Roxie vs Blake

  A pair of huge claws reached over the edge of the terrace, followed by the mechanical head of a dragon atop a serpentine neck. “Who is doing that?” Roxie bellowed. “Stop it at once! How dare you? How dare you?”

  The dragon heaved her mechanized bulk up onto the terrace, her body covering more than a quarter of the spacious garden. Her eyes blazed like molten rock. Below her metal neck, a dozen whiplike tentacles flailed.

  Her sheer size paralyzed Cole, robbing him of all hope of fighting her. It would be like trying to take on a battleship with his bare hands.

  Turning toward Cole, the glider started to take off, then crashed to the grass.

  “No you don’t,” Roxie said.

  Cole scooped Constance into his arms, stepped out of the doorway, and jumped, trying to get on top of the highest floor. But before he landed, Roxie’s tentacles lashed out and wrapped him up, binding Constance to him. A second tentacle snaked into a hedge and dragged Blake out from under it.

  “Hello, Constance,” Roxie said with syrupy delight. “Where did you think you were going?”

  The tentacle set Cole and Constance on the lawn. Another tentacle placed Blake beside them.

  “Stop it, Roxie!” Constance called. “Don’t hurt these people!”

  “They were trying to hurt me,” Roxie said.

  “They were trying to help me,” Constance replied.

  “Stop it, boy!” Roxie snapped. “I can keep changing them back all night, but you’re wearing out my patience.”

  “How many power crystals?” Cole asked.

  “Ten,” Blake replied. “I can’t change more than three before she undoes it.”

Chapter 37