The Scarlet Dragon

by Jordan Quinn

“Maybe he’s thirsty,” said Clara.

  They carried Ruskin to the wading pool. He just lay in a heap beside the water and didn’t move.

  “Uh-oh,” said Lucas. “Something’s wrong.”

  “You’re right,” said Clara. “He doesn’t look well.”

  “We’d better get help,” said Lucas.

  “You go,” said Clara. “I’ll stay here.”

  Lucas ran as fast as he could to the castle.

  Vixberries

  * * *

  The king summoned André and Grom to help the sick dragon. The wizards brought herbs, magic stones, and charms to the lair. They mixed garlic, red nettle, and raspberry tea. Grom laid a circle of magic stones around the dragon. Then Grom opened Ruskin’s mouth while André spoon-fed the potion. They rubbed ointment on the dragon’s scales and waved charms around his head. The wizards even gave him an herb bath. But Ruskin was still limp, and his eyelids drooped.

  André stood before Lucas and the king.

  “I’m afraid the hatchling is very ill,” he said. “I’ve seen this before. The illness comes on fast and rarely ends well.”

  “André, you have to help him,” Lucas pleaded. “I don’t want to lose him!”

  “Nor do I,” said the king.

  André looked grim. “There’s only one known cure,” he said.

  “What is it?” they asked.

  “A combination of mint tea and vixberries,” André said. “The trouble is, vixberries were once plentiful in the kingdom. But now they’re almost impossible to find.”

  “Nothing’s too hard for the king’s men,” said the king. “I’ll order a search party. Where shall I send them?”

  “The Starless Forest on the island of Burth,” said André. “The place where vixberries grow is said to be enchanted. It’s been a secret for generations, and no one knows just where they are.”

  “My men will scour the forest,” said the king. “I will reward whoever finds the vixberries with twenty pieces of gold.”

  “If Ruskin is to live, we’ll need the berries by sundown,” said André.

  “But that gives us only one afternoon!” cried Lucas. “That’s not enough time!”

  Lucas’s eyes filled with tears. King Caleb wrapped his arms around his son and held him close.

  “We have to have hope,” said the king. Then he took off to organize the search party.

  Clara put her hands on Lucas’s shoulders.

  “It’ll be okay, Lucas,” she said. “I have an idea.”

  Lucas wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands. “You do?” he said.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “But we have to leave at once.”

  Bren

  * * *

  Clara grabbed Lucas by the hand, and the two of them ran to the stables. After saddling Scallop and Lucas’s horse, Ivan, they hopped on and galloped over the bridge to Burth.

  “Where are we going?” shouted Lucas.

  “You’ll see!”

  Clara and Lucas thundered along a dirt road until they came to a stone cottage surrounded by orange lilies. Clara and Lucas tied Scallop and Ivan to a hitching post. Then Clara pounded on the door.

  A short, stocky troll with rosy cheeks and sparkling blue eyes answered the door.

  “Well, hello, Clara!” the young troll exclaimed. “Why the heavy hand? Are you delivering bread with your father today?”

  Clara shook her head. “No, Bren,” she said. “The prince and I have come to ask for your help. The scarlet dragon is very sick. He needs vixberries before sundown or he’ll die.”

  The troll’s expression became very serious.

  “What makes you think I know anything about vixberries?” asked Bren.

  “Because you told me about them one time, and nobody knows the Starless Forest better than you,” said Clara. “Can you help us?”

  Clara had known Bren ever since she could remember. They were the same age and often played together when her father delivered bread to his customers on Burth. Bren had shared magical stories about the Starless Forest.

  Bren sighed as he thought about what Clara had just asked.

  “The king has promised a generous reward,” said Clara.

  “Oh?” questioned Bren. “What kind of reward?”

  “Twenty pieces of gold,” Lucas replied. He knew that all trolls loved gold.

  Bren looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

  “Okay,” said Bren. “I will get you vixberries.”

  Lucas and Clara clapped their hands.

  “May we go with you?” asked Clara.

  “No,” Bren said. “The location is a secret. I’m the only one who knows. My father told me about it before he passed away.”

  “Please?” begged Clara.

  “No way,” said Bren.

  “What if something happens to you?” asked Lucas.

  “Then no one will ever know where the vixberries are,” added Clara.

  Bren knew this was true. He also knew he was going to have to tell someone about the vixberries someday. He was almost certain Clara and Lucas could be trusted.

