“Right, but then the dragon actually saved him,” Natalia countered. “If those cards were supposed to kill Max, why wouldn’t all of them work the same way?”
“That threw me for a loop,” Monti admitted. “At least until I realized that the skill set of an Animator is similar to the Guardian of the Codex. What’s the difference between a Reaper jumping out of a card and a spriggan popping out of an enchanted book?”
“You’re saying that I animated the dragon somehow?” Max exclaimed.
“Who would go to all this effort just to attack Max?” asked Natalia.
“A dead man.”
“You lost me,” she said.
Monti walked behind the counter and took out an antique newspaper. The masthead read New Victoria Chronicle, and the date was January 28, 1914. He pointed to a line in a news article that read: The new automaton project at the Foundation will be helmed by Mr. Otto Von Strife, who some are already calling the Clockwork King.
“When the Templar shut down his clockwork program, it seems that Von Strife struck a deal to continue his weapons program with an organization known as the Foundation,” Monti explained. “In turn, they planned to sell the war machines to the highest bidder.”
“What does that have to do with the cards?” Natalia wondered.
“That’s where it gets interesting,” Monti said, pointing to a faded image of a man wearing a strange cap. “This is Chinnery, the man who created the cards you found. According to this paper, he was hired by the Foundation to run one of Von Strife’s research and development projects. It doesn’t say what the project is, but you can bet it had something to do with a Round Table deck. Do you think it’s any coincidence that Von Strife’s title as the Clockwork King ended up as a card in Chinnery’s deck?”
“I don’t understand,” confessed Ernie.
Monti smiled and started pacing back and forth. “Fact number one… we know your cards were made by Chinnery, and that Chinnery worked for Von Strife. Fact number two… we know that Von Strife was also known as the Clockwork King and that he was a man of considerable prowess in the area of clockwork mechanics. Fact number three… the Chinnery deck that you found was discovered in a clockwork laboratory. And last…” Monti leaned back against a bookshelf, folding his arms in confidence. “The clockwork beetle that Harley told me about a couple days ago… the one that led you to those cards was specially designed to ensure that you made it there in one piece.”
“If Von Strife is alive, why did he want us to get the cards?” Natalia wanted to know.
“Because he was trapped inside one of them,” Monti replied. “How he got there, I don’t know. Perhaps Chinnery turned on his master at the last moment. Or maybe Von Strife was simply trying to avoid capture. Whatever the case, in order to escape, an Animator was needed. Who better than the Guardian of the Codex?”
“So when Max touched the Clockwork King card, Von Strife was freed!” Natalia concluded.
Max was horrified by the thought. “You mean this is all my fault?”
“I’m saying that whatever happened down in that bunker was only the beginning.”
“Wait a minute, what about this?” Natalia asked, pointing to an article lost on the bottom of the page. The title read CASE FOR MISSING GIRL CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE. Her eyes grew big as she scanned through the text.
“What is it?” Ernie asked, as he tried to squeeze in to get a look.
“This is an article about Stacy Bechton,” she explained. “Her parents reported her missing on Halloween night in 1914, but nobody came forward with any clues to help solve the case, and the police were forced to close it. Can you imagine what her parents must have gone through?”
“Just like Stephen…” Ernie voiced quietly.
“All right, I think that’s enough for today,” Monti said. “I need to get ready to open the store, and you guys have some Toad Reports to study.”
37
THE MIND OF OTTO VON STRIFE
As the Griffins rode along on the Zephyr, a burst of black smoke billowed in the subway car. Aidan Thorne appeared on a bench across the aisle. He was dressed in a beige trench coat with combat boots and, of course, his goggles.
“Long time no see,” Smoke greeted the Griffins. “Did you miss me?”
“What are you doing here?” Max barked, clenching his fist.
Smoke smirked and reclined into the leather. “Probably wasting my time, but I thought I’d give you a chance to prove you aren’t like all the other jerks at Iron Bridge.”
“What are you talking about?” Natalia asked.
“Von Strife,” Smoke replied casually. “I know all about your little trip to the Metatron.”
“You were following us!” Max exclaimed, rising to his feet.
“Let’s just say I have friends who know what’s going on around here.”
“You’re lying,” Natalia accused him.
“No. I am not. All you know about the Templar is what they want you to know.”
“I suppose you know the truth?” Natalia folded her arms.
Smoke smiled as he reached into his rucksack. “This is one of Otto Von Strife’s journals.” He held the book up so they could get a closer look. “I found it lying around in Nipkin’s office a few months ago, so I read it. That’s why I know the Templar are lying.”
“Oh, please.” Natalia sighed. “We’ve heard this before.”
Smoke continued unperturbed. “Von Strife was trying to save changelings, not kill us. The Templar shut him down.”
“What are you talking about?” Ernie asked.
“Von Strife’s daughter was a changeling.”
Ernie’s jaw dropped.
“He tried to get the Templar to help,” Smoke continued. “That’s why he came to Iron Bridge in the first place. He was trying to save her soul by putting it into a clockwork. Then, when the biotech caught up, he’d grow a new human body and place her soul inside.”
