Power of the Fire Dragon: A Branches Book (Dragon Masters #4) Read online

  Worm, can you hear me?

  Are you okay?

  Worm didn’t answer.

  Suddenly, Drake didn’t feel scared anymore.

  He felt angry.

  “Leave Worm alone!” Drake yelled.

  Maldred laughed. “You do not even know

  how truly powerful this dragon is. I have

  known since the day I sent my spy orb into

  your castle. I saw his powers then. I knew he

  was the only dragon I would need to carry

  out my plan.”

  “Worm is

  my

  dragon!” Drake called out

  bravely. “How can you control him without

  a Dragon Stone?”

  Maldred held up the red stone. “This is a

  red Dragon Stone. Created by magic. Dark

  magic. With this stone, I can make any dragon

  follow my orders.”

  Drake looked at the red glaze in the hydra’s

  eyes.

  Of course! Maldred must have captured

  the hydra, too! And he’s making it attack us.

  What kind of bad things will Maldred make

  Worm do?

  Drake got a bad feeling in his stomach.

  “What do you need Worm for?” said Drake.

  “You already have a four-headed dragon by

  your side!”

  Maldred grinned. “She is powerful, but not as

  powerful as Worm,” the wizard replied. “Worm

  can move mountains. Worm can move armies.

  He can even make the earth shake. With this

  red Dragon Stone and Worm by my side,

  all

  kingdoms will bow down to me!”

  “They’ll never bow to you!” Drake yelled.

  But his whole body was shaking with fear.

  Where

  is

  everybody?

  Unless help came fast, Maldred would win!

  W

  orm! Can’t you do something—anything—

  to stop Maldred?!

  Drake thought. But Worm

  didn’t answer.

  “He's not yours! You can’t take him!” Drake

  shouted at Maldred.

  “Just watch me do it,” Maldred said with

  an evil grin.

  ROri tO TH

  e ReScue

  Drake watched helplessly as Maldred pulled

  on the hydra’s reins. The hydra turned away

  from the tower. The wizard began to fly off,

  with Worm floating beside him.

  Then Drake heard a loud roar. Vulcan came

  speeding through the air with Rori on his back.

  They had circled the castle!

  Vulcan stopped at the tower.

  “Climb on!” Rori yelled.

  Drake swiftly got on the saddle behind

  Rori. He put his arms around her.

  “Hurry!” Drake yelled as Vulcan took off.

  Drake’s stomach jumped. When he looked

  down, the ground was spinning.

  “Vulcan, stop Maldred!” cried Rori.

  Vulcan soared until he caught up with the

  hydra. Maldred slapped the reins against the

  hydra's back, spurring her to go faster.

  But Vulcan was fast, too. He flew over the

  hydra’s head.

  Then he made a big upside-

  down loop in the air.

  Drake gripped Rori

  and closed his eyes

  tightly.

  When he opened them, Vulcan was head-

  to-heads with the hydra.

  Maldred glared at the Dragon Masters.

  “You children are annoying me,” he said.

  “Hydra!”

  All four heads snapped to attention. Then

  all four mouths opened. Drake could see a

  green tornado swirling inside each one.

  “Vulcan, fire!” Rori yelled.

  “Make it big!” Drake added.

  Before Vulcan could attack, Maldred pointed

  a finger at the dragon. Sizzling red lightning

  shot out and zapped Vulcan. The dragon froze

  in midair.

  “Vulcan, fly!” Rori pleaded. But the dragon

  was like a big statue, floating in the air.

  Drake looked down. He and Rori couldn’t

  jump. They were too high up.

  “Hydra, attack!” yelled Maldred.

  T

  he hydra aimed all four heads at Drake

  and Rori.

  The poison will hit us!

  Drake thought.

  It

  melted stone!

  He shivered.

  TH e Red

  dRagON StONe!

  Suddenly, a bright, white light filled the air.

  Drake had to shield his eyes. He could hear

  the hydra squealing.

  The light faded, and Drake looked up.

  Ana and Kepri swooped down from the sky!

  Kepri was shining a sunbeam on the hydra.

  The four-headed dragon thrashed around,

  confused. The poison tornadoes shot sharply

  to the left, missing Drake and Rori. Maldred

  lost his hold on the reins and scrambled to

  grab them.

  Poof!

  Diego appeared on the tower.

  “Diego! You did it!” Drake said happily.

  “We came as fast as we could!” Diego said.

  Then Shu swept in, carrying Bo and Griffith.

  She flew to the tower and Griffith jumped off

  to join Diego.

  Shu can cure dark magic spells!

  Drake

  remembered.

  She cured Emperor Song back

  in Bo’s kingdom.

  “Bo, Maldred used dark magic on Vulcan!”

