Tiny Dragons 1: The Sky Dragons Read online

  Both her brother and mother turned around in their seats and looked at her with strange expressions. "What kind of mythical creature, dear?" Mrs. O'Neil said with a soft, patient smile.

  "Nothing," Alana pouted. "It was just something I said."

  Mrs. O'Neil kept looking at Alana, about to say something else, but James interrupted and said, "Aren't you a little old to have imaginary friends?"

  Luckily, when they got home, James had a ton of homework to do and Alana had very little. She made quick work of her math assignment and hurried up the stairs to her mother's bedroom, about to knock on the door when she saw Mother sitting at her desk, holding a picture of Daniel, her father. "Mommy?" Alana said.

  Mrs. O'Neil quickly put the picture back on the desk and said, "Yes, honey. What do you need?"

  Alana showed her the paper and said, "Can you check this please?"

  "Of course," Mother said. She looked down at the answers and nodded several times as she scanned the page until she finally said, "It all looks right. It's a little sloppy though. Did you rush?"

  "A little," she said.

  "To go see your friend in the back yard?" Mother said.

  Alana's eyebrows raised in surprise, trying to figure out what she could say, but Mother winked at her and said, "I had imaginary friends when I was your age too. Go ahead and play. I'll call you in before dinner."

  Alana looked at the photograph of her father, his handsome face covered in soft stubble, smiling at her from behind the glass frame. She wanted to say something else, but Mrs. O'Neil kissed her on the top of her head and said, "Go ahead, honey. Enjoy yourself."

  Alana bolted down the stairs and ran for the kitchen sliding doors. She yanked them open and then shut them again and raced past the trampoline and jungle gym and quickly turned the corner behind the shed, only to see…nothing.

  No dragon. Nothing but tall grass.

  She looked every which way for Star, but did not see the small, black creature anywhere. She was about to call out to him when an angry sounding man said, "Where in the deuces is that blasted dragon?"

  Alana ducked down behind the shed and peeked over the grass in time to see two men walking along the edge of the woods, looking up into the branches of the trees all around them. The first one, the one who'd spoken, was dressed in a tattered black robe, a strange man with a sharply bent nose topped off with a large gray wart on the tip of it. He had shiny silver hair and a pointed beard, with little ears that looked to Alana like bite-sized pretzels. His voice was high-pitched and nasal when he whined, "I thought you told me it was out here yesterday, you buffoon!"

  The second man was short and round, with puffy, red cheeks and a small, button nose. He was wearing a dirty shirt that looked like something an old servant in a castle might wear. In fact, Alana thought, they both looked like they were dressed up to play some game. They certainly weren't wearing anything she'd ever seen before. "Um, I thought I did see him, boss," the second one said. His voice was cartoonish, like he was pretending to be a dimwit, but from the confused look on his face and slightly crossed eyes, Alana wondered if it wasn't all too real. "And I remember it was right here, because there was lots of trees."

  "A lot of trees?" the angry man said.

  "Yeah, and they was all green."

  The silver-haired one in the robe clapped his hand to his forehead and shouted, "This is a forest, you nincompoop! There are green trees everywhere! Why do I insist on keeping you around in the first place? Why have I not simply changed you into a frog, Herman. Or a housecat? At least then you could catch mice and do something useful around the castle!"

  "Um, but I'm allergic to kitty cats, boss," Herman said.

  "Well, you wouldn't be if you were one, now would you?"

  "But how do you know?"

  "Because you can't be allergic to yourself!"

  "But I wouldn't be myself if I was a kitty cat. And if there's one thing you don't like, it's sneezes." Herman held up his chubby fingers and counted on them as he spoke, "You don't like sneezes, questions, popcorn, and oh, you don't like children. Did I miss any?"

  "Dragons, Herman," the angry man said with a sneer. "I most certainly do not like dragons."

  "Right, boss," Herman said. "I forgot about the dragons. Dragons is the worst."

  "Let's go," the tall man said. "You may add forests to the list of things I do not like, Herman. Put forests between questions and popcorn."

