Werewolf versus Dragon Read Online Free Page B

“There’s a rug in the back you can sit on.”
    â€œWe’re not going by car,” Ulf told him. Hepointed to the line of all-terrain vehicles in the vehicle bay. One was red, one black, one yellow, and one blue. “Have you ever ridden an ATV before?”
    â€œOh, I’m sure I can manage,” the Inspector said. He tucked his trouser legs into his black socks and sat on the black ATV. “It can’t be that difficult.”
    â€œJust copy me,” Ulf told him.
    Ulf got onto his favorite bike, the blue one.
    â€œShouldn’t you put some shoes on?” the Inspector asked.
    Ulf turned the key and kick-started the engine with his hairy foot. “Come on,” he called, twisting the throttle and accelerating around the side of the house toward the paddock.
    Ulf shouted “open” and the gate opened automatically. “The gates are voice activated,” he called.
    The Inspector wobbled as he rode behind Ulf. “Where are we going?” he asked.
    â€œTo the beast park!”

Chapter 7
    ULF RODE OUT AHEAD, STANDING UP ON THE foot bars of his ATV, bouncing over the bumps in the paddock. Inspector Black rode behind, sitting carefully on his seat.
    â€œHow big is this place?” the Inspector called.
    â€œTen thousand acres,” Ulf shouted. He pointed across the valley to the lake and the forest, then over to Sunset Mountain and the hills beyond. “Everything you can see!”
    They sped past a bulltoxic, a long-haired bull-like beast that was chewing a bush of red berries.
    â€œIt only eats poisonous plants,” Ulf shouted. “Its poo could melt your shoes.”
    Ulf looked back as the Inspector swerved to avoid a pile of green dung.
    He rode on down to the freshwater lake. A crocoon slid into the water, and a rat fish jumped.
    Ulf waited for the Inspector to catch up. “Here we have a wartolump,” he said.
    The Inspector stopped his bike.
    In the shallows, a beast was snoozing, its fat, warty stomach rising and falling, and its thick lips flapping as it snored. It had two short tusks.
    â€œIt came from a lake where the water was polluted. Its tusks were rotting,” Ulf said. “Dr. Fielding had to file them down. When they’ve grown back, it’ll be released somewhere new.”
    Inspector Black took his notepad from his pocket. “And what’s that one over there?” In the reeds, an ingo was wading, spearing fish with its tail.
    â€œThe ingo speared a broken bottle in a canal,”Ulf explained. “It was spotted by the lockkeeper, and Dr. Fielding brought it in. She had to treat its tail. It needed thirty-six stitches.”
    Ulf revved his engine and sped off up the valley, heading toward a high-netted enclosure the size of an aircraft hangar. This was the aviary, where the winged beasts lived.
    Ulf slowed down as he rode into a wire-mesh tunnel that ran through the aviary from one end to the other.
    In the first section of the aviary, a beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion took off from an oak tree. It flew toward Ulf and gripped the wire mesh with its claws, beating its wings.
    â€œIs that a griffin?” the Inspector asked, riding alongside Ulf.
    The griffin sneezed.
    Ulf nodded. “It was brought in suffering from the flu,” he said. The griffin took off and flew back to the tree, coughing.
    In the next section, vampire owls were sleeping, perched in a row on a high wire.
    â€œIt’s like a zoo here,” the Inspector said.
    â€œThis is not a zoo at all,” Ulf told him. “It’s a rescue home. All the beasts are released back into the wild when they’re ready.”
    The Inspector looked at Ulf’s hairy feet. “What about you, werewolf? Are you going to be released?”
    â€œOne day,” Ulf said, accelerating away through the mesh tunnel and out the end of the aviary.
    Outside was a huge golden bird as big as a plane. This