Free Dragon Seeker by Anne Forbes

too!”
     
    “Well,” the MacArthur said, once they’d finished telling him all that had happened, “if anyone else had told me a tale like this, I’d never have believed it for second!”
    Archie, too, looked alarmed and Arthur flapped his dragon wings anxiously.
    Never have believed what?” John MacLean asked.
    “That Clara was attacked by a Gra’el. It isn’t a bird that can be called up lightly, you know.”
    “What exactly
are
Gra’els?” Neil asked. “I know they’re birds, but …”
    At his words, a grumbling roar gathered in Arthur’s throat and he blew an angry cloud of smoke that set them all spluttering .
    “Gra’els,” the MacArthur continued when they’d stopped coughing and waving their hands about to disperse the cloudof sparkling smoke, “are vile birds, a bit like vultures. They can only be conjured up by magic and in the old days were used to pick clean the bones of dead dragons — once the apothecaries had finished their task, that is. Dragon flesh is poisonous to humans, you see; which is why magicians used them as scavengers .”
    “But,” Clara looked mystified, “apart from Arthur, there are no dragons in the world today, are there?”
    “There are, actually,” Archie said, breaking into the conversation . “There’s a whole valley full of dragons in Ashgar.”
    Neil looked at him in surprise. “In Ashgar!” he repeated, “then it
could
have been Lord Jezail who called up the Gra’el,” he said, looking worriedly at Clara. “If what you’ve told us about the sword is true then I bet he came the moment he saw it in the tomb! He wants the sword and …” he paused, his brow wrinkling as he tried to puzzle things out, “… now it looks as though he wants Clara, too. Otherwise, why would he send the Gra’el to capture her?”
    The MacArthur looked thoughtful. “The only other thing that Jezail would want is the
Book of Spells
,” he frowned. “That’s why I gave it to the Lords of the North for safe keeping. He might be able to get into the Arthur’s Seat but he’d never get into Morven. Not in a million years!”
    Neil turned pale. “But, that’s it, then,” he whispered, looking anxiously at his father. “That’s why he wants Clara. She knows all the spells off by heart.”
    Clara’s heart sank. She knew instinctively that Neil was right. It was the spells that Lord Jezail wanted …
    There was a sudden silence as they all looked at Clara.
    “The witches said they’d look after me,” she said in a small voice.
    “I’m sure they will,” the MacArthur said grimly, “and it wasgood of them to offer, but if Lord Jezail
is
here then I think you’re going to need more than witches to protect you, Clara. The Lords of the North will have to be told of this!”
    “Has Prince Kalman returned yet?” John MacLean asked.
    The MacArthur nodded. “Yes, he and his father got back yesterday.”
    There was a murmur of delight from the children. Since the prince had returned to Morven, they had seen him many times and, indeed, they held a special place in his affections for he was very conscious that Neil and Clara had saved his life; Clara by giving him her firestone to wear when he was on the brink of death and Neil by working out that, unbeknownst to anyone, Lord Jezail had hexed him. When they’d heard this, the Lords of the North had been quick to lift the dreadful hex that had left him near death and now, once more, his easy, charming self, the prince had become firm friends with Neil and Clara.
    “They were in Turkey with the Sultan when the horn sounded,” the MacArthur continued, “and decided to cut short their stay. The Sultan came back with them and now they’re busy trying to find Lord Jezail.”
    “Have they had any luck?” John MacLean asked.
    The MacArthur shook his head. “They’re working round the clock,” he assured him, “but so far the crystal hasn’t picked up on the slightest whisper of magic. Lord Jezail is hiding himself