The Trap (The Magnificent 12 2)

“We don’t exactly have a map,” Mack said.

“What do you have?”

“Some old dude who talks to us from bathroom fixtures,” Mack said.

Xiao stared at him. Blinked. Blinked again.

“Yeah,” Mack said, “that’s what we think of it, too.” He shrugged. “Look, I’m sure Grimluk would lay it all out for us if he could. But the dude’s three thousand years old, and I think he’s doing the best he can. And the bad guys kind of keep the pressure on us, you know? When we were back at school just finding out about this, or at Uluru, or when we were talking to your dad . . . I mean, it’s not like we ever get a lot of downtime to sit around and plan things out. We have thirty-four days, and the Pale Queen is trying hard to make sure we don’t even have one day.”

“I didn’t intend any criticism,” Xiao said mildly.

Mack sighed. He felt discouraged. This whole thing had been impossible from the start. It was getting more impossible with each passing day. With each hour.

“Anyway,” Mack said, “all I know right now is ‘egg rocks.’ And hopefully that leads us to number four. And we kind of have to figure they’ll come after us there, too.”

“Hey,” Jarrah said. “No worries: we’re not dead yet.”

“And we’re having fun!” Stefan said. Then, when he saw the extremely dubious faces turned toward him, he added in a less enthusiastic voice, “Well, I am.”

“Have you Googled the ‘egg rocks’ thing?” Xiao asked.

“We think it’s in Germany. A place called Externsteine.”

They blew along at what had to be ever-increasing speed, because now the water flying from the bow had been turned to steam. Friction heat.

“This is excellent,” Stefan said. “You guys ever water-ski off this thing?”

Xiao did not seem amused. “Is he one of us?” she asked Mack.

“Not exactly,” Mack said. The question made him uncomfortable. “He’s . . . Well, he used to be my bully.”

“Your bully?”

“Yeah, he was the toughest kid in the school. We got to know each other because he was always beating me up.”

“Is that how American kids get to know each other?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s the most common way. Sometimes we just walk up to someone and, you know, say hi or whatever.”

“I see,” Xiao said, although Mack doubted she did.

“So. You’re a dragon.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re also a girl.”

“No, I’m a dragon. But I can make myself into a girl. It’s how I go to school.”

“You go to school? Dragon school?”

“No. Human school. In the outside world.” She pointed upward. “Up there. Although not directly up there, because we are far beyond the city now.”

“Why do you go to human school? To learn human stuff?”

“Not really,” Xiao said. “It’s to learn basic things. And wrong things.”

“That’s why I go to school, too: to learn wrong things,” Mack said. Xiao didn’t seem to get that he was joking. He was beginning to fear that she had no sense of humor. Normally Mack would find this very off-putting. It made it almost hard for him to relate, to talk to a person. But he didn’t feel that way about Xiao, possibly because she was a dragon.