The Hellhound's Return

Scaredy Cat

"Guys! Rangers! Help!"

Abandoning her book, Kali rushed out of the library and over to Claire and the dragon's egg. The others followed her. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.

"You've got to see this," said Claire, rubbing her hands excitedly.

Kali glanced around at the others as they all stared at the egg. It lay on its side, unmoving. Like it had done for the past three weeks.

"Uh, I don't -" Nick started but Claire cut him off.

"Shhh!" the apprentice said.

Kali bit her lip to keep from laughing and Nick nudged her, clearly unimpressed.

Suddenly the egg rattled and Claire let out an excited squeal. She turned and grabbed Xander by the front of his shirt, shaking him in her excitement. "See? See?" she asked, jumping up and down.

"I did," Xander said, grinning. "It moved. It moved."

"This is so great. This is so great," Chip repeated. "I'm so excited. What does it mean?"

Kali snorted. "It probably means it's going to hatch," she said.

"So, does anyone know how to hatch a dragon egg?" Maddie asked.

The team shared confused looks. Despite all the reading they had done learning their new lifestyle as witches and wizards, neither of them had come across a guide to opening a dragon's egg.

"Kali is the one that spends most of her time in the Root core library," said Vida. "You're telling me you haven't seen a book on dragons?"

Kali shrugged. "I'm not exactly researching Magical Creatures," she said.

"So you admit that you are researching something?"

"Of course I am," said Kali, rolling her eyes. "That's no big secret. If you had asked, I would have told you. Can we get back to the dragon now?"

"Udonna will know," said Chip.

Claire grabbed Chip by the front of his uniform and started to shake him. "Udonna isn't here!" she yelled.

"I know where we can find info," said Maddie, wandering away from the group and leaving the others to pry Chip out of Claire's hands. She walked behind the Xenotome and pulled a book from the bookcase. "1001 things you want to know about dragons."

Kali turned to Vida. "That's why I haven't seen a book on dragons," she said. "It's not even in the Root core library."

Vida grinned. "What does it say about hatching them, sis?" she asked Maddie.

Maddie flipped to the first chapter and pursed her lips. "Ah. To hatch a dragon egg, set the egg upright and proceed to bludgeon it with a sledgehammer until open."

"Excellent," Vida grinned. "I'll get the hammer."

"Oh, no, you don't," said Claire, protectively shielding the egg.

Vida spun around as a knocking sound echoed from the Root core entrance.

"When did we get a door?" Nick asked, heading out to investigate.

"Doesn't the dragon head function as a door?" Kali asked, following.

Outside, clutching his cheek, was Phineas.

"It's only Phineas," said Nick. "You all right?" he added as Phineas moaned in pain.

"Do I look like I'm all right?" Phineas snapped. "Do I ever come and knock on your dragon-nose thing? Do I ever wear a rather unflattering bandage around my head? Do I ever have a throbbing, pulsating, excruciating pain echoing throughout my mouth? Do I ever ask four questions in a row? Five, if you count this one."