Excerpt

They trudged a few miles, happy the weather was with them, when Ivy saw a large something in the distant sky. It moved toward them.

“What is that?” Lori asked.

Ivy wished she had the vision of an elf. She shook her head. “It’s too far away. I can’t tell.”

Whatever it was, it appeared to grow larger as it approached rapidly. Ivy hoped it was friendly. They were out in the openness of the Great Plain; there was nowhere to hide.

Fergus looked skyward. “Not a bird anywhere to ask, and the wind is as still as the grave.”

Ivy shuddered at his poor choice of words. They had no choice but to press on and hope for the best. The dark shape split into smaller bits, and soon it was apparent there were actually three whatevers – one much larger than the other two.

“I think I know who…” Connor waved an arm over his head. “Hey! Hello! Down here!”

Ivy thought at first Connor had gone crazy – but soon she was also calling to the sky. The three horses and one shaggy pony stopped and waited. Soon they heard a sound like a freight train, what Ivy once heard a tornado sounds like.

Then the wind came, and snow blew around them in a sheet of ice pellets. A hundred yards ahead, a large brown and green dragon landed in the snow, as softly and gracefully as if he were a small bird. Gailen and Cirrus landed beside him and cantered toward the travelers.

Ivy was happy her friends had come; especially Balthasar, the Dragon King, who she hadn’t seen since she flew on his back from Morta, Najira’s fortress, to Owl’s Reste, after she defeated the sorceress. At the same time, their sudden appearance filled her stomach with a thousand dancing butterflies and a feeling of dread. There was a reason they had come, and it couldn’t be good.

“There you are!” cried a small voice that belonged to neither the horses nor the Dragon. It came from just above Gailen’s left ear. Soon Ivy heard the sound of tiny bells, and saw a light, barely visible against the brightness of the snow.

Kaia raced towards Ivy and zipped around her head before coming to rest on her shoulder. Ivy heard Honor gasp, and felt her jump. The girl, although a native Zandrian, had probably never seen a fairy before, since they tended to stay close to the Enchanted Forest. Ivy wondered what Honor thought of the huge Dragon perched in the snow.

“We’ve been looking for you.” There was panic in Kaia’s voice. She shivered, despite the long-sleeved wool tunic and tiny wool cap she wore. “The palace is under attack!”

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About the Author

Christine Norris is the author of several works for children and adults. She spends her time divided between her writing, substitute teaching, and caring for her family of one husband-creature, a son-animal, a large dog whose greatest achievement is sleeping in one position for an entire day, and a small feline who is very adept in his position as Guardian of the Bathtub. She also works at English Adaptations of novels translated from other languages.

To learn more about Christine Norris, please visit http://www.christine-norris.com. Send an email to Christine at risseybug@aol.com or through her MySpace page, at http://www.myspace.com/christinenorris