“Relax.” She set down her torch. “The mother is out foraging for food. It’s safe.”
Georgie’s definition of safe and my definition of safe differed greatly.
“So what are we doing here, exactly?”
Georgie flipped her long black hair over her shoulder. “We’re casting a spell.”
“But witches under the age of eighteen aren’t allowed to cast spells without adult supervision.”
“Good thing you’re an adult.” She sent me a smile that was full of mischief.
I groaned, knowing I couldn’t reveal that I was an adult witch who couldn’t practice magic. Whose magic didn’t work.
“Georgie . . .” I started.
“I learned this spell from Draven.” She crouched down. “Well, he doesn’t know I learned it from him. It’s from one of his spell books. A protection spell.”
Clearly there would be no talking Georgie off this path. Resigned, I crouched next to her. “Why do the eggs need a protection spell?”
Georgie nodded her head back toward the entrance of the cave, no longer visible with how deep we’d ventured. “Did you know Edgar and his siblings were taken from their nest when they were still in their eggs? A witch just stumbled upon them and decided to kidnap them.”
I hadn’t known that, hadn’t even thought about it. How awful.
“The witch spelled the dragons to be able to talk, then realized she didn’t want them anymore. So she surrendered them to Arcane Creatures Emporium, where they’ve spent their entire lives. Mr. Thorne does his best to return creatures to the wild, but some of them can’t go back.”
“Like talking dragons,” I guessed, my heart breaking.
“Exactly,” Georgie said, holding out her hands. “So I’m going to cast a protection spell to keep these eggs safe from poachers looking to steal one and make money off it. Anyone who comes near these eggs will suddenly develop a mysterious rash that will only go away once they leave the cave.”
I laughed. That was clever.
Georgie didn’t have a wand. She must’ve inherited the same great powers as her brother, able to cast a spell without any kind of conduit.
She closed her eyes and murmured the words. A golden glow erupted from her hands, forming a net that rested over the eggs.
I breathed a sigh of relief as the golden net dissipated, the spell now cast.
A low growl rumbled through the cave, and we both stilled.
“So the mother might be back sooner than I expected,” Georgie whispered.
I picked up the torch with a trembling hand, the firelight revealing the head of a dragon that was three times the size of my body, her nose right next to Georgie and me, her lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth as big as my arm.
“Get behind me,” I said, and Georgie didn’t argue, scrambling behind me. “Let’s stand slowly and back away.”
My heart pounded so loud I was sure the dragon could hear it.
“Wait,” a voice yelled, and Edgar raced past us, putting his body between us and the dragon.
The dragon paused, cocking her head like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing.
“It’s okay,” Edgar said. He pointed a talon at the eggs. “They were just here to help. To protect your eggs.”
The dragon didn’t move, her teeth still bared. She stared at Edgar for a long minute before kneeling down and bowing her head.
I sagged in relief, and Georgie let out a whimper.
Edgar turned. “Go. Now. She’s letting us leave.”
