The Moon Dragon

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1: Connections

  2: Secrets, Memories, and Cakes

  3: The Shadow Land

  4: A Little Fireside Chat

  5: The Wizard’s Mom

  6: Dungeon of Dungeons

  7: The Pearl Sea

  8: Face-off at the School

  9: Water Girl

  10: The Moon in Droon

  The Adventure Continues …

  Also Available

  Copyright

  “Come on, guys! We need to get up there fast!” shouted Eric Hinkle as he raced to the top of the Rainbow Stairs.

  “Faster than fast,” said his friend Julie Rubin, climbing swiftly after him. “If we don’t, Droon won’t be a secret anymore!”

  “No kidding,” added Neal Kroger. “Besides, our town isn’t ready for dragons!”

  “Or sorcerers!” said Princess Keeah, following right behind Neal.

  The four friends were dashing up the shimmering, rainbow-colored staircase that connected the magical world of Droon with the Upper World — their world. Behind them were Keeah’s parents, King Zello and Queen Relna; their trusty friend Max, an eight-legged spider troll; and Khan, the courageous pillow-shaped king of the purple lumpies.

  They were all on a single mission: to find the boy sorcerer Sparr and the moon dragon Gethwing, who had escaped to the Upper World, and bring them back to Droon. If they didn’t, the fates of both worlds were in serious trouble.

  “Stay together!” yelled Julie as the friends entered a thick bank of clouds high in the Droon sky.

  Climbing as quickly as he could, Eric couldn’t help but think of the many strange connections between his world and Droon. The pasts and futures of both worlds were closely entwined. And so were their people.

  First of all, in the days when Lord Sparr did everything in his power to conquer Droon, a mysterious Sea Witch named Demither had brought the young Keeah to the Upper World. Together, they hid the magical Coiled Viper from Sparr.

  Years later, Eric found the golden, crown-shaped Viper near his town library. To save the wizard Galen’s life, Eric gave the Viper to Sparr. For the longest time, he wished that he had never done that. By giving Sparr such a powerful object, he felt as if he had helped the forces of evil.

  But two amazing things had come of it.

  The first was that when Sparr took the Viper, Galen gained possession of the Moon Medallion, a magical white stone made by his mother, Zara. The Moon Medallion held untold secrets about both worlds’ strange pasts and mysterious futures. It was perhaps even more powerful than the Coiled Viper.

  As he hurried up out of the clouds, Eric turned and saw the Medallion hanging now around Queen Relna’s neck.

  “I see the top!” cried Max, climbing next to Khan. “Just a little more —”

  The second good thing to happen was that when Sparr used the Coiled Viper to wake the evil Emperor Ko from his long sleep, something went wrong with the charm and — boom! flash! — Sparr was transformed into a boy.

  Lord Sparr had become Kid Sparr!

  Now, as a boy, Sparr was helping them fight the fearsome Emperor Ko.

  No one’s more fearsome than Ko, thought Eric. Except maybe for Ko’s second-in-command, the moon dragon Gethwing.

  The gray-scaled, four-winged dragon was both ruthless and clever. Because an old legend proclaimed that “a boy would lead him,” Gethwing had chased Sparr to the Upper World, convinced he would help Gethwing find another magical object hidden there.

  The kids had to stop that from happening. No matter what.

  “Here we are!” said Julie. She jumped past Eric into a small closet in the basement of the Hinkles’ house.

  Everyone piled in until the closet nearly burst. When Relna pulled the chain that hung from the bulb on the ceiling — click! — the light went on, the staircase vanished beneath their feet, and a gray cement floor appeared in its place.

  “Oh, I love your world,” whispered Khan. “I’m so excited —”

  “And I’m so cramped!” said King Zello, hunching over. “Can someone check if it’s clear out there? I’m ready to pop!”

  Julie carefully turned the knob and opened the door. “Looks good to me —”

  “Wait! My parents might be home,” said Eric. He listened quietly.

