Hunt for the Devil's Dragon Read online

  “They need mercy,” Georgius said. “Like all of us.”

  “More of that Christos nonsense!” Lucius said.

  “Christos?” Beth whispered to Patrick.

  “Does he mean Jesus Christ?” Patrick whispered back.

  A soldier swatted Patrick’s head. “Quiet!” he said.

  Lucius said, “I don’t care what you believe, Georgius! These children came to port illegally. Tarek must pay the taxes! They must go to the stocks. Later they will be sold as slaves.”

  “Then I’ll pay their tax,” Georgius said. “And I’ll pay for Tarek’s spices as well.”

  Lucius and his soldiers, except for Georgius, rode away.

  Patrick was surprised by what had happened. He had been sure Lucius would put him and Beth in the stocks.

  But this man Georgius had stepped in. “He paid for us,” Patrick whispered to Beth.

  “I wonder why,” Beth said.

  Hazi leaned toward them. He said, “Georgius is a strange man. He believes in strange things.”

  “Christos,” Sabra said. Her voice was filled with a hint of awe.

  Tarek went to the wagon. He climbed onto the front seat. He shook his head and stared at Georgius. “I’ll never understand your Christos,” Tarek said.

  Georgius removed his helmet. He wiped a hand over his sweaty brow. “It’s simple, Tarek. Christos showed me mercy. He paid my debt of sin. So I show mercy by paying the debts of others.”

  “I have more debts. Would you care to pay for those as well?” Tarek asked.

  Georgius laughed. “You have the means to pay your debts. These children don’t. Just as we can’t pay our debt to God. Only Christos can—”

  “Yes, yes,” Tarek said quickly. “You’ve told me.”

  Patrick frowned. “But I don’t know how we’ll pay you back,” he said to Georgius.

  “Ah, children,” Georgius said, “I don’t expect you to pay me back. But perhaps you’ll be able to help someone else.”

  “When?” Beth asked.

  “God will show you. At the right time. In the right way,” Georgius said.

  “All the same, you’re foolish to challenge Lucius,” Tarek said to Georgius. “He seeks trouble. He hurts those who resist him. You should fear him.”

  Patrick saw Beth look up at Georgius. Patrick knew she was thinking of Leslie and Rachel. And about what had happened at school in Odyssey.

  “Prefect Lucius is the most powerful man in Leptis Magna. And I respect him,” Georgius said.

  Georgius looked into the sky. Patrick thought Georgius was looking toward God. “But fear him? No,” he said. “Christos told us not to fear those who can kill our bodies. Instead, we’re to fear those who can destroy our souls.”

  “Those are foolhardy words,” Tarek said.

  Georgius shook his head. “Before God, I’m bound to challenge evil where it appears,” he said. “Our sacred words say, ‘My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.’ I will keep going . . . or die trying.”

  “It’s a kindness I won’t soon forget,” Tarek said. “But alas, I must return to Silene. Children, come along!”

  Hazi and Sabra climbed into the nearest tarp-covered wagon. They settled into the back.

  “What of these others?” Georgius asked Tarek.

  Tarek blinked as if he hadn’t understood the question. At last he said, “They don’t belong to me. You have paid for them.”

  Georgius said, “They can’t stay with me here in Leptis. It isn’t safe. Can’t you take them? As a favor, since I paid for your spices?”

  “More mouths to feed?” Tarek said. “What services can they perform?”

  Hazi poked his head out of the wagon. He looked at Patrick. “Can you do sums?” he asked.

  “Sums?” Patrick asked.

  Beth said, “Math, Patrick. Adding.”

  “Oh,” Patrick said. “Sure.”

  “See, Father,” Hazi said, “he can do your accounts!”

  Sabra’s head appeared above Hazi’s. Patrick thought they looked a little like a totem pole.

  “You can cook and sew,” Sabra said to Beth. “Right?”

  “Is this true?” Tarek asked.

  Beth nodded. “I can help in the kitchen. And I can sew a little. But I’m better at vacuuming.”

  “Vack-you-ming?” Tarek asked.

  “Please, Father!” Hazi and Sabra shouted over and over.

  Tarek groaned. “I suppose I could take them on,” he said.

