“Let me ask you a question,” Strange said after a moment of contemplation. “When a baseball team doesn’t live up to expectations, what happens?”
“I don’t know,” Ernie said. “I guess they fire the coach.”
“Precisely,” Strange said. “Right or wrong, the coach becomes the scapegoat for the failures of the team.”
“The team didn’t fail, though. I did,” Ernie said. “I mean, I didn’t do it on purpose or anything, but I’m the one who led them into the trap.”
“Perhaps, but we all make mistakes,” Strange said. “No matter what, we cannot let those mistakes define who we are.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Ernie said.
“Only you know that answer, Agent Thunderbolt,” Strange said. “But one way or the other, you must win back their confidence.”
MAKE THE JUMP
Ernie knew that he had to rescue Hale before Von Strife ripped the soul out of her body and stuffed it into one of his machines. It was the only way the other changelings were going to forgive him. Ernie just wasn’t sure how he was going to do it.
A few days after the incident, the New Victoria Chronicle ran an article unmasking the Agents of Justice. Once the public learned that the vigilantes were changelings from Iron Bridge Academy, editorial letters about Dean Nipkin’s incompetence poured in.
Dean Nipkin decided to take her frustration out on her students. Annie was given daily injections of a serum that negated her powers so she couldn’t manipulate the inhibitors. Short of a miracle, the changelings—except for Ernie—were going to be stuck in Sendak Hall until summer break.
There was an exception, however. Obadiah Strange made sure that the changelings were allowed to continue attending his class. Dean Nipkin wasn’t happy about it, but Strange had the backing of the Templar academies’ governing board, and its word was final.
The Relic Hunters continued to train in the SIM Chamber, despite the friction among the students. After the incident with Hale, Ernie was enemy number one with the other changelings. His relationship with the Grey Griffins wasn’t much better. Ernie was still avoiding Max and Harley, despite Natalia’s constant urging for them to work things out. They didn’t.
Then, just three days after Ernie met with Strange in his office, a clockwork messenger showed up in homeroom. The machine was tall and thin, with a shiny iron casing accented by bits of bronze. It had four eyes, all the same size, stacked in two rows of two, and a hinged jaw and long fingers.
“Excuse me,” the clockwork said.
“Yes?” Ms. Merical asked.
“I’ve been sent to collect the following students: Natalia Romanov, Harley Eisenstein, Ernest Tweeny, and Grayson Sumner,” the clockwork said, using Max’s formal name.
“Max,” Max said, correcting the clockwork.
“Pardon me?”
“My name is Max.”
“Never mind,” Ms. Merical said. “May I ask why you need to see them?”
The clockwork turned away from Max to face her. “Obadiah Strange requires their presence. They are to be excused from all classes today.” It walked over to hand her a slip of paper.
Ms. Merical removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You tell Obadiah that I expect him to look out for these children. I swear, if one hair on their heads is harmed, I’ll come after him.”
The clockwork tilted its head as though it was trying to understand the gravity of the threat. At the same time, Max and the other Grey Griffins gathered their belongings and followed the clockwork down the hall, up a flight of steps, and then into a large room, where Strange was standing with the other students from their Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation class. Todd and Ross were already there.
“Welcome,” Strange said as the Griffins walked in. “Well, now that our class is complete, let’s get down to business. We have reason to believe that Von Strife is actively searching for the Schrödinger Box, which means we must act now.”
“Wait, does that mean we’re going on our field test today?” Todd asked. His eyes were wide.
“I’m afraid so,” Strange said.
“But we haven’t been able to pass the test in the SIM Chamber,” Ross said. “Yesterday I fell into a pit with a Sand Dragon, and Todd got eaten by a colony of Vampire Pixies. Xander hasn’t even passed his test yet. I mean, if he can’t do it, how are we supposed to survive?”