  Usually no time passed in the Upper World when the kids were in Droon. But after Sparr and Gethwing fled Droon, Ko had uttered a curse, and the magic stairs had disappeared for a while. No one knew how long Sparr and Gethwing had been in the Upper World, or what might have happened since the kids had been there last.

  Finally, Eric smiled. “All clear. Let’s go.”

  The eight of them squeezed out of the tiny closet and quietly climbed the basement stairs to the kitchen.

  “I hope it’s still the same Saturday we left,” said Neal. “Because that means there’s still no school!”

  Eric smiled. “Maybe —”

  Kkk! The twin horns on Zello’s helmet scraped the kitchen ceiling. “Oops,” he said, pulling off his helmet. “Sorry.”

  When Queen Relna’s silver crown flashed in the light from the kitchen window, Eric realized that their friends from Droon might need disguises. “I think —”

  “You don’t have to say it, Eric,” said Keeah, smiling as she removed her golden crown. “If we’re going out into your town, we need to blend in a little more.”

  “Girls, come with me,” said Julie. “On Saturday, my parents always work in the backyard. We can sneak in the front and raid the closets. Guys, be back in a sec!”

  While Julie, Keeah, and Relna ran across the street to Julie’s house, the others headed upstairs. Rummaging through his closet, Eric handed Khan the largest, puffiest ski jacket he could find.

  Max disguised himself in two sets of football padding, an extra-large jersey, and a football helmet. Following Neal into Mr. Hinkle’s closet, King Zello emerged a few minutes later nearly bursting out of a faded, flannel work shirt.

  “That’s my dad’s lucky shirt!” said Eric.

  “I know,” said Neal. “We’ll need luck to get away with this.”

  Before long, Julie, Keeah, and Relna were back, dressed like any modern mother and daughters. The two crowns and other royal finery were stuffed in Julie’s bulging backpack.

  “Okay,” said Keeah. “Let’s find Sparr.”

  “The Fifth River brought him and Gethwing here,” said Eric, opening the back door. “It ends at the town pond. Let’s start there.”

  “To the pond!” said Khan firmly.

  Glancing both ways, the whole group darted across Eric’s backyard to the side street. They headed quickly past Neal’s garage and down the next street.

  “I hope Sparr’s okay,” said Julie as they turned left, then crossed two more blocks. “We’ve been through a lot together.”

  “Right,” said Max. “Except that he and Gethwing have been through a lot, too. After all, it was the moon dragon who raised Sparr the first time around.”

  Eric was worried about that, too. He trusted Sparr now. The boy had saved his life more than once. It was Gethwing he didn’t trust. The moon dragon had great powers. If he found Sparr, could he use those powers to turn him to the dark side again?

  Eric stopped suddenly.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Zello, clutching his battle club.

  “I don’t know,” Eric whispered. “But if it is Saturday, where is everyone? Why isn’t anybody outside? There are no cars on the roads. I don’t see anyone anywhere.”

  Max grumbled from under his helmet, “You mean I’m wearing this for nothing?”

  “You may not need it yet, my spidery friend,” said Khan. “But something’s not right. Listen.” The lumpy king til
ted his head to the side. A moment later, everyone heard what he was listening to.

  Stomp … stomp … It was the sound of slow steps dragging themselves one after another across the nearby street. Next came a terrible squeaking noise. Errch! Errch!

  The little group looked around in every direction but saw no one.

  “Uh, okay,” said Neal. “I thought ghosts only came out at night.”

  Stomp … stomp … errch! The footsteps and the squeaking soon moved on, and the street was quiet once more.

  Eric’s heart began to pound wildly. He looked back at his neighborhood, suddenly wondering where his parents were. “I don’t like this. Time must have passed since we were here. Something’s definitely going on.”

  The group listened for a while longer, but heard nothing else. They continued down two more streets before finding the path to the pond. When they arrived at the little beach, the small strip of sand was fully drenched in sun — but completely deserted.

  “I don’t like it at all,” said Khan, frowning as he sniffed the air. “There is definitely something fishy happening in your town.”

  “Find out what you can,” said Julie. “I think I’ll take a Julie’s-eye view.”

