“Good morning,” Ms. Merical greeted Max as he entered the Apprentice’s Hall. She was wearing an orange sweater with a giant jack-o’-lantern cross-stitched on the front. “Are you ready for the big day?”
“We’ll see,” he replied with a sigh.
“All duelists need to check in over there,” she instructed, pointing to a long table in the hallway where Dr. Thistlebrow was seated. “Logan, you can join the rest of the audience in the Grand Auditorium.”
Max hesitated.
“You’ll be fine.” Logan patted his shoulder. “Chin up and stay sharp.” With that, the Scotsman made his way toward a gathering of other Templar security guards. To honor the return of Iron Bridge, important dignitaries, including some members of royalty, were expected to attend, so security measures had to be increased considerably. There were guards stationed at every door and gargoyle sentinels perched near the windows, and the entire campus was sealed off with a Class 6 MERLIN Tech Repulsor Field.
As Max walked over to the registration table, he spotted Catalina Mendez, the girl from his Bounder Care class with the lumpy imp. They were both sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Round Table cards spread out in front of them. Kenji Sato stood nearby with his drake. Rumor had it he’d been up seventy-two hours straight preparing for the duel. He looked terrible.
Ernie and Robert were tucked away in a corner with Tejan. Robert was showing them his new pair of Salvino Technohancers. The Kinematic goggles were an early birthday gift from his grandparents.
Erica walked by a few moments later, glaring at Max but saying nothing. A number of students shook Max’s hand and patted him on the back, assuring him that he could win if he ended up having to duel against Xander. Max wasn’t so sure. Besides, he had to win enough matches to even get a chance to play Xander.
As he stepped ahead in the line, Max could see Harley pacing outside in the snow. He was tweaking a pair of custom goggles that he had built with Monti’s help. They looked like junk, but those Kinematics were more powerful than anything on the market—or so Monti had assured Harley.
Natalia sat on a bench next to the registration table, with a tower of notes at her side. Like Max, she had been up half the night, and now she was poring over her copy of the Toad Reports to keep everything fresh.
“Next, please,” Dr. Archimedes called out, waving a thin finger in Max’s direction. With surprising efficiency, the strange little man had checked out Max’s battle deck, weighed and scanned his knucklebone dice, and tested the Kinematic goggles to make sure they hadn’t been programmed with any cheat codes. Then he read Max the Pledge of Honor, which every duelist had to abide by. Max took the pledge, and he was promptly handed a thick rulebook and sent on his way.
“Hey, there you are!” Todd rushed over with his brother in tow. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”
“How do you feel?” Ross asked, checking Max out like a mechanic eyeing a race car. “Did you get sleep? Do your exercises? Those are very important, you know. How about a well-balanced breakfast? You can’t duel on an empty stomach. Here’s a banana. Potassium is brain food. Also, try some honey in your tea.”
Sensing Max’s distraction, Todd stepped in front of him and placed his hands on Max’s shoulders. “Look, whatever happens out there, don’t forget the Toad Reports. Just stick with the game plan, and you’ll take Yoshino out.”
“Try some concentration techniques,” Ross added. “Breathing in, breathing out. Find your center. You know, all that junk.”
“If I last long enough, do you two think I have a chance to beat Xander?” Max wanted to know.
The Toad brothers shrugged. “Anything is possible,” Todd admitted. “Xander is as close to a juggernaut as you can get.”
“Right,” Ross added. “He doesn’t make mistakes, so you’re going to have to play flawlessly.”
“All right, I need everyone to listen up,” Dr. Thistlebrow finally said. The Arithmetick professor was dressed in black pants, shiny buckled boots, and a green velveteen vest over a white shirt and black tie. “The tournament is set to begin in just a few minutes, but before we step onto the stage, I will offer this single warning. Each of you is expected to follow the rules of conduct to the letter. The slightest infraction will result in disqualification. Are there any questions?”
There were none, though there were several knowing smiles passed among some of the older players.
“Excellent. Now please follow me.”
