"Where's Clayton?" Whittle asked as he joined the group and noticed the man's absence. "He didn't fall out before you reached shore, did he?"

"Not him!" Julian snorted with contempt. "Our friend jumped in and swam to shore like a fish in water as soon as we got close enough for him to be sure he could make it safely to land. Last I saw of him he was hightailing it into the woods as if the dragon were shooting fire at his backside."

"Don't waste time talking!" Princess Hope ordered as she grabbed up an edge of the balloon and helped the sore faced old man, in clothes even more tattered than her own, fold the cloth in half. "The dragon will be returning. This balloon is our only hope of getting off the island. It must be hidden until we can see about getting it mended."

"She snaps out orders like a princess, even if she doesn't look like one," Julian muttered to his brother.

"Hush!" Whittle whispered, eyeing the girl who seemed too intent on her labors to pay any attention to what they were saying. "She'll hear you," he warned, thinking that the girl with hair the color of the rising sun and eyes the color of the sea behind them, was even more beautiful out of the water and semi-dry.

"It doesn't matter what I hear," she spoke up unexpectedly. "If we don't get this balloon off the beach soon the dragon will either carry it off to add to his hoard, or he'll rip it to pieces in a fit of rage."

"Timon keep a watch out for evil red dragon!" the young sprite announced grandly, but his father grabbed the young prince by the ankle as he flew past and dragged him earthward.

"Prince Timon will go with Obil now," Tid-Bit told his son firmly. "Don't understand why young Prince return to island, but now not time to discuss such matters. Mother will be happy to see Timon. Queen not well since son leave."

"Mother ill?" Timon asked, his young face showing grave concern. "Timon go to her at once!" the pixie declared and before anyone could stop him, darted into the woods.

"I shall see Prince Timon not get lost, your highness," Obil assured and zipped off after the young prince.

"Tid-Bit watch for dragon's return," the king told the group of humans who had been paying little attention to the pixies, so intent were they on folding the large piece of cloth.

"Look! Here's where the dragon ripped the balloon open!" Alanna cried holding up a section of the balloon to show the others four large slashes.

"Great Hoppy Toads!" Julian exclaimed when he saw the great gashes the dragon's claws had made in the balloon. "With rips that size we should have gone down a lot faster than we did."

"There's an inside layer of cloth," Alanna announced, studying the balloon more closely. "Not colored, and not slick or shiny, but a lot tougher. The dragon's claws only pierced it. See? It shouldn't be nearly as hard to repair."

"If we don't get off this beach we won't be around to repair anything!" Princess Hope pointed out sharply. "Young man," she said looking at Whittle. "You appear the strongest. Carry the basket into the woods while we finish up here."

Julian chuckled and Whittle flushed slightly, but as the order, it couldn't be called a request, made perfect sense, he didn't see the point in refusing, even if he had been inclined to, which he wasn't.

"Just a moment, Whittle!" Alanna called. rushing to the basket she removed the lamp and Todd's walking stick. "I don't want either of these out of my sight. Especially with that blackguard Clayton lurking about."

"Is the lamp still burning, Alanna?" Whittle asked with concern, recalling Dagu's admonition to keep the flame lit at all times.

"Yes, but only just," the girl said as she peered into the old lamp and saw the dim flicker of a flame.

"Hurry!" Tid-Bit cried. "See dragon coming. Far away still, but no time to waste talking."

They didn't need to be told twice. As Whittle pulled the basket off the beach, and Alanna walked beside him, the precious lamp in one hand and the old walking stick, that was so much more than it appeared, in the other, Julian, Chester, and Hope lifted the balloon, which was surprisingly light, and followed behind.

"This way!" Hope said, and leaving Chester and Julian to carry the balloon, she took the lead as they entered the woods. "We're not safe yet. The dragon has eyes like a hawk, and can see us through the breaks in the trees. There's a place just ahead where Chester and I have been hiding. It should be safe enough, for the time being at any rate, and I believe it will be large enough to hold the balloon and basket."

"You mean to say this is where you've been living?" Alanna asked a few minutes later as she stared incredulously into the dark mass of twisted limbs and branches that Chester and Hope had constructed into a small shelter.

"More surviving than living," Hope answered with a faint smile. "And glad we were to have it when the dragon was up and hunting for food."

