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E lowen froze on the ladder, her arm raised and her fingertips barely brushing a cluster of bright red cherries. Cedar stood just as still below her, his scream drowned by the storm. Across the field, barely visible with their grey skin and shabby clothes, two broad-shouldered trolls emerged from the treeline.

Trolls out in the rain ... and on their farm.

Easily nine feet tall, the trolls stomped their way towards the grove, swatting at the raindrops as if they were mosquitoes. Their eyes were fixed on Cedar, where he shivered against the ladder.

He would never be able to outrun them. She had to get him into the tree and hope the branches would shelter them both.

“Cedar, climb—”

Boom—Boom ! The trolls’ feet shook the ground.

Unable to hear her words, Cedar bolted like a skittish horse towards the barley field. Already irritated by the rain, the trolls broke into a run at the sight of their target getting away. Whatever game they were playing, they intended to win.

“Leave him alone!” Elowen didn’t stop to wonder if she was strong enough, not when they were after her brother. As the trolls neared her tree, she took aim and threw the hatchet at them, but it fell unseen into the underbrush yards away. Undeterred, she loosened the fruit-laden basket from her back. The first troll whizzed by, its bald head barely three feet below her and its feet pounding like thunder against the ground. When the second approached, she let out a guttural scream and heaved the basket at its head.

The troll stopped so quickly its feet dug furrows into the earth, and it yowled in annoyance as cherry juice dripped from its ears. It turned and looked up at her, shielding its eyes against the rain, and grinned menacingly, revealing chipped yellow teeth.

“What we got here?” he said. “Mama bird stuck in the tree?” Not waiting for an answer, he yanked the ladder free of its tether and snapped it in half over his knee.

“Leave my brother alone!” She swung down, gripping tightly to a branch, and aimed a kick at his face.

He ducked. “Oy! Bad form, little bird.” He reached out with hands the size of dinner plates and shook the tree.

Elowen clung to her branch, legs dangling. She landed an accidental blow to the troll’s shoulder, and he howled in anger. As he took a step back, she swung her leg up and hooked a knee around the branch.

Seeing her retreat, the troll shook harder. She lunged higher and then wrapped her arms tightly around the tree trunk. The troll growled and began ripping off the lower branches like a human child stripping leaves from a twig. Thunder rumbled overhead. The tree shuddered, and she feared it might come down with the violence of the troll’s attack. He jumped to reach the higher branches and tore them off, until finally, the tree stood bare everywhere below her precarious perch.

Without even a glance in her direction, the troll picked up the crumpled basket, upended the remaining cherries into his mouth, and then trotted off after his companion.

“No!” Elowen eased her way along the branch. If she could shimmy down what remained of the trunk, she could catch up with them.

And then what? She would think about that later.

From her vantage point, she saw Cedar disappear into the soggy barley field.

Lay low. Don’t move! The trolls might lose sight of him.

But he kept running.

Seeing the rustling barley, the first troll made a beeline for him. It reached him in seconds, plucked him out of the field by his collar, and threw him over his shoulder.

“No! Let him go!” Elowen screamed. If only she had wings like the dragon or even a horn like the unicorns, she might stand a chance against the trolls. Who did they think they were, stomping around someone else’s farm and destroying their crops? And how dare they target her little brother!

Cedar kicked and pounded the troll with his fists, but it seemed not to notice or care about the blows. The second troll joined his companion, and the two of them trotted off with their prize.

They headed northeast towards ... nothing. There were only woods in that direction. Perfect. Let the trees slow them down while she caught up to them.

Elowen’s foot faltered, finding no purchase on the tree. Wrapping her legs around the bare trunk, she lowered herself as far as she could, stretching her arms until her fingernails bit into the bark. With a gasp, she let go of the wet branch and hugged the tree tightly. She slipped a few inches. Splinters scratched her wrists, and she scrabbled to slow her momentum, but the earth was calling her home—and quickly.

Well, then, she would slide down. The sooner her feet hit the ground, the sooner she could find Cedar.

Against her better judgment, she loosened her grip, but the troll in his temper tantrum hadn’t stripped the tree smooth. Her trousers snagged, and her sleeve ripped at the elbow, but she was already going too fast to slow down.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her hatchet strap bit into her back and sides, caught in the front on a thick sliver of wood where a reluctant branch hadn’t wanted to let go. She wiggled, trying to free herself, but it only pushed her further onto the snare. She was only five feet from the ground.

Her hatchet! She would cut the strap off ... but, no. She’d thrown the hatchet at the trolls. “Blast!” She tried to unfasten the strap, but the buckle was wedged too tightly for her to reach it. She found no leverage for her feet on the wet bark.

“Cedar!” Thunder silenced her cry. She slammed her fists against the tree. She couldn’t let those monsters get away with her brother. “Alder! Father!”

There was no one near enough to hear her. Or was there? Father had said the dragon was still around, but they had never asked his name.

