Dragon Spear (24 page)
“Let’s go inside and rest,” Luka said, taking my arm and leading me toward the stairs.
“Creelisel, I asked you a question!”
“Hagen’s going to be an alchemist,” I said over one shoulder.”
“An alchemist! An
alchemist
?!”
“I think we should live above the shop after the wedding,” Luka whispered. “Although, Mordrel has offered to sell me their manor here in the King’s Seat. They hardly use it anymore.”
“Lovely,” I said.
“Luka, I am expecting you to take part in finalizing the trade negotiations this afternoon,” King Caxel called out.
“That will give me time to finish my latest wedding gown,” I said.
“You’ll be our liaison to the Moralienin,” his father went on.
“Oh, good,” Luka said to me. “You like to travel, and Tobin and Marta can come with us.”
“I wonder how long it will be before we’re trading directly with Shardas,” I said.
“If it chances to take us months to return from Moralien, we can always claim that our ships are being blown off course,” Luka pointed out.
“An excellent plan,” I agreed, leaning my head on his shoulder as we left behind the sound of my aunt and his father, and passed into the great hall of the New Palace. “I wonder how soon you’ll be needed in Moralien,” I mused. “I would like to have our firstborn in the Far Isles. . . .”
I
t is just and fitting that this book be dedicated to Amy Finnegan, because without her, Creel and Shardas might never have been launched on the world. She introduced me to my editor, and has been there ever since to read manuscripts with her keen critical eye and generally cheer me on. One fine day Amy and I met at Carl’s Jr. to discuss her thoughts on
Dragon Flight
, which she had just read in manuscript form. And it was there, sitting at a sticky table in the play area while I tried to shove bites of star-shaped chicken nuggets into my toddler, that she gave me the idea for
Dragon Spear
.
Yep. The play area of Carl’s Jr.
The french fry–redolent air was heady with inspiration, and by the time we left, I had a rough plot outline in my head.
Thank you, Amy! This one’s for you!
But a book takes more than an author, a good friend, and some fast food to write. It also takes people like my fabulous editor, Melanie, who has listened to me rave (and rant) about this book over the phone more than with any other book. Then there’s my copy editor, Chandra Wohleber, who has the unenviable job of making sure that I don’t play fast and loose with continuity or timelines and keeps track of every scale of every dragon (which I am prone to forget). She’s been with me since
Dragon Slippers
, and isn’t she wonderful?
A good book also takes a good agent, in my opinion, and I’ve got a great one. Thanks to my other Amy—Amy Jameson—who also has a keen critical eye (it’s a gift with these Amys!) and keeps me focused on the project at hand. (And somehow she does this all with two cute little ones underfoot!)
And speaking of cute little ones, I now have two myself! Thanks to the Boy, who continued to nap in the afternoons until the ripe age of three and a half, which allowed me to get a lot of work done even though I was deathly ill while writing most of this book. Baby Girl, who was the reason I was deathly ill, has made up for it by being cute and sleeping like a log. My husband and the rest of my family were wonderful as always: putting up with the mood swings caused by writing a book (and being pregnant) and watching Boy for me so that I could do some marathon writing. . . .
I’d never have made it without you!
Now let’s all head out to Carl’s Jr. and have some fries and a shake!
Jessica Day George is the author of many books for young readers, including the Dragon Slippers series;
Sun and
Moon, Ice and Snow
;
Princess of the Midnight Ball
; and
Princess
of Glass
. Jessica studied at Brigham Young University and worked as a librarian and bookseller before turning to writing full time. She now lives with her family in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Books by Jessica Day George
Dragon Slippers
Dragon Flight
Dragon Spear
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
Princess of the Midnight Ball
Princess of Glass
“Clever, well-plotted and good fun.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
on
Dragon Slippers
“A magical, fun-filled page-turner. . . . A far cry from an old-school Cinderella story.” —
Bookpage
on
Dragon Slippers
“The exciting fairy-tale action and vivid scenes . . . are captivating.”
—
Booklist
on
Dragon Slippers
“Reminiscent of works by Patricia C. Wrede or Gail Carson Levine . . . fast paced and entertaining, and filled with honorable, evil, and quirky characters—both human and dragon.” —
SLJ
on
Dragon Flight
“George creates a very satisfying sequel that adds just the right touches to complete the story. Creel is still a dynamic protagonist whose spunk and intellect ring true.” —
VOYA
on
Dragon Flight
“A tasty snack for dragon lovers.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
on
Dragon Spear
Copyright © 2009 by Jessica Day George
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in the United States of America in May 2009
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
E-book edition published in August 2010
www.bloomsburykids.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: George, Jessica Day.
Dragon spear / by Jessica Day George. —1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Sequel to: Dragon flight.
Summary: Creel’s adventures continue when she, her brother, and her betrothed travel across the seas to visit their dragon friends and become involved in a battle against an alien group of dragons that has kidnapped Queen Velika, endangering her and her expected litter of hatchlings.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-369-9 • ISBN-10: 1-59990-369-5 (hardcover)
[1. Dragons—Fiction. 2. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction. 3. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.G293317Ds 2009 [Fic]—dc22 2008044414
ISBN 978-1-59990-621-8 (e-book)