by Bret Schulte
But the arrow didn’t hit its mark. Somehow Cervantes caught the arrow in mid flight.
He snapped the shaft in half with his right hand and turned to face Tasha just in time to catch a second arrow fired directly at him.
“Ah, a Beaumont, I presume.” Cervantes said. “This finally got fun.”
He flung a ball of red energy at her. She took off running, dodging and weaving between the rows of slot machines.
“Learn to aim, loser,” Tasha called behind her.
With a wild snarl, Cervantes launched himself into the air and charged after Tasha. The chase quickly took them out of Sam’s range of vision. But from the rage in Cervantes’s growls, Sam could tell Tasha was holding her own.
Suddenly a cardboard display advertising the Camelot Midnight Buffet Special exploded on the other side of the room. Zack had used the distraction to escape. He was running at full speed across the casino with the stun-gun-wielding Commando Guy in hot pursuit.
“I’ll get him, sir,” Commando Guy yelled as he fired another burst of stun gun energy that sparked harmlessly on a statue of King Arthur.
It was now two on one.
“Not good,” Lucas said.
Only now did Sam realize that while she had been watching Zack escape, Nero had somehow pulled the gauntlet out of its invisible hiding place.
“And now the world is mine,” Nero announced to whoever may have been listening.
The gauntlet was amazingly elaborate. It was made of gold and silver and some reddish metal Sam couldn’t name. Silvery lines twisted their way up the gauntlet toward the fingers like vines wrapped around an old statue. Several different-colored jewels were set along the vines like budding flowers.
“There is still time to call all of this off,” Doc Frost pleaded from his cage. “You don’t know what that glove will do to you.”
“Oh yeah, I’m really falling for that old trick,” Nero said mockingly.
He held the gauntlet up appraisingly. The gemstones began to glow, and purple sparks danced between the fingers. There went the slim hope that Nero wouldn’t be able to activate it. They just could not catch a break.
“Here.” Lucas pushed the bag of weapons over to Sam. “Find something good in there to cover me. I’m going in.”
Before she knew what was happening, Lucas had run out from their happy little hiding place and was charging straight for Nero. He collided with Nero, knocking the gauntlet to the floor.
“Lucas, you idiot,” Nero yelled as he brought his elbow down on Lucas’ back.
Lucas couldn’t help but scream in pain. Nero lifted him up by his belt and threw him against the red floating cage. He made a clanging sound as if the bars were made of solid steel.
“Lucas!” Zoey cried.
“Are you okay?” Doc Frost asked, reaching out through the bars of the cage.
“Fine,” Lucas said. He was clearly lying.
“What are you doing here?” Zoey asked.
“You know,” Lucas said as he rolled over onto his back. “Storming the castle, saving the princess. It’s what I do.”
Zoey nervously smiled down at him through the bars.
Someone was laughing.
“Okay, I’ve got Natasha Beaumont running around with a bow and arrow and Lucas the Boy Blunder playing football star. So, where is Miss Hathaway?” Nero asked. He had already picked the gauntlet back up and waved it around, practically begging for someone to try and take it from him again.
It was now or never.
“I’m right here, Jerry,” Samantha said with a sarcastic flourish.
She aimed her freeze ray right at his smug face.
Chapter 22
Freeze
Sam was willing to admit it; she had no idea what she was doing. Not only did she not have a plan as to what to do next, she couldn’t even remember how she got here. Four months ago, she was just another happy nobody working at the Cookie Emporium.
But here she was, pointing a freeze ray at Alexander Nero Jr.
He stared back at her; unfortunately, he seemed far more amused than the shocked or scared she was hoping for. Lucas, Zoey, and Doc Frost certainly seemed shocked, though. Poor Lucas was still sprawled out on the floor, nursing his back.
“So, what’s the plan here?” Nero asked with an annoyingly playful tilt of his head.
