Dragon Magic: Heroes Seeking Dragons

By Jenni Clarke

Summoning a grumpy, talking lizard is just the beginning.

 

Brothers, Jem and Ray, are in France for the summer, exploring forests and waterfalls when they stumble upon magical artifacts, a forgotten history, and family secrets. They are faced with an unbelievable truth. Only they can rescue the trapped dragons and save the world.

Can they learn to read a language that doesn't exist, make a magical staff, and conquer their worst fears to become the heroes the world needs before it is too late?

Should they risk their lives on the words of a talking lizard?

A lizard who may have a touch of magic at his claw tips but is not telling them the whole truth.

 

Join Jem and Ray on a summer adventure like no other.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jenni Clarke
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215236772

Jenni Clarke

Jenni Clarke lives in a quiet corner of France where she indulges in her love of reading, writing and her forest garden. When not binging on words or plants you may see a flash of blue or pink lycra as she explores mountainous roads on her bicycle and stops to admire stunning views (not because she is out of breath.)

Book preview

1

THE WATERFALL

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Jem’s heart thumped as Ray sped forward, attempted a wheelie, and fell off his bike onto the soft forest floor.

‘You twit,’ Jem said as he grabbed the spinning back wheel and checked Ray wasn’t hurt.

‘Aunt Ortie said to go do boy’s stuff, so I am.’ Ray jumped back onto the bike and raced away.

‘I bet she didn’t mean for you to wreck the bike on your first ride,’ Jem said, but the silent trees and huge rocks which grew from the moss-covered ground swallowed the sound as if hungry for something. He hoped it wasn’t them. He shivered, shook the thoughts from his head, pushed hard on the pedals, and caught up with his younger brother.

‘What did you say?’ Ray bumped over tree roots snaking across the path.

‘Don’t wreck your bike on the first day.’ He tapped his handlebars. ‘D’you reckon Great Aunt Ortie bought these bikes especially for us?’

‘Who cares? They’re great. I thought she’d be old and grey, not dark-haired and wearing cut-off jeans, and a t-shirt. And she said not to call her Great Aunt. How could you forget?’ He laughed. ‘I love how she’d chosen stinging nettles as her name without knowing. She’s funny. And I like her. I think this is going to be a great summer.’

Jem nodded and swerved, avoiding a hole. He didn’t like his full name either and Hortense was old-fashioned. Ortie was a funny name but better. ‘I like her too, but it’s strange how she didn’t let us go in the house.’

‘I bet Mum told her to keep us outside, away from computers,’ Ray said. ‘We can always play our games at night, I guess. Ortie won’t know unless our room is next to hers, or she turns off the internet.’ He grimaced. ‘I hope the internet is good, the village is kind of isolated.’

‘I thought you asked mum before agreeing to come?’ Jem said. Ray asked a million questions and then forgot to listen to the answers. ‘Wait up, Ray.’ He stopped and pulled the map Ortie had given him from his backpack. ‘It’s left here. And, oh no, it’s across a railway track.’

‘Cool. Adventure time. Is it a big railway?’

‘I think it’s single track, but it might not be safe.’ He refolded the map and put it away. ‘We should be careful.’

‘Careful is boring. Last one to the railway is the loser,’ Ray said, cycling away.

Jem followed with a sigh. He hoped he could keep his brother alive and unharmed this summer, or at least on the first day.

The path sloped down between more rocks and tall pine trees, and they cycled faster. He relaxed, laughing when Ray skidded around a tree and splashed into a deep, muddy puddle, splattering his shorts and t-shirt with a camouflage pattern. Poor Ortie, did she know how much washing she’d be doing this summer?

‘A tunnel,’ Ray shouted, and he cycled into a narrow, arched entrance. ‘We’re going under the railway. It’s safe to cross.’ His words echoed, and he whooped.

Jem took a deep breath and plunged into the dark, damp, brick-lined tunnel. He pushed away thoughts of being swallowed and sped towards the sunshine at the other end.

The track on the other side led to a gravelled car park, where a painted wooden arrow directed them to Cascade.

‘This must be the place,’ Ray said. ‘Ortie said cascade was the French for waterfall. I can’t hear it though.’ Ray cycled across the road. ‘It can’t be big, or we’d hear it from here. Wouldn’t we?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jem shrugged. ‘The map doesn’t show the size.’ He looked up to see Ray disappear down the path. ‘Talking to myself again, then.’

