Piper raised one eyebrow. “You can’t tell, but I’m making a rude elfin hand gesture right now.”
Tazma waved her hand, casting a spell that sent the train in another direction. “It was a pleasure being your Solon,” she said. And then she leapt into the shadows below.
Arkayna looked up in horror, realizing what was happening. Another train was now barreling toward them, and Malvaron, Tazma’s brother, was chained to the front of it. If they didn’t do something fast, they all were toast.
“We’ve got to rescue Malvaron,” Arkayna said.
Zarya stared down at the dark coils that were tied tight around them. “These make it kind of difficult.…”
“I’ve got this,” Arkayna said. She summoned her Dragon Staff so that it appeared under the tendrils, cutting her free. She quickly used it to free the other Mysticons.
“Now we owe you one,” Zarya said.
But their train was still speeding toward certain doom. Zarya jumped up, firing an arrow at Malvaron’s chains. They broke, and he began to plummet to the street far below.
His train was still coming for them, though. The Mysticons watched in horror as it sped closer and closer.
FIVE
WITH A QUICK mystic blast, Arkayna shot the track of the oncoming train. That activated a turn switch, making the other train swerve away just before it collided with Arkayna’s. But Malvaron was still falling hundreds of stories down.
The Mysticons leapt after him. Arkayna caught him—but now they were all falling. Em activated a force field around all five of them as the street rushed closer. “Brace yourselves!” she shouted.
“How long does this last?” Arkayna asked.
The force field fizzled out, leaving the Mysticons and Malvaron falling in midair.
“Does that answer your question?” Zarya said. All four girls plus Malvaron plummeted toward earth. At the last second, Piper was able to use her hoops to swing them all off a flagpole near the ground. They landed in a heap.
It took Malvaron a few moments to open his eyes. “What did I miss?” he asked.
“Let’s just say your sister tried to destroy you,” Zarya said.
“Hmm, not surprised,” Malvaron said. “But it still hurts.”
Arkayna looked around at her friends, her stomach tied in knots. “I’m sorry, guys.…”
“Why’s she sorry?” Piper said, turning to Zarya.
“Because she thought being the leader meant she didn’t need to be part of the team,” Zarya said.
“But then she saved our lives, so…,” Em added. It seemed like a wash.
Zarya smiled and put a hand on Arkayna’s shoulder, letting her know all was forgiven. “Em makes a good point. Lead the way. Let’s find Tazma and take back that Codex piece.”
“Tazma said she wanted to take down the Astromancers in front of their heroes,” Em explained. “But that’s us, right?”
“Not exactly,” Arkayna said. She pointed off into the distance, where the Hill of Heroes rose up against the sky. Magical energy swirled around it.
The Mysticons knew what they had to do. They climbed onto their griffins and raced toward the Hill of Heroes. As they got closer, they could see Tazma surrounded by dozens of Shadow Mages. She’d transformed the piece of the Codex into a powerful green bracer—a large bracelet—which sparked and glowed on her wrist.
“Lead the way, Archer!” Zarya yelled as her griffin dove into formation with the others. The Mysticons unleashed a wave of attacks using their fire bolts, hoops, sword blasts, and arrows. They took out a whole line of Shadow Mages, but there were more right behind them. The mages cast up dark energy, which swirled around Tazma in black tendrils, protecting her behind a wall of evil. The Mysticons tried to break through, but more dark tendrils moved toward them, strengthening the wall.
“You’re too late, Mysticons,” Tazma said from behind her protective bubble. “The power of the Codex piece is mine. Your doom is imminent.”
A long, dark tendril flared out, grabbing for Zarya. Another reached for Arkayna. Arkayna knew there wasn’t much time.
“Mysticons, punch a hole!” she said. “Now!”
They all turned toward the wall, focusing their energy. Arkayna hurled fire bolts, and Em launched devastating sword blasts. Zarya and Piper added to the barrage with arrows and hoops. Finally, they broke open a small hole to the other side.
Arkayna saw her chance. She launched herself through the hole and dove on top of Tazma, wrestling her for the bracer. Magical sparks flew through the air.
