Aura giggled delightedly, while I just gawped at the green fruit. What was going on? Normally the fruits only glowed when they turned red.

  The next second the fruit began to bulge and then it dropped from the branch. Aura’s hands shot out and caught it. The glow lit up her fingers as she held it out towards me.

  ‘What do I do?’ she asked, looking alarmed.

  But before I could reply, the fruit burst open and she was splattered with seeds and pulp as a tiny dragon shot out.

  She jumped back in surprise and knocked into me just as Zing zipped down from a branch, almost crashing into my head as he flew over us. I tried and failed to keep my balance and ended up on my bottom in the mud.

  Meanwhile, the newly hatched dragon landed on the ground in front of us and staggered a bit under the weight of a piece of dragon-fruit skin still stuck to its back. Aura reached down to peel the sticky fruit away, so the little creature could lift its head properly and stretch its wings. For once Aura had gone very quiet – she was just staring at the dragon and its bright little eyes were staring right back.

  Aura had got her wish. She had grown a dragon.

  Its body was the bright green of new spring grass and its wings a darker peacock green. They weren’t the usual bat-wing shape either, they were oval. And they had ridges through them like the veins on a leaf. Its tail was covered in tiny sharp spines like thorns. The dragon raised its head and we watched as two quite long horns started to glow. Then it saw me and, like an alarmed hedgehog curling into a ball, pulled its wings around itself. But left its spiky tail held out as if it was battle ready.

  ‘That’s amazing,’ Aura said, finally finding her voice. ‘She looks just like a bud. A rosebud. And her tail is the thorny branch.’

  She was right. The oval wings enclosed the dragon like the petals on a flower. Aura carefully picked the dragon up and held it close to her face. Ever so gently, she blew over the little creature.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I asked.

  ‘My mum used to do it to me when I was little. She always said it calmed me down. I think she got a bit of a shock seeing us there.’

  The dragon’s wings parted, like a flower opening to the sun, and a little head peeked out.

  And Aura gave the biggest grin.

  ‘Hello, Rosebud,’ she whispered.

  It was soon clear that this little dragon, like Zing, had no intention of just flying off. Despite dragging a protesting Aura away to hide in the shed in the hopes that the dragon might leave, when we re-emerged Rosebud was there waiting on a branch, looking quizzically at us.

  It took Rosebud and Zing a little while to get used to each other. At first Rosebud curled up behind her wings every time Zing flapped towards her. Not that I could blame her really – Zing still flew like he was about to crash into you. Eventually though he landed on Grandad’s spade. Just as he settled, Rosebud launched up into the air, zipped through the low hanging trees and came up behind him, flicking him with her tail and startling him so much he toppled off. After that they seemed to get on much better.

  Sitting in the shed with our dragons perched on the shelf above us, I told Aura about Flicker. How his scales flickered through every colour, shining so brightly, how he shone with bright ideas too, and how it had felt like a fizzling firework was going off inside me when he settled on my shoulder and wrapped his tail around my neck.

  Rosebud flew down and landed on Aura’s arm, her claws latching on to her jumper. She tucked in her head and tail and pulled her wings around herself. It was as if the dragon was a bud and Aura’s arm was the branch.

  My eyes flicked towards Zing. Somehow I didn’t fancy him curling that silver spiked tail around my neck, and he was likely to whack me round the ear with his oversized wings anyway.

  ‘Flicker still comes back,’ I said, willing myself to believe that this was still the case even after Kat’s orders. ‘Just wait till you meet him.’

  Aura’s eyes flicked to Zing and she smiled at him.

  ‘Dragons are the best. You’re so lucky to have the dragon-fruit tree in your grandparents’ garden.’

  I smiled and nodded. Aura hatching a dragon wasn’t meant to happen. And when the superhero squad got back from their holidays I was going to have to own up to what I’d done. But even so, it felt good to share the tree with her. To watch someone else seeing the magic happen for the first time.

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ Aura said. ‘Honestly, after everything you’ve just told me, I reckon I’m prepared for anything.’

