A Prince among Frogs by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online

Zoë sat down with a sigh and said, “We didn’t see much of anything.”
    Li’l stretched her cramped wings, groaning softly. “That’s true. We were out catching bugs when we saw a strange light coming from that window,” she said, pointing with a wingtip at the only window in the room. “We flew in to investigate and a blast of air hit us.”
    “It felt like a giant had slapped us to the ground,” said Zoë.
    “When we came to, we were in the trunk—”
    “Like old clothes,” Zoë added.
    “And we couldn’t get out.”
    “We could hear everything, though,” said Zoë. “We heard the guards talking about how Felix was missing. We both shouted, but I guess the rain was so loud that no one could hear us.”
    “Whoever took your brother must have already been gone by the time we woke up,” said Li’l.
    “So we’re no closer to knowing who took him,” Millie said.
    “Yes, we are,” replied Audun. “Whoever took him must have used magic to do it, which was more than we knew a minute ago. We should go tell your grandfather so he doesn’t waste his time searching the castle.”
    “And we should go home,” Li’l told her daughter. “Your father probably won’t be able to get a wink of sleep until he knows that we’re all right, and he should have gone to bed hours ago.”
    Zoë stood and turned to Millie. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do.”
    “We will,” Millie promised.
    A moment later Zoë was a bat again and she and her mother were flying out the window.

    Millie and Audun went to the Great Hall, but it was nearly deserted. They learned from a passing guard that the queen had retired to her chamber and the king had gone into the dungeon.
    “Do you suppose he went to consult with the ghosts?” Audun asked Millie as they descended the dungeon steps.
    Millie shook her head. “Neither of my grandparents likes talking to the ghosts. My grandmother still tries to pretend they don’t exist. Grandfather isn’t quite so bad, but he avoids them whenever possible. I don’t think it would occur to him to ask a ghost for help or advice. No, I’m sure he’s down here for another reason.”
    The dungeon felt especially damp after the downpour. Millie knew the dungeon as well as she did the upper floors of the castle and could find anything, even when errant magic had relocated the doors or opened holes in the floors. There wasn’t as much wild magic running loose in the dungeon as there had been when her mother was young, but it still showed up now and then. Because of the bottomless pits that appeared occasionally, it was never wise to run through the dungeon, no matter what was chasing you; when the air suddenly turned cold and an aged ghost came toward them, Millie told Audun not to move.
    The ghost ran down the corridor, shrieking with rage at Millie and Audun. His long hair streamed behind him, and his ragged tunic flapped around the vague shape of his emaciated body. “Come to steal my medallion, have you?” he screamed, brandishing a ghostly pike. “I’ll show you what happens to thieves!”
    Audun gasped as the ghost ran him through with the pike. The dragon looked down in horror, then glanced up in confusion when he realized that he hadn’t felt a thing.
    “He can’t hurt you,” Millie told him. “Most ghosts can’t do more than frighten you into doing something foolish, in which case you might hurt yourself. Hubert,” she said, turning to the ghost, “why do you think we want to steal your medallion?”
    “Because there’s a thief in the castle and it might be you!”
    A tall, elegant-looking ghost dressed in a peaked cap and overtunic glided down the corridor to float between Hubert and the princess. “Hubert thinks that because someone took your little brother, they want to steal the valuables, too. If anyone is going to steal your medallion, Hubert,” he said, turning to the first ghost, “it would be the hamsters. If you’re so worried about your