by Liz Marsham
The foz nodded, then shrugged, then resumed patting Malvaron’s face. With a splutter, Malvaron suddenly sat up. Choko chirped in alarm as he fell backward onto the ground, then looked up at Arkayna and nodded decisively.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Malvaron said to Arkayna, then glanced around at the rest of them. “All of you. I was about to go through the portal to find you, but she surprised me, knocked me down, and ran off.” He rubbed his head ruefully. “I never saw her coming. I guess it’s true what they said about her.”
“Wait, what did they say? ‘They’ who?” Arkayna leaned forward eagerly. “What did you find?”
“After you left, I did more research into that particular portal spell,” Malvaron explained. “I found it deep in Astromancer lore. It’s not part of a curse at all. That girl was … well, she wasn’t—”
“Yeah, we know this part,” Piper interrupted. “The fifth Mysticon is a baddie.”
Malvaron shook his head, then winced at the motion. “No, that’s just it. She’s not the fifth Mysticon. She’s not a Mysticon at all.”
Across the room, Em’s shoulders sagged. “Oh no,” she murmured. She dismissed her shield and dropped down heavily on the couch.
“She fought alongside the Mysticons for a while, as if she was part of the team,” Malvaron continued. “Her name was Adakite Flowstone, but she called herself ‘Mysticon Rogue.’” He shrugged. “I feel like they should have known something was up when she picked that name, you know? But she had known the original Dragon Mage a long time—they were friends from before the original Mysticons were called—so I guess they trusted her. Plus, she was a great tactician and a naturally gifted magician. She shaped—shapes—her magic to look like Mysticon magic, but none of her powers come from the Codex.”
“So what went wrong?” Zarya asked. “Sounds like she’d have been useful to have on your side, as long as she kept her attitude in check.”
“You got it in one,” said Malvaron. “She couldn’t. She wanted to be famous like the Mysticons, but she didn’t want to be part of the team. She wanted to be the star, the most loved, the most feared. Plus, the Astromancers didn’t treat her like a Mysticon, which made her mad. And the people of the city didn’t adore her like they did the rest of the team, which made her madder. So pretty quickly, she gave up on being the most loved and focused on being the most feared. She went where she thought she could get more power. She went to Necrafa.”
“She betrayed her friends to Necrafa?” cried Arkayna. “That’s awful!”
“Sounds like she didn’t do it all at once,” Malvaron replied. “From what the Astromancers could tell, pretty soon after the Mysticons were called, Necrafa made the Rogue a secret offer in exchange for spying on the team. The Rogue started feeding Necrafa bits of information—never enough to seriously hurt the Mysticons, but just enough to keep Necrafa on the hook for more.”
“Playing both sides,” Zarya muttered.
“She is a sneaky sneak!” Piper decided. “Who sneaks!”
“Or maybe she was conflicted,” said Malvaron. “Who knows? In any case, it didn’t last. Imani Firewing noticed how her former friend was changing. She found evidence that Adakite was about to join Necrafa for good and confronted her. Adakite panicked and tried to run, but the Mysticons and Astromancers were ready. They knew the Rogue was too dangerous for any regular prison. So they set up the Chillwaste just for her.”
“We have to find her!” Arkayna said. She stood and pulled Malvaron to his feet as well. “Was there anything in the Astromancer lore about where she might go?”
“Ooh!” Em said, rummaging in her pouch, desperate to be helpful. “I have a Seeker Orb in here somewhere. Would that work?”
“The Rogue is very, very good at hiding,” replied Malvaron gloomily. “She’s not going to be found if—”
“Uh, hey.” Doug had wandered over to the TV during the discussion and now was peering at it intently. “I think I found her.”
Everyone crowded around to look. A news bulletin was playing on the floating screen, showing an image of the Astromancer Academy, looking across the water from the city proper. Necrafa and her spectres were arrayed in the skies above the Academy. As Em ducked around Doug’s arm to get a better view, Necrafa directed a squad of spectres to swoop down on the Academy’s dome. The Astromancers, levitating just above the dome, drove the spectres back. Runes pulsed in the air, forming shields that repelled the winged skeletons.
Choko squeaked angrily, pointing to the bottom of the screen.
