by Megan Atwood
Peter shook his head. “No, sorry. I’m talking about a movie. A girl gets lost in a tornado and then she’s in a different land and everyone looks like someone she knows . . .” But Peter trailed off. Kai’s face was scrunched in confusion. And Lithliel said, “What’s a movie?”
“Uh, never mind,” Peter said, and kept walking, watching the elves around him wave to them. He waved back every once in a while, but self-consciously.
Kai’s voice behind him said, “There was no tornado. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Just need to find my heart, brain, and courage, I guess,” Peter said, and then smiled as Lithliel and Kai frowned at him. For some reason, he found it pretty funny that they had no idea what he was talking about.
They came upon what seemed to be an open market, and the food smell was overwhelming. Peter’s mouth watered, even though he’d just had the delicious pastry. Bread and some type of meat and maybe some cheese smell filled the air. He wished he was hungry still—he would have loved to try every food there.
But the three of them walked their horses quickly through the market. Here and there an elf would stop them and shake their hands. Cries of “Thank goodness for you!” and “Be careful!” rang out. Peter had never felt more visible. It made him uncomfortable, but it also strengthened his resolve: he had to help these elves. Especially since they all seemed so similar to the people in New Amity. In the short time he’d lived there, the people in the town had become important to him. He loved his community, and he would do anything to help them out. He would do the same for these elves.
Finally they came to the edge of the market, and they got onto their horses. The mountain stood in the distance, but somehow way too close. As if on cue, as if the dragon could see them, they heard a huge roar that made the ground shake. Peter looked back at the elves in the market. They were all ducking, some of them hiding under their tables. He hated to see them so scared. And though he, too, was scared, Peter knew it was time to help.
Kai, Lithliel, and Peter looked at each other.
Peter, tamping down his fear, said, “Let’s go.” He nudged Samson and they took the lead.
CHAPTER 10
The Dragon
As they rode to the mountain—which seemed to be getting closer way too fast—the words Mariel had said kept echoing in Peter’s ears: “You’ll know what to do.”
Peter wasn’t so sure. He rarely knew what to do. Didn’t Olive always speak for him? Didn’t everyone talk over him? Didn’t his dads think he couldn’t do anything?
He looked at Kai, who was now in front of him. Lithliel was in front of Kai, leading the group to the place where the dragon lived. If Peter could just be more like Kai . . . Kai didn’t seem to be unsure of anything. He seemed to know exactly what to say and what to do. He hadn’t hesitated once during this whole adventure.
And Kai was counting on Peter to be a good sidekick. Somewhere, deep inside Peter, something squirmed at the word “sidekick.” Still, he would be lucky enough to do that right.
As if he sensed Peter looking, Kai turned around and said, “I don’t know what the witch was talking about. But I think she isn’t thinking right. We have to kill the dragon. She’s going to eat everyone—it’s the sensible thing to do.”
Peter swallowed but didn’t say anything. He leaned over and petted Samson to buy some time. Somehow, he couldn’t disagree with Kai. He didn’t want to lose Kai as a friend. And he didn’t want to lose the feeling that he belonged.
He changed the subject, and as soon as the first question came out, he realized he had a million more behind it. “Kai, do you live in that cottage I found you in?” he asked. “Are your parents there too? Do you live in this land as much as you live in our world? Where did the mirror come from? When you said you were waiting for me, how did you know I’d come? How are we going to get back—”
Kai laughed loudly and said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. One thing at a time. But the most important thing first: we may have to go back suddenly. We don’t know how much time we have here. Or . . .” Kai looked toward the mountain. His voice got sadder. “Or you might stay here forever. There are some things we don’t have control over.”
Peter said, “Wait, what? Stay here forever? What do you mean, we might have to go back suddenly?”
Kai said, “Let’s worry about that later.” Then he nudged his horse and went farther up the road, past Lithliel. All three horses started trotting—not Peter’s favorite thing.
