by E. D. Baker
“I think I’ll sit right here,” said Millie, settling onto the sand. “I don’t have the strength to go slogging through the jungle right now.”
“Will you be all right by yourself?” asked her husband.
Millie nodded. “The warm sand feels good. Wake me if I fall asleep.”
“Clarence can go with me,” said Liam.
“You don’t trust me yet, brother?” asked Clarence. “I brought you here just as I promised.”
“With a small detour on the way,” Liam replied.
The two brothers were still arguing as they strolled down the beach together. “I guess that means I’m with you,” Annie told Audun.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find the doctor,” Audun said as they started walking in the opposite direction. “Although we’d find him a lot faster if I change. Ice dragons have a real knack for tracking. I tracked Millie from the Icy North to Greater Greensward by following her scent in the air. As long as the doctor’s scent isn’t too old, there shouldn’t be any problem. Do you mind if I change?”
Annie glanced back at Liam and Clarence, who had reached the edge of the trees and were studying the ground. Neither one was looking their way. “Go right ahead,” she told Audun.
It took him only a moment to change. As soon as he did, he started sniffing the air.
“What do you smell now?” asked Annie.
“There’s salt air, of course, and a dead fish up the beach,” Audun began. “I smell seaweed, flowers, lots of vegetation, the musky scent of different kinds of animals and … Now, that’s interesting! I smell a lot of men, not just one. We’ll follow my nose and sniff out where they went.”
Sand sifted into Annie’s shoes as they crossed the beach. She stopped at the tree line to empty them out while Audun waited, his nose quivering. “They went this way,” he said when she was ready.
Audun led the way with his head held high one moment, then nearly touching the ground the next as he sniffed the air, the trees, the undergrowth, and the ground itself. The dragon was so big that sometimes he didn’t fit between the trees, so they had to backtrack and find a different way forward. Although they didn’t seem to be following a path, Audun left one wherever he walked, crushing the plants, rubbing against the trees, and knocking vines to the ground with his swinging tail. Annie liked the opening he created. Without a path back to the beach, she would have been completely lost.
Something overhead called out, drawing Annie’s eyes toward the top of the trees. Furry animals with long tails and humanlike faces sat on the branches, staring down at her. When one at the back of their group shrieked, they all started swinging from branch to branch, heading deeper into the jungle.
Intent on the scent he was following, Audun didn’t seem to notice the commotion. Nor did he notice the big spotted cat that appeared out of the jungle and ran away when it saw the dragon. Annie wondered if the smaller animals had been shrieking because of the cat.
“The scent is getting stronger,” Audun finally said. “The men must have stopped just ahead. I smell ashes, too. Someone had a fire near here.”
“Is that you, Annie?” Liam shouted from somewhere nearby.
“We’re right here!” Annie called back.
“I’d better change,” Audun whispered to her. “Clarence still doesn’t know that Millie and I are dragons.”
“Your secret might be impossible to keep for very long,” Annie said while he turned back into a human.
“I know, but I’m going to try,” replied Audun as he straightened the clothes on his human body.
They didn’t have much farther to go before they stepped out of the jungle into a clearing and saw Liam and Clarence. Millie was there as well, peering into one of the four grass huts that stood in a circle around a central fire. “There you are!” she said when she saw them. “Liam and Clarence found a short path that led straight here. They came across an enormous snake as big around as a man, so they got worried and went back to get me. What took you so long? We’ve been here awhile.”
“We got sidetracked,” said Annie, not wanting to mention that they’d been following a dragon’s nose. “Is the doctor here? Have you seen him?”
Liam shook his head. “We’ve looked in all the huts, but no one is here and the ashes in the fire pit are cold. The smaller huts are set up for sleeping. They’re probably for his patients. It looks as if the big hut is the one Ting-Tang uses. That’s where we found something interesting.”
