Brambleheart #2 Page 4

  She saw one of them snap at a bee. “I think I’m going to name you . . . Bee!” she laughed. “And you”—she glanced at another of the babies rolling in the warm sand—“you’re Roller!”

  She glanced around for the third dragon, finally spotting him resting in the shade of some ferns. “And you’re Shadow!”

  Lily smiled as she watched the baby dragons head off into the undergrowth, and then return after a bit, holding some sort of prize in their mouths. Many of these prizes were unknown to Lily: strange, wiggling centipedes and hard-shelled crustaceans and horned insects. Lily knew they were supposed to be gifts, and special treats, but they looked foreign and unappetizing.

  In a sudden inspiration, Lily thought of getting Char to roast the treats. She placed them on a shell, and Char or one of the other dragons would quick-fire the crickets or katydids or one of the other island creatures. The flames roasted them, making them much more edible.

  Lily dragged a deep clamshell into the clearing and filled it with a variety of ripe berries and water. She coaxed Char to flame the shell and boil the water repeatedly; after stirring and mashing the berries, she made a sort of jam. Char heated up another shell filled with grass seeds, toasting them. Lily sprinkled the toasted seeds over the jam. “Not as good as the berry pies and tarts back home, but not bad!” she said, sampling her experiment.

  And, after roasting and dipped into the berry jam, the mysterious and odd centipedes or mole crabs made a tasty snack.

  But Basil was less interested in the dragon hijinks. “Maybe it’s best to be far away from the baby dragons, just in case the parents finally show up,” he said bluntly, and then slipped off into the brambles. Later, he returned, pulling some pine needles over his body as camouflage, and napped in the shade most of the day.

  Twig decided to explore the island a bit. He climbed to the top of several dunes, cautiously watching for predators. From each viewpoint he saw only an expanse of shrubby trees, tangled vines, and undergrowth, and more dunes in every direction. The far-off roar of the surf sifted through the salty air.

  He discovered broad stretches of sandy soil, flat and sunbaked. Thousands of seabirds dotted the terrain and filled the sky above, chattering and calling. Twig saw fluffy baby birds, squatting on the sand among broken bits of shell, and nearly hidden with their camouflage coloration.

  Within the shade of the shrubby pines and bayberry bushes, the air was hot and still, but filled with the incessant sound of chirping and clicking insects. The heat of the day didn’t seem to deter them.

  He heard a loud, raucous croaking sound and looked up through the branches of a scrubby pine. A monstrously large bird, with long legs dangling down and a long, sharp beak, was flapping slowly overhead. Twig cowered, motionless, until it flew past.

  He scampered back to the clearing. Lily was playing with Char and the other dragons. Her cooking experiments were scattered around the site, and the dragons were adorned with various woven hats and bows. He laughed.

  Then he had a sudden pang of sadness that he’d have to give up Char someday and they’d have to part. Char had become like family to him. He wished somehow they could stay together.

  As the shadows of the afternoon got longer and longer and evening fell, the trio gathered the dragon babies around them protectively.

  Using Char’s flame, Twig started a little campfire of dry pinecones and leaves. They sat around, eating from their cache of food, staring at the flames, lost in thought.

  Home seemed far away. None of them had any idea of how to return there.

  Basil fluffed up his bed of dried grasses and lay there, thinking of home and how to get back.

  The baby dragons piled one upon the other, with their heads and necks tucked under one another’s wings. Soon they started to snore, and puffs of smoke drifted up into the pine boughs above. Every now and then one of them would snort and their wings would quiver, and then they would settle down again.

  Lily tiptoed over and slid in among them, her arm around Char’s neck, and closed her eyes.

  Twig looked at Char and smiled. It had been a long time since he’d seen the dragon look so healthy or contented. That alone was worth the arduous trip down the river, the treacherous storm and shipwreck, and the unknown of their present situation.

  Crickets called to one another, scattered about the tangle of bushes and vines. Twig recognized the distant song of a mockingbird.