He caught up as the track changed from gravel to uneven, wide, stone steps. Dismounting, they pushed their bikes until they reached a wooden bench on a square fenced platform jutting out over the narrow valley.

‘Now I can hear it,’ Ray said, his eyes shining with excitement. ‘It must be huge.’ Propping his bike against the fence, he leant over and shook his head. ‘But I can’t see it for all the trees. I thought this was a viewing platform.’

‘It might have been, once,’ Jem said, looking at the tall trees and thick bushes filling the valley below. He glanced at the information board but knew Ray wouldn’t have the patience to wait while he read it all. Another time. ‘We can’t take the bikes any further. Have you seen how steep and broken those steps are?’ He pointed.

‘We can tie them to the fence. There’s no-one else here.’ Ray pulled off the backpack Ortie had handed him and rummaged through it. ‘Towel, spare t-shirt, an apple, and a bottle of water. Nothing to tie up the bikes. What’s in yours?’

‘The same, plus the map.’

‘It must be okay to leave them here, then.’ Ray shrugged his backpack over his shoulder and started down the steep steps.

Jem hesitated before leaning his bike against Ray’s. What if someone took them? Would Ortie be angry and send them back home?

‘Are you coming?’ Ray called. ‘Ortie told us to come this way. She must know it’s safe to leave the bikes. Do you think she meant for us to carry them? That would be dangerous.’

‘Suppose not.’ Jem crossed his fingers and started down the steps. ‘I think these were made for a giant.’ He jumped over a wooden board, which had formed the edge of a step years ago, and onto the uneven rock below it. ‘This would be considered unsafe and roped off back home.’ Jem grasped a sapling, using it as a handrail. ‘I’m glad it isn’t.’

‘Me too,’ Ray said. ‘It’s wild and rough. Bet it puts people off from coming down.’ He stood tall and raised a hand. ‘Only the adventurous shall pass this way.’

‘Only one of us then,’ murmured Jem.

The air cooled as they clambered lower into the valley.

‘Do you think these steps will ever end?’ Ray asked. ‘We must be nearly there. The roar is louder, and I can see a river.’ He stepped around a huge chunk of rock and froze.

‘What is it?’ Jem looked over Ray’s shoulder and grinned. ‘Wow.’

Water rushed over a high cliff at the end of the narrow valley, pounding into a deep pool, and pushing its way towards them through a jumble of smooth rocks, some larger than a car. The river calmed as it spread across wide flat stones near the bottom of the steps, before tumbling and churning past them as tree-lined banks narrowed its passage.

‘Yes.’ Ray punched the air before leaping down the final steps, climbing over several boulders and dumping his bag on a flat rock. He jumped over slippery stones and splashed in miniature rapids.

Jem touched the water and shivered. It was icy cold. He didn’t feel like getting wet, even though it was a warm day. He took the drier path to an overhanging rock. Water slipped down green fingers of moss in the cave-like space. The stone under his foot tipped. He stumbled, falling against the wall. A flash of light blinded him and the ground trembled. His heart thumped, and he blinked his eyes, trying to restore his vision as he pushed away from the rock wall. A pattern of squiggles and lines remained.

‘Ray,’ he shouted. ‘Are you okay?’

Ray looked up from the sparkling water and frowned. What did Jem want? Probably was stuck on a rock or something.

‘I’m fine. Why?’ He splashed towards his brother.

‘Was it lightening?’ Jem asked.

‘Was what lightning?’ He hurried closer. Jem was pale and frowning.

‘The flash and tremor.’ Jem peered up at the blue sky above the valley.

‘There was no flash or tremor. Did you slip and hit your head?’

‘No.’ Jem frowned. ‘I touched the rock and there was a flash of light, and everything shook. And then those marks appeared.’ He pointed at some scratches in the rock.

Ray peered closer. They could be natural marks. Was Jem trying to fool him, to get his own back? He was never good at that. Ray touched the lines. A cold seeped into his bones, and a stench of reptile filled his nose. He shivered.

‘Ray.’ Jem was shaking his shoulder.

He stepped away from the rock wall and the smell vanished. ‘What?’ He tucked his hands into his armpits.

‘You were so pale your hair looked dark. I thought you’d frozen. I’ve been calling your name for ages.’

Ray tried to laugh but coughed instead. How could his almost white hair look dark? What were those marks on the rock and why would they freeze him?

