4 A Wizard For A Babysitter

CHAPTER 4 A WIZARD FOR A BABYSITTER Stop pushing me!" Rori shouted. "I'm not pushing you!" Drake said, moving away from her on the bench. It was the next morning. Griffith had asked Rori and Drake to sit quietly in the Training Room while the others got ready.

"Stop bickering, you two!" he said. "Stay out of trouble until Diego gets here. I will not leave for the Kingdom of Arkwood without another wizard here to watch over the castle." Then Griffith went to help Bo and Ana with their dragons. Sitting on the bench was boring. Drake kept squirming. And Rori kept complaining. "Why does Diego have to come watch us?" she asked. "We don't need a babysitter."

"Well, maybe Griffith just wants to make sure that Vulcan doesn't set the castle on fire," Drake said. He knew it was kind of a mean thing to say. But Rori was really bugging him. Rori's green eyes flared. "It was the wind!" "Maybe, but Vulcan was supposed to shoot his fire high up in the air," Drake reminded her. "And because you can't control your dragon, Worm didn't get to show what he can do!" Poof! The argument ended when a short, round wizard appeared in front of them. "Rori and Drake! Good. Please come with me," Diego said.

They followed Diego to Griffith's workshop. Diego pushed some papers off a table. He pulled a glass ball the size of a large onion from his pocket. Next, he put a circle-shaped stand on the table and rested the ball on it. "Come, look in the gazing ball," he said, waving his hand over it. "Let's see what we can see."

"What are we looking for?" Rori asked. "Some sign of Maldred," Diego replied. "And his four-headed dragon?" Drake asked. "The one you saw in your dream the last time you were here?" "Well Diego began. Rori interrupted him. "But we don't even know what Maldred looks like," she pointed out. Diego took a book from another pocket. He put it on the table and opened it to a page. "That's Maldred," he said. Diego pointed to a picture of a wizard with a pointy chin. He wore an eye patch over his left eye. He had a black mustache and a long black beard with a white stripe.

"But I am not looking for Maldred's face in the gazing ball," Diego explained. "I am looking for a red mist —a sign of his dark magic." Drake couldn't look away from the picture. The dark wizard seemed to stare at Drake right from the page. He was glad when Diego closed the book. Rori and Drake crowded around to look in the gazing ball with Diego. There was no red mist. Just a white fog. "Welcome, Diego!" Griffith called, walking into the workshop. "So should I be worried about Maldred while I am gone?"