I run far away and hide in a deep dark hole, she thought to herself. But she said, “You put down the gauntlet, call off your pet vampire zombie wizard, and let my friends out of that cage.”
“Yeah,” Zoey yelled from the cage.
Nero simply laughed.
On the far side of the room Tasha and Cervantes were still locked in battle.
Sam could see this was not going to be easy.
“A little help would be good about now, Lucas,” Sam said through grit teeth.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Lucas drew the heat ray from his belt. “Please drop the power glove. I don’t know what this will do to a person.”
“I do,” Doc Frost said darkly.
Nero let out a snort of laughter.
“So scary,” Nero said as he slipped his fingers into the gauntlet.
Thin tentacles of pulsing dark purple energy sprang from the gauntlet and wrapped themselves around Nero’s forearm.
Sam pulled the trigger.
A beam of subzero crackling blue light struck the gauntlet, knocking it out of Nero’s grasp. The purple tendrils dissipated into thin air.
“No!” Nero yelled as he groped for the gauntlet.
Sam kept the freeze ray trained on the metal glove, adding more and more layers of ice.
“Ahhh,” Nero reached for the gauntlet and the icy beam caught his hand. He recoiled in what Sam hoped was excruciating pain. He tucked his right hand under his left armpit.
With a maniacal laugh, he pulled Mr. Hopscotch out of his left pocket and flung him at Sam. The bear caught the beam and landed at Sam’s feet covered in ice.
“Mr. Hopscotch!” Sam cried as she released the trigger and bent down to examine the bear.
“Now give me that heat ray, Lucas,” Nero growled.
“Heh, yeah. That’s happening,” Lucas said with a small, forced laugh.
“It wasn’t a request,” Nero said. He leapt at Lucas, who fired a shot of red-hot energy at him, but Nero dodged the blast and caught Lucas by the throat, lifting him into the air.
“I’m a lot stronger than I look, huh?” Nero said as he took the heat ray out of Lucas’ trembling hand.
“Put him down,” Sam yelled loudly, trying to cover up her fear. She trained her freeze ray back onto Nero.
“Catch.”
Nero threw Lucas at Sam. She did her best to catch him, but he hit her too fast and the two of them fell in a heap on the floor. The freeze ray slid out of her hand and skittered across the floor.
“Oh, oh, ow,” Sam said as Lucas’ knee dug into her stomach.
“Sorry,” Lucas croaked. He wasn’t looking too good as he rolled off of her. “I don’t think we’re winning.”
Sam got to her feet first. She extended a hand to help Lucas up. He was heavier than she expected. While they were just trying to stand up Nero had been using the heat ray to free the gauntlet from the block of ice.
“Hey, look what I’ve got,” Zoey said triumphantly.
Zoey waved a blue computer chip at him from inside the cage.
“How?” Nero checked his lab coat pockets. “Back at the school, right? That’s why you attacked me. You little pickpocket.”
“Aw, poor you,” Zoey said with big, mocking puppy-dog eyes.
“Zoey! Pass me the chip,” Lucas yelled as he ran for the cage.
Nero charged toward the cage also. He raised the heat ray, but didn’t fire. He was probably afraid of hitting the chip.
Zoey stretched out her arm as far as she could so Lucas could grab it as he ran by.
“Come and get it, Jerry,” Lucas said as he ran for the elevators, the chip clenched tightly in his r
ight hand.
“My name isn’t Jerry,” Nero yelled as he fired a burst of heat at the fleeing Lucas.
Sam saw her chance and took it.
She sprinted toward the ice-covered gauntlet and scooped it up into her arms.
“No!” Nero screamed into the vast empty casino. “Cervantes, get the boy. I need that computer chip back. I’ll handle the girl.”
Sam took a moment to glance over her shoulder. Nero was racing after her, and he was running nearly twice as fast. She looked forward just in time to see that she was sprinting headlong into a bank of nickel slots. She clipped her hip on the nearest machine, but kept running for the unmarked double doors ahead.