‘Are you okay?’ Jem asked. ‘What happened?’

‘It was cold, and I smelt snake.’ He sniffed his hands and winced. ‘I stink.’ He wiggled his fingers towards Jem.

‘I can’t smell anything. Are you messing with me?’

Ray shook his head. ‘No. I don’t know what happened. Maybe we are jetlagged or something.’ He stepped out into a patch of sunshine.

‘We weren’t flying long enough. What do you think those lines are?’

‘I thought they were natural but if you say they appeared they can’t be, and I don’t know why scratches on a rock would make me cold and smelly. It’s weird, and I’m going to go and wash off this stink, over there, maybe have a mountain shower.’ He pointed towards the waterfall. It looked like they could get close.

‘Why can’t you wash your hands in the river?’ Jem asked. ‘Won’t you get even colder under the waterfall?’

Ray scrambled over the wet rocks, he didn’t care if it was freezing under the waterfall, he wanted to wash away the strangeness.

‘It’ll be fun,’ he called back.

‘Standing under freezing water is fun?’ Jem asked.

‘Yes.’ He was surprised Jem was following him, although slowly. He waited for his brother to catch up.

‘There’s a gap behind this rock.’ He pointed at the narrow space. ‘I think we can walk right under the fall.’ He laughed when Jem shuddered. ‘You can wait for me here.’ He slipped into the gap, clenching his fists. Sometimes Jem was too big brotherish and protective, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t swim if he slipped into the water and the current would take him to the shallow river in seconds.

There was a ledge, visible through the spray, and wide enough to walk on. His heart thumped with excitement although he gasped. It was freezing.

Jem tapped his shoulder and Ray thought he was going to say it wasn’t safe.

‘You’re crazy, but it is kind of fun,’ Jem shouted.

Ray grinned, grabbed Jem’s arm, and pulled him under the full force of the waterfall.

The water pummelled and soaked them in seconds, all reptile stink was washed away. Ray moved along the ledge. His feet slipped and he fell backwards against the solid rock, except it wasn’t solid. He snatched hold of Jem’s t-shirt and pulled his brother into the rock with him.

2

HIDDEN CAVE

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Jem knelt and spat out the water he’d gulped when he’d opened his mouth to scream.

‘What did you do that for?’ He glared at Ray. His pulse thumped in his ears.

Ray rubbed his elbow and grimaced. ‘Did you want me to leave you outside?’

Jem looked around the small cave they had fallen into. ‘No, but we could have stepped in.’

Ray shook his head. ‘I slipped and fell against the rock, but it wasn’t there which is weird because I could see it.’

‘See what?’

‘The rockface, there wasn’t an entrance.’

Jem glanced at the curtain of water falling past the arched entrance. ‘Too much water in your eyes? I couldn’t see anything.’ He shivered. ‘That was freezing, but I’m not cold now, and why can’t we hear the water?’

Ray stepped closer to the entrance and shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Does rock absorb the sound?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Jem stood and wandered the small igloo shaped cave, running his fingers over shelves curving around the back half of the space. ‘The shelves are warm.’

Ray touched the floor and nodded. ‘The floor is too. Heat from the sun?’

‘I don’t think the sun could reach here with all the water pouring over the top.’

‘It’s kind of soft, like snakeskin.’ Ray wrinkled his nose. ‘Does it smell like snake to you?’

Jem sniffed. There was a faint odour.

‘Could this be a snake’s den?’

Jem laughed. ‘I hope not, it’d be huge and eat us for a snack.’ He sat, leaning his head against the warm wall and closed his eyes. A gentle hum seeped through his body, and he relaxed.

Ray paced the space trying to work out how large a snake would be if it lived in the cave. Awesomely huge. A large snake or a small dragon. He grinned.

‘What if lots of snakes slither here together? Where are they and when will they come back? What if it’s not the scent of a snake but a dragon? Should we stay?’ He looked at Jem. ‘Why are you not scared? You’re always seeing the danger in everything? Jem. Are you even listening?’

‘No. I was listening to the hum.’

‘What hum?’ Ray stood still, concentrating on the sounds in the cave. There was a faint hum. He put his ear against the wall. The hum was louder.

‘Oh, hilarious. You tricked me,’ he said. ‘The sound is the vibration from the waterfall.’

