15 Ch15-A Visitor

CHAPTER 15 A VISITOR Two gray beams of light shot from Shaka's eyes as Astrid moved closer to the portal. The dragon's power beams hit her. Instantly, the wizard's body turned to stone.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Shaka's body stopped glowing. Worm gently lowered the statue to the ground. Hulda walked up to her sister and touched her face. "Astrid is ... a statue," Hulda said. Mina joined Hulda. "I am sorry that I could not stop her from reaching the beasts in the first place." She looked down at the snow.

Hulda patted Mina's arm. "My sister was too powerful for her own good. No one could stop her alone. It took all of us working together to do it. And I know King Albin will be relieved that Astrid is no longer a threat to him and his people." "Can she break through the stone with her magic?" Caspar wondered. "She should not be able to escape," Jayana said. "But we will bring her to the Wizard's Council prison to make sure." "What happens now?" Drake asked, handing the pouch with the Tenebrex Stone back to Griffith. "Now you shall all go home and rest," Griffith said.

"I could use a warm bath and some onion stew," Drake admitted. Griffith turned to Jayana. "I will help you take Astrid to the prison. Can one of your wizards help get Caspar and Shaka back to Navid?" Jayana nodded. "I'll take care of it." Drake hugged Mina and Caspar good-bye, "Drake, you will always have a friend in Navid," Caspar said. "You are more than my friend now, Drake," Mina said. "You are my brother." Drake smiled. "I've always wanted a sister."

Griffith magically returned their clothes to the way they were before. Poof! Then Drake touched his dragon. "Let's go home now, Worm." The dragon transported them to Bracken, to the Valley of Clouds outside the castle. Drake yawned. "It's warm and sunny here," he said. "How about a nap?" That sounds nice, Worm replied. Drake slid down and rested against Worm's back. He closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, he felt something on his arm. He looked down, expecting to see a field snake, or maybe a toad. He blinked. A tiny dragon crawled on hims It wasn't much bigger than his foot. Green scales covered the dragon's body, and white flower petals sprouted from the dragon's head. The dragon's wings looked like flower petals, too. Drake sat up. His eyes got wide. "Worm, we have a visitor!"