by Liz Marsham
21
In Which Magic Fails and a Hug Succeeds
“To think, the Mysticons trusted their most powerful weapon to you,” the Rogue laughed, tipping the purple potion into the red one. “In a moment, I will be unstoppable, and you will still be nothing. I can’t believe you thought you could be like me!”
She swirled the two liquids together, and POOF! The mixture exploded into a thick gray cloud.
“Naw,” Doug replied as the Rogue coughed and waved her hands frantically, trying to clear the air. “This time I thought you could be like me.”
The gray haze thinned a bit, revealing Adakite, wearing only a tattered shirt and pants. Her daggers, headpiece, and Rogue outfit were nowhere to be seen. She looked down at herself and gasped, then gestured haughtily, summoning her clothing to return.
Nothing happened. Growling, she tried again.
Still nothing. Beginning to panic, she turned to face the sea and braced herself as if to race away.
“Uh, I wouldn’t,” said Doug, raising a cautionary finger. “Unless you can run on water without your magic.”
“Without my—” she sputtered. “What did you do to me?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Doug shrugged and gestured at the cloud all around them. “But you made an anti-magic potion. That exploded.”
Adakite screamed in frustration, then turned to look over the water again. “I can still swim, you know!”
“Try it,” said Em, swooping down on Topaz to hover a little distance away, outside the cloud.
“No, really, try it!” Piper urged as Miss Paisley flapped down on the other side of the mist. “It’ll be funny!”
“Or you could just stay right there, where I can keep an eye on you,” said Zarya, aiming an arrow at her from Archer’s back high above. She tilted her head toward Arkayna and Izzie, flying next to her. “Arkayna, you ready to send this girl to her room?”
“You know it,” Arkayna said. She raised her staff and began to draw runes in the air.
“Wait a moment,” said Adakite, beginning to smile. “You can’t fool me again. I’m helpless in here, but you’re stuck out there! You can’t come any closer without this mist affecting you too, and neither can your spells”—she looked up at Zarya—“or your arrows. You are all useless without your magic. I haven’t lost yet.” She turned to Doug. “You. You can get me out of this. Help me escape, and I’ll teach you all the magic I know. I’ll make you powerful!”
Doug looked at the Mysticons, hovering out of reach all around him.
“Don’t look at them!” Adakite stepped toward him. “You’ll never be one of them. Join me instead, and I’ll make you matter!”
Still holding Em’s gaze, Doug replied, “No thanks.” He turned back to Adakite. “I already matter.” He reached out and wrapped her in a huge bear hug, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled, but he was too strong.
Em broke into a huge grin as all four griffins, right on cue, began beating their wings hard, dispersing the anti-magic haze. As the last of the mist disappeared, Arkayna began to recite:
“Attend to my summons, attend to my knocks,
Keep this girl locked in compassionate locks,
Take her to faraway ice with all haste,
Make her a prisoner of the Chillwaste!”
The green runes she had traced in the air began to twist around one another, faster and faster, until they formed a glowing ring of crackling energy. The ring fell from the sky, contracting and descending over Adakite’s head and shoulders. It spun down through the circle of Doug’s arms until it fizzled against the ground, and where it passed over Adakite it seemed to swallow her whole. The Rogue was gone, trapped in the stars once more.
22
In Which the Day Is Saved, the Battle Rehashed, a Hope Fulfilled, and a Hope Deferred
The Mysticons and Doug joined Nova Terron and the other Astromancers on the roof of the Academy and helped to move the injured magicians safely inside.
As they worked, Nova raised his eyebrows at Arkayna. “I cannot fault your results,” said the Star Master, “but your battlefield discussion was … interesting. Did I hear you yell something about dwarves in a coat?”
Arkayna laughed. “We knew that the Rogue would hear everything we said, once we got close enough. So we had to use a code.”
“We were worried about how powerful she and Necrafa could be together,” Zarya added, “but then we realized how easy it would be to split them up. Adakite likes to be the star, after all.”
“And we knew she’d never be able to resist something as shiny-sounding as an invincibility potion,” said Piper, “so we made sure to talk about that extra-loud.”
“Yeah, we figured if we had something that meant she didn’t need Necrafa,” Em said, “all we had to do was make that thing seem really easy to get.”
Doug chuckled. “That’s why I got to be the bait. I don’t have any flashy powers, so she’d never see me as a threat.”
Nova Terron shook his head. “I remember a thousand years ago, when the Mysticons worked with Star Master Alpha Galaga to design the Chillwaste. It was meant to be more than a prison; it was intended as a lesson. Their hope was that Adakite Flowstone would learn from its puzzles and, in learning, win enough freedom to call to the Mysticons for their forgiveness. Imani Firewing’s fondest hope was that, one day, her old friend could rejoin the Mysticons as a trusted ally.” He sighed. “That hope seems to have failed.”
“Nah, I’m with Imani; there’s always hope,” said Em.
The others looked at her in surprise, and Piper giggled. “Well, if we have to go back there to check on her, I need to teach you all to ice-skate.”
Em slung an arm around Piper’s shoulders. “Let’s worry about that tomorrow,” she said, yawning.
“Okay,” Piper replied. “Hey, I can’t wait to tell Malvaron all about this! How Adakite was like, ‘Ooh, I’m so evil, join me!’ and Doug was like, ‘Never! I am the strongest!’ and then Adakite was all, ‘Curses!’ and then…”
The five of them mounted the griffins and headed for the Stronghold, tired and elated and all talking at once. As they flew, Em watched Doug, bantering and joking right along with the rest of them. He wasn’t hesitant or awkward or unsure. He was perfectly comfortable, perfectly included.
And so, Em realized, was she.
“Hey, Em, you there?” Zarya snapped her fingers, and Em registered with a start that she had missed something. Zarya sighed, smiled, and repeated her question: “I said, do you really think Adakite will learn anything? She seemed pretty stubborn.”
Em shrugged. This had been a good day, and she was feeling generous. “You never know,” she said. “Maybe in another thousand years?”
About the Author
Liz Marsham began her storytelling career as an editor for DC Comics and Disney Publishing. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, a cat who thinks she is a princess, and a cat who thinks he is a dog. Visit her (and the cats) at lizmarsham.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
&nb
sp; Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About the Author
Copyright
Mysticons characters, design, and elements © 2018 Nelvana Limited. Mysticons is a trademark of Nelvana Limited.
A part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
mackids.com
All rights reserved.
If you thought to steal this tome, beware!
It is protected by spells everywhere!
The Mysticons fight ancient magic.
Defy them, and your end will be tragic.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Book design by Heather Palisi
Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First hardcover edition, 2018
eBook edition, June 2018
eISBN 978-1-250-16500-8
