Read Online The Magician's Dream (Oona Crate Mystery: book 3) by Shawn Thomas Odyssey - Free Book Online Page B

the gates, but then remembered that the task was to reach the gates, not to get past them. She steered them to the ground, as close as possible to the gate, making sure to keep well clear of Samuligan, who remained rooted to the spot where they had left him, watching their flight.
    They came down harder than she had anticipated, and this time Oona actually did lose her grip. She tumbled forward over the head of the dragon and landed in a heap of skirts on the uncut lawn. Heart in her throat, and afraid that Samuligan would beat her to it, she sprang to her feet and dashed for the gate, her hand wrapping around its cold metal frame where she sank to her knees, breath heaving in her chest.
    The instant her hand touched the metal, Oona felt the magical link to the house drop away. And so, too, did the dragon, for it folded itself back into the form of the Wizard’s slumbering desk.
    Samuligan stuck out a long-fingered hand. “Very good, Miss Crate,” he said, showing no signs of disappointment that she had beaten him.
    “Yes, very good indeed,” said the Wizard, who was coming down the walkway with Deacon on his shoulder. He paused beside the desk and scratched at his head. “There were, of course, less . . . destructive ways of achieving your task.” He peered back toward the house, where the dragon’s destruction could be seen quite clearly in the form of a gaping hole where the front door had once been. “But it was effective. And I’m sure Samuligan and Mrs. Carlyle can have things tidied up in no time.”
    Deacon fluttered from the Wizard’s shoulder to the desk, looking at the piece of furniture wearily. He poked gingerly at the desktop with his beak before saying: “You may not have a maid to help clean all of this up.”
    “Oh,” the Wizard said thoughtfully. “Good point. We do have trouble keeping good help, don’t we?”
    Oona threw a hand to her mouth and glanced around, as if hoping to find Mrs. Carlyle standing nearby. She peered out the gate in both directions, but the maid was nowhere to be seen.
    “I hope she is all right,” she said. “Probably ran home to tell Mr. Carlyle what crazy people we are. Do you think she will come back?”
    She felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of Mrs. Carlyle not returning. The maid was, after all, the only female companion Oona had whom she related to.
    “Oh, I’m sure she can be persuaded,” the Wizard said. “Though perhaps we will set the next challenge away from the house.”
    Oona looked toward the ruins of the front door and laughed. “Good idea.”
    The Wizard peered at the massive old desk, which was slowly sinking into the lawn, and frowned. He scratched at his head as if contemplating a serious problem, and said: “Now, how do we get this monstrosity back inside?”

Chapter Five
    Knots and Lies
     
    “Never in all my life!” said Mrs. Carlyle. “I just don’t know.”
    “But please stay, Mrs. Carlyle,” Oona said. “I apologize about the dragon. It won’t happen again.”
    They stood facing each other in the house entryway, which had been miraculously repaired by Samuligan the previous evening. The clock in the antechamber clanged, indicating that the time was nine o’clock in the morning, and Oona felt exhausted. She had slept poorly, lying awake most of the night, and when she had actually managed to fall asleep, she had dreamed of riding the wild dragon and falling from a great height.
    But it had not been the flight of the dragon that had kept her up half the night. It had been the needling thought that her father’s murderers were out there, back at their criminal deeds.
    “Oona is quite right,” the Wizard reassured Mrs. Carlyle. Only Oona, Deacon, and the Wizard greeted the maid in the entryway. Oona had requested that Samuligan remain absent for fear he would frighten Mrs. Carlyle away.
    The Wizard continued: “We will have today’s test in Oswald Park, miles from here, which will give you plenty of room to do your job