When the two separated, Tazma reached for the bracer on her wrist, ready to strike a final blow. But the bracer wasn’t there. Arkayna had managed to steal it in the struggle. Arkayna’s now, the bracer unleashed a serpentine, fiery dragon that slammed Tazma backward. It was her Mysticon avatar, the Dragon, an animal of glowing energy summoned by her bracer. The Dragon smashed through the dark force field, shattering it, and the other Mysticons leapt forward, landing beside Arkayna.
“Thank you, Solon Tazma,” Arkayna said with a grin.
“For what?” Tazma asked angrily.
“For working us so hard to become the team that will defeat you,” she said.
Zarya, Piper, and Em flanked Arkayna on both sides, daring Tazma to strike back. Who was Tazma now without the bracer? Did she think she stood a chance on her own?
“You…,” Tazma said, struggling to her feet. “You have no hope of protecting Drake City from what’s to come.”
Before they could reply, Tazma dove through the air, morphing into a dark shadow. She disappeared into the night.
Arkayna was disappointed, but then she looked down at her wrist, as if she wasn’t sure the bracer was real. They’d gotten it; the first Codex piece was theirs.
PART TWO
FUN AND GAMES
SIX
THE MYSTICONS LEAPT off their griffins outside the gate of Magi Mall. That morning the Dragon Disk had projected a riddle along with a map. Both held clues that the second Codex piece was somewhere inside what was now the mall.
Piper Willowbrook, the youngest of the Mysticons, was frustrated. She’d had a whole day planned in Drake City. There was a Pixie Parade, a New Jesta Block Party, and a Merlin and Trolls concert. Not to mention the Mermaid dance parties. She knew finding the Codex pieces was important (and so was saving the world and all that, blah blah blah), but sometimes she just wanted to have fun. Was that so wrong?
“Mysticons, it is an honor,” a security guard said, greeting them at the gate. He was a short, round goblin, with a friendly face full of dark green freckles. “The name’s Barnabus Dingleknot. What brings you to Magi Mall?”
“We are here on an official Mysticon quest, noble goblin,” Em replied.
Magi Mall didn’t have stables, so she brought the griffins to the bike rack and tied them up there.
The Mysticons huddled in front of the mall directory. Arkayna projected the map from the Dragon Disk over the mall’s map. The Dragon Disk was a relic from thousands of years before, so its map was very old. All the locations on it had been built over long ago.
“In a place of peace, a reverential room,” Zarya said, reading the riddle. “I stand alone within fiery bloom.” She thought for a moment. “It could be in the old blacksmith’s shop?”
“Oooh, I hope so!” Piper said, studying the map. “The blacksmith is now a pet store. Let’s go there! Or maybe Tifannon’s Jewelry? Their stuff is so sparkly.”
Arkayna heard something outside. She went to the gate.
But Piper was still focused on all the different stores. There were hundreds in Magi Mall. It was starting to feel like this day could be fun after all.…
“Oooh!” Piper said. “The carousel. Where the old temple used to be. Let’s go there!”
“For the last time, Piper!” Zarya snapped. “We’re looking for a Codex piece. The stupid carousel can wait. Focus for once!”
“I am focused!” Piper said. She narrowed her eyes at her frie
nd. She loved Zarya, who’d found her the very first day she arrived in Drake City and took her under her wing. They were like sisters, but sometimes Zarya talked to her like she was a complete idiot. She looked up to Zarya, but that didn’t mean she wanted Zarya lecturing her all the time.
Piper couldn’t take it anymore. She’d woken up this morning and picked dragon lotuses, bringing them to the girls as a present. She’d had so many great ideas of where they could go and what they could do, and everyone kept shutting her down. Now she hurled her hoop in the air and watched as it ricocheted off the ceiling and walls, finally knocking into the mall’s huge gate.
“You guys stink!” she yelled. She grabbed her hoop in midair and stormed off into the mall. She heard Zarya call after her, but she didn’t care. She was pretty sure her hoop had knocked open the gate, too, but what did it matter? She just wanted to get away from her friends … to do her own thing for once.
She went down one of the long, winding pathways through the mall, grabbing a Slush Gulpie along the way. Her bracer-com crackled. The caller’s name—Zarya—flashed across the screen.