Though Strange was smiling, it was clear by his stiff posture, if not the intensity of his eyes, that he was just as concerned. “I’m afraid we haven’t the time to wait,” he said. “I don’t have to tell you the gravity of what would happen if Von Strife opens a portal to the Shadowlands. All would be lost.”
“What if we can’t find it?” Todd said. “Or what if Von Strife already has it?”
“We’ll worry about that later,” Strange said. “Right now, all you need to focus on is getting into your gear and making the jump.”
“Are you talking about a jump station?” Ross asked. “As in a room that can teleport us anywhere in the world?”
“Yes, of course,” Strange said.
“When did we get one of those?” Todd asked. “I mean, I thought we weren’t allowed to use portals on campus.”
“You aren’t,” Strange said, “but I am.”
Even though they had spent weeks preparing for the mission, tensions were high. Catalina’s imp vomited, while Kenji’s drake flew in circles belching flames. Sprig, however, was asleep in a corner of the room.
“I bet these things are made with that new ballistic fabric,” Todd said as he slipped into a camouflage jumpsuit that each of the Relic Hunters had been given. “You know, like a bulletproof vest.”
Besides the jumpsuit, each Relic Hunter had been given boots, gloves, a helmet, a backpack filled with basic supplies, and a communication device that fastened to their wrists like an oversized watch.
Natalia saw Ernie sitting by himself in the far corner of the room, his eyes focused on the floor as his leg shook up and down thanks to nerves. She walked over and asked, “You haven’t talked to Max or Harley yet, have you?”
Ernie shook his head.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know,” Ernie said. “I guess I’m scared.”
“You shouldn’t be,” Natalia said. “Once you get everything out in the open, it’s going to be such a relief.”
“I guess,” Ernie said. “It’s just that… I don’t know. I guess I’ve been kind of a jerk, and I don’t know if they’re going to forgive me.”
“You won’t know unless you talk to them,” Natalia said.
Once the students were dressed in their gear, Strange led them to an elevator that required a key card. “Quickly now,” he said as the elevator rumbled to life. The elevator car took them to a large room, where armed soldiers stood watch as a team of engineers manned a series of complex control panels.
“Now then,” Strange said, clearing his throat, “your test will begin in a few moments, but I wanted to make something clear. Though you may not see me, I will be present at all times. However, my role is simply that of observer. If you get into trouble, you must rely on your wits and one another.”
“Wait a minute,” Todd said. “What if we fall off a cliff or something? I mean, you’re not going to let us die, right?”
“Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that,” Strange said. He nodded toward one of the engineers.
Harley watched closely as the engineer input a series of commands. Once he pulled a switch, the air was charged with electricity. Jagged bolts of plasma jumped across Tesla coils. There was a flash of light, and then the Relic Hunters were gone.
The jump platform had delivered them into the heart of a rain forest that was blanketed in mist. The sounds of birds and insects echoed all around. Everything was washed in green, from the leaves in the branches to the ocean of ferns that covered the ground. The trees were wrapped in moss and fungi, while flowers clung to creeping vines that drew bri
ghtly colored hummingbirds.
“They’re actually faeries,” Natalia said as she inspected the birds through her Phantasmoscope.
“Of course they are,” Strange said as an enormous butterfly landed on his forearm. Strange smiled as he watched the wings of the creature rise and fall.
“That’s a—”
“Winged Croaker,” Strange said. Faeries could mask their true nature so humans couldn’t see them.
“That’s a Croaker?” Todd said. “It’s disgusting.”
“No kidding,” Ernie said with a wrinkled nose. “It’s almost as ugly as that…” His voice trailed off when he saw Catalina glaring at him. She was standing next to her Digger imp as he splashed in a puddle.
The Croaker looked like a fat toad with stubby wings. Its lumpy body was covered with warts, and two tusks jutted up from its jaw.
“I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective,” Strange said as the Croaker leaped into the air. Its tiny wings started to beat so fast that they were nearly invisible, but somehow they managed to carry the corpulent faerie into the distant shadows.
