Chapter 143. Fly Slower—I'm Scared!
"Merlin's beard, Kray, you perv!"
"At the critical moment you actually got—no, not by a person, by a beast—besotted and went all starry-eyed!"
"You've really let down all my guidance in the past—how embarrassing!"
Duncan looked at Kray's dazed expression, instantly understood why, and inwardly grumbled that iron could not be forged into steel.
Then he cupped his hands to his mouth like a makeshift megaphone, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Kray, snap out of it!"
"Ah—ah?" Kray answered twice in a row, the little hearts in his eyes popping, and looked at Duncan with embarrassment.
"What is it?
Do you need something?"
"Lower down and fly me to the gorge, and when the fighting's over I'll bring that Thunderbird into the case for you, so you two can live together and see each other every day—how about it?" Duncan said.
"Duncan, what are you talking about?
I don't understand.
Which Thunderbird?
Why would I fancy it?" Kray denied with feigned indifference.
But his actions were wonderfully honest.
In a blink he dropped in front of Duncan and, considerately spreading his wings as far as he could, seemed worried Duncan might not be able to climb onto his back.
Once Duncan was seated, he shook his head and said, "Alright then, I misunderstood.
I won't bring it over, so it won't cramp your space."
Kray's beating wings paused, his beak opened stiffly, and after a long moment he blurted in a panic, "Actually, I thought it over carefully.
That Thunderbird has suffered a lot at the hands of those wizards and is rather pitiful.
I'll reluctantly give up some territory for it.
Duncan, once this is done, bring it over!"
"Alright.
Then fly faster!" Duncan nodded with a helpless smile.
As they neared the gorge, Duncan watched for a moment and said, "Kray, take me for one lap through the gorge.
Can you manage it?"
"Of course.
What do you want to do?" Kray replied, utterly confident and without the slightest hesitation.
"Go in and whistle a tune—give their battle a bit of accompaniment," Duncan said.
"Great idea.
Sit tight—we're going in now!" Kray whooped and immediately increased speed.
"Careful—flying straight in like that, the wizards on the cliff face will definitely attack you!" Duncan hurriedly warned.
"Don't worry.
Their spells are too slow—they can't possibly catch me!" Kray said, utterly unconcerned.
"There's only one thing you need to consider now: how to stay steady on my back!"
"Alright… mate, fly slower—I'm scared!"
Half of what Duncan was saying was shoved back down by the roaring wind.
His face was nearly blown out of shape.
When things levelled out a bit, he quickly used a spell to fix himself to Kray's broad back and followed him into the gorge.
The raptors circling in the air were instantly alerted.
Their crimson eyes locked onto Duncan, and with shrill cries they swarmed towards him.
Duncan hurriedly drew his pistol and, with the hand speed honed by years of being single, rapidly pulled the trigger, firing off pellet after pellet of compressed air.
With a series of bang-bang-bangs, the incoming raptors turned into round, rotund balloons, bobbing comically in the air.
Among them was the very Thunderbird Kray had had his eye on earlier, and seeing his beloved under attack, Kray immediately panicked.
He said hastily, "Duncan, be careful—don't hurt it.
Whatever else, it's one of my own kind!"
"Relax, this pistol doesn't do any harm," Duncan said.
A glint of light flashed at the edge of his vision and he cried, "Move!"
Kray beat his wings fast, twisted nimbly in mid-air, and a spell skimmed past, grazing his feathers.
Before Kray had time to catch his breath, he saw several more spells coming in.
He dodged in a rush and said, "Duncan, they've spotted us.
They're attacking non-stop—we'll struggle to keep flying inside."
"This should be enough here as well," Duncan replied.
He opened the case, hauled it to his side, and gave it a hard shake.
With a clatter, a huge iron cage dropped out of the mouth of the case and dangled toward the ground, the dragon inside still asleep.
Duncan flicked a spell straight at it.
The Hungarian Horntail woke with a jolt of pain, its scarlet eyes snapping open as it let out a furious, piercing roar.
"Friend, stop roaring—your time for revenge has come!" Duncan shouted.
He promptly restored the inflated animals to their normal state, then raised the druid whistle to his lips and blew.
The Horntail instantly snapped out of its frenzy, looked around in confusion, then recognised the gorge that had left it with such a deep impression.
Rage surged uncontrollably up from its heart, and it unleashed an even more terrifying bellow than before.
The dragon's roar and the clear, lilting whistle tangled together and, like a surging tide, swept through every corner of the gorge in an instant.
All the wizards fighting in the gorge involuntarily paused their wandwork and turned their heads towards the heights.
There, a massive dragon gaped its bloody maw and roared madly, with a comparatively weaker Thunderbird by its mouth.
"Mr Scamander, isn't that the dragon we finally managed to capture earlier?
How did it get out?
This seems to be getting worse!" said a wizard beside Newt in a panic, his wand-arm slowing.
That dragon was frighteningly strong.
If it joined the battle now, the situation they faced would be even tougher and failure highly likely.
"Wait—the Thunderbird flying in front looks a bit familiar to me…" Newt said, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't 'familiar' me—that's your good, well-behaved grandson, Duncan!" Professor Kettleburn's tone had a hint of jealousy.
He leaned back against a huge rock to catch his breath, looking for all the world like he'd clocked off and couldn't be bothered with anything.
"Professor Kettleburn, the Graphorns are about to charge through, you—" a wizard urged.
"Don't worry.
That lad Duncan is already here.
We no longer need to worry about those troublesome beasts.
Grab the time to rest.
Once Duncan flies past, we rush the cave on the cliff face!" Kettleburn finished, then thumped his old waist and muttered under his breath, "If I'd known, I'd have gone with Duncan.
Wouldn't be this tired, and I could enjoy the joy of riding a Thunderbird!"
The wizard froze for a moment when he heard this, then whipped his head round to look at the Graphorns galloping towards them.
But those frenzied beasts had, at some point, already returned to normal.
They stood in place, calling softly, seeming a little at a loss.
"What on earth is going on?" the wizard murmured in puzzlement.
"Because you've met a marvellous lad," Professor Kettleburn said, patting the wizard's shoulder.
"I can put it this way: he's the Dumbledore of the field of magical creatures—or rather, he's even better than Dumbledore!"
Newt fixed Professor Kettleburn with an odd look as the older man's face shone with praise, and very much wanted to ask:
Is Duncan your grandson or mine?
What are you so pleased about?
What's it got to do with you?
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