MELANCHOLY [1]

NINE

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nine
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THE COLD HIT VIA as soon as they landed in the penthouse. The entry haul had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge windows with fancy curtains, and posh carpets. Via would've been amazed with the beauty of the room, but the ice made it look frightening. It was almost like the ice was reaching towards her with it's gnarled hands. The curtains were frozen solid, and when Via slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under her feet. As for the stairs, Via wouldn't be able to climb them without slipping and breaking some of her teeth.

"Guys," Leo said, "fix the thermostat in here and I would totally move in."

"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there..."

Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to spread on his scales.

"No, no, no." Zethes marched over. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth.

Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a bit touchy about the whole deactivation talk. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

Via sighed. "Wow, you're very singleminded aren't you?"

Leo shook his head. "No, man. You gotta quit with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo," Piper said nervously, "what are you—"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When we were repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go."

Via stepped back. Leo hooked his fingers behind Festus's left foreleg. He pulled a switch and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Festus started to fold like origami until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.

Leo tried to lift it, but it must have weighed a billion pounds. "Um... yeah. Hold on. I think— aha."

He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.

"Ta-da!" He announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"That's ridiculously cool." Via said, astonished.