Circles of Seven by Bryan Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

the sun’s rays from spilling across the hilltop as the horizon dawned clear and sparkling blue.
    Within seconds a huge shadow covered the hilltop. Billy jerked his head up toward the eastern sky. “It’s a dragon! Is it . . . Dad? . . . No. It’s Hartanna!”
    Gusts of wind bent the grass and whipped Billy’s hair while two madly flapping wings settled Hartanna’s enormous body onto the hilltop. “Billy! Professor!” she growled. “Climb onto my back! We must fly!”
    Billy scrambled up Hartanna’s flank and straddled her back between her shoulders. The professor extended his long arms and grasped one of Hartanna’s spines to pull himself up. With a final push, he boosted himself aboard, just behind Billy.
    Two seconds later, her wings beat the air again. “Hold on!” Hartanna shouted. With a sudden vertical lift, the great she-dragon took off, heading straight for the clouds to the west. Billy wrapped the fingers of both hands around a two-foot-long spine and held his breath. The g-forces were so great, he felt his brain pushing into his sinus cavity.
    After they passed upward through the cloud bank and slowed their ascent, Billy looked back at the professor, mounted like a seasoned warrior with a steely gaze. Billy understood the professor’s serious countenance. If he had a mirror, he’d probably see the same expression on his own face. One dragon alone meant trouble.
    Hartanna shouted through the wind. “Clefspeare, Bonnie, and Sir Patrick’s squire were ambushed by two of the New Table’s so-called knights. I rushed down and killed one of the fiends, but the other held a knife at Bonnie’s throat. He demanded Clefspeare’s promise to go with him quietly, and he would treat him as a prisoner of honor.”
    “A prisoner of honor?” Billy yelled. “What’s that?”
    “We used that term back in the sixth century. It means he won’t kill his prisoner without giving him a fair fight, and the prisoner must agree to go peacefully. When Clefspeare gave his word, the coward let Bonnie go and led Clefspeare away. I guided Bonnie and the squire to a safe place.”
    The professor leaned over and shouted, “Sir Patrick’s squire? That must have been Markus. Is he still with Miss Silver?”
    “No. When I dropped them off, Markus insisted on reporting to his master, but Bonnie refused to go with him, saying that she wouldn’t trust anyone but her teacher and me. I agreed and sent Markus away, but since tracking Clefspeare was an urgent matter and great speed was necessary, I decided to leave Bonnie behind. I sensed no danger, even while Markus was present, and Bonnie assured me that she would fly away if she heard or smelled anything strange. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find Clefspeare and his kidnapper. I can’t imagine how they disappeared so quickly.”
    Although the wind buffeted the dragon’s words, Billy understood the gist. “But what was Patrick’s squire doing there? He wasn’t even supposed to know about the meeting.”
    “My question exactly,” Hartanna replied, “but I was in too much of a hurry to interrogate him as thoroughly as I would have liked.”
    A sudden gust of wind knocked the dragon to the side. Billy tightened his grip on Hartanna’s spine and hung on until she righted herself. The professor shouted again. “It seems that we’re in for a rough ride in more ways than one, and we won’t get any answers until I have another talk with Sir Patrick.”
    Ashley sprinted through the airport corridor, waving an arm as she ran. “Come on! That was our boarding call!”
    Walter lugged a heavy, carry-on suitcase and shuffled into a labored jog. “What’d you put in this thing? Dumbbells?”
    Ashley stopped and waited for him to catch up. “I’m not going to comment on ‘dumbbells.’” She took the briefcase and ran ahead, apparently oblivious to the weight. “I told you I’d carry it,” she shouted back. “You’re the one who wanted to be Mr.