The rhythm of the trot made Peter stop talking. Every step was jarring, and he suddenly felt out of sorts. There were too many unanswered questions. Some pretty big questions he realized he should have asked much earlier.
Another roar shook the ground, but this time it felt much closer. Peter had to put his hands over his ears. When it was over, Lithliel looked back grimly at Peter and Kai. “We’re close. Be prepared,” she said, and then faced front again.
Peter put the questions out of his mind. He’d think about them after the dragon was defeated. Or whatever it was he had to do. If the witch was supposed to give him confidence, she’d failed. Peter just felt confused about everything now.
The horses had moved off the grassy plains and had started up a steep, rocky path. They’d reached the mountain. Peter looked all the way up—the mountain stretched into the clouds. The land was barren except for rocks and gray, ashy dirt. And way up the path, Peter could see a large plateau, with what looked like a huge cave. He thought he saw smoke puff out from the cave.
Peter said, “So, I guess we found the dragon, huh?”
Lithliel got off her horse. “We’ll need to walk from here. It’s too steep and rocky for the horses.”
Peter got off Samson and stood nervously. He patted Samson and leaned into him. He didn’t want Samson to go. “Where will we tie them up?”
Lithliel said, “Hiyah!” and smacked her horse on the rump. The horse ran down the hill to the prairie, where it stopped and looked at her. Then it started eating grass. Lithliel grinned. “This is like heaven for horses. I’m pretty sure they’ll stay here.”
Kai got off his horse and smacked its rump too. The horse took off and stood by Lithliel’s.
“Bye, Samson. Please don’t leave the grass. I want to see you when I come back.” Peter went to smack Samson on the rump, but the horse gave him a look and then trotted primly to the other two horses, where he immediately started eating.
Peter giggled. He giggled a little too long—nerves made him just a little hysterical. Finally, he managed to stop himself—Kai and Lithliel were staring at him in confusion.
“Uh, should we go?” he asked, if only to get them to stop staring.
Kai grinned. “Oh, yeah.” He looked way too excited to be facing a huge, menacing dragon. He turned around and started climbing. Lithliel followed him, and Peter brought up the rear.
The path got steeper and steeper. And the rocks got rockier. More than once, Peter slipped and skidded a little way down. Lithliel and Kai did too, and at one point, Peter was pretty sure all three of them were going to skid down the mountain. But they managed to find enough footholds to climb to the plateau. When they reached the edge, Kai and Lithliel climbed around the ledge of the plateau and held on, peeking their heads above the edge to view the cave. Peter joined them, trying hard not to look down. The edge of the plateau hung in space. And although there were good footholds, they weren’t incredibly big, and suddenly Peter missed the security of the rocky path.
Kai whispered, “She seems to be sleeping now. Maybe we didn’t need the witch’s powder after all.”
Sure enough, the puffs of smoke Peter had seen earlier were accompanied by a soft snore. Something about that snore made Peter feel fond of the dragon. There was something so human about snoring. He heard murmurs, too, and realized the dragon was talking in her sleep.
“So, Lithliel, you sneak in and throw this sleeping powder, and then Peter and I will come in and pierce her heart.” Kai looked at them. Lithliel hesi
tated but nodded. Peter knew this was probably hard for her—as a warrior, she probably always did the piercing.
Peter also didn’t feel good about this plan. It seemed so . . . mean. . . .
He cleared his throat and tried to find his voice. “Um, well . . . ,” he started. “If . . . why don’t . . .” He stopped in frustration. No wonder Olive talked for him all the time! He couldn’t find words ever! He shook his head and tried again. “Mariel said we could try to, I don’t know, talk her out of being a dragon or something?” The minute he said it, he felt silly. Had she really said that? It didn’t help that both Kai and Lithliel were giving him disapproving looks.
“I don’t know what she meant,” Lithliel said. “That seems too dangerous. I vote we go right for the heart.”
Kai nodded. “I agree.” Both of them looked at Peter expectantly. He sighed. Something in him just couldn’t agree. There seemed to be something wrong with putting a creature to sleep and then killing it. Peter didn’t want to kill anything.