With that, the Arithmetick instructor led the duelists through a door that opened on the backstage of the Grand Auditorium. The stage had been set with thirty-two square tables that lined the floor like a checkerboard. Each had two chairs and a golden hourglass filled with white sand.
“Be ready when I call you,” Dr. Thistlebrow warned.
46
ROUND ONE
Thistlebrow greeted the audience and bowed deeply. “It is my distinguished honor to welcome you to Iron Bridge Academy’s first Round Table Qualifying Tournament in far too long!”
Applause cascaded across the auditorium, and it didn’t die out until Archimedes finally raised his knobby hand. “We have lost so many years, but what you see today will astound you, I have no doubt.”
He straightened his tie and smoothed his coat. “As we are playing by the King’s Rules, a duelist will be declared the winner of a match after he or she is able to strike an opponent seven times. If neither combatant is able to score seven hits within an hour, then the player with the most points wins.
“As you know, the final eight duelists will be awarded a position on the varsity team and will represent Iron Bridge in the Pan-Templar Academy Championships,” he continued. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce this year’s impressive field.”
As Max walked onto the stage, he found the auditorium lit with ornate chandeliers and draped in miles of velvet. There was a large brass scoreboard with countless pull switches and dials to track the duels. Each onlooker brought a pair of opera glasses that was linked wirelessly to portal lenses that hovered like dust mites above the stage. The tiny cameras switched angles so the audience could see what was going on at each game table.
“By the way,” Natalia said before she took her seat. “I forgot to tell you that Brooke wanted to wish you luck.”
Max tried to hide a smile. He wasn’t sure whether his euphoria came from knowing that Brooke cared enough to send him a message—or just from a rush of adrenaline at his first official Round Table tournament.
He found his table, sat down, and started inspecting his deck before anyone could see the goofy grin on his face. A few seconds later, Yoshino walked over. He was tall, and his head was shaved clean. Someone had painted a tribal tattoo on the right side of Yoshino’s face. It was supposed to make him look intimidating, and as far as Max was concerned, it had worked.
“Good luck,” Max said, offering his hand, but Yoshino ignored him. Instead, he took out his own cards and placed a set of bloodred knucklebones on the table. He pulled out his chair, sat down, and leaned back.
“Get ready—” Dr. Thistlebrow announced.
The bell rang and the hourglasses turned. Max pulled his Kinematic goggles over his eyes and flipped them on. The table suddenly transformed into a life-size three-dimensional field of battle. Thanks to the MERLIN Tech, he was standing in rolling grassland under a blue sky. Yoshino stood across the field from him, sneering. Like the SIM Chamber, the Kinematic goggles made imagination a reality.
Since Yoshino won the initial roll, he went first. Without hesitation, he took a card from his hand and threw it onto the battlefield. An Inferno Imp leaped from the face of the card, burning with fury. It raced toward Max, and the grass burned beneath its feet.
It was a bold move, but thanks to the Toad Reports, Max was ready. Yoshino cast his knucklebones, but it was a low roll. His imp inadvertently activated the trap that Max had set. A horde of Frost Spiders poured onto the field of battle, and as Max cast his own knucklebones,
the tiny monsters swarmed over the Inferno Imp. The fiery faerie exploded in a blaze of light.
Yoshino stared at Max in disbelief.
The rest of the duel went much the same way. In the end, Max won 7–2. Yoshino had been a contender to make the varsity team, but thanks to Max, he didn’t even make it out of the first round.
“You cheated,” he accused.
“No, I just did my homework,” Max replied with a smile as he rose from his chair to stretch. He’d expected a harder game than that. Not only was it a relief, it also filled him with assurance that the next few rounds might be easy. Taking a drink of water, he could feel his heart racing in excitement. He smiled again, envisioning what it would be like if… check that, when he faced Xander.
Max looked at the scoreboard as he walked off the stage. Natalia had won by a landslide, and Harley just managed to squeak by. Since Smoke hadn’t bothered to show up, Ernie had won by forfeit. That meant all the Grey Griffins had made it to the next round.
