the clutches of a man who wanted to hatch them only to drink their blood and extend his life.
Emmy had to wonder what her mother would say if she knew what Emmy had done. There was a better word for Emmy than
autochthonous
. It was
trattor
! Oh, if only she could regain her powers and redeem herself.
Emmy was just about to open her mouth and tell Beowulf that Jesse and Daisy would never sign her over to him when her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. It was frozen stiff. The arctic temperatures were freezing Emmy, encasing her in an ever-thickening coat of ice. Inch by inch, scale by scale, with a creaking sound like a giant door shutting, the ice was stealing over her body.
Beowulf stopped his digging and approached her, his arms folded across his muscled chest. “Iprefer you like this,” he said with a laugh. “It will keep you out of trouble until you are completely mine. You should be pleased. With the continual supply of dragon blood you will provide me, your Keeper will be not only the king of Geatland but also the king of the world. Because the man who lives forever rules forever.”
Just then, Jesse and Daisy came sliding on their snowshoes toward the Interceptor. Emmy no longer had the power to cry out, as she wanted to with every fiber of her being. Oh, how she wanted to scream at her Keepers to run away before it was too late!
Frantically, Emmy tried to send them Mind Messages, but her Mind Message Center was out of order.
“I thought you’d return,” Beowulf growled at them.
Jesse and Daisy stopped just outside the ring of floodlights. The trolls dropped their shovels and moved closer, looking on with their goggle eyes. Beowulf started toward them as well, but Jesse raised his arm. “Keep your distance, Buster,” he said.
“Yeah, we don’t want to catch any dragon slayer cooties,” Daisy said. “And don’t even think of siccing the trolls on us.”
Inwardly, Emmy beamed with pride. How brave they were, her Keepers! How noble and forthright! And how
sassy
!
Jesse said, “We’ve changed our minds about signing our dragon over to you. If you want to draw up another contract, we’ll sign it.”
For a moment, Emmy was shocked.
Her
Keepers would never willingly give up their title! It wasn’t an easy job being a Dragon Keeper, but they liked it and were good at it.
Then Emmy thought about all the grief she had brought to them over the months they had been together. Still, surely the good times outweighed the bad. It had to be a trick.
Beowulf, apparently thinking the same thing, narrowed his eyes. “Why are you so eager to let her go?”
“Ha!” said Jesse. “Wouldn’t
you
like to know?”
“Wait a minute, Jess,” said Daisy. “He’s entitled to know.” Daisy turned to Beowulf. “It’s a lot of work being a Dragon Keeper.”
“Yeah, we never get to play like regular kids anymore,” Jesse said. “We want to go back to the way things were before we found that Thunder Egg, back to being mindless and irresponsible. But we can’t just give our dragon up for adoption. There areno adoption agencies for dragons. So you see, you’ve solved the problem for us.”
Inwardly, Emmy sagged. It wasn’t a trick after all. Her Keepers really
did
want to give her up. If that was the case, then all was lost and she no longer cared what happened to her or to any dragons, Autochthonous or Ethereal.
“Oh, and by the way, where
is
our dragon?” said Jesse.
“She’s standing right in front of you,” said Beowulf. “Like a mastodon, perfectly preserved in ice.”
Jesse flicked his eyes over at Emmy. And that was when Emmy saw it. There was something not quite right about Jesse’s eyes. Emmy had been so busy listening to what her Keepers were saying that she had failed to notice how they looked. But now she saw that they both looked a bit too shiny and colorful, like pictures in a slick magazine.
Were they under some sort of a spell? Was that why they were so ready to give her up?
Emmy had to wonder what her mother would say if she knew what Emmy had done. There was a better word for Emmy than
autochthonous
. It was
trattor
! Oh, if only she could regain her powers and redeem herself.
Emmy was just about to open her mouth and tell Beowulf that Jesse and Daisy would never sign her over to him when her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. It was frozen stiff. The arctic temperatures were freezing Emmy, encasing her in an ever-thickening coat of ice. Inch by inch, scale by scale, with a creaking sound like a giant door shutting, the ice was stealing over her body.
Beowulf stopped his digging and approached her, his arms folded across his muscled chest. “Iprefer you like this,” he said with a laugh. “It will keep you out of trouble until you are completely mine. You should be pleased. With the continual supply of dragon blood you will provide me, your Keeper will be not only the king of Geatland but also the king of the world. Because the man who lives forever rules forever.”
Just then, Jesse and Daisy came sliding on their snowshoes toward the Interceptor. Emmy no longer had the power to cry out, as she wanted to with every fiber of her being. Oh, how she wanted to scream at her Keepers to run away before it was too late!
Frantically, Emmy tried to send them Mind Messages, but her Mind Message Center was out of order.
“I thought you’d return,” Beowulf growled at them.
Jesse and Daisy stopped just outside the ring of floodlights. The trolls dropped their shovels and moved closer, looking on with their goggle eyes. Beowulf started toward them as well, but Jesse raised his arm. “Keep your distance, Buster,” he said.
“Yeah, we don’t want to catch any dragon slayer cooties,” Daisy said. “And don’t even think of siccing the trolls on us.”
Inwardly, Emmy beamed with pride. How brave they were, her Keepers! How noble and forthright! And how
sassy
!
Jesse said, “We’ve changed our minds about signing our dragon over to you. If you want to draw up another contract, we’ll sign it.”
For a moment, Emmy was shocked.
Her
Keepers would never willingly give up their title! It wasn’t an easy job being a Dragon Keeper, but they liked it and were good at it.
Then Emmy thought about all the grief she had brought to them over the months they had been together. Still, surely the good times outweighed the bad. It had to be a trick.
Beowulf, apparently thinking the same thing, narrowed his eyes. “Why are you so eager to let her go?”
“Ha!” said Jesse. “Wouldn’t
you
like to know?”
“Wait a minute, Jess,” said Daisy. “He’s entitled to know.” Daisy turned to Beowulf. “It’s a lot of work being a Dragon Keeper.”
“Yeah, we never get to play like regular kids anymore,” Jesse said. “We want to go back to the way things were before we found that Thunder Egg, back to being mindless and irresponsible. But we can’t just give our dragon up for adoption. There areno adoption agencies for dragons. So you see, you’ve solved the problem for us.”
Inwardly, Emmy sagged. It wasn’t a trick after all. Her Keepers really
did
want to give her up. If that was the case, then all was lost and she no longer cared what happened to her or to any dragons, Autochthonous or Ethereal.
“Oh, and by the way, where
is
our dragon?” said Jesse.
“She’s standing right in front of you,” said Beowulf. “Like a mastodon, perfectly preserved in ice.”
Jesse flicked his eyes over at Emmy. And that was when Emmy saw it. There was something not quite right about Jesse’s eyes. Emmy had been so busy listening to what her Keepers were saying that she had failed to notice how they looked. But now she saw that they both looked a bit too shiny and colorful, like pictures in a slick magazine.
Were they under some sort of a spell? Was that why they were so ready to give her up?
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