Night of the Ninth Dragon

by Mary Pope Osborne

  Jack started to tremble. The king was dying. The enemy was coming.

  “There is no hope,” Guinevere said softly.

  Jack took a deep breath. “Yes, there is,” he said. “There’s hope.”

  “There is?” said Annie.

  “Yes. We can save the king,” said Jack.

  “We can?” said Annie.

  “Yes. We have to keep going,” said Jack.

  The thundering of the horses’ hooves grew louder.

  “Keep going? How?” said Annie.

  “We just have to keep going,” said Jack. “We have to do the next right thing.”

  “But what’s that? What’s the next right thing?” said Annie.

  “I don’t know!” said Jack.

  “Wait a minute,” said Annie. “I just remembered! Our stones from Cafelle!”

  “Yes!” said Jack. He and Annie reached into their pockets and pulled out the red stones. “But what do we do with them?” Jack said.

  “We use them with hope and strength! And imagination!” said Annie. “That’s what Cafelle told us to do!”

  Jack clasped his stone. He stared at the dragon statue and tried to feel hopeful and strong and use his imagination. “Long live King Arthur and Queen Guinevere!” he said.

  “Long live goodness! And kindness!” said Annie.

  “And courage!” said Jack.

  “And patience!” said Annie.

  “And never giving up!” said Jack.

  As Jack and Annie shouted their words, the gold dragon began to glow as if it were lit from within. It glowed brighter and brighter and grew warmer and warmer. The statue glowed so brightly that it looked like it was on fire.

  “Long live Camelot!” said Jack. “And Morgan’s library and all the books!”

  “Long live the castle gardens and flowers!” said Annie. “And the Great Hall! And music!”

  “Long live myths and legends!” shouted Jack. “From all times and places!”

  Jack heard thunder, but it wasn’t the thunder of horse hooves. Jack felt trembling, but it wasn’t the trembling of his body. The rumbling and quaking came from the statue. The very air around the gold dragon quivered.

  “Long live Morgan and Merlin and Teddy and Kathleen!” shouted Jack.

  “And all the knights and ladies and children and horses and oxen of Camelot!” said Annie.

  “Long live Annie!” said Jack.

  “Long live Jack!” shouted Annie. “And Oki!”

  Hissing, cracking, screaming sounds rocked the night. A mighty explosion and a great blast shook the earth. With a thunderous roll, a billowing cloud erupted from the top of Munith Mor. The cloud burst into flame, and with a deafening roar, a gigantic fire-red dragon rose from the flames and seemed to spread its wings over the world.

  The dragon’s eyes were flaming. Its horns and claws and scaly skin flashed in the moonlight. Its open batlike wings began moving against the night sky, sweeping back and forth, back and forth. Jack, Annie, Oki, and Guinevere huddled with the king in the raging windstorm. In a flash of fire and smoke, a portal opened before them. Colors swirled—red, black, yellow, and green. Images from mythic realms of the otherworld passed by Jack’s eyes. Flying stags, gossamer-winged fairies, one-eyed ice wizards, spider queens, raven kings, water horses, wolf shadows, sea serpents, snow giants, and fallen knights all flew by, ghostly and real at the same time. And then nothing. Nothing at all. Only darkness.

  Annie’s voice broke through the black silence. “Jack. Jack,” she said.

  Jack opened his eyes. He was sitting in soft wet grass, still clasping the red stone Cafelle had given him. Annie sat beside him, and Guinevere and Arthur lay nearby.

  Jack heard water splashing. It sounded as if fish were jumping, but when he sat up, he couldn’t see anything through a golden mist that was rising from a lake. The breeze was soft and smelled of lavender and lilac. “What happened?” he said.

  “We were pulled into the portal, and it brought us to Avalon,” said Annie.

  Yip! Oki popped up beside her.

  “Right, Oki?” Annie asked.

  “I believe you are right,” answered the queen.

  Jack and Annie turned around. Guinevere was sitting up, her golden hair tumbling around her shoulders. She looked dazed but happy. “How are you both?” she said.