  He looked up to see a few stars, in between the branches of the bayberry bushes. The same stars were watching over the Hill. He suddenly had a terrible yearning to be back home, in his own bed.

  chapter 11

  An Unexpected Visitor

  After a few days it became apparent that Char’s parents were not going to appear. Char and the rest of his clan seemed perfectly capable of surviving on their own.

  Twig called a meeting. “What do you think about figuring out a way to explore around the island? Maybe there are similar, neighboring islands nearby?”

  “And maybe Char’s parents live there,” Lily suggested.

  “Exactly.”

  “Who says we want to find Char’s parents anymore?” Basil asked. “He seems okay to me. Maybe there aren’t any parents. But I can tell you one thing: he is doing perfectly fine . . . and we should head home.”

  “Well, maybe it is time,” Twig said solemnly. “We’ve done our duty, Char is safe and with his brothers and sisters. Now I guess it’s time for us to head home.” He paused, looking anxious. “Any ideas of how we go about that?”

  “You brought us here. Didn’t you think about how we’d get out of this mess?” Basil blurted out.

  “Basil, nobody knew the Captive was going to sink,” Lily interjected. “Be reasonable, for once.”

  Twig said, “Well, a boat got us here; a boat will have to get us back.”

  Lily frowned. “There are certainly no ships in bottles around here. We were so lucky before, finding the Captive. That will never happen again!”

  Twig nodded. “No, this time we’ll have to make something. I suggest finding a big enough log or limb, something that floats.”

  Basil chuckled. “You’re both loony. Make a boat out of some sort of stick?”

  “We can do it, I know we can,” Twig said. “Let’s go down to the beach and start there. Look for something that might work. At least get ideas.”

  “You two go ahead,” Basil said. “Find something, let me know. Sounds like a waste of time to me.”

  “Why don’t you at least try to find some good vines for weaving into ropes, Basil?” Lily suggested.

  “Yeah . . . okay,” he replied, sauntering into the underbrush.

  Twig and Lily headed down to the shoreline, scouting for an easier passage through the dunes. They scanned the area for anything that could be used for boatbuilding. They poked around at a few possibilities, but the wooden pieces that they found were crooked, or rotting, or waterlogged, or too big or too small.

  Lily squinted into the distance and then pointed down the beach. “See that, Twig? Way off? That log might be perfect!”

  The log was fairly straight. It had been washed ashore at some point and lay just out of reach of high tide.

  “I’m thinking,” Twig said. “With Char’s flame, and the other dragons, too, we could burn the log, a little bit at a time, and chip it out. Dig out the inside, making a perfect boat.”

  “Great idea, Twig,” said Lily. “And this branch? Maybe it could hold a sail?”

  Twig’s whiskers twitched. “We’re as good as home! Let’s go get Char and the rest and get to work.”

  They returned later to the beach, this time with the little troupe of dragons in tow. After scouting around, they found some sharp-edged shells that could be used as scoops and digging tools.

  With the baby dragons working together they burned and charred the dead wood of the log bit by bit, inch by inch, and then picked and tore at the burned wood as they went.

  “Hey . . . where do you think
Basil could be?” Lily wondered aloud, as they toiled at the smoldering wood. “He should be here helping.”

  “Who knows. He’ll probably show up right as we finish this. What do you think we could use as a sail, Lily?” Twig asked.

  “I saw some large leaves before,” she replied. “I can’t think of anything else on the island that would work.”

  “Me either. Maybe we could sew leaves together into a sail. Or maybe we could paddle.”

  “Wow . . . that’d be tough going.”

  “I know, but . . .” Twig looked out across the water at something that had caught his eye. “Look, Lily. Out there beyond the crashing waves.”

  A dark object was bobbing up and down over the swells, too far out to distinguish, but close enough to know it wasn’t floating driftwood, or a turtle.

  “Oh my gosh, Twig,” Lily gushed. “You don’t suppose it’s . . . another boat?”

  “That’d solve everything! A boat comes to us!” They gazed off over the water, ears cocked forward and whiskers twitching.