She found herself in a hallway with many doors. She ran past all of them, hoping Nero would assume that she was hiding behind one of them and check them all.
The double doors burst open just as she rounded the corner. She could hear the sounds of him frantically opening doors behind her. There was no telling how much time that would buy her.
“Just give me the gauntlet so I can save the stupid world,” he yelled.
Icy cold water dripped down her arms as she ran. The gauntlet was melting quickly. She needed to find a hiding place right now.
Hopefully Lucas was having a better time.
Lucas stuffed the computer chip into his pocket as he sprinted down the hall. The quickly forming stitch in his side made him think that maybe he should have spent a little more time outside and a little less time playing video games. But how could he have ever predicted that someday he would need to outrun a vampire?
Well, okay, he had actually entertained the idea since he was eight. But he never really thought it would happen.
“There is nowhere for you to run, boy,” Cervantes called from behind him.
“Oh okay, I guess I’ll just take your word on that,” Lucas yelled over his shoulder.
It was just ten more steps to the elevator.
But then a vicelike hand gripped him by the shoulder.
“You’re mine now,” Cervantes said in his creepy vampire voice.
Lucas tried to shake him loose and run, but a cold chill ran from his shoulder to his feet, freezing him in place.
And then the elevator dinged.
Before the doors had opened even an inch, an arrow shot out and sailed over Lucas’ head. The angry scream behind him told Lucas that the arrow had hit its mark. Cervantes released the grip on his shoulder, and Lucas tumbled forward.
“Come on.” Tasha grabbed his hand and pulled him into the elevator with her.
As the doors closed again, Lucas turned in time to see Cervantes pull the arrow out of his forehead.
“Nice shooting,” Lucas said.
Tasha pushed the button for the top floor. “Not really. It will only make him mad.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“Where’s Sam?” Tasha asked. Worry etched itself across her face.
“I don’t know. She took the gauntlet and ran one way. I took this computer chip from Zoey and ran this way.” He showed Tasha the chip as proof.
“What’s on it?”
“My brain,” he said, gently turning the chip over and over in his hand.
“Kind of small isn’t it?” she asked.
He gave her a nasty look and she smiled.
“Why does he want a copy of your brain?” she asked seriously.
“I think he’s planning to use it as a control chip for his hovertanks. They would be programmed with all of my moves from Hyper-Urban Assault,” he said, sliding the chip back into his pocket. The image of thousands of copies of himself spreading destruction across the world flooded his mind.
“So let’s just break it,” Tasha said.
“I’d love to,” Lucas said. “But as long as Nero wants it, we can use it.”
Tasha looked at him appraisingly. “You sound like you have a plan.”
“We hop in the car and go somewhere far away and draw Cervantes away from here, giving Sam a chance to escape.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
The elevator finally stopped. Tasha held out her arm to keep Lucas from stepping out first.
She slowly poked her head out of the elevator.
“The coast is clear,” she said, waving him to follow her.
They ran up the stairs to the roof, and still no Cervantes.
“Go, go, go,” Tasha yelled as they ran across the roof to the car.
A gigantic ball of red flames burst through the skylight, spraying broken glass across the roof.
“Now would be good,” Tasha urged as she leapt into the back seat.
Lucas turned the key, clicked his seat belt, and threw it into H.
The car lifted off the roof.
An unearthly roar bellowed from the broken skylight as Cervantes rose into the air atop a great flaming bat.
Lucas spun the car one hundred eighty degrees around and stomped on the gas pedal. He suddenly realized he knew nothing about Las Vegas and had no idea where he was going. But anywhere was better than here, so Lucas pointed the car at anywhere and floored it.
A dozen police cars and fire trucks sat outside the casino below. There was a crowd of nearly a thousand onlookers watching the fire. Except now they were all witnesses to Santa’s Mustang tearing across the sky with a giant angry flaming bat in hot pursuit.
“Keep it steady,” Tasha yelled at him.
