Dragon Masters #3: Secret of the Water Dragon (A Branches Book) Read online

  tracey

  west

  SECRET

  WATER

  DRAGON

  OF

  THE

  by

  Tracey West

  illustrated by

  Graham Howells

  Read All the Books

  1

  3

  2

  4

  SADDLE UP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  THE BLACK FEATHER . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  A THIEF IN THE CASTLE! . . . . . .

  THE WIZARD'S TRAP . . . . . . . . . . .

  BO'S STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  THE RAVEN GUARD . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  THE CHASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  SHU TO THE RESCUE . . . . . . . . . . . .

  GRIFFITH'S PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  ACROSS THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . .

  EMPEROR SONG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  THE WATER DRAGON'S POWER . .

  BATTLE OF THE ORBS . . . . . . . . . . .

  RISE AGAINST MALDRED . . . . . . . .

  1

  7

  12

  18

  24

  29

  35

  46

  50

  55

  62

  69

  77

  83

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this

  publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or

  stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any

  means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express

  written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc.,

  Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  West, Tracey, 1965-

  Secret of the water dragon / by Tracey West ; illustrated by Graham Howells.

  pages cm. — (Dragon masters ; 3)

  Summary: When Drake discovers that his friend and fellow Dragon Master, Bo,

  is trying to steal the Dragon Stone, he wonders if the dark wizard

  might be behind it, and he must try to find a way to protect the stone

  while keeping Bo's family out of danger.

  ISBN 0-545-64628-6 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-545-64630-8 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-0-545-64635-2 (ebook)

  [1.Dragons—Fiction. 2.Wizards—Fiction. 3.Magic—Fiction. 4.Stealing—Fiction.]

  I. Howells, Graham, illustrator.

  II. Title.

  PZ7.W51937Sct 2015

  [Fic]—dc23

  2014017064

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-64635-2

  Text copyright © 2015 by Tracey West.

  Interior illustrations copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.

  SCHOLASTIC, BRANCHES, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of

  Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, March 2015

  Illustrated by Graham Howells

  Edited by Katie Carella

  Book design by Jessica Meltzer

  fOr bOllie DunGAn ,

  because every girl detective needs a smarter, funnier sidekick. —TW

  Special thanks to Damien Jones for his artistic contributions to this book.

  S

  teady now,” warned Griffith, the king’s

  wizard. “We have never tried putting a saddle

  on a dragon before. I am not sure how she

  will like it.”

  Griffith and the Dragon Masters were in the

  Training Room, hidden beneath King Roland’s

  castle. A magical stone called the Dragon Stone

  had chosen Drake, Bo, Rori, and Ana to work

  with dragons. Griffith was their teacher. The

  Dragon Masters stood around a big dragon

  with shiny blue scales.

  SaddLe up!

  “Bo, bring the buckle under Shu’s belly,”

  Griffith said.“Now tighten the buckle. Good!”

  Drake watched his friend Bo put the saddle

  on Shu. She was a Water Dragon, so she was

  usually very calm. Shu stood still as Bo pulled

  the buckle tightly.

  “Good job, Shu,”Bo said, patting her neck.

  “Now can I put a saddle on Vulcan?” asked

  Rori.

  “And can we please ride our dragons today,

  Griffith?” asked Ana.

  “King Roland’s crafters are making a saddle

  for each dragon,” answered Griffith. “The other

  saddles will be ready tomorrow.”

  “Will there be a saddle for Worm?” asked

  Drake. He looked over at his dragon. Worm

  was an Earth Dragon. He had a long body, like

  a snake. He had no legs, and tiny wings. Worm

  couldn’t fly like the other dragons could.

  “Yes. Worm has a very special power. He

  can take you from one place to another in

  the blink of an eye,” Griffith said. “A saddle is

  a good idea for any type of travel.”

  Drake nodded.

  “It is time for dinner,” said Griffith. “Please

  put away your dragons and head to the dining

  room.”

  “Well, I hope

  I

  get to test Vulcan’s saddle

  first

  tomorrow,”Rori said. “Vulcan and I didn’t

  get to do anything fun today.”

  She marched off toward the Dragon Caves.

  Her dragon, Vulcan, stomped after her. He was

  a Fire Dragon with red scales.

  Ana followed Rori. She skipped along. Her

  dragon, Kepri, moved like a graceful dancer

  beside her. Kepri was a Sun Dragon with a slim

  body and white scales.