“I see her!” Em said.
“Not … not that sneaky, actually,” mused Piper.
A black-and-gold blur streaked from the city toward the Academy. Malvaron gestured, and as the volume on the TV went up they heard Serena’s excited voice. The gorgon reporter was demanding, “Are you getting this?” and, dimly, Em could hear the snakes that made up her hair repeating, “Are you getting thisssss?” Then Serena composed herself, clearing her throat. “Ahem. It appears someone else is entering the fray. You heard it here first; there is a new development in today’s Academy attack. And whoever it is appears to be running on water! But the real question, loyal viewers, is this: Whose side are they on? As soon as we know the answer, you will, too!”
Em’s heart sank. She knew the answer. The Rogue was finally going to join Necrafa.
18
In Which There Is Stress, a Song, and a Scheme
Em paced back and forth in front of the TV. “This is all my fault!” she said. “I knew there was something off about her from the minute she started talking to me. I should have trusted my instincts. I should have paid closer attention to what the puzzles were trying to tell us. I should have thought it all through. I should never have been so quick to believe any of it—the convenient curse, her conveniently fading spirit, Doug conveniently becoming a Mysticon.…” She stopped and looked up at Doug. “Not that I don’t think … Doug, I didn’t mean that you aren’t … I’m sorry!”
Doug shook his head and sat down heavily. “No, you’re right. It was great having an adventure with you—scary, but great. But I know I’m no hero.”
“Hey, no, that’s not what I’m saying at all!” said Em, rushing over to him. She couldn’t stand that she had made him doubt himself. Reaching out and patting his knee awkwardly, she went on: “I told you before we ever heard of a fifth Mysticon: You are a hero.”
“We couldn’t have made it through the Chillwaste without you,” Arkayna said.
“That’s just a fact,” Zarya added. “You were amazing against the rocs.”
“You kept us together when we would have split up,” said Em.
“Aaaaaaand,” Piper said, pointing at the blackened toy still held in Doug’s hands, “you sacrificed your poor pegacorn. If that’s not heroic, I don’t know what is.”
Doug’s eye welled up with tears. “Thanks, guys, that means a lot. I just … I thought I was going to be able to do more. To be more. I want to help you fight the Rogue and Necrafa, but I’m no Mysticon. I don’t have any powers. I’m just me. I don’t know what to do.”
“Aw, don’t cry, big guy.” Piper threw her arms around his neck. “We’ll figure it out! Remember what Gnomez 2 Men always say: ‘It’s Not So Bad’!” She struck a pose and started to sing.
“You have to fight a titan but it’s three dwarves in a coat,
You’re scared to sing your solo but you never miss a note,
You’re naked in the classroom but turns out it’s just a dream,
Oh baby, things really aren’t as bad as they seem!”
She held her arms out to Em. “Come on, do the next chorus with me!”
Em chuckled. “Piper, I’m not sure now is the time.…”
Piper shot Em a pointed look. “Now is the perfect time. Our teammate needs cheering up. Riiiiiight?”
Em glanced over at Doug and saw him looking back at her with a glimmer of hope in his eye, the anxiety in his face just starting to fade. She would do a
nything to make him feel sure of himself again. Even this. She threw one hand in the air, cocked her hip to the side, and sang, “So when you’re feeling overwhelmed, like you don’t have a chance…”
Choko began cheeping and drumming his paws to the beat as Piper ran up next to Em, and together they continued:
“Girl, throw your hands up, do a twirl and go into your dance!
Remember that it’s darkest just before the sunlight gleams,
Oh baby, it’s really not as bad as it seems!
Ooh-hoo, girl, it’s really not as bad as it seems!”
The three of them flung their hands out toward Doug in a final pose, grinning broadly. Doug couldn’t help himself; he burst into applause while Arkayna, Zarya, and Malvaron laughed. The tension in the room was broken for a moment.
Em took a deep breath. “What I was trying to say is, you mean a lot to us, to this team, even if you don’t have powers. Even when you don’t know what to do.”
Arkayna came up behind Em and put her hands on Em’s shoulders. “She’s right.” She looked down at Em. “And that goes for you, too, you know.”
“What?” Em blushed. She didn’t even know why she was blushing; it just happened.
