CHAPTER 2
TESTING THE NEW GADGET

Early the next morning, Zuli finally set her pliers down. During the night, she had crept back to her workshop in Tinker Town to get her tools and supplies. She set up some shelves and a workbench in Rainbow’s cave. Then she spent the night tinkering. With no one bothering her for help on their gadgets, she could finally work on her own.

Next to Zuli, Rainbow snored softly. Her head rested on her front feet. Rainbow’s mane fluttered under her chin with each breath.

Zuli buried her fingers in Rainbow’s soft fluff. She loved watching her dragon sleeping peacefully beside her.

Zuli sat back and studied her large gadget. It stood on three legs with a bundle of gems in the center. Little fan blades and tools for taking measurements stuck out on all sides. Zuli was sure her device would help predict Drakenkind’s wild weather patterns. But she needed to test it.

“Hey, sleepyhead! Time to wake up! The gadget is ready!” Zuli scratched between Rainbow’s horns. Zuli covered her own yawn. It wasn’t the first time she had worked through the night. She didn’t mind. It was quiet at night. And she could take a nap after classes.

Rainbow lifted her head and blinked her large violet eyes. She shook out her mane and slithered outside. Zuli picked up her gadget and a notebook and followed.

Clouds had rolled in, making the morning as gray as the mountainside. Zuli carried her gadget carefully up the rocky path. Rainbow slithered far ahead of her, floating alongside the mountain.

Zuli grinned. “Show-off!” she called.

Rainbow’s body rose and fell like ocean waves as she swam through the air. The dark purple gem clutched in her claw gleamed brightly. Its magic gave Rainbow the power to fly, even without wings.

Zuli climbed to a high point on the mountain path where her gadget could catch the wind and sunlight. She soon found a perfect flat rock to set her gadget on.

As Rainbow hunted for birds or plants for breakfast, Zuli got everything ready. She set up the tripod. Then she attached a little spike at the top of the device. Finally, she got out her notebook to take notes.

“Rainbow!” Zuli shouted. “I’m ready!” Her voice echoed in the chilly air. The school grounds below were quiet and mostly empty.

Without a sound, a fluffy head appeared around a jutting rock on the mountainside. As Rainbow landed next to the gadget, Zuli pointed to the spike on top. “Touch it here to get it going. Then it should work on its own… I think.” Zuli glanced at Rainbow.

Rainbow huffed, blowing her feathery mane like a dandelion. It was sort of like a shrug.

“Well,” Zuli said, putting a hand on her hip. “We’ll have to test it and find out, won’t we?”

Rainbow glanced sideways at Zuli, then touched her claw to the gadget’s top spike. The bundle of gems in the center began glowing brightly. Zuli grinned—until a gust of wind knocked over the whole thing.

“No!” Zuli cried out, picking up her gadget. The beads in her long hair clicked together as the wind blew through her braids.

Rainbow gave a huff and shook her mane. She was clearly troubled. Zuli glanced up to see dark clouds moving in fast.

“Yes, I can see a storm coming.” She flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “I don’t need to be from Storm Country to see that. But I still need to test this gadget. Just give me a few minutes.”

Rainbow made a low rumble that sounded like thunder. But then Zuli heard a bigger, louder rumble. This time it was real thunder. The storm was getting closer.

Zuli glared at the sky. She finished resetting the gadget. Then she pointed at Rainbow. “Your turn,” she said.

Rainbow touched the spike on the device. The gems glowed with her magic once again. Zuli gave her a big smile. “Now, let’s see what it measures!”

Suddenly, three deep horn blasts filled the air. Zuli glanced down at the school grounds below. Several school staff and their storm serpents were launching into the sky. They were heading out to keep the storm in check. Other dragons and staff were also out, trying to prepare for the storm.

Rainbow flicked her tail and rumbled again.

“Just a minute! Look! The gadget’s working!” The fan blades whirred, and a tiny pole ticked back and forth wildly.

Zuli hurriedly wrote the measurements she was seeing. She scanned her page of scribbles. Nothing made sense. The readings seemed to say that the storm had come from the Northern Deserts.

“This can’t be right,” Zuli said, frustrated. “Storms rarely come from the deserts. They usually come from the coast.”

A Windblast teacher on his wyvern glided toward Zuli on a wind current. “What are you doing up here?” he shouted over the wind. “You need to get inside. Now!”

Zuli pressed her lips together. Finally, she gave the man a nod. She picked up her gadget and started back down the path. But soon the rain beat down in sheets. Zuli pulled up her cloak’s large hood. She was glad it was waterproof. Rainbow stuck close to Zuli’s side, not bothered by the rain.

“Ugh. This is all Tad’s fault!” Zuli grumbled. “If it wasn’t for him bothering me, my gadget would have been ready before this storm!”

She wished she had time to run more tests. “We might have predicted this storm and warned the school! But I wasted so much time helping him and everyone else. And for what?”

For a dark moment, Zuli was tempted to throw her gadget down the mountainside. She imagined it smashing against the rocks. Instead, she clenched her fists and turned to face her dragon.

“Come on, Rainbow. Let’s get to safety.”