  Drake helped Bo take off Shu’s saddle. They

  put their dragons in their caves. Then they

  took the stairs to the dining room in the tower.

  After dinner, the boys went to their room.

  Drake touched his Dragon Stone as they

  walked. Each of the Dragon Masters wore

  a piece of the stone. It

  let them connect with

  their dragons.

  “Bo,” Drake said, “do you think Worm can

  go anywhere in the world?”

  “I think so,” Bo said. “He has very strong

  powers.”

  Bo opened the door. Then he froze. Drake

  bumped into him.

  “Bo, what’s wrong?” Drake asked. His friend

  was staring at his bed. His face looked pale.

  Drake followed his gaze. A black feather

  lay on Bo’s pillow.

  T

  hat’s strange,”Drake said. “We must’ve left

  the window open.”

  Bo sat down on the bed and picked up the

&nbs
p; feather. He looked worried.

  “Bo, it’s just a feather,” Drake said.“What’s

  wrong?”

  “Nothing. I am fine,” Bo said.

  But Drake didn’t believe him.

  tHe BlacK featHeR

  Bo was quiet as the boys climbed into bed.

  He rolled over and faced the wall.

  Drake could tell that something was bothering

  Bo.

  But why would a feather upset him?

  Drake drifted off to sleep, thinking about

  his friend:

  I hope he’s okay.

  When Drake woke up in the morning, Bo

  was sitting up in bed. He was wide-awake.

  “Wow! Have you been up a long time?” said

  Drake.

  Bo shrugged. “Um . . . I’m just excited to

  ride Shu today.”

  But Drake did not hear excitement in Bo’s

  voice.

  The boys headed down to breakfast. Ana

  and Rori were already eating.

  “It’s about time you two sleepyheads got

  here,” said Rori.

  “I can’t wait to get outside!” said Ana.“Last

  night, Kepri sent a picture to my mind. We

  were flying in the sky. She sends me lots of

  pictures since we made our connection.”

  Drake nodded. He and Worm had formed a

  strong connection, too.He could hear Worm in

  his head. His Dragon Stone glowed green every

  time it happened. But this hadn’t happened

  for Bo and Shu yet. Or for Rori and Vulcan.

  “I’m sure we will go right outside. Where

  is Griffith?” Bo asked, looking around.

  Rori shrugged. “He’s probably getting the

  saddles ready. Hurry up and eat!”

  Drake was excited to test out Worm’s saddle.

  He wolfed down his breakfast.

  “Let’s go!” Rori said as soon as Drake was

  done. Drake got up and put an apple in his

  pocket to give Worm. Ana grabbed Bo’s arm

  and pulled him off his seat. As they left, Drake

  looked back. Bo had hardly eaten breakfast.

  Downstairs, they found Griffith waiting for

  them in the Training Room. He had a serious

  look on his face.

  “What's wrong?” Ana asked.

  “Somebody tried to steal the Dragon Stone!”

  he said.

  The Dragon Masters gasped.

  “What happened?” Rori asked.

  “I always protect the stone with magic

  charms,” Griffith explained. “These charms

  cannot be seen. But they form an invisible net

  around the box that holds the Dragon Stone.

  And they can only be broken with a magic

  spell.”

  A tHief in

  the CastLe!

  “So how do you know someone tried to

  steal the stone?” asked Drake.

  “This morning, I found that something had

  upset the magic of the charms. They were not

  broken, but I could tell that someone had tried

  to break them,” Griffith answered.

  Ana gripped the stone around her neck.

  “If somebody steals the main Dragon Stone

  would our smaller stones lose their powers?”

  “No,”the wizard replied.“But someone could

  use the main stone to control the dragons. Or

  even to form a dragon army.”

  “Isn’t that what King Roland is doing?”

  asked Drake.

  “King Roland wants to use the dragons for

  good. I have known King Roland since he was

  a boy. He is a good man at heart. And as long

  as the stone is in my care, I can keep it safe.

  Safe from people like Maldred ...”He shuddered.

  The Dragon Masters looked at one another.

  “You mean Maldred the dark wizard? Is he

  the one who tried to steal the Dragon Stone

  last night?” Drake asked.

  The Dragon Masters all knew that Maldred

  had tried to get to their dragons before. They

  had never seen Maldred. But already, his dark

  magic had caused a lot of trouble.

