A Wild Ride Through The Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

this when you’re drowning,’ the jellyfish warbled. ‘A touch of mental derangement, a glimpse of the lovely Dementia, the company of a beautiful jellyfish, and some melodious singing— they make the process of dying less painful, tralala!’

    Dementia smiled, and Gustave felt strongly tempted to accept her invitation.
    ‘You shouldn’t spurn Death’s schizophrenic sister,’ purred the jellyfish. ‘She can protect you from the worst. Drowning is said to be one of the most unpleasant ways to die.’
    But then, floating like a pale moon above and beyond Dementia’s braided hair, Gustave caught sight of Death’s bony skull. In a flash, all his weariness left him. He opened his eyes wide and shouted, ‘No! I’m too young to die! I’m only twelve!’ The words, which issued from his helmet in the form of plump air bubbles, went spiralling up to the surface of the sea and burst there unheard.
    Gustave’s wild struggles churned up the water around him. Once graceful, the jellyfish’s movements now looked frantic and awkward. It lurched to and fro, its tentacles became entangled, and its glassy body went all misshapen.
    ‘Blah!’ it gurgled indignantly, and, enshrouding itself in a mass of tentacles, it glided off into the dark green depths.
    Gustave tried to free himself from his armour. He wrenched at the buckles and leather straps until his breastplate finally came off. He slipped out of his metal greaves, stripped off his brassards, and looked up. The huge dragon was still overhead, forever turning on its own axis like a crocodile tearing at its prey. The long jets of flame it kept emitting made the water seethe. If Gustave emerged from the waves, he could choose between being devoured, ripped to shreds by the creature’s claws, burnt to death, or boiled alive. The dragon was thirsting for his blood.
    So he resisted the urge to surface at once. Bending down to retrieve his sword, he withdrew it from the scabbard and held it above his head with both hands. Then, bending his knees, he pushed off the seabed with all his might and shot upwards like a swordfish skewering its prey. The blade embedded itself deep in the frenzied dragon’s soft underbelly. The huge creature went into even more violent convulsions and let out an ear-splitting roar. The sea around it became tinged with purple liquid.
    ‘Dragon-juice,’ thought Gustave as he reached the surface at last. ‘Aaah!’ he went, greedily sucking in great lungfuls of oxygen. The water, which was still boiling in many places, steamed and gave off hissing bubbles. Gustave paddled around aimlessly, panting hard. The gryphon, flapping its wings at regular intervals, had maintained its position overhead.
    ‘I always hoped things would turn out all right for you,’ it called. ‘Or does that sound insincere?’
    ‘Too right it does!’ Gustave shouted back. ‘This was a put-up job. At least get me out of here!’
    ‘I shouldn’t really do that,’ said the gryphon, ‘but I will, all the same.’ It swooped down, gripped Gustave by the shoulders, and hauled him out of the water.
    ‘You won’t believe me, naturally, but I only wanted to save you from a worse fate. Another few minutes, and you’ll wish you were back on the seabed.’
    ‘Don’t talk nonsense!’ snapped Gustave. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I already told you: fighting the dragon is the pleasanter part of the task.’
    Gustave declined to pay any further heed to the gryphon’s blatherings. ‘Put me ashore on that rock,’ he commanded, ‘so I can release the girl from her chains.’
    With a sigh, the gryphon deposited the dripping youngster at the captive damsel’s feet.
    Gustave took his first look at her from close at hand. Her hair fell to her hips in golden ringlets, her milk-white skin and regular features were as preternaturally flawless as—yes, as those of a classical marble statue. Her unclothed body accorded so perfectly with Gustave’s ideal conception of beauty that …