Free The Lazy Dragon and Bumblespells Wizard by Kath Boyd Marsh

thing Cl’rnce could do.
    â€œGreat and Mighty it is. And thank you for saving me from Sir Nasty. Shall we?” He pointed down the dirt road and started walking. Cl’rnce was certain it would be a really good thing to get away fast, before Nasty Sir George woke up and rocked and rolled himself over onto his knees and came after them. No matter what this girl believed, she was not a for-real wizard. They had to run for it.
    But no sooner did Cl’rnce urge her to leave than an overly large raven plummeted out of the sky and squeezed off a large dropping, which plopped smack on Cl’rnce’s head just behind his left horn. With a satisfied squawk, the ebony bird landed on Great and Mighty’s shoulder.
    â€œRaspberries!” Great and Mighty said, scratching the mangy bird between the eyes. The little want-to-be wizard’s mouth twitched at the corners like she fought to keep from smiling. “That wasn’t a nice thing to do to Cl’rnce. He’s our new friend. He’s going to help me become a proper wizard. And I’m going to help him fly.” She bent closer to the bird, whispering like Cl’rncewouldn’t hear. “In my book, proper dr’gons don’t walk or glide. They fly. He needs our help. Don’t you think?”
    The raven grumbled but didn’t move.
    Cl’rnce wasn’t overly pleased that the want-to-be wizard was excited about butting in and teaching him to fly, but he decided for now not to point out that she had not been invited to interfere. “Is that your rude bird?” Cl’rnce looked around for something to wipe his head with. He’d have demanded that the little wizard want-to-be give up her robe, but it was so worn he was afraid it would fall to pieces before he could rub the raven poop out from between his scales.
    â€œYes. This is my best friend, Raspberries.” She ran a finger over the top of the bird’s head. “You know, I’ve almost finished my
Magicks Mysteries
book.” Great and Mighty patted her pouch. “I mean the parts I can read. So I don’t think I can really do ….” She clamped her lips shut like there was a bad secret she didn’t want to share. Then she pushed her lips into a tight smile. He hoped her secret wasn’t that she doubted she could do
any magick.
    Looking at her pouch reminded Cl’rnce. He tapped the locket he wore around his neck. It still had the dull sound of being full. He hadn’t lost the Whisper Stone. Which was good, since he’d spent the time after setting up his spell traps trying to find where to stash it safely so he could raid Dr’gon Wiz’s kitchen for a “Going on a hero’s journey” lunch. And then he’d spent precious timeremembering where he’d hidden it before he finally ran from the angry school.
    It wasn’t putting out the vibrations any longer, but he figured that was okay. Since Hazel had given it to Cl’rnce, it would probably start nagging instead of vibrating sooner or later.
    â€œThere’s a diploma in the back of my book,” Great and Mighty rattled on.
    â€œSorry. But I’m kind of in a rush.” With just three days left to finish his Journey, for once he really did need to hurry. He definitely did not want to think about what would happen if he failed. It wasn’t the Geilt clan he feared, but his formidable sister. Which meant really big-time mean. If he messed up, she’d make his life not worth living. She knew a thousand ways to torture him.
    Thinking about all of Hazel’s rules and instructions finally reminded Cl’rnce. Hazel had said something about him having to read a message in …. He tapped his small case’s center. It opened, and cupping it, he used one talon to snag a piece of paper wedged next to the stone inside.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Great and Mighty’s voice went up an octave to match how she stood on her