“I just think we should try something besides killing her, is all,” he said.
“Like what?” Kai whispered impatiently.
Peter was at a loss. “I guess talking to her?”
A voice above them boomed, “And just what would you have to say?” Peter looked up. Right into the gigantic eye of the dragon. He heard Kai and Lithliel yell as they got swept up in one of the dragon’s huge claws. And he felt himself lifted up in the dragon’s other claw. He, Kai, and Lithliel soared up higher than Peter would have thought possible. Now the ground was far below.
The dragon held them like toys. Her voice boomed. Something about her eyes and her voice was familiar. But Peter couldn’t place it.
And anyway, there were other things to think about at that exact moment.
“Pardon me for interrupting your plans to kill me. Now tell me, brave ones. Just what would ever stop me from eating you right now?” the dragon said, smiling and showing teeth as big as Peter was tall.
For the millionth time in his life, Peter couldn’t think of one thing to say.
CHAPTER 11
A Choice
Peter watched as Kai struggled to get to his pocket. Lithliel seemed to be in pain, squashed up against Kai. Peter had to act quickly. He found his voice and tried to keep the tremor from it.
“Uh, Ms. Dragon, we have a deal for you. If you could so kindly put us down, we’ll talk about your, um”—he searched for the word Kai had used—“tributes.”
The dragon blinked and then made a sound that Peter assumed must be dragon laughter. It rumbled all through her body. She said, “All right . . . I guess we can talk about the tributes. Will the elves make the deadline? Or will I have to ravage the entire land?”
The wind whooshed past Peter’s ears as the dragon set him down. Kai and Lithliel reached the ground at the same time, and Peter saw Kai reach into his pocket, a fierce look on his face.
Peter caught Kai’s glance and gave a little head shake. Kai frowned. Peter tried to communicate everything with his eyes: “Just wait. I might be able to do this.”
Even the thought made him shiver. But this dragon seemed to be listening to him. He had to try another way. He felt it deep down, just like Mariel had said.
Kai gave him a disapproving look but stopped moving. He kept his hand near his pocket, though.
“Well?” said the dragon, exhaling hard. So hard it almost knocked them all back. Peter was suddenly aware of how little he was compared to the dragon. This seemed like a fool’s errand—he was going to talk a dragon out of eating people? Most of the time he could barely talk at all!
He thought of Olive—she would normally jump in right about now. She used to say what was on his mind so that he wouldn’t have to. That had been really annoying. But now that the focus was all on him, he found himself desperately wishing she was right there beside him.
Not to mention, the dragon could snap him up in her jaws at any moment. The thought made Peter weak in the knees.
What had Mariel said? Listen to his heart? Right now his heart was beating a million miles a minute. He took a deep breath. Then another. Then he closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartbeat down. He felt the stillness he’d felt at Mariel’s house take over.
And he heard.
He heard a quiet voice telling him that the dragon was lonely. And he saw things, too. He saw a woman—a witch—who had been driven out of a village. She had just been trying to help—she’d offered her services and her magic, but no one seemed to understand. He saw flames and angry faces. And a scared, lonely, good elf-witch driven to sadness because she was so misunderstood. That sadness had turned to rage and had grown inside her. Until finally, the loneliness and sadness had burst out. And she had become a dragon.
She’d just been trying to help.
Peter felt a tear slide down his cheek. The dragon was so much more than a dragon.
He opened his eyes. “I . . . uh,” he started. He swallowed and took another breath. He let the stillness come over him. When he started again, his voice was strong. “I know who you are,” he said.
The dragon scoffed. “I highly doubt that, boy. What could you possibly know? Who do you think you are?”
Kai said angrily, “What right do you have to question us, Dragon? We’re not the evil ones here!”
But Peter shook his head at Kai. He stepped forward. “I’m Peter. And I have something to say.”
