Night of the Dragons. Michael Anthony Steele

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NIGHT OF THE DRAGONS

       NIGHT OF THE DRAGONS

      Written by

       Michael Anthony Steele

      Based on the book by Milan Trenc and the motion picture written by

       Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon

       Dedication

      Thanks to Kevin Ryan for the idea and for first asking the question, “Hey … didn’t the night guard have a kid?”

      Night at the Museum ™ & © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

      All Rights Reserved.

      © 2011 by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

      Written by Michael Anthony Steele

      Based on the book by Milan Trenc and the motion picture written

      by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

      Cover art by Michael Okuda

       All inquiries should be addressed to:

      Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

      250 Wireless Boulevard

      Hauppauge, New York 11788

       www.barronseduc.com

      Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 2010037888

      ISBN: 978-0-7641-4672-5

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Steele, Michael Anthony.

      Night at the museum nick’s tales : night of the dragons / written by Michael Anthony Steele.

      p. cm.

      “Based on characters created by Milan Trenc, Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon.”

      ISBN: 978-0-7641-4672-5

      I. Night at the museum Nick’s Tales. Title. III. Title: Night of the dragons.

      PZ7.S8147Nj 2011

      [Fic]—dc22 2010037888

      9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

       Contents

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       About the Author

       When Nick turned the corner, he spotted his father right away …

      Larry was at Czar Nicholas’s display area. The czar was gone but Nick’s dad was still there.

      As Nick approached, he realized something was wrong. His father was standing inside the alcove and he wasn’t moving. He was standing there as if he were one of the museum displays.

      “Dad?” Nick asked.

      When Nick got to him, he saw that his father was exactly like the other displays. His eyes were glassy and his skin had the bright sheen of hard wax.

      “Dad!” Nick said, grabbing his father’s arm. It was cold and hard as a rock …

      CHAPTER 1

      Nick Daley’s sneakers slapped the granite floor as he sprinted down the wide corridor. His echoing footsteps were swallowed by the sounds of his pursuers—stomping boots, creaking leather armor, and rattling scabbards. Panting, the young boy chanced a look over his shoulder; the warriors were gaining. He turned back and poured on the speed.

      The enemy wasn’t only behind him. Nick barely dodged an attack from the right. He ducked under flailing arms and grabbing hands. Clutching his cargo to his side, Nick slowed as another attacker launched from the left. Nick pushed off the ground and leaped over the now-horizontal adversary.

      Nick allowed himself a smile. The end of the hallway was only a few yards away. He was almost there! He was going to make it!

      That was when the twelve-foot-tall woolly mammoth stepped into his path.

      The enormous beast lumbered in from an adjacent hall. She trumpeted loudly and wrenched her head around. Nick skidded to a halt as long ivory tusks whizzed by his face. Turning back, Nick saw that his pursuers were almost upon him. The boy ducked under the beast and scrambled between the mammoth’s tree-trunk legs. As his pursuers crouched to follow, the woolly mammoth swatted them away with her long trunk. The warriors tumbled across the floor.

      Once on the other side of the beast, Nick sprang from his crouch and dashed to the end of the hallway. When he reached the intersection, he raised his cargo high over his head and then slammed it to the floor. The football bounced erratically as a whistle blew nearby. Nick smiled as Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president of the United States, raised his arms high into the air, signaling a touchdown. The former president blew the whistle once more.

      “Bully!” roared Teddy Roosevelt as he slapped the boy on the back. “Well played, Nicholas.”

      “Thanks, Mr. President,” Nick replied.

      Just then, Nick’s pursuers gathered around him.

      “Hoota, milla-woota!” shouted Attila the Hun. The angry warrior pointed at Teddy, then up to the woolly mammoth. “Winga saaaaaaaaa-ma noto!”

      The other four Hun warriors stood with their arms crossed and angry expressions on their faces.

      Teddy shook his head. “It was a fair play. At least according to our improvised hallway