Free The Dragon in the Sea by Kate Klimo

another chunk of hillside.
    “My parents had lived a peaceful life because their mountain was protected by the local tribes who worshiped it. They believed the mountain was the home of two fierce spirits, and of course, they were right. To keep the spirits happy, on the third night following every full moon, the people left the bodies of two freshly killed deer in a clearing near the foot of the mountain.”
    “Oh, yuck!” Daisy cried out.
    “Sorry, Daise,” Emmy said, “but it happens to be an important part of the story and I can’t leave it out. What the people probably didn’t know was that this was one of the few areas on Earth where the wall between the four realms—Airy, Fiery, Earthly, and Watery—was very thin. Only a powerful magic held it together, kind of like a bandage. But a totally bad man was about to come along and rip away that bandage.”
    “Ouch,” said Daisy.
    “I know who! St. George the Dragon Slayer!” Jesse said.
    “You said it, Keeper!” Emmy went on. “So, anyway, one night, there was a full moon and my mom and dad were hanging out on the ledge outsidetheir den, when some tree spirits dropped by to visit.”
    “Otherwise known as
dryads
,” Daisy explained to the selkie and the kelpie.
    “The dryads warned my parents that they were in grave danger. A golden-haired stranger had recently visited the village. He claimed to be a scholar who wanted to learn the local lore. In exchange, he offered warm blankets and seashells.
    “So the tribal elders told all their stories, but only two of the stories seemed to interest the scholar. The one about how every hundred years, the heavens rain down stones said to contain the bodies of magical serpents.”
    “Thunder Eggs,” Daisy whispered.
    “That’s right. And the other one was about the two fierce fire-breathing spirits who guard the treasure in the heart of the mountain. The so-called scholar had heard all he needed to hear. He said thanks,
sayonara
, have a nice life, and went away. But a little while later, a man looking an awful lot like him returned to Goldmine City, the city of the pale people. This time, he said he was president of the Great Pacific Mining Company. He laid a claim to the land, including—you guessed it—the mountain where my mom and dad lived. The dryads told my parents to beware.
    “My parents thanked the trees for warning them, but they decided that, when the miners showed up to blast their mountain, my parents would just burrow deep inside and hide.
    “The next day, Dad wanted to collect the monthly sacrifice. But Mom wasn’t hungry. She told Dad to go ahead without her. He flew down to the clearing, picked up the two deer carcasses, and flew with them back to the cave. My mom was glad my dad was back safe and sound but she still wasn’t very hungry. So my father ate both deer himself.”
    “Double yuck,” said Daisy.
    “Hey, you eat hamburgers.… Anyway, my dad scarfed down the deer meat, washed off the blood in the brook just outside their cave, and then went into the den to sleep next to my mom.
    “ ‘I have something to tell you, Obsidian,’ my mother said. ‘I have been keeping it a secret from you. I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure. Obsidian, I am carrying new life inside of me. You are going to be a father.’
    “But my father didn’t hear a word my mother said. He was fast asleep and sawing serious trees.”
    “Logs,” said Jesse.
    “Whatever. Needless to say, my mother wasn’t too happy, but she let it go. The next morning, shereached over to wake my dad. Dad didn’t budge. She tried everything—jostling him, shaking him, even roaring in his ear—but he went on sleeping. It wasn’t like Obsidian to sleep so late. And then, with a sinking feeling, my mother understood what was going on.”
    “What?” said Daisy.
    “I know!” Jesse said, raising his hand.
    “Shhh!” went Yar and Fluke, both caught up in Emmy’s story.
    Jesse said, “Someone—and we know