The Wrath of the Lizard Lord by Jon Mayhew Page B

thick foliage. He passed a rifle to Mary, who slung it over her shoulder.
    While Dakkar was searching for weapons, the giants lay the bodies of their dead in rows in the clearing. Dakkar rejoined the giants and watched Gog’s people hurl the bodies of the Cryptos guards unceremoniously into the bushes.
    Dakkar looked puzzled and Gog joined his thumbs together, flapping his fingers so that they looked like the wings of a bird. ‘Gacheela take ours,’ he said solemnly. He pointed to the pile of dead Cryptos guards. ‘Rohaga. Saranda have them.’
    ‘Sounds like being eaten by the lizards isn’t good,’ Mary said, pulling a face.
    ‘Would you like to be?’ Dakkar replied.
    ‘If I was dead then it wouldn’t matter,’ she said, shrugging.
    ‘I wonder what Gacheela is,’ Dakkar murmured.
    ‘A flying lizard is my guess,’ Mary said, shivering. ‘I saw one once. A horrible thing with a long pointy beak full of teeth. Looked like the devil, all claws and batwings!’
    Weeping, the party moved out of the clearing, their steps leaden. Dakkar and Mary followed in silence.
    Time dragged on again and weariness weighed Dakkar’s feet down. Mary looked exhausted too. She tripped over a root, bumping into Dakkar and waking him from a stumbling doze. In his waking dream, Oginski had been calling to him from his deathbed. Dakkar could see his mentor’s pale face and pleading eyes. Is he still alive? Dakkar wondered. How long have we been down here?
    Gog raised a hand and the party stopped so suddenly that Dakkar staggered into the legs of the giant in front of him. They had come to a cliff face with huge steps worn into the stone. High above them, Dakkar could see cave mouths dotting the rock.
    Gog weaved in and out among his fellow giants and crouched down to talk to Dakkar. ‘Cave is high,’ Gog said. ‘Climb on back. Gog will carry.’
    Dakkar felt a flush of embarrassment but looked at the steps. Each one would require him to pull himself up using both arms and legs. It would be exhausting. Dakkar looked at Mary, who shrugged.
    ‘Thank you, Gog,’ Dakkar said.
    Gog turned and Dakkar put his arms round the giant’s thick neck. Gog’s skin felt rough and bristly as the giant stood up, supporting Dakkar’s legs.
    Dakkar looked up at the caves as they climbed, desperate not to show his fear. Gog moved swiftly, almost leaping from step to step, and Dakkar had to keep tightening his grip. Glancing back, Dakkar saw Mary clinging to the back of another giant. Behind her, the jungle spread out like a green sea. In the distance, Dakkar saw the canopy of trees shivering and moving where giant lizards made their deadly way. Then he glimpsed something else far off. It looked like a pillar of rock reaching up into the clouds.
    ‘Here!’ Gog announced, leaping into a cave mouth.
    Dakkar found himself inside a large cavern with a sandy floor. A few ancient stalagmites poked up to the ceiling. Somewhere water trickled over pebbles but the cave looked dry.
    Gog stooped again to allow Dakkar down. Dakkar stood, his head spinning for a second.
    Mary wandered over to him as the rest of the tribe began spreading furs and stashing food in carved-out alcoves in the cave wall. One of the women clashed flints together over a ready-built fire, filling the cave with flashing sparks. Soon the smell of woodsmoke tickled their nostrils.
    Dakkar looked up and blinked, transfixed by what he saw.
    ‘What’re you lookin’ at?’ Mary said.
    ‘That,’ Dakkar whispered, pointing up into the shadows of the ceiling. ‘How did that get there?’
    Dangling from the ceiling, by dried-out vines and creepers, hung a familiar shape. It looked huge in this enclosed space, like a small whale hung up on display after being caught. Brass rivets gleamed in the newly kindled firelight; polished boards reflected the dance of the flames.
    ‘What is it?’ Mary said, clutching Dakkar’s shoulder.
    ‘It’s a submersible,’ Dakkar said quietly. ‘Designed