  “I think we’re good,” said Annie.

  “All good,” said Jack. He slipped the red stone back into his pocket.

  Guinevere smiled at them. Then she reached out and tenderly touched the king’s shoulder. “Wake, my lord,” she said.

  King Arthur opened his eyes and stared up at the pale sky. Oki scampered over the grass and licked the king’s cheek. Arthur laughed softly and stroked the puppy’s fur.

  “Where’s the dragon?” said Jack.

  “You’re sitting beside him,” said Annie.

  Jack looked down and saw the gold statue shining in the dewy grass. When he wrapped his hand around it, the statue was still warm. “What about the giant living, breathing dragon?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Annie.

  “Everyone saw a giant dragon, right?” said Jack. “It wasn’t just me?”

  “Yes, I saw it,” said Guinevere.

  “And I,” said the king, sitting up. Arthur’s voice was hoarse, but his eyes were clear. Color had returned to his face.

  “Oh, wow, Your Majesty! Are you going to be okay now?” asked Annie.

  The king took a deep breath. “Yes, Annie. I believe my wound has already begun to heal.”

  “I’m really glad,” Annie said.

  “Me too,” said Jack.

  Suddenly Oki let out a yelp. Then the puppy dashed to the shore of the lake and barked wildly. High, beautiful singing was coming from across the mist-covered water.

  “Who’s singing?” Jack asked.

  “Mermaids,” said the king.

  “Mermaids?” said Annie.

  Jack just smiled. In this strange new world, nothing seemed impossible.

  “Look!” said Annie.

  Slowly, a cinnamon-colored boat with a white sail glided out of the haze. At the helm of the boat was a tall bearded man in a blue robe. A small penguin stood beside him.

  “Merlin! Penny!” breathed Annie. She and Jack jumped up and ran to the edge of the water.

  When Merlin saw Jack and Annie, his eyes grew wide with astonishment.

  Peep, chirped Penny.

  “Greetings!” called Jack.

  “Greetings, indeed!” said the magician. “How on earth do you children come to be here in Avalon?”

  “Magic!” said Annie.

  Merlin landed the small sailboat, and he and Penny came ashore. Oki rushed forward and nuzzled the baby penguin’s fuzzy head. Penny flapped her wings and made squeaking sounds as if she was giggling.

  “New friends!” Guinevere said.

  Merlin cried out in amazement when he saw the king and queen walking toward him. “Your Majesties!” said the magician. “What has happened? Why are you all here in Avalon?”

  “Soon after you left Camelot, word came of enemy forces in the east,” said the king. As he began telling Merlin the story of the invaders, a snow-white unicorn pranced out of the golden haze. Teddy and Kathleen were on its back.

  “Dianthus!” Annie cried. “Teddy! Kathleen!”

  “Hi!” yelled Jack, and he and Annie ran away from the shore to greet their friends.

  Teddy and Kathleen shouted with wonder and joy when they saw Jack and Annie. The young enchanters jumped off the unicorn and threw their arms around them. Oki yapped and leapt joyfully around Dianthus.

  “Hi, Dianthus! We missed you!” said Annie. She lifted Oki up to the unicorn. Dianthus sniffed the puppy, and Oki licked him.

  “Why have you come here?” asked Kathleen.

  “King Arthur was wounded,” said Jack.

  “Wounded? Badly?” Teddy asked.

  “Yes, but he’s better now,” said Jack. “See?” They
looked back at the king and queen, who were talking with Merlin near the lake.

  “And we hope Morgan can make him even better,” said Annie. “That’s why we came here.”

  “Where is Morgan?” asked Jack.

  Teddy peered into the mist. “She’s…there!” he said, pointing toward the water.

  Morgan le Fay was emerging from the mist in a small boat pulled by a flock of swans.

  “Morgan, look who’s here!” called Teddy.

  Jack and Annie waved at the enchantress. “Hi, Morgan!” Annie called.

  Morgan looked bewildered to see them. Her swan boat glided to the sandy beach, and she stepped ashore. “How? Why?” she said.