  “Be careful,” said Relna. “Gethwing could be lurking anywhere.”

  Julie nodded. Ever since she had been scratched by an ancient creature called a wingwolf, Julie had gained the power to fly. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching, she leaped into the air and soared up over the beach.

  “It’s very handy having our own personal Julie Bird,” said Keeah.

  As Julie flitted first to a tree, then over town to the library roof, Eric stared out across the pond. For the longest time, it was perfectly calm. All of a sudden, a head bobbed up from under the water. “Hey, everybody, look.” Eric whispered. “Someone’s out there!”

  The head turned, glided for a short distance, then vanished under the surface.

  “And they’re spying on us!” said Neal.

  When a small splash surfaced hundreds of feet from the first one, the shape was there again, still watching them.

  Eric blinked. “Whoa. That was a long way to swim underwater!”

  Suddenly — blam! — the air blazed with red light, they heard a scream, and Julie tumbled from the sky, fell into Khan, and rolled over in the sand.

  “Yikes!” she cried, scrambling up. “The whole town is empty — except for them!”

  Blam! Blam! The air flashed red again.

  “It’s Gethwing!” cried Relna. “Hide!”

  In an instant, the terrifying moon dragon swept over the beach, his four black wings flapping noisily. Sparr was running across the sand, his black cloak flying, the small fins behind his ears glowing purple.

  “Sparr, give it to me!” boomed Gethwing. “Give it to me now!”

  “No way!” the boy yelled. “I wouldn’t give you a stick of gum, even if I knew what you wanted! Go back to the Dark Lands! I’ll light the way for you!”

  “We’ll light the way!” said Eric, joining Sparr. “Fire!”

  The two boys joined their blasts and — ka-blam! — drove the dragon away, while Sparr fled the beach in a flash.

  Gethwing hovered over the sand, glaring down at Eric. “You, you, always you!”

  “Eric, run!” yelled Keeah, leaping to him.

  But it was too late. Gethwing aimed a fiery bolt right at Eric. Before the boy could move — wham! — the air blazed red once more.

  “Eric, watch out!” cried Keeah. She pushed him away just as the moon dragon’s flame exploded on the beach where he had been standing.

  “Enough!” boomed the dragon, soaring up over the street. “I’ll deal with you later —I have more important things to do!”

  “You won’t follow Sparr!” yelled Relna. “Everyone — now!” Together, she, Keeah, and Eric hurled blue, violet, and silver sparks at Gethwing. Ka-blam!

  The blasts struck Gethwing on the shoulder, and he fell heavily onto the sand.

  “Ha! The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” shouted Zello, twirling his club. “Everyone follow Sparr. Relna and I will keep this one busy!”

  “Hurry, children,” added Relna. “Find Sparr!”

  “You heard the queen,” cried Max.

  Without delay, the children, Max, and Khan rushed down Main Street in the direction that Sparr had fled.

  Before long, the sounds of Relna’s sizzling blasts, Zello’s whirling club, and Gethwing’s howls receded behind them, and everything was quiet again.

  Main Street was completely deserted.

  “Where did Sparr go?” asked Max, stopping and looking around. “He wasn’t that far ahead of us!”

  “It’s Sparr, remember,” said Julie. “He can probably vanish pretty easily.”

  “Everyone vanished,” said Keeah. “Look.”

  The nearby coffee shop was empty, even though every table was covered with plates of food.

  “Guys, we have a problem,” said Eric.

  “Yeah, but …” Neal put his hand on the coffee shop door. “Do you think they’ll be back before the food gets cold?”

  “Neal!” said Julie. “We’re talking about our families, our parents. Everyone’s gone!”

  Neal dropped his hand. “I know, I know. I just hate to see food go to waste.”

  “Everyone, keep your eyes and ears open,” said Keeah. “Khan, keep your nose open.”

  As leader of the lumpies, Khan was the most talented of the danger-sniffing tribe of purple creatures. “I never leave home without it,” he said with a sniff. “And right now, I smell something dangerous … just over there.” He pointed down a side street. At the end stood a high-roofed building made of brick, with double doors in front.