A glance in the mirror revealed that she had her bow and arrow out and was shooting at Cervantes.
“On your right,” she yelled.
He looked and saw a burst of lightning crackle two inches away from the car. He leaned hard on the wheel and the car made a ninety-degree turn to the left. But now he was on a collision course with the fake Eiffel Tower. He cranked the wheel just in time to whip around the tower. A burst of flame exploded on the steel beams.
Something exploded behind them.
“What is he doing now?” Lucas asked.
“Oh, that was me,” Tasha said cheerfully. “Exploding arrows.”
“Awesome.”
“Down, down,” Tasha yelled.
“But-“
“Down!”
He glanced up and saw hundreds of little red sparks streaking through the sky above them. Lucas aimed the car down, zipping between the casinos.
The neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip whipped by in a blur as they sailed mere feet above the cars. The red sparks were sinking lower. He didn’t know what would happen if they touched him, and he didn’t want to find out, but they were forcing him down to stoplight height.
Up ahead he saw his only chance. A group of expensive low-profile sports cars sat at the red light. If he did it right, there would be just enough room.
“Heads up,” he yelled over his shoulder.
He gunned the engine and lined up all eight reindeer to shoot though the gap between the cars and the stoplights. The NO RIGHT TURN ON RED sign missed his head by just a couple inches.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Tasha screamed behind him.
As he glanced up he saw that the sparks were getting closer. But on the left side of the road he saw a large gap between the buildings. Large enough that he could risk taking the car and the reindeer in at high speed.
He whipped the car into the gap and came face-to-face with a pirate ship. Dancers in brightly colored pirate costumes screamed and leapt off the riggings into the water below. Lucas pulled back on the wheel, and the car shot up into the sky. One of the front reindeer caught on the crow’s nest and snapped off.
“Sorry, Dasher,” Lucas said as he leveled off above the casino. The tiny red sparks harmlessly popped on the building below them.
Suddenly the entire world went red as the great flaming bat rose up in front of him. Cervantes’ grinning maniacal face was coming straight for them. Lucas instinctively reached for the button to fire his missiles, but then he remembered that he was flying a ’66 Mustang, not a hovertank. They were in serious trouble.
“Not good,” Tasha growled.
“I have an idea,” Lucas said. “Hold on tight.”
Lucas spun the car completely around while nudging it ever-so-slightly forward. As the car swung around, the reindeer picked up speed and collided with Cervantes at ninety miles per hour. Four more reindeer snapped off, but Cervantes staggered back on his giant bat, nearly falling off. Lucas took the opportunity to fly away at top speed.
Suddenly the unmistakable tones of “The Imperial March” rose from Lucas’ pocket. Not only was it a completely bizarre time to be getting a call, Lucas had never even put that ringtone on his phone. He just had to answer it.
“Hello?” he said cautiously into the phone while steering with the other hand.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?” Natch asked.
“Kinda busy right now,” Lucas said, swerving between some palm trees. “Running away from the love child of Count Dracula and Lord Voldemort, how about you?”
“I’m fine,” Natch said joyfully. “He’s gaining on you by the way.”
Lucas checked his mirror and saw that Cervantes was, in fact, catching up with them again. Tasha fired another arrow at Cervantes. She had to be running low by now.
“Where are you?” Lucas looked around the street for any sign of Natch.
“Esteban’s room. The power is back on.”
“Really.” He couldn’t believe it. Esteban finally let someone into his room. “What’s it like?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
Natch mumbled something Lucas couldn’t understand. It sounded like he was arguing with someone. “Fine. I’m asking, I’m asking. How’s Zoey?”
“She’s fine. Trapped in a magical cage. But fine.”
Natch mumbled again.
“Good,” he said finally. “Listen, there are two large shiny black buildings ahead on your right. You should be able to hide between them if you hurry.”
“How do you know this?” Lucas asked while slipping the car into the space between the buildings. Cervantes flew past them in a blur of flame.