Jem shook his head and yawned. ‘I don’t think so. It’s too solid. And I don’t think this cave is a home for snakes, they’d have problems getting in through the water.’ He yawned again. ‘Although snakes can swim.’

‘Dragon then.’ Ray frowned at Jem’s sleepiness. ‘Or a troll?’ He was tempted to kick Jem into joining in with his idea, but movement and colour on the other side of the waterfall caught his eye.

‘We could terrify some visitors.’ He stepped closer to the curtain of water.

‘No,’ Jem said, and he grabbed Ray’s leg. ‘This is our cave.’

‘Oh, you are awake then. Thought you were dropping off, old man. I’m not sure I want to reach the dizzy age of a teenager if it saps all your energy.’

‘I’m not old,’ Jem said as he stood. ‘That’s strange.’

‘What?’

‘I don’t feel tired now.’ He sat back down, and his eyes closed.

Ray grabbed Jem’s hands and pulled him to his feet. ‘No more sitting. It could be a magic spell, so we fall asleep and then when whoever lives here comes back, they have a snack waiting.’

‘It’s as believable as strange writing appearing in a flash of light, a rock wall making your hands stink, a cave with no entrance we could see, and a waterfall we can’t hear. I think we should go now.’

‘And scare those visitors?’ Ray pointed. ‘But I thought you didn’t want to.’

‘I forgot about them.’ Jem paced the cave and Ray knew his brother was worried.

‘Do you think no-one else knows about this cave?’

‘There wasn’t anything on the information boards about it,’ Jem said.

‘What? You can read French now?’ Ray laughed.

‘It was in English too if you’d bothered to look. It could be deemed unsafe for public knowledge I suppose but we can’t be the first to walk on the ledge.’

Ray shrugged and patted one of the shelves. ‘I suppose if people knew this was here there would be graffiti and stuff in here. At least names with dates or hearts. Ugh.’ He glanced around the space. ‘It’s a great place for a den, and we could fill it with treasure.’ He imagined glittering gold and silver and laughed. He pulled a coin from his pocket. ‘First piece.’

‘If it’s still there when we come back, we’ll know no-one else comes in,’ Jem said. ‘We can search for fossils. This is Jurassic rock, like the coast at home. In fact, the Jurassic period is named after this region. I looked it up before coming. Did you know this rock is the same as the Jurassic coast in Dorset?’

‘I do now,’ Ray said. ‘Fossils are okay but real treasure would be better. Gold, silver, swords, jewels,’ Ray said before Jem continued. He wasn’t in the mood for one of Jem’s factual lectures, but then he never was. He peered out through the curtain of water. ‘They’ve gone. We can leave and look for treasure in the river.’

Jem stared at the falling water. ‘I wish the waterfall was warmer. If this was a dream, it would be. It could be a dream.’

Ray grinned and pinched Jem’s arm.

‘Ouch.’

‘Not a dream but an adventure.’ Ray grinned and gestured at the waterfall.

They stepped onto the ledge together. The icy water blurred the world, but Ray could see solid rock at their backs. Jem shuffled away as Ray touched where the entrance had been, and his hand passed through. He shook his head and hurried after Jem. The waterfall was too cold to stand in for long, even for him.

‘It wasn’t there, was it, after we stepped through,’ Jem said while he pulled off his wet t-shirt. ‘I touched the wall, it was solid.’

‘No,’ Ray said, not mentioning how his hand had passed through the rock. It would upset Jem. Shivering, he dried quickly and hoped Jem didn’t want to go treasure hunting.

‘I don’t want to get wet again,’ Jem said. ‘Shall we go back?’

Ray nodded, shoved his wet t-shirt in his backpack and raced towards the bottom of the steps. ‘Race you to the top,’ he shouted. He glanced back. He’d have to hurry.

His lungs hurt, his head pounded, and his legs screamed, but he could hear Jem getting closer.

‘You may be fast, but I have more stamina,’ Jem said as he passed on the last step and touched his bike.

‘Not cold anymore,’ Ray said between breaths.

‘No,’ Jem said. ‘I’m as warm as toast.’

Ray groaned and rubbed his stomach, imagining the crunch of buttered toast. He wiped away a drop of saliva from the corner of his mouth.

‘Don’t tell me,’ Jem said, ‘you’re starving.’

‘Always.’ He pulled an apple from his backpack and took a huge bite before they continued up the steps and back through the forest.

