“It would pass through the floor,” Anne murmured, looking down.
Penelope frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain on the way,” said Anne. “Follow me.”
Jocelyn reached out for her. “Now, just a minute, young lady—”
Anne ignored her and ran over to her Copper Knight. The council could punish her later; she didn’t care. Without hesitation, Penelope, Hiro, and Valerian followed her lead and ran to their knights as well.
Anne climbed in—her knight was still open—but nothing happened.
“Why isn’t it working?” she cried.
Jeffery alighted on the knight’s shoulder. “The stones in the helmets are dragon stones,” he said. “I figured it out when I inspected yours earlier. That’s what the dragon queen used to control the knights. They were tuned to her stone.”
Anne leaned out of the knight. “But those stones are white, not crystal.”
“I’m just telling you what I know,” said Jeffery.
Just like Rokk, then, Anne thought.
And just like the fake doubles of the committee members, too.
Somehow everything was connected to the dragon stones.
“If we remove the stones from the helmets, will the knights start working again?” asked Anne.
Jeffery shook his head. “The dragon stones are also what power the knights.”
Anne dug the two dragon stones out of her pocket, Emmanuelle’s and the one that had fallen out of Rokk. “You said the knights were tuned to the queen’s stone. Can you tune them to one of these instead?”
“No, they require a living, thinking being in order to receive commands,” said Jeffery. “Curiously enough, though, I am picking up another signal in this chamber that they could be tuned to.”
“What signal?” Anne asked suspiciously.
“Your gauntlet.”
Anne stared at the gauntlet and only hesitated for a moment. “Do it,” she said. “Connect all of them.”
Jeffery saluted. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and he took off, hopping from knight to knight, stopping only briefly on the top of each helmet. Anne reentered her knight and concentrated on making it work. It didn’t take long. Seconds later the back of the knight closed, the circle of light appeared around her head, and the panels lit up around her.
“What about the empty one?” called Penelope.
Only five power knights remained, now that Rokk had destroyed the one the Construct had used. However, the Lord Chamberlain was busy talking with Lord Greystone and hadn’t reentered his.
“Jeffery, can you operate that thing?” asked Anne.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said. Jeffery flew over to the empty knight.
“Where are we going?” asked Hiro.
“The arena,” said Anne.
Their activities were finally noticed. Greystone shouted for them to stop, but before the council soldiers could react—and the dragons, meanwhile, seemed so confused and upset that they weren’t paying attention—Anne, Penelope, Hiro, Valerian, and Jeffery ran at full speed out of the throne room, across the bridge, and down the long stairway, and entered the vast space of the arena. The disc used for the dragon trials had been returned to its place near the ceiling, and the archway had been deactivated. Through the large hole in the floor, they could see the BGFM far below. Sparkling waves crashed together, sending up sprays of magick that swirled together in a mesmerizing dance.
“This power suit thingy is awesome!” said Jeffery. “I’m never, ever doing anything else ever again except driving this thing around. For always. I would even give up eating books to make that happen.”
“What now?” asked Valerian. “There’s nothing down here.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” said Anne.
She pointed to the far side of the arena at the dragon statue. At the colossal, ten-story-high, thickly armored dragon statue. Except it wasn’t a statue anymore. It was moving.
“So, you figured it out, did you?” thundered what was now a living, giant metal dragon.
Yet the dragon’s voice sounded very familiar.
“Why is that thing alive?” yelled Hiro.
“It’s the queen,” said Anne. “The Heartstone absorbed her last breath, and then it dropped through the floor and into that thing.”
“That’s right,” roared the giant metal dragon queen. “And now I will take my rightful place as ruler of this world. For too long dragons have lived in the shadow of insignificant humans, following their insufferable rules. No more. I will destroy the Hierarchy and build a new world in my own image. Humans will serve dragonkind as they should, and I will become the greatest marvel this world has ever seen!”
The word marvel echoed in Anne’s head.
“But let wonder bring the harbinger of death,” said Anne.
“What about it?” said Hiro.
“One of the queen’s titles is Seventh Marvel of the Modern World,” said Anne. “Marvel is another word for wonder. We’ve had it wrong. The line in the prophecy means the queen will bring the messenger of death—death for the entire Hierarchy. At the hands of a giant metal dragon. And our quest just helped her do it.”
“Are you saying this is what was supposed to happen all along?” said Penelope.
“Actually, I think the quest was trying to suggest this would be a bad idea.”
“That much I agree with.”
The dragon queen stepped off her pedestal, and when her foot came down, the force shook the entire arena. She headed directly toward Anne and the others.
“Run!” yelled Anne.
All the knights scattered—all except one.
“Leave my friends alone, you big bully,” said Jeffery.
He raised his staff and shot out a bolt of lightning. The bolt merely glanced off the heavy armor plating of the dragon queen’s foot and struck the wall. In response, however, the queen lifted her foot and brought it down directly on top of Jeffery’s knight, crushing it. There was a muffled explosion.
Anne was about to charge at the queen to help Jeffery when a bright rainbow streak shot through the top of the queen’s foot. In an instant, Jeffery appeared inside the helmet of Anne’s knight. “I take back the part about not eating books anymore,” he said.
