THE MYSTICONS LEAPT off their griffins outside the gate of Magi Mall. That morning the Dragon Disk had projected a riddle along with a map. Both held clues that the second Codex piece was somewhere inside what was now the mall.
Piper Willowbrook, the youngest of the Mysticons, was frustrated. She’d had a whole day planned in Drake City. There was a Pixie Parade, a New Jesta Block Party, and a Merlin and Trolls concert. Not to mention the Mermaid dance parties. She knew finding the Codex pieces was important (and so was saving the world and all that, blah blah blah), but sometimes she just wanted to have fun. Was that so wrong?
“Mysticons, it is an honor,” a security guard said, greeting them at the gate. He was a short, round goblin, with a friendly face full of dark green freckles. “The name’s Barnabus Dingleknot. What brings you to Magi Mall?”
“We are here on an official Mysticon quest, noble goblin,” Em replied.
Magi Mall didn’t have stables, so she brought the griffins to the bike rack and tied them up there.
The Mysticons huddled in front of the mall directory. Arkayna projected the map from the Dragon Disk over the mall’s map. The Dragon Disk was a relic from thousands of years before, so its map was very old. All the locations on it had been built over long ago.
“In a place of peace, a reverential room,” Zarya said, reading the riddle. “I stand alone within fiery bloom.” She thought for a moment. “It could be in the old blacksmith’s shop?”
“Oooh, I hope so!” Piper said, studying the map. “The blacksmith is now a pet store. Let’s go there! Or maybe Tifannon’s Jewelry? Their stuff is so sparkly.”
Arkayna heard something outside. She went to the gate.
But Piper was still focused on all the different stores. There were hundreds in Magi Mall. It was starting to feel like this day could be fun after all.…
“Oooh!” Piper said. “The carousel. Where the old temple used to be. Let’s go there!”
“For the last time, Piper!” Zarya snapped. “We’re looking for a Codex piece. The stupid carousel can wait. Focus for once!”
“I am focused!” Piper said. She narrowed her eyes at her friend. She loved Zarya, who’d found her the very first day she arrived in Drake City and took her under her wing. They were like sisters, but sometimes Zarya talked to her like she was a complete idiot. She looked up to Zarya, but that didn’t mean she wanted Zarya lecturing her all the time.
Piper couldn’t take it anymore. She’d woken up this morning and picked dragon lotuses, bringing them to the girls as a present. She’d had so many great ideas of where they could go and what they could do, and everyone kept shutting her down. Now she hurled her hoop in the air and watched as it ricocheted off the ceiling and walls, finally knocking into the mall’s huge gate.
“You guys stink!” she yelled. She grabbed her hoop in midair and stormed off into the mall. She heard Zarya call after her, but she didn’t care. She was pretty sure her hoop had knocked open the gate, too, but what did it matter? She just wanted to get away from her friends … to do her own thing for once.
She went down one of the long, winding pathways through the mall, grabbing a Slush Gulpie along the way. Her bracer-com crackled. The caller’s name—Zarya—flashed across the screen.
“I don’t think so!” Piper said, taking another sip of her slushie. “De-nied.”
She slurped down half the slushie, making her head throb from the cold. “Brain freeze!” She winced. Then she tried her best Zarya impression. “My name is Zarya, and I know everything. Brain freeze! I’m so sarcastic and cool. Brain freeze! Look at my stupid bow.”
“Piper! Wait up!” a familiar voice called. She turned to see Em running toward her.
“No,” Piper said. The last thing she needed was Em dragging her back to the others so they could talk down to her again. “I’m going to the carousel.”
Piper took off. Living on the streets for so long had made her an expert at getting away from anyone. She was fast and knew every acrobatic trick there was. She sprinted out ahead of Em and lost her within minutes. Piper didn’t stop until she reached the carousel.
It took a long time for Em to catch up with her. Running had never been her strength. “Wow, I can see why you’d want to come here,” she said when she finally arrived at the carousel. It was one of the coolest places in the mall, a beautiful centerpiece surrounded by ornate statues. “But you know, there’s a time for fun and…” She paused as she saw Piper studying the carousel carefully.
“You’re not here to have fun,” Em finally said. “You knew the Codex piece was here all along.”
“Ding-ding-ding!” Piper said. “Now can you please help me find it?”