  Griffith shook his head.“No,”he said.“Maldred

  would not have been so careless. He would

  have broken the charms using a spell. Our thief

  clearly did not know about the charms.”

  Drake glanced at Bo. His friend kept

  looking nervously over his shoulder.

  “To protect the Dragon Stone, I must find a

  better hiding place for it,” Griffith continued.

  “I will leave the castle right away to look for

  one.”

  “So there’s no riding practice today?” Ana

  asked. She looked at the finished saddles.

  “You may go outside and have a free day.

  But the dragons must stay inside,” he said.

  Then he hurried out of the room.

  “What do we do now?” Rori asked.

  “Well, we can still spend the day with our

  dragons,” Drake replied.“We can hang out with

  them in the caves.”

  “I — I must go,” Bo said. “There is something

  I must take care of.”

  “What —” Drake began. But Bo was already

  rushing off.

  “

  He’s

  acting strange,” Rori said, with her

  hands on her hips.

  Ana nodded. “Yes, he seems quieter than

  usual today.”

  “I think something is worrying him,” Drake

  said, remembering the black feather.

  “Maybe he’s worried about the Dragon

  Stone,” said Rori.

  As they headed to the Dragon Caves, Drake

  kept looking behind him.

  Was the thief still in the castle?

  W

  orm looked up as soon as Drake reached

  his cave.Drake took the apple from breakfast

  out of his pocket.

  “Good morning, Worm,” Drake said, holding

  out the treat. The dragon craned his long neck.

  He grabbed the apple in his teeth and ate it in

  one gulp.

  tHe WiZard'S tRap

  Drake sat down on the cold floor of the cave.

  “Somebody tried to steal the Dragon Stone

  last night,” Drake said. “Griffith is finding a

  new hiding place for the stone. So we have a

  free day.”

  Rori and Ana walked up to Worm’s cave.

  “Come on, Drake! We’re going outside,” Rori

  said.

  “Yeah, we don't want to be stuck in here

  all day,” said Ana. “Coming?”

  Drake shook his head.“No, thanks. I’m going

  to stay with Worm.”

  Rori shrugged. “Have fun in the dark! We’ll

  be outside!”

  The girls walked away. Drake started to tell

  Worm a story about when he lived back on

  the onion farm. Suddenly, Worm’s neck jerked

  up. His eyes glowed green.

  “What is it, Worm?” asked Drake.

  Drake’s Dragon Stone glowed, too. Then he

  heard Worm’s voice in his head.

  Bo

  .

  “What about Bo?

  Is he in trouble?”

  Drake asked.

  Worm nodded.

  Drake jumped up. He ran out of the caves

  and through the Training Room. He was on

  the way to their room when he heard noises

  coming from inside Griffith
’s workshop. But

  he knew Griffith had left the castle.

  Is someone in there?

  Drake wondered.

  The door was open a crack. He peeked

  inside.

  Bo was in Griffith’s workshop — with one

  hand on the box that held the Dragon Stone!

  Drake held back a gasp. Bo was reading

  aloud from a book. The words sounded

  magical, like something a wizard would say.

  The charms protecting the stone could only

  be broken by a magic spell

  , he remembered.

  Then a terrible thought hit him:

  Is Bo trying

  to steal the Dragon Stone?!

  Drake pushed open the door. He had to

  stop Bo!

  Suddenly, sparks shot out from the corner

  of the room. They hit the book Bo was holding

  and it fell to the ground. Griffith stepped out

  of the shadows. His finger was pointed at Bo.

  “Stop, thief!”

  Bo’s hands were shaking. He looked up at

  Griffith.

  Drake stood frozen in the doorway.

  “Come in, Drake,” Griffith said. Drake

  obeyed. The wizard’s eyes stayed on Bo.“This

  is very serious. I set this trap because I thought

  someone

  inside

  the castle had tried to steal the

  stone last night. I said I was leaving the castle,

  but then I hid in here. I had to see if the thief

  would come back. And he did —

  you

  did.”

  BO's StORy

  Bo looked down at

  his shoes. “I am sorry,”

  he said softly.

  “Bo, tell me why you

  would do such a thing,”

  Griffith said.

  “I ...” Bo looked up.

  “I cannot say.”

  “Please, Bo!” Drake

  blurted out. “I

  know

  you! You wouldn’t

  steal anything. You

  have to explain.”

  Griffith looked into