Contents

  Title Page

  Map of Imperia

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Sneak Peek of Dragon Games #2

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Lunchtime had arrived, but Luca was still in class. He had never been asked to stay back before. He didn’t know why he had been asked to stay back today. Luca wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t usually get into trouble.

  On the blackboard, someone had scrawled a weird drawing. There was a shape that looked a bit like a crown. Another looked like a tooth. To the side was something that looked like a fork. Around them all was a squiggly line. Luca was pretty sure Ms. Long had drawn it. But why? And what did it mean?

  Ms. Long always did things her own way. Other kids learned English in English class. In history, they did history. Ms. Long’s classes weren’t like that. In English, they might learn about riddles or codes. In history, they might learn how to make arrows by chipping away at flint.

  If Ms. Long could crack your code in less than five minutes, she would rip it up. If the tip of your arrow was not sharp enough to pierce thick cloth, she would toss the whole thing in the trash.

  Lots of kids didn’t like Ms. Long. They called her “The Dragon.” Some kids swore they’d seen smoke curl from her nostrils when she was upset.

  But Luca thought she was interesting. He especially liked her stories. When she was in a good mood, Ms. Long told tales about an imaginary land called Imperia. Maybe she was writing a book or something? Luca didn’t know and he didn’t care. The stories were cool. Imperia had once been a beautiful place, filled with majestic mountains, endless forests, and ancient cities that shone like gold. That was back when dragons were in charge.

  But dark times had fallen on the realm. There were no dragons left. The land was overrun with wild beasts and ruled by a power-hungry leader named Dartsmith. Ms. Long’s Imperia stories always ended the same way.

  “Only when the three dragons return will Imperia have peace again.”

  Luca looked back at the chalk drawing on the board. None of the other classrooms had blackboards. But Ms. Long’s room was old-fashioned. One wall was completely covered with old display cases. These were made of carved wood and stained glass. Inside them were the sort of things you might find in a museum. Old bones. Strange objects. Rocks.

  Weirdly, it was the three rocks that always drew Luca’s attention. One rock in particular, the one in the cabinet at the back of the classroom. It was the size and shape of a football.

  Once, when she’d been in a surprisingly chatty mood, Ms. Long had taken it out of the cabinet.

  “This is a geode,” she had said, walking between the tables so everyone could see it up close. “Also known as a Thunder Egg. They are very rare. Thunder Eggs look boring on the outside, but on the inside most of them are crystal. This one, however, is filled with something even more precious.”

  Luca wanted to touch the Thunder Egg. He felt like the rock was calling to him. But there was no chance. Ms. Long returned it to the cabinet, locking it with her key.

  Her good mood disappeared, and she frowned at the class. “If any of you mess with this specimen,” she said, “you will enter a whole world of trouble.”

  Now, sitting in the classroom waiting for Ms. Long to appear, Luca stared at the drawing. He stared so hard his eyes started to blur. The lines changed color. Suddenly, they looked gold and not white at all.

  “This is a total waste of time,” snarled a voice.

  Luca started. He’d forgotten he wasn’t the only kid asked to stay back during lunch. He turned to look at Zane, the class football champ. Zane’s face was scrunched up and he was drumming his pencil on the table.

  Ms. Long would have bitten his head off if she’d been around.

  “Wow! Zane, you look soooo amazing right now.”

  This comment came from the third kid asked to stay back that afternoon. Yazmine. She had joined their class at the start of the year. Luca didn’t know much about her. She kept to herself, her head always bent over her work.

  Yazmine leaned back in her chair, smiling. Her green eyes were fixed on Zane.

  Luca groaned. He could not work out why Zane was so popular. Every boy wanted to be his friend. Every girl had his name written on their pencil case. It made no sense. Zane was a total pain in the butt. He did what he wanted, with no worries about anyone else. Luca was pretty sure Zane didn’t even know his name.

  Zane was also one of those kids whose phone camera was permanently on selfie mode.

  He whipped out his phone now. “Really? I look amazing?” he asked, talking while trying to freeze his snarl.

