Page 59 of Monster's Melody

Far below us, 3D projections of Mikaela and Nika barreled into the first part of the obstacle course, thundering through a maze that appeared to be shifting, its walls moving in obvious attempts to trap or confuse the dragon.

Nika was good, though.

Reallygood.

She hurtled over and under obstacles, veering wide of nets that would have ensnared her and booby traps that would have released gases or darts to put her to sleep.

All Mikaela had to do was hang on and Nika took care of the rest.

By the time Nika hit the shoreline and plunged into the waters, everyone in the stands was cheering.

“She’s doing really well, yeah?”Elliot asked.

“Way better than any of the other teams did,” I agreed as Mikaela dove free of Nika and Vorzak exploded from the water, his snakes leading the way, one long serpent hooking around Nika in a hold I recognized and yanking Vorzak on board.

The very next moment, Nika plunged into the water and we lost sight of the two of them for a few moments as the 3D model adjusted itself to the water course.

When the image cleared, we could see Nika as she bulleted through the water, entering an underwater maze I recognized from Extreme Water Sports Ed.

She barreled through the maze so fast, the shifting seaweed and moving walls had no chance of trapping her.

Then they were in the underground ship, hurtling past the sleeping water dragon so fast, he barely even stirred.

“Wow,” Elliot said.

I just nodded.I knew what was coming up next and even if they survived the water serpent, I wasn’t sure how they were going to get past the water sprites.

The water serpent climbed over the top of the ship a moment later, but Nika and Vorzak were long gone.

“Damn, she’s fast,” Elliot said.

I nodded.“She might even be faster in the water than she is on land.”

A few moments later, they were hurtling over the giant sand castle and sprites swarmed the two of them, completely obscuring our view.

It took a few moments to understand what was happening.

“Are the spritesridingthe dragon?”Elliot exclaimed.

I grinned.“They are.I should have thought of that.Sprites love a good ride.They’re so playful.If you just play with them, they’ll let you pass without any trouble at all.”

Lesson learned.

Every once in a while, you just have to stop and have some fun.

Play with the sprites.

“You’d better get a move on,” Elliot said.

“Huh?Oh, yeah.Damn.Looks like I’m going to have to do something after all.”I raced down the steps, and toward the center of the arena.

I barely made it in time.

Inside the miniature 3D model, deep in the ocean, Nika barreled upward.

As she breached the surface, huge waves of water surged outward and then she was free, lunging upward, each flap of her wings sending water spraying everywhere, drenching the spectators in the stands.

When she reached sufficient height, she flung Vorzak from her back with a twist and a roar of rage.