  “Excellent, Tarek!” Georgius said. He clapped his hands loudly.

  Sabra and Hazi quickly pulled Patrick inside the wagon. Then they pulled Beth up too.

  “Now we can play some more,” Hazi said.

  “Okay,” Patrick said. “But no more hide-and-seek.”

  Patrick expected the wagon to move, but it didn’t.

  “Why aren’t we going?” he asked.

  “It’s difficult to move our wagons,” Hazi said.

  “Wagons?” Beth asked. “Isn’t this the only one?”

  “No,” Sabra said. She lifted the tarp flap and pointed. Dozens of wagons now sat in a line behind them.

  The Message

  Beth sat in the back of the wagon with Sabra, Hazi, and Patrick. She looked out. The wagons in Tarek’s caravan curved like a snake through the sand.

  Beth couldn’t remember how long they’d been traveling. An hour maybe. She licked her lips. She couldn’t get the taste of dust out of her mouth.

  “Blech!” Beth said. “Is it always this dusty?”

  “Oh no,” Sabra said. “It’s usually worse. Much worse.”

  “And when there’s a sandstorm,” Hazi said, “you can’t see or breathe.”

  “Halt the caravan!” someone called out.

  “What is it?” Beth asked. “Are we there?”

  “We’re still miles from my village,” Sabra said. She leaned between the flaps of the wagon covering.

  Beth heard hoofbeats. The sound was soft at first. But then it grew louder.

  “It’s Kadeem, my father’s house servant,” Sabra said. She ducked her head back inside the wagon. “I fear there’s trouble. Come!”

  Beth and Patrick followed Sabra and Hazi. The four climbed over piles of cloth to the front of the wagon.

  Beth saw a wild-eyed man on a tall brown horse. The horse was shiny with sweat.

  “Master Tarek!” Kadeem cried. “You must hurry! The dragon has attacked again!”

  Beth turned to Patrick. His mouth hung open.

  “It took the young shepherd, Walid,” Kadeem said. “He was tending his flocks. He was taken at sunrise.”

  “Are you certain it was the dragon?” Tarek asked.

  “There can be no doubt,” Kadeem said. “There was much blood.”

  Tarek said something Beth couldn’t understand.

  “It’s worse still,” Kadeem said. “The village people are upset. They are demanding more sacrifices!”

  “More?” Tarek blurted out. “But we have given over a third of all our sheep.”

  “Not sheep this time,” Kadeem said. “The people fear the dragon is unhappy with our sheep. They believe it wants something else.”

  Tarek frowned. Beth thought he looked ill.

  “Humans?” he asked.

  “Not just humans,” Kadeem said. “Young ones, like Walid. Children.”

  Tarek turned suddenly toward Beth and the others. “Tie yourselves down with Patrick’s rope. That way you won’t fall out. We must hurry!”

  Beth finally climbed out of the wagon. Her legs were wobbly as she stood on the ground. She felt as if she was still bouncing in the back of the wagon. The dusty road had just about shaken the wagon to pieces.

  “Come!” Hazi called. He raced off after his father.

  Beth and Patrick ran into the village behind them.

  Pale buildings and columns of stone rose up on either side of them. A great noise came from somewhere ahead. They came upon a large village square. An
angry crowd had gathered there.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Beth said.

  A fire burned in the center of the square. A tall man stood on a block of stone. He had a long beard, and he was shouting. Beth couldn’t tell what he was saying at first.

  The crowd parted for Tarek as he rushed into the square. Kadeem, Sabra, and Hazi were right behind him. Beth and Patrick followed after them.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Tarek asked. He glared at the man who stood upon the stone.

  Beth saw that the man held a knotted rope in his fist. The rope trailed down and looped around the waist of a teenage girl.

  “The dragon is from the devil. It has come for Silene!” the man on the stone yelled. “It will take from us again! We must stop it by offering what it wants.”

  Beth looked from the man back to Tarek. Tarek’s face had turned red from anger. He was trembling.

  “Aazan!” Tarek cried. “What horror do you speak? Have you forgotten your place?”

  Tarek turned and looked at the village people. The villagers lowered their eyes.

  Why won’t they look at him? Beth wondered.

