The Dragon's Eye by Kaza Kingsley

Author:Kaza Kingsley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Swamp Gas

FORTY WINNERS’ NAMES were posted behind the maze, Erec, Bethany, Melody, and Jack among them. Along with, of course, Balor, Damon, Rock, and Ward. Finding he had lost, Oscar threw an empty bottle of Flying Donkey Nectar against a signpost. “Stupid contest,” he muttered, walking away. “Who would want to waste their time being king, anyway?”

Jack caught up with him. “It’s all right, bud. None of us here will win in the end. It’s all for fun, really.”

Oscar’s eyes were red, and he wiped them with the back of his hand. “Tell that to my dad. I can’t go home now. He’ll hate me. He’s been talking about me winning this for months—that is, the few times I’ve been back from boarding school. He’s already mad I haven’t gotten the basics in sorcery apprenticing.”

Jack comforted him as they walked away. “Just stay awhile. We’ll tell him you lost at the very end.”

After eating, Erec felt better. The more he thought about the scepter, the frightening, painful surges of electricity began to seem like nothing. Only the memory of its fantastic power remained. He wanted to feel it again. Maybe if he won the contests he could have his own.

Kilroy nervously handed out prizes while Ugry and King Pluto stood nearby. “The next contest is the Sea Search, Thursday morning at ten behind the maze. Queen Posey says you may bring a magical item.”

“Is it worth taking a prize?” Bethany stood on her toes to see what they were. “If not fleas, what next?” Other winners seemed to be thinking the same thing. A few refused prizes and walked away.

Kilroy held up something that looked like a flashlight and turned it on. “I’ve checked these out. No fleas. These are Magiclights. Hard to see here in daylight, but these beauties put out a ray of light that will stay. When you turn it somewhere else, light stays there, too. You can color a whole room with light, and it stays lit until you flip the switch off. They’re great for writing words in the dark; you can leave messages for friends.” He moved it in an arc and a fan of light hung in the air.

Erec took one, curious about the thing. “Do they need batteries?”

Kilroy laughed. “That’s funny. Isn’t that a Loser thing? A bulb that light shines from?”

The Magiclight looked fine. No fleas or dangerous animals around. Erec had a funny feeling he would be needing it.

Wolfboy jumped on Erec when he got back. After petting him, Erec switched on the Magiclight and wrote his name in the air. It hung there, glowing. Erec drew a circle around it and turned off the switch. The light disappeared at once. He put it with his Sneakers and money under his bed.

At dinner Bethany said, “When should we tell Queen Posey about Ugry’s plot?”

Something had changed Erec’s mind about telling Queen Posey, but he wasn’t sure what. It seemed like a mistake. “She wouldn’t believe us. I can tell she doesn’t trust me.

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