"There's just the two of you on this island then?" Whittle asked, feeling pity for the princess who had been forced to endure such loneliness and hardships.

Hope, however, wasn't a great one for allowing anyone to feel sorry for her, especially some lad dressed in peasant clothing who had fallen from the sky after failing to slay a dragon that had been as good as a setting duck.

"There's King Jakin, and his wife as well," Hope pointed out, pushing the mass of tangled hair back from her face. "And a few of his people visit occasionally, though not as often now that the red dragon has taken over the island. Is there room for the basket, do you think, or must we construct a new hiding place for it?"

"Perhaps the folded balloon can be placed inside of the basket," Chester suggested after silently studying the size of each. "That would help some."

It was a tight fit, but they managed to stuff the cloth inside the basket and the basket through the opening and into the dark interior.

"Where are you going to sleep now?" Julian asked, seeing that the basket took up the entire space of what had been their haven from the dragon.

"We have other places about the island," Hope explained. "It's not safe to stay in one spot too long. He's searching for us, you know, and won't rest until he's found and devoured us. He would have had us today, had you not drawn his attention away. I don't understand why you didn't kill the beast when you had the chance."

"I need his claw," Whittle said somewhat embarrassed at the admission. "In hindsight, I should have killed the dragon and let the sea be its grave. Then I could have hunted down and slain the other dragon and taken the claw from him."

Whittle was mainly trying to impress the princess, but the man next to her took him seriously. "Hold on there!" Chester blustered. "Ain't no one cutting off one of old Garreth's claws! You'll have to get your trophy somewhere else, young fellow."

"We'll discuss this later," Hope said, looking nervously toward what sky could be seen between the thick limbs and needles of the evergreen trees that grew in that part of the woods. "We need to find a place to hide until the dragon returns to his cave."

"How will we know?" Julian asked as the small group followed the girl and the old man deeper into the woods. "Can you hear him snoring, or something?"

Alanna giggled, but Hope wasn't amused. "Tid-Bit, King Jakin, will tell us. He keeps an eye on the beast and informs us when he enters the cave to settle down over his 'treasures'."

"Speaking of King Jakin, where is he?" Whittle asked, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen Timon's father since the pixie had warned them of the dragon's approach.

"Off to take care of his family, I 'spect," said Chester knowingly. "Tid-Bit comes and goes as he pleases. You'll get used to it after a while."

Whittle had no intention of staying on the island long enough to get used to anything. As soon as possible they would mend the balloon, fill it with hot air from the lamp that Alanna still carried, and be on their way along with the princess to save his village from the evil knights sent out by her father to harass poor peasants into doing their dirty work for them. The princess might be beautiful, but she was royalty, and like all royalty, cared for little but her own selfish ways, he thought bitterly, staring at the straight back, and noticing the proud way the girl carried her shoulders and head.

A tug on his sleeve interrupted his scornful thoughts.

"Look at the trees, Whittle!" Julian said hoarsely.

Whittle looked about and discovered that the evergreens were giving way to other trees; oaks, maples, and birch. It wasn't the kind of trees that had caught his brother's attention, however, but their condition. The leaves were no longer green, but a mixture of red, orange and brown, with many having already fallen to the earth.

"Dagu warned me that time was different in that place," Whittle moaned. "But I never would have dreamed we were there that long.

"We'll just have to fix the balloon as soon as possible and get the princess back to her father," he added firmly.

"We can stay here until the dragon is no longer an immediate threat," Princess Hope explained as they came to what seemed to be a narrow ravine over which an old log had fallen. "Tid-Bit knows this hiding place is near the one we were just in. He'll search us out once he's sure the dragon has gone into its cave."

"I'm hungry, Whittle," Julian announced after they had all settled down under the log, a little too close and cozily for Whittle's comfort. "How long has it been since we last ate?"

"Too long!" Whittle grumbled, his aching stomach making him aware of his own need for food.

"I have an idea!" his brother cried. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. We don't have to hide from the dragon. We'll just cast an invisibility spell over ourselves and we can go wherever we like. Is there someplace to get some food, your highness?" the boy asked, leaning forward to look at the girl who sat two spaces down from him between Whittle and Chester.

"Just what we need! More mouths to feed!" the old man grumbled, but the girl was staring at Julian with sudden interest.

