City of Secrets (Battle Dragons #3) by Alex London

City of Secrets (Battle Dragons #3) by Alex London

Author:Alex London
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.


“YOU RAN AWAY FROM THE hospital, just to turn yourself in?” The sheriff peered at Abel over her desk. Her office was a little shack at the top of the gulch, and her Rapid Assault Hog Dragon was sleeping just outside the window behind her. Its huge, spiked face filled his view. The window frame rattled with its every snore.

“I wanted to talk to you away from my parents,” Abel said.

The sheriff raised her eyebrows. She waited for Abel to continue. A skilled interrogator knew that they didn’t always have to ask questions. Most people would just fill the silence left for them, the way pockets just kind of filled with lint. Sheriff Skint thought herself a skilled interrogator. Abel was going to use that against her. She’d think he was confessing, while he was playing her like a hand of DrakoTek cards.

“My parents don’t know anything,” said Abel. “Lina and I, we were angry about what happened to Silas, so we plotted to get revenge. Lina was going to steal that Cloudflayer and burn up the rodeo grounds.”

“And what was your part in this plot?” the sheriff asked.

“It was my idea,” he said. “I was supposed to help, but I guess I was sleepwalking and those cockatrices got me. I’m just really lucky Deputy Manchi found me when he did.” Abel laid on the act as thick as frostberry jam on a fresh-baked toaster cake.

His stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten for way too long.

Never hatch a plot hungry, he scolded himself. Too late now.

“I wonder what Deputy Manchi was doing down there so late at night?” Abel asked as innocently as possible. He wanted the sheriff to wonder that too, but he couldn’t just come out and tell her. She’d never believe him. Like the old saying went, You can lead a dragon to treasure, but you can’t make him hoard it.

Sheriff Skint pursed her lips. Abel kept his face as blank and innocent as he could.

“Deputy Manchi is—”

“HORMPF!” A huge dragon snore cut her off. It shook the window frame, the plaques on the wall, and even the coffee right out of her cup—into a puddle on her desk.

She and Abel never broke eye contact.

“Deputy Manchi is not your concern,” the sheriff finally said. Then she dabbed up the spilled coffee with a rag she kept near her desk. “You’ve just confessed to taking part in a conspiracy of theft and destruction. A valuable Cloudflayer was lost into the wild, with a week’s worth of supplies. These are serious crimes, and they are in violation of your probation. I could have your whole family sent to Windlee Prison for this.”

“But that’s not how you do things here,” Abel said. This was it. This was the moment. He was offering her a dare. He was the treasure, and she was the dragon.

Come on, he prayed. Just reach out your greedy claw and snatch me up …

“No,” the sheriff smirked. “That is not how we do things here.”

Yes! She was taking the bait! Abel nearly pumped his fist.



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