Annie and Audun followed Liam to the biggest hut and looked inside. The space was cluttered with vials, bottles, and jars covering three low tables. Larger jars were stacked against the walls and a big pot of something gray bubbled on a table of its own. When Annie spotted broken vials on the floor and a jar lying on its side, leaking yellow goo, she knew that something was wrong. “What do you suppose happened here?” she asked.
“It looks as if there was a scuffle,” said Liam.
“Someone fought with the doctor and took him away,” Audun suggested. “See those marks on the doorframe? I think someone was holding on to the door while someone else tried to drag him outside. Maybe those men I smelled on the way here kidnapped the doctor.”
“You smelled some men?” asked Liam.
Annie glanced outside to make sure that Clarence couldn’t hear them. “We followed their scent here. Audun has a very good sense of smell when he’s a dragon.”
“I see,” said Liam. “Then maybe you’d like to track whoever took the doctor and see if you can find him. We need to start for home as soon as possible.”
“I can do that,” Audun replied. “Please tell Millie that I’ll be right back. I’ll see what I can find from the air. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“I’ll go talk to Millie,” said Liam, and left the hut with Audun.
Alone in the grass hut, Annie decided that she might as well look around. Generally, she didn’t like to snoop in other people’s homes, but this felt different somehow. It wasn’t so much a home as a work space, with the ingredients of the doctor’s trade evident in the jars and bottles and the strange things hanging from the posts that supported the roof. Long thin strips dangled from the ceiling on one side of the hut. When Annie took a closer look, she discovered that they were snake skins of varying lengths and colors. Dried herbs and grasses hung in another part of the hut alongside dried flowers that gave off the most intoxicating scent. Annie found jars filled with dried insects, including beetles as big as her fist and iridescent blue butterflies that were almost as big. Crushed red leaves filled another jar, and sticky golden sap glistened in a clay pot.
When Annie came across a folded sleeping mat made of woven grasses, she decided that it might be someone’s home after all. She was leaving the hut when she heard Liam shout and followed his voice to one of the smaller grass structures. When she stepped inside, Liam was wrestling his brother to the floor.
“What happened?” she asked, stepping out of the way as Clarence flailed about, nearly kicking her.
“I left him alone for a few minutes and he got into trouble,” Liam said as he wrapped a piece of rope around Clarence’s wrists, tying them together. “I found him rifling one of the huts, stealing Ting-Tang’s belongings.”
“The place is abandoned!” said Clarence. “Anyone could come along and take these things. Why shouldn’t it be someone who could actually use them?”
“What did you take?” Annie asked as she watched Liam tie his brother’s ankles.
“I don’t know—some weird stuff wrapped in leaves and a wooden mask.”
“First of all,” said Liam, “these buildings weren’t abandoned. The man was probably kidnapped. And second, these things still belong to him. It amazes me how you remind everyone that you’re a prince when you think it will help you, but act like a common thief when the mood strikes.”
“It was only a few souvenirs!” said Clarence.
“You don’t take souvenirs from someone’s home!” Annie told him.
�
��Where is everyone?” shouted a voice.
“Audun’s back!” Annie cried.
“Where did he go?” asked Clarence.
“To look for the doctor, of course!” Annie told him.
“Clarence can stay here. Annie, come with me,” Liam said, taking her by the hand.
Clarence grunted and tried to roll over, but it wasn’t easy with his hands and feet bound. “You’re not going to leave me like this, are you? What if I need a drink of water? Or what if that giant snake comes back?”
“I tied you up to keep you out of trouble. We can’t very well ask the doctor for help if you’re stealing from him! Don’t worry, we won’t be gone long,” Liam told him from the doorway. “I’ll shut the door. That should keep the snakes out.”
CHAPTER 10
Audun was a human again and was standing in the center of the circle near the fire pit. He was frowning when Annie and Liam joined him.
