The wind screamed in his ears like a siren.
Lucas felt the whole world spinning out of control.
In a single heartbeat the farm and the scorched hillside shrank to tiny colored patches below.
The wizards vanished from sight.
Another blink and white clouds drifted underneath him while the endless hills flashed past.
Before he could even think, the dragon let out a raspy roar and snapped its wings.
An unstoppable force ripped through the chain into Ellie and straight to Lucas at the end.
He was whipped through the air like a roller-coaster car, tracing a huge arc across the sky.
His hands slipped off her leg.
Several brass buttons popped off with a sharp rip.
At the last second Lucas grabbed her rugged leather boot.
The boot creaked like it was about to tear apart.
“Get your wand out!” Ellie shouted from above, her voice shredded by the wind.
“Use a Levitation Charm or something!”
“I only got my Hogwarts letter a few hours ago!” Lucas yelled back.
“They haven’t given me a wand yet!”
“What?!” Ellie screamed.
“Then why the hell did you grab on?!”
“I thought I could save you—”
His body whipped around again.
This was no time for talking.
Lucas clamped his mouth shut and poured every ounce of strength into his arms, trying to pull himself up.
Ellie gritted her teeth.
She twisted her right hand, looped the chain once more, then locked the clasp despite the tearing pain.
Finally free to use her left hand, she yanked out her wand.
But—WHOOSH!
The dragon beat its wings again.
The chain snapped taut.
Ellie and Lucas swung like a pendulum and slammed upward with brutal force.
The last few buttons on her boot burst off.
Lucas barely had time to shout before he was hurled away—
“Wingardium—Leviosa!”
The instant Lucas flew off, Ellie’s spell rang out.
The desperate need to save him blanked her mind and drained every bit of strength from her body.
A thick, powerful beam of light shot from her wand and struck him.
Lucas felt a massive force—not on his body, but on his clothes.
They suddenly pulled upward, lifting him into the air.
I’m actually flying!
But the relief lasted less than a second.
The force was completely out of control.
He rocketed upward, then shot forward like a cannonball, streaking straight past the dragon’s head from behind.
Lucas and the black dragon stared at each other—boy and monster, eye to eye.
The dragon reacted instantly.
It opened its blood-stained jaws and snapped down at him.
Snap!
Its teeth closed on empty air.
The pulling force on his clothes suddenly faded.
Right as the dragon lunged, Lucas slipped backward, narrowly missing the massive mouth and landing above the dragon’s spine.
The force weakened.
His speed dropped.
He was losing altitude…
This was his last chance!
Lucas’s eyes widened.
He lunged forward, wrapped his arms around one of the tall spinal ridges, and slammed down onto the dragon’s back.
He grunted in pain, seeing stars.
The sharp edges of the scales dug into his ribs, but he locked his grip tight.
No time to catch his breath—he reached out and grabbed the chain locked around the base of the dragon’s wing.
“I’m up!
Hold on—I’m pulling you up right now!”
Only the howling wind and the dragon’s hoarse roars answered him.
Lucas looked down in alarm.
At the end of the wildly swinging chain, Ellie’s body was being tossed around like a leaf in a storm.
She had passed out?!
If the chain hadn’t been locked around her arm, she would have been flung off and smashed to pieces.
Right then the dragon roared in fury.
It would not tolerate Lucas on its back!
It beat its wings violently, trying to roll and spin in the air to throw both of them off.
But the second it put real power into the motion, it let out a terrible shriek.
The huge wound on its wing tore open wider, spraying a jet of blood.
The dragon shuddered hard, nearly dropping out of the sky.
Lucas clung desperately to the spinal ridge, watching in panic as Ellie was whipped high into the air again by the chain.
Luckily the dragon quickly stabilized and glided forward with its wings held stiff.
It avoided any more violent movements, flying much slower and steadier.
It was the perfect window.
Lying on his back against the jagged scales, Lucas fought for balance in the calmer wind.
He inched forward like a caterpillar until he could finally grab the chain firmly.
Then he braced one foot against the raised spine and pulled with every ounce of strength he had.
Huh?
Lucas was pleasantly surprised.
This had to be some kind of magic chain—it was way lighter than it looked.
The rattling chain echoed through the wind.
He hauled with everything he had until he heard a soft groan.
Ellie was finally pulled up onto the dragon’s back beside him.
Lucas caught his breath and saw her right arm tightly bound by the chain.
Her hand had gone pale from lack of blood flow.
He tried to undo the clasp but couldn’t find the release.
While he was frantically searching, a weak voice spoke:
“Press… right there…”
Lucas turned.
He was looking straight into Ellie’s bright violet eyes.
“Thank God you’re awake.” Following her instructions, he finally found the switch.
With a sharp click, the clasp sprang open.
He noticed the chain had dug deep into the sleeve of her linen shirt.
He started carefully figuring out how to remove it.
“This might hurt.
Hang in there.”
Before he could move, Ellie clenched her teeth, grabbed the chain with her left hand, and yanked hard with a twist.
A muffled groan of pain escaped her.
With a metallic clatter the chain came free from her arm.
Beads of sweat covered her forehead.
Lucas stared in disbelief.
Ellie lifted her head, breathing hard, tossed her messy golden-brown hair behind her, and held out her left hand.
“Ellie Jane MacFusty… Thank you for saving me.”
“Lucas McGregor.” Still stunned, Lucas shook her hand.
He looked at her limp right arm.
“Actually, you saved me first.
What about your right arm?”
“It’s fine,” Ellie said, pale and exhausted.
“Probably just dislocated.
A simple spell and some potion will fix it…”
At that moment a brilliant purple firework exploded in the distance, lighting up half the sky.