her back. “Let’s say I believe it. Why would a polar bear want to talk to me?” Zanna glanced back at the ice. “Don’t know, but itwon’t be through chance. Lorel is a legendary guardian of the Arctic. If he’s here, that means he’s come to help you. Or protect you, perhaps. Or he wants something from you. You’ve been singled out.”
“Oh, great,” said David as the hairs on his neck began to tingle. “Singled out? By a dream bear? For what?”
“Don’t know,” said Zanna, with a shrug. “But I’d bet my last bangle it’s tied up with them.” She nodded at the window of the Dragons’ Den.
David drew a shallow breath. That was one thing he
could
agree upon. In this house, everything centered around the dragons. “Liz knows the name Lorel,” he said. “It means something to her, but she won’t say what. Tell you something else, she wants to meet Bergstrom. That’s pretty weird, don’t you think?”
Zanna parted her lips with a gentle smack. She stretched back her neck and let her hair shower down to the level of her waist. For once, David saw her as a girl, not a Goth. In profile, she was really quite beautiful, he thought.
“Think I’ll have that cup of tea now,” she said, boldly looping her arm through his. “And break out the cookies; we need to talk.”
“About Lorel?”
“Lorel, the dragons, your landlady, everything. It’s time to unlock a few secrets, David.” “Secrets?”
“Of forty-two Wayward Crescent …”
10
D AVID M AKES A W ISH
T his is Gadzooks,” David said, putting the dragon on the kitchen table.
Zanna rested two fingers on his wide flat feet and turned him carefully left and right. “He’s sweet. Does he like cookies?” She waved one hopefully in front of his snout. Gadzooks, as always, remained perfectly composed and flawlessly polite. Zanna gave up and ate the cookie herself. “So, what’s he do? Write your shopping list or something?”
David pulled out a chair and sat. “Not far off. He’s kind of … inspirational. I wrote this story for Lucy once and —”
“Story?” A crumb or two of oatmeal landed on the table as Zanna’s mouth struggled to contain hersurprise. “Rain, I’m impressed. You’re loaded with talent. What was it about?”
“An injured squirrel we found in the garden.”
“Wow. How glam. I’m friends with a writer. Are you going to have it published?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve got to go and talk to an editor woman. Which reminds me, I need to call her, actually.”
“Cool, do it now.”
“Later. I’m telling you about Gadzooks. When I was doing the squirrel story, I’d get stuck sometimes and he’d sort of … help me. If I picture him in my mind I sometimes see him write things on his pad. It was him who wrote ‘Lorel’ when I was talking to Bergstrom.”
“Really?”
“Mmm. He got very excited.”
“Bergstrom?”
“No! Zookie, you idiot. I thought you were smart? When Gadzooks showed me the name, he stomped and blew smoke rings. He doesn’t normally do that.”
Zanna munched on her cookie and frowned in thought. “Did you tell Bergstrom this?”
“Are you kidding? He’d think I was nuts. Listen, can I ask you something?”
“I’m all ears,” she said (though mostly they were occupied by silver skulls and rings).
David traced the grain of the table for a moment. “When you came in, you said the house had an aura.”
“Hmm. It’s like a thumping heart.”
“Liz used a word called ‘auma’ once. Is that different? She said it meant ‘fire.’ ”
Nodding gently, Zanna replied, “The auma is supposed to be an animating force, just like dragons are the animating spirit of the natural world. All things bright and beautiful and creative: That’s the auma at work. As for dragons, all that stuff about them capturing maidens is a pile of nonsense. That’s a picture people have painted because they’re scared of things they don’t understand. The dragons’ true role
“Oh, great,” said David as the hairs on his neck began to tingle. “Singled out? By a dream bear? For what?”
“Don’t know,” said Zanna, with a shrug. “But I’d bet my last bangle it’s tied up with them.” She nodded at the window of the Dragons’ Den.
David drew a shallow breath. That was one thing he
could
agree upon. In this house, everything centered around the dragons. “Liz knows the name Lorel,” he said. “It means something to her, but she won’t say what. Tell you something else, she wants to meet Bergstrom. That’s pretty weird, don’t you think?”
Zanna parted her lips with a gentle smack. She stretched back her neck and let her hair shower down to the level of her waist. For once, David saw her as a girl, not a Goth. In profile, she was really quite beautiful, he thought.
“Think I’ll have that cup of tea now,” she said, boldly looping her arm through his. “And break out the cookies; we need to talk.”
“About Lorel?”
“Lorel, the dragons, your landlady, everything. It’s time to unlock a few secrets, David.” “Secrets?”
“Of forty-two Wayward Crescent …”
10
D AVID M AKES A W ISH
T his is Gadzooks,” David said, putting the dragon on the kitchen table.
Zanna rested two fingers on his wide flat feet and turned him carefully left and right. “He’s sweet. Does he like cookies?” She waved one hopefully in front of his snout. Gadzooks, as always, remained perfectly composed and flawlessly polite. Zanna gave up and ate the cookie herself. “So, what’s he do? Write your shopping list or something?”
David pulled out a chair and sat. “Not far off. He’s kind of … inspirational. I wrote this story for Lucy once and —”
“Story?” A crumb or two of oatmeal landed on the table as Zanna’s mouth struggled to contain hersurprise. “Rain, I’m impressed. You’re loaded with talent. What was it about?”
“An injured squirrel we found in the garden.”
“Wow. How glam. I’m friends with a writer. Are you going to have it published?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve got to go and talk to an editor woman. Which reminds me, I need to call her, actually.”
“Cool, do it now.”
“Later. I’m telling you about Gadzooks. When I was doing the squirrel story, I’d get stuck sometimes and he’d sort of … help me. If I picture him in my mind I sometimes see him write things on his pad. It was him who wrote ‘Lorel’ when I was talking to Bergstrom.”
“Really?”
“Mmm. He got very excited.”
“Bergstrom?”
“No! Zookie, you idiot. I thought you were smart? When Gadzooks showed me the name, he stomped and blew smoke rings. He doesn’t normally do that.”
Zanna munched on her cookie and frowned in thought. “Did you tell Bergstrom this?”
“Are you kidding? He’d think I was nuts. Listen, can I ask you something?”
“I’m all ears,” she said (though mostly they were occupied by silver skulls and rings).
David traced the grain of the table for a moment. “When you came in, you said the house had an aura.”
“Hmm. It’s like a thumping heart.”
“Liz used a word called ‘auma’ once. Is that different? She said it meant ‘fire.’ ”
Nodding gently, Zanna replied, “The auma is supposed to be an animating force, just like dragons are the animating spirit of the natural world. All things bright and beautiful and creative: That’s the auma at work. As for dragons, all that stuff about them capturing maidens is a pile of nonsense. That’s a picture people have painted because they’re scared of things they don’t understand. The dragons’ true role
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