“I found the doctor, or at least I think I did,” said Audun. “He’s in a pit at the edge of a village deep in the jungle. I couldn’t get close enough to see into the pit because a group of men armed with spears surrounded it. Every time I tried to get close, they threw their spears at me. I was afraid that a spear might fall into the pit and hurt the doctor, so I came back to get you.”
“And you think Liam and I can get him out?” said Annie.
Audun nodded. “It should be easy. I’ll draw the men away and you two can rescue the witch doctor.”
“How deep is this pit?” asked Liam.
“I’m not sure,” said Audun. “I couldn’t get a good look. I saw plenty of strong vines while I was looking for the doctor. Tie a couple of those together and you’ve got a sturdy rope.”
“What about Clarence and Millie?” Annie asked.
“Clarence can stay tied up in the hut. Last I saw, Millie was asleep in a hut by herself,” said Liam.
“She’s exhausted,” said Audun. “I don’t think she got a single good night’s sleep during the entire voyage. I’d like to let her keep sleeping if we can. If I could find something to write on, I’d leave her a note. Have you seen anything I could use?”
Annie shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”
Audun scratched the dirt with his shoe. “I suppose I could write on the dirt outside the hut. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go.”
Annie and Liam waited while Audun found a stick and wrote a note to Millie. When he was finished, he checked on his wife one last time before returning to his friends. “Where exactly is this village?” asked Annie.
“I can take you there,” said Audun, “but we should leave the clearing if you don’t want Clarence to see or hear us.”
“Why should we … Oh, I see!” Annie said. Millie had given Annie and Liam a ride as a dragon once. It had been one of the most exciting and exhilarating things Annie had ever done. If Audun was offering to give them a ride, Annie wasn’t about to turn him down.
Annie and Liam followed Audun into the jungle. They were scarcely out of sight of the huts when Audun said, “This is far enough.”
He took a few steps away from them to a spot where the trees were farther apart. Annie held her breath as the air shimmered, and then Audun the dragon was there. “I didn’t realize you were so much bigger than Millie,” Liam said as he helped Annie climb onto the ice dragon’s back.
“I’ve been going through a growth spurt,” Audun told them. “Dragons grow our entire lives. Even my grandparents are still growing. You should see the king of the fire-breathing dragons. He’s ancient and the biggest dragon I’ve ever met. Are you settled back there?”
After Liam wrapped his arms around her from behind, Annie said that she was ready. She could feel the ice dragon bunch his muscles under her. Then suddenly he was launching himself into the air, spreading his wings with a snap. Annie and Liam bent low as Audun carried them between the trees. And then they were above the jungle canopy and could look down on the trees spread out below. It made Annie think of a vast green blanket edged with the ocean on one side and mountains in the far-off distance. Here and there rivers meandered across the jungle, relieving the green with a touch of blue. A flock of red and yellow birds flew just above the trees, their long tails trailing behind them. They didn’t seem to notice Audun until his shadow passed over them, making them squawk and disappear back into the foliage.
When he reached a broad river of a particularly clear blue, Audun turned to follow it. Tracing the river from above, they continued on until they reached the narrower line of a small tributary. This water was muddy colored, but it was still distinctive among the trees. As they moved farther up the smaller river, the ground below them began to rise. Angling higher, they skimmed above a narrow waterfall and saw that the surrounding land was becoming rocky and uneven. A long section of rapids churned the water to froth, calming when they rounded another bend.
Audun finally left the river behind, heading toward a gap in the jungle. He started circling then, going lower with each pass. Turning his head toward his friends, Audun shouted, “We’ll land here and I’ll tell you what we’ll do next. I don’t want to go too close, so we’ll have to walk a bit. Hold on!”
Liam tightened his hold around Annie, and they both bent low over the dragon’s neck as Audun angled more steeply toward the ground. And then the trees were rushing past and Audun slowed his descent with a few beats of his wings.
Annie couldn’t stop smiling as Liam helped her off the dragon’s back. “That was so much fun!” she said.