Anne reversed course, away from the dragon queen, but she had hardly taken ten steps when the dragon’s giant tail whooshed through the air. Anne ducked, but someone behind her wasn’t so quick. The tail sent the knight flying across the arena and into the wall. Anne didn’t even know who was in it. Another knight leapt onto the dragon’s pedestal, and from there it leapt onto the dragon queen’s back and used the staff to hit her with bolt after bolt of lightning, but to no avail.
“You dare challenge me?” roared the dragon queen.
“Oh, I dare, all right,” Penelope replied from within the knight.
Penelope ran up the dragon’s back to her neck and continued attacking her. The dragon queen thrashed about, and Anne watched in horror as Penelope struggled to hold on. Penelope managed to grab the edge of a panel high on the dragon queen’s back.
“Hang on!” said Hiro.
Hiro stepped forward and grabbed the dragon queen’s tail from behind. This proved unwise, as the dragon dislodged him with a quick flick.
“Anne, we need to remove the Heartstone,” said Valerian.
Anne knew he was right. They could never defeat the dragon queen in a direct confrontation. But if they could get to the Heartstone, she would become just an empty statue again—or so Anne hoped.
“You go for it,” she said. “I’ll distract her.”
“Watch out, Anne!” screamed Hiro.
Penelope was falling. The large metal panel she’d been holding had torn loose. Anne tried to catch her, but the panel slammed into Anne first and sent her crashing to the ground. She was dazed but unhurt. Inside her helmet, an error message appeared, and the panels flickered. Anne had no desire to be trapped insid
e a dead knight, so she yelled, “Exit!” and the back opened. Anne crawled out and surveyed the damage.
Jeffery’s Copper Knight was crushed. Penelope’s wasn’t moving, and Hiro’s knight still lay slumped awkwardly against the back wall. The only active knight seemed to be Valerian’s, and just at that moment, the dragon queen scooped it off the ground, ripped the head clean off, and threw the knight’s body into the hole in the floor. Valerian’s Copper Knight sailed into the void beyond and tumbled end over end toward the BGFM.
“No!” screamed Anne.
The dragon queen didn’t stop to gloat. She simply dropped through the hole herself, but instead of falling, she spread her massive wings and soared out of sight.
For a moment, Anne stood in a stupor. Valerian couldn’t be gone. Somehow, he had to have survived. She shook herself and ran toward the rim of the opening.
“Anne!”
She stopped short.
Valerian was walking up behind her.
Anne clutched her hands to her chest. “But—weren’t you inside that knight?”
Valerian shook his head. “The knight was dying, so I jumped out and hid behind one of the pedestals.”
“What about Hiro and Penelope?”
“Hiro’s okay. I don’t know about Penelope. But they’re both trapped in their knights until we can break them out.”
Just then, dozens of dragons and council soldiers poured into the arena. Everyone swarmed around Anne, Valerian, and the fallen Copper Knights, though at first no one did anything. The soldiers and dragons were too busy arguing (and nearly coming to blows) over who had jurisdiction.
Without wondering whether they would listen to her, Anne ordered several soldiers to help remove the helmets from Penelope’s and Hiro’s knights. Perhaps some of Captain Copperhelm’s personality had rubbed off on her, because the soldiers instantly obeyed. After a few minutes, the soldiers managed to pry open the helmets of both knights. Hiro was groggy, but Penelope seemed to be in good spirits, all things considered. However, it was going to take a while to completely free them.
Anne walked back to Valerian just as Jocelyn arrived. She didn’t look very happy.
“Well, I guess you can’t fail me after all,” said Anne. “Technically, the queen is still alive.” Anne couldn’t help the snarky tone that had crept into her voice; she felt Jocelyn deserved every bit of it.
“I’m afraid things are more serious than that,” said Jocelyn.
Lord Greystone walked over and joined them. He said, “You and the rest of your group may consider yourselves under arrest, effective immediately.”
“You already arrested us once this quest,” said Anne.
“Consider yourself under double arrest, then,” said Greystone. “Also, given recent events, I’ve ordered a full investigation into this quest. The Wizards’ Council is going to be taking a very close look at how Saint Lupin’s is being run, and I suspect there is a good chance it will either be shut down or taken over by the council.”
Anne grabbed Jocelyn’s arm. “You can’t let that happen.”
Jocelyn hung her head and sighed deeply. “As much as it pains me to say so, I think this might be for the best. Just consider what’s happened over the past few months,” she said. “Level Thirteen quests, near destruction of the world, setting loose a rampaging giant metal dragon queen. At some point, I have to face the facts: I’m simply not cut out to run an academy.”
“That’s ridiculous!” said Anne. “You’re fantastic! I mean, I’m not super happy with you right now, but you’re a great professor. Any student would be lucky to study with you. And the same goes for Captain Copperhelm and Sassafras, too.”
Jocelyn patted Anne’s hand. “That’s very kind of you, my dear, but I think our record together speaks for itself.”
What was going on? Anne had only known Jocelyn for a couple of months, but in that time she knew her to be fiercely protective of both her academy and the students under her care. This wasn’t at all like Jocelyn.
