tracey
west
SECRET
WATER
DRAGON
OF
THE
by
Tracey West
illustrated by
Graham Howells
Read All the Books
1
3
2
4
SADDLE UP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE BLACK FEATHER . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A THIEF IN THE CASTLE! . . . . . .
THE WIZARD'S TRAP . . . . . . . . . . .
BO'S STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE RAVEN GUARD . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE CHASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SHU TO THE RESCUE . . . . . . . . . . . .
GRIFFITH'S PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ACROSS THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . .
EMPEROR SONG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
THE WATER DRAGON'S POWER . .
BATTLE OF THE ORBS . . . . . . . . . . .
RISE AGAINST MALDRED . . . . . . . .
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
West, Tracey, 1965-
Secret of the water dragon / by Tracey West ; illustrated by Graham Howells.
pages cm. — (Dragon masters ; 3)
Summary: When Drake discovers that his friend and fellow Dragon Master, Bo,
is trying to steal the Dragon Stone, he wonders if the dark wizard
might be behind it, and he must try to find a way to protect the stone
while keeping Bo's family out of danger.
ISBN 0-545-64628-6 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-545-64630-8 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-0-545-64635-2 (ebook)
[1.Dragons—Fiction. 2.Wizards—Fiction. 3.Magic—Fiction. 4.Stealing—Fiction.]
I. Howells, Graham, illustrator.
II. Title.
PZ7.W51937Sct 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014017064
e-ISBN 978-0-545-64635-2
Text copyright © 2015 by Tracey West.
Interior illustrations copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC, BRANCHES, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Scholastic Inc.
First printing, March 2015
Illustrated by Graham Howells
Edited by Katie Carella
Book design by Jessica Meltzer
fOr bOllie DunGAn ,
because every girl detective needs a smarter, funnier sidekick. —TW
Special thanks to Damien Jones for his artistic contributions to this book.
S
teady now,” warned Griffith, the king’s
wizard. “We have never tried putting a saddle
on a dragon before. I am not sure how she
will like it.”
Training Room, hidden beneath King Roland’s
castle. A magical stone called the Dragon Stone
had chosen Drake, Bo, Rori, and Ana to work
with dragons. Griffith was their teacher. The
Dragon Masters stood around a big dragon
with shiny blue scales.
SaddLe up!
“Bo, bring the buckle under Shu’s belly,”
Griffith said.“Now tighten the buckle. Good!”
Drake watched his friend Bo put the saddle
on Shu. She was a Water Dragon, so she was
usually very calm. Shu stood still as Bo pulled
the buckle tightly.
“Good job, Shu,”Bo said, patting her neck.
“Now can I put a saddle on Vulcan?” asked
Rori.
“And can we please ride our dragons today,
Griffith?” asked Ana.
“King Roland’s crafters are making a saddle
for each dragon,” answered Griffith. “The other
saddles will be ready tomorrow.”
“Will there be a saddle for Worm?” asked
Drake. He looked over at his dragon. Worm
was an Earth Dragon. He had a long body, like
a snake. He had no legs, and tiny wings. Worm
couldn’t fly like the other dragons could.
“Yes. Worm has a very special power. He
can take you from one place to another in
the blink of an eye,” Griffith said. “A saddle is
a good idea for any type of travel.”
Drake nodded.
“It is time for dinner,” said Griffith. “Please
put away your dragons and head to the dining
room.”
“Well, I hope
I
get to test Vulcan’s saddle
first
tomorrow,”Rori said. “Vulcan and I didn’t
get to do anything fun today.”
She marched off toward the Dragon Caves.
Her dragon, Vulcan, stomped after her. He was
a Fire Dragon with red scales.
Ana followed Rori. She skipped along. Her
dragon, Kepri, moved like a graceful dancer
beside her. Kepri was a Sun Dragon with a slim
body and white scales.
Drake helped Bo take off Shu’s saddle. They
put their dragons in their caves. Then they
took the stairs to the dining room in the tower.