  Herman looked down at his chubby fingers and tried to figure out how to move one from the other, but rather than angering the other man, he just nodded and said, "Okay."

  Alana watched the two men turn around and disappear into the woods, still talking to each other. She waited until they were far enough away before she finally stood up and sighed with relief. A tiny voice spoke from not-too-far-away in the grass and said, "A-Are they gone?"

  Star was stretched out flat on his belly, covering his face with his wings. "Yes, they're all gone," Alana said. "Who was that horrible man who was being so mean to his friend?"

  "That was Prospero the Sorcerer," Star said.

  "Sorcerer?" Alana whispered. "You mean, he's like a wizard? Can he do magic?"

  "Not by himself," Star said. "He needs special ingredients to make potions that give him powers."

  "What kind of ingredients?" Alana said nervously, because she was afraid she already knew the answer.

  Star and the little girl looked at one another and both of them whispered the word, "Dragons."

  Chapter 3: Cave of the Sky Dragons

  Star peeked around the corner of the shed and said, "Is that where you live?"

  "Yes," Alana said. "That's my house where I live with my mom and my brother, James. My dad lives there too, but he's away right now."

  "Where did he go?" Star said.

  "I don't really know. Mommy said it was for his work and that he misses us, and he'll be back someday. She said it's really, really important and we should be proud of him, though."

  "Has he been gone a long time?" Star said.

  Alana shrugged, but then she nodded, thinking of all the things that had happened since he left, all the holidays and birthdays and school events. It was hard to think of him, sometimes.

  "You're pretty lucky," Star said sadly.

  "Lucky?" Alana said. "How is that lucky?"

  Star lowered his head, "Because both of my parents are away instead of just one. They left me with the other sky dragons in our cave so they could go and find the…" Star's voice trailed off as his head turned back toward the woods and his ears perked up. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.

  "Hear what?" Alana said. But just as she said it, a branch snapped in half behind her and she saw the slow, round form of Herman emerge from the woods, lumbering toward them.

  "Over there!" the sorcerer cried out behind Herman. "Seize that dragon!"

  Star's eyes were wide with panic and he shouted, "Run, Alana! Get back to your house!"

  The tiny dragon scurried into the grass, trying to hide, but as Alana looked at Herman and the sorcerer, she knew she could not leave her friend by himself to face them. Alana O'Neil folded her arms in front of her chest and said, "Hey! Leave him alone!"

  Herman came to a stop in front of her and bent forward, bracing his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He was winded by running such a short distance, and he held up a chubby finger at Alana that told her he needed a minute. Finally, Herman managed to say, "Hullo little girl. Have you seen a dragon anywhere around here?"

  "No, now go away," Alana said sternly.

  Herman looked at Alana in confusion, then turned back to the sorcerer and called out, "She said she ain't seen the dragon, boss, and she told us to go away. What do I do now?"

  "Oh, for Pete's sake!" the sorcerer cried. "Grab the girl and bring her too. She must be friends with the wretched little creature. Perhaps she can take us to their cave!"

  "Um, okay, boss," Herman said. He held out his hand toward Alana and said, "Co
me on, let's go."

  "No," Alana said.

  Herman's hands fell with exasperation as he looked back over his shoulder and said, "She said no, boss!"

  "Just pick her up!" the sorcerer shouted hoarsely. "Do I have to do everything myself around here? She's a harmless little girl, what can she do?"

  Herman looked back at Alana and scratched his head, trying to figure out what the best way to pick her up would be. Finally, he decided to just reach down and pick her up by the arms, but Alana knew better. She had been told enough times by her parents and teachers that anyone who tried to grab her or take her somewhere she didn't want to go was dangerous. Instead of letting him take her, Alana swung her foot back and kicked Herman as hard as she could in his knee.

  "Ow, stop!" Herman howled, grabbing his knee with both hands.

  Alana swung her foot back again and kicked him in the other knee. Herman cried out, "Stop kicking me!"

  Alana stuck her finger in his face and shouted, "You leave Star alone, you big meanies! Get out of here! Shoo!"

