Island of Dragons Read Online Free Page B

into,” he said brightly. “You can leave the room big. I like it like this. It gives me lots of room to spread out my plant cuttings to dry.”
    â€œAll right,” Alex said. He turned to go, and then paused and looked over his shoulder. “You should go outside and get some fresh air sometime, you know? Try some new spells. Swim. Have fun.”
    Henry looked up from his work again. “This is fun,” he said. He got up from his chair. “But I do need to go outside, actually, to get some more roots.”
    â€œGreat. I’ll tag along. Maybe you can teach me something.”
    â€œDoubtful,” Henry said with a smile, “but I’ll try.”
    The two headed outside past Simber and Florence and strolled over the lawn toward Henry’s greenhouse area. But they didn’t get far before Alex noticed Spike Furious circling just offshore.
    â€œHmm,” Alex said, narrowing his eyes. “One second, Henry.” Alex jogged to the water’s edge. “Is everything all right, Spike?” he called out to the whale.
    â€œThe Alex!” shouted Spike. “I have been waiting for you with important news!”
    Henry joined Alex.
    â€œNews from whom?” asked Alex.
    â€œIt is from Pan, the coiled water dragon who rules the sea!”
    â€œReally?” Alex said. “She came to you? What did she say?”
    Spike trumpeted water from her blowhole. “She said these words exactly: ‘Tell Alex that Karkinos the crab is gravely ill and rapidly losing strength, and he has begun drifting westward. Have you found a way to save him? There isn’t much time.’ ”
    â€œOh no,” muttered Alex. “He’s headed toward the waterfall.” He took a few steps into the water, muttering something unintelligible. And then he called out, “How much time does Karkinos have to live?”
    â€œOnly days,” Spike said. “I can feel his approaching death in the water.”
    â€œCripes,” muttered Alex.
    â€œAlex,” Henry asked, “what’s this all about? Lani mentioned once that Karkinos was sick, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”
    Alex turned and waded back to shore. “It . . . well, to be perfectly honest, Karkinos hasn’t exactly been my top priority with everything else going on. But Pan told me he was getting worse a few months ago when we rescued Kaylee and Aaron.” Alex shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling helpless. He gave Henry an imploring look. “How much medicine have you got on hand?”
    â€œIt depends,” said Henry. “What kind do you need? What’s wrong with him?”
    â€œNobody really knows,” said Alex. “But if he drifts over the waterfall, he might not be the only one who dies. We have to do something.”
    Henry looked perplexed. “Karkinos is enormous,” he said. “Even if I knew what kind of medicine he needed, I wouldn’t have enough.”
    Alex shook his head. “Islands aren’t supposed to die,” he muttered. Quickly he went through his options. If they couldn’t save Karkinos, they had to at least save Talon, Lhasa, Bock . . . He began listing off the inhabitants to see if they all would somehow fit in the magical white boat. But Talon was likely as heavy as Florence, and then add to that all the hundreds of dropbears and the hibagon and Vido the rooster . . . He shook his head. Even if Talon could fly the whole way, there was no way they could fit even a small percentage of the others on the boat.
    â€œWe’d have to take the pirate ship to rescue them,” Alex said, looking at the patched but seaworthy vessel standing in the lagoon. “But it would take days to get there in that thing. There’s not enough time!”
    Henry racked his brain, mentally going over all the medicinal stores. He had quite a lot now, but what a waste it would be if they