Book 8 - Page 45 (1/2)

She grabbed a handful of chain and wrapped it around one pudgy fist.

“Some of those guards don't know how to treat-” she began.

“No time, no time,” said Vimes, grabbing her arm. It was like trying to drag a mountain.

The cheering stopped, abruptly.

There was a sound behind Vimes. It was not, particularly, a loud noise. It just had a peculiarly nasty carrying quality. It was the click of four sets of talons. .h.i.tting the flagstones at the same time.

Vimes looked around and up.

Soot clung to the dragon's hide. A few pieces of charred wood had lodged here and there, and were still smouldering. The magnificent bronze scales were streaked with black.

It lowered its head until Vimes was a few feet away from its eyes, and tried to focus on him.

Probably not worth running, Vimes told himself. It's not as if I've got the energy anyway.

He felt Lady Ramkin's hand engulf his.

“Jolly well done,” she said. “It nearly worked.”

...

Charred and blazing wreckage rained down around the distillery. The pond was a swamp of debris, covered with a coating of ash. Out of it, dripping slime, rose Sergeant Colon.

He clawed his way to the bank and pulled himself up, like some sea-dwelling lifeform that was anxious to get the whole evolution thing over with in one go.

n.o.bby was already there, spread out like a frog, leaking water.

“Is that you, n.o.bby?” said Sergeant Colon anxiously.

“It's me, Sergeant.”

“I glad about that, n.o.bby,” said Colon fervently.

“I wish it wasn't me, Sergeant.”

Colon tipped the water out of his helmet, and then paused.

“What about young Carrot?” he said.

n.o.bby pushed himself upon his elbows, groggily.

“Dunno,” he said. “One minute we were on the roof, next minute we were jumping.”

They both looked at the ashen waters of the pond.

“I suppose,” said Colon slowly, “he can swim?”

“Dunno. He never said. Not much to swim in, up in the mountains. When you come to think about it,” said n.o.bby.

“But perhaps there were limpid blue pools and deep mountain streams,” said the sergeant hopefully. “And icy tarns in hidden valleys and that. Not to mention subterranean lakes. He'd be bound to have learned. In and out of the water all day, I expect.”

They stared at the greasy grey surface.

“It was probably that Protective,” said n.o.bby. “P'raps it filled with water and dragged him down.”

Colon nodded gloomily.

“I'll hold your helmet,” said n.o.bby, after a while.

“But I'm your superior officer!”

“Yes,” said n.o.bby reasonably, “but if you get stuck down there, you're going to want your best man up here, ready to rescue you, aren't you?”

“That's . . . reasonable,” said Colon eventually. “That's a good point.”

“Right, then.”

“Drawback is, though ...”

“What?”

“. . .1 can't swim,” Colon said.

“How did you get out of that, then?”

Colon shrugged. “I'm a natural floater.”

Their eyes, once again, turned to the dankness of the pond. Then Colon stared at n.o.bby. Then n.o.bby, very slowly, unbuckled his helmet.

“There isn't someone still in there, is there?” said Carrot, behind them.

They looked around. He hoicked some mud out of an ear. Behind him the remains of the brewery smouldered.

“I thought I'd better nip out quickly, see what was going on,” he said brightly, pointing to a gate leading out of the yard. It was hanging by one hinge.

“Oh,” said n.o.bby weakly. “Jolly good.”

“There's an alley out there,” said Carrot.

“No dragons in it, are there?” said Colon suspiciously.

“No dragons, no humans. There's no-one around,” said Carrot impatiently. He drew his sword. “Come on!” he said.

“Where to?” said n.o.bby. He'd pulled a damp b.u.t.t from behind his ear and was looking at it with an expression of deepest sorrow. It was obviously too far gone. He tried to light it anyway.

“We want to fight the dragon, don't we?” said Carrot.

Colon s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably. “Yes, but aren't we allowed to go home for a change of clothes first?”

“And a nice warm drink?” said n.o.bby.

“And a meal,” said Colon. “A nice plate of-”

“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” said Carrot. “There's a lady in distress and a dragon to fight and all you can think of is food and drink!”

“Oh, I'm not just thinking about food and drink,” said Colon.

“We could be all that stands between the city and total destruction!”

“Yes, but-” n.o.bby began.

Carrot drew his sword and waved it over his head.

“Captain Vimes would have gone!” he said. “All for one!”