Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire

Author:Patrick Samphire
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780805099072
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

13

Attack of the Killer Crabs

“Close the door!” Freddie yelled.

I sprinted past my sisters, grabbed the door, then froze. The passageway was full of shiny metal creatures that looked like crabs. They weren’t much bigger than my hand, but there were dozens of them. They scampered along on little articulated legs. I heard the whir of cogs and the click of metallic joints. Glittering black eyes stared at me. Each creature held two pairs of razor-sharp claws before it that snapped furiously together.

I heaved the door shut. Too late. Three metal crabs slipped through.

They were fast. The first of them scuttled across the wooden floor and snapped at my foot. Its claws sliced through my shoe, parting the leather as easily as paper.

I flicked my foot. The metal crab lost its grip and spun away across the floor to crash into the wall. The next moment, it regained its footing and came for me again. I backed away.

The other two crabs stalked Freddie, Putty, and Olivia. Outside the grand salon door, claws scraped across wood. Elsewhere in the airship, someone screamed.

The impact with the wall hadn’t damaged the mechanical crab. It darted at me. I leaped back and shoved a chaise longue over. The crab dodged.

From behind me came a sharp crack, and a mechanical crab tumbled past. Freddie lined up the third, holding his walking stick like a cricket bat. He swung as the crab scuttled toward him, and smashed it back through the air. But already the other crabs were coming again. I raced back to the others, and we retreated.

“They’re too well armored to damage,” Freddie said. “Maybe we can run their springs down. They can’t have that much power in such small bodies.” He sounded doubtful.

Suddenly, Putty turned and raced away. I grabbed for her, but missed. I chased after her.

Freddie hit one of the crabs, but the next slipped past him and came after me and Putty. Behind me, Olivia screamed and Freddie cursed.

Putty headed for the waiters’ counter. Maybe she thought if she climbed on top, she would be safe. She was wrong. I’d seen the pincers on the end of the crabs’ legs. They were just like the ones Papa’s mechanical spiders used to climb in the conservatory.

Putty scurried around behind the counter. Did she really think she could hide from them?

A second later, she reappeared, clasping a large glass jug in one hand. I blinked, and she slipped past me again. The crab snapped at her unprotected legs. Before I could open my mouth, she slammed the jug down, mouth-first, on top of the crab. Inside the jar, the mechanical crab spun angrily, snapping at the glass, unable to get a grip. Putty held the jar firmly over it.

She glanced up at me. “Get some more, Edward!”

I had forgotten the crabs menacing Olivia and Freddie. I grabbed two jugs from behind the counter. Freddie was using his stick to flick away the crabs as they approached, but he couldn’t keep it up forever.

“Freddie!” I shouted.

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