“And fast,” said Liam. “It would have taken us days to travel that far by foot.”
“Thank you!” Annie said as the dragon lowered his head to their level.
Audun shrugged. “You’re helping Millie and me as much as we’re helping you. There’s a village over there,” he said, pointing. “And the pit is that way.” He pointed in a different direction. “After we make a rope out of these vines, I’ll go to the village to distract the people while you take the rope and climb down into the pit to bring up the witch doctor.”
“You never did say why you think he’s in the pit,” said Liam. “And wouldn’t it be easier if you just went down there and got him?”
“I know he’s down there because there’s magic covering the pit,” said Audun. “And I can’t go down there because, well, I just can’t.”
“I thought dragon magic was stronger than any other kind,” said Annie.
“It is,” said Audun. “But I’ll frighten him if I go down there as a dragon. I’ll have to become human. I’ve never told you this before, but when I’m in my frail human body, I’m afraid of a lot of things that don’t bother me when I’m a dragon, including heights.” He looked away then, as if too embarrassed to meet their eyes.
“But you fly so high when you’re a dragon!” Annie cried.
“I know, but as a human I can’t go very high without getting all sweaty and making my heart race.”
“I had no idea,” said Annie.
“Only Millie knows,” Audun told her. “Please don’t mention it to anyone else.”
Annie glanced at Liam, then back at Audun. “We wouldn’t dream of it!” she told him.
“Vines, huh?” Liam said, gazing up into the trees. “Any chance you could help us collect them before you go distract the villagers?”
“It would be my pleasure,” said Audun.
While the dragon snapped vines with his talons, Annie and Liam collected the pieces, making a big pile. Liam showed Annie how to tie a strong knot that wouldn’t come apart, so it didn’t take long to make an extra-long rope. They added knots in the rope every few feet to help the climbers. After coiling up the rope, Liam carried most of it over his shoulder. Annie followed behind, lugging the rest in her arms. When they started in the direction of the pit, Audun headed for the village. Annie knew when he got there, because that was when the screaming started. They hid while people who had been near the pit ran past them toward the village to see what was going on.
“We should hurry,” said Liam when the area around the pit was quiet. “There’s no telling how long he’ll be able to distract the villagers.”
“I’m following you,” Annie told him. The mosquitoes had found them, and their constant biting was starting to make her irritable. When she swatted one on her arm, she nearly dropped the vines.
The pit wasn’t very far from where Audun had landed. Liam nearly fell in when the path ended abruptly at the opening. “Watch out!” he cried, staggering backward. “The ground is crumbling around the edges. Why would anyone dig a big pit on a path like this?”
“Either they wanted to trap people,” said Annie, “or no one dug it. The edges are crumbling like you said. I think this is a naturally occurring sinkhole. No one put this thing here.”
“What’s a sinkhole?” asked Liam.
“A place where the ground drops away, leaving a big hole. Usually there’s a cave or empty space underneath.”
Liam stepped closer to peer into the hole. “Hello! Is anyone there?” he shouted.
No one answered.
Annie moved to stand beside Liam. The pit was at least forty feet across and pitch-black inside. Even the top of the hole’s walls were so black that she couldn’t see anything.
“I guess we’ll have to go down and look around,” said Annie. “I hate climbing with ropes!”
“I don’t blame you after what happened with the witch and the crows at that tower,” Liam said. “You stay here and I’ll go down the rope. If the witch doctor is there like Audun said, I should be back up soon.”
“If you don’t mind … ,” said Annie.
Liam bent down to give her a quick kiss. “You know I like climbing. Let me tie one end to a tree, and I’ll head down.”
Liam soon had the vine secured around a sturdy trunk. Annie kept out of his way when he walked to the edge of the sinkhole and tossed the rest of the rope over the side. She gasped when it bounced and flew back at Liam.
“Ow!” he said, rubbing his chest where it had hit him.