  Drake yelled. “Shu can heal him!”

  Bo nodded and steered Shu down to Vulcan.

  The hydra was still squirming under the light of

  Kepri’s sunbeam. Maldred struggled to control

  her. He couldn’t stop Shu.

  Bo whispered in Shu’s ear. A misty blue

  cloud floated from her mouth. Then a light

  blue mist rained down on Vulcan’s head. The

  mist shimmered in the air.

  When the mist settled, Vulcan began to

  flap his wings.

  “Vulcan, you’re okay!” Rori cried.

  Over on the tower, Diego and Griffith

  faced each other. Lightning shot from their

  fingertips, and a ball of blue energy began to

  form between them.

  “We can defeat Maldred, but we need time!”

  Griffith called up to the Dragon Masters.

  “Don’t let him get away!” added Diego.

  Maldred grabbed one of the reins. With his

  other hand, he shot a red beam at Kepri. Ana

  steered Kepri away, and the attack missed. But

  her sunbeam stopped, and the hydra started

  to calm down. Maldred held up the red stone.

  “Rori, can you steer Vulcan next to the

  hydra?” Drake asked. “If we can destroy the

  red Dragon Stone, I think Worm and the hydra

  will be back to normal!”

  “No problem!” Rori said. She steered Vulcan

  sharply to the left.

  Maldred held out the red Dragon Stone. A

  beam shot out, headed right for Vulcan.

  “Rori, look out!” Drake warned.

  R

  ori pulled hard on Vulcan’s reins, pulling

  him straight up. Drake’s stomach lurched. The

  red beam zipped past them.

  Vulcan dove back down like a hawk diving

  for prey. He flew so fast that Maldred couldn’t

  have hit him if he tried.

  “Now!”
Rori yelled as they sped past Maldred.

  Drake reached out and smacked the red

  Dragon Stone out of Maldred’s hand. It flew

  through the air.

  POOf!

  “No!” the evil wizard cried.

  The Dragon Stone hit one of the towers

  and shattered into pieces.

  “Yes!” Drake cheered.

  Pop!

  The red bubble around Worm vanished.

  The red in his eyes slowly changed from red

  back to green. Drake glanced at the hydra. All

  eight of her eyes looked normal, too.

  Worm turned to face Maldred. The dragon’s

  eyes glowed green. Then his whole body began

  to glow.

  Maldred floated up off the hydra’s back.

  Worm used the power of his mind to keep

  Maldred floating in the air!

  “Stop! I command you!” the wizard screamed

  as he dangled in midair.

  The hydra’s four heads looked around,

  confused. Then she flew away.

  “The spell is ready now!” Griffith yelled.

  “Everyone get away from Maldred!”

  The Dragon Masters quickly flew out of

  the way. The blue ball of energy between

  Griffith and Diego was the size of a small

  boulder. The wizards’ hair stood on end.

  They moved their arms, pushing the energy

  toward Maldred. The evil wizard looked

  angry as the ball of blue energy raced closer

  to him.

  “This is not over! Nothing can hold

  me

  !”

  Maldred yelled. And then . . .

  Poof!

  He disappeared.

  Everyone moved to the tower. The dragons

  hovered above the two wizards.

  “Did Maldred escape? Where did he go?”

  Drake asked.

  “He did not escape. We sent Maldred to the

  Wizard’s Council prison. It is quite magic-proof,”

  Diego explained.

  “I am very proud of all of you,” Griffith said.

  “Drake and Rori especially. You defended the

  castle. King Roland will be told of your bravery.”

  “Oh, no! King Roland!” Ana cried. “He’s

  going to be angry that we left

  ueen Rose’s

  festival in such a hurry.”

  “That is true,” Griffith agreed.

  “Worm can get us there quickly!” Drake said.

  Then he paused. “That is, if Worm and Vulcan

  are invited now.”

  Griffith smiled. “Everyone touch Worm!”

  he said.

  The Dragon Masters reached for Worm.

  Diego and Griffith touched him, too.

  “Worm, take us to

  ueen

  Rose’s castle!” Drake said.

  Worm’s body glowed

  green again.

  Whoosh!

  They all disappeared.

  T

  he Dragon Masters, wizards, and dragons

  appeared in the courtyard of

  ueen Rose’s

  castle. Drake’s eyes got wide as he took in the

  amazing sight.

  King Roland and

  ueen Rose sat at a head

  table. People from the Kingdom of Arkwood

  sat at other tables — all piled high with food.

  Everyone gasped at the sight of the dragons.

  Then they began to clap and cheer.

  THe Queen'S

  SurpRiSe

  “How wonderful!”

  ueen Rose cried as

  she stood up. “You tricked us, King Roland. I

  thought your dragons had left us. But that was

  just part of the surprise. They have returned

  with two

  new

  dragons!”