  I snorted. ‘You can never fully prepare for life with a dragon,’ I replied. ‘Seriously, you have to keep your eyes wide open. And whatever you do, don’t let anyone else see her.’

  I wondered for the gazillionth time whether letting Aura go home with Rosebud had been a good idea. It was true I’d explained about using ash, along with clicks and whistles, to teach Rosebud a few basic commands. But given that Zing hadn’t shown any interest in it, I couldn’t guarantee it would be much help.

  At least I could tell her my top tips on the best ways to hide any incriminating evidence – burnt socks, singed homework, shredded newspapers, that sort of thing. And of course I’d described the intricacies of poo patrol, letting her know just how nasty an explosion of the stuff could be.

  But could I really trust her?

  ‘We’ve got this,’ Aura said, cradling Rosebud in her hand. ‘I promise.’

  I really hoped she was right. I watched her head off, my oven glove and water pistol stuffed into her back pockets. Then I Iooked over at Zing. I still hadn’t worked out what he liked to eat and, as far as I could tell, he hadn’t yet done a poo. I was beginning to wonder if that was OK.

  ‘Just so you know,’ I said warily, ‘until Aura gets her own poo-patrol equipment sorted tomorrow, I’m without oven gloves and a water pistol.’

  Over tea I tried quizzing Mum about the pooing habits of various animals. But it didn’t go down too well.

  ‘Time and a place, Tomas,’ Mum said, a forkful of food wavering in front of her face. I guess she had a point.

  By the time I’d helped her wash up, I had quite an extensive knowledge. Ted would have been proud. Here are some things I learned. (Note that if you ask a vet, be prepared – you get all the information you wanted and quite a lot more gross stuff too.)

  1. Cows can poo sixteen times a day. A sloth may only poo once a week.

  2. Everyone poos, except for the Demodex mite that lives on your face – ‘Ew’ to a mite living on your face, ‘Hurray’ that at least it doesn’t poo on it.

  3. Vultures poo on their feet. Because after standing in rotten stuff all day eating, their feet are covered in germs, and the poo contains bacteria that kill the germs. Personally I don’t care how grubby my feet get, I’m not doing that.

  4. A hippo spins its tail like a propeller to splatter its poo in all directions. Apparently this spreads the nutrients from the poo into the water and helps the ecosystem. Frankly I’d swim well clear of any hippos.

  5. Certain spiders disguise themselves as bird poo to avoid being eaten. Doesn’t seem much of a life to me.

  Still, at least knowing that all animals poo differently, and some can hold on to it for longer than others, reassured me that Zing was probably OK, though I’d still keep an eye on him. I just hoped there were no dragons that behaved like hippos!

  The next few days actually turned out to be quite a lot of fun. Zing was making things hectic for me by crashing around everywhere and creating a ton of mess. But with Aura and Rosebud along for the ride, things just felt better.

  They were also helping to distract me from my worries about the seedlings. And my frustration at having to call a halt to the search for Arturo’s letters. Although I tried to think of possible places Elvi could have hidden things, tapping walls and keeping my ears pricked for creaky floorboards, I really needed the superhero squad’s help to carry on the search properly. But that would have to wait till the holiday was over.

  We also found that Rosebud was a great help in the garden. Grandad and Jim were busy growing things to decorate the village. ‘To give the place a bit of winter colour,’ Grandad said, ‘and us some practice for the Village in Bloom show in the spring.’

  Not many flowers liked the colder months, but the few that did got a helping hand from Rosebud. We discovered that she could breathe orangey smoke that would make everything bloom.

  ‘Do you think this little one might hang about?’ Grandad said one afternoon, admiring some dragon-enhanced hellebores. ‘I mean, I know these days you’re extra careful to make sure all the dragons fly off, but I’m just saying, if this one wanted to stay on, just for a little while …’

  He nodded at Zing. ‘I see he’s still hanging about too.’

  ‘I have tried,’ I said. ‘I’ve been bringing him to the tree and showing him the other dragons flying off, but he just keeps coming back.’

  ‘I expect he’ll get the idea soon enough. Although maybe try and keep him away from our willow arch. Old Jim’s been working on it for months. Star of our show, that thing.’