Arkayna turned Em around to face her. “You blame yourself for the Rogue getting out. You blame yourself for a lot, but you just wanted to help. You want everyone to feel important and included, even thousand-year-old cranky spirits. And that’s amazing. But don’t forget, you’re important, too. Even when you don’t know what to do.”
“I … I know.” Em couldn’t stop blushing. Why couldn’t she stop blushing? Stop it, face, she thought. It didn’t help. She forced herself to meet Arkayna’s eyes and grinned at her ruefully. She did know. Most of the time.
Then they heard Doug muttering, almost to himself. He was still smiling a little, and he looked resigned rather than upset as he said, “Man, I really don’t know why I got my hopes up there. How could I ever be like her? I mean, she’s so fast, and small, and … fast! I’m not like that at all.”
Arkayna gasped. “He’s right! That’s it! None of us are like that!”
Piper shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m pretty fast.”
“No,” Arkayna said, “I mean, that’s why Adakite needed us to come unlock the puzzles for her—because we have what she doesn’t. The solutions to those locks were all about selflessness and teamwork, which she obviously doesn’t understand. That’s how the original Mysticons trapped her. And that’s how we beat her.”
“Okay, that sounds nice and all, but I’m not hearing a solid plan,” Zarya said. “We use teamwork all the time. How is this special?”
“I get it,” said Malvaron, nodding in excitement. “She can see a normal trap a mile away. But if she doesn’t understand how you think, she won’t even know it’s coming.”
“Yes!” The light dawned on Em. “Adakite bragged to us about all her strengths, and the puzzles showed us all her weaknesses. We know this girl, and she doesn’t know us; she didn’t care about knowing us at all. We can get her! All we need is—”
“Bait,” Doug finished, perking up. “You need bait. You need me.”
19
In Which the Real Boss Fight Begins
Above the beating of griffin wings, the rush of the wind, and the racing of her own heart, Em heard Zarya shout, “Doug, last chance! Are you sure?”
Sitting behind Em on Topaz, Doug nodded once, fiercely. “I can do this!” His hands tightened on Em’s shoulders.
She turned to look over her shoulder at him. He had ditched the backpack, but the potion belt, with its remaining two vials, was still slung over his shoulder. He was nervous, but he seemed ready. She squeezed his hand. “You really can, you know,” she told him. Then she turned to face the battle in front of them.
The Mysticons and Doug were over halfway to the Astromancer Academy, flying on their griffins just above the surface of the sea. Every second, they got closer and had a better view of how easily Adakite was turning the tide in Necrafa’s favor.
While Necrafa and her spectres flew above, waiting and watching intently for the moment, the Rogue wove across the rooftops of the Academy. She leaped off the central dome, disappearing behind one of the surrounding wings, then appeared suddenly in a new position to attack one of the levitating Astromancers from behind. When that Astromancer fell unconscious, the spell he was in charge of flared and sputtered out, leaving a hole in the protective wards that the other magicians scrambled to cover.
But the Academy’s defensive line was getting dangerously thin. Adakite had already knocked out half a dozen Astromancers, and a few more were landing on the dome to attend to their fallen friends. Others had clearly been redeployed to deal with the Rogue directly. Clustered in a small group, they fired spells at Adakite and set traps in her path. But she dodged them all.
Soon Em was close enough to see that, just before the Rogue evaded an attack, her headpiece and her eyes flashed gold.
Em steered Topaz closer to Arkayna’s griffin, Izzie, where Arkayna was in touch with Malvaron via her bangle-phone. She leaned over to shout at the bangle, “What’s with her light show? Can you see that?”
“Yeah, that’s True Sight, her most powerful spell,” Malvaron responded. “It lets her see through illusions and other magic, and it also enhances all her senses. So assume she can hear everything you say, starting”—Em looked up to see the Rogue’s head turn toward them—“right about now.”
Em and Arkayna exchanged a glance, and then Arkayna turned to look at Zarya and Piper, flying on her other side. “Did you girls get all that?”
“Loud and clear,” said Zarya.
“Mmm-hmm!” Piper nodded emphatically, eyes wide and lips pressed closed.
