THE NIGHT WAS dark and cold. The Astromancer Academy was just a speck of light in the distance. Zarya, Em, and Piper flew their griffins toward it. Arkayna had come up with a plan to make a duplicate Dragon Disk that would reveal the next riddle. It was going to be difficult and might not work. But it was their only chance to find the fourth Codex piece before Dreadbane did. There was only one problem: Arkayna hadn’t shown up to meet the Mysticons for the mission.
“What do you mean she’s not coming?” Zarya asked, annoyed.
Em stared down at the text on her bracer. Arkayna had gotten a surprise visit from Nova Terron right when she was supposed to leave. He was determined to be their new Solon. Arkayna was trapped. She couldn’t exactly tell him she had to go because she had to break in to the Astromancer Academy tonight as part of the Mysticons’ secret plan.
“She’s stuck with Nova Terron,” Em said. “She’ll catch up when she can.”
“We can’t do this without her,” Piper said.
“Our window is closing,” Zarya said, knowing the Dragon Disk could guide Dreadbane to the last Codex piece at any moment. “We’re gonna have to wing it.”
As they approached the Academy, Em’s stomach flipped. She would never admit it, but she understood why Piper was nervous. The plan would be harder to pull off without all four of them. When they’d returned to the stronghold days before, they’d started making a fake Dragon Disk. They’d used magical ingredients like lava, jarred lighting, and a dragon lotus, and run them through Em’s 3-D printer to create an object that looked exactly like the original Disk, except for its color. The fake Disk was a dull gray and had no power.
To turn it into a true artifact, they’d have to sneak into the Astromancer Academy and use the Celestial Forge. The Celestial Forge was a magic furnace that the ancients used to make artifacts. But the forge was so powerful that if they made even the smallest mistake, they could tear open the Cosmoverse. Hopefully, Malvaron would know how to use it.…
Em kept her head down as they flew closer to the Academy. The guards out front were just changing shifts. Zarya shot three arrows into the top of the building. The arrows were tied to ropes, and the girls jumped off their griffins and zipped up the ropes to the castle wall. They snuck down to the main floor until they reached the Light Bridge—a bridge to the Star Chamber that was made of light.
“Okay, we’re almost there,” Zarya said. She stepped out and nearly fell into a chasm below. Piper and Em held her back. “Where’d the Light Bridge go?” Piper asked.
“We need to activate it.” Em looked around. “But the controls are on the other side.”
“Time for a fozball special,” Zarya said. She reached up and grabbed Choko from her shoulder. He rolled into a ball, and Zarya pitched him across the canyon. He used his giant ears as wings and glided safely to the other side. He pressed the control pad, and the Light Bridge assembled before them, letting them run across.
They’d finally gotten to the door to the Star Chamber—the place Malvaron was being held.
“Okay, this is where it gets tricky,” Zarya said, staring at the red symbol on the door. “Only Arkayna can unlock this glyph.”
Em pulled out her sword and stepped in front of the other girls. Boom! She blasted through the door with her magic weapon. “Knock, knock,” she said, smirking through the hole she’d made at the Astromancers guarding Malvaron.
Piper flew past, tossing her Energy Hoops at the Astromancers and knocking them out. Zarya shot an arrow at the sphere holding Malvaron. It deactivated, sending him tumbling to the floor.
“Thank you,” he said. “And what in the realm is going on?”
“We need you to help us make a new Dragon Disk,” Em explained.
“With the Celestial Forge,” Piper added.
“The Celestial Forge?!” Malvaron repeated. “Whose brilliant plan was that?”
“Arkayna’s,” Em admitted.
Malvaron shook his head. “Did she tell you the part about—”
“Ripping a hole in the Cosmoverse?” Piper asked. “Yep. We’ll try to be careful.”
Zarya was already running toward the door. She gestured to the guards. “Let’s go before they wake up!”