“Dragon? Dragon!” She clung to the tree and yelled until her voice grew hoarse and a coughing fit forced her to stop. The trolls were long gone. She had no idea where they were taking her brother. What did trolls do with people? She searched her memory for any stories involving trolls, but all she could think of was bridges and tolls and maybe a troll queen and a prince. Nothing ... insurmountable.

She shivered, resting her head against the trunk, and counted seconds between thunderclaps. Fifteen became twenty-five. Her eyelids drooped. Thirty. Thirty-eight. Forty. The rumbles blended with the rustling of the leaves. If trolls had queens, they would have castles and servants, right? Trolls didn’t eat people, she was certain of that. They were tricky and strong and selfish and vain, but they wouldn’t eat a little boy. She wiggled her nose to shake off a fat drop of water that was threatening to make her sneeze.

“Elowen? Elowen! What happened here?” Alder’s voice grew louder as he approached, his boots crunching and splatting along the soggy ground.

Her eyes snapped open, but she couldn’t see him. The rain still fell steadily. “Alder!”

His hand wrapped around her ankle. “Are you stuck?”

“They’ve got Cedar! They came out of nowhere and I threw ... he ran ... it shook the tree, and I couldn’t—” She sucked in a squeaky breath and then coughed. “We’ve got to get him back!”

“Slow down, Elle. Let’s get you on the ground first,” he said. “Here, put your feet in my hands and push up.”

Legs shaking, she did as he said. While pulling on the trunk and wiggling her waist to free the strap, she stood with some effort. He lowered her until she sat on his shoulders as she’d done as a child, and then he knelt so she could step down.

Father stood nearby with his arms crossed, surveying the scene. “Where’s Cedar?”

I’m all right, Elowen wanted to say and run into his arms. Instead, she fetched her hatchet from the underbrush and clutched the handle tightly. Cedar needed them.

Alder ushered them all under the nearest intact cherry tree, which provided some protection from the rain, and then he gripped her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Tell us what happened.”

She recounted her run-in with the trolls, swallowing frequently to stave off another coughing fit. “They went northeast,” she finally concluded.

They all stared into the distance as if they could somehow catch a glimpse of the retreating kidnappers.

“I have to go after them,” she said.

Alder’s face whitened. “Elle, even if we—”

“ I’m going after him.” Elowen tucked the hatchet into her belt and stepped out from under the tree.

Alder grabbed her elbow. “You’ll do no such thing.”

She shook him off. “Cedar was my responsibility, and I’m getting him back.”

“It’s a fool’s errand chasing a pack of trolls through the woods,” he said.

“Two is hardly a pack.” Remembering the size of them colored her words with uncertainty. “We have to bring him home!”

“Of course we do,” he said. “But what are you going to do if you catch up to them? That hatchet will only make them angry. Or make them laugh.”

Father ran a hand through his sopping hair and then shook the drops off his fingers. “What we need to do first of all is find out where they went.”

“They went northeast,” Elowen repeated.

“Yes, but there are no troll villages northeast of here. Least not anywhere in this region. They could have veered off in any direction after they left your sight. Let’s find their tracks so we can get a better idea of where they’re headed.”

Alder nodded.

With a sigh, Elowen agreed. “Let’s go, then. We’ve wasted enough time.”

She led them towards the barley field. The trolls’ tracks were clear where their feet had trampled the stalks, but on the far side, they disappeared.

“I don’t have any experience with trolls,” Father said, “but I’m fairly certain they can’t vanish into thin air.”

Slicking her dripping hair behind her ears, she said, “We should split up. One of us is bound to see some sign of them before the rain washes everything away.”

“If either of you finds them,” Father said, “leave them be and come back quick to the house. Might be we can snatch Cedar back when they’re sleeping tonight.” He waved Alder off to the west, which would take him past more fields and closer to town, while he pointed Elowen north towards the road leading to a far village.

“I’m going northeast,” she said, satisfied at having a plan of sorts.

“Elle—”

“I’m going northeast .” She crossed her arms. “I won’t do anything if I find them. I promise.”

His jaw clenched.

“We’re wasting time,” Alder said over his shoulder as he walked away. “Elowen knows better than to do anything stupid and risk Cedar getting hurt. Besides, she’s faster than either of us in the woods.”

She cringed at his not-so-subtle reminder to keep her word, but she appreciated his support.

Father grunted and headed north, leaving Elowen to make her way back through the barley field, past the cherry trees, and into the woods.

Trudging through the dim, damp woods and resisting the urge to run, she scanned the ground and trees for signs of the trolls’ passing. After half an hour, she’d found two partial footprints in the mud and an uprooted bush. How could such huge creatures move so stealthily? She made it all the way to the stream that flowed down to Mill River, turned back and searched through the hickory grove, waded through ferns and climbed over lichen-crusted logs, but she saw no more tracks or signs. Weary and heartsick, she dropped to the ground in front of a knee-high root and buried her face in her arms.

If this had happened while Mother had been alive, they would have had a small army of workers to search for Cedar. No, this wouldn’t have happened at all. Someone would have alerted them about the trolls long before they became a problem, or the trolls themselves would have veered clear of a bustling, prosperous farm.

