by John Corwin
My stomach lurched at the thought of so many people watching.
The announcer continued. "Next week's game will be Graeven versus Frankenstone, and the week after that, Tesla versus Edison."
"There's an Edison Keep?" I asked.
"Edison Lab," Max replied. "Science Academy doesn't have keeps."
"Labs instead of keeps." I shook my head. "I suppose it makes sense."
"After the Overlord died, some people tried to change Edison Lab to another famous bloodline, but nobody could agree to anything, so they ended up keeping it." He looked toward the gates into the stadium as they began rumbling open, chains clinking in the mechanisms. Max gulped. "Here we go."
Elliot held up a fist and then threw it forward. We flew inside the stadium and toward the center of the field while team Tiberius in their red leather uniforms with purple emblems approached from the other side. The announcer shouted something else, but it was lost in the rumbling roar of the crowd. I could hardly concentrate with so much noise, my nerves winding tighter and tighter.
The teams met in the center above the yellow scrum circle. Rhys and Devon exchanged nods with Elliott while officials in turquoise outfits hovered around the teams. Max's brothers reserved a glance and a smirk for me, making my insides squirm.
Mind games, Della said.
I know. But knowing didn't help my nerves.
The lead referee blew a whistle, and the teams went toward their end zones.
"Starters with me," Elliott said. "Second strings, go to the sidelines."
Max lightly punched my shoulder. "Good luck, Conrad."
I swallowed hard and nodded. "Thanks." My voice sounded feeble and frightened.
"Keep it together, Edison." Yuri scowled at me, hands clenching his broom handle. He turned to Elliott. "You sure this boy is up to it? It's not too late to change me to carry."
The team captain turned his cold blue eyes on the other boy. "Yuri, are you going to do your best, or should I replace you?"
Yuri stiffened. "Of course, but—"
"Then shut it, and keep to the plan." Elliott twirled a finger in the air and we formed a circle. "Moore Keep has been down these past few seasons, but this year is ours." He gazed calmly around at the others. "Keep a sharp eye for typical Tiberius tricks, and protect your teammates." He pointed to Jenna. "Don't forget to keep checking your left side. I don't want you getting blindsided like last year."
She nodded. "I'll remember."
"Then let's do this." Elliot put his fist in the middle of the circle and the rest of us pressed our fists together. "One, two, three."
"Skywraiths, form up!" everyone shouted at once.
A gong boomed and the towers burst from the ground on either side of the centerline, each painted with team colors. The keeps erupted upward next, followed by the castle-shaped fortresses in the end zones.
The gong rang once again.
We lined up in front of our fortress, carries in the center, defenders and freezers to the sides. The official threw the striker into the scrum circle and we shot forward.
Elliot reached the kabash first, but before he could grab it, Harris flicked his freeze wand forward. A bolt of ice shot from the end, striking Elliott in the side. The team captain froze in place, broom and all, leaving space for Rhys to scoop up the disc.
I skidded sideways and bumped into Rhys. He shoved back with his shoulder, and I bounced into Devon on my right. The pair sandwiched me and dragged me toward our tower. Jenna came in for the rescue, but two defenders blocked her path, and the other Tiberius freezer disabled Yuri.
"What a lovely day for a ride," Devon said.
Rhys chortled. "Here's your stop, Edison."
Using the tails of their brooms, they catapulted me forward right at the tower. I heard a whirring noise and rolled upside down just as the striker flashed past where my head would have been and slammed into our tower, leaving a crack. Devon grabbed the rebound and flicked the disc back at the tower. I regained control of my broom at the last second and shot upward to block the throw.
A bolt of ice hit me in the stomach. I couldn't move a muscle and watched helplessly as the disc rammed our tower again. Elliott sideswiped Rhys and intercepted the striker. He relayed it to Yuri who flung it to Julie. A bolt of ice from Peter stopped Harris from disabling Julie. Peter fired at Rhys and missed.
My body unfroze and I zipped back into the action. Elliott took a shot at the other tower, but a Tiberius defender intercepted the shot and flicked the disc to Rhys. The striker went from a muted glow to azure blue, indicating the double damage bonus.