  I wasn’t sure I could promise anything when it came to Zing. But I smiled and nodded.

  On Wednesday Dad dropped me and Lolli at Nana and Grandad’s, and Aura bounded in shortly after.

  ‘So, Chipstick, I need a trip to the garden centre,’ Grandad said. ‘Anyone up for keeping me company? I expect we might find an ice cream along the way.’

  I looked over at Aura, who grinned and nodded.

  ‘Sure,’ I said.

  ‘Good-oh,’ Grandad said. ‘We’d best get a wriggle on then.’

  He unpeeled Lolli, who was clinging to him and waving a very happy-looking Stefan, wobbly felt-tip smile stretched wide.

  ‘I wanna go with Guppie,’ Lolli said. ‘Lolly for Lolli.’

  ‘You and me have got some fairy cakes to bake,’ Nana said. ‘Who’s going to sprinkle all the sprinkles if you go rushing out?’

  At the mention of sprinkles Lolli’s eyes lit up, and Stefan twirled round equally happy.

  As we made for the door, Grandad raised his eyebrows at the rucksacks Aura and I were hugging.

  ‘Looks like someone’s already got their wriggle on,’ he said, motioning to my bag. He checked down the hall and lowered his voice. ‘Is that really a good idea? You don’t think it’d be better to leave your … “friends” here?’

  ‘I think it’s better to have them where we can keep an eye on them,’ I said.

  ‘They’ll be no problem, honest,’ Aura added, giving Grandad a beaming smile. She really was very good at the ‘butter wouldn’t melt and I’ve got everything under control’ look.

  ‘Right you are,’ Grandad said, turning his gaze back on me. ‘But let’s keep this trip nice and short.’

  Half an hour later we turned into the car park of a huge warehouse-like building.

  ‘I just need to pick up some trellis panels. They’ve got all sorts here.’

  ‘Including singing penguins on a sleigh,’ Aura said, pointing out the window.

  ‘Yup, including penguins,’ Grandad chortled.

  He wasn’t wrong. The building itself was huge, and Christmas had definitely come early here. The whole of the front of the shop was festooned with trees and glitter and giant snowmen. Once we’d got through the sprawling Christmas display, there was a pet shop, an arts and craft area, toys, clothes, kitchenware, books and a very busy cafe.

  ‘Come on, let’s have a look around,’ Aura said, pulling me towards a sign that said ‘Pets’.

  ‘I’ll be out the back,’ Grandad said. ‘Just … you know … keep things under control.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ Aura said, giving him a massive thumbs up. ‘We’ll blend in like chameleons. And be as quiet as mice to boot.’

  But of course we didn’t do either of those things. Not once the dragons got loose.

  I was just peering in at a particularly pretty corn snake when Aura came hurrying over.

  ‘OK, so don’t be cross and don’t panic,’ she hissed.

  My heart sank.

  ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Me, nothing,’ she said. ‘But Rosebud might have decided to liberate some of the residents.’

  I stared at her, and then dodged out the way as a woman with long curly hair rushed past, hands bashing at her head.

  ‘It’s on me! Get it off! Get it off!’ she shrieked.

  Aura dived forward managing to catch a mouse as the woman’s hand flung it from her head.

  ‘Still not panicking, please,’ Aura said, seeing my stricken face. ‘I only let Rosebud out to get some air. I saw all those birds cooped up in their cages and I didn’t want her to feel like that. I guess you had the same idea about Zing,’ she added, pointing up to the top of the fish tanks where Zing was whizzing back and forth.

  ‘No, I didn’t,’ I said desperately. I grabbed my rucksack and saw the hole in the bottom. ‘He must have bitten his way out.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Aura said quickly. ‘We’ve got ash with us. They’ll soon come back.’

  I was about to say that Zing hadn’t exactly shown much interest in ash and I doubted he’d start now there was so much else to catch his attention, when I noticed Aura looking around.

  ‘Just as soon as I find Rosebud,’ she muttered.

  ‘You mean you don’t know where she is?’ I squeaked.

  ‘It’s fine. No one ever looks up. We’ll soon have them tucked away safely again.’