  Carrying Oki in her arms, Annie ran to Morgan. Jack followed. They told her the whole story, from Oki finding the tree house in the Frog Creek woods to coming to Avalon through the dragon’s portal.

  “Astonishing,” said Morgan when they finished. “And the king and queen are here, too?”

  “Yes! There!” Annie pointed farther down the shore, where Merlin was still talking with the royal couple.

  Morgan crossed to King Arthur. “Welcome back to the Isle of Avalon, Your Majesty,” she said.

  The king smiled and nodded. The enchantress gazed at him for a long moment, then put her hand on his chest and closed her eyes. Finally she smiled and looked at him again. “You will soon be completely healed,” she said. “But you and the queen must remain here for a short while, until you are restored to your strongest self.”

  “Thank you, Morgan,” said Guinevere. “And Jack and Annie? May they stay in Avalon with us?”

  “I fear they must return to Camelot,” said Merlin, stepping forward. “Tonight will be the last night of the full moon. Before the sun rises on Camelot tomorrow, they must restore the gold dragon to its rightful place in the garden, or its power will be lost forever.”

  “But the dragon is not in its place now,” said Teddy. “So how can they return, if we cannot?”

  “I imagine they will return in the same fashion that they have traveled here,” said Morgan. “With their own special magic.”

  “Oh!” said Jack. He felt in his pocket for the piece of volcanic rock. “With Cafelle’s stones?”

  Morgan smiled and nodded. “Yes. I am certain that the magic stones, along with your words of strength and hope, will again call forth the dragon’s power to open the portal. When I see Cafelle in Camelot, I will tell her of your courage.”

  “And I will tell her that you saved my life,” King Arthur said.

  “We shall be grateful to you both forever,” said Queen Guinevere.

  “Please tell my knights I will return soon,” said King Arthur, “and together we will restore the kingdom.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” said Jack.

  “It is time,” said Merlin.

  Everyone grew quiet. Annie and Jack took the red stones from their pockets. Annie held Oki, and Jack picked up the heavy statue of the ninth dragon. Then, with all his heart and all his good feelings for their friends, Jack whispered, “Long live Camelot.”

  “Long live Camelot,” echoed Annie.

  Grasping their stones, Jack and Annie whispered these words over and over with hope and strength, until the air crackled and a rushing wind bent the trees. Clouds billowed and spun into swirling white masses, then changed their colors from white to pink to red. And then from the churning crimson sky, the ninth dragon took shape and spread its great wings. In a rush of air and burst of light, Jack and Annie and Oki were lifted off the Isle of Avalon and returned to the castle of Camelot.

  Yip? said Oki.

  “Wow,” said Annie.

  “Yes,” said Jack. In the first light of dawn, he could see the tangles of vines and flowers, the fishpond, and the stone wall. They were back in Morgan le Fay’s secret garden.

  Oki leapt from Annie’s arms and scurried among the patches of ivy, wild grasses, and shrubs, yapping and yipping at the dragons made of glass and granite, marble, clay, bronze, silver, and seashells.

  “The ninth dragon goes behind those yellow rosebushes,” said Annie.

  “Right,” said Jack. “And let’s leave Cafelle’s magic stones there, too.”

  Jack carefully placed the statue between the bushes and stone wall. Then he and Annie set Cafelle’s stones at its feet. The dragon glistened and shone as it caught the light of the rising sun.

  “Good-bye,” Jack whispered.

  “Long live Camelot,” said Annie.

  Yip! said Oki.

  “Let’s go,” said Jack. And the three of them left Morgan’s garden. They walked through the library and down the musty hallway, down the steep steps and through the rocky passage to the outer courtyard.

  Sir Lamorak and Sir Tristan were standing by the entrance gate.

  “Hello, sirs!” Annie called from behind them.

  The knights whirled around. When they saw Jack and Annie, they lowered their lances.

  “How—how did you get inside?” stammered Sir Lamorak.

  “Where are the king and queen?” said Sir Tristan.

  “They’re safe in Avalon!” said Jack.

  “What happened?” said Sir Lamorak.

