SAVING
THE
SUN
DRAGON
by
Tracey West
illustrated by
Graham Howells
Read All the Books
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3
2
4
DRAGONS IN THE SKY . . . . . . . . . . .
A SICK DRAGON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
KING ROLAND'S THREAT . . . . . .
THE WIZARD'S POTION . . . . . . . . .
ANA'S STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WORM CALLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FAR-AWAY LANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A STRANGE BOY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
KEPRI AND WATI . . . . .. . . . . . . .
ROBBERS! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ANA'S DECISION . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ONE LAST GOOD-BYE . . . . . . . . . .
HOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or
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means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
West, Tracey, 1965- author.
Saving the sun dragon / by Tracey West ; illustrated by Graham Howells.
pages cm. —(Dragon masters ; 2)
Summary: The dark magic the dragons encountered in their first adventure has made
Ana's sun dragon, Kepri, sick and Drake's earth dragon, Worm, teleports himself, Kepri,
and the four young dragon masters far away from the castle in search of a cure—but
the threat of the dark magic still remains.
ISBN 0-545-64625-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) —ISBN 0-545-64626-X (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN
0-545-64634-0 (ebook) 1. Dragons—Juvenile fiction. 2. Wizards—Juvenile fiction. 3. Magic—
Juvenile fiction. [1. Dragons—Fiction. 2. Wizards—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.] I. Howells, Graham,
illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.W51937Sav 2014
813.54—dc23
2013046257
e-ISBN 978-0-545-64634-5
Text copyright 2014 by Tracey West.
Interior illustrations copyright 2014 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC, BRANCHES, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Scholastic Inc.
First printing, December 2014
Edited by Katie Carella
Book design by Jessica Meltzer
fOR My fRieNd GeORGe,
who would make a good teacher of Dragon Masters.—TW
Special thanks to Damien Jones for his artistic contributions to this book.
Drake shaded his eyes from the sun. He
was standing in the Valley of Clouds behind
King Roland’s castle. Not long ago, Drake
had never even been to the castle. But now
he lived here, and he had an important job.
He was a Dragon Master—someone who
had been chosen by the Dragon Stone to
work with dragons.
Above him, three dragons flew in the
bright blue sky. Griffith, the wizard who
taught the young Dragon Masters, watched
as the dragons practiced flying.
DRagoNS
IN The SKy
Vulcan, a big, red Fire Dragon, flew across
the valley. He shot a burst of fire into the air.
“Nice one!” yelled his Dragon Master, Rori.
She had hair as red as Vulcan’s flames.
Shu, a beautiful blue Water Dragon, didn’t
have wings. She glided through the air, riding
the wind. Bo, her Dragon Master, watched her
with a peaceful smile on his face.
The best flier was the yellow -and-white
Sun Dragon, Kepri. She looped and swirled
in the air. Then a rainbow streamed from her
mouth. It arced across the sky. Kepri’s Dragon
Master, Ana, danced on the grass below her
dragon. Her long, black hair swayed behind her.
Drake’s dragon, Worm, was not like the
other dragons. He was an Earth Dragon with a
long, brown body. He couldn’t fly. But Drake
had just learned Worm could move things with
the power of his mind.
What other amazing
things can Worm do?
Drake wondered. He
knew he had even more to learn about his
dragon.
“It feels good to be outside, right, Worm?”
Drake asked. The green Dragon Stone around
Drake’s neck tingled a bit. He smiled.
Each of the Dragon Masters wore a piece
of the stone. It helped them connect with and
train their dragons.
When the stone glowed, Drake knew that
he and Worm had a very strong connection.
Drake could sometimes hear Worm’s voice
inside his head when they were connecting.
But the other Dragon Masters' stones had not
glowed yet.
Drake looked back up at the
sunny sky.
Kepri’s whole
body shone
with light.
Then Drake understood. “Oh,I get it. Kepri
has light powers because she’s a Sun Dragon,
right?” Drake asked the other Dragon Masters.
Rori snorted. “Of course that’s why. It’s just
like how Fire Dragons have fire powers, and
Water Dragons have water powers.”
Rori can be friendly sometimes,
thought
Drake.
And other times she’s not friendly at all!
His face turned red. “I’m still learning,” he
said. “I haven’t been a Dragon Master as long
as you.”
Rori, Bo, and Ana had already been training
for weeks when Drake got to the castle. He
still felt like he had a lot of catching up to do.
Above them, Vulcan swooped down from
the sky, showing off and shooting another
stream of fire. It hit the ground right next
to Griffith, and the grass burst
into
flames. The wizard jumped
to the side.
“Careful there, Vulcan!” Griffith called out.
He pointed his finger at the fire. Water flowed
from his fingertip, and the flames went out.
Drake’s eyes grew wide. “I will never get
tired of seeing wizard magic,” he said to Bo,
who was standing beside him. Bo nodded.
Drake looked over at Worm. The dragon’s
eyes glowed bright green.
That’s strange,
thought Drake.
His eyes
glow when he’s using his powers. What could
he be using his powers on right now?
Worm was staring up at the sky.
Drake followed his gaze. Worm was looking
at Kepri high up in the air. Her white wings
had stopped flapping. Worm must have sensed
that she was in trouble.
“Watch out! Kepri is falling!” Drake yelled.
Ana looked up and started to scream. The
other Dragon Masters also looked to the sky.
Griffith pointed a finger at Kepri.
“I’ll try to slow her down!” the wizard
cried. Lightning sizzled from his finger. But
before Griffith could use his magic, a red blur
shot across the sky.
A SiCK DrAgON
It was Vulcan, flying faster than Drake had
ever seen him fly before. He lunged for Kepri
and grabbed her with his front claws.