  Tarek turned back toward Aazan. “I’m the patron and protector of Silene!” he said. “Stand down, and let that poor girl go!”

  Aazan spat at Tarek’s feet. “Protector?” Aazan yelled. “You’re gone most of the time! You don’t protect us any longer! Where were you when Walid died?”

  “This is madness, Aazan,” Tarek said.

  “The beast has come upon us once more. But your sheep no longer satisfy it!” Aazan said. “Walid’s blood cries out for action!”

  “Would you answer death with more death?” Tarek cried. “That’s nonsense.”

  Tarek turned to the crowd. “Take Aazan to the cells!”

  Beth looked at the angry crowd pressing in on them. But no one moved to seize Aazan.

  “You see, Tarek?” Aazan called out. “You have let us down. They won’t heed you. They know the beast will kill us all . . . unless we give of our own!”

  “Let the girl go!” Tarek yelled. He drew a short, curved sword from a scabbard on his belt. “She is new to the village. You say you want to give the dragon blood. Then why don’t you give your own, Aazan?”

  Aazan tossed the rope away. The girl scrambled into the crowd. “Yes, perhaps you’re right . . .” he said.

  “You’re thinking clearly now,” Tarek said.

  Aazan then drew his own sword and said, “It doesn’t seek the blood of a newcomer. It seeks the blood of a true child of Silene.”

  “No!” Tarek shouted.

  Aazan’s eyes darted around the square. Then he pointed. “Seize Sabra!” he cried out.

  This time the crowd moved quickly. Tarek leaped in front of his daughter. But his efforts failed. Three strong men held him off. Tarek’s sword fell to the ground.

  Hazi leaped upon the weapon. He picked it up and lunged at one of the men. But the man swung his fist and knocked Hazi aside. The sword fell at Beth’s feet. The boy tumbled to the ground, dazed.

  Patrick rushed to Hazi.

  Beth watched as two red-faced men grabbed Sabra’s arms.

  They’re taking Sabra! Beth thought. They’re going to kill her. Suddenly Beth remembered Odyssey. In her mind, she was at recess. She watched her friend Rachel cry.

  Beth blinked. “No,” she whispered to herself. “Not again.”

  Beth knelt down and picked up the small sword. She looked at the weapon in her hand. She knew she couldn’t use it. But what could she do?

  My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, Beth remembered Georgius saying. So she prayed a short prayer, God, please help me and Sabra.

  Beth dropped the sword in the sand.

  Sabra screamed and kicked at the men.

  Beth hurled herself toward Sabra. But her foot caught a stone. And she tripped. She tumbled headfirst into the stomach of one of the men. He gasped as he fell down.

  She rolled and then leaped to her feet. The second man clung to Sabra. Aazan stepped past her to Beth.

  “Leave her alone!” Beth cried.

  Aazan grabbed Beth’s wrist. “You may join her,” he said. “Perhaps the beast will enjoy a stranger’s blood after all!”

  The Daring Ride

  “Come!” Hazi whispered to Patrick. “They took my father to the jail. He’ll know what to do.”

  Patrick didn’t know how anyone could know what to do. The villagers of Silene had gone crazy. They had taken Beth and Sabra away. Patrick was afraid of what would happen next.

  A dragon? he thought. Fear clutched his heart. Sabra and Beth are going to be sacrificed to a dragon?

  He touched the rope that Whit had given him. I don’t need rope, he thought. I need a whole army.

  Hazi led Patrick down a narrow lane. They came to a long white building. It had rows of small round windows. Patrick thought they looked like a spider’s eyes.

  “Here!” Hazi said. “Help me move these old crates.”

  Patrick and Hazi gathered crates from the alley. Then they built a stairway of crates up to one of the jail windows.

  Hazi climbed up the crate stairway. “Father? Are you there?” he called through a window.

  Suddenly a snarling face appeared in the window. “Get away from here, boy!” the angry prisoner said.

  Hazi almost fell off the crates. He leaned backward but caught himself at the last second. “Wrong window!” he shouted.

  “Look out!” Patrick cried.

  Just then, the prisoner reached between the bars. He tried to grab Hazi. This time Hazi fell.

