Dragon Quest by Jackie French Koller

Author:Jackie French Koller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

Pola stared at him a long time, then walked over to his yuke and climbed into the saddle.

“See you back home,” Darek said quietly.

“No you won’t,” Pola said. He leaned forward and handed the reins of the other yuke to Darek. Then he smiled. “An adventure’s an adventure, all the way to the end,” he said. “I’m with you, my friend.”

Darek smiled and hoisted himself up into the saddle. He reached out to Pola, and they clasped arms in a Brotherhood shake.

8

DAREK’S FATHER’S EYES WERE STERN. “I don’t care what your reason is!” he boomed. “You disobeyed an order, and you will pay the price when we return home.”

“Yes, sir.” Darek bowed humbly. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Aargh!” Darek’s father stomped off. “Get out of my way. I’ve more important things to worry about.”

Darek went back and stood beside Pola. They were silent for a while, watching the dragon procession. Darek felt awful, standing there, doing nothing, as the dragonlings walked into a trap. Then an idea began to take shape in his mind. If he could get close to the dragonlings, he might be able to free them. They would fly straight back to their mother. Maybe then the men would give up this foolish quest rather than risk a direct confrontation. It was a long shot. But if Darek didn’t do something soon, it would be too late. He approached his father once more.

“Father,” he said hesitantly. “I . . . think maybe I can help.”

“Out of my sight, I told you!” his father bellowed.

Darek took a step back, but then Clep came up and put a hand on Darek’s shoulder. “Wait a moment,” Clep said. Then he turned to Yanek.

“A word with you, Father?” Clep asked.

Yanek stared at his two sons a long moment. Then he and Clep stepped to one side and put their heads together. Their voices rose and fell. Darek strained to catch snatches of their conversation.

“Way with dragons . . . ,” he heard Clep say.

“Disobedient whelp . . . ,” his father replied.

“Understands them . . . ,” Clep said.

“Taught a lesson . . . ,” his father grumbled.

As Darek watched his father and brother argue, his own feelings warred within him. Clep was standing up for him, taking his side. How could he let his brother down and free the dragons now? And what would the elders do to his father if Darek made trouble again?

“Out of time . . . ,” he heard Clep say at last. Both Clep and Yanek turned then and looked toward the mountain. The party of dragons, now including Zantor, would soon have to be dealt with.

Yanek swore under his breath and looked over at Darek. “Do you think you can get close to those beasts without spooking them?” he asked.

“Yes, Father.”

“Can you get tethers on them?”

Of this Darek wasn’t so sure, but one thing he did know. “If anyone can, Father,” he said, “I can.”

“Well enough, then,” Yanek said. “I’ll settle my score with you later. Take the tethers and go.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.