Dragons of the Watch Read Online Free PDF Page B

took off, leaving Ellie to jump to her feet, grab her bag, and follow at a run.
    Just before Ellie caught up to him, the carpetbag fell out of her hand. She didn’t stop but ran faster without its weight. Finally she latched on to Tak’s collar and pulled him to a stop.
    “Whatever is the matter with you?” She dragged him back to get her valise, then once more started the uncomfortable business of hauling the carpetbag and keeping a firm grip on Tak’s collar.
    In the distance, Ellie spotted the tops of many buildings.
    “A city!” She hurried for a bit but soon realized that miles separated her from the metropolis. She slowed to a plod and dragged the carpetbag beside her.
    She finally reached the first house on the outskirts of the giant city. The berries were just a pleasant memory, and the long afternoon walk an unpleasant reality. The enormity of the home matched the enormity of her dismay. Tak head-butted her off the road and toward the path leading up to the house.
    The bottom step to the porch came up to Ellie’s waist. From corner to corner, the house was longer than any block in Glenbrooken Village. And as for its height, Ellie could not even begin to estimate.Perhaps as tall as the tallest tree she had ever seen. And in the city beyond, buildings stood shoulder to shoulder, stretched to the sky.
    Ellie listened. The wind rustled the leaves in a nearby tree. The tree had grown no bigger than it should have, and for this, Ellie was grateful. The tragabong tree looked just like the tragabong trees at home, and the sight of it comforted her.
    Of the birds and insects she’d seen, none were oversize like the giant buildings. Now when she looked at the very wide road, she realized it matched the proportions of the other man-made structures.
    The sun slowly sank to the west, and crickets tuned up for a nightly serenade. All good and normal, except for the monstrous house in front of her.
    Ellie left her carpetbag in the grass where Tak nibbled a presupper snack and hauled herself up on the first step. Unfortunately three more steps confronted her. By the time she scaled the last one, her breaths came in deep pants. She collapsed on the wooden porch until breathing came normally again.
    Who would be in the house? All of the natural landscape seemed normal-sized. Surely the people would be too. However, why would normal-sized people build such enormous houses? She strained her ears to pick up some noise from behind the front door. Nothing.
    “Nobody’s home,” she whispered.
    The idea that no people lurked within gave her courage. She sat, listened, heard nothing but the sounds of nature, and got up. Rapping on the door with a closed fist, she hoped no one would answer the knock. If someone did, what would she say?
    She looked down at her feet and saw a bundle-up bug crawling in front of her toes. “Small, like a bundle-up should be. The people willbe normal as well. Or maybe not. Even so, I will not scream, no matter how big they are.”
    No one answered. She knocked louder, and still no one came. Stretching and standing on tiptoes, she jiggled the doorknob. Locked.
    With a sigh that expressed both relief and frustration, Ellie left the door and stood under a window. If she stood on tiptoes, she could grasp the windowsill. She jumped to look inside. The sun shone in the west windows, illuminating the room. In the brief moment she could look in, she saw big furniture. The next time she jumped, she noticed a huge coat hanging on a hook on the wall. Next she saw a teacup on an end table, but it looked more like a soup bowl. And the last time she jumped, she saw Tak standing in the center of the room.
    She jerked around to look where she’d last seen him. Of course, he was not in two places at the same time. Only her carpetbag remained at the bottom of the giant steps.
    Ellie scrambled down the stairs with much less care than she had used coming up. Her landing on the grass didn’t contain one iota of dignity.