foothold because of a slight indentation in the rock. Above him, he could see several metres of rock face and a broken ledge. He took a deep breath and looked the other way.
Warren hung pitifully from the rope held by the reptile. The goblin was twisting first one way, then the other. The boy was barely a dozen or so centimetres from the white mist swirling below them, in which, from that distance, floating fragments of rock and stones were clearly visible. It looked as though they had fallen into a very viscous solution that was gradually solidifying around them.
Glancing up, quickly assessing the situation and realising that things could hardly get any worse helped the dragon a little. He was used to heights, very great heights, but this was the first time he’d been suspended over a precipice.
‘Can you grab hold of anything?’ he growled through clenched teeth. The goblin’s wriggling wasn’t helping; it was just twisting his outstretched arm.
Warren didn’t reply, so Draco tugged at him a few times until the green face and eyes wide with terror turned towards him.
‘Can you grab hold of anything?’ he repeated the question, whilst trying to position himself relative to the wall so that the goblin was as close to it as possible.
‘I... I... I think so,’ came a tearful reply from below. The reptile tried not to pay any attention to it.
‘Make yourself some handholds and try to stand up on your own.’
Warren didn’t reply, but it was clear he was trying in vain to grab the rock with his outstretched hand. It was only when Draco swung the dangling boy towards the cliff that he managed to cling to the wall. After that, things went faster. First his other hand, then one foot into the newly created opening, and the same again. The goblin stood on his own two feet, but the dragon was still hanging from one hand, still holding the taut rope.
‘Come a bit higher up so I don’t have to let go of the rope.’ The reptile
