3 All Hail Our Saviour In Scale

  4 A Touching Moment

  5 Debt Collector

  6 The Mourning After The Week Before

  7 The Mark Of True Evil

  8 A Broken Promise?

  9 Resistance Is Futile

  10 Breaking News

  11 SUB-jugate

  12 A Messenger (Like None Other) Of Bad Tidings

  13 Time To Dragon Up

  14 Suits You Sir!

  15 Back To Back Surprises

  16 Surprising Resistance

  17 Loss

  18 Pole Vaulting Dragons?

  19 SUB-Version

  20 Dragon Lord's Hoard

  21 Be MIND-Full Of The Ring

  22 A Rude Awakening

  23 Captor Captured

  24 Chain Reaction

  25 Cliff Face

  26 Secret Splicing Stupidity

  27 I'll Give You A Ring

  28 Playing Catch Up

  29 Generous To A Fault

  30 Eggs-Clusion

  31 Night At The Museum

  32 Stash Crashed

  33 Tables Turned

  34 SUB-mission

  35 Reunited

  36 Sandy Sabotage

  37 Welsh Hideaway

  38 The Element Of Surprise

  39 Always In Motion

  40 Stick It To 'Em!

  41 Shake, Rattle And... Roll

  42 Lost Puppy Looking For A Lead

  43 A Captive Audience

  44 Pulled Into The Abyss

  45 Tortuous Troubling Turn

  46 Currying Favour

  47 Oh, For Some Rubber Gloves

  48 If The Shoe (Or Boot) Fits...

  49 Are We There Yet?

  50 Get Ready!

  51 Reaching The End Of The Road

  52 Haunted

  53 Dragon's Hide

  54 A Prize Fit For A...

  55 Queen Of Hearts, Necks And Throats

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in Earth's Custodians

  Prologue

  1 Snowbody Does It Better

  2 A King And A Prayer

  3 Splitter!

  4 Ambush Amateurs

  5 Not A Snowball's Chance In Hell

  6 A Surprising Blow

  7 The Strongest Of Bonds

  8 Fan of Steel

  9 Shattered Illusions

  10 Shadow Hunter

  11 Circumvent, Circumvent, Circumvent

  12 A Grim Truth

  13 A Handy Surprise

  14 Silent Running (Well, A Fast Walk)

  15 Stampede

  16 Cold As Steel

  17 Biting Back

  18 Flash In The Pan

  19 Malevolent Majestic Maniac

  20 Strawberry Blonde... Really?

  21 Deep ****

  22 What Would Admiral Ackbar Say?

  23 Sub-Zero Success

  24 Steel Yourself

  25 Confrontation Bound

  26 Staring Into The Abyss

  27 Holey Moley

  28 Pipe Dream

  29 A Bridge Too Far

  30 Shafted

  31 Hoodwinked

  32 A Room with a View

  33 Snow Point In Hanging Around

  34 Sucker Punch

  35 A Surprise Return

  36 Tooled Up

  37 Bluffing, Huffing And Puffing

  38 Gatecrashers

  39 Deese Guys And Their Disguise

  40 You Can Choose Your Friends But Not Your Family

  41 Steeling Fleet Street Back From The Enemy

  42 All Creatures Great And Small

  43 I Love You! I Know!

  44 Pain Relinquishing The Chain

  45 Definitely Not Winging It

  46 Macabre Magical Madness

  47 Into The Hornets' Nest

  48 Swamped

  49 Committed To The End

  50 Racist

  51 Captain Courageous

  52 An Abrupt End

  About The Author

  Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Threat from the Past

  Paul Cude

  Copyright © 2011 Paul Cude

  This edition revised 2019

  All rights reserved.

  DEDICATION

  To Rachel, Jaina and Poppy – the best family anyone could ever wish for. Thank you so much for your love and support, without which this book would never have been possible. The three of you make me feel like the luckiest man alive.

  And to the real Alan Garrett - thank you for letting me use your name, and for your friendship throughout the years.

  A long time ago, through a stroke of luck, I was introduced to the sport of hockey. It changed and shaped my life beyond measure. Those of you who play any sort of team sport will undoubtedly know what I’m talking about. Those of you who don’t, should try taking one up - you might like it! To players of all team sports everywhere... this book is dedicated to you. Hope you enjoy!

  Paul Cude

  1 Dragon Sleighing

  (And Yes, it’s supposed to be spelt that way)

  Mystical power and pure, unadulterated magic have long since infused our world and those that reside ther
e. All this has been going on since at least the prehistoric. Speaking of which....

