Dragon City by Katie Tsang & Kevin Tsang

Author:Katie Tsang & Kevin Tsang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2021-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

The Tournament

As they settled onto the ruby floor, an older boy with dark curly hair and deep brown eyes caught Billy’s attention. ‘Are you scared?’ he said, gazing at Billy. ‘I’m not scared,’ he went on, not waiting for Billy’s reply. ‘My mum says I was born for this. I was born to be bonded with a dragon and to help our family move into a palace in the sky. She knew this day would come and I’ve been training for it ever since I can remember.’ Billy couldn’t help but notice that the boy looked especially strong. He had a thick neck and muscular arms.

‘We might live underground now,’ the boy continued, ‘but this is our chance to move up in the world. Remember the name Timothy,’ he said. ‘That name will soon mean something to everyone in this city.’ He flashed Billy a wide grin before turning back towards the Dragon of Death.

‘Time is up!’ she roared. ‘Every human on the ruby platform is now officially a contestant in the tournament. The tournament will consist of two stages. Stage one will be the elimination phase, where we will remove contestants until only twenty of you are left standing. Stage two will be when the winners are decided. The twenty remaining competitors will race through the Tower that stands before you. The first four humans to finish the race will earn the great privilege to bond with one of my dragons. And as I announced yesterday, the overall winner will bond with Death’s Shadow herself!’

Billy felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. Even though he had heard it yesterday, he still couldn’t accept that Spark was going to bond with another human. Blood rushed through his veins, but his chest felt empty. And then a thought struck him. What if he won the tournament? Would he want to be bonded with Spark again? Before Billy could contemplate it any further, the Dragon of Death came back into focus. ‘Here is your first challenge!’ she roared.

A large circular table rose out of the centre of the ruby battleground and resting on top of the table were rows and rows of ruby collars. ‘Snap the collars on round your necks,’ spat the Dragon of Death.

The humans around them hesitated, looking to see who would go first and whether something would happen to them when they snapped the collars on. But no one moved.

‘Now!’ roared the Dragon of Death, firing a burst of flames above the crowd. It was so close to where Billy was standing, he thought what was left of his hair might have caught alight.

The contestants shuffled forward now. Those who snapped the collars on first seemed to do so without consequence. Billy and his friends each grabbed a ruby collar and held it in their hands.

‘Are we sure about this?’ asked Dylan.

‘We’ve got each other,’ replied Ling-Fei. ‘And together, we can do anything.’

Billy nodded and snapped the collar round his neck. The cool touch of the stone sent a chill down his spine.

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