Read Online Becoming a Dragon by Andy Holland - Free Book Online Page B

the school, there were always at least ten Red Dragons circling while the students wandered around. These were the school guard, there to keep them safe from any unwanted attention. Apparently they only patrolled when the students were outside, and not during lessons; Professor Silver explained that Furnace was exceptionally safe and there was no real need for them.
    Between each tower and built into the high wall that surrounded the school were the teachers' residences and some unused buildings that were intended for students who wished to board at the school, of which there were none at the moment. Crystal wondered whether it would have been more fun if they had all boarded here instead of being spread across the city.
    The tour took quite a while, but when it was finished, their Professor dismissed them for the day, letting them finish a couple of hours earlier than they expected.
    "Fancy doing anything?" Jenna asked as they left the school, pausing to stand outside the gates.
    "What were you thinking?" Crystal asked.
    Jenna shrugged. "Arthur has offered to show me some of the town. He's been given the guided tour by his older brother, so he knows the place quite well already. It might be a good way to get to know this place."
    Crystal frowned. "So why would you want me along? Don't you want to be alone with Arthur? Other than his bodyguards, of course."
    Jenna sighed. "The bodyguards won't be a problem. Arthur makes them walk quite a way behind him, so you hardly notice them. But we won't be alone. His dopey sister will be with us."
    Crystal laughed. "So my job is to distract her so you can get to work on Arthur. No thank you."
    "Please, Crystal? I'll owe you," Jenna begged. "You know how much I like him."
    "No," she replied. "We have our first flying lesson this week and I need to practice transformation. I don't want to make a fool of myself."
    "Oh, come on, that's a terrible excuse. You can do that any time."
    "No it isn't. It's hard to practice in the week as it always gets dark too quickly. I have a whole two extra hours today and I plan to use them. You've been doing this longer than me but I've only just learnt and it's taking me ages to transform each time."
    Jenna pouted and shook her head before stomping off to find Arthur. She wouldn't hold a grudge long though, so Crystal didn't give her a second thought and started walking home, eager to get started. She had walked barely for a minute when she heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.
    "Hello, Crystal. Do you mind if I walk with you?"
    Crystal turned around to see John hurrying to catch up with her. "Yes, I do mind. I thought I made that perfectly clear earlier. Is this even the right way for you to get home?"
    John shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. I'll be flying home and it only takes a minute from the school, I just fancied a walk."
    "You can fly? Already? I thought we weren't meant to learn outside of school."
    John frowned. "They make exceptions if you live in the small border settlements. Or at least no one objects to the rules being bent in places where Blue Dragons are seen on a weekly basis."
    Crystal was curious, both about his ability to fly and the fact that he had probably seen Blue Dragons. The border with the Blue Dragons extended from the coast in the north along the east of the northern principality and then all along the edge of the Eastern Principality. The Southern Principality, her home, bordered the Eastern Principality but didn't overlap with border with the Blues at all, instead sharing a border with both the Green Dragons and the fearsome Rhino Dragons, but unlike the Blue Dragons neither of them were seen very often.
    "So how long have you been flying? Can you fly well?"
    John nodded. "I've been flying for a long time. Years already. I came to Furnace on my own, so I had to fly all the way."
    "Seriously?" Crystal asked in amazement.
    John nodded. He didn't seem to be bragging, just stating the facts.
    "What about your parents? Why didn't