  “Perhaps you are right,” he said. “But you must promise never to tell a soul.”

  “We promise,” said Lucas and Clara.

  “Okay,” said Bren. “Then we must leave right away if we hope to find the vixberries before sundown.”

  Bren gathered torches, water, and some leather pouches. He slung a wool bag with a long strap across his chest. Then he placed a worn felt hat on top of his head.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  The Breach

  * * *

  The children hiked through a field of cornstalks, which grew from the land that the trolls had farmed for hundreds of years. Lucas and Clara carefully followed Bren over a swaying rope bridge and into the Starless Forest. As they tramped along, Lucas told Bren about the baby dragon. The woods grew darker and darker. Soon it became too dark to see. Bren lit a torch for each of them.

  After a while he stopped and put a hand to his ear. “Do you hear that?” he asked.

  Lucas and Clara stood still and listened.

  “It sounds like rushing water,” Clara said.

  “It’s the Lost River,” said Bren. “Follow me.”

  Lucas and Clara stayed close to Bren. Soon he stopped again, this time beside two enormous boulders. Bren reached into his wool bag and grabbed a handful of dried lavender petals. He sprinkled them over the boulders. The boulders began to rumble. Then an opening appeared.

  Clara and Lucas gasped.

  “What’s going on?” Clara asked.

  “This is the Breach,” said Bren.

  “What’s that?” asked Lucas.

  “It’s an opening in the forest,” said Bren. “It’s the only place in the Starless Forest where the sun shines.”

  “But why?” asked Lucas.

  “Long ago, a wizard enchanted the place to protect the unicorns from being hunted.”

  “You mean unicorns really exist?” Lucas asked.

  “Yes,” said Bren. “But today only in the Breach.”

  “Wow,” said Clara. “No wonder it’s a secret.”

  “And a very sacred one,” Bren said. “It’s now the only place where the vixberries grow too. Follow me.”

  They climbed through the opening in the rocks. A tunnel twisted and turned before them. As they walked, the sound of the water grew louder. Then they turned a corner, and suddenly the tunnel was filled with sunlight.

  Lucas and Clara shaded their eyes with their hands. From the cave opening they could see a waterfall tumbling into a pool of sparkling water. A mother unicorn and her colt drank at the water’s edge. Wrens twittered. The ground was covered with forget-me-nots: tiny sky-blue flowers with a white inner ring and a yellow center. Butterflies flitted above the flowers.

  “Wow. This is paradise,” Lucas whispered.

  “It’s magical,” said Clara.

  “Come on,” Bren said. “We’d better hurry.”
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  They snuffed the torches and left them in the cave. Then they walked over to the water.

  “Over there,” Bren said.

  He pointed to some thorny vines that had climbed the rocks beside the waterfall. Plump white berries dotted the vines.

  “Those are vixberries,” said Bren.

  He handed a pouch to Lucas and one to Clara.

  The kids scrambled toward the vines and plucked the white berries.

  Plop! Plop! Plop! They filled their leather pouches. When they were done, they lit their torches and retraced their steps through the tunnel and out of the forest. By the time the kids got back to Bren’s cottage, the sun had already begun to go down.

  “You must go,” said Bren.

  Lucas and Clara thanked their friend and promised not to say a word about the Breach.

  “You’ll get your reward,” Lucas said.

  Bren nodded. “Hurry,” he said. “I hope it’s not too late.”

  Lucas and Clara hopped back onto their horses and raced over the bridge and up the hill to the lair.

  Wake Up!

  * * *

  “Is Ruskin alive?” shouted Lucas as he entered the lair.

  “Shhhh—don’t startle him,” said André, stroking Ruskin’s head. “He’s alive, but he’s very, very sick.”

  “Here,” said Lucas, handing André the pouches. “Clara and I brought you something.”

  “What’s this?” asked André as he loosened the strings on one of the pouches and peeked inside. “Vixberries!” he exclaimed.

  There was no time for questions. The wizards went right to work. André poured the berries into a mortar and crushed them with a pestle. Grom brewed some mint tea. As soon as it boiled, he poured it over the crushed berries. Then André stirred the mixture until it was blended. Grom opened Ruskin’s mouth, and André fed the dragon a spoonful of the potion.

  “Now what?” asked Clara.

  “Now we wait,” said André.

  They sat and watched the baby dragon. Ruskin just lay there. Grom checked Ruskin’s pulse.