“Go, Vulcan!” Rori cheered.
slowing down. Then he gently placed Kepri
in the grass.
Everyone ran to Kepri. The dragon’s eyes
were closed. Her breathing was loud and heavy.
Ana stroked Kepri’s head.
“Oh, Kepri, are you all right?” she asked, her
voice shaking.
Griffith leaned over Kepri, frowning. “I’m
afraid she doesn’t look well,” he said.
Ana turned to the wizard. “She has seemed
a little off since last week—when the tunnel
caved in. She gets tired easily. And sometimes
her eyes look cloudy. I should have said
something!”
Griffith put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s
not your fault, Ana,” he said. “But are you
sure Kepri only started looking sick
after
that
night in the tunnel?”
Ana slowly nodded her
head. “Yes. She was fine
before then.”
Drake, Bo, and Rori looked at one another.
A week before, they had all tried to sneak
out of the castle with their dragons. Since
King Roland wanted to keep the dragons a
secret, most dragon training had to take place
underground. The Dragon Masters had only
wanted to get outside to do some night flying.
Then a glowing red orb had flown into the
tunnel that led to the valley.
The red ball of light scared Vulcan so he
tried to get away.
His huge body
banged into the
tunnel walls, and
he had made the
tunnel cave in.
They were trapped.
Worm used his mind powers to help them
escape. He broke up the big rocks blocking
the tunnel using only
his thoughts. Worm
had saved them all.
But now
something was
wrong with Kepri.
“Why did you
ask about the cave-in,
Griffith?” asked Bo.
“The red orb worries me,” Griffith answered.
“It must have been made by a dark wizard, as
I had feared. And dark magic can make Sun
Dragons sick.”
“So Kepri’s illness is connected to that weird
ball?” asked Ana. “And the other dragons are
okay because they’re
not
Sun Dragons?”
“I think so,” said Griffith.
“Do you
know
any dark wizards?” Drake
asked with a shiver.
“No time for tales now,” said Griffith with
a wave of his hand.
Suddenly, Rori cried out. “Look! Kepri is
getting up!”
The dragon had opened her eyes and was
standing on all four legs.
“She looks well enough to walk back to
the dragon caves,” Griffith said. “Come along.”
He led the Dragon Masters and their dragons
back through the tunnel. The tunnel led to the
big, underground Dragon Room.
There, each dragon had
a small cave.
When they got there, a big man with red
hair waited for them. He wore a vest with a
gold dragon on it, and a metal crown on his
head. Two guards stood behind him.
Griffith stopped. “King Roland!” he said.
“What brings you down here?”
The king frowned.“What is this I hear about
a sick dragon?”
KInG RolAnd'S
THREAT
D
rake looked over at his friend Bo. He could
tell Bo was thinking the same thing he was:
How did the king know one of the dragons
was sick?
“I have spies hidden in the Valley of Clouds,”
the king said, as if he had read their minds.
“You almost let these dragons escape once,
Griffith. I want to make sure they are ready
when I need them.”
Drake remembered that when the tunnel
had caved in, Griffith hadn’t told the king that
the Dragon Masters had taken the dragons
out. Instead, he said the dragons had tried to
escape. Griffith had lied to protect the Dragon
Masters.
Griffith had only wanted to protect us when
he told that lie,
Drake thought.
But now the
king is mad at
him
instead of
us
!
“So I will ask you again, Griffith,” said the
king. “Is one of the dragons sick?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Griffith. “There
seems to be something wrong with Kepri.”
All eyes turned to Kepri. Her eyes were cloudy.
And her long, graceful neck was drooping.
“First the dragons tried
to escape, and now one is
sick,” said King Roland.
“This makes me very
unhappy, wizard. You
are supposed to know
all about dragons.
Heal her!”
“I will look for a cure right away,” Griffith
promised.
“You had better find one soon,” King Roland
said, his eyes fixed on the wizard. “If not, I will
find another wizard.”
King Roland turned and stormed out of the
caves. His guards followed.
Drake’s stomach did a flip.
Another wizard?
What would we do without Griffith?
“What do we do now?” Ana asked Griffith,
stroking Kepri’s head.
“I have many books about dragons,” the
wizard replied. “We will start there.”
&nb
sp; “We?
You mean we can help?” Drake asked.
“Of course!” Griffith said. “Please take your
dragons into their caves. Then meet me in the
Training Room. We must act quickly to save
Kepri!”
T
he Dragon Masters dropped off their
dragons and headed to the Training Room.
The section where Griffith taught lessons was
kind of like a cave.
Most days, everyone wanted to be outside
in the Valley of Clouds. Drake loved it there
because it reminded him of working in his
family’s onion fields. But today, nobody was
complaining about staying inside. Everyone
wanted to help Kepri.
THe WizaRd'S POtiON
When they walked
into the classroom,
they saw a giant pile
of books on the table.
“Everyone take a
book,” Griffith said,
pointing to a stack
of books. “A dark
wizard made that orb. So we must find a cure
for Sun Dragons who have been touched by
dark magic. Quickly, now!” He was already
flipping through
All About Sun Dragons.
Drake took
Dragons 101
back to his desk. The room
was quiet, except
for the sound of
turning pages.
Drake read and
read, but couldn’t
find anything. No
one could.
Then Rori held up
Dragon Lore.
“I found
something!” she cried.
“Listen: ‘Each Sun Dragon
is born with a Moon Dragon twin. These twins
can cure each other of almost anything.' Is this
true? Does Kepri have a Moon Dragon twin?”
Griffith frowned. “I do not know. And if
she does have a twin, that twin is likely very
far away from here. There’s no way we could
find the Moon Dragon in time.”