The Sapphire Quest: DragonChild book 4

By Gill Vickery

The fourth DragonChild adventure. Tia is determined to retrieve the DragonQueen's six stolen Jewels of Power from the High Witches. She has the emerald that lets her speak to animals, the opal that lets her change shape and the topaz that controls the weather. Now she goes after the magical sapphire that allows teleportation. But that means facing the terrifying High Witch Skadi and her strange land filled with statues that watch...and move...and attack. Can Tia and her DragonBrother Finn retrieve the fourth jewel?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Nov 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781408188293

Gill Vickery

Gill Vickery has loved writing and painting since she was very small. She has been a teacher, and also a children's librarian, which she says is the best job in the world, because you get paid to read children's books! The Ivy Crown, Gill's first novel, won the Kathleen Fidler Award.

Book preview

To Chris and Jennie

DragonFather and DragonChild

Contents

Map

The Story So Far...

Chapter One: The Avenue of Beasts

Chapter Two: The secret cellar

Chapter Three: The Elves of Iserborg Castle

Chapter Four: The Stone Guards

Chapter Five: The Great Statue

Chapter Six: Master Zeno

Chapter Seven: Trapped

Chapter Eight: Geysers and volcanoes

Chapter Nine: Battle with the trolls

Map

The Story So Far...

The High Witches of Tulay stole the DragonQueen’s jewels of power and drove the dragons away. In revenge, one of the dragons kidnapped the youngest witch’s child, Tia. Raised by the mighty creatures, Tia is now on a quest to retrieve the jewels, helped by her DragonBrother, Finn, who can blend invisibly into any background, and a jackdaw called Loki.

Tia has already stolen back three jewels: the emerald, which grants the power to talk to animals, the opal, which lets its owner change shape, and the topaz, which controls the weather.

Now Tia, disguised as a Trader called Nadya, has arrived at Stoplar. Stoplar is ruled by Skadi, who has the sapphire that enables the bearer to travel instantly from one place to another. But the three remaining High Witches have now learned of the thefts and Tia is in greater danger than ever before.

Chapter One

The Avenue of Beasts

Tia and her DragonBrother sat on a sloping hill of plumed cottongrass and scanned the skies. Finn’s sharp dragon eyes were the first to spot a black dot high above the plain stretching away in front of them.

‘There he is!’

Tia shaded her eyes with her hand and made out a jackdaw flying swiftly in their direction. He landed with a bounce on the grass.

‘Well?’ Tia demanded.

‘Don’t be so impatient,’ the bird said and started to preen his feathers.

‘What did he say?’ the little copper-coloured dragon asked.

‘He told me not to be impatient.’

Finn laughed and puffed out a smoke ring at Loki.

The bird shook his wings. ‘That’s better.’ He cocked his head at Tia. ‘I suppose you want a report?’

‘Yes, please, Loki.’

The jackdaw flew onto Finn’s shoulder so that he was eye to eye with Tia and said, ‘To the west of Iserborg town there are a few big hills. They look as if they’re covered in snow and ice but it’s dust from the white stone that people quarry there.’

‘That must be marble – you remember Luona’s palace was covered with it?’

‘Skadi’s castle is grey stone but there are marble statues all over it.’ Loki shook his wings. ‘They’re of horrible, ugly monsters. The castle’s in the middle of the town and it’s got a moat. There’s a bridge at the front and a watergate at the back. The town’s surrounded by a wall with two gates. Big stone avenues lead up to them, only...’

‘Yes?’ Tia prompted.

‘There are more of those marble statues – huge ones – standing on each side of the avenues. I didn’t like them.’

‘Why not?’

But Loki wouldn’t explain any further, except to say they looked bad and made him feel strange.

Tia told her DragonBrother what the jackdaw had said.

Finn’s smoke rings came faster. ‘I don’t like the sound of those statues.’

‘Neither do I,’ Tia said, ‘but I have to steal that sapphire from Skadi and I’d better get going.’ She picked