"No last words?" the dragon said. "How disappointing."
* * *
Seth dangled from the ladder near the top of the knapsack. He looked down at Bubda. "The dragon got her. Kendra can't speak."
"Nothing you can do," the troll advised. "Live to fight another day."
With the flap closed, Seth had seen nothing, and the room felt none of the motion during the pursuit, but he had been listening to the frantic chase. He had no idea what perytons were, but he could tell there had been many of them, and that a dragon was chasing them. The thunderous roars had sent Bubda scurrying to the farthest corner of the storage room, where he now cowered.
"I'm a shadow charmer," Seth said. "I may be able to talk to the dragon."
"Better if we play a game of Yahtzee."
"Wish me luck." Seth pushed up the flap and climbed out of the knapsack. He was in a field beside Kendra, near a rippling pond. The dragon was bigger than he would have imagined: the horny head larger than a car, the claws longer than swords, the body a massive hill of flashing scales comparable in size only to a whale.
"Another one?" the dragon exclaimed in its ringing triple voice. "Similar aspects--siblings, I would suppose, but opposites, one dark, the other light. Have you a sharper tongue than your sister?"
Seth was no longer aware of Kendra beside him. He was unafraid, his muscles felt no paralysis, but he found himself utterly fascinated. Those eyes--jewels enlivened by a radiant inner fire. He lost all sense of urgency beneath the mesmerizing gaze.
"Double disappointment," the dragon lamented. "I take it silence runs in the family? Whom shall I devour first? Light or darkness? Perhaps both together?"
The dragon shifted its gaze back to Kendra, and Seth glanced over at his sister. Had the dragon said it meant to eat them? His head was swimming. He didn't want to die. He didn't want his sister to die. Bracing himself for dragon teeth, he took her hand. All of a sudden, cold clarity rushed through Seth's mind.
"Neither!" Kendra blurted, squeezing his fingers. "Shouldn't we get acquainted first?"
"She speaks," the dragon exclaimed, eyes narrowing. "Why the delay?"
Seth stared the dragon in the eyes. "We were overwhelmed at first." The dragon still looked impressive, but whatever spell had clouded his thinking no longer bothered him.
"We've never seen such a spectacular dragon before," Kendra agreed.
The dragon lowered her head near them. They could feel the humid exhalations from her wide nostrils. "You have spoken to dragons before?"
"Only a couple," Kendra said. "None so impressive as you."
"You interrupted my hunt," the dragon snapped. "I have not seen humans in ages. The novelty distracted me. You do not belong here."
"We don't plan to stay long," Seth said.
The dragon made a melodic humming that Seth took for a chuckle. "You disrupted my plans. Perchance I should return the favor."
"We don't taste good," Seth warned. "Kendra is bonier than she looks, and I don't bathe much."
"How about a game," the dragon proposed. "I shall round up the rest of your party. There were six others, I believe. I will devour the four dullest, and find a use for the others as servants in my lair."
"I think not!" called a stern voice. Seth turned and saw Gavin striding from the woods. He had previously seen him only in a photograph.
The dragon looked up. "A third speaker, nearly as youthful as the others. Neither light nor dark. I could sandwich you between the other two. What sadistic human sent younglings to Wyrmroost?"
"Kendra, Seth, get in the knapsack," Gavin commanded.
The dragon hooked a claw into the strap and flung the knapsack away. "Unacceptable."
Opening his mouth wide enough to show his molars, Gavin began to shriek and squeal in what sounded like magnified dolphin chatter. The dragon responded in louder tones, a cacophonous symphony of tortured string instruments. They screeched back and forth several times before the dragon turned her blazing gaze back to Kendra and Seth.
"You have a unique protector," the dragon acknowledged. "I had no idea that dragon brothers persisted in the world. Out of respect for his singular status and surpassing eloquence, I will spare you and your friends. Enjoy your reprieve. Do not linger here."
The dragon sprang skyward, vast wings unfolding. Seth raised an arm to shield his eyes from the brief windstorm. Once aloft, the dragon passed swiftly out of view, heading back toward the larger meadow.
Gavin jogged over to them. "You all right?" he asked Kendra.
"I'm fine. This is my brother."
"I s-s-s-suspected," Gavin spluttered.
Kendra grabbed Seth by his upper arms and shook him. "What are you doing here?"
"Easy!" He shrugged away from her. "What did you think? That I wandered off into the woods at Fablehaven to pout? Give me a little credit. I stowed away. Good thing I
did. Don't you get what happened? Together we're a dragon tamer!"
"I was impressed," Gavin said. "You were looking Nafia in the eyes and speaking naturally. None of the others would have been capable of that. I watched for a moment before speaking up."
"How are the others?" Kendra asked.
Gavin winced. "T-T-Tanu took a hard fall. I think it knocked him out. Warren was gored. He got hung up on the antlers of a peryton right at the start. It d-d-dragged him quite a ways. Sorry I lost track of you for a while. I was trying to help him."
"Will he be all right?" Kendra asked.
"He's hurt, but he'll recover."
"What did you tell the dragon?" Seth asked.
"I just talked tough. They think it's cute. And of course I used my claim as a dragon brother. I told Nafia you were all here under my protection." Gavin looked Kendra up and down. "You must be cold."
"I wasn't feeling it before," she said. Her arms were curled up against her chest. Seth could see her shivering.
Gavin trotted over and retrieved the knapsack. "Get inside and find a change of clothes. Things are b-b-b-bad enough without you catching pneumonia."
Kendra nodded and climbed into the knapsack. Seth closed the flap.
"Should we go find Warren and the others?" Seth asked.
"You read my mind."
Chapter 20 Griffins
They found Warren concealed underneath the tangled deadfall where Gavin had left him. Kendra was still changing her clothes inside the storage room. Dougan, Gavin, and Seth heaved rotten limbs out of the way. Looking up at Seth, Warren gave a wan smile, the right side of his shirt soaked dark with blood. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag," he muttered.