The sound must have gotten through to Chester, for the man opened his eyes and tried to pull himself up into a sitting position. He was so weak that he only succeeded in taxing his strength, and fell back unconscious.

"Where's your sword, Whittle?" Julian cried. "You must defend yourself!"

Julian's plea enraged the dragon even further. As the head pulled back Whittle stepped in front of his brother to shield him from the dragon's fiery breath.

"I know it looks bad, Garreth," he cried. "but it's not what it appears to be. We didn't take your treasure, nor did we harm Chester."

Had it been a younger, less experienced dragon Whittle had been dealing with, both he and Julian would have been fried before they could explain further. But Garreth had lived a good many years and was not as rash as many of his kind, the majority of which had died because of their hasty nature.

"While it is true that your treasure was taken by one of our company, we were not party to his thievery. Chester learned what Clayton had done and got pummeled when he confronted him. We found Chester in one of the caves where Clayton left him to die, and brought him out here where we were trying to render some aid by casting a warming spell. If you care for Chester, Garreth, you will let me tend his wounds before it is too late."

What Garreth's response would have been was never known, for just at that moment a small pixie darted into view. Timon didn't appear to notice the dragon as he hovered before Whittle and yelled in a high excited voice, "Must come quickly! Clayton trying to take airship. Father wake Alanna, but she too weak to cast spell to stop him. Clayton say if Hope not go with him willingly he kill everyone like he did Chester and take her by force!"

With a roar of rage Garreth spread his great wings and rose into the air.

"Great Hoppy Toads!" Julian exclaimed, and then turned and ran toward the airship.

Whittle hesitated, torn between his desire to help Hope and his duty to stay with Chester. Chester moaned and Whittle instantly dropped to his knees. As the old man tried to set up Whittle put an arm around the thin shoulders and helped him into a sitting position.

"Don't worry, boy," Chester mumbled. "Garreth won't hurt Hope. But I won't want to be in Clayton's shoes." His feeble chuckle turned into a weak cough. "Don't bother about me," he gasped. "It's Hope you should be taking care of."

"I'll be back," but the man didn't hear Whittle's promise, for Chester had slipped back into unconsciousness. Whittle gently lay the injured man back on the ground. Leaping to his feet he ran as fast as his long legs could carry him toward the clearing.

Clayton's terrified scream came to his ears just as he was stepping out of the woods. Whittle stopped dead in his tracks as he realized he was too late to save Hope. Garreth had already seen to it. Whittle watched fascinated as the great serpent took to the sky, Clayton clutched firmly in one of his large claws.

To be continued . . .

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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