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their plan, ringing the alarm and calling for a general evacuation of the complex. “Earthquake!” went the cry, and Jennifer supposed that was a more efficient if less accurate description than “Earthquake with elephant-eared monkeys!” Very few municipal systems had a specific siren for that.
    She gratefully watched dozens of innocent people—exactly the people she had come to save—come swarming from side hallways and stairwells, into the main lobby and out the front and side doors. Off into the lawn they went, to their designated safe zones. Nobody trained for evacuations with more effectiveness than government workers.
    In a matter of a few minutes, she saw them all pass before her. Maintaining the illusion required her standing still, and so she did not move as everyone hustled and bustled, even rubbing up against her. She would be visible to them all, she knew—a shining golden form of a dragon, if any of them took enough time to examine her. She didn’t want to scare them more than they already were.
    Fortunately, very few people on their way out were interested in a harmless statuesque form when everything else was apparently coming down around them.
    The one exception was Hank Blacktooth.
    “What is the meaning of this?” he was shouting, as an unseen force propelled him out of his second- floor office, down the stairs and onto the lobby floor. “What’s happening? Is this an earthquake? This doesn’t seem—what’s that—YOU!”
    The moment he spotted Jennifer, she knew the ruse was up. Fortunately, the last of the workers and beaststalker guards were already out of the building—her father, she realized, had timed this purposefully, since bringing Hank out into the lobby too soon would have ruined everything.
    “Hank,” she heard him say, “for once in your miserable life, listen to me. We’re trying to save you. Give me sixty more seconds of cooperation. If you don’t believe me after what you see, you can chop my head off yourself.”
    “I will do no such—ooof.” Hank Blacktooth doubled over, fell down the entryway stairs, and rolled out of the building.
    “That’s it, Jennifer. We’ve got to get out of here.”
    As if to emphasize the point, the black swarm from the bridge began to discolor the walls, seeping in through an infinite number of dimensional cracks. They invaded the first-floor surfaces, then the second floor, then the dome interior . . .
    “Out, out, out!” he cried, dragging her with him.
    They flew through the darkening doors, over Hank’s groaning form, and into the open air as the building behind them began to hum. The creatures covered the exterior as well as the interior. They found every inch of brick, every pane of glass, every bit of wood and plaster, and dug in their appendages. Then the hum turned into a sizzle, and the creatures inflated into thickness. Bodies fattening, their sizzle turned into a whine, then a roar . . .
    . . . and then the entire building was consumed by a billion tiny explosions, each one carrying away a small piece of Hank Blacktooth’s impregnable fortress, until there was nothing left except a hole in the ground.

CHAPTER 12

    Andi

    Andi watched Skip, who watched Winoka’s city hall disintegrate from the safety of the river cliffs.
    “I hope you’re happy,” she muttered, trying hard not to look at the devastation.
    He shook his head and pointed. “They evacuated.”
    “Whatever. The building’s gone. That’s what you wanted.” She yawned. “You have your revenge.” And it’s all . . . so . . . tiresome.
    “I wanted to kill Hank Blacktooth, and the rest of the scum that surrounded my aunt and tortured her.”
    “Well then, you shouldn’t have told the bugs to attack city hall.” The moment the comment was out of her mouth, she wished she could stuff it back in.
    Skip pretended he didn’t hear even though they both knew he did. “How did they know it was coming? There were no guards on the bridge. No one to warn