Free Moon-Faced Ghoul-Thing by Barry Hutchison Page B

watched him go. “‘Keep them busy,’ he says,” Ben sighed. He tightened his grip on the sword and eyed up the monsters around him. They were each over three metres high, with fists like solid slabs.
    “I’ll take the one on the left,” Ben said, standing back to back with Paradise. “You takethe other five.”
    “Sounds fair,” Paradise said.
    Ben smiled, but it didn’t last long. “I’m sorry,” he said.

    “This is all my fault.”
    “Oh, stop going on about it,” Paradise said. “You made a mistake. We forgive you, OK?”
    The closest rock creature raised its arms and stepped closer. Ben swung with his sword at its leg. The blade struck the stone with a bdoing and Ben felt his whole body vibrate.
    “Ow-w-w-w-w-w!” Paradise dragged him back. They stumbled and fell together on to the sand.
    A rock-thing loomed above them and the children braced themselves for the end.
    A tiny ball of flame burst against the creature’s face. It shook its head, irritated, just as three more little fireballs exploded on the side of its neck.
    Paradise and Ben scrambled to their feet. Something reddish-pink and bull-sized bounded across the sand, spraying pellets of fire from its throat. The rock-things hissed and swatted at the flames as Paradise squealed in delight.
    “Burnie!”
    There was a sonic boom from overhead. The clouds swept aside as bolts of electric-blue power snaked from Wesley’s fingertips. With a sharp jerk, the rock-things were yankedsharply upwards like fish on a hook. They tumbled through the sky, then flipped and flopped back through the hole they’d come through.
    All around Ben and Paradise, the other creatures were also being dragged back to their Monstrous Realms. Ben punched the air in delight. “He did it! Wesley did it!”
    As the last of the creatures was pulled back into the portals, the holes began to close. At the very same time, Wesley’s lightning vanished. He flapped his arms. He let out a very unwizard-like sob.
    “I’ve run out of magic,” he yelped.
    And then, with all that out of the way, he began to fall.

Chapter Sixteen
    “Catch him!” Paradise shouted.
    Ben looked from her to Wesley and back again. “What, me?”
    “Anyone!”
    Wesley was falling too fast. He twirled around in a tangle of robes, the wind spinning him as he plunged towards the ground. “Feel free to rescue me any time!” he shouted.
    “Hey!” Paradise yelped, as Burnie bumped into her. Paradise fell on to the dragon’s back just in time for Burnie to scoop Ben up with her long neck.
    With a groan of effort, the little dragon hurled herself into the air and beat her stubby wings. Ben and Paradise grabbed on tightly as Burnie lurched sideways and bounced on the sand.
    “You can do it, Burnie!” Paradise cheered.
    “I doubt she can,” said Ben. He caught Paradise’s look. “I mean … you can do it, Burnie!”
    With a hiss of effort the little dragon began to climb. She banked upwards until she was above Wesley, then swooped down. Her claws snatched at him, snagging his robe andstopping his fall with a sudden jerk.

    Wesley stopped screaming for a few brief moments, then started again when Burnie began to fly higher and higher towards the sky.
    “No, go down!” he cried. “The ground’s that way!”
    “She’s not aiming for the ground,” Benrealised. He pointed ahead to one of the holes in the sky. It was the last hole to have opened. It was the last hole to start closing. It was the hole that led home.
    “Go, Burnie, go!” Paradise urged. The dragon was struggling with the weight of all three children. She flapped and flapped, but the hole was closing over too fast.
    “We’re not going to make it,” Wesley wailed. “We’re too heavy.”
    Ben looked down at the gauntlet and the sword. He looked at the hole in the sky. Hehad been the one to get his friends into this and there was no way he was leaving them trapped here. No matter what the cost.
    With a deep breath, Ben tossed his