Moon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked.
    “Moon. I mean, Moonwatcher, but … just Moon, really.”
    “Sure, Moon. And who are you?” Kinkajou asked the SkyWing.
    I’m a warrior, the scarlet dragon thought bitterly, keeping her face hidden. A loyal soldier in Ruby’s army, who never did anything to deserve this … this punishment of schooling and being forced to live with Ditzy and Mumbles over there.
    Moon hunched her shoulders and looked down at her claws. That wasn’t fair. She did not mumble.
    Kinkajou turned back to Moon, her eyes sparkling. “Ooo, it’s a mystery!” she said. “We have to guess our third clawmate’s name! I’ll go first. I bet it’s … Squelch! What do you think, Squelch is a cute name, right?”
    Moon didn’t think she ought to smile, given the wave of outrage coming off the SkyWing. “Squelch is a MudWing name, isn’t it?” she pointed out.
    “True,” said Kinkajou. “Maybe her name is Friendly. That would suit her so well.”
    “That’s not a SkyWing name either,” Moon said. The red dragon’s tail was twitching dangerously.
    “Think outside the box, Moon. Look at her! I’m sure she’d love to be called Friendly. Let’s do that until we find out her real name,” Kinkajou said, and then broke down in helpless giggles.
    The SkyWing unfolded herself majestically and glared at Kinkajou with her wings spread wide.
    “I have fought in fourteen battles!” the SkyWing thundered. “No one giggles at me! Least of all a RainWing who can’t even read and knows nothing about war!” She jumped off her ledge and swept furiously out the door.
    There was a pause while Kinkajou got her giggles under control. “Ouch,” she said. “But mostly fair. Although I think being imprisoned and experimented on by NightWings and then injured during a royal challenge should give me some battle credit, don’t you?”
    “I — I think Clay said her name is Carnelian, maybe?” Moon offered.
    “Oh, that’s pretty,” Kinkajou said. “Do you mind if I take the hammock, by the way?”
    Moon shook her head. “The moss bed is all right with me.”
    “That’s what you slept on while you were growing up on the rainforest floor, right?” Kinkajou guessed, nodding. “This will be so great! We can bond over how much we miss papayas and adorable sloths! But I don’t miss anything yet; it’s too fabulous here. Come see the library!”
    “Oh,” Moon said nervously, “I — I think I’ll stay here for a bit longer — I need to just, um, um —”
    “Nonsense,” Kinkajou said. She poked one of Moon’s wings with her own. “We’re in a new place! This is really exciting! I want to show you everything!”
    Oh, I hope she’s not boring, Kinkajou’s mind whispered. I don’t mind shy; I can handle shy, but please don’t be boring.
    Moon straightened her shoulders and folded her wings back. It meant trampling down her terror, but she absolutely did not want to seem boring to her first possible chance at a friend here.
    “All right, let’s go,” she said, taking a deep breath.
    “Yay!” Kinkajou cried. She bounded out the door and Moon followed.
    As she stepped into the hallway, she heard it again … that bell of a voice in her mind.
    Oh, Moonwatcher, my new favorite dragon. This dragonet with her brain full of bubbles is not your only possibility. I believe you and I are destined for a great friendship.
    Moon shivered. Was it real?
    Was there a dragon somewhere reaching out to her? If so, how? And who was it? Another student? Was it a fellow NightWing, mysteriously hatched with the tribe’s long-lost powers, just like her?
    How could she hide from someone who knew exactly what she was?
    I can help you, the voice whispered. And better yet … you can help me.

Moon couldn’t handle a mystery mind-voice and a new school full of noisy dragons all at the same time. She shoved her worries about the voice to the back of her head and tried instead to wrestle with the exhausting energy radiating off Kinkajou.
    “Where are