Code Lightfall and the Robot King Read Online Free PDF Page A

Fly, crawl, or run! By any means necessary—get yourselves to Disassembly Point!”
    As Code watched, the swarm of robotic insects began to stir, climbing nearby trees and stretching their wings. One by one, the horde lifted off and began buzzing eastward—toward the Beamstalk. The haze of insects engulfed the treetops and then continued on, away from the amber sunset.
    Then a blazing ray of white light shot from Code’s shirt pocket and slashed upward through the sky. Nearly blinded, Code scrambled to grab a branch. For a split second, the beam pierced the golden sky, flashing and pulsing in a complex pattern. It disappeared before Code could see it clearly. Peep glowed hot against Code’s chest.
    â€œPeep?” Code asked. “What did you do?”
    In the sky, the wasted form of King John Lightfall began to look around. He whispered a single, barely recognizable word: “Code?” Somehow, Peep had alerted the king that he was in Mekhos.
    â€œGrandpa,” whispered Code. For an instant, he could see the kindness return to the eyes of his grandfather. This was the man Code remembered. The quiet man who had led him on long rambling walks through damp woods.
    Then the cruel snarl returned to the old man’s face. He roared in anger: “A human?! What is a filthy human doing in Mekhos?”
    Frightened, Code scrambled down the tree as the voice of the king boomed through the air like distant thunder. His grandfather had seemed intent on destroying every robot in the world. And yet, for one second, Code had seen the kind face that he remembered from before.
    It must have something to do with that machine , thought Code. My grandfather would never act that way. But that black tentacled creature … Maybe it’s forcing him to say those terrible things. Either way, my real grandfather is here , Code realized. And I’ve got to find him.
    â€œWhat have you gotten us into?” Code whispered to his shirt pocket as he made his way farther down the towering tree.
    A sleepy, happy chirp came from Peep. Code’s pocket glowed a dull gold and vibrated with a contented hum. The exhausted little bot seemed to have fallen asleep and begun to snore. It was a comforting sound. My only friend is the size of a hummingbird , thought Code. And it seemed as though she had been just as happy as Code to see John Lightfall.
    Finally, Code hopped from a low branch onto solid ground. He patted his pocket and gazed up at the twinkling dot of light that was the Celestial City. His grandfather was alive and maybe in trouble. The Beamstalk was very far away, and this place was unpredictable and frightening. But Code could feel a soothing purr from his shirt pocket. Peep was unafraid. And if such a little creature could be so dedicated and fearless, Code knew that he could, too.

4
Crystalline Castle
    The Great Disassembly:
T–Minus Five Days
    As the sun began to set, Code and Peep traveled along a wide path of beaten-down grass. She made a pretty handy flashlight, but Code had grown tired and sleepy by the time they rounded a corner to see a ruined castle perched on a gentle hillside. The castle was huge and magnificent and built out of cloudy white blocks of transparent crystal. The walls were overgrown by steel-cable vines, and boulder-sized chunks had crumbled down the hill and rolled away. The doors and windows appeared to be three times as big as usual. That’s curious , thought Code.
    Code ran his fingers over the cool, rough walls of the courtyard. The woods behind him were dark and cold, and the glowing crystalline castle flickered from within, warm and inviting.
    Code promised himself he would set out for the Beamstalk the very next morning, but first he had to find a safe place to sleep for the night. He crept up the path to the castle door, hopping lightly from one massive paving stone to the next. The front door was made of four tree trunks lashed crudely together with thick steel