Master of Mirrors by Amanda Marrone

Author:Amanda Marrone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

8

Cobwebs and Keys

Darcy cast a spell, and a basket of red and green peppers appeared on the ground.

“Do you really think it will work?” she asked.

“Franny is a magical animal expert, so I trust her. But will you watch my back with your wand, just in case?”

She nodded.

I picked up the basket and slowly came out from behind the tree I was hiding behind.

“Hey there, little buddy. I have some treats for you,” I cooed.

“There. That’s Maggie,” Hasenpfeffer called out. “She’s the one I was telling you about. Just ignore the other one, but Maggie is a kind and gentle servant—er, uh, I mean master.”

Habanero craned his long neck toward me.

I took one step toward the cottage, holding the basket out in front of me. “Do you like peppers? I have some. They’re nice and hot. You like them hot, don’t you?”

Habanero leaned forward, and his nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. He bobbed his head up and down as his mouth curved up to reveal a toothy grin.

I tilted my head back to where Darcy was. “My friend Darcy got these just for you.”

I looked behind to see Darcy step out from behind a tree, with her wand raised and a smile on her face. Habanero began to whine like a dog.

“Put the wand down,” I told her.

Darcy nodded and stuck the wand into her back pocket.

“It’s okay,” Hasenpfeffer said. “She’s— They’re good people. They won’t hurt you.”

“That’s right. We’re not going to hurt you,” Darcy said. “Even if that’s what Milo and the kobold want us to do.”

“Come on, boy.” I picked up a deep red pepper and swung it back and forth as I slowly approached the dragon. “Here’s a nice juicy pepper just for you.”

I tossed the pepper into the air, and Habanero flapped his wings and soared up to snatch it. He swooped down to the cottage roof and gobbled the pepper up.

I threw another up, and Habanero glided down and grabbed it with his claws and then ate it as he hovered.

“Let me try,” Darcy said.

I handed her a pepper and she tossed it over her head. Habanero trilled and swooped up and then landed on the ground ten feet from us. I put the basket on the ground and motioned for Darcy to take a few steps back.

“You can have as many as you want,” I said.

Habanero’s lips drew back in a reptilian smile. He made a croaking noise much like a frog and then weaved around the candy canes to the basket. He sniffed the peppers and examined several before picking a long twisted green one. He gobbled it up and then cooed.

“Friends?” I asked.

Habanero moved his head up and down. I bent over and slowly held out my hand. Habanero rubbed the top of his head on my palm and purred.

Darcy smiled. “I think we have a dragon on our side! Habanero, do you know where the key is to unlock the cage?”

He grunted and then raced into the cottage.

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.