Free Jonah and the Last Great Dragon by M E. Holley

asked one of the other clergymen.
    Mike nodded. ‘The thing is, it’s not just an old legend. The last Great Dragon has been here, under Radnor Forest, all the time, and I’m afraid that the smoke we can see shows that it is actually waking up.’
    A howl of protest rose from the crowd. There were some catcalls and jeering.
    â€˜That can’t be true. We’re in the twenty-first century, for heaven’s sake,’ someone shouted. ‘That’s just stories, sure t’ be.’
    â€˜It’s probably a bit of volcanic action,’ someone else called out.
    People started to chatter amongst themselves. Some, grinning cynically, were asking how this young chap could expect anyone to take him seriously. Others pointed at the church roof, where they had all seen the horrible little animals, as proof that something weird was happening. Mike held up his arms to quieten everyone and the villagers turned back to look up at him. His quiet dignity, as he waited for everyone’s attention, stopped many of them from leaving. There was a lot of head-shaking, until another ominous rumble from the woods made everyone turn to stare anxiously at the column of smoke.
    â€˜I’m sorry but it really isn’t just a legend,’ Mike said. ‘I know it sounds incredibly silly, but I am in earnest when I tell you that the dragon is waking up!’ He looked gravely around the crowd of people. He seemed suddenly to be taller and straighter, and his blond hair glowed in the sun. Jonah stared at him. What was it about Mike? Something pricked at the back of his mind.
    He turned to Erin. ‘I keep getting this weird feeling I’ve seen
    Mike before. Can’t think where, though.’
    She stared at Mike through narrowed eyes. ‘That’s funny, because I’m getting that feeling, too. Do you think he might have been on TV?’
    â€˜Yeah, you could be right,’ Jonah said. ‘Maybe he’s been interviewed or something.’
    Mike was telling the crowd that the creatures on the roof weren’t animals. ‘They are small demons.’
    There was an appalled buzz of conversation.
    Mike raised his voice. ‘In the West, dragons have always been associated in people’s minds with terror, and I think that these Night Creatures, as we call them, are seizing an opportunity.’
    He turned towards The Reverend Vaughan, who nodded in agreement.
    â€˜As you well know,’ said the vicar, ‘people long ago didn’t have to see demons to be sure they existed. You even have an Abracadabra spell on the church wall here. But in the modern world very few of us believe in anything like that. We put bad things down to accidents, disease, human nastiness and so on.’
    â€˜And that means,’ said Mike, ‘that it is much harder nowadays for the Night Creatures to spread fear. I think the Underworld is hoping to benefit from the chaos and terror the dragon will almost certainly cause when it wakes.’
    â€˜So these creatures think the dragon will attack us?’ the vicar said.
    â€˜Yes, and they will use anything they can to frighten you. They might try to enter human or animal bodies, or they might use stone effigies – like gargoyles. The more people who see them, the more the terror will spread. Your fear will help their power to grow.’ Mike glanced round and looked, for a moment, at the hills beyond the church. ‘They are coming up because they want what you have,’ he said simply. ‘This beautiful earth.’
    For a moment, he looked enormously sad and again something pricked in Jonah’s mind. I know I’ve seen him before, he thought.
    Mike paused as a clamour of disbelief broke out. ‘Yes, I know. I know it sounds crazy but it is true, I’m afraid. And, by the way, the wolves you heard are a sort of demon, too.’
    There were audible gasps of disbelief.
    â€˜But we must be able to get rid of the