Dragon Tears Read Online Free Page A

himself.
    ∞
    “But we can’t leave tomorrow!”
    “Why ever not?” asked the wizard.
    “Because…” Patrik paused, thinking. He couldn’t tell the wizard about the dragon he’d seen or his plans to follow it back to its den. “Because we aren’t ready,” he said at last.
    “Nonsense. We can pack tonight and be ready in the morning, and besides, those lazy hay-burners need the exercise.”
    Patrik couldn’t suppress a groan. It was a three-day ride by horseback to the royal city: three days there and three days back, almost a whole week. By that time, the dragon could be long gone.
    The wizard stared at his apprentice with a quizzical look on his face. “What is it boy? You’d think I’d told you to water the horses with a thimble.”
    Patrik thought quickly. He needed to come up with a good excuse and he needed it now. “Well, for one thing, who would take care of Rat?” he asked.
    Now it was the wizard’s turn to groan. “By my beard, I forgot about that flame-cursed animal.”
    “The last time we left her alone, she broke through the windows and nearly destroyed everything in the house.”
    “I know, I know.” The wizard paused, thinking. “Wish we had never found her. Life was so much simpler without that mangy animal.”
    Patrik fought to hide his grin. He knew how much the wizard really cared about Rat. Ever since he had brought home the abandoned kitten, his master had doted on her as if she were a child. Part highland prowler and part village cat, the hybrid animal came and went as she pleased. As large as a dog, but with the instincts of a hunter, Rat returned every night for a bowl of milk and a plate of scraps. The one time they hadn’t been home to let her in, she had jumped through the closed window, shattering it. They’d returned home to find every kitchen shelf ransacked, and all the feather pillows ripped to shreds.
    Allard stroked his beard while he thought. “I suppose,” he said at last, “I could transport myself there and back.”
    This time Patrik didn’t even try to repress his smile. “That’s a wonderful idea.”
    The wizard pursed his lips as if he had swallowed something sour. “Yes, but using that much magical power is going to leave me exhausted. I would have to rest most of the day to even work up enough energy to talk to the king.”
    Patrik nodded. He understood the principles behind working magic, even if he couldn’t do it himself. Using magic required power, once that power was gone, it took time to restore it.
    His master scratched his head, the firelight making his bald dome shine like a copper-bottomed pot. “I suppose I could transport myself to my sister Lianna’s place, rest there until my power returns, talk to the king, and then transport back. That way I’d only be gone a day at the most.” His voice held a puzzled tone. It wasn’t like Allard to be unsure of himself. He turned to stare at his apprentice. “Do you think you can keep yourself out of trouble for one day?”
    Patrik nodded in solemn silence.
    “Hmph!” snorted the wizard. “We’ll see.”
     
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    Redwing approached Larkin as soon as he had finished singing in the sun. “I have an idea,” she said.
    “Oh?”
    “You seem to get in a lot of trouble because you haven’t learned to soar yet, and I thought maybe I could help.”
    “You think you can?”
    “Well, I’ve been watching you, and I think I know what you’re doing wrong.”
    Larkin turned his muzzle to face her, his great yellow eyes blazing green with excitement. “Tell me.”
    “I can’t tell you, I’ll have to show you. But first we have to get you up in the air.”
    He dropped his head in disappointment. “I don’t know how to take off either,” he said.
    “I know, I thought we could work on that too.”
    “You’ll help me?”
    “Sure, that’s what friends are for.”
    He curled his snout back, in the dragon equivalent of a smile and his eyes whirled brightly. “That’s