After dinner, the boys went to their room.
Drake touched his Dragon Stone as they
walked. Each of the Dragon Masters wore
a piece of the stone. It
let them connect with
their dragons.
“Bo,” Drake said, “do you think Worm can
go anywhere in the world?”
“I think so,” Bo said. “He has very strong
powers.”
Bo opened the door. Then he froze. Drake
bumped into him.
“Bo, what’s wrong?” Drake asked. His friend
was staring at his bed. His face looked pale.
Drake followed his gaze. A black feather
lay on Bo’s pillow.
T
hat’s strange,”Drake said. “We must’ve left
the window open.”
Bo sat down on the bed and picked up the
&nbs
p; feather. He looked worried.
“Bo, it’s just a feather,” Drake said.“What’s
wrong?”
“Nothing. I am fine,” Bo said.
But Drake didn’t believe him.
tHe BlacK featHeR
Bo was quiet as the boys climbed into bed.
He rolled over and faced the wall.
Drake could tell that something was bothering
Bo.
But why would a feather upset him?
Drake drifted off to sleep, thinking about
his friend:
I hope he’s okay.
When Drake woke up in the morning, Bo
was sitting up in bed. He was wide-awake.
“Wow! Have you been up a long time?” said
Drake.
Bo shrugged. “Um . . . I’m just excited to
ride Shu today.”
But Drake did not hear excitement in Bo’s
voice.
The boys headed down to breakfast. Ana
and Rori were already eating.
“It’s about time you two sleepyheads got
here,” said Rori.
night, Kepri sent a picture to my mind. We
were flying in the sky. She sends me lots of
pictures since we made our connection.”
Drake nodded. He and Worm had formed a
strong connection, too.He could hear Worm in
his head. His Dragon Stone glowed green every
time it happened. But this hadn’t happened
for Bo and Shu yet. Or for Rori and Vulcan.
“I’m sure we will go right outside. Where
is Griffith?” Bo asked, looking around.
Rori shrugged. “He’s probably getting the
saddles ready. Hurry up and eat!”
Drake was excited to test out Worm’s saddle.
He wolfed down his breakfast.
“Let’s go!” Rori said as soon as Drake was
done. Drake got up and put an apple in his
pocket to give Worm. Ana grabbed Bo’s arm
and pulled him off his seat. As they left, Drake
looked back. Bo had hardly eaten breakfast.
Downstairs, they found Griffith waiting for
them in the Training Room. He had a serious
look on his face.
“What's wrong?” Ana asked.
“Somebody tried to steal the Dragon Stone!”
he said.
The Dragon Masters gasped.
“What happened?” Rori asked.
“I always protect the stone with magic
charms,” Griffith explained. “These charms
cannot be seen. But they form an invisible net
around the box that holds the Dragon Stone.
And they can only be broken with a magic
spell.”
A tHief in
the CastLe!
“So how do you know someone tried to
steal the stone?” asked Drake.
“This morning, I found that something had
upset the magic of the charms. They were not
broken, but I could tell that someone had tried
to break them,” Griffith answered.
Ana gripped the stone around her neck.
“If somebody steals the main Dragon Stone
would our smaller stones lose their powers?”
“No,”the wizard replied.“But someone could
use the main stone to control the dragons. Or
even to form a dragon army.”
“Isn’t that what King Roland is doing?”
asked Drake.
“King Roland wants to use the dragons for
good. I have known King Roland since he was
a boy. He is a good man at heart. And as long
as the stone is in my care, I can keep it safe.
Safe from people like Maldred ...”He shuddered.
The Dragon Masters looked at one another.
“You mean Maldred the dark wizard? Is he
the one who tried to steal the Dragon Stone
last night?” Drake asked.
The Dragon Masters all knew that Maldred
had tried to get to their dragons before. They
had never seen Maldred. But already, his dark
magic had caused a lot of trouble.
Griffith shook his head.“No,”he said.“Maldred
would not have been so careless. He would
have broken the charms using a spell. Our thief
clearly did not know about the charms.”