As her tears flowed, the rain finally eased, until only a light drizzle remained. Heavier drops from the canopy tapped against her back as if the forest were trying to comfort her. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. She had no time for this. Every second she wasted was more distance between her and Cedar.

Limbs heavy with fatigue, Elowen forced her legs into a jog, taking a winding route homeward in hopes of seeing something she’d missed in the downpour. Her throat burned, and she allowed herself a short stop to tip a thimbleful of water from a leaf into her mouth.

Bushes rustled. Elowen froze, straining to determine if the sound came from some forest denizen stirring after the rain or trolls lingering in the area. Whatever it was, it was large enough to startle a jackdaw in the canopy. Someone ... something ... sniffed loudly, and she crouched, wondering if she’d given away her own presence with her panting and coughing.

“Hello?” said a tentative voice. Another sniff. “I know you’re there. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Not a troll, but not a human either. The voice was too deep, too ... large.

Bronze shadows moved among the deep greens and greys of the hazy woods, drawing closer until they merged and solidified into the form of a dragon.

The dragon!

Large brown eyes blinked at her curiously, perhaps a bit startled. Around the dragon’s neck hung a satchel, bulging at the seams and tied tightly to keep in its precious cargo. He tugged at one of the arm loops that helped keep the bag secure, much like Alder tugged at his collar when forced to mingle at the market.

Elowen rushed forward, stopping mere yards from the huge beast. She gulped. “You’re the dragon who gave us the mushrooms,” she said, forgetting to introduce herself properly at this unexpected chance to get some information. As big as the dragon was, larger than a work horse and more muscular, he still most likely would have avoided a couple of trolls who were taller and just as strong as he, but perhaps he’d seen something.

“You sound terrible,” the dragon said, obviously not concerned about introductions at the moment, either. “Are you all right?”

“I’m looking for a couple of trolls traveling with a young boy,” she blurted. “Blonde, like me. Have you seen them?”

“Trolls?” The dragon’s eyes widened, definitely startled now, and his voice rumbled in controlled outrage. “With a child? Is it your brother? Did they steal him?”

“Yes! They took him during the storm and headed northeast, but I’ve not been able to find a solid sign of exactly where they might be headed.” She recounted her ordeal, coughing as her irritated throat slowed her down, and ended up asking him again hoarsely, “Have you seen ... have you heard anything ?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been sheltering from the rain until a few moments ago. I haven’t heard or seen anything.” He shifted on his front feet. “The poor boy. I’m so sorry.”

Elowen sagged against the nearest tree. It’s all right, she wanted to tell him, but it wasn’t. A drop of water from the leaves fell onto her cheek and dripped from her chin. No, it was another tear. “I called you,” she whispered, too tired to try and hide her weakness. “I called you from the tree and you didn’t hear.”

“You ... you called me?” The dragon thumped onto the ground as if the burden of guilt were too much for him to bear, oblivious to the mud splashing his bronze hide. He stared at her, the look in his eyes slowly changing to sadness and distress. They sat in silence, looking at each other but wrapped in their own thoughts.

Elowen closed her eyes, another tear sliding down her cheek. Or perhaps it was from the tree this time. She couldn’t tell anymore, and all of a sudden, she didn’t care. She didn’t need to be strong for Father and Alder, since they were elsewhere, and the dragon didn’t seem to mind.

“Are you all right?” the dragon asked quietly.

“I’ve ... been better.” Elowen stood and brushed off a few leaves from her muddy trousers and heaved a sigh. “I’m home and safe, at least, which I can’t say about my brother. But unless you can track trolls, there’s nothing anyone can do right now. I should get home before it gets dark.”

“I’m not sure anyone can track trolls,” the dragon said, the angry rumble still in his voice. “They can be light on their feet when they want to be, even if the rain hasn’t washed away their tracks.”

Elowen nodded in agreement, reluctant to give up for the moment but eager to see if her father or Alder had found anything.

The dragon continued. “I’m no use on the ground, but I might be able to see movement from the air.”

Hope bubbled in her chest. What a brilliant dragon! But she hesitated to ask him outright to undertake an aerial search right away, suddenly remembering that she hadn’t even properly introduced herself. Would the dragon take offense? Would he want payment for his time?

“You ... can join me, if you’d like.” The dragon scraped absently in the mud with a talon while looking at her with hesitation and what might have been hopefulness in his eyes. “Two are better than one when it comes to searching from the air.”

“Yes!” Elowen surprised herself with the vehemence of her response, but she wanted nothing more than to find Cedar, even if it meant flying with a dragon. Especially if it meant flying with a dragon? She would certainly repay the dragon for his kindness, whether or not they could find signs of Cedar and the trolls.

“Pleased to be of service.” The dragon bowed his head, eyes closed, and he stayed there long enough for Elowen to wonder if she should respond somehow. Before she’d decided, he looked up and smiled. “My name is Ash. Shall we fly?”