  "Enough of this nonsense," the sorcerer said. He shoved Herman out of the way and thrust one of his bony hands out to grab Alana by the arm. She screamed for her mother and James, but it was too late, the sorcerer had her and was pulling her away from the shed and toward the woods. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not. Now do as you're told or I'll turn you into a worm!"

  "Let go of me!" Alana shouted. "Mommy! James!"

  Something came running at them through the grass, charging hard and fast like a big dog, snorting with anger as he shouted, "Get your hands off of her!" Star leapt with all four of his legs aimed square at the sorcerer's chest and knocked the old man flat on his back in the grass.

  Alana watched the sorcerer roll away from her, but knew he would be back on his feet soon. Star shouted, "Quick! Get on before he gets up!" The dragon lowered himself like he was bowing in front of Alana and she climbed up the dragon's back and grabbed him around the neck as tight as she could. "You need to hold on!" Star shouted.

  Herman was running at them now, his round belly swinging side to side as he said, "Now hold on, little dragon. Don't you move! I got you fair and square!"

  Their path to the house was blocked by Herman's width and Star said, "Both of you stay away from us. I'll…I'll breathe fire at you if you don't!"

  The sorcerer finally got up from the dirt and started laughing in his awful, high-pitched voice. "No dragon has breathed fire in over two hundred years, you imbecile. Do you think I don't know that? I hardly think an insignificant little pipsqueak like you is going to be the first. Now, put the girl down and come with us. Otherwise, I am going to get very, very angry."

  "You're a horrible, horrible man and I don't like you!" Alana shouted, feeling tears in her eyes. She hated to cry, hated even worse to admit she was scared, but all she could think about right then was running home to her mother's arms.

  "Get them!" the sorcerer ordered, and both he and Herman ran at them so fast that Alana pressed her face against the back of Star's neck and screamed.

  "Hang on!" Star shouted.

  She felt the muscles of the dragon's back flex as he sprang sideways, jigging and jagging between the two men, coming so close to them that Alana felt the sleeve of the sorcerer's robe pass over her back just as he dove to grab her.

  Herman lunged forward in a last ditch effort to grab them and latched onto Alana's leg, grabbing her tightly by the ankle and shouting, "I got you!"

  Star's powerful wings shot out from his sides, flapping in the wind so hard that they made a snapping sound, and Alana watched in amazement as Herman's hand slipped off of her, and the large man began growing smaller and smaller. Even the trees of the backyard were quickly becoming smaller than broccoli stalks.

  Alana could hear nothing but the wind blowing softly in her ears as she looked up at the clouds, now so much closer than they'd ever been before. "We're flying," she whispered. "I dreamed about this."

  She could see the roof of her house and then all the roofs of all the houses in her neighborhood. The cars were no bigger than toys and the people walking along her street were just the size of ants. "This is amazing!" Alana said.

  "If you say so," Star muttered. "I'm not really supposed to fly in front of humans, let alone give them rides. I could get in big trouble. I just couldn't think of anything else to do."

  They darted and whooshed through the air with ease and Alana smiled at the sight of several birds flying past. "I can't believe it. You're so lucky to be able to fly," she said.

  "You've never flown before?" he said.

  "Only once, in a plane. Not like this."

  "Well, hang on," he said. "I'll show you how it's done." Star suddenly closed his wings around her legs to keep her tight and he rolled in mid-air, turning upside down so that Alana was suddenly looking directly down at the roof of her school.

  "Awesome!" Alana shouted.

  Star laughed as he turned back upright and aimed toward the distant mountains that stood miles away from Brumbleton.

  Alana tapped Star on the shoulder and said, "We're going the wrong way. I need to go back to my house."

  "We can't go back just yet, it's too dangerous. Prospero will be waiting for us."

  "So where are we headed?"

  Star nodded toward the tallest mountain and said, "To my cave of the Sky Dragons. I have to tell them what happened."

  "I'm going to get to meet more dragons?" Alana gasped. "How exciting!"

  Star frowned and said, "I hope they feel the same way. Somehow, I don't think they will."

