Sinners of Magic by Lynette Creswell

woven into a hard membrane running
down its back. On its head sat five horned peaks of flesh. Its eyes
were the colour of amber, giving an effect of hot, bubbling lava
floating around the cornea.
    ‘ Is this
dragon for real?’ Crystal gasped, her troubled eyes lighting up
with newfound curiosity.
    Matt appeared at her side,
peering with disbelief at the remarkable creature. The dragon was
so tiny yet perfect in every way; a real piece of magic.
    ‘ Yes,’ said
Tremlon with a smirk. ‘It’s as real as you and me.’
    ‘ It’s truly
amazing,’ Matt said, almost lost for words. ‘Why, it’s
beautiful.’
    Tremlon opened his mouth to
speak, but a short snort came from the dragon’s mouth and an
energetic flame of fire left its nostrils, taking them all by
surprise. The flame only narrowly missed their clothing and landed
on a pile of abandoned books left by a previous reader on the
opposite table. The books exploded into flames and smoke bellowed
towards the ceiling, and Tremlon was startled when the fire alarm
went off.
    ‘ Oh no, we
need to turn it off,’ Crystal cried, grabbing a magazine and
wafting the air above her head. ‘You’ll have the fire brigade here
in minutes if we don’t get these flames out.’
    Tremlon reacted by pressing his
thumb gently against the dragon’s back. The creature let out a wail
of protest and was forced to transmute. Tremlon stood back; the
dragon was gone but in its place stood a perfectly formed white
stallion. The miniature horse snorted and whinnied in panic,
kicking out its legs and its front hoof caught Matt’s hip.
    ‘ Ouch!’ Matt
said with a jerk. ‘Tremlon, will you stop messing about! Just
forget the party tricks and concentrate on getting rid of this
smoke before we end up in trouble!’ Tremlon nodded and then took a
long, deep breath, before blowing cold air into the direction of
the burning books. Ice and snow flew from his mouth, and like a
fire extinguisher the white mixture concealed the flames, putting
out the fire. His lips had turned blue and he wore a white, icy
moustache just above his top lip which in Crystal’s opinion made
him look like Jack Frost.
    ‘ Will that
do?’ he asked, wiping the ice from his lips with the back of his
hand. Crystal and Matt smiled with relief when the alarm suddenly
fell silent, their fear of him for the moment
relinquished.
    ‘ I am willing
to take you to my world if you’re ready?’ he said attentively,
assessing the situation. Time was moving swiftly and if he failed
to bring the princess back the consequences were something he
wasn’t ready to think about.
    He moved towards her, trying to
coax her to come with him.
    ‘ I promise
you, no harm will come to you whilst you are a guest in my
kingdom,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘If you agree to come with
me, then we must hurry and make our way to the Kingdom of Nine
Winters,’ he cajoled.
    ‘ Why does the
king want me of all people?’ asked Crystal, hearing the urgency he
was trying to hide in his voice.
    ‘ All I know
is that the king fears an uprising from another realm,’ Tremlon
explained, looking slightly shifty, and she noted he was unable to
look her in the eye.
    ‘ But that
still doesn’t explain what that has got to do with me,’ she argued,
realising she still held the rolled-up magazine she had used to
waft away the smoke.
    ‘ I don’t
know,’ Tremlon admitted, lowering his gaze and looking at his feet,
’but the king has made it clear to me that he needs you and I’m
sure you would benefit from a visit to our land, of that I am
certain.’ Crystal looked torn and threw the magazine onto the
floor.
    ‘ It’s the
chance of a lifetime!’ Tremlon pressed, pulling his lips into a
tight smile, ‘and you won’t get another chance like this
again.’
    ‘ But how will
I get there?’ she asked, glancing at Matt and shrugging her
shoulders. ‘It’s not like I can just vanish into thin air!’ A
sudden bustle of noise brought them back to