The Fire Dragon Storm by Anne Cameron

Author:Anne Cameron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-03-29T00:00:00+00:00

11

THE PHOENIX AND THE PHOTOGRAPH

It took quite some time and a great deal of hot tea to revive Mrs. Stobbs. It took even longer for Mr. Dewsnap and Jeremius to tell her the full story of the fake accident at the Canadian Exploratorium and to convince her of the need for absolute secrecy.

“I’m just so pleased you’re all safe and sound, my lovelies,” Mrs. Stobbs said, still looking thoroughly overwhelmed. “When I read that dreadful report in the Weathervane and saw those awful pictures, it was j-just so upsetting.” She sniffled, dabbing at her nose with a handkerchief.

Luckily, in the confusion, nobody asked what Angus, Dougal, and Indigo had been doing in Mr. Dewsnap’s office when the housekeeper found them. And it was only after Mr. Dewsnap walked Mrs. Stobbs home again that they finally raced up to Dougal’s room to admire the fire dragon scale they’d just found.

“This is brilliant. We’ve got two scales now and only one clue left to solve.” Dougal closed his door and placed the dragon scale on his bed, where they could all see it.

“But we’ve still got to find the scale that belongs to Valentine Vellum,” Indigo said.

“Yeah, and for all we know, he could keep it in a secret compartment knitted inside his socks,” Angus pointed out. “We can’t just walk up to him and ask him to hand it over. We’re definitely going to need a plan.”

That night Angus dreamed of the fire dragons once again. A terrible fight raged around him as he desperately tried to wake his own dragon. When it finally appeared, smaller and dimmer than the rest, the other dragons descended upon it, with talons drawn, ripping and tearing, until the wounded creature could take no more. Angus watched in horror as the fire died behind the dragon’s eyes and it began to plummet toward the ground, its wings limp and broken, its flames all but extinguished. He braced himself for the moment it would hit the ground, but the impact never came. The dragon transformed gracefully instead into a strange swarm of blue bees. The bees circled overhead and then began to dive at him, trying to sting his arm. A sudden pain stabbed through his veins.

“Ow!” Angus sat bolt upright, wide-awake, breathing hard, as if he’d just run the length of the Lightnarium. The crook of his arm was still throbbing painfully. He rolled up his sleeve to check that no bees had actually flown into his bedroom. But in the early morning gloom it was still too dark to see anything properly. He was just about to swing his legs out of bed and turn on the light when he realized he wasn’t alone.

“There now, my lovely, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Mrs. Stobbs was standing in the corner of the room, clutching a pair of his shoes. “I just came to tell you breakfast is nearly ready, and to take your shoes for a quick polish before you return to Perilous. Heaven knows how you and Dougal manage to get them so dirty,” she added, shaking her head.

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