  “No kidding, something dangerous is going on in there,” said Neal. “That’s our school. It’s where they keep all the math!”

  “Maybe that’s where Sparr is, too,” said Keeah. “I think we need to go in.”

  Slowly, they approached the school. It looked as dark and empty as it did on any weekend. Stopping in front, the lumpy king tried the doors. They swung open.

  “So,” he said, “someone is in here. In the interest of our safety, I’ll enter first.”

  “And in the interest of my safety,” murmured Neal, “I’ll enter last….”

  One by one, the friends filed into the school, first Khan, then Julie, then Keeah and Max.

  Just as Eric put his hand on the door, he felt something wet and warm strike his neck. Looking up, he saw someone pull back from the edge of the roof and out of sight.

  “Hey, who is that?” he shouted. “Who’s up there? Show yourself!”

  There was no answer.

  “That’s twice, you know,” whispered Neal, scanning the empty roof. “Someone really is spying on us. It makes me think of the new girl.”

  The new girl.

  For the past few weeks, Eric, Julie, and Neal had suspected that a new girl in their neighborhood had been spying on them. Her name was Meredith. She seemed to be around whenever they talked about Droon.

  She might have already heard them.

  Eric squinted up at the roof. “If she was up there, she’s gone now. We have to remember our mission: Find Sparr.”

  “Right. Find Sparr,” repeated Neal. “And get him back to Droon before he gives Gethwing what he wants. Come on.”

  Taking a deep breath, Eric pulled open the school doors, and the two friends went in together.

  Outside, the sun had been bright and hot, but the hallways inside were dark, cool, and quiet.

  Khan was already far down the hall, sniffing constantly. “My nose tells me … we turn to the left. Sparr could be near. I’m not sure, so be careful, now.”

  The troop pushed farther into the darkness, their footsteps echoing against the walls.

  “Do you think Sparr really doesn’t know what Gethwing is looking for?” asked Julie. “Ever since he became young, he’s been remembering more and more
of what he knew as a boy.”

  “Maybe,” said Eric. “I don’t remember all that much from when I was really young, but then, not everyone is a son of Zara like Sparr is. Maybe that helps him to remember.”

  “I don’t remember much, either,” added Neal. “Except for the picnics and barbecues, of course. Which reminds me of my first chili dog —”

  “Neal, hush!” hissed Khan suddenly. “Hide!”

  They all dived behind an open door and peered into a large room nearby. There were dozens of tables set out across the floor and a long counter running along the back wall.

  “The cafeteria,” whispered Julie.

  Neal sighed. “Did I ever tell you about the first time I had lunch here —”

  “Look at that!” interrupted Keeah.

  A single dark figure was moving along the counter in the back, then stopped. There came the soft creak of a metal cabinet followed by a quiet rattle of plates.

  A moment later, the figure, cloaked all in black, stood up. It held something white in its hands and said, “I’ve found it!”

  “Oh, my gosh!” whispered Eric. “It’s Sparr! And he’s found the magic thing!”

  The friends ran into the room at once.

  “Sparr!” cried Keeah. “If you’ve found what Gethwing is after —”

  The boy jumped back, surprised. “What? No!” He put the white thing into his mouth and began to chew.

  Neal gaped. “Wait a minute. You’re eating? What is that? Angel food cake?”

  “I was hungry!” said Sparr. “I haven’t eaten since I left Droon two days ago —”

  “Two days!” gasped Eric. “You mean … it’s Monday?”

  “A school day?” said Neal. “And there’s no school? Wow, time really has passed.”

  “And a lot has happened,” said Sparr, shoving the rest of the cake into his mouth. “Look what I found.” He darted across the room to a portable table and rolled it aside.

  Where the wall would normally be was a ragged opening to a narrow passage.

  Beyond the passage the kids saw a landscape of scorched and rocky earth that stretched for miles and miles. It was pelted by rain that fell from a sky crackling with lightning and booming with thunder.

  “What is that?” gasped Julie. “Where is that?”