Read Online The Dragon in the Sea by Kate Klimo - Free Book Online Page B

dragon of most capacious dimensions,” said Yar. “Which, I might add, Fluke had suspected from the very first—but did I believe her? A dragon masking as a dragon fish? A bit obvious, in my book. Meaning no offense, Emerald of Leandra,” he said to Emmy.
    “None taken,” said Emmy. “And you can call me Emmy.”
    “It was your eyes that gave you away, Emmy,” Fluke said. “Dragon fish don’t have emerald-green eyes.”
    “Dragon fish generally don’t use words, either, Cap’n,” Yar pointed out.
    “Yes, well, there was that, too,” Fluke said.
    “I must say, I much prefer you as you are now,” said Yar. “Nasty pieces of work, dragon fish. Facefull of needles and no moral compass whatsoever.”
    “Well,” said Fluke, “now that we all know we’re on the same side, shall we take our guests to see the Thunder Egg?”
    “I thought you’d never ask,” said Emmy. She turned to Jesse and Daisy. “Hug?”
    Jesse and Daisy gave themselves over to a warm squeeze from Emmy. “I’m so excited, Keepers!” she whispered.
    “We are, too,” said Jesse.
    “I’m just glad we came here to look for the egg instead of that icky Coral Jungle,” said Daisy.
    Most of the other sea creatures dispersed as Fluke and Yar led the way up to the poop deck, to the mysterious canopy shrouded in seaweed and shells.
    Emmy lifted the curtain and the five hammerheads sullenly slid out. “Take a break, boys,” Emmy told them.
    “Do as the lady says,” Yar said to the shiver.
    They dealt Emmy sidelong looks as only hammerheads can; then they glided off into the deep.
    Quietly but firmly, Emmy said, “I knew the egg was here all along, didn’t I, Keepers?”
    Jesse and Daisy nodded.
    Yar twisted his whiskers. “Did you now? I’ll be keelhauled if we weren’t being a bit obvious ourselves,” he said to Fluke.
    “It was the hammerheads that gave you away,” said Emmy.
    “We have guards posted on it at all times,” said Fluke. “The dolphin doula says hatching is imminent.”
    “What’s a doula?” Daisy asked.
    “Someone who assists in birthing,” Fluke explained.
    Emmy peered beneath the canopy. “I can’t believe I’m finally seeing it,” she whispered.
    There, in the center of the enormous, seaweed-tufted bed beneath the canopy, nestled in the folds of Jesse and Daisy’s missing backpack, was the Thunder Egg.
    Ever so gently, Emmy climbed onto the bed and picked up the Thunder Egg. She turned it slowly in her talons. “Did my egg look like this?” she asked softly.
    Jesse said, “Identical, except that this one has golden flecks and yours had purple and green ones.”
    Emmy sighed. “Yes, they
are
golden. Just like my mom said. Better get comfy, cousins. Do I have a story to tell you!”
    “What kind of story?” Jesse asked.
    “The story of this egg,” said Emmy. “My mother told it to me the night we came back from our adventure in the scriptorium and found her waiting for me on the roof of the barn. She said if I ever found a geode that was speckled with gold, I must hold on to it and protect it at all costs, because it is the Thunder Egg that holds my brother or sister.”
    “Whoa!” said Jesse. “For real?”
    “How come you didn’t tell us this before?” Daisy said.
    “There’s a right time to tell every story. Until this moment, it hasn’t been the right time,” said Emmy.
    “May we please listen, too?” Fluke asked shyly.
    “Be my guests,” said Emmy.
    They all settled down on the giant seaweed bed, surrounding Emmy and the egg.
    Emmy began. “Far up in the northwestern territories, two dragons lived in a cave halfway up the side of a mountain known to the locals as the Old Woman.”
    “That’s in our backyard,” Jesse explained proudly to Fluke and Yar.
    Emmy went on. “Their names were Leandra and Obsidian—my mom and dad. This was during the period the humans called the Gold Rush, whenthe earth shook every time some prospector looking to strike it rich blasted away