8 Ch8-A Hard Choice

CHAPTER 8 A HARD CHOICE Drake patted his arms and legs. Weird! Even though I look like a shadow, I still feel solid, he thought. Now that Astrid can't see me, I need to do whatever I can to protect this branch! Then he heard Opeli. "Ka, Astrid can steal your powers, but she can't steal your strength!" she yelled. "Knock that wizard down with your tail!"

第八章艰难的抉择德雷克拍了拍胳膊和腿。 奇怪!虽然我看起来像个影子，但我仍然觉得自己是实实在在的，他想。 现在阿斯特丽德看不见我了，我要尽我所能保护这根树枝!然后他听到了欧贝利的声音。 “卡，阿斯特丽德可以偷走你的能力，但她偷不走你的力量!” “用你的尾巴把那个巫师打倒!”

"Good idea!" Bo cried. "Shu, help Ka. Just don't use your powers." Astrid spun around and saw the Lava Dragon stomping toward her. Shu came from another direction, riding the air currents.

“好主意!”薄熙来哭了。“舒，帮帮卡。” 只是不要使用你的能力。” 阿斯特丽德转过身来，看见熔岩龙向她走来。 舒乘着气流从另一个方向来了。

"You won't stop me so easily!" Astrid cried. She raised her hands to start a magical attack. Tani dived under the waves. Her tail shot up out of the water, sending a foamy wave onto the shore. It splashed on the dragons and knocked Astrid off her feet.

“你不会这么容易阻止我的!”阿斯特丽德哭了。 她举起双手，开始了魔法攻击。 塔尼潜入海浪下。 她的尾巴从水里伸出来，在岸上掀起一股泡沫。 水溅在龙身上，把阿斯特丽德撞飞了。

Drake reached out to Worm with his mind. Worm, if you can sense where I am, come find me, Drake said. Transport us back to Bracken. We'll leave the branch there so it will be safe. Then we can return and help the others. I can find you, Worm replied, and he began to crawl across the sand. But before Worm reached Drake, Astrid jumped to her feet. She floated in the air, away from Shu and Ka. Astrid pointed at Manawa, Opeli, and Bo. "You know how strong my magic is, Drake," she said. "Give me the branch. If you do not, I will zap your friends' Dragon Stones. They will no longer be able to control their dragons. I will attack the dragons, and they will use their powers to defend themselves. Then I will capture those powers!"

德雷克用他的思想联系了沃姆。 “虫子，如果你能感觉到我在哪里，就来找我。”德雷克说。 把我们送回布莱肯。 我们把树枝留在那里，这样就安全了。 然后我们就可以回去帮助其他人。 “我能找到你。”蠕虫回答，然后开始在沙滩上爬行。 但在沃姆到达德雷克之前，阿斯特丽德跳了起来。 她飘在空中，远离了舒和卡。 阿斯特丽德指着玛纳瓦、奥佩里和波。 “你知道我的魔法有多强大，德雷克，”她说。 “把树枝给我。如果你不这么做，我就把你朋友的龙之石炸掉。 他们再也无法控制他们的龙了。 我会攻击龙，它们会用它们的力量来保护自己。 然后我就会获得这些力量!”

Drake froze. He knew what Astrid could do with stolen dragon powers. He had seen her breathe fire like a Fire Dragon. He had seen her turn living beings to stone like a Stone Dragon. If I don't do what Astrid wants, it will be bad. She would have the powers of a Lava Dragon, a Sea Dragon, and a Water Dragon. He shivered, thinking about all the damage Astrid could do.

德雷克冻结。他知道阿斯特丽德会用偷来的龙的力量做什么。 他曾见过她像火龙一样喷火。 他曾见过她把活人变成石头，像一条石龙。 如果我不按阿斯特丽德说的做，那就糟了。 她将拥有熔岩龙、海龙和水龙的力量。 想到阿斯特丽德可能造成的伤害，他打了个寒颤。

If I give her the branch from the shadow bush, she'll leave us alone, Drake thought. But then she'll also be able to finish the False Life spell. What should I do?

如果我把树荫下的树枝给她，她就会放过我们了，德雷克想。 但这样她就能完成假生命咒了。 我该怎么办?