Read Online The Lazy Dragon and Bumblespells Wizard by Kath Boyd Marsh - Free Book Online

seen by lots of folks, they had to hang it on a tree along the roadway. Which was risky, and meant they had to keep watch to avoid Hedge-Witch. Moire Ain shushed Raspberries often to make sure they did not attract attention. She hoped Hedge-Witch had not changed her habit of skulking through the woods rather than using a main road. As long as they were out where travelers could see them, Moire Ain hoped they’d be safe from the old crone.
    But still she worried about their voices carrying into the forest, along a creek, or in a hollow. If the old crone found them, she’d force Moire Ain to return to the village. At the very least, Hedge-Witch would punish Moire Ain horribly for her disobedience, but worse, Hedge-Witch would carry out her plan to use Moire Ain for the murder.
    It only took minutes to get to a place along the road that Moire Ain was sure would be perfect for travelers to see her poster. Raspberries snagged the top of the banner and flew up into the tallest tree. He wound the vines from the top corners of the banner into high branches. Moire Ain tied the bottom tethers down to the base of the tree. Since the banner was tall instead of wide, Moire Ain’s part was simple. She would have had to stretch the banners between trees and climb a lot if she’d gone with a wide banner. She felt pretty smart about her idea.
    But it took almost an hour before Moire Ain was satisfied with how the banner hung. Raspberries grumbled as Moire Ain made him change branches so the top edges were even, but he kept at it until she smiled at him. Moire Ain and Raspberries turned and headed back toward the cave to rest again.
    Things had gone so well, she started worrying. Her luck couldn’t hold; it never had before. Still afraid they might run into Hedge-Witch, Moire Ain crept quietly through the woods’ shadows, listening hard for the witch. Twice they detoured off to drink from a spring. After the second drink, Moire Ain recognized the rusty knight’s screams. He was yelling at someone. This time his venom was not directed at his horse.

C HAPTER 6
    â€œGet your slimy scaly cowardly green tail out of that tree, dr’gon!”
    Cl’rnce’s eyes snapped open; the scratchy bellow below him gobbled up his dreams of home and peanut-butter-topped-with-honey sandwiches. Faster than he could blink, the stench hit him, choking Cl’rnce on a gagging breath filled with the sour-soil reek of rotted rutabagas. He didn’t have to look down through his nap-tree’s branches. Nasty Sir George had found him again. That was twice since this Journey began.
    Pacing under the tree, Nasty Sir George rattled and screeched in his rickety, hole-ridden, and mismatched armor. Cl’rnce was pretty sure Nasty Sir George’s helmet was once a war horse’s head armor. No matter how clownish Nasty Sir George might look, it was a mistake to think the knight wasn’t dangerous.
    This was the second nap Cl’rnce had missed in two days. The first time his exasperating twin sister had found him and awakened him to rail about the Journeyand the duty he had to fulfill. She was impossible, mean, and rude. But unfortunately she had been right about how dangerous the Journey was turning out to be without a Wizard Partner.
    Her nagging words still rang in Cl’rnce’s head. It irritated him that she pretended to worry about him but had no problem kicking her twin into this situation without a Wizard Partner. Sisters!
    She’d caught him as he left and hissed out one little tiny warning, her irritation-hot dr’gon breath nearly knocking him over.
    â€œWord’s out. Sir George is after you, and he’s crazy. Mind you, he’s not crazy funny like you try to be, Cl’rnce.” Hazel’d smacked Cl’rnce behind the front horn to make him stop screwing his face up and giving her his famous crossed-eyes look. “Listen up; you get the Whisper Stone to the Council in the next