spell? She thought he needed her? He needed to get the trollâs-breath-rotted rock delivered to the Council so he could appoint someone to do the work, then go back to Drâgon Wiz and skip class and nap by the river. Instead he was doing Hazelâs bidding while running from Nasty Sir George.
Clârnce shuddered from snout to tail-tip. Nasty Sir George wanted to nail Clârnceâs extremely attractive green and purple hide to his knightâs hovelâs walls. Hazel told the truth about the knight. Nasty Sir George had shouted at Clârnce and bragged that heâd slain every genus of drâgon on Albion except one, and that one was Clârnceâs, the River Drâgon.
Clârnce was maybe fifty percent sure Nasty Sir George might be smarter than he looked. Dressed in armor that was at least as much rusted holes as metal, he wore two left boots. Which seemed really dumb but had been very helpful to Clârnce in keeping ahead of the knight. Apparently the boot on Nasty Sir Georgeâs right foot hurt a lot, and the knight had stopped to take it off and complain so often the first day Clârnce had finally gained enough time for a nap today. Knowing where the knight was by his loud whiningâNasty Sir George spoke in nothing but a loud voiceâand the extra time Clârnce gained while Nasty Sir George took off and put back on his boot, had given Clârnce a head start twice.
Today, Clârnce had been certain his escape wouldbe permanent. Heâd made that amazingly clever fake map to River Drâgon Territory and dropped it where the knight couldnât help but find it. The map should have sent Nasty Sir George in the wrong direction. In fact, he should have ended up in Killer Drâgon lands. Those guys didnât mess around with tricks and running away. They would have just eaten Nasty Sir George.
Clârnce was proud of the exceptional job heâd done making the map look authentic. Heâd crumpled the parchment and rubbed it with mud to make it look old and real. But either Nasty Sir George had been too smart to fall for the ruse, which was doubtful, or he couldnât read. âProbably canât read,â Clârnce muttered.
âYes, I can,â Great and Mighty said.
âDidnât mean you.â Clârnce checked over his shoulder. âI think we should hurry. Run!â
C HAPTER 7
Moire Ain sent Raspberries into the air and sprinted to catch up. Behind them, Nasty Sir Georgeâs snores grew louder and louder.
âDrâgons are supposed to fly,â she called to Clârnceâs wide rear. âWhy donât you take to the air to get away from that knight?â She flapped her arms as she ran.
Clârnce turned and shot her a glance that was both sad and mad at the same time. âDonât ask me that. Unless youâre some kind of mean person, stay away from the flying. Itâs enough that Hazel heckles me about not flying almost as much as she makes fun of me for walking and running on my back feet. She even has Mother sighing at me about âher odd son.â And I get lectured at Drâgon Wiz. If I wanted to fly, I would have passed
Aviation for Drâgons
and been the most popular drâgon at Drâgon Wiz. Iâd already have a Wizard Partner, and I wouldnât need you. I. Do. Not. Fly. So leave me alone.â
âSorry,â Moire Ain said, swallowing the harsh words about not needing her.
Clârnce walked backward as quickly as Moire Ain could jog forward. He kept droning on, âI like being different. I like walking. And Iâm very good at it. I can walk very fast or very slow.â He stuck up one and then the other of his well-muscled back legs. âIâm quite a bit faster at walking and running than any other drâgon.â
âOkay. And Iâm sorry. You are fast.â She looked back over her shoulder. âOh, oh. Do you