3

ORTIE’S HOUSE

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Jem propped his bike near the front door of Ortie’s house and hesitated. It didn’t feel right to enter without knocking.

‘Do you think we should knock?’ 

‘Nah.’ Ray pushed past and opened the front door. ‘Ortie, we’re back,’ he shouted. ‘Something smells good.’

Ortie walked into the hallway, drying her hands on a towel. She smiled. ‘Pop your bikes in the garage, push the doors open, they’re not fixed and then join me in the kitchen.’ She gestured at the room behind her. ‘Food’s almost ready.’

‘Yes.’ Ray grinned and hurried back outside.

Jem grimaced. ‘Thanks, Ortie. Ray’s always hungry, but not always as rude.’

Ortie laughed. ‘It’s fine, Jem. Your Mum warned me. There’s a metal bar for securing the garage door.’

‘Okay.’ Jem hurried after Ray.

‘This place is huge, more like a barn than a garage,’ Ray said, riding his bike around Ortie’s car. ‘You could fit our house in here.’

Jem gazed up at the dark wooden beams. This house was huge and old. He wheeled his bike to the back of the garage and propped it against a wooden bench, before dodging Ray and fixing the metal bar in place.

‘What you doing?’ Ray skidded past.

‘Ortie asked me to secure the garage.’ Jem opened the door leading into the house. ‘Are you staying here? I thought you were hungry.’

‘Wait.’ Ray dumped his bike next to Jem’s and they entered the kitchen together.

‘Did you enjoy yourselves?’ Ortie lifted the lid on a steaming saucepan and tested the flavour with a spoon.

‘We did.’ Ray licked his lips and stepped closer to the cooking range. ‘The water was freezing, but we-’

Ortie waved the wooden spoon at them. ‘Don’t tell me now. This is not quite ready. Why don’t you explore upstairs?’ She pointed towards a door in the corner of the room. ‘You can enter any of the rooms and when you find your bags that’s your bedroom.’

‘Oh, thanks.’ Ray turned, then flinched.

Something moved under the kitchen table. A large, scruffy, brown, and tan dog lifted one ear, and opened one eye, but it didn’t leave its basket.

‘You have a dog?’ Ray asked. ‘Can I touch him? What’s his name?’

‘His name is Rufus, and you can meet him later,’ Ortie said. ‘He’ll be more sociable after he’s had his tea.’

Jem laughed. ‘Bit like you then, Ray.’

Ray punched Jem’s arm.

‘See what I mean?’ Jem looked at Ortie, but she waved them away with a smile.

Jem opened the door Ortie had pointed to and gasped at the carved handrail. He reached out to touch it. It was wood and smooth, but he could feel the grooves cut to make the claws. ‘A dragon’s foot?’

‘It is a dragon’s foot,’ Ortie answered. ‘But save any questions. You can ask them while we eat. There’s a light switch on your left.’

‘Come on, Jem.’ Ray flicked the switch, pushed past, and ran up the stairs.

Jem followed. ‘That’s interesting,’ he said and pointed to a splash of colour on the wooden floorboards at the end of the corridor.

‘Yeah, but I’m looking in here first.’ Ray opened the door to his right. ‘Oh. It’s a bedroom,’ he said with a shrug and walked in. ‘Not ours, only one bed. More carvings. I wonder who does them.’

Jem entered the room and ran his hands over the wooden leaves and tiny flowers on the bed head. Delicate details created from hard wood. Amazing.

‘This must be Ortie’s room.’

Ray frowned. ‘Why?’

‘These carvings are stinging nettles.’

Ray laughed and glanced out of the window. ‘Wow, look at those mountains.’

Jem smiled. The view was stunning. ‘I hope our room has a view of the mountains. No wonder Mum said we’d like it here. Shame she couldn’t come too.’

Ray nodded and pulled on a metal handle set in the wooden panelling of the wall. He peered inside and pouted. ‘Just a cupboard for clothes, and a bat.’

Jem hurried across the room and shoved Ray aside. ‘A bat, where? Oh, it’s carved. I thought you meant a real one.’ He was annoyed Ray had tricked him once more, but the carving was realistic. A pang of longing twisted his stomach. Would he ever create something so good?

‘There’s another door.’ Ray ran across the room. ‘Oh, it doesn’t open.’

Jem turned away from the bat carving and his eyes widened.