Double Dragon Trouble by Kate McMullan Read Free Book Online

Lucinda.
    â€œForever?” said Ethelred.
    â€œPromise!” shouted Bilge. “We’re sick of that old cave.”
    â€œYeah!” said Maggot. “Just take us on a ride!”
    â€œHop on!” said Ethelred. She lowered herself so they could.
    The twins dug their grubby fingers in between Ethelred’s scales and climbed up onto her back.
    â€œGiddyap!” cried Bilge.
    â€œYeah!” cried Maggot. “Give us a crazy ride!”
    â€œYou asked for it,” said Ethelred.
    Safe on the ground below, Wiglaf watched Ethelred soar up into the air. She arched her back and turned a midair backward somersault.

    â€œAaaaaahhhh!” screamed the twins, who were dangling from her back.
    Next, Ethelred did a perfect forward layout loop-the-loop. Then she tucked her head for a triple-lutz spin, followed by a double flip with a half twist.
    â€œAaaaaahhhh!” screamed the twins, twice as loud as before.
    â€œI’m gonna be sick!” screamed a twin. But they were too far up in the air now for Wiglaf to tell which twin was screaming.
    â€œYou two can ride with me,” Lucinda said, waggling a claw at Wiglaf and Angus.
    Wiglaf’s heart beat fast as he climbed onto Lucinda’s back. He threw his arms around her red scaly neck. Angus climbed up behind Wiglaf and held on to Wiglaf’s waist.
    â€œReady?” said Lucinda. She unfurled her great red wings and began flapping. She rose quickly into the air. Wiglaf tightened his grip on her neck.
    Lucinda tilted midair, turning away from Keep Away Mountain and toward the valley below.
    Wiglaf slowly relaxed. He began to enjoy the feeling of soaring through the full-moon night on the back of a dragon. The only sounds he heard were the flapping of wings. And somewhere high above in the black sky, the twins shrieking their heads off.

Chapter 10
    F rom high upon the dragon’s back, Wiglaf spotted the Stunted Oak below. Mordred leaned against the twisted tree trunk. The headmaster wore his red velvet cloak and cap. Beside him on the path stood two giant wheelbarrows.
    â€œHalloooo!” Mordred called. He waved up at Lucinda. “Try for a nice soft landing. No bump! We wouldn’t want any of the you-know-what to spill out!”
    Wiglaf felt only a small jolt as Lucinda touched down. He and Angus slid off her back.
    â€œEgad!” exclaimed Mordred, eyeing them. “Nephew! Wiglaf! What are you two doing here? The dragons didn’t give you any of my gold, did they?”
    â€œFear not, Uncle,” said Angus. “Your gold is safe.”
    â€œHere it is, Mordred,” said Lucinda. She swung the sack off her back, opened it, and poured. Gold coins clattered into a waiting wheelbarrow.
    â€œOh! Oh!” cried Mordred. “Music to my ears!” He quickly snatched a coin and bit down on it. “Ow! Nearly cracked a molar.” He grinned. “It’s real gold, all right! What? Is the bag empty already? You call that heaping?”
    â€œI do,” said Lucinda, eyeing Mordred firmly. “This wheelbarrow is full.”
    â€œWell, how about the other one?” Mordred said. “We made a deal for two, you know.”
    Lucinda glanced up. “Here comes my sister now,” she said, pointing a claw at a tiny speck in the night sky. “She has the other bag of gold.”
    Wiglaf heard the twins shrieking as Ethelred circled twice overhead. Flying in low, she did a last quadruple flip.
    â€œNoooooo!” screamed the twins.
    Ethelred landed with a bump on Huntsman’s Path. “Ride over,” she said.
    Bilge and Maggot melted off the dragon’s back. They staggered a few dizzy steps and fell to the ground. In the moonlight Wiglaf saw that their faces had turned a sickly green.
    â€œWe brought you the gold and the twins, too,” said Ethelred.
    â€œHallo, Uncle,” said Bilge from where he lay on the ground. “We rode here on the back of a