Dragonsdale Book 1 Skydancer – Salamanda Drake

Everything would be so different… Cara fell across the jacket. She buried her face in it, and sobbed, softly, helplessly, for a long time. So it was that she did not hear the quiet footsteps on the landing approach the closed and locked door, pause outside it for a long moment, and then, softly and slowly, fade away. Ape 9 Osiile isi white eee Cara looked up, startled, as Mistress Hildebrand’s voice echoed around the hatchling shed. The Chief Riding Instructor of Dragonsdale was advancing at a determined march, tapping her riding whip against her boot, her expression radiating fierce disapproval.

Cara and Drane were weighing dragonets again – this time, the hatchlings from Starseeker’s clutch. The proud mother was peering fondly at her offspring, making the small hooting noises that Cara always thought of as the draconic equivalent of baby talk. Maybe Starseeker was saying, ‘Who’s a lubbly, wubbly green, scaly boy den?’ The dragon would continue to watch over her brood until they were eight months old, at which point she would return to the stables.

By this time, in the wild, the dragonets would have learnt enough to fend for themselves; in Dragonsdale, however, they would remain in the hatchling sheds, eating their heads off while they grew large and strong enough to carry a human rider. This was why Cara and Drane (who was handling the tiny dragons with extreme care and keeping a very wary eye on their mother) were weighing the dragonets.

Later, they would have to measure them, too — nose to tail, barrel of chest, wingtip to wingtip — and Cara would record the results meticulously in the Dragonsdale records. This morning, her father had summoned her to this task as though nothing had happened between them the previous night. Huw was now leaning over the rail of the stall in which Cara and her reluctant helper were working, watching the dragonets intently as they staggered about on still-shaky legs, squeaking, wriggling their stumpy wings, and occasionally taking an unplanned nose-dive into the sand lining the bottom of their pen.

Huw had looked up at Mistress Hildebrand’s hail. Cara thought she heard him sigh, but his face was impassive. The Chief Riding Instructor came to a halt in front of the Dragonmaster.

Text and Illustrations © Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore 2018 First published in Great Britain as ‘Dragonsdale’ by Chicken House, UK in 2007 Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore.

Cover and interior artwork by Alessia Trunfio Cover and interior design by Cathryn Gilbert Series editor: Adrian Cole Find out more about the wonderful world of Dragonsdale at www.dragonsdale.net BOOK ONE SAY DANCER SALAMANDA DRAKE COUSIN Translated From The Bresalian By Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore Also in the Dragonsdale series by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore: Book 2: Riding the Storm Book 3: Snowfall and Dragonfire Book 4: Flying for Gold Vale bes i@ mismo rw Far out in the ocean, beyond all the shores we know, hangs a huge bank of mist — the Veil.

The shimmering white curtain of the Veil hides a wonderful secret. For beyond the Veil lie the Isles of Bresal — The Land of the Blessed. The Isles are home to humans and merfolk, pards and perytons, howlers and firedogs … … and dragons. ukes San ‘\ The Razorbacks Strand The Causeway IOVER —The Cave of Sighs Home Sound Meriolk mae Bay Craggan Rocks on be Stone Point Lugh’s Spear North-West ” ss Pylor s -DRAGONSDALE HOUSE AND STABLE Caine Tencelsle Cc away, Sky!’

Cara was exasperated. Skydancer’s playful shove had knocked her halfway across the cobbled floor and made her drop her shovel. As she bent to pick it up, the dragon swung his head to give her another nudge. Cara turned around, raised the shovel and tapped him smartly on the muzzle. Skydancer blinked and looked hurt. ‘It’s no good looking at me like that, said Cara.

‘How am I supposed to clean out your stall if you keep pushing me?’ Skydancer gave her one of his most pathetic looks. Cara chuckled. Sky knew all her weak spots. She couldn’t stay angry with him for long.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 1516ce72d00a13fb
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 10,443,618 bytes (9.96 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 297
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 265.53 minutes
• Total Words: 53,106
• Total Characters: 310,186
• Average Words per Page: 178.81
• Average Characters per Page: 1044.4

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