7. THE VALLEY OF STARFLOWERS

CHAPTER 7 THE VALLEY OF STARFLOWERS Oskar began to walk away. "Sorry I can't help you!" he said. "I have an idea!" Ana called out to him. "If you come with us to help the Flower Dragons, then we will help you find your father." Oskar stopped. "Really?" "Yes," Drake replied. "Worm can transport us to that castle in the blink of an eye. You won't have to walk there."

"Can we go to Graystone first?" Oskar asked. Drake shook his head. "No, we must hurry to stop the monster." Oskar looked thoughtful. Then he nodded. "Okay, let's get going! The sooner we learn what this monster is all about, the sooner we will find my father." Drake took the Dragon Stone from his pocket and put it around Oskar's neck. "This will help you communicate with Wildroot. We will explain on the way." Wildroot hopped onto Worm's neck. Wildroot will show me the way, Worm told Drake. We will take the lead.

As they walked away from the village, Drake touched his Dragon Stone. "Did you see how my Dragon Stone just glowed, Oskar?" Drake asked. "The stone allows Dragon Masters and their dragons to understand each other. I can hear Worm's voice in my head. He can hear my voice, too." "Oskar, why don't you try communicating with Wildroot?" Ana suggested. Oskar looked down at his Dragon Stone. "Okay," he said. "Hey, Wildroot! Why are you so small?" Ana glanced at Drake and shook her head.

Oskar waited. "Not glowing! I think your magical stone picked the wrong boy for this little dragon." Worm, does Wildroot feel any connection at all to Oskar? Drake asked. He says that Oskar is a turnip-head, Worm replied. Drake sighed. "I don't think these two will ever connect," he whispered to Ana. They walked for about an hour down the side of the mountain. Worm stopped as a valley opened up before them.

"This is the Valley of Starflowers," Oskar remarked, gazing all around. "It's where the grandmothers come to collect flowers for tea." Tiny white flowers dotted the green grass as far as they could see. "How beautiful!" Ana whispered.

Wildroot stood on his back legs. He began to sing. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ahhhhhhh... The air sparkled with glittery mist, and dozens of Flower Dragons appeared among the flowers. Drake gasped. "I've never seen so many dragons before!"