“All right,” Strange said once the Croaker disappeared. “Mr. Swift, have you checked our coordinates?”
Xander was looking through a pair of binoculars. “We should be less than a quarter mile from the temple.”
“Excellent,” Strange said. “Lead the way.”
Xander entered the thick mist with Strange and the other Relic Hunters trailing behind. Sprig walked next to Max as a white tiger. Her fur was matted from the condensation that dripped from the leaves. She was intrigued by the monkeys that were jumping from tree to tree.
It wasn’t long before rushing water drowned out the sounds of the forest. Xander led the Relic Hunters over a fallen tree that spanned a river. In the distance, a waterfall shot down the side of a cliff, feeding the river as it sped beneath the natural bridge.
“Look,” Brooke said as fish with rainbow scales jumped into the air and splashed back into the river.
Natalia knelt beside her and watched tiny faeries with tails like mermaids. Their translucent wings were barely perceptible as they shot into the air to hover in front of the girls.
“Come on,” Raven said as she walked past the fairies. “We don’t want to get left behind in this place.”
The Relic Hunters continued to wind their way through the forest until they came to a trail marked by a statue worn from age.
“What is it?” Ernie asked.
“I’m not sure,” Todd said. “It kind of looks like an elephant.”
“Maybe it’s an eagle.”
“It’s a panther,” Xander said, just as something shot out of the branches above.
Kenji’s drake leaped from his shoulder. The tiny dragon wrapped his claws around a startled bird before bringing it to the ground.
“Wait, it’s a parrot,” Natalia said.
The drake turned his head to hiss as she approached.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Kenji said. “He gets territorial when it comes to food.”
Natalia pushed her way past Kenji, and that’s when the drake sprang.
A STICKY SITUATION
With his mouth spread wide, Sparky leaped at Natalia, but Max was quicker. He grabbed the drake by his neck before his tiny teeth could sink into Natalia’s nose.
“Be careful!” Kenji shouted as Sparky whimpered. The drake tried to break free. He was flapping his wings and kicking his legs, but Max wouldn’t let go.
Kenji rushed over to wrap his arms around the tiny dragon, stroking Sparky’s neck as he cried.
Natalia stood rooted to the ground, her face drained of color as she tried to catch her breath.
“Next time, listen to him,” Max told Natalia. The drake hissed while Max walked away, but it was nothing more than a false sense of bravado. The Bounder was trying to save face.
The Relic Hunters pressed forward, but the path was choked by vegetation. They tried to use the statues as markers, but most were lost in the thick undergrowth. The sun was fading, and as night set in, tensions in the group mounted.
“I don’t think we’re going the right way,” Yi said. His hands were lit like torches, and even though they provided light, they were also drawing enormous insects.
“Hold up,” Xander said.
Yi walked over to where Xander was standing. The flames around his hands revealed a massive spiderweb stretched between two trees like a roadblock.
“I’d hate to see the spider that made this,” Ernie said.
“That makes two of us,” Todd said.
“Three of us,” Ross said.
“Can we go around it?” Kenji asked as his drake landed on his shoulder.
“I’m not sure we’d want to,” Xander said.
“Look,” Yi said, pointing into the branches overhead.
“I don’t see anything,” Ross said.
“Maybe not, but I can smell them,” Denton said.
“Me too,” Ernie said.
“There it is again,” Yi said. “Something is up in the trees. I think it’s a—”
Yi couldn’t finish his sentence, because a white gelatinous substance, like a giant spitball, was covering his mouth. He tried to pull it away, but it stuck to his hands. Max could see the panic in Yi’s eyes, but as the changeling’s body burst into flames, whatever was choking him burned away, allowing Yi to breathe again.
A second dollop of goop hit Brooke in the face, sending her into the ferns. Honeysuckle tried to pull it off Brooke as another glob struck Kenji’s drake, wrapping around his wings so he couldn’t fly.
Ross and Todd grabbed flashlights that were hanging from their belts. They shined the beams up into the trees’ branches, and then they recoiled.
