Read Online Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by MaryJanice Davidson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: MaryJanice Davidson
Tags: Fantasy
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higher up.”
“Great.” Jennifer sighed.
“Don’t worry too much. A dragon’s bones and sinews are incredibly resilient. You won’t break or twist a thing. Just your ego, once or twice. Plus, we have this!”
He grabbed a bar of the trampoline with a hind claw and shoved off the ground with the other. “Meet me out by the wildflower fields. Trees and water make for a poor first flight.” Weaving his way through the elms and pines, he disappeared.
Jennifer trudged her way on all four claws back down the gravel driveway. It was at least a half mile to the wild-flower fields. By the time she got there, her throat was dusty and her belly sore from all the scratching and pulling. She was more than ready to learn how to get her carcass off the ground.
Jonathan was bouncing on the trampoline, humming a jaunty tune with smoke smoldering from his nostrils. “A beautiful day to spend out in the sunshine!” he called out. “And a good day to get up in the air, too. Come over here, ace. I’ll give you a hand up…”
He stepped off as she sought her balance in the rubbery center. If walking on four legs was difficult, navigating a bouncy, slippery material was even worse. Up and down Jennifer jarred, a jumble of wings and horns. It was impossible to stop. She decided to wait out the embarrassment on her butt, lolling up and down miserably. Her previous enthusiasm drained away.
“Perk up, camper! You’re learning something amazing.”
“What, hopping on my ass?”
Her father snorted with laughter, letting a cloud of steam out from between his teeth. Jennifer almost smiled back, though a part of her was determined to stay grumpy. “All right, what do I do?”
“We’ll start off with simple bouncing, straight up and down. Just like everyone does. Sitting down is fine, the idea is to get the feel for liftoff.”
This was easy enough, since the trampoline hadn’t really stopped jouncing her yet. She pushed off a bit harder to get up in the air, and before long she established a slow, steady rhythm.
“Good. Now, spread your wings on each up, and fold them on each down…”
This was harder, because her wings caught the south wind when unfolded, which moved her slightly out of position each trip into the air. Jennifer found herself adjusting her wings each time, to try and catch the wind different ways.
“Great! You’re figuring out how the wind and your wings interact. There are four forces at work—gravity, lift, thrust, and drag. Your wings represent an incredible evolutionary leap that minimizes drag while allowing…”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“If you want to minimize drag, you could talk less.”
Jennifer let her hind legs down so that she was standing and jumping each time. Wings out, wings in, wings out, wings in… Suddenly, Jennifer kicked hard off the trampoline and waved her wings frantically. On the third beat, her wings caught wind, and she sailed at least thirty feet into the air.
“Nice!” she heard her father call. “Oh, keep flapping, or you’ll come back down too fast.”
She got the message right away as her bulk began to drop. Beating her wings again, she found another gust of air to support her weight, and she tilted her wings to take advantage of it. Now she was more than fifty feet up off the ground. The air was cooler up here. With wild eyes she took in the entirety of Grandpa Crawford’s farm. There were the hives to the south, and the wall beyond, and if she turned a bit she could see the sheep scattering at the sight of her silhouette in the sky, and beyond them the trees, and the house, and the lake…
“KEEP FLAPPING OR YOU’LL LOSE LIFT!” Her father’s voice right next to her startled her, and she flinched into an awkward shape. She immediately dropped ten feet.
“Cripes, Dad!” She regained composure and glared up at his hovering form. Unsolicited lectures on the ground were merely boring. At this altitude, they were dangerous!
After a few minutes of
“Great.” Jennifer sighed.
“Don’t worry too much. A dragon’s bones and sinews are incredibly resilient. You won’t break or twist a thing. Just your ego, once or twice. Plus, we have this!”
He grabbed a bar of the trampoline with a hind claw and shoved off the ground with the other. “Meet me out by the wildflower fields. Trees and water make for a poor first flight.” Weaving his way through the elms and pines, he disappeared.
Jennifer trudged her way on all four claws back down the gravel driveway. It was at least a half mile to the wild-flower fields. By the time she got there, her throat was dusty and her belly sore from all the scratching and pulling. She was more than ready to learn how to get her carcass off the ground.
Jonathan was bouncing on the trampoline, humming a jaunty tune with smoke smoldering from his nostrils. “A beautiful day to spend out in the sunshine!” he called out. “And a good day to get up in the air, too. Come over here, ace. I’ll give you a hand up…”
He stepped off as she sought her balance in the rubbery center. If walking on four legs was difficult, navigating a bouncy, slippery material was even worse. Up and down Jennifer jarred, a jumble of wings and horns. It was impossible to stop. She decided to wait out the embarrassment on her butt, lolling up and down miserably. Her previous enthusiasm drained away.
“Perk up, camper! You’re learning something amazing.”
“What, hopping on my ass?”
Her father snorted with laughter, letting a cloud of steam out from between his teeth. Jennifer almost smiled back, though a part of her was determined to stay grumpy. “All right, what do I do?”
“We’ll start off with simple bouncing, straight up and down. Just like everyone does. Sitting down is fine, the idea is to get the feel for liftoff.”
This was easy enough, since the trampoline hadn’t really stopped jouncing her yet. She pushed off a bit harder to get up in the air, and before long she established a slow, steady rhythm.
“Good. Now, spread your wings on each up, and fold them on each down…”
This was harder, because her wings caught the south wind when unfolded, which moved her slightly out of position each trip into the air. Jennifer found herself adjusting her wings each time, to try and catch the wind different ways.
“Great! You’re figuring out how the wind and your wings interact. There are four forces at work—gravity, lift, thrust, and drag. Your wings represent an incredible evolutionary leap that minimizes drag while allowing…”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“If you want to minimize drag, you could talk less.”
Jennifer let her hind legs down so that she was standing and jumping each time. Wings out, wings in, wings out, wings in… Suddenly, Jennifer kicked hard off the trampoline and waved her wings frantically. On the third beat, her wings caught wind, and she sailed at least thirty feet into the air.
“Nice!” she heard her father call. “Oh, keep flapping, or you’ll come back down too fast.”
She got the message right away as her bulk began to drop. Beating her wings again, she found another gust of air to support her weight, and she tilted her wings to take advantage of it. Now she was more than fifty feet up off the ground. The air was cooler up here. With wild eyes she took in the entirety of Grandpa Crawford’s farm. There were the hives to the south, and the wall beyond, and if she turned a bit she could see the sheep scattering at the sight of her silhouette in the sky, and beyond them the trees, and the house, and the lake…
“KEEP FLAPPING OR YOU’LL LOSE LIFT!” Her father’s voice right next to her startled her, and she flinched into an awkward shape. She immediately dropped ten feet.
“Cripes, Dad!” She regained composure and glared up at his hovering form. Unsolicited lectures on the ground were merely boring. At this altitude, they were dangerous!
After a few minutes of
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