Rhys threw the disc overhanded. The brightly glowing disc whizzed sideways, flashed between two of our defenders, and struck our tower for double damage. The final crack destroyed the tower and sent it crumbling to the ground.
The Tiberius seating section went wild.
I grabbed the rebound. Elliot swirled his finger and we grouped up into a protective formation. "We're down an entire tower, and no hits on theirs," he growled. "Peter, Ryan, I need you to focus Devon and Rhys." He jabbed a finger at Yuri. "Keep their freezers off me, okay?"
Yuri scowled. "Got it."
We zipped in for an attack, but Tiberius defenders formed a wedge and split us down the middle, and our offensive attack failed, giving Tiberius possession of the striker once again.
Our teams went back and forth, nobody scoring a strike. Peter and Ryan finally nailed freezes on Devon and Rhys, and the Tiberius formation fell apart. Elliott scored two strikes on the Tiberius tower before the twin brothers thawed and drove us off.
"Pay attention, you morons!" Rhys shouted, his careless façade broken.
The game raged on. I felt useless as the bigger players rammed me aside, and Harris Ashmore took every opportunity to freeze me, though I posed no real threat. As the other team formed up for another attack, I realized something. Even though we were flying, most teams stuck to a horizontal attack pattern and rarely flew higher than the towers unless trying to escape a freeze bolt.
I didn't know what good that information would do me, but tucked it away for the future. Other than that, Devon and Rhys liked to hog the glory for themselves. Their third carry, Allison Charms, rarely took a shot and looked cross every time the brothers forced her to relay it to one of them. Taking out Max's brothers weakened team Tiberius considerably, but the boys now had defenders blocking the freeze spells whenever possible.
Suddenly, I realized how my earlier revelation might help.
We took a defensive formation twenty yards in front of our keep as Tiberius circled for another attack. They'd scored five hits on it already, and only needed one more to destroy our second building.
"Elliott, have Peter and Ryan fly high and low to take out Rhys and Devon." I swooped my hand through the air. "They won't expect vertical attacks."
He frowned, then motioned toward the freezers. "Fly straight at them like normal, then Peter angle up, Ryan angle down, and hit them from both directions." Elliott slashed his hand forward. "Move out."
We jetted forward. Devon and Rhys flew at the center of a circle formation with defenders at the front and freezers somewhere in the back. The roar of the crowd grew louder and louder as our two formations streaked for a collision course. At the last minute, our freezers aimed their wands. The Tiberius defenders tensed to intercept the blow, but Peter and Ryan zipped above and below them. Freeze bolts speared for their targets.
Rhys and Devon cursed in unison just before the freeze spells silenced them. Our defenders drove a wedge into the opposing team, sending Tiberius players spinning away on their brooms. Elliott collided sideways into Allison and knocked the striker from her hand. He flung it to Jenna, and we left the enemy team floundering.
Jenna took a shot at the purple and red tower, but the air around it shimmered and the disc bounced off without leaving a crack.
"They fortified!" Elliott shouted as he caught the rebound. He waited a count of two before throwing the kabash. The shield
vanished just before the disc struck home. Before Tiberius recovered, we took out their tower and scored two hits on their keep.
Their next possession, the Tiberius freezers tried our own tactics on us and caught Elliott off guard. Devon threw the striker just as Peter froze him. I streaked for the intercept, but missed, and the sixth hit landed on our keep, and the building crashed to earth.
Tiberius only needed eight more strikes to win. We needed twelve.
I caught the rebound and hung back for my team to circle up. Elliott took the striker from me. "We've got to keep the fight in their territory. Our only advantage now is that our last building is all the way at the end of the field."
My mind worked furiously on strategies as we flew downfield, but I came up with nothing. We earned two more blows on their keep before Devon plucked a rebound and raced ahead of everyone down the field and struck our fortress. After a long skirmish, we captured the disc and finally finished off their keep. Moore fans burst into applause as the purple and red building turned into a pile of rubble.