  Yazmine stood up and walked over to the blackboard. “Yeah. Amazingly stupid. Look, I don’t know where Ms. Long has gone. But this”—she pointed at the drawing—“must have something to do with us being here. Let’s figure it out so we can go eat.”

  Luca chuckled. This Yazmine was pretty cool.

  Zane’s frown deepened. “You’d better watch it, new girl.”

  “Firstly, I’ve been at this school for six months. I am hardly new,” Yazmine retorted, hand on hip. “Secondly, what are you going to do? Pull out your comb and mess up my hair?”

  Before Zane could respond, Yazmine turned to Luca. “Zane the Vain will be useless. But I bet you and I can work out what this drawing is. It’s a kind of puzzle. You like puzzles, right?”

  Luca stared at Yazmine in surprise. How did she know that?

  “I guess,” he mumbled. “But I don’t have any idea what this is. Do you?”

  “I think it’s a map,” she said, tracing the squiggly line with her finger. “Here’s the coastline. And these shapes are landmarks. But the part I can’t solve is what country it is.”

  Yazmine faced the board. Luca and Zane did the same, each tilting their heads to one side as they studied the drawing.

  It suddenly dawned on Luca what he was looking at. As he said it aloud, so did Yazmine and Zane.

  “Imperia!”

  There was a clicking noise. The cabinet at the back of the classroom had somehow unlocked itself! The door swung slowly forward, like a ghost was opening it with an invisible hand. As Luca watched, he knew what was going to happen before it happened, almost like he’d dreamt it.

  The Thunder Egg that was always displayed in the cabinet tipped forward. As they watched, it rolled to the edge of the shelf and started to fall. Zane sped across the room and dove toward it. He reached out and caught the egg just before it smashed to the floor.

  Luca blinked. He hated to admit it, but that was impressive.

  But then Zane pulled a typically Zane move. “Hey, you! Leo or whatever your name is,” he called to Luca. “Catch!”

  Fear pounded in Luca’s chest. “Don’t!” he yelled.

  But it was too late. The Thunder Egg arced through the air toward him.

  Luca leapt up, hands outstretched. As his fingers touched the egg, the classroom lights flickered. Once. Twice. There was a flash of purple. Then everything went black.

  Luca was falling. Or was he rising? The air around him felt hot. Hotter than the hottest summer day. It also smelled bad—worse than his dog’s breath. Worse than the egg sandwich he found in his bag after vacation.

  Luca gasped for breath as he tumbled through the darkness.

  THUD!

  Luca landed on hard ground. Heat rose around him. The stink was still there, but it wasn’t as strong. Or maybe he was getting used to it?

  He sat up. Luca knew he was no longer in Ms. Long’s classroom. But where was he? And what was that rumbling noise? As he blinked, the darkness faded and a strange orange glow took its place. Luca peered into the gloom. There was a dark lump nearby. Luca reached out to touch it. It was smooth, warm to the touch, about the size and shape of a football.

  The Thunder Egg!

  Off in the distance, Luca could see another shape, like a huge mountain. Smoke spewed from the top. Luca’s heart thumped. That wasn’t a mountain. It was a volcano!

  What was going on? He tried to scramble to his feet but fell over. His balance was all wrong.

  Someone came toward him through the hazy orange light. Yazmine! Relief flooded through him. He wasn’t alone in this place. She looked very small. Had she shrunk? And why was she wearing that weird outfit?

  Yazmine was staring at him like he was some kind of monster.

  “Yazmine, what on earth—” Luca stopped short.

  His voice was harsh, loud. It was like someone had put on a filter to make him sound like a different person. Yazmine stared up at him, mouth half-open in surprise.

  Luca tried to stand up again. Once more, he tumbled over. Why couldn’t he stand up?

  Luca looked down. If he hadn’t already fallen over, he would have fallen over now. His limbs had completely changed. His hands and feet were tipped with razor-sharp talons. His body rippled with muscles under a layer of gleaming purple scales. And there was something heavy pulling at his back. Turning, Luca saw he’d grown a massive tail. But that wasn’t all. A pair of wings also sprouted from his back. They were folded up, but there was no mistaking them.