“Then let’s get to work,” Arkayna said. She pointed at Doug and smiled. “Step one: naked in the classroom.”
“Wha—oh, right!” Doug grinned back at Arkayna. Then, in a low whisper to Em, he said, “Man, I wish I could wink right now!”
Breaking formation, Em steered Topaz down to a stony outcropping near the Academy. As Doug clambered off the griffin’s back, Em said, “Make sure you stay safe, all right?” She raised her voice as Topaz flew her toward the fight. “Without you and that invincibility potion, our whole plan fails!”
Necrafa raised her head and caught sight of the Mysticons, formed up and charging directly at her. “Children,” she hissed. “I have no time for you today.” She pointed in their direction and commanded, “Destroy them, my undead spectres! And be quick!”
The spectres abandoned their positions around the Academy and darted toward the griffins.
“Wait…” murmured Arkayna as the winged skeletons got closer. “Waaaaait.… Now! Three dwarves in a coat!”
Quickly, Zarya, Piper, and Em steered their griffins into a tight triangular formation around Arkayna. Arkayna held up her staff and summoned a spherical shield, which snapped into place around them a split second before the first of the spectres crashed into it. One after another, the skeletons collided with the barrier, snapping and snarling. Holding their tight formation, the Mysticons lured the spectres up and away from the Astromancers.
Necrafa shrieked in irritation. But she wasn’t looking at her ineffective army, she was looking at the Rogue. With the spectres gone, the Astromancers were rallying and strengthening their wards, and Adakite had abandoned her strategy of flanking them from behind. Instead, she was working her way around to the near side of the building.
“Your work is not done!” Necrafa screamed at the Rogue. “You promised me you would completely dismantle their defenses!”
“Change of plans,” the Rogue sneered. She vaulted between two wings of the building to bring herself lower and lower, then pushed off the stone foundation and began sprinting across the water. She was heading right for Doug!
20
In Which One Villain Retreats and Another Comes Too Close
The Mysticons arced around and headed back toward Nec
rafa, trailing the army of spectres behind them. From her position inside the shield, Em saw the Rogue leaping from the tower. “Arkayna, is it darkest yet?” she asked.
“Not yet,” said Arkayna. “We’re almost there.” She patted Izzie and called to the griffins, “Fast as you can, now!”
Flying in perfect formation in their energy sphere, the Mysticons swooped down on Necrafa. The lich roared in anger, and waves of red energy poured out of her mouth at them.
Arkayna cried out as the shield dissolved under the onslaught, but it had done its job: The girls and their griffins were unharmed. The Mysticons descended on Necrafa … and swept right past her.
While Necrafa wheeled around in confusion, Arkayna shouted, “Now it’s darkest!” As one, the griffins turned in a tight, perfect arc to face Necrafa and, behind her, the ragged cone of spectres. The skeleton army backwinged frantically to avoid crashing into their mistress and one another.
Arkayna thrust her right arm forward. “Time for some sunlight!” And in the same breath, all four Mysticons unleashed the power of their bracers. “Release the Dragon!” commanded Arkayna.
“Fly, Phoenix, fly!” Piper hooted.
“Time to howl!” hollered Zarya.
“Battle Unicorn, charge!” Em shouted as all four bracers glowed brightly. The green Dragon, gold Phoenix, blue Wolf, and magenta Unicorn stormed through the air, knocking Necrafa back and overwhelming the spectres.
Necrafa looked over the chaotic remains of her army, then down at the Rogue, single-mindedly running for Doug. Howling over her shoulder, “I am not done with you yet, Mysticons!” Necrafa retreated into the night.
But there was no time to celebrate. “Doug!” Em yelled at the top of her lungs. “You need to mix that potion now!”
Stranded on his rock, surrounded by the sea, Doug fumbled with the belt. He pulled out the last two potions, one bright purple and one a churning red, and popped the tops off the vials.
The Rogue was too fast. She seemed to blink across the water and was suddenly at Doug’s side, snatching the vials from his hands. Darting a few steps away, all the distance the jagged outcropping would allow, she glared at Doug. Her eyes glowed gold as she scanned for illusions and traps. Finding none, she snickered in disbelief. “Where is your team now?” she asked Doug slyly. “They left you all alone.”