Drake glanced at Bo. His friend kept
looking nervously over his shoulder.
“To protect the Dragon Stone, I must find a
better hiding place for it,” Griffith continued.
“I will leave the castle right away to look for
one.”
“So there’s no riding practice today?” Ana
asked. She looked at the finished saddles.
“You may go outside and have a free day.
But the dragons must stay inside,” he said.
Then he hurried out of the room.
“What do we do now?” Rori asked.
“Well, we can still spend the day with our
dragons,” Drake replied.“We can hang out with
them in the caves.”
“I — I must go,” Bo said. “There is something
I must take care of.”
“What —” Drake began. But Bo was already
rushing off.
“
He’s
acting strange,” Rori said, with her
hands on her hips.
Ana nodded. “Yes, he seems quieter than
usual today.”
“I think something is worrying him,” Drake
said, remembering the black feather.
“Maybe he’s worried about the Dragon
Stone,” said Rori.
As they headed to the Dragon Caves, Drake
kept looking behind him.
Was the thief still in the castle?
W
orm looked up as soon as Drake reached
his cave.Drake took the apple from breakfast
out of his pocket.
“Good morning, Worm,” Drake said, holding
out the treat. The dragon craned his long neck.
He grabbed the apple in his teeth and ate it in
one gulp.
tHe WiZard'S tRap
Drake sat down on the cold floor of the cave.
“Somebody tried to steal the Dragon Stone
last night,” Drake said. “Griffith is finding a
new hiding place for the stone. So we have a
free day.”
Rori and Ana walked up to Worm’s cave.
“Come on, Drake! We’re going outside,” Rori
said.
“Yeah, we don't want to be stuck in here
all day,” said Ana. “Coming?”
Drake shook his head.“No, thanks. I’m going
to stay with Worm.”
Rori shrugged. “Have fun in the dark! We’ll
be outside!”
The girls walked away. Drake started to tell
Worm a story about when he lived back on
the onion farm. Suddenly, Worm’s neck jerked
up. His eyes glowed green.
“What is it, Worm?” asked Drake.
Drake’s Dragon Stone glowed, too. Then he
heard Worm’s voice in his head.
Bo
.
“What about Bo?
Is he in trouble?”
Drake asked.
Worm nodded.
Drake jumped up. He ran out of the caves
and through the Training Room. He was on
the way to their room when he heard noises
coming from inside Griffith
’s workshop. But
he knew Griffith had left the castle.
Is someone in there?
Drake wondered.
The door was open a crack. He peeked
inside.
Bo was in Griffith’s workshop — with one
hand on the box that held the Dragon Stone!
Drake held back a gasp. Bo was reading
aloud from a book. The words sounded
magical, like something a wizard would say.
The charms protecting the stone could only
be broken by a magic spell
, he remembered.
Then a terrible thought hit him:
Is Bo trying
to steal the Dragon Stone?!
Drake pushed open the door. He had to
stop Bo!
Suddenly, sparks shot out from the corner
of the room. They hit the book Bo was holding
and it fell to the ground. Griffith stepped out
of the shadows. His finger was pointed at Bo.
“Stop, thief!”
Bo’s hands were shaking. He looked up at
Griffith.
Drake stood frozen in the doorway.
“Come in, Drake,” Griffith said. Drake
obeyed. The wizard’s eyes stayed on Bo.“This
is very serious. I set this trap because I thought
someone
inside
the castle had tried to steal the
stone last night. I said I was leaving the castle,
but then I hid in here. I had to see if the thief
would come back. And he did —
you
did.”
BO's StORy
Bo looked down at
his shoes. “I am sorry,”
he said softly.
“Bo, tell me why you
would do such a thing,”
Griffith said.
“I ...” Bo looked up.
“I cannot say.”
“Please, Bo!” Drake
blurted out. “I
know
you! You wouldn’t
steal anything. You
have to explain.”
Griffith looked into