  “What is going on?” Luca yelled. The words burst from his mouth, along with a plume of fire.

&n

bsp; Yazmine took a careful step closer. “Luca? Is that you?”

  “Of course it’s—” Another plume of fire shot out of his mouth. Luca clapped a hand to his face and scratched himself with a powerful claw.

  “Okay, don’t freak out when I tell you this,” Yazmine said, her voice calm but her eyes bright with wonder. “You are a dragon, Luca.”

  The ground began to shake. Something big was running toward them. A terrible roar ripped through the smoky air. It sounded like an animal in pain.

  Stay calm! Luca told himself. He finally got to his feet without falling. He was so tall!

  Luca could see a huge beast lumbering toward them. It was as wide as a truck. With each step, the ground trembled. As it got closer, Luca saw massive curved claws.

  Luca looked down at Yazmine. Should he be protecting her somehow? But Yazmine did not look worried. She had her hands on her hips, a small smile on her face.

  The beast was covered in fur. Luca squinted. The fur was purple and very fluffy. Luca’s urge to flee vanished. It wasn’t possible to be scared of a beast that fluffy. Even if it was huge and ugly.

  The creature roared again, showing its big, sharp teeth.

  “Get it together, Zane,” Yazmine called. “Yelling like that is not going to help.”

  Luca snorted with laughter. Plumes of smoke shot from his nostrils. This beast was Zane the Vain? It made no sense. But at the same time, Luca knew Yazmine was right. Somehow the beast looked like Zane. Was it the hair?

  The Zane beast stopped. He crumpled to his knees in front of Luca and Yazmine, squashing a small tree.

  “What. Is. Going. On?” Zane moaned.

  Yazmine tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I have a theory.”

  “Right now, I’ll take whatever you’ve got,” Luca said.

  “I think we are in Imperia,” Yazmine said.

  Luca felt like he’d been stung by a thousand wasps. “No way! Imperia is just a story made up by Ms. Long.”

  “I know it sounds impossible,” Yazmine said. “It’s also impossible to turn into a dragon. Yet look at you. And look at you, Zane. You’ve become … well, you’re a hideous monster.”

  “I don’t want to be a hideous monster,” Zane whined.

  “Don’t be such a baby,” Yazmine shot back. “Better to be a monster than a tiny human. I get the feeling being big and bulky will be an advantage here. And, hey, you’re also very fluffy.”

  Zane roared. “I DON’T WANT TO BE FLUFFY!”

  Luca reached out to touch Zane. “He’s as soft as velvet,” Luca informed Yazmine. “Could be on a toilet paper commercial.”

  Zane roared even louder.

  Yazmine raised a hand. There was something about the way she did this that made Zane stop roaring and stand up like a well-trained puppy.

  “Look,” said Yazmine, pointing at the volcano. Thick molten lava oozed out of it. That was bad enough. But what made it doubly bad was that the lava had EYES.

  And triply bad? It was heading their way.

  Luca stood glued to the spot, unable to move.

  “It’s slithering,” Yazmine muttered.

  The lava moved like a snake toward them, gaining speed by the second. They watched as a mouth opened up in the lava. A pair of gleaming fangs appeared. A long, forked tongue flickered in and out. Sparks flew.

  It was not a friendly sight.

  “The Magma Mamba,” Zane whispered, sounding awed.

  “How do you know that?” Luca asked, surprise pulling him out of his frozen state.

  “It was in one of Ms. Long’s stories.” Zane shrugged. “I always remember the beasts.”

  “Seems wise.” Yazmine nodded. “I mean, they could be your relations. And they were clearly not just stories.”

  “Do you remember what Ms. Long said about the Magma Mamba? Or was I the only one paying attention?” Zane asked.

  Now that Zane mentioned it, Luca did remember their teacher talking about a snakelike monster that lived in volcanoes. Nervous dread began to bubble inside him.