  Plumes of dark smoke billowed into the air across the broken and battered city as the sickly smell of death wafted on a gentle breeze across the market square, tugging at the canvas of the overturned market stalls scattered haphazardly amongst the raging fires and ruined buildings.

  Off to one side stood the giant archway, which for hundreds of years had been regarded as the main thoroughfare to the city. Normally a giant monster of a retractable drawbridge with a thick steel portcullis hung, attached to the weathered archway, providing a reassuring air of safety to all the residents within. Fifteen minutes ago, that illusion had been shattered forever. All that now remained was the splintered outline of a ferocious beast, where it had casually walked through both drawbridge and portcullis, as a knife would slice through butter. Darkened steel had melted in places from the heat that it had radiated, the metal now looking like wax running down the side of a candle. It was odd that the creature had decided to do this; after all, it could have just flown over the walls and landed with ease anywhere it had wanted to. Currently the citizens had far too much on their minds to worry about details like that.

  Steam rose from the dark cobbles of the square, the occasional one or two glowing bright orange from the heat. A faint trickle of water could just be heard from a pile of debris that not ten minutes ago had been an ornate fountain. Despite the burning buildings, the casualties and the corpses, those left alive were all mesmerised by the sight before them.

  Near what was left of the drawbridge and portcullis, surrounded by piles of smouldering wreckage, hovering a few metres in the air, a gigantic, menacing dragon surveyed all the damage it had previously wreaked. Matt black all over, it seemed content enough with its progress to let snaking lines of flame dribble down both sides of its colossal jaws.

  In spite of its size and formidable presence, it was clearly agitated, roaring occasionally, raking its talons along the top of the surrounding rubble and banging its tail into the ground with such force that the shock wave could be felt over a quarter of a mile away, terrifying residents trapped inside quaking houses and shops. The object of the dragon brute's agitation stood on the opposite side of the colossal square: out of breath, clad from head to toe in chainmail armour, clutching a rusty shield in one hand and a rather large, ordinary, dull blade in the other, the knight was sweating profusely. Random parts of his armour were blackened from fleeting encounters with the dragon's flame over the past few minutes. Onlookers couldn't decide if both were either having a rest, or had indeed reached a standoff. It didn't seem possible for that to be the case, but most would have said that for the knight to survive as long as he already had was nothing short of a miracle. Fear and terror gripped most of them, having lived through the nightmare that had come out of nowhere only a short time ago. But macabre as it may have seemed, they desperately wanted to witness the outcome of the most one-sided fight in history, despite knowing that the knight yonder had absolutely no chance at all.

  His armour feeling mighty hot in places, the scorched knight seemed to have spent the last few seconds deciding on a course of action and, in one swift motion, dropped his rusty shield and pulled off his helm, tossing it far off to his right, revealing long, straggly, dark locks of hair. As if an almost everyday occurrence, he casually removed his gauntlets and the armour around his feet. Stifling a gasp, the entire crowd were unaware the best was yet to come. Waving his heavy sword around his body with such speed and athleticism that the blade was a constant blur, silently he mouthed a challenge to the, by now, very disappointed scaled monster. Impossible as it may seem, the beast appeared to understand the knight's whispered challenge from over four hundred metres away and with one huge flap of its wings, propelled itself forward, creating such down force that dust, stone, wood and even dead bodies scattered into the air in its wake. At exactly the same time, the knight started sprinting towards the dragon, with most of his armour removed and just his two handed sword for company. City folk collectively held their breath.

  Time slowed as the speeding dragon travelled towards the knight, just above the ground, emitting a thunderous cone of fire out in front of it. Everyone was of the same opinion: the knight would be obliterated by the mighty dragon.

  As the inevitable drew closer, the sprinting knight, arms and legs pumping, face full of anger and passion, managed to find just a little more speed, and at the split second before hitting the tip of the fiery cone, dived headlong towards the cobbles. Miraculously the knight's extra speed had caused the dragon to miscalculate and as the knight rolled underneath the dragon's exposed belly, he managed with all the dexterity and agility of an Olympic gymnast, to thrust the heavy two-handed sword into the beast with just one hand.

  An almighty gurgle reverberated across the square as the flames instantly died away and the dragon thudded awkwardly to the ground, its massive body narrowly missing the exhausted knight. City dwellers covered their ears as the BOOM from the impact shuddered across the city. Massive cracks in the cobblestones rippled out from beneath the beast's body as a low-pitched holler echoed from the depths of its very being. Painfully the knight hauled himself up from the ground, visibly panting as he did so. Slowly, he strode along the side of the dragon as if inspecting it, only stopping when he reached its head. Kneeling, he started to recite the words of an ancient tongue, so that only he could hear.

