Carrie Vaughn: Voices of Dragons

Artegal was already tired, flying lower and lower, closer to the waves, and the beats of his wings slowed. But his neck was still straight, his head still pointed forward toward their destination. They were both coated in salt from ocean mist.

On the fourth day, they saw land again: Greenland, if they’d set their course correctly. The shore was rocky, and the landscape beyond it was white, endlessly white, inhospitable with ice.

Relieved, she sighed. Her muscles were stiff from staying crouched in the same position, and her body was sore from jerking against the harness. If nothing else, even if they didn’t find what they were looking for, here was land, and they could rest awhile before deciding what to do next.

Artegal dipped his left wing, and they turned in an arc until they were heading up the coast. They were able to rest for a few hours on the shore. The wind blew harshly here. Artegal tucked his neck in, pulled his tail close, and napped. Kay sat in the shelter of his body and watched the slate gray waves tumble and break on the rocky beach. She didn’t think she’d ever be warm again. But she also had a feeling, deep in her gut, that they were heading toward something, that they would find something, and the thought warmed her. She consulted the treasure map and its coordinates, comparing them to the numbers on her GPS tracker, and planned the next part of their journey.

It felt as if she and the dragon hadn’t spoken in days. They would look at each other, ask a question with their gazes, and answer with nods. It was peaceful.

On the fifth day, they saw a thin column of steam rising from a far northern, ice-locked shore. Artegal steered toward it.

A moment later, they spotted another dragon, with scarlet scales that flamed yellow and orange in the morning sun, flying to meet them. Kay squinted and saw a leather harness around its chest and a person riding on its back.

As recently as a couple of years ago, I didn’t think I’d be writing a book like this. I had the idea of Kay riding a dragon and dodging cops, but back then the story was different and she had a different name. And it didn’t work. Then I changed her name to Kay and made her a teenager, and the pieces of the story all came together.

Around that same time, Anne Hoppe emailed me to ask if I’d ever thought of writing a young-adult novel. “Why, funny you should ask,” I replied. So, first off, I’d like to thank Anne for that email, which was sort of like the universe telling me I was on the right track.

I’d also like to thank all the usual suspects: Mike Bateman, for reading an earlier draft; Rob and Deb for doing the same; Ashley and Carolyn Grayson; Mom and Dad; and the local gang for getting me out of the house.

CARRIE VAUGHN survived her air force brat childhood and managed to put down roots in Colorado. Her first book, KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, launched a popular series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk-radio advice show. Ms. Vaughn has also written many short stories. This is her first work for young readers.

Ms. Vaughn lives in Colorado.

You can visit her online at www.carrievaughn.com.

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