THE SPECTRE GUARDS struggled to get up and out of the cave. The Mysticons scattered, running in different directions. Em took off and the dragon followed after her. She only had her Star Sword for protection. “Hey! What did we ever do to you?” she called out to the dragon.
That didn’t stop it. It charged her, so she put up her shield. She ran away as she blocked each of the dragon’s fiery blasts. Then she lured it down a tunnel. She used her shield as a surfboard, skidding around so the dragon’s blasts missed her and destroyed a few of the spectres. After a few minutes, the dragon turned its sights on Piper.
“Snappy little thing, aren’t you?” Piper said as she backed up into Zarya.
“I can fix that.” Zarya pulled back her bowstring, launching two cable arrows at the dragon’s jaws. They wrapped around them, tying the dragon’s mouth shut. It gave the Mysticons just enough time to get away. The heroes took off down the tunnel.
“So if we unleashed the Spectral Dragon…” Zarya said, turning to Arkayna as she ran, “that means…”
“We’re the twins…?” Arkayna said.
“No, no, that doesn’t make any sense,” Proxima said.
“Yeah, maybe we should do the family reunion thing later,” Em muttered. The two-headed dragon had broken out of Zarya’s bonds and was charging toward them. They’d reached a dead end in the tunnel and were completely trapped. Em threw up a forcefield just as the dragon blasted them with fire, but the attack was too strong. The forcefield burst. The Mysticons released their avatars, hoping they’d be powerful enough to stop the dragon, but it defeated them with one burst of flame.
Arkayna spun around, searching for a way out. There was a narrow opening in the rocks just a few feet away. It was too small for the dragon to get inside. She didn’t know where it went, but it was worth a try. The Mysticons followed her in, and within seconds they were falling through a tunnel. They landed with a thud at the mouth of a cave.
“Quick, to the balcony!” Arkayna said, recognizing where they were. The exit couldn’t be far now.
Em ran behind her. “If we can get to the orbs we can—”
“Escape?” Tazma asked, rushing out of another tunnel. Necrafa was right behind her, and her spectres swarmed the air. “Not likely, Mysticons.”
Necrafa’s head spun around, and dark red magic blasted out of her mouth. The Mysticons fought back with all they had, but it was no use. The queen was too powerful.
“Retreat!” Arkayna ordered, turning back toward the tunnel they had come through.
“Do you remember what’s back there?” Piper asked, thinking of the dragon.
Em pulled a magic orb from her pocket. “Here goes nothing!” she said, hurling it toward the opening. It exploded, raining down rocks and dust. But it was no use. The dragon appeared from within the cloud of debris.
“The Spectral Dragon!” Necrafa cried, raising her hands in the air. “The prophecy is fulfilled!”
The Mysticons were surrounded on all sides. Em started to panic. She leaned over, struggling to breathe.
“Someone get the dwarf a paper bag,” Zarya said.
“Oh my goblin! My bag!” Piper said, pulling her portal bag off her back.
Necrafa was too focused on the Spectral Dragon to notice what was happening. She floated toward the dragon, her hands outstretched. “Come to me, my beast,” she said. “Join with me.”
Em opened the bag and stuck her head in, trying to breathe.
“No, don’t breathe into it!” Piper said, yanking it back. She put it on the ground. “Jump into it!”
“Your portal bag! Brilliant!” Arkayna said, noticing what was happening.
“Destroy them, my child!” Necrafa ordered.
One by one the Mysticons jumped into the portal bag. The dragon reared back and let loose a horrible torrent of fire, but the girls were already gone. The Mysticons were rocketed through space, the dragon’s fire close behind them, and then they all shot out across the floor of the Stronghold’s common room. Malvaron and his cyclops friend, Doug, were waiting for them.
“Welcome home,” Malvaron said, tossing the portal bag up in the air.
Arkayna destroyed it with her Dragon Staff so no one could follow them through. She was about to explain what happened when Auntie Yaga let out a low moan. She was still on the table where they’d left her.
“Auntie Yaga! You’re okay!” Malvaron said. His aunt sat up and rubbed her eyes. While the Mysticons were away, Malvaron had worked with Doug to remove the phantom claw Tazma had driven through her heart.
“To be honest, I’ve been better,” Auntie Yaga said, looking a bit confused. She obviously had trouble with her memory. “I’m never ordering lunch from Earth again. What was that? Heartburn?”
Proxima didn’t respond. She kept staring at Arkayna and Zarya. “How is this possible?”
“So … you two are the twins,” Em said.
“You don’t look like twins,” Piper added.
“According to the prophecy, we are,” Arkayna said.
“Well, according to the prophecy … we’re all doomed,” Zarya replied.
“The Spectral Dragon has been released?” Malvaron asked, fear in his voice.
No one had the courage to answer him. Arkayna studied Zarya’s face, which she’d looked at a hundred times before. Was this the truth? Was Zarya her real sister? And now that they knew, would they be able to stop Necrafa together?