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That wouldn’t go over very well with the council of elders . But then again, I don’t have to tell them, do I? “Okay,” he said at last, “and you can call me Larkin.”
    The dragon glanced up at the sun, and his massive shoulders slunk farther toward the ground. “It’s getting late, and I still don’t know how to get back. If I don’t return in time to sing in the moonrise I’ll be in big trouble.”
    “Maybe I can help,” Patrik said.
    “How? Do you know how to fly, too?”
    “Of course not. Humans can’t fly, but I can think, can’t I? What exactly went wrong when you were soaring?”
    Larkin explained how he had used the currents to fly so far from home, and how his wings were too small to flap all the way back.
    “That’s easy,” Patrik said, “you just take the trip back in short hops. Flying until you get tired, then landing and resting for a while until you are strong enough to fly again.”
    “Why didn’t I think of that?” asked the exasperated dragon.
    “I don’t know,” Patrik said. “But I do know you better get started before you are discovered.”
    Rat emerged from the bushes where she’d been hiding. Her tail was still puffed out like a bottlebrush, but she wasn’t growling and spitting anymore. Patrik reached down a hand and scratched her ears, letting her know that everything was okay.
    “Never seen an animal quite like that,” Larkin said.
    “Neither have I. She’s one of a kind.”
    “Well, I better get going. It’s going to take a while to get home. Longer than it took to get here.”
    “Hey, when can I see you again?”
    Larkin had been backing up, getting ready to take off, but he paused, thinking. “You know the valley behind the mountains?”
    Patrik nodded.
    “I go there every afternoon to eat. You can meet me there.”
    “I’ll be there,” Patrik said with a smile.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    “What happened to you?” Larkin asked Redwing, his tone more than a little cranky.
    “I’m sorry, Larkin. One of the elders called me back, and I had to turn around.”
    “Well, I got stuck flying in the wrong direction and didn’t know how to get back.”
    “I’m so sorry. I didn’t get to the part about crosscurrents. That’s how you fly against a current. We’ll do that today. Okay?”
    The morning sun shone down on their brilliant bodies, each scale shining like a bright jewel. They walked side by side to the council area. Larkin’s grumpy mood subsided a little with Redwing’s promise of another flying lesson. “Okay,” he said at last.
    “History, this morning,” Redwing said, her lower jaw curling down into the dragon equivalent of a frown.
    “That’s great news. I love history.”
    “You’re very strange. Did anybody ever tell you that before?”
    “Lots of times.” His jaw curved down in a frown that matched hers. “But that’s okay. I’m used to it.”
    “I was only teasing. I like you just the way you are.”
    “You do?”
    “Sure. You’re different. You think about things and that makes you interesting to talk to. Not like the others, who only talk about how fast or how far they can fly.”
    They found places in the large council area, spreading out their wings to catch every bit of the warm morning sun. The large arena had been carved out of the mountainside by countless dragons over the ages. Its flat landing area could easily hold two hundred dragons, although only a few fledglings were gathered there now. Other dragonets soon joined them, their scales gleaming like rare and precious stones in the last brilliant flashes of the setting sun.
    A hush went through the crowd as the elder dragon climbed up the rocks that served as a speaking platform. “Today,” he began, “we will learn the history of dragons and humans, and how they became enemies forever.”
    Larkin stirred, shifting positions, as he thought about his recent encounter with Patrik. “If he’s my enemy, I’ll eat my firestones,” he mumbled.
    “What did