“Nice work,” Todd offered. Then he handed Max an envelope. Max broke the seal and pulled out his new copy of the Toad Reports. Then he groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Ernie asked in between bites of a chocolate bar.
Max showed him the report. He was going to have to duel Robert Hernandez. Beating Robert would bring as much satisfaction as kicking a helpless puppy.
“Cheer up,” Todd noted. “Hernandez stinks. He was lucky to make it to the second round.” He handed the other Griffins their Toad Reports.
“You have to be kidding,” Ernie said, as he stared at the name of his next opponent. “Isn’t Kenji Sato the kid with the drake?”
“Yep. And if you win, you’d better hope that drake of his doesn’t come over and rip your tongue out. He’s been known to do that.”
Ernie’s face turned a pale green, and the chocolate bar fell from his mouth.
47
ROUND TWO
After the first round, thirty-two duelists remained. A team of workers quickly removed half of the tables from the stage and the curtains rose once again.
Max was about to walk to his table, but he stopped when he saw Ernie and Robert huddled together. They were flipping through a copy of the Toad Reports that had the words max sumner written across the cover.
“No matter what happens, don’t fall for that one,” Ernie said, pointing to the report. “He gets me with that stupid trap all the time.”
“Ernie!” Max shouted.
Ernie blushed and pulled his Kinematic goggles down. Then he rushed past Max and onto the stage. “Sorry,” he called back. “Robert had a couple questions, that’s all. I would have helped you, too, if you had asked.”
“Gee, thanks.” Max watched Robert fold the report and stuff it into his back pocket. He avoided eye contact as they walked to the table.
When the duel began, Max and Robert found themselves atop an iceberg in the midst of an endless sea. Using the Kinematic programming function built into the Tesla goggles, Robert made himself look like a knight in heavy armor. With a shout, he sent a wave of creatures crashing against Max’s defenses.
For someone so timid, Robert was not only aggressive, but he was unpredictable. That was a dangerous combination. Before Max realized what had happened, his Frost Spider had been squashed under a meteor, and his Snowy Gryphon was knocked out of the game by a chupacabra. Robert had an early lead, and he wasn’t letting up.
The battlefield was turned into a smoky ruin, as Robert’s archers sent a wave of flaming arrows through the mist. Max rolled his knucklebones to defend his yeti from the attack, but he fumbled. Robert scored again.
Feeling confident before the match, Max hadn’t bothered to open the issue of the Toad Reports on Robert. There didn’t seem to be much of a point. Unfortunately, Max was starting to regret that decision.
A sudden cheer rang out across the hall. Max flipped up his goggles to watch Ernie raise his fists in victory. “Yes!” he shouted, before turning to the crowd and bowing.
Max spotted Xander on the sidelines. He was watching Max’s game closely, and Max couldn’t help but feel sick from embarrassment. He was losing to a rookie. The Toad brothers were right; Max couldn’t be lucky all the time.
Well, at least one of us is going to make it to the next round, Max thought. He turned back to his mounting disaster, sliding the goggles back over his eyes. He was running out of chances, and Max knew he’d have to make a gamble. He took a card from his hand and slipped into his defensive line, holding his breath. It was Robert’s turn now.
Robert unleashed a devilish beast from his offensive line. A nine-headed hydra rose above the water, casting a long shadow over Max. Each of the monster’s heads was capable of a separate attack. Max only had three cards left—not even enough to slow the monster down.
Robert picked up the dice and rolled, the hydra attacking Max’s latest card with a roar.
Max sat back as a thrill crept over him. All at once, the hydra was swallowed up by a sheet of ice, unable to move. Robert jumped up, unsure of what had just happened.
It was Max’s turn to go on the offensive. Catapults rolled out, unleashing boulders that slammed into the frozen monster. A moment later, it had shattered like a stained-glass window.
With his prized card defeated, Robert lost his confidence. Max took advantage of the confusion, and before long he took the lead. Moments later, he won the duel.