“They’re Blight Spiders,” Max said. With their six arms, eight eyes, and bristling hair, they looked just like the monsters on his Round Table card.
“Any suggestions?” Xander asked.
“They hate fire.” Max raised his Codex gauntlet, and a captivity orb shot from his palm. The Blight Spider that he targeted leaped out of the way, and the orb zipped past and fizzled in the branches of the tree.
Max let three more orbs fly, and though the first two missed, the last struck its target. The Blight Spider screamed as it clawed at the prison. Sparks of energy flew, but it couldn’t break free no matter how hard it fought.
“We can’t get the webbing off Brooke’s face,” Natalia said as she struggled with Honeysuckle. “She’s suffocating.”
“Hold still,” Yi said as he raised an index finger to the webbing. A flame leaped from his fingertip, melting the sticky substance.
Brooke’s eyes were wild as she gasped for breath.
“Look out,” Denton warned.
Max turned in time to see a spray of webbing race toward him. Yi shot it out of the air with a fireball. He shifted and sent another volley at Kenji’s drake. The flames melted the web, releasing the tiny dragon so it could join the fight.
Sprig pounced on one of the Blight Spiders before it could reach Raven. Harley took aim at another with his freeze ray. He managed to hit it in the leg, but the rest of his shots missed. The Blights were quick, but they weren’t too quick for Ernie.
He ripped off his backpack and dumped the contents onto the forest floor. Then, in a blur of speed, he ran toward one of the Blight Spiders and pulled the backpack over its head. The Blight screamed, trying to break free. Ernie grabbed a vine that was hanging from a branch and used it to wrap the Blight Spider like a spool of thread.
Nearby, Catalina’s Bounder imp tore into the soft earth, looking for a place to hide. One of the Blight Spiders jumped down from the branches. It opened its mouth to unleash a torrent of webbing at Catalina, but Max hit it with a captivity orb before it could attack.
At the same time, Denton scaled a tree and launched at one of the Blight Spiders. They both fell off the branch and landed in the ferns below. Somehow the Blight landed on top, but Denton coiled his legs, growled, and
kicked hard.
The force sent the monster flying backward. Max unleashed another captivity orb, hitting the monster in the chest. It hovered in the air, howling and screaming as it fought to break free.
“Nicely played,” Strange said from a safe distance. He was standing with his arms crossed as though he were observing another scenario in the SIM Chamber.
“Is he just going to stand there and watch us get slaughtered?” Raven asked before she swung a fallen tree branch at one of the Blights.
“Probably,” Max said. He watched as a length of webbing spun Todd into a cocoon. Ross was next, and before either of the Toad brothers realized what was happening, they were hanging upside down from one of the branches. They wiggled and writhed, but they couldn’t break free.
Another Blight Spider landed on top of Harley and bit him in the shoulder. Even though the Blight’s teeth couldn’t penetrate the protective fabric of the jumpsuit, the pressure was painful. Harley reached up with his free hand to grab the monster by its neck and flipped it onto the ground.
Kenji’s drake swooped down, spraying flames from his mouth. The Blight crouched, covering its head with two of its arms while the other four grasped at the drake. It didn’t see the captivity orb that Max had shot until the ball of energy slammed into its back.
Frightened by the orbs, the rest of the Blights fled to the shadows of the forest. Denton scaled the tree where the Toad brothers dangled like ripe fruit.
“Should we leave them up here?” he asked.
“As much as I’d like to, we better cut them down,” Max said. “I doubt we’ll score many points for abandoning members of the team—even those two.”
With a single swipe of his claws, Denton cut them both down. The Toad brothers landed with an “Oomph!” on the soft forest floor, but it was a long drop.
“Now that every monster in the forest knows we’re here, what’s the plan?” Raven asked.
“We need to find the temple,” Xander said.
“Please tell me somebody has the map,” Raven said.
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #2: The Relic Hunters Page 18