But we were still in trouble. Tiberius needed only four more hits to finish us off. We managed two strikes on their fortress, but Devon came back and slipped in two more blows on ours.
On our next possession, Elliott tricked the other team with a reverse relay, allowing Jenna to slip behind enemy lines. She flung the striker for a hit. I came up from the other side, recovered the rebound just before Harris got it, and threw it for one more strike.
Rhys rammed into Elliott and grabbed the rebound. Peter aimed a freeze bolt at Rhys, but missed and hit Elliott instead. Laughing, Rhys relayed the striker to Devon. Harris froze Yuri, and a bolt from their other freezer hit Jenna. The rest of my team raced after Devon, but he scored another strike before we could stop them.
A Tiberius victory was only one hit away.
Peter looked absolutely miserable when he rejoined us.
"Shake it off," Elliott told him. "Everyone misses."
"We're going to lose and it's all my fault," Peter said.
Elliott glared at him, then held up a fist.
"Time out called by Moore," the announcer said.
"Go to the sidelines and get Max out here," Elliott said.
Peter nodded sadly and flew away. I could see the whites of Max's eyes halfway across the field when Peter motioned him in. Max zipped over to us, the freeze wand held in a trembling hand.
"You ready for this, Max?" Elliott said.
Max nodded. "Y-yeah! You can count on me." He gulped.
"Keep calm and freeze one of your brothers," Jenna said.
"Just don't hit one of us," Yuri said.
Elliott threw up a fist. "Skywraiths, form up!"
We fought back downfield, the striker trading sides several times, but the skirmish never moved from center field. Everything became a blur as I tried to keep track of the disc and avoid freeze bolts and defenders. I realized I no longer felt nervous. Instead, I felt like this one long battle was my entire life. The broom was my ship, and the fight was a bucking ocean.
Max managed a crucial freeze on Devon and Elliott slipped past, throwing a twenty-yard attempt for a true strike on the Tiberius fortress.
We needed two more hits and it was over.
But Devon intercepted the rebound from Jenna's outstretched hand. A freeze bolt caught Elliott, and another snagged Yuri. Before our freezers could react, Tiberius defenders smacked into them. Ryan's freeze wand flew from his hand. He shouted and dove after it. Max recovered and fired at Devon, but missed entirely.
Suddenly, team Tiberius had the run of the field.
Our team straggled in pursuit. I flew directly behind Harris, using his slipstream to stay on target. A gong rang out, signifying the last two minutes of the game. I couldn't believe it had nearly been ninety minutes. I ducked and used Harris's airflow to slingshot even with him. He tried to freeze me, but since he'd just used his wand, it still had at least forty seconds to recharge.
Seeing that his wand was useless for the time being, he veered toward me. I looped beneath him, shot up, and waggled my broom in his airstream as I'd done to Max weeks ago. He lost speed, and dropped behind. Devon was still ahead of me by at least fifteen yards with Rhys right by his side, and the rest of his team hot on my tail.
Rhys looked back. "Say goodbye to your fortress, Edison!"
The two boys burst into laughter.
I pressed my body to the broomstick for the least wind resistance, and inched closer and closer. Finally, I reached their twin slipstreams. The reduced air resistance shot me forward, but they were in range of the fortress. Devon cocked back his arm and let the striker fly. He was so confident that he circled out of the way and pumped his fist in the air. I zipped past him in desperate pursuit of the disc, but had no chance of catching it.
Our shield rippled on at the last instant.
"Fortified!" Rhys shrieked to his brother.
I was going too fast, and the disc rebounded off the shield, skipping out of my grasp before I could reach it. Devon spun around and snagged the rebound. Baring his teeth in a smug grin, he flicked the disc hard right, opposite of the way I was flying. I veered back around, stretched, and gripped the disc by my fingertips just before it struck our keep.
"Yes!" Elliott whooped.
But we had less than a minute to go before the game was over, and Tiberius would win by default.
