Drakon

By Audrey Bruce

Drakon is a story about a boy named Drake who lives in a house in Michigan in the forest by Lake Michigan. Drake stumbles across a baby dragon in the woods, takes pity on it and decides to care for it, not knowing how much it will change his life. Not long after befriending and training the dragon, he stumbles across its three siblings. Drake takes charge of the four elemental dragons. However, things get a little complicated when thieves discover and attempt to steal his dragons. Will Drake manage to keep them safe and secret?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483554679

Book preview

Seven

Chapter One

High above the soft earth, a gentle breeze fluttered through the trees, causing their branches to sway and their leaves to rustle. A stray bird flew across the brilliantly blue sky, calling for its mate. White clouds drifted lazily across the sky, occasionally blocking out the sun. Down below, little insects patrolled the ground, tending to their own business.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

The sound ripped through the silent air like a knife on stone. The boy was only 13 years old, his name was Drake and his feet crunched through the stray sticks and dried leaves left over from the previous fall. He walked without any idea where he was headed. His purpose was to put as much distance as possible between himself and his mother, owing to a rather unfortunate incident that had taken place less than 10 minutes ago.

He wanted to nick a bit of food from the refrigerator when something rather unlucky happened. It was one of those moments where, in retrospect, you ask yourself: what are the odds? He walked down the stairs, thinking about his options, and out of nowhere came a streak of orange. It moved so fast he couldn’t make out what it was. It rounded the corner and streaked straight up the stairs, straight at Drake.

One strangled yelp later and the orange thing ran smack into his shins. He tripped. Drake fell down the last 6 steps. He sat up and looked around to see what had caused this calamity.

Grumpy, the family cat, sat on the stairs above him. Grumpy was a middle aged cat with bright orange fur, a squashed face, a fat belly and an attitude that matched his name. Before Drake could fully comprehend what had happened, his mother appeared. She took one look at the scene and began to yell.

Drake what did you do to poor Grumpy?

Nothing, answered Drake truthfully.

The poor cat is hurt! He is old and he needs rest! You could have seriously hurt him, playing your silly games! she fumed.

That crazy cat knocked me down the stairs!

Nonsense, said his mother dismissively. She bent down and scooped up the fat cat. Ooh, is poor Grumpy okay? Did the mean boy hurt you? Will my Grumpers be okay?

Drake felt anger stir in the pit of his stomach.

Mum! He ran into me and knocked me down the stairs!

Oh my poor Grumpy, are you sure you’re not hurt? My poor dear, would you like a treat? his mother continued to coo.

Drake stood up and left the house. His mother cared more about that fat old cat than she did about him. That was a really depressing thought. Far overhead, the sharp cry of a bluejay sounded. The sound made him look up. He stared at the treetops as they swayed gently in the breeze. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something.

He turned to look, but whatever it was had gone. He walked over fallen trees, patches of moss that bounced when he stepped on them, leaves that crackled, soft grass and bare patches of earth. He came to the crest of a hill. He climbed the slope, wondering what was beyond the crest of the hill. He hadn’t actually been to this particular part of the forest before.

He peered over the hill. Drake gasped. Below him lay a valley unlike anything he had ever seen before. The trees here were few and scattered. There were no pine trees here, so the grass grew wild everywhere. The creek that cut through the woods snaked through the middle of the valley. It was different here, but Drake couldn’t identify why.

He climbed down the sloping side of the valley, trying not to slip. The grass was thick and he kept slipping on great tufts of it. When he had reached even ground, he walked around one side of the clearing, taking in everything. He walked along the creek bank as it wove through the trees. As he approached a large, fallen oak, something caught his eye.

He stopped and looked down. His heart stopped beating.