  Meanwhile citizens appeared to be recovering from the shock of the dragon having been defeated, rushing to the aid of the wounded, putting out fires, rescuing animals and comforting those mourning the loss of a loved one.

  From out of a darkened alleyway between two of the remaining shops on the far side of the square, a small group of people led by the mayor, headed towards the knight, meandering through the burning rubble, the pillars of thick black smoke and the numerous cadavers. As they approached, the knight finished uttering the mysterious words, words which had caused a soft purple glow to spread from its head to the tip of the tail, finally encompassing its entire body, barely noticeable against the space-like black of the dragon's scales, but it was there.

  Ignoring the people heading towards him, the knight walked back to the dragon's belly. Crouching, he put two hands on the hilt of the massive sword, and yanked it free. A dozen tiny scales, about the size of a man's fingernails, clattered onto the cobbles from around the entry wound that the sword had been pulled from. With a sleight of hand any magician would have been proud of, the knight scooped up the scales and poured them into a silk bag that hung from his belt. Sheathing his sword, he turned to face the newcomers.

  "Is it dead?" asked the mayor, nervously.

  "It is," replied the knight, taking a deep breath.

  "How can we ever repay the debt we owe you for what you've done here today? That vile beast would surely have destroyed the entire city and everyone in it, if not for you."

  "You have no debt to repay. I'm sorry for the loss of life and damage," the knight replied in a heartfelt manner. "I have companions who, as we speak, are on their way here to assist with what has happened this day, among them healers and engineers. I ask only that they are allowed to help as best they can."

  "Of course, of course," mumbled the mayor. "May I ask your name, brave knight?"

  "George. You can call me George."

  Nodding in unison, the group of dignitaries told George that lookouts would be posted on the walls of the city to greet his companions, before hastily rushing off, frightened by the corpse of the twisted dragon.

  Things started to come together over the next couple of days. Major fires were extinguished using water from the city's many surrounding rivers, with people forming giant human chains. Others helped the wounded, of which there were many. In fact barely anyone was left unscathed. Volunteers to help at the hospital, or with the collection of medicines in the form of herbs and roots from the nearby forest, were many. Every man, women and child chipped in. Copious amounts of corpses were
collected and placed in huge pyres that had been erected outside the city's walls. Fortunately undamaged, the spire of the magnificent cathedral cast its long shadow over the city square, as if joining in the people's collective sorrow.

  Throughout all this, George's companions started to arrive in dribs and drabs, some in small groups, others on their own. They were easily identifiable because they all wore the same tunic as George: white with a bright purple trident running diagonally across them. On arrival, the visitors were all escorted through the bloodstained boulevards to the overcrowded hospital, where George helped tend to the seriously wounded in a dark, dank, death-smelling ward.

  Seemingly in charge, the dashing knight dished out assignments to the new arrivals straight away. Healers stayed in and around the hospital, while the planners and politicians worked closely with the mayor and the rest of the city's hierarchy to coordinate the rebuilding effort and temporarily re-house those who had lost their homes.

  Meanwhile the engineers appeared to be achieving miracles. Working around the clock, they designed, built and maintained two massive conveyor belts spanning the entire circumference of the square, powered by an array of shire horses and ingenuity. They'd also taken the city's one decaying crane, reinforced it so that it could bear ten times the previous maximum weight, and made it mobile.

  Citizens watched, in awe at the efforts of the newcomers. Some whispered in hushed tones that they were doing the impossible and that they must be using some kind of magic. This caught the attention of a few. Most couldn't care less, not with the amazing results that were being achieved. Repairs that should have taken years, looked now like being only a few days away at most.

  Throughout all this, the giant, warped body of the matt black dragon lay broken in one corner of the square, eagerly avoided by everyone. Its magnificent wings lay at an excruciating angle, delicate flimsy arms tucked under its bulging belly, all having taken on a shimmering purple hue, not that anyone had looked closely enough to notice.

  As the days passed, the progress in repairing the devastation was phenomenal. The crane moved around the square lifting debris onto the conveyor belt. Usable material was taken off at different points of the conveyor, while anything with no value was left until the very end, and then taken off out of the city by horse and cart. It was a little chaotic, but it worked. Planners had drawn up a blueprint of where new buildings should go, agreed it with the mayor and had passed it on to the engineers. It worked like a well oiled machine.