  Star extended his wings and dipped right to circle toward a large, flat surface cut into the side of the largest mountain. There was a massive cave at the rear of the cliff, and Alana's eyes widened as they descended toward it and a dozen small dragons came out to watch. There were dragons of all colors, and all of their wings had different markings for things in the sky, like suns, clouds, and even what looked like a field of asteroids. The dragons looked at Alana in amazement and one of them shouted, "Lady Moon! Lady Moon! Come quick! Star brought a human!"

  An enormous blue dragon immediately stuck her head out from the dark cave, glaring at Alana and Star in disbelief. The dragon came out quickly then, her massive wings decorated in crescent moons that sparkled against her beautiful blue skin, the same color as the waters surrounding islands in the Caribbean. Her eyes were larger than Alana's torso, and even though she did not look happy, she did not look mean or frightening either. If anything, the dragon looked like a large, blue, disappointed teacher.

  Star landed in front of the bigger dragon and lowered his head so that Alana could slide down from his back. Star looked up at the huge female dragon and said, "I had to, Lady Moon."

  "What are the rules, Star?"

  "No humans can see us fly, but−"

  "And?" Lady Moon said.

  "None are allowed to know where our cave is."

  The female dragon's large nostrils flared as she grunted at Star and said, "I will deal with you later." She turned to look at Alana and inspected the young girl with uneasy curiosity. "What are you called by your people, humanling?"

  "My name is Alana," she said.

  "I am Lady Moon of the Sky Dragons."

  Alana tried to remember all of her best manners and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

  "This place is forbidden to your kind, so why have you come here today?"

  "Listen to me, I had to bring her!" Star said.

  "I was not speaking to you, Star," Lady Moon snapped. "I was speaking to the humanling."

  Alana swallowed nervously, knowing that it was always best to tell the honest truth as best as she could. She lifted her head and said, "We were attacked by two bad men who tried to take Star, and then they tried to take me. One was a wizard." Star kicked her in the foot, and Alana said, "I mean, he was a sorcerer."

  "The sorcerer?" Lady Moon said quietly. All of the other dragons began to chatter, but she silenc
ed them with one look. She raised an eyebrow at Alana and said, "What does the sorcerer want with a human child?"

  "He knew Star would try and save me," Alana said. "And he was right, because that's exactly what Star did. He saved me, and we had to fly away to escape, so I guess he brought me here. Please don't be mad at him. He did the right thing."

  "She saved me first," Star interjected. "The sorcerer and his dumb assistant tried to grab me and she stood up to them instead of saving herself."

  The blue dragon lowered her large head and sniffed the air in front of Alana's face. She came so close, Alana could feel the dragon's warm, pleasant smelling breath as she continued to sniff and sniff all around Alana's shoulders and hair. Finally, Lady Moon leaned back on her haunches and said, "I do not detect the scent of deceit on you, humanling."

  "That's because I always tell the truth," Alana said. "I try to never lie."

  Lady Moon lifted her head and said, "No human has ever dared set foot on Sky Dragon Mountain, let alone been welcomed inside our cave. If any had ever tried, they would have been sorry to do so, indeed." Lady Moon looked down at Alana, and then at Star, taking her time before making what seemed to be a grave decision. "However, the dragons are in troubled times and perhaps now is the moment for us to let go of some of our old prejudices and allow room for change." Lady Moon bowed her massive head toward the ground, "Humanling Called Alana, will you do us the honor of gathering around our sacred fire to discuss the fate of both our worlds?"

  There was rumbling of disbelief among all the other dragons, but Alana looked at Star, who nodded, and she said, "Of course, if you want me to."

  Lady Moon turned back to the cave's entrance then, her long, blue tail brushing the rocks and dirt as she walked. The other dragons stared in wonder at Alana's hair and clothing as they closed in around her. Star looked back at Alana and said, "Are you okay?"

  "Yes. I-I think so."

  "Do you want to run away?"

  "Won't you get in trouble if I do?"

  "Yeah, probably," he said. "But I'll get you out of here if you need to."