The kabash burst into azure blue. I had twenty seconds of double damage. I whirled around and darted toward the enemy keep. Two defenders blocked me. I ducked beneath them, then rolled sideways to avoid a freeze ray to my face. Yuri intercepted Devon with a vicious shoulder, and Jenna collided with another defender. I hit top speed, the time counting down in my head. Fifteen seconds of double damage left.
"Edison!" Harris swooped down from overhead and tried to ram me. I dodged sideways. He shouted and flung a freeze spell, but it flew wide.
I crossed the centerline, past the destroyed tower and toward the keep.
"Got you, Edison!" Rhys called from the side.
I looked left in time to see him veering at me, with no time to get out of the way.
A freeze ray zapped Rhys.
"No!" he shouted as his broom screeched to a halt.
"Go, Conrad, go!" Max shouted, holding up his wand.
"Ten seconds of game time left," the announcer said excitedly.
I'd never get in range of their fortress, especially with my weak arm.
Centrifugal force, Vic said. Use it, you fool.
Spin! Della shouted.
Still flying full speed forward, I jerked hard left on the broom and went into a flat spin. The world blurred around me. I ducked and went even faster. Holding the kabash underhanded like a discus, I timed the next spin and released it.
The disc whirred, an azure streak leaving my hand.
I stopped my broom's spin and wobbled dizzily. My eyes focused on the disc as it shot across the field. Will it make it in time? The countdown continued in my head.
Three, two, one—with a loud crack, the disc struck the opposing fortress for double damage, taking the last two strikes in one hit. The miniature castle exploded in a lightshow of fireworks and crumbled to pieces.
The crowd went wild.
"The Skywraiths win!" boomed the announcer. "Unbelievable comeback by the young Conrad Edison!"
I stared with disbelief. It actually worked?
Of course it worked, Vic replied smugly. It's science.
Something struck me from behind. Before I could turn around, I was smothered by my teammates, all clapping me on the back and whooping like mad. Max appeared in the mix, face red and excited.
"Greatest play ever, Conrad!" He held up his arm and laughed. "You should have seen the looks on my brothers' faces!"
Elliott shook his head slowly. "I've never seen anyone take a shot like that." He ruffled my hair. "But don't think it excuses you from working out those wimpy arms." He looked at Max. "Nice freeze on your brother too, Tib
erius."
Max looked happy enough to faint.
"Edison."
I turned to see Yuri's face pinched into a scowl. It loosened to a grin. "I was wrong. You're going to make an amazing carry some day."
It was the best day of my life.
Chapter 33
The weeks flew by.
If I thought my victory on the field would bring acceptance from Harris and the others, I was sadly mistaken. Instead, our victory against Tiberius only seemed to make him hate me more.
Each day after classes, I went to practice, ate dinner, and four days a week, practiced my spells with Esma Emoora. I settled into a routine that wasn't quite comfortable, but at least made me feel productive.
Mirjana and Klave regained their health, but decided to live in Queens Gate for fear returning to the pond would only leave them open to another attack. I promised to tell her the moment the matter with my parents and Naeve was resolved.
In mid-December, Evadora found us with disturbing news.
"Serena is back," she told me and my friends. "She finished the divining rod."
Ambria groaned. "I hoped she'd given up."
"Did you give her the stone fragment?" I asked.
Evadora nodded. "She tested it, and it works."
I paced on top of our meeting place, the golem head in Colossus Stadium, and thought about what we should do. "Do you think you could get the rod and search for anchor stone fragments?"
"Oh, yes." She nodded enthusiastically. "The rod finds the nearest stone, so the one I gave her is interfering with it." Evadora giggled. "She's quite frustrated about that."
"Have you seen my parents?" I asked.
"They visited her, and she showed them how the rod works." A shrug. "Victus ordered her to let them know the second she finds anything."
Max posed a question. "Do they know you're helping Serena?"
Evadora scraped at the stone with a fingernail. "Probably. But they think I'm just a harmless girl."
"What's the range on the rod?" I asked.
"Hundreds of feet." She held out her arm as if holding a rod. "It tugs on the end when you're close."
I felt the pebble in my pocket. "When would be a good time to borrow it?"