Then she saw it. A glint of crystal hanging around Jocelyn’s neck.
“Where did you get that?” asked Anne.
“What? This?” said Jocelyn, and she seemed suddenly nervous.
“I’ve never seen you wear it before,” said Anne. “But your sister, the Matron, had one just like it.”
“I—I borrowed hers. I thought I would wear it in her memory to the awards ceremony.”
“You’re lying,” said Anne. “The Matron’s crystal was lost with her when she fell from the Saint Lupin’s tier.”
“I think that’s quite enough out of you,” said Greystone. “Considering the trouble you’re already in, another outburst will only make it worse.”
Anne couldn’t stand it anymore. She was furious at the whole mess and sick of these dragon stones. Without thinking, she leapt at Jocelyn and grabbed the crystal. Jocelyn stumbled back, but Anne didn’t loosen her grip. The chain around Jocelyn’s neck snapped, and the crystal came away. Jocelyn immediately collapsed to the ground. She gripped her face and began convulsing.
“What’s happening to her?” asked Valerian.
Anne dropped to her knees and pried Jocelyn’s hands away from her face, only to shrink back in horror. Black, oily smoke poured from Jocelyn’s eyes and nose, and when she opened her mouth, all that came out was more black smoke. It even started to seep through the pores of her smooth brown skin. Jocelyn reached for Anne, but Anne scrambled back out of reach.
Jocelyn continued to shake. The smoke became so thick it soon enveloped her entire body. In mere minutes, she melted away completely. All that remained were her clothes lying flat on the ground and a few wisps of black smoke.
Anne was speechless.
One of the council soldiers ran over. “Lord Greystone, the dragon queen has escaped. She destroyed most of the armada and is now on a direct course for the capital.”
“To arms!” cried Greystone, and he turned his attention to gathering and organizing the soldiers in the arena.
“I can’t believe Jocelyn was an imposter,” Anne said, looking at the spot where she had melted. “Just like the committee members.”
“Too bad all the Copper Knights were destroyed,” said Valerian.
Anne looked up with a sudden realization. “They weren’t,” she said. “There’s still one left.”
“What do you mean?” asked Valerian.
Anne leaned closer so as not to be overheard. “We need to return to the archway.”
“What? It’s high up, nearly to the ceiling of the throne room.”
“The walls are rough. I’m sure we can climb it.”
“More climbing? But what for?”
“Is there an archway anywhere on the capital tier?”
Valerian stared at her. “Several. But why do you want to go there?”
“Because there’s another Copper Knight back in the royal library at the Sapphire Palace, remember?” said Anne. “Nana incapacitated it, but maybe we can get it working again.”
Valerian looked alarmed. “The capital is where the queen is headed. And in case you hadn’t noticed, she just destroyed five of the knights without breaking a sweat, not to mention an entire armada of council airships.”
“Penelope ripped a panel off the back of the metal dragon queen. That might provide access to the Heartstone. I have to at least try.”
Valerian nodded. Greystone and the soldiers were still busy organizing themselves, and they didn’t notice as Anne and Valerian quietly edged over to the wall and made their way closer to the entrance. Once they got close, they sprinted for the staircase.
“Hey!” called a guard. “Someone stop those kids!”
Anne and Valerian bolted past the entrance guards before the soldiers realized what was happening. They took the stairs two at a time and then ran down the corridor and out onto the bone bridge. Unfortunately, the guards on the far side of the bridge had heard the shouting and were coming to investigate.
Anne and Valeri
an stopped. “We’re not going to make it through,” Valerian said.
Anne looked up at the thin crack of light high above. “Can you fireball me to the capital from here?”
Valerian gazed at the crack. “I don’t know if I can transform yet.”
Soldiers were now blocking both ends of the bridge.
“I need you to do this,” said Anne. “It’s our only hope.”
“I’ll try. But no guarantees.”
Valerian closed his eyes in concentration. The guards moved closer.
“Come on,” whispered Anne. “You can do it.”
Valerian took several slow, steadying breaths and squeezed his fists into balls.
The guards were almost upon them.
This time Anne saw the transformation as it happened. Valerian’s neck became long and slender, and his skin turned red and scaly. His arms and legs grew into powerful limbs, and wings sprouted from his back. He became a red dragon and rose up, wings outstretched, scales glistening in the thin stream of light coming from the surface. Out of the corner of her eye, Anne saw the guards stumble back into one another.
Then Valerian’s wings shrank, and his front feet gave way beneath him, sending him crashing to the bridge. The guards became emboldened, drew their swords, and started forward once again.
“Valerian!” Anne called.
The dragon turned toward the sound of her voice. The strain on his face was obvious, but he straightened and rose to his feet, slowly, deliberately. Anne thought for sure Valerian would collapse or lose his dragon form, but with a mighty effort, he sucked in a huge lungful of air and blew out a bright green fireball.
Anne was on her way.
THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO DRAGONS (AND WHY THEY KEEP BITING ME) SAYS THE FOLLOWING:
If you don’t wish to get bitten by a dragon, don’t stick your head in its mouth.
The Adventurer's Guide to Dragons (and Why They Keep Biting Me) Page 18