  “The one that spits massive fireballs?” he asked.

  “Massive poisonous fireballs, Luke,” Zane corrected him.

  “It’s Luca, not Luke,” Luca pointed out.

  Zane wasn’t listening.

  The enormous snake reared up, its skin roiling like rough seas. Its coffin-shaped head twisted back and forth like it was trying to see something with its beady eyes. All the while its long tongue flickered like a flame.

  “Stay very still,” Zane whispered. “The Magma Mamba can detect the slightest movement. Ms. Long said it could sense a mouse’s fart.”

  The three of them stood as still as statues.

  “As if Ms. Long said mouse’s fart in class,” Yazmine whispered back, trying not to move as she spoke.

  Luca held in a laugh.

  “How would you know?” Zane hissed. “You don’t even remember her talking about it.”

  “Zane,” Yazmine said, “I don’t have to remember to know that there is no way Ms. Long talked about gassy rodents in class.”

  Luca did not get involved. Mostly because it was a totally ridiculous argument to be having at any time, let alone with a death-seeking lava snake looming.

  But also, something had caught his eye. Nearby grew a sad, scrubby-looking tree. Dangling from a branch was a single, dried-up leaf.

  Luca had a bad feeling about that leaf.

  Do not fall! Luca willed it. Maybe dragons had some kind of power over the natural world?

  The leaf did not seem to think so. Just as the snake’s horrible head swung in their direction, the leaf broke off from the tree. It swirled through the air in a leisurely way, like it was enjoying itself on a sunny day.

  As Luca watched in horror, the leaf fluttered toward Yazmine. She looked like she wanted to disappear as the leaf came to rest on her shoulder. Then, suddenly, Yazmine did disappear.

  “Whaaaat?” Zane gasped.

  One minute Yazmine was standing there, a leaf on her shoulder. The next minute, she was gone. But the leaf was still there, hovering in midair.

  In a flash, the snake whipped around and lunged toward them. It was so close now, Luca’s scales rippled in the heat. The monster opened its jaws, spitting out a huge ball of flame. It shot through the air, crashing into the scrubby tree right next to where Yazmine had been. The tree instantly turned to ash.

  Luca blinked. Yazmine was standing next to him again! But before he could say anything, Zane yelled out in alarm.

  “It’s spotted us. Run!”

  Zane turned and bounded off. The snake slithered after him, leaving a trail of scorched earth behind it. It spat out another glowing fireball at Zane.

  “DUCK!” Yazmine yelled.

  Zane did, just in time. There was a faint smell of singed fur.

  Yazmine reached down and picked up the Thunder Egg at Luca’s feet. “Let’s go while that thing is distracted with Zane.”

  “You think we should run?” Luca asked. His brain felt thick and foggy. He couldn’t keep up with everything that was going on. But he knew one thing: When Zane had ran, the snake had followed.

  “Why run when you can fly?” Yazmine replied. “I’ll go on your back with the Thunder Egg. I have a feeling we need to look after it. C’mon!”

  “I—I don’t know how to fly,” Luca stammered.

  Everything was happening too fast. He needed time to think, to come up with a plan. That was how Luca always worked through problems.

  But there was no time for plans. Zane had dove behind a huge boulder, and now the Magma Mamba had turned back toward them. It was slithering their way!

  Yazmine leapt onto Luca’s back like she’d been riding dragons her whole life.

  “You’ve got wings,” she said through gritted teeth. “My suggestion is you flap them.”

  Luca gave his wings a flap.

  Nothing happened.

  “Like you mean it, Luca!” Yazmine said, slapping her forehead. “I don’t know. Imagine that there’s a giant, fireball-spitting snake heading your way?”

  Luca took a deep breath. He flapped his wings, harder this time. He rose off the ground before thumping back down. He could feel the heat from the Magma Mamba as it slithered closer.

  “Better!” Yazmine cheered. “Maybe you need a run-up. What about that thing?”

  Up ahead was a huge shard of rock angled into the air like a stunt ramp. Luca couldn’t even see what was beyond it.

 

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