  “Is he still alive?” asked Lucas.

  “He’s fallen asleep,” said Grom.

  “Perhaps you and Clara should get some rest too,” André suggested.

  “No way,” said Lucas. “I’m staying right here until he wakes up.”

  “Me too!” said Clara.

  “Very well,” said André.

  Then André went to the palace. He told the king to call off the search party and gave him the latest news. When André returned, he brought a loaf of bread and a large pot of wild rice soup with some bowls. Stefan followed with pillows and blankets.

  “King Caleb will allow you to stay,” André said to the children.

  They all ate supper as they watched over Ruskin. Grom set a plate of food in front of the dragon. Every few minutes Lucas checked to see if Ruskin was still breathing. Then, sometime before dawn, everyone fell fast asleep.

  And that’s exactly when Ruskin woke up.

  “Aaack! Aaack!” he squawked.

  Lucas opened his eyes to find the baby dragon sitting by his side and looking into his eyes. The plate of food beside Ruskin was empty.

  “Ruskin!” he cried. “You’re all better!”

  Ruskin squawked again.

  And it was true; Ruskin was well.

  The next day the king and queen threw a dragon baby shower for the whole kingdom. Bren got his reward, and Lucas and Clara honored their promise to keep the Breach a secret.

  And from that day forward, Ruskin began to grow. He also learned how to fly! Now the only thing Ruskin needed was training. Lots of training.

  But that’s another story.

  Hear ye! Hear ye! Presenting the next book from The Kingdom of Wrenly! Here’s a sneak peek!

  Lucas and Ruskin skipped past King Caleb on their way outside. The king was staring out to sea.

  Lucas turned around. “Is something the matter, Father?”

  The king sighed. “Perhaps,” he said. “We’ve had some troubling reports from the fishermen.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Lucas.

  “Giant waves in and around the Sea of Wrenly,” the king said.

  “Must be a storm,” Lucas said.

  “That’s my guess,” said the king, “but some say they’ve seen a large creature in the water.”

  “What kind of creature?” asked Lucas, becoming more interested.

  “Something big,” the king said. “Like a whale or a giant octopus.”

  “Or maybe a sea monster!” said Lucas.

  The king raised an eyebrow. “That’s ridiculous!” he said. “There are no such things as sea monsters.”

  Ruskin squawked.

  “That’s not what I’ve heard,” Lucas said. “My old nursemaid told me a story about a sea monster.”

  The king chuckled. “I know that story too,” he said. “The legend has been around for years.”

  “But how do you know it’s not true?” questioned Lucas.

  “Because it’s not,” said the king.

  Ruskin let out a long, low howl.

  Lucas and the king looked at him.

  “What do you suppose he is trying to say?” asked King Caleb.

  “I don’t know,” said Lucas. “Maybe that he believes in sea serpents.”

  JORDAN QUINN grew up in a fairy-tale castle in England. It had a spiral stone staircase, a moat, and a dungeon. As a child she liked to play hide-and-go-seek and ride her beloved horse, Prince Charming. When she wasn’t riding, she wrote stories about fairies, trolls, dragons, and wizards. Today, Jordan lives on a ranch in California with her husband, son, and a golden retriever named Sir Toots-a-Lot.

  ROBERT MCPHILLIPS has been involved in a wide variety of projects over the years—from illustrating greeting cards to animation. But he has always loved children’s books, and after many years he has turned his attention back to that. Robert makes his home in Wiltshire, England, with his wife, Sam, and their beloved cat, Silkie, who rules the roost.

  KingdomofWrenlyBooks.com

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Jordan-Quinn

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Robert-McPhillips

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

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  Copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Jacket design by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Quinn, Jordan.

  The scarlet dragon / by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Robert McPhillips. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (The kingdom of Wrenly ; 2)

  Summary: A newly hatched, rare scarlet dragon comes under the special protection of the king and Prince Lucas, so when the dragon becomes ill, Lucas and Clara set out for the forest of Burth to find the vixberries needed for a cure.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-9693-4 (pbk : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-9694-1 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4424-9695-8 (ebook) [1. Adventure and adven
turers—Fiction. 2. Dragons—Fiction. 3. Princes—Fiction. 4. Friendship—Fiction. 5. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction.] I. McPhillips, Robert, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.Q31945Sc 2014

  [Fic]—dc23

  2013010841