  “Either we have a new boat, or we ask if we can hitch a ride!”

  The object floated nearer, rising on top of a swell, but then disappearing as it rode down into a trough, appearing and disappearing over and over as it dipped up and down.

  Twig climbed up the crooked branch of the fallen log to see better.

  “It’s a boat, all right,” he called down. “I can see there’s someone in it. Apparently the boat has a captain!”

  “Does he look friendly?” Lily hollered up. Her ears rippled in the ocean breeze.

  Twig had read about pirates in several of his old picture books, and he squinted to see better. “Can’t tell yet!”

  Still the boat washed closer to the beach, riding the frothy surf up onto the beach. Twig scampered down the log and joined Lily on the sand. They ran to the water’s edge.

  The figure in the boat was hunched over. But there was something familiar about his shape and the color of his fur. And as he turned and sat up, Twig could see the distinct shape of a pointy snout.

  Twig stared, then rubbed his eyes and blinked. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “Professor Burdock!”

  “Surprised?” Burdock said as he stepped from his boat, a reconfigured wooden guitar. He dragged it by a tuning peg across the wet sand.

  “H-hello, Professor!” Lily shouted above the surf. She stared in disbelief.

  “Lily,” he replied, coldly returning her stare. He then turned his gaze to Twig. “And dear Twig. A pleasure, at long last.” His bared his teeth in a sarcastic smile. “Didn’t expect to see me riding over the waves to your little desert island, did you?”

  “N-no, Professor,” Twig stuttered. “How did y . . . ?” He stopped, suddenly aware of the smell of smoke. He turned his head toward the dunes to see a trail of curling smoke that rose above the beach grasses.

  There was a shout from up on top of the dunes as Basil appeared, waving and grinning.

  “Uncle Burdock! Hello! Am I glad to see you!” He scurried down the sandy slope of the dune and ran across the beach.

  “You saw my signal smoke? You knew it was me?”

  “Yes, Basil!” Burdock answered. “Saw your clever smoke and knew exactly who was signaling me. Very smart boy!”

  “I used embers from our campfire and dried seaweed to start the fire, then added damp things to make the smoke.” He gestured at Twig, laughing. “He had no idea! They never saw the smoke!”

  Twig was amazed, but angry. He had always thought Basil had been napping, or lazing off, when actually he had been starting signal fires! He gritted his teeth, his whiskers twitching.

  “Like I said, very clever boy,” Burdock said. “I saw your smoke miles away.” He stretched his long neck and shook his tail. “It’s been a long trip!”

  “You mean, you followed us here?” Twig asked, eyes wide. “You knew where we were this whole time?”

  “I have been following you, yes. Nearly paddled my arms off, I’ll admit that. When I got to the open sea, I wasn’t sure which direction you had gone. Leave it to my ingenious nephew to direct me.”

  Basil grinned. “Thank you, Uncle Burdock.”

  Twig looked at Basil incredulously. “You mean you were in on this the whole time?”

  Basil snorted. “Of course.”

  Burdock chuckled, too. “All part of our plan.”

  “How did you get past the giant beaver dam?” Lily asked, still incredulous.

  “I threatened those idiotic beavers. What ninnies. Several of them carried my boat over the dam. No problem.”

  “And the storm? Did you get into a storm on the ocean?” asked Twig.

  “Oh, yes. That irritating storm popped up. But see?” Burdock pointed to a well-constructed lid that covered up the sound hole of the guitar. “Designed it myself. And I huddled inside until the storm was over. Warm and snug . . . safe and dry . . . easy as that! Rode out the storm, no problem.”

  Twig and Lily were astonished. They had wondered how everyone was at home, and here was someone from home, but their least favorite someone!

  And Basil had known all along that they were being followed!

  Twig’s whiskers twitched. There was just one unanswered question that he needed to ask.

