The Hidden Dragon by Melissa Marr

Author:Melissa Marr [Marr, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2023-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

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By the time they got back to the beach, London was sure of his decision. Why not life on a ship? Adventure and new places, friends and open seas, the life of a sailor sounded better and better. Sure, there were dangers, but they had powerful friends. Here he was in the Netherwhere chatting with a chimera—and he liked it.

Maybe someday, in some land, he might even find his mother!

But when they reached the shore, London’s great mood slipped. Too many children to count were surrounding the camp. They were armed with sticks and spears and slingshots. One girl had what appeared to be a contingent of trained slugs that she was deploying to guard captives.

The crew was at a loss—after all, what kind of adult fights with kids? They looked confused and more than a little overwhelmed as slugs oozed toward them.

“Otter?” London asked.

“Okay, everyone—let’s all pause and talk about this!” Otter called out, although London couldn’t say who she was talking to, the kids or the crew of the Tempest.

London stayed at her side as they marched up to the oldest of the kids, and he asked, “Does Ebba know you’re attacking these people?”

“No adults in the Netherwhere!” several kids shouted.

“Get on your boat and go!” yelled a tiny boy, not even tall enough to spear the belly of Captain Maul.

“This is not your place!” a girl yelled. “Board your boat and depart, and there will be no injuries.”

“Except the ship will sink if they’re not allowed to finish fixing it first,” Otter said.

The Tempest was hoisted on its side with an intricate system of pulleys and ropes so that the men could patch its broken section. Some of the crew dangled over the side of the ship like spiders on lengths of silk.

“Looks like she’s patched,” London said.

“But she needs to be sealed, too,” Otter told him. “We need a mix of brimstone and tar, some swaths of hide, too, if we are going to seal it up right.”

“So what do we do?” London whispered, staring at the group of armed children. One girl with long red braids was trying to jab their cook with her spear. “Can you turn into a full-sized dragon and eat them?”

Otter rolled her eyes. “A bit of useful advice, please?”

“Dragons are always meddling,” a voice said. “Then Ebba gets angry. Those are Ebba’s Lost Ones.”

London glanced around, realizing quickly that the voice was inside his head.

“Where else would I be? If we speak outside, none of your sort understand.” The voice sounded like it was laughing.

“What are you?” London asked, spinning in a circle.

“Really? I answered this already, London,” Otter said. “I’m just a girl, and this isn’t the time. That one there is jabbing Tan, and he’s not going to put up with it much longer.”

“Not you.” London pointed at his head. “The voice in here.”

“If it jabbers on, it’s a kelpie.” Otter looked around. “Not sure if faeries even speak.”

Then London saw the speaker. He knew without a doubt.

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