  King Roland coughed. “Yes, that is exactly

  what I planned,” he said. “Griffith, why don’t

  you introduce our new dragons?”

  Griffith stepped forward. “This is Worm,” he

  said, pointing to the brown dragon. “Worm may

  not look strong, but his mind is powerful. He

  is the one who transported us from Bracken

  to here — all in the blink of an eye!”

 

  Everyone clapped. Drake could hear the

  crowd whispering.

  “And this is Vulcan,” Griffith said, pointing.

  “Rori, show us what Vulcan can do — safely.”

  Rori nodded. “I can do that,” she said, but

  her voice was shaking. Drake guessed she

  was nervous that Vulcan might not listen.

  Suddenly, her Dragon

  Stone began to glow.

  Rori closed her eyes. “I

  can hear Vulcan’s voice

  in my head!” she cried,

  smiling. “It’s happening!

  We’re finally connecting!”

  Vulcan slowly stepped

  into the center of the courtyard. A thin flame

  streamed from his nostrils. One by one, he lit

  up the candlesticks on each table.

  ueen Rose clapped. “Wonderful! You are

  lucky to have such amazing dragons, King

  Roland. Thank you for sharing them with us

  today.”

  King Roland smiled. “They

  are

  amazing,”

  he said proudly.

  The Dragon Masters looked at one another

  and smiled.

  Now everyone knows how special you

  are,

  Drake told Worm, and his dragon smiled.

  T

  he next afternoon, the Dragon Masters

  went to the Valley of Clouds for flying practice.

  Before they could begin, King Roland marched

  in with his guards.

  “I must have a word with you all,” he said

  in his gruff voice.

  a New dRagON?

  Oh, no!

  Drake thought.

  Is the king mad

  about us bringing Worm and Vulcan to see

  the queen? But he seemed so happy with us

  last night!

  “Griffith has told me of a great battle that

  happened yesterday,” the king said. “A battle

  against a dark wizard and a four-headed beast.”

  “It wasn’t a beast,” Rori piped up. “That

  dragon didn’t do anything wrong. The wizard

  made

  it attack us.”

  “Still, it was very brave of you all,” the king

  said. “And I am grateful.”

  Drake could not believe his ears.

  Is this really

  happening? Is the king

  thanking

  us?!

  “Tonight, I am throwing a big feast in your

  honor,” King Roland went on. “Drake and Rori,

  I understand you have family in our kingdom.

  They will be invited.”

  “Yay!” Drake and Rori cheered.

  “I may even invite

  ueen Rose,” the king

  added. His cheeks got a little red. He coughed.

  “Since she is very fond of the dragons.”

  He turned to Griffith. “And you may invite

  that little round fellow who comes around.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Griffith said.

  “Diego will be pleased.”

  “Yes, thank you!” the Dragon Masters said.

  The king left, and everyone started talking

  at once.

  “A feast!” cried Bo.

  “I'll get to see my mom!” Drake cried.

  “And my dad!” added Rori.

  Suddenly,
Bo pointed up to the sky. “What

  is that?”

  The hydra was flying across the forest on

  the other side of the valley. The four-headed

  dragon swooped down and landed nearby.

  “Oh, she looks sad,” Ana said.

  “Ana is right.” Griffith said. “Come, let us

  see if the hydra needs our help.”

  Together, they slowly approached the

  dragon. Worm slithered ahead of everyone.

  He stood in front of the hydra for a moment.

  Then Drake heard Worm’s voice in his head.

  She is far from home,

  he said.

  But her home

  is not safe. She would like to stay here.

  “Worm says she needs to stay with us,” Drake

  told everyone. “Where she’s from isn’t safe.”

  “Worm told you all that?” Griffith asked.

  Drake nodded. “Yes. I knew that Worm could

  talk to other dragons. But this is the first time

  he’s shared their thoughts with me.”

  “So can the hydra stay?” Rori asked.

  “Of course,” Griffith said. “We will give her

  a cave of her very own.”

  The hydra slowly raised her four necks and

  stared at the Dragon Masters. Her eyes were a

  pretty yellow color.

  Ana approached her and gently stroked

  her neck.

  “I wonder what her name is?” Ana asked.

  Griffith smiled. “That will be for her new

  Dragon Master to choose.”

  “A new Dragon Master!” said Drake. “Really?”

  “Yes,” Griffith said. “The Dragon Stone will

  choose one for us soon.”

  “I wonder who it will be?” Bo asked.

  Drake smiled. “I can’t wait to find out!”

  TRaCey WeSt

  was born with

  red hair like Rori's, and she can be just