“I don’t think so!” Piper said, taking another sip of her slushie. “De-nied.”
She slurped down half the slushie, making her head throb from the cold. “Brain freeze!” She winced. Then she tried her best Zarya impression. “My name is Zarya, and I know everything. Brain freeze! I’m so sarcastic and cool. Brain freeze! Look at my stupid bow.”
“Piper! Wait up!” a familiar voice called. She turned to see Em running toward her.
“No,” Piper said. The last thing she needed was Em dragging her back to the others so they could talk down to her again. “I’m going to the carousel.”
Piper took off. Living on the streets for so long had made her an expert at getting away from anyone. She was fast and knew every acrobatic trick there was. She sprinted out ahead of Em and lost her within minutes. Piper didn’t stop until she reached the carousel.
It took a long time for Em to catch up with her. Running had never been her strength. “Wow, I can see why you’d want to come here,” she said when she finally arrived at the carousel. It was one of the coolest places in the mall, a beautiful centerpiece surrounded by ornate statues. “But you know, there’s a time for fun and…” She paused as she saw Piper studying the carousel carefully.
“You’re not here to have fun,” Em finally said. “You knew the Codex piece was here all along.”
“Ding-ding-ding!” Piper said. “Now can you please help me find it?”
SEVEN
THE TWO GIRLS searched underneath the leg of a knight statue, seeing if there was anything there. Piper was about to search another statue when they saw a small army approaching in the distance.
“Get down!” Em shouted. She pulled Piper behind the statue’s shield.
Dreadbane and Tazma led their army to the carousel. The skeleton warriors were close behind, and Zarya, Arkayna, and Choko were their hostages. “The Codex piece is close…,” Tazma announced.
Piper wasn’t sure just how it had happened, but Tazma and Dreadbane must’ve realized they were looking for the Codex piece at the mall, and then stormed the place and captured the other Mysticons. What were she and Em supposed to do now? Could they really defeat Dreadbane’s army on their own?
The skeleton warriors tied Zarya, Choko, and Arkayna to a different statue, near the one Piper and Em were hiding behind. Meanwhile, Tazma repeated the riddle. “I stand alone within fiery bloom.”
“Perhaps if we set the room on fire, the Codex will reveal itself?” Dreadbane asked.
“What is it with you and setting things on fire?” Tazma asked. Then she paused, studying a statue across the way. “The statue with the flame brand…”
Tazma and Dreadbane started toward the statue, which was on the other side of the carousel. A group of skeleton warriors spread out, securing the perimeter. Zarya, Choko, and Arkayna were still tied up. There was another group of skeleton warriors surrounding them.
“We have to save them,” Em said.
Piper pointed to a manhole cover nearby. “I’ve got a perfect plan-y-poo.” There were a few similar manhole covers around the carousel.
Em smiled. “I like how you think, elf.” Just then her bracer chirped. It was Doug, Malvaron’s best friend. Being a Cyclops, he only had one eye. His main traits were his kind and gentle nature and his goofy sense of humor. He’d followed them to the mall to pick up a Twinkly Mare, a kid’s toy he claimed he was buying for a friend.
Em tried to silence Doug’s call, but it was too late—the skeleton warriors had already heard the bracer’s distinctive ring. “Not the best time, Doug!” Em muttered.
“What’s going on? Where are you?” Doug’s voice filled the air.
“I don’t have time to explain,” Em whispered. “But meet us at the carousel, now!”
Piper and Em dropped into the sewers before the skeleton warriors had time to see where the noise had come from. The two Mysticons sprinted through the maze of tunnels. Piper had figured out the captured Mysticons’ exact location—they were just a few feet above them. She tossed a sewer lid aside, and she and Em sprang up into the middle of a crowd of skeletons.
Before the skeletons could react, Em generated a force dome with her shield, locking Piper, herself, and the skeletons inside. Piper pulled out her hoops, ready for battle. The skeletons were trapped.
“You’re in trouble,” she said, smirking.
As the skeletons raised their swords, Em sliced at them with her Star Sword. A skeleton shattered and fell to the ground in a pile of bones. Piper jumped up in the air and split-kicked another two in the chest, sending them flying. Within moments, the skeletons had been defeated.