“You’re talking about human cloning?” Natalia scoffed. “That’s impossible.”
“Look around,” Smoke said. “You didn’t know monsters or magic existed until last year. Now you know the truth.
“Anything is possible,” he continued. “Besides, you don’t know what it’s like to be a changeling—to have a foreign life force living inside of you, trying to take control of your soul. Von Strife is the only one who ever understood us.”
Ernie sank in his seat.
“You’re lying,” Max said flatly.
“Are you willing to bet Agent Thunderbolt’s life on it?” Smoke asked, pausing for a response that never came. “I didn’t think so. Call me if you want to know more.” In a rolling swirl of black mist, he was gone.
38
BOUNDER CARE
After their meeting with Smoke, Max had a hard time sleeping. As much as Max wanted to dismiss the changeling’s claims as being utterly ridiculous, the story was just crazy enough to be true. What if the Templar Council had condemned Von Strife’s daughter to death?
Max struggled with the conundrum throughout the next school day. When sixth period came around he was the only one in the Bounder Care class without a Bounder Faerie, as usual. If machines were hunting faeries and changelings, Max didn’t understand why none of the other Bounders had been abducted. It didn’t add up.
It had been several weeks since Sprig had disappeared, and despite the Baron’s encouragement, Max felt sure something had gone wrong. Now with Brooke absent, Max would have preferred just skipping the class altogether. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Worse, Max blamed himself for letting Smoke abduct her—although there wasn’t much he could have done to stop Smoke from teleporting.
The day after the Reaper attack, Max called Brooke to make sure she was okay. When she didn’t answer, he tried to chat with her on his DE Tablet. Brooke didn’t return any of his messages, though. Max assumed she blamed him for everything that had happened. At least Natalia was a friend Brooke could talk to, he thought.
“Let’s begin with a memory lesson,” she began in her elegant accent. “What are the three ways that a Binding can be broken?”
Max wasn’t sure if there were more lakes in Minnesota or rules governing the relationship between humans and Bounder Faeries. Most of the students tried to avoid eye contact with Ms. Butama, but Catalina Mendez quickly raised her hand. She was a thin-lipped girl with a button nose and a long black ponytail. A lumpy imp named Scuttlebutt sat next to her. It had droopy ears, a bulbous nose, and a gut that flopped over its belt like too much dough rising from a mixing bowl.
“If the human dies.”
Ms. Butama nodded, then turned to a girl with a winged gremlin on her shoulder. “Yes, Faith?”
“If a Bounder is killed.”
Max winced as he thought of Sprig. The Baron had told him that if something really bad had happened, Max would know. But how?
“That leaves us with the final answer,” Ms. Butama prompted. “How about you, Kenji?”
All eyes turned to Kenji Sato, whose bright red drake perched lazily on his forearm. Kenji had transferred from the Templar academy in Antioch, and he had a reputation for being the class clown.
“The guy who I bought this monster from didn’t say anything about Binding. Maybe I should give it back?”
“Bounders are not pets,” Ms. Butama warned. “Though, in fairness to Kenji, the idea of Bounders as pets was a perspective that had been held for a thousand years. However, we are enlightened now, and we will treat all creatures with equal value, human or faerie.”
Ms. Butama scanned her students. “There is one last answer. Can someone tell me what that is?”
“Fading!” exclaimed Brandi Stewart after quickly scanning a file on her DE Tablet. She was a thin girl with freckles and two braids that hung to her shoulders. Her catterfly, a graceful faerie that looked like a kitten with butterfly wings, was perched on the end of her desk.
“Can you be more specific?” Ms. Butama asked.
Brandi’s face fell. She hadn’t read that far.
“What about you, Max. What can you tell us about Fading?”
Max shifted uncomfortably in his seat as all eyes turned toward him. “Well, I… read somewhere that Bounders have to renew themselves from time to time. I suppose if they don’t, they fade?”
“Impressive,” Ms. Butama said before turning back to address the entire class. “Fading can be a tricky business. In fact, some Bounders have allowed themselves to fade in order to break free from humans who have mistreated them. Once that bond is severed, they are free to return for revenge.” The class looked at her and then their Bounders in horror. The faeries didn’t seem the least interested in the piece of trivia.
“This is, of course, extremely rare,” she continued, “as the nature of Bounder Faeries is to be faithful, even if it costs them their lives.” Her eyes moved to Max. “Sadly, this can happen all too often.”
39
ABDUCTED. AGAIN.
By Friday, Smoke still hadn’t shown up at school. When Max told Logan about what had happened on the Zephyr, the Scotsman sent THOR agents to track the changeling down. Despite all the advanced MERLIN Tech at their disposal, they couldn’t find him anywhere. Smoke was simply gone, and it didn’t look like he was coming back.
Since Aidan’s surprise appearance on the Zephyr, Ernie couldn’t stop worrying about the faerie essence eating away at his humanity. Luckily, Max was able to coax him out of his depression long enough to head over to the Spider’s Web for Monti’s first Round Table tournament. Dozens of kids milled outside the entrance. Music was streaming from the store, and there was a feast of junk food piled high on tables near the entrance.