  Why was Burdock here?

  chapter 12

  Trapped

  Back at the campsite, Burdock’s eyes widened when he saw the small tribe of baby dragons. “My, my!” He chuckled. “This is a very pleasant surprise! More little furnaces for me! It will be more of a challenge to get them back home, but what a boon for business when I do.”

  “What do you mean?” Twig asked. “You’re taking them back to the Hill?”

  “Of course. Certainly you don’t think I would come all this way for nothing.”

  “But why?”

  Lily piped up. “You want to hurt Char, I know it! You can’t take him with you. We nearly died getting him back here! This is where he belongs, with other dragons like him.” She looked at Twig with questioning eyes. Char was not with the other dragons. Twig shrugged and decided to keep quiet. But his eyes said, I don’t know where he is!

  Burdock slunk around the campsite and poked the dried-grass beds with a stick. “Humph,” he continued. “All these dragons belong where I say they belong. And I say they should be at the Burrow of Smelting, working for a living. I can make quite a profit using all these little fire-breathing creatures . . . to make all sorts of goods. They’ll be a good asset for the community, not to mention my pocketbook.”

  “What do other Guild members say about this?” Twig asked.

  “Other Guild members are clueless. I’ll be running things.”

  He glared at Twig. “And you . . . you were the one to use the dragon for your own benefit!”

  “But I didn’t know that Char would become so sick. When I saw what it was doing to him, I stopped. I had to get Char home!”

  “When you stole that creature out of the Guild prison that night, I couldn’t believe my bad luck. I had made plans! And you put a glitch in those plans. But that’s why I followed you to this forsaken place, so that I can keep things just the way I had planned them!”

  Twig was furious. The day had become a nightmare. Not only was Burdock, his only enemy, here on his island, he was kidnapping Char and returning him to the Hill!

  “You’re not taking Char, Burdock!” Twig replied angrily. “Or any of the baby dragons! Not if I can help it!”

  “Well, it seems there isn’t anything you can do to stop that from happening.” Burdock smiled, turning to Basil. “And where is our little fire-breather?”

  “He’s right where we want him, Uncle,” Basil replied.

  “What? Where’s Char?” Twig shouted.

  “Basil, why don’t you take us to him?” Burdock smiled. He looked very suspicious.

  “Certainly, Uncle. He’s . . . this way,” Basil coaxed, and pointed through the bracken and weeds up a sandy slope. Th
e baby dragons stood rooted in place, their faces quizzical.

  Lily and Twig scooted between the vegetation, anxious to find Char. They suddenly came to a little clearing and stopped. Dense foliage and brambles surrounded them.

  “Now!” they heard Basil shout, and in seconds they were tangled in a net, struggling and thrashing. A moment later Basil and Burdock had tied their paws. They were prisoners.

  “Well done, my boy!” Burdock exclaimed. “I never cease to be amazed at your achievements!”

  “I just kept all of Lily’s weavings and made them into this. They were such jerks. Thought I was sleeping all the time. Doesn’t take much to set a trap!”

  “And now?”

  “Now we take them to a special place. They know all about it. We were trapped there ourselves on our first day. They’ll be there long enough for us to take the dragons and go.”

  Basil and Burdock dragged and prodded Twig and Lily to the giant sand pit beyond the dunes. They pushed them down the slope, with their paws still tied behind them, and the two plummeted down the sandy sides, head over tail. They landed in a heap at the bottom of the pit.

  “Oh dear,” Burdock exclaimed. “You’re right, Basil. That is quite a deep pit. And it looks quite difficult to escape from it.”

  “We had a tough time of it,” Basil replied. “It took all of us, piled on each other’s shoulders, to get out. They won’t have that.”

  Twig pointed to the little shrub where Lily had thrown her lasso. “The rope is gone!” he said grimly.

  Burdock turned to his nephew. “You have our special friend in a safe place?”

  “Yep! I tied him with a leash. He’s all set to go.”

  “All right. We gather supplies, and the rest of the dragons, and then we take off. I figure we can take our time; these two will be in this pit for quite some time. In fact, who knows if they’ll ever climb out?”