Dragon Keepers #3: The Dragon in the Library by Kate Klimo
Authors: Kate Klimo
Tags: Fiction, General, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Cousins, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Language Arts & Disciplines, Animals, Children: Grades 4-6, Dragons, Mythical, Body; Mind & Spirit, Animals - Mythical, Magick Studies, Books & Libraries, Libraries, Library & Information Science
smote Emmy with the queen's own Golden Pickax.
Balthazaar continued with his story. "Once I was in chains, George came at me with a sharpened lance and pierced me through the heart."
"Beneath the wing, where you have no scales," Daisy added grimly.
Balthazaar nodded thoughtfully. "Had I known what he would do to me afterward, I might have
106
fought harder. I suppose I should have known better. Once a tanner, always a tanner."
"Oh, no!" Daisy clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, yes!" said Balthazaar. "George Skinner... skinned me: I, Balthazaar of Belvedere."
Daisy was glad that Emmy was too caught up in scratching her itch to pay much attention to the tale's grisly turn.
"He took the best and most powerful part of me for a trophy: my beautiful black scales, my magic, my essence, my soul, my identity, my pride, my dragon skin!" Balthazaar finished on a note that trembled with passion.
There was a moment of silence as they all mourned this inestimable loss.
In a lighter tone, Balthazaar added, "For all I know, the blackguard has it mounted on a wall somewhere."
"No," said Jesse, shaking his head. "That's not what he did with your skin, Balthazaar."
Daisy shot Jesse a curious look. "So what did he do with it?"
"You know, Daze. Think about it. What is George always wearing, no matter how hot it gets? And what has Sadie Huffington been wearing nearly every time we've seen her?"
Daisy's eyes widened. "A long black coat!" she
107
said, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Exactly," said Jesse, "a long black coat... made from dragon skin!"
Daisy dropped her hand and said, "We'll get your skin back for you, Balthazaar, won't we, Jess?"
Jesse stared at her as if she had just sprouted a second head, and sputtered, "We will?"
"Of course we will," she said. "At least the half on Sadie's back. I mean, we have to rescue the professor anyway. We might as well get the coat while we're at it."
"If we can rescue the professor," Jesse said, his jaw tight. "Have you forgotten the team of Tibetan mastiffs guarding the tower? The biggest dogs you've ever seen?"
"We'll just stick to the plan," Daisy said confidently. "We'll get the book about Goldmine City houses and find a way to sneak around those big black dogs. Right?"
Balthazaar, who had cocked his transparent head toward their conversation, spoke up. "Castle, you say?" he rumbled. "What castle would this be?"
"The replica of Uffington Castle that St. George--er, George Skinner--built a long time ago in our hometown of Goldmine City," Jesse explained.
"A replica, you say? Hmmm," said Balthazaar
108
thoughtfully, scratching the crown of his head with a sicklelike talon. "Well, if it is indeed an exact copy, I will gladly show you the plans, especially if it will get me back even one half of my beloved long-lost skin."
He reached down and flipped through the pile of parchment at his feet, laying the book wide open before them and smoothing the pages out lovingly. "Gather round, my younglings," he said.
The book was so big, Jesse and Daisy had to scramble up onto the bottom edge to see what was on the page. In faded black ink was an elegant set of drawings detailing the floor plans of Uffington Castle.
"How come these are in your book?" Jesse asked.
"Because I was the castle's architect. The king of Uffington held a contest, and naturally," he said with a modest shrug, "my plan won."
Daisy whipped out the wildflower notebook, pulled the pencil out of her bun, and began copying the floor plans onto a fresh page.
While Daisy did that, Jesse spoke to her in an undertone. "I'd hate to raise Balthazaar's hopes only to dash them. What if we can't get the coat back? I mean, for all we know, Sadie Huffington is even more powerful than St. George. She seems so to
109
me, at least. Doesn't she seem that way to you, Daze? I mean--"
Daisy cut short his fretting with a tug on his arm. "Look here, Jess." She showed him the plans she had copied into the notebook and
Balthazaar continued with his story. "Once I was in chains, George came at me with a sharpened lance and pierced me through the heart."
"Beneath the wing, where you have no scales," Daisy added grimly.
Balthazaar nodded thoughtfully. "Had I known what he would do to me afterward, I might have
106
fought harder. I suppose I should have known better. Once a tanner, always a tanner."
"Oh, no!" Daisy clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, yes!" said Balthazaar. "George Skinner... skinned me: I, Balthazaar of Belvedere."
Daisy was glad that Emmy was too caught up in scratching her itch to pay much attention to the tale's grisly turn.
"He took the best and most powerful part of me for a trophy: my beautiful black scales, my magic, my essence, my soul, my identity, my pride, my dragon skin!" Balthazaar finished on a note that trembled with passion.
There was a moment of silence as they all mourned this inestimable loss.
In a lighter tone, Balthazaar added, "For all I know, the blackguard has it mounted on a wall somewhere."
"No," said Jesse, shaking his head. "That's not what he did with your skin, Balthazaar."
Daisy shot Jesse a curious look. "So what did he do with it?"
"You know, Daze. Think about it. What is George always wearing, no matter how hot it gets? And what has Sadie Huffington been wearing nearly every time we've seen her?"
Daisy's eyes widened. "A long black coat!" she
107
said, then clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Exactly," said Jesse, "a long black coat... made from dragon skin!"
Daisy dropped her hand and said, "We'll get your skin back for you, Balthazaar, won't we, Jess?"
Jesse stared at her as if she had just sprouted a second head, and sputtered, "We will?"
"Of course we will," she said. "At least the half on Sadie's back. I mean, we have to rescue the professor anyway. We might as well get the coat while we're at it."
"If we can rescue the professor," Jesse said, his jaw tight. "Have you forgotten the team of Tibetan mastiffs guarding the tower? The biggest dogs you've ever seen?"
"We'll just stick to the plan," Daisy said confidently. "We'll get the book about Goldmine City houses and find a way to sneak around those big black dogs. Right?"
Balthazaar, who had cocked his transparent head toward their conversation, spoke up. "Castle, you say?" he rumbled. "What castle would this be?"
"The replica of Uffington Castle that St. George--er, George Skinner--built a long time ago in our hometown of Goldmine City," Jesse explained.
"A replica, you say? Hmmm," said Balthazaar
108
thoughtfully, scratching the crown of his head with a sicklelike talon. "Well, if it is indeed an exact copy, I will gladly show you the plans, especially if it will get me back even one half of my beloved long-lost skin."
He reached down and flipped through the pile of parchment at his feet, laying the book wide open before them and smoothing the pages out lovingly. "Gather round, my younglings," he said.
The book was so big, Jesse and Daisy had to scramble up onto the bottom edge to see what was on the page. In faded black ink was an elegant set of drawings detailing the floor plans of Uffington Castle.
"How come these are in your book?" Jesse asked.
"Because I was the castle's architect. The king of Uffington held a contest, and naturally," he said with a modest shrug, "my plan won."
Daisy whipped out the wildflower notebook, pulled the pencil out of her bun, and began copying the floor plans onto a fresh page.
While Daisy did that, Jesse spoke to her in an undertone. "I'd hate to raise Balthazaar's hopes only to dash them. What if we can't get the coat back? I mean, for all we know, Sadie Huffington is even more powerful than St. George. She seems so to
109
me, at least. Doesn't she seem that way to you, Daze? I mean--"
Daisy cut short his fretting with a tug on his arm. "Look here, Jess." She showed him the plans she had copied into the notebook and
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