  “It’s a long story,” said Annie. “But just know that the king will be completely well soon. And when he is, he and Guinevere will come back to the castle.”

  “And the king said to tell you that he’ll work with his knights and all his subjects to restore order to the kingdom,” said Jack.

  The two knights shook their heads in wonder.

  “Bye for now,” said Annie. “Hold down the fort!”

  Jack, Annie, and Oki headed out the castle entrance gate and started through the hay field. They ran over the dry grass, then pushed their way through the tall wheat stalks waving in the wind. From the field, they headed into the shadowy forest, and Oki led the way around the ancient oaks, until they came to the magic tree house.

  “Let’s go, buddy!” said Jack.

  He lifted the puppy and put him into his pack. Then he and Annie headed up the rope ladder. When they climbed into the tree house, Annie grabbed the Pennsylvania book and pointed at a picture of Frog Creek.

  “I wish we could go there!” she said.

  The wind started to blow.

  The tree house started to spin.

  It spun faster and faster.

  Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  The day was cloudy and cool. No time had passed in the Frog Creek woods. The wind shook the tree leaves.

  Yip! Oki popped his head out of Jack’s pack.

  “We’re home,” said Annie.

  “Home, sweet home,” said Jack. “Right, little buddy.”

  Yip!

  Jack climbed down the rope ladder, and Annie followed. Then they started through the Frog Creek woods.

  “Should we put Oki on the ground?” said Annie.

  “Nope. Keep him in the pack,” said Jack.

  “All the way to the dog park?” asked Annie.

  “Dog park? Are you serious?” said Jack. “You still want to go to the dog park? Aren’t you worn out?”

  “No, not really,” said Annie.

  “Really not really?” said Jack.

  “Really not really,” said Annie.

  “But we did so much today,” said Jack.

  “Not really,” said Annie. “Oki just led us to the magic tree house. And then we took a little journey to Camelot’s secret garden, met a blind seer, scared away robbers, hauled a broken cart across a moor, solved a riddle, explored a hidden cave, found a stolen statue, faced a dragon bigger than a mountain, landed on the Isle of Avalon, saw a unicorn, heard some mermaids, and used magic stones to take the gold dragon back to the garden to help the king and queen and our Camelot friends return to the castle.” She shrugged. “And then we came home to Frog Creek.”

  Jack nodded. “Okay. What you’re saying is Oki just took us on a little detour on our way to the dog park.”

/>   “That’s what I’m saying,” said Annie. “So, do you want to go there now?”

  “Sure, why not?” said Jack as they headed out of the woods. “And let’s stop by the pet store.”

  “Right. You want to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste for Oki’s dental care,” said Annie.

  “I do,” said Jack.

  “Cool,” said Annie. “You know what? I love our ordinary lives.”

  “Me too,” said Jack. “Long live Frog Creek.”

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at

  Magic Tree House Fact Tracker:

  Dragons and

  Mythical Creatures

  Excerpt copyright © 2016 by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce.

  Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Carlo Molinari.

  Published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  Tales about mermaids and unicorns have enchanted people for thousands of years.

  One of the most loved children’s stories is “The Little Mermaid,” written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837.

  Unicorns and mermaids are among the most popular mythical creatures. They’ve been in movies and on television. Pictures of mermaids and unicorns decorate T-shirts, signs, and logos. There are unicorn and mermaid stuffed animals, toys, and books.

  The Mermaid of Zennor

  In the village of Zennor on the coast of Cornwall, an ancient stone chair sits next to a church.

  The chair honors the memory of a beautiful mermaid. She was Morveren, the daughter of the king of the ocean.

  Stories say that she came to Zennor long ago when a young man named Mathew Trewella began singing in the church each evening.

  When Morveren heard his wonderful voice, she crept out of the sea to listen. She fell in love with Mathew’s singing, and with Mathew as well.

  Every night Morveren dressed in a beautiful gown made of pearls and coral to hide her body. Then she went to the village and sat by the church to hear Mathew.

  One night Morveren sighed sadly. Mathew heard her. He rushed out to find the lovely creature.