  Patrick caught Hazi by the shoulders. But his weight pulled them both to the ground.

  Hazi stood and dusted himself off. “Thank you, my friend,” Hazi said. “Let’s try a different window.”

  Again and again, Patrick helped Hazi move crates to reach the windows. It took five tries before they found Tarek.

  “Father!” Hazi called.

  Tarek was at the window in a flash. “Hazi!” he cried. “Thanks be to God! They didn’t capture you!”

  “Father,” Hazi said. “We must do something to save Sabra and Beth. But what?”

  “I can do nothing in here,” Tarek said. “You must go to Leptis Magna. Find Georgius. He can stop the sacrifice as an officer of Rome. But you must hurry. Go now. Take our swiftest horse from the pasture. Do you know the one?”

  “The black one named Coal?” Hazi asked.

  “Yes, yes,” Tarek said. “Take her and ride!”

  The horse ran like lightning. It carried Hazi and Patrick toward Leptis Magna.

  Patrick bounced from side to side. Several times he almost fell off. He clung to Hazi in great fear.

  They came to a small building just outside Leptis Magna. Hazi climbed down from the horse and went inside. He came back a moment later. He was with a large man.

  Hazi explained that the man was his father’s friend. The man agreed to stable the horse for them.

  “Come,” Hazi said.

  Patrick slid down from the horse with great pain.

  “Are you well?” Hazi asked.

  Patrick shook his head. His arms ached and his legs hurt. A few of his teeth felt as if they had come loose.

  Hazi patted the horse’s side. “She’s a wonderful girl,” Hazi said. “We made the journey in half the time. Come, we must find Georgius.”

  The afternoon sun cast long shadows. Patrick and Hazi entered Leptis Magna. They found Georgius outside a large building of pale stone. Barrels were stacked along one side of the building.

  Georgius was sharpening his sword on a spinning, round stone.

  “Georgius!” Hazi called.

  Georgius looked up. “Hazi?” he said.

  Hazi bowed. “Georgius, we need your help.”

  “Please, sir,” Patrick said. “They’ve taken Beth . . . and Sabra!”

  “Quick,” Georgius said, “tell me what has happened. Did Lucius take the two girls?”
/>   “No, the people of Silene did,” Hazi said.

  Georgius’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” he asked.

  Patrick and Hazi told him the whole story. When they were finished, Georgius sighed.

  “Tell me,” Georgius said, “have you or your people ever seen this dragon?”

  Hazi shook his head. “No,” he said. “The creature comes in the night. But several of the shepherds saw a shape in the sky. They said it was a dragon.”

  “The shepherds could have seen an eagle,” Georgius said. “Are you sure it’s not a lion?”

  “Certain,” Hazi said. “Our village has seen its share of mountain lions. But this creature is different. It eats three times more than a lion.”

  “I suppose it doesn’t matter what the creature is,” Georgius said. “Your Sabra and Beth are in danger. I will help if I can.”

  “Can you bring soldiers?” Hazi asked.

  “Your entire village may fight us. That means I’ll need at least fifty soldiers. I must ask Lucius to gather that many men.”

  “Lucius?” Patrick asked. “But won’t he throw us in the stocks?”

  “I will appeal to Lucius,” Georgius said. “You’ll wait here.”

  Patrick and Hazi waited for Georgius inside the large stone building. Patrick couldn’t tell if they waited ten minutes or an hour. It felt as if it took forever for Georgius to return. But the sun was still shining when he opened the door.

  “What did Lucius say?” Hazi asked.

  “He refused,” Georgius said. He laid a heavy bag on a table. “He won’t allow our soldiers to go. He called it ‘a silly village matter.’”

  “Oh no,” Patrick said. “Then what about Beth and Sabra?”

  Georgius went on, “But Lucius said that I may leave my post and help. I’m surprised but grateful. God has shown a way.”

  “You alone?” Hazi asked. He sounded doubtful.

  “I’m not alone,” Georgius said. “Christos goes with me. And I won’t go unprotected.” He opened the bag and took out heavy pieces of metal. Then he began strapping the metal over his arms and shoulders.

  “Will Roman armor be enough against a dragon?” Hazi asked.