Chapter 56

The two great dragons continued to tear into each other. Blue was not as big or as powerful as Red, but she was fighting with crazed conviction on her side. She kept the struggle going, regardless of the beating she was taking, although Red seemed to be able to bite and claw her at will.

As the dragons battled on, Bartz bent down to pick up some of the coarse, thorny scrub that dotted the plain.

“What about this?” Bartz asked.

“Ah, Bartz, I think you have been awake too long,” Falca said. “Those are not the leaves of a birch tree. If we live, you are really going to have to start walking more natural trails.”

“I know they’re not birch, but perhaps Nata can turn them into something more useful,” Bartz suggested. “I would imagine there is not a great deal of genetic difference between plants, at least as far as magic goes.”

Nata examined the bit Bartz held out to her. “True, it is easier to transform one plant to another than it would have been to turn a