48
HOW TO TRUMP A WAR MACHINE
“Look lively now,” Archimedes Thistlebrow announced as he ushered the final sixteen duelists onto the stage. With Harley and Natalia losing in the last round, that meant the only Griffins left were Max and Ernie. The contestants were all greeted with applause, but when Xander Swift walked out, the crowd erupted.
Max scanned the audience, hoping to see Grandma Caliburn, but he couldn’t find her. He saw Robert, though. The changeling was wearing an Agent Thunderbolt sweatshirt that Ernie had given him. It even had a lightning bolt stitched across the chest. Then Max spotted Todd and Ross. The Toad brothers were sitting in the back of the balcony. Todd wrote vigorously in his notebook as Ross exchanged slips of paper with a crowd of students that was hovering around them.
“Duelists, please take your seats,” Dr. Thistlebrow announced. “Round three will begin in precisely ten seconds.”
Catalina Mendez sat down at the table across from Max. It was the first time he had seen her without her Bounder imp, Scuttlebutt, and Max realized then just how attractive she was. Catalina’s hair was pulled up with a few loose curls hanging down her neck. She smiled, and suddenly Max felt uncomfortable. He looked away as his neck flushed bright red.
“You may begin,” Dr. Thistlebrow instructed after a steam-powered clock whistled.
As his Kinematic goggles flared to life, Max watched Catalina send a snorting minotaur to probe his defenses. According to the Toad Reports, Catalina was an aggressive player, but she had barely survived the previous round. She was certain to be more cautious this time around, which made her a dangerous opponent.
Just as Catalina was about to cast her knucklebones, a blinding flash filled the auditorium. The floor rumbled as Aidan Thorne materialized on the stage, flanked by two enormous clockworks.
“What’s he doing here?” Max heard Ernie call out.
The audience gasped. War machines were outlawed decades ago, but here two Grimbots stood before them. Covered in armored plating, the clockworks towered over the duelists, the barrels of their guns sweeping the auditorium.
“I’m baaaaack! Did you miss me?” Smoke challenged, his voice carrying through the hall. He seemed oddly at ease as he paced the silent stage. “Oh, come on now. Are you telling me that nobody here noticed I was missing?”
No one said a word.
“Oh wait, that’s right,” Smoke continued. “I’m one of those changeling freaks that you pretend doesn’t exist!” Then he reached behind his ear and tore out the inhibitor like an unwanted earring. Blood ran down his n
eck as he tossed the device to the floor and stepped on it. “It’s not like it worked anyway,” he scoffed, looking directly at Dean Nipkin.
He moved to the center of the stage. “I bring you a message from Otto Von Strife.”
A murmur moved like a wave through the audience.
“That’s right, he’s back, too! He has some unfinished business at Iron Bridge.”
“You’re in way over your head, Smoke,” Xander warned, as he rose from his chair.
In a burst of black smoke, Aidan disappeared from the stage, and then reappeared just as suddenly holding Erica Harkness by the arm. He pushed her toward one of the Grimbots. As Xander moved to help her, Smoke waved a warning finger in the air.
“I wouldn’t try to do anything heroic,” he said. “These machines are kind of sensitive, and I’m afraid they might rip Erica’s arms out of her sockets if you startle them.”
Xander locked eyes with Smoke. Then he sat down.
Max searched the balcony, looking for Logan. But he couldn’t see him anywhere.
Smoke casually removed his backpack and pulled out an elegantly crafted brass egg about the size of a football. “This is a little present from Von Strife. Sorry I didn’t wrap it, but I figured you wouldn’t mind.
“Now if you haven’t seen one of these before, you’re in for a real treat.” With a heave, Smoke smashed the egg against the floor, releasing a swarm of clockworks that filled the air like hornets. Then he disappeared.
The winged machines spread like a pestilence across the auditorium. At first there seemed to be only a hundred or so, but there soon were a thousand. And the swarm continued to grow.
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #1: The Brimstone Key Page 17
