Dragon's Breath Book 2 (Completed)

Chapter 9

The flight back to the castle was nothing like our trip to the island. After I told the carpet, "home," it rotated until it faced the right direction and took off at a smooth and steady pace into the darkening sky. Eadric and I were tense at first, waiting for the ride to become bumpy or the carpet to suddenly go limp. When the flight remained uneventful, we both began to relax.

"You didn't ask me if I wanted to go," said Eadric, "but I really want to help you find those things for Grassina. She helped us break the spell and gave me back my life. I owe her, so I'm honor-bound to do whatever it takes to get her and Haywood together again. Anything less would be unworthy of a prince."

"I don't see how—"

"Anyway, I've been thinking about the things we have to find. Grassina said that her friend will help us locate the gossamer hair, and even I've heard of magic beans, so they can't be that hard to get. The feather of an aged horse might be tricky. I've never seen a horse with feathers, so I don't know how we'll handle that one. Your aunt will probably know what to do when she comes home. You were wrong about the dragons, though. It isn't going to be quick and easy, as you seem to think. 'The breath of a dragon green.'" Eadric shook his head. "It's too bad we don't have the vial I lugged around when I was a frog. That dragon's breath had lots of colors in it, and one of them must have been green. You don't suppose we could go find the swamp fairy and ask if we can have it back?"

"Even if we could find that fairy, and even if she agreed to give it back, there's no guarantee that the dragon who breathed into that vial was green. Breath of a dragon green isn't the same as green breath of a dragon. I think we're going to have to find a green dragon and get its breath somehow."

"I've had a few run-ins with dragons," said Eadric, "and they all have nasty tempers. Even when we find one, we can't just ask it to breathe into a vial. I'm going to need a new sword. I lost my old one in the swamp when that witch turned me into a frog. All I've got now is my dagger, and that's not nearly enough if I'm going to face a dragon. I've been thinking about that, too. Killing a dragon isn't so hard, but collecting its breath while it's still alive ..." Eadric tapped his chin. "I suppose I could do it if the beast was asleep."

"Then that's our solution. I'll have a sleeping spell

ready when—"

Eadric scowled. "I thought we'd get a sleeping potion."

"What would you do, toss the dragon meat laced with your potion and hope it eats the meat before it eats your

"I'd sooner do that than depend on your magic!" Eadric said. "For all I know, you'd put us to sleep instead of the dragon!"

"I'll have you know that my magic is getting better!"

"Oh, really? You already turned me into an old man with your magic, remember? I'll take my chances with a potion, if you don't mind. I'd rather you didn't come up with any more spells for a while. I think we'd both be better off without them."

"I didn't know you felt that way!"

"I didn't know you could be so stubborn!"

Eadric was right in a way. My magic wasn't very good yet, and it did complicate things. I didn't seem to be having any problems with the spells I read, only the ones I came up with myself. Grassina had told me to keep working on my magic, but maybe I should have just concentrated on learning the established spells. I seemed to have a good memory for spells, even though I'd never been very adept at remembering other things, like the social niceties my mother wanted me to learn.

The rest of the trip was spent in cold, miserable silence. I dozed for a time, coming fully awake as dawn was breaking behind the Purple Mountains. Although shrouded in mist, they were a lovely and welcome sight. Eadric woke when the carpet entered the tower window; the funny popping sound it made when the window widened was loud enough to wake the ghosts in the dungeon. The straps came undone as soon as we landed, slipping off us like an insult off an ogre. It felt good to have solid footing, and I bent and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of my legs and back.