Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire

something cold touched my throat. I smelled sweat. A rough hand grabbed my arm.
    The native Martian had somehow managed to free himself and had found a weapon. The serrated edge felt like a kitchen knife.
    â€œEdward!” Mama screamed. The native Martian pushed the knife harder against my throat. Papa laid a hand on Mama’s arm, his eyes never leaving me.
    â€œStep away!” the Martian shouted at Freddie. “Keep your hands above your head and get against the wall.”
    Freddie did what he was told.
    Frog-face took a long club from his belt. In a single, vicious movement, he drove it into Freddie’s stomach. Freddie’s breath exploded out. He fell to the floor and curled around his stomach. Jane shrieked. Freddie gasped as he fought for breath.
    The Martian dragged me toward the door of the house. Frog-face followed, herding Mama, Papa, and Jane ahead of him.
    A sharp crack sounded below. The house seemed to lunge to one side. The movement knocked me forward. I turned the motion into a roll as the Martian shot out his arms for balance. I hit the floor, still moving, came up onto my feet, and ran. Spitting fury, the Martian chased after me.
    We came out onto the lawn, into the clear, steam-free air.
    I cut suddenly left, and the Martian missed me by an inch. He was taller and faster than me, but he couldn’t turn as easily. I dodged under a thrown-out arm. Mama, Papa, and Jane stumbled out of the house, followed by Frog-face. There was no sign of Freddie.
    â€œLeave him!” Frog-face shouted at the Martian. “Look.”
    The Martian slackened off. I tore away from him.
    An airship lifted over the fern-trees. It blotted out the setting sun. Its huge, spring-powered propellers pounded the tops of the canopy, sending the fern-trees into a cacophony of sleepy protest.
    The men hurried toward it, still pushing Mama, Papa, and Jane ahead of them. A ladder unrolled down.
    Another, much louder crack shook the house. For a moment, it stood frozen. Then, as though a giant had shrugged beneath it, it bucked up. Bricks and timbers separated, and glass splintered from the windows. The house seemed to hang, broken, in the air. Then gravity took hold, and it crashed down, sending bricks, dust, and shards of wood flying.
    Freddie sprinted from the collapsing ruin. He flung himself down, covering his head. The dust rolled over him, hiding him from view.
    The men reached the airship ladder. The Martian manhandled Jane onto the first rung and forced her up. Mama and Papa followed, and finally Frog-face climbed onto the bottom rung. The airship started to rise.
    â€œNo!” I yelled. I raced toward the airship. It was rising slowly, fighting against gravity, but soon it would be out of reach. I increased my pace.
    Almost lazily, Frog-face pulled a device from his pocket and flicked it at me. Another clockwork Martian starblade whirred through the air. I threw myself to one side. The starblade thunked into the ground not a yard distant.
    Then it was too late. The airship rose and turned. In seconds it was above the fern-trees, swinging away, its propellers driving it up and on.
    I stood there and watched until it was gone, out of sight, and Mama, Papa, and Jane with it.

 
    9
    The Chase Begins
    Dust settled over the red Martian grass.
    The sun was going down. Long shadows stretched from the fern-tree forest across the lawn and the ruins of our house. In the distance, the thwop-thwop of the airship’s propellers faded into silence.
    â€œThey’re gone,” I whispered.
    I hadn’t been able to stop them. I’d read a thousand stories in Thrilling Martian Tales about kidnaps and villains and daring rescues, and I still hadn’t known what to do. I’d never felt so useless or so frightened in my life.
    â€œBlast it!” Freddie was limping toward me, leaning on his walking stick. He was covered in so much dust he looked like a ghost. “They got away?”
    I nodded.