"You mean to say you can make us invisible?" she asked. "Who are you, anyway, that you have such power? And who sent you here? Not my father, I'm sure."

"Forgive us your highness," Alanna said. "In all the excitement we have quite forgotten our manners. I am Alanna, student of Cedric the Great. And I am, or was, in training to become a sorceress." The young girl's face clouded over a little and then she forced herself to smile. "And the young man beside me is Julian, who, I believe, will one day be a greater wizard than Cedric himself."

"Hey!" the boy protested, though his face beamed at his friend's remark. "I only know a few spells, your highness. Mostly taught to me by Alanna. But we do have a wizard's staff, and a wand."

"And you can turn people invisible?" Hope asked dubiously, "And make them visible again?"

"Well, I haven't actually done the latter," the boy admitted. "But I know a spell for making things visible again, so I'm sure there'll be no problem," Julain assured, recalling the words he had heard Cedric use to break the spell he had cast over Whittle.

"Perhaps we can get the rest of the food from the garden, Chester," Hope said, addressing the old man who sat next to her. "I am near famished, aren't you?"

"I'm a wee bit hungry, but I'll believe these young folks can make themselves invisible when I see it with my own eyes," he snorted.

"You mean when you don't see it with your own eyes, don't you?" Julian wisecracked. "Pass me Todd's walking stick, Alanna, and I shall show this gentleman what we can do. Are you willing to be our subject, Whittle?"

"As long as you're sure you can make me appear again," his brother said, recalling that the boy had never had to perform such a task.

"The spell wears off on its own after a few hours anyway - as you know full well yourself, Whittle. Move over a little, would you, I need some elbow room."

Julian seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, but Whittle wished he would hurry and get it over with and told the boy as much.

Obediently Julian lifted the staff over Whittle's head and spoke the words he had memorized.

"Well I'll be a cross-eyed cook!" Chester muttered in amazement as he stared at what appeared to be empty space. "You sure he ain't hurt none?"

"I'm all right," Whittle answered for himself. "But the spell doesn't last long. Tell me where I can get some food. I'm a good hunter, if need be."

"Only thing left to hunt on this island is some scrawny squirrels and an old dry cow, neither of which Hope will let you hurt," the man told him, not adding that he didn't want the creatures killed either. "I reckon you can still find some roots in the garden. Ain't that so, Hope?"

"Yes, but I'll need to show you the way. Can you make me invisible too, Julian?" she asked boldly.

"Just tell me how to get to this garden," Whittle said quickly, not fancying the idea of being alone, even though invisible, with such a beautiful and royal maiden.

"Sure!" the boy said, ignoring his brother's protest. "But you'll have to hold hands, so you don't get separated," he added, grinning from ear to ear.

Whittle administered a sharp kick to Julian's shins, but the boy seemed not to notice, except for rubbing the spot where his brother's boot had made contact with his leg.

"Better take her hand before she becomes invisible, Whittle," the boy said with a straight face, but his eyes danced. "Or you won't be able to find each other."

After Whittle had reluctantly taken the slender cool hand in his own large rather moist one, his brother stood over Hope and lifting Todd's walking stick over her golden red hair said some simple words. In a few moments she, too, had become invisible.

Dragon's Claw Book One
Price $12.95  
    by Charles M. Clark
(Browser Readable E-Book on CD-ROM contains Music & No Sound Options)

FROM THE BOOK STORE

Prince Adam returns home to find his father, the King, gravely ill, some say dying. Feeling unprepared for the duties of kingship, and unhappy about a proposed marriage between himself and a rather plain princess, Adam makes a plea to the Powers that be for guidance and help. Adam then falls into a deep sleep and awakes in an unfamiliar land full of sinister foes and wild men. Yet it is one of these wild men that takes Adam under his wing and teaches the young prince what it takes to be a real leader. Charles M. Clark has written this book for older children and teens, but older folks enjoy it as well. All Antelope Publishing's fantasy books are browser readable and come on CD-ROM. The CD-ROM contains TWO books. One book with music and special electronic enhancements, and one book without, for times when a quieter read is desired. For more information about browser readable e-books CLICK HERE

The Making of a King
Price $9.95  
    by Charles M. Clark
(Browser Readable E-Book on CD-ROM contains Music & No Sound Options)

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