Dragon Trouble by Jackie French Koller

Author:Jackie French Koller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2019-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

“But . . . what has all that to do with your furnishings?” asked Rowena.

“Gifts,” said Azzon. “The Kradens leave gifts of all sorts on their doorsteps. They try to outdo one another, hoping the spirits will be pleased and do them no harm.”

“Ahhh!” Darek, Pola, and Rowena laughed.

“You seem fond of the Zynots,” said Pola.

Azzon nodded. Then his face grew grave. “We Kradens have been merciless to the Zynots,” he said. “We’ve killed them, just for sport, whenever we’ve caught them down in the foothills.

“They had every right to kill me when they found me. Instead they brought me to this cave and risked their own lives to care for me. I was so touched by their kindness, I became a changed man.”

Darek, Pola, and Rowena had been listening quietly. Now Darek spoke up. “But . . . if you are changed, why won’t you help us?” he asked. “Why are you still loyal to your sons?”

Azzon’s eyes filled with pain. “I was a cruel father,” he said. “I made my sons what they are, and I deserve what has befallen me. I do not blame them. I love them . . . more than ever.”

Darek sat thinking, remembering all the problems he had caused his father, all the times he had disobeyed. And yet his father had risked everything to follow him into Krad. It was a powerful force—a father’s love.

“The love you feel for your sons,” Darek said quietly, “is like the love our fathers feel for us. That’s why they followed us here. That’s why they are in trouble. Surely you can understand.”

Azzon did not answer for a long time. Then he nodded slowly. “I can understand,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean I can help. And even if I could help you rescue them, I couldn’t take you back to Zoriak again. I’ve filled in the tunnel I took you through last time.”

“We’ll go back the way we came,” said Darek.

Azzon shook his head. “You can’t,” he said. “The dragonsbreath will addle your minds.”

“No, it won’t,” said Darek. He walked over to Zantor and pulled a mask from the saddlebag. “We have these.”

Azzon took the mask from Darek’s hand. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s a mask that filters out dragonsbreath,” Darek told him. “Our ancestors invented them, when they used to fight the Red Fangs.”

Azzon stared at the mask in wonderment. “What is it made of?” he asked.

Darek shook his head. “We don’t know,” he said.

“But I’ll bet my father does,” Rowena put in. “He’s the Chief Elder.”

Azzon’s brows arched up in surprise. “The Chief Elder of Zoriak is here? In Krad?”

“Yes.” Rowena nodded. “He left his throne to come after me. I never dreamed he loved me that much.”

The sadness came into Azzon’s eyes again. “You are fortunate to have such fathers,” he said. “Would that I had been such a father to my sons.”

“Perhaps you still can be,” said Darek. “It’s never too late.”

Azzon shook his head. “You don’t know my sons,” he said.

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