Dragon Ops by Mari Mancusi

Author:Mari Mancusi [MANCUSI, MARI]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

The village was still rocking as I slipped out of the house late that night and made my way down toward the tavern. The streets were even rowdier now than they were earlier, with people dancing and whooping around the cauldron in the center of town. Even young children were running around—chasing little enchanted pumpkins with arms and legs through the crowd. I was tempted to grab one myself as it skittered over my feet, then danced away. I knew from the regular game you could turn them in for Halloween treats, and I was still hungry, even after the gummy bear.

But I couldn’t be distracted from my mission.

I opened the door to the tavern and stepped inside. The place was quieter than it had been earlier; most people must have gone outside. The band was gone, too. And the only people left were lounging by the fire, looking half-asleep. I walked up to the bartender and plopped my salt stones on the counter.

“Here you go,” I said. “Now how about that Ghost Goop recipe?”

The man’s eyes lit up. He grabbed the salt cubes and whisked them away, then handed over a slip of paper—the recipe, I assumed—and two foaming cups of rainbow-colored swirls.

My eyes widened. I hadn’t realized I would get actual Ghost Goop along with the recipe. I stuffed the paper in my pocket and greedily wrapped my hand around the cup. Finally! I’d get to see what this delicious concoction actually tasted like!

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

I glanced over my shoulder. Ikumi had entered the tavern and was walking over to me. She had changed her look again and was now wearing the same black robes she’d worn when I first met her. Her mask was gone and her hair was long and blond.

“Ah, I see. Doing side quests,” she noted before I could reply. “Can’t get enough of this game, huh?” Reaching over, she grabbed one of the Ghost Goop cups and tipped it back.

“Hey!” I cried. “I quested for that!”

“What, are you going to drink both?” She smirked at me as her skin and clothes started to glow fluorescent pink. Soon, she was so bright I almost had to turn away.

I laughed. “You look like Princess Peach,” I joked, downing my own drink. It tasted like lime sherbet and I started glowing bright green. So cool!

“Guess you must be Luigi, then,” she replied, setting down her cup. “This stuff is so ridiculous. I have no idea why it’s even in the game. It’s not like it’s useful.”

“It’s fun, though!” I reminded her, slipping off the barstool and spinning in a circle. Ribbons of green streaked from my body, as if I was a living, breathing glow stick.

Ikumi laughed and joined me. Together we twirled around the room, nearly knocking everything over. The other patrons looked up grumpily, muttering to one another by the fire.

At last, out of breath, I collapsed onto the empty stage, lay on my back, and stared up at the ceiling. Ikumi joined me, though she didn’t seem winded at all.

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