“Remember that machine we saw in Iver’s shop?” Harley asked as the Griffins walked toward the Spider’s Web together. He pulled a drawing of a small clockwork from his backpack. The head looked like a pair of large binoculars, and its metal arms and legs were oddly long.
“Where did you get that?” Max asked. “It looks just like the one we saw!”
“The Rosenkreuz Library,” answered Harley. “There’s an entire section on Templar technology. This thing is called an Imager Bot. It’s a type of spy drone, and it’s highly illegal.”
“It doesn’t look so scary,” Ernie commented.
“They aren’t supposed to,” Harley replied. “Imagers weren’t built for battle. THOR units used to use them for reconnaissance. That’s why they have camera lenses in their eyes. They’re supposed to be able to record clear images from nearly a mile away.”
“Who would send an Imager to Iver’s?” Natalia wondered.
“Oh, there you are,” Monti called, waving as the Griffins made their way toward him. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to come.” Monti’s store was crowded with customers, and more were filing in. He had already borrowed three tables from the Coffee Rush next door, and there still weren’t enough spots to place all the duelists.
“This is crazy,” Ernie said as he watched kids streaming in and out of the store. Some were already wearing their Tesla Recoil Kinematic goggles, with their force feedback feature allowing a duelist to actually feel what was going on in the battle.
“I had no idea this many people would show up,” Monti admitted. “But it’s good for business, so I can’t complain. Which reminds me. I ordered your Kinematics. They’re behind the register.”
“How much are they?” Harley asked, nervous about the price. He was certain that advanced MERLIN Tech wasn’t going to come cheap.
“Consider yourself sponsored by the Spider’s Web. Just make sure you send any business—” The Griffins raced through the front door before Monti could finish his sentence.
There was a paper bag on the counter with the words Grey Griffins written in permanent marker. “Supersonic!” Ernie exclaimed as he pulled out his Kinematics. He ripped off his old goggles and threw them on the counter as he donned the new pair. “Hey, these don’t work,” he complained. “Everything looks normal.”
“That’s because you have to turn them on, genius,” Harley said, flipping one of the switches on Ernie’s frame. The goggles hummed quietly, but Ernie still couldn’t see anything.
“What about now?” Harley asked, as he handed Ernie a Round Table card with an undead pirate on it.
As Ernie held the card to his goggles, the image melted away, leaving a pirate with rotting skin, exposed bone, and worms boring out of its eyes. The pirate raised its rusted cutlass menacingly. Ernie shrieked.
Throwing the card on the floor, he ripped the Kinematics off his head, ready to run out of the store. It wasn’t until he saw everyone gawking at him that he realized it hadn’t been real.
“Honestly,” Natalia complained. “Could you be any more embarrassing?”
“It was only a hologram,” Max explained. “Just like the SIM Chamber. It can’t hurt you.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Ernie countered. “You weren’t the one who almost got cut in half.”
“Well, if it isn’t the Loser Brigade,” Angus McCutcheon said as he entered the store with a group of his friends. Max tried to walk away, but Angus grabbed him by the arm.
“I was talking to you.”
“Let go,” Max warned, looking back at Angus with cold eyes.
“Or what?” Angus chided.
“Maybe I’ll turn into a werewolf and gobble you up.”
Angus bared his teeth like a feral animal. “I don’t think you get it, Sumner. My brother is dead because of your father.”
Angus took a step forward. Harley tried to move between them, but Angus hauled back and swung. Max redirected th
e blow and Angus lost his balance. He crashed into a crock of apple cider, and the hot liquid spilled all over his face and arms.
“You’re dead!” he shouted, launching at Max like a linebacker.
The two boys crashed into a display case of cards before tumbling to the ground. Max struck his head, and his mind swam as Angus overpowered him and pinned him to the ground. Max recovered enough to shift his weight, sliding his arms upward. Angus lost his leverage, and Max spun the boy onto his pudgy stomach, fighting to lock Angus’s arm behind his back.
“I think that’s enough,” Logan called from the doorway. Monti was standing behind him, flabbergasted as he surveyed the damage.
Max let go and took a step back, allowing Angus to stagger to his feet. His face was bright red, and he rubbed at his sore arm.
“The show’s over!” Logan shouted. “I want this place picked up, and I want it done now.”
Everyone within earshot got to work.
“As to the four of you, you’re done for the night.”
“But…”
“Not a word, Thunderbolt.”
Ernie grabbed his goggles off the floor and followed Logan out the door.
“I’m sorry,” Max told Monti. “I’ll pay for all the damage.”
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks,” Monti said. Then he walked over to the counter. “Don’t forget these.” He handed Max the bag with the rest of the Kinematics. “You’re going to need to practice if you want to make the team.”
Logan didn’t say a word as he led the Griffins to his car. The stars were bright in the cold autumn sky, and the temperatures had dropped far enough that Max could see his breath every time he exhaled.
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #1: The Brimstone Key Page 14