The dragon started rumbling. “Why should I listen to you?” she said, her voice getting louder and louder. Peter had the urge to cover his ears again, but he resisted.
He said simply, “Because I am listening to you.”
The dragon blinked.
“I know you were turned away by your village. And I’m so sorry about that. I know how hard that must be. See, I just . . . I just moved. And I love my new friends, but I don’t know where I fit. And my sister . . . she always . . . Never mind. It’s not the same, I know. But I feel lonely too and like I don’t belong.” He wasn’t quite sure where to go from there. But he could tell that the dragon was listening to him. He felt her leaning in, her great big eyes trained on him.
He realized that the best thing he could do right now was to actually stop talking and . . . listen. Something he used to be really good at. “What happened with you?” he asked quietly.
The dragon blinked and then exhaled, more slowly this time. She lay down so that her claws were outstretched, enclosing the three of them in a half-circle. Lithliel looked fascinated. She stared at Peter with wide eyes and the beginning of a smile. Kai still looked angry, for some reason. But Peter focused his attention back on the dragon.
Her voice sounded smaller. “I was a healer in a village, years and years ago. So many years I can’t remember. A little girl came to me with a strange cut—I tried to heal her. I used all my magic. But nothing seemed to work. I got desperate and tried many different things, going to the ends of the earth. Finally, I thought I’d found the cure. But while I was gone, something had come over the town. I don’t know what it was. A sickness. A sickness that resisted any healing. A sickness of the soul. And one by one, the villagers turned on me. These were my friends, you see. My family. When witches adopt a village, they adopt everyone in it. They become her family, and she cares for them as for her own children.”
A huge tear traveled down the dragon’s cheek. “It broke my heart. I walked the land, sobbing, devastated. Then I got really angry. And then one day, I woke up like this. A big dragon. A really, really, hungry dragon.”
Peter wiped his own eyes. “How awful,” he said. “That must have been terrible for you.”
The dragon didn’t answer, but her body shuddered, and Peter saw more huge tears splash on the ground.
He moved closer. He knew it wasn’t the best idea, but he couldn’t help himself. He edged close to her head, her large eye following him the whole way. She didn’t look wary anymore—just tired and sad. Peter leaned up against her face and hugged her. “I
’m sorry that happened to you.”
When he touched her, a vision flashed in his head. He saw her name as clear as day: Genevieve. Her name was Genevieve.
He stood back. Just as he was about to say her name out loud—let her know she was seen, and seen as she truly was—Kai yelled, “Duck, Peter!”
Peter watched in horror as Kai threw powder at the dragon. “NOOOOOO!” he yelled. And then everything happened at once. The dragon reared up, throwing Peter several feet away. He watched helplessly as Lithliel drew her sword and the dragon cried, “TRICKSTERS! How dare you! You are all the same!” Her tail flailed and knocked rocks off the entrance of the cave. Peter watched as the sleeping powder Kai had thrown took effect. And just as the dragon’s head came crashing down on the ground next to Peter, a rock from the cave came crashing down on Peter.
Right on his head.
CHAPTER 12
Back in the World
Peter! Peter! Peter!” he heard, his eyes shut and his head aching. He heard a strange beeping sound in his right ear. Things felt soft all around him, and he smelled something familiar.
And then he heard a familiar voice. “He just yelled ‘No,’ ” the voice next to him said. He realized it was Olive.
He struggled to open his eyes. After a few seconds, one eye opened. “Where . . . ,” he said, his voice sounding croaky. He opened his other eye.
Olive stood at one side of his bed, her face worried and her eyes teary. Then he saw his dad and his other dad leaning right over her. On his other side were Lizzie and Sarah. And he heard rustling farther over and saw Tabitha and Albert Garrison there too.
“I have to help the dragon,” Peter said, his voice still croaky and small. But no one heard him because they’d all let out a cheer.
“He’s awake!” Sarah whispered loudly. Peter had no idea how a person could whisper as loudly as she could. Her whisper was actually louder than his normal voice.