The force dome melted away around them, and Piper and Em rushed to the other two Mysticons. As Em cut them free with her sword, Zarya said, “Nice work.”
“Nice work?” Piper snapped. “Nice work, she says! If you had listened to me from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“What do you want me to say? Sorry?” Zarya replied. “Your tantrum allowed an army of evil to storm the mall.”
“Guys, keep it down,” Arkayna said, glancing across the carousel, where Tazma and Dreadbane were standing by a statue. They were still trying to solve the riddle.
“Wait, that’s it!” Piper said, suddenly putting it together. She hugged Zarya. “I love you. You and your angry-wangry cheeks.” She pointed to the top of the carousel, which was decorated with a carved dragon lotus. “I stand alone within fiery bloom.”
“They built the carousel around the temple’s last remaining column,” Em said.
Piper somersaulted toward the carousel and leapt on top of it in one graceful motion. The stone dragon lotus was right in the center. She felt around its petals, seeing if she could find the Codex piece there. One of the petals was loose, so she tugged on it, and the whole flower rose up in front of her. It bloomed, and the second Codex piece lifted from inside it.
“It’s beautiful,” Piper said. She did a little victory dance. “I found it! I found the Codex piece!”
Tazma and Dreadbane spun around. All the skeleton warriors along the perimeter turned, too, staring at the Codex piece.
“Ooopsy…,” Piper mumbled.
EIGHT
PIPER GRABBED THE Codex piece and ran for it, but Dreadbane leapt onto the carousel. He blasted her with his sword, sending her flying. She fell and skidded across the pavement. The Codex piece tumbled away in the other direction.
Tazma stared up at the sun, raising her arms to cast a spell. “Shadowy powers, fill the sky,” she called out, “with the most savage of steed, the dark pegasi!”
Dark magic erupted from her hands, turning the horses on the carousel into shadowy, winged creatures that broke free of their reins. Dreadbane and his army climbed on top of them and flew into the air.
“Bring me the Codex piece!” Dreadbane shouted as he circled menacingly above the girls. “And d
estroy the Mysticons.”
“Never!” Arkayna shouted as she ran to the Codex piece. She was closing in, but then Dreadbane swooped down and fired a blast that sent her flying.
Em fired her Star Sword’s energy at Dreadbane, but a skeleton blasted her. Zarya and Piper tried to strike back with their arrows and hoops, but the skeletons closed in on them, sending them running for cover. Tazma raised her arms in the air again, summoning shadow tendrils. They tangled the Mysticons in their dark web, trapping them.
“They’re all yours, my liege,” Tazma said.
Dreadbane swooped down on his pegasus and hovered in front of Zarya. “You are nothing, Mysticons,” he growled. “You are curs. You are whelps. You are the dirt beneath my boot. Prepare to meet your doom.…”
SCHTAAAACK!
Something small and hard hit Dreadbane, throwing him off his horse. He fell to the ground with a thud. “What was that?” he shouted.
The Mysticons turned to see Doug standing beside the Mysticons’ griffins. “Twinkly Mare!” he shouted. He’d found his toy—and used it to stop Dreadbane.
But before Doug could do anything else, Tazma shot her dark magic at him, tying him up in its web. He frowned at the Mysticons. “Sorry, girls … that’s all I got.”
The Mysticons and Doug watched in horror as a skeleton presented the Codex piece to Dreadbane. They fought against the magic holding them, but it was no use. They were trapped.
As soon as Dreadbane had the piece, he walked over to the girls, raising his sword in the air. He was about to land a final blow when a familiar voice called out to them.
“No horsey’s too small for Twinkly Mare!”
Barnabus, the security goblin, jumped off the balcony and came flying down. He shined his flashlight in Tazma’s eyes, blinding her. Then he landed directly on Dreadbane, knocking him to the ground.
“My eyes!” Tazma screamed as she wheeled around, her magic weakening.
Barnabus ran up to the Mysticons with a vacuum cleaner from the mall. It was the perfect gadget for sucking up the dark energy holding the Mysticons captive. Barnabus also noted that it was currently on sale.
Mysticons: Quest for the Codex Page 2
