The Magical Flight of Dodie Rue by F.C. Shaw Read Free Book Online Page B

shining like treasure.
    Dodie tossed the empty burlap sack back at the angry palm branches, and pulled his mask back over his head and face. He got into position and gripped the loops, preparing himself for the fastest ride of his life. He could feel Phoenix trembling.
    Click-click!
    Dodie paused, about to take off. He heard the clicking noise somewhere below. He looked down and saw a mound moving beneath the sand toward him. He started to take his carpet down a bit to get a closer look.
    Hiss!
    He quickly took his carpet up higher as the mound rose, the sand cascading down a large black form. A bright green tail, topped with a stinger, rose straight up. Two enormous curved claws clicked up at him. Dodie’s mouth dropped open as he watched a giant black scorpion rear up at him.
    At first he doubted what he was seeing, for such a creature didn’t exist, even in stories. Then he noticed the green tail. Raz must have experimented on a once normal-sized pest. Apparently the results had not been positive.
    The scorpion hissed and clicked its pinchers. Dodie gathered his wits and took off.
    Zoom!
    Dodie felt as if his very skin would be torn off by the wind and friction as Phoenix rocketed north. He was flying faster than his thoughts, so he didn’t think—he just flew. Below him was a golden blur of sand, and ahead was a blue blur of sky. He couldn’t see anything else, and started to worry he would pass the other racers without knowing it, or maybe even the pit stop at this rate. He tried to keep a look out for both.
    He flew and flew across the Fringe.
    Suddenly he whizzed by something solid. Dodie managed to turn his head and look back, and realized he had just passed a racer. He was catching up. Another racer whizzed by, then another. Dodie reasoned he had better slow down slightly so he could see ahead better and not crash into anyone.
    Phoenix slowed enough for him to gain clearer visibility, but still flew fast enough to pass even more racers. Dodie couldn’t help grinning—
    Then he yelled and threw his arms up to protect his head as he crashed right into a racer directly in his path. The world around him spun as he and the other racer spiraled madly downward through the air. Suddenly they were free of each other—
    Ahhh!
    â€”and their carpets.
    Dodie had thought flying a magic carpet was thrilling, but nothing compared to free flying in the air with nothing to hold onto. But he wasn’t flying—he was falling and plunging to the earth. He flailed his arms and legs as he hurtled toward the sand.
    Then he no longer saw the ground. He saw red, orange, and blue flames. He landed on Phoenix, and got the wind knocked out of him. For a second he blacked out as he tumbled off the carpet, and landed with a thud on the hot sand a few feet below.
    Coughing and gasping for breath, he came to and gingerly sat up. His magic carpet lay rolled up beside him.
    â€œYou saved my life,” he muttered, resting a hand on the rolled rug.
    Nadar was right: there was a special magic in Phoenix , a magic that defied standard carpet behavior. Normally a carpet would roll up when its rider was off it, even if that happened in mid-air. But Phoenix hadn’t, and what’s more she had flown on her own accord to catch Dodie.
    â€œAll right?” He stared at the carpet, but it did not budge. It stayed tightly rolled as it should.
    Well, maybe it had just been luck that Phoenix had been in the right position at the right moment to catch Dodie.
    Dodie heard a muffled moan nearby, and remembered the other racer he had collided with. The racer was sitting up and rubbing his shoulder, his rug nowhere in sight.
    â€œI’m sorry!” called Dodie as he slowly stood up. “I didn’t see you. You okay?” He headed toward the racer, his feet sinking in the hot sand with each step.
    The racer stood and rushed at Dodie, his fists swinging. Dodie held up his arms in defense.
    â€œI know