  ‘You don’t know how much damage they can do.’ I stood there in a daze, imagining the dragons igniting Christmas trees, scorching penguins and unleashing poo missiles. Aura grabbed my sleeve, shaking me out of it.

  ‘No time for panic,’ she said.

  She was right. Zing hadn’t loitered by the fish. He’d already decided to move on to the toys, landing on a shelf of remote-control cars. A little girl was standing with one of the controllers, her tongue poking out in a look of intense concentration as she tried to manoeuvre a sports car around her baby brother. It kept bashing into him and making him cry, at which point her mum grabbed the car and put it upside down on a high shelf. Zing hopped from car to car along the shelf, the silver threads on his wings and body flaring as he moved from one to another.

  Then he fluttered down to a lower shelf and, to my horror, the girl’s arm stretched out and she grabbed hold of him! She dumped him on the floor and then bashed at the remote control again, as if it would make him fly. She squealed with delight as he rose up and started careering around above her.

  ‘Look, Mummy!’ she cried happily. ‘I can do it.’

  Her mother glanced up just as Zing dived down at super-speed. She yelped and covered her head and the baby’s, but thankfully Zing swerved at the last second and zoomed off again, although weirdly he seemed to be pulling the woman’s long black hair with him. It stuck up on end, as if someone had rubbed a balloon against her head.

  As the woman grabbed the wailing girl, baby and buggy and retreated from the shop, Zing landed on a giant speaking teddy bear. I caught him and bundled him into my rucksack.

  ‘I love you,’ the teddy babbled happily.

  I wasn’t sure it would love Zing quite as much once it realised its bottom was smouldering. I hastily batted out the glowing sparks and hurried away.

  Now I had to track down Aura. I just hoped she’d managed to find and catch Rosebud.

  I eventually spotted her outside with all the garden pots and plants. I sped through the double doors and she hurried over to me.

  ‘Isn’t it amazing?’ she said.

  ‘Isn’t what amazing?’

  ‘All this,’ she replied. And swept her hand at the tables laden with colourful flowers.

  ‘Yeah, great. Flowers,’ I said. ‘But have you got her?’

  ‘Don’t worry, she’s over there,’ Aura said. ‘But you don’t get it. This was all her, Tomas. Nothing was in flower until she came. She flew over them, and it was like they all lifted their heads and bloomed in wonder at her. It was incredible.’

  I felt my breathing slow and let myself take in the sea of colours. It really was incredible.

  ‘People don’t see anything,’ Aura scoffed crossly. ‘They’re far too busy. No one has even batted an eyelid at all this.’

  ‘I guess it’s like Grandad always says. People don’t actually want to see this sort of stuff, so generally they don’t. It’s easier not to.’

  ‘They don’t know what they’re missing,’ she said.

  ‘It’s probably a good thing,’ I hissed, pointing at Rosebud. ‘I think she just did a poo. It landed in the flower pot that man’s just put in his trolley.’

  He headed off, dragging it behind him.

  ‘We have to get it back,’ Aura cried. ‘Her poos dry out really quickly. It’ll explode in there!’

  But we were already too late. The next second the poo detonated and the yellow-flowering plant from the pot rocketed out of the trolley. It shot up into the air, arced over a display of garden ornaments and landed upside down on a gnome’s head, much to the surprise and obvious delight of a little boy in a pushchair.

  Aura reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of ash and, quick as a flash, Rosebud flitted down to her.

  ‘Come on – let’s go and find Grandad and get out of here,’ I said. ‘Before she unleashes another one!’

  Finding Grandad still choosing trellis, we decided to keep a low profile behind some wooden pallets. Aura held Rosebud and gently stroked her green wings. As she did, the little dragon gave a shudder and a puff of green appeared from her back end.

  ‘Did she just fart?’ I said.

  Aura laughed. ‘I think so. She’d be fine here,’ she added. ‘Perfect camouflage for a garden centre.’

  ‘I’m not sure curling up to look like a bud would be much use next to a glittery singing penguin or an inflatable Santa,’ I pointed out.

 

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