by Ken Brosky
I smiled. “OK. I believe you.”
“They’re announcing the new match-ups!” Mr. Whitmann called out. We all turned to look up at the electronic scoreboard. On the girls’ side, all of the names were blacked out and for a moment my heart stopped. Maybe someone had slipped a Jump into our drink somewhere along the way … maybe we were all disqualified …
My name reappeared in the Championship bracket, along with Giovanna Verduchi. From Italy. My mouth made an “urp” noise.
Jasmine’s name reappeared in the epee section, along with a girl from Japan.
And in the foils: Margaret and Rachel.
“Uh … is this for real?” Margaret asked. “Are you seriously telling me I have to face off against my personal hero for a freaking gold medal?”
“Where are the boys’ names?” Mr. Whitmann asked Chase. Chase only shrugged. We all waited, staring up at the other screen, which was still blank. A tense murmur ran through the crowd. “Where are the danged names?” Mr. Whitmann asked again, this time just a wee bit angrier.
Miguel sighed. “Mr. Whitmann …”
He turned to the boys. His nostrils flared.
“OK,” Chase said, giving me a push toward the judges’ tables. “Let’s not be around for Mr. Whitmann’s freak-out.” He wheeled beside me, following me to the equipment racks. I walked on legs made of jelly. The Championship. Right here, right now. No turning back. This was for all the marbles.
“Parry a lot,” Chase instructed. He searched his notepad. “Uh … she’s intense. She might make some noises when she attacks. The more you block her, the more frustrated she’ll get. Wait until she makes mistakes.”
“Chase, I’m nervous. It’s all coming so fast, like a weird intense dream! One minute I’m fencing some chick from Canada, now all of a sudden it’s do-or-die!”
“It’s always been do-or-die. Close your eyes.”
I followed the simple order. Behind my eyes was darkness, cold and claustrophobic. “Still nervous.”
“Deep breaths. Good. Now, feel free to pass gas.”
My eyes snapped open. “What now?!”
He laughed at my stunned expression. “Just easing the tension, sweetie.” I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled a little in spite of my nerves. Chase’s expression grew serious for a moment as he grabbed one of the sabers, quickly tossing it my way. I caught it by the hilt. He flashed me a grin. “Now do me a favor and go kick some butt, dragon slayer.”
“Right.” I stepped onto the mat, adjusting my mask. Giovanna did the same, her legs doing a little dance as she got into position. I didn’t bother trying to mimic her—I’d need all the energy I could muster for the fight.
There were no other matches going on now. Just mine. From the crowd, there came a thump. Then another. Feet stomping on the concrete floors.
“En garde,” said the referee.
Thump. Thump.
“Allez!”
The crowd erupted in cheers as our blades met. For the first time, I couldn’t even hear the clang of steel on steel. Giovanna pushed me back with her strength, swinging furiously at the lower half of my torso. She came in with a quick thrust and I awkwardly parried, deflecting it away from my body. She flicked her wrist, bringing the blade up and over mine, stabbing me right in the mask.
The crowd cheered.
“Crud,” I muttered, adjusting my mask. Already, a trickle of sweat had formed near my temple.
The thumping resumed. Thump. Thump.
“En garde,” the referee said.
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump …
“Allez!”
This time, I let Giovanna attack, parrying her forceful blows with as much strength as I could muster. With each new attack, I could feel the muscles in my arm tense up. My left hand wanted desperately to swing around and try to stop her blade. Giovanna was aiming for my chest, near my right arm. I parried her blade once, pushing it outside, but she came at me again in the same place so I parried inside, pushing the blade down.
The crowd roared as Giovanna closed the gap between us. My heart banged against my sore ribs.
Our blades became sharp blurs, clanging together so fast that my mind couldn’t even keep up. Somehow, she hadn’t scored a point despite her furious attack. She’s rattled, I thought. Frustrated. She’s getting sloppy.
I took a step back, avoiding a thrust to my midsection by swinging my blade over the top of hers. There—there was my opportunity! I slid my blade up hers, over her bellguard and onto her forearm.
The crowd roared its approval.
“Good to know they’re not taking sides,” I murmured, bending my blade a few times before getting back into position. Giovanna was already there, her blade pointed directly at my heart.
“En garde,” the referee said.
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump …
“Allez!”
Another fierce attack. I parried downward, trying to slip in with a quick thrust. She blocked it with ease, bringing her blade down low and then sliding it across my blade, just as I’d done to her on the previous point. I fell back, withdrawing before she could cut my arm. I waited.
She waited.
The crowd began stomping again. Thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump …
She knows. She knows what I’m trying to do.
I took a step forward, leaving my blade low, enticing her to attack my left shoulder. She didn’t bite. Her blade wavered, but stayed in position.
“OK,” I said. “Have it your way.”
I thrust my blade at her stomach, ready with a second move the moment she parried downward: I brought my blade back around, aiming for her sword arm. She leaned left, flicking her wrist and weakly parrying. There was an opening near her right side, but I couldn’t get at it without opening myself up to a counter-riposte. No guts, no glory, Alice! I angled my blade, swinging at her ribs.
The tip of her blade pressed into my shoulder. Right where the prince had stabbed me.
The crowd roared.
We rode home in silence: me, Chase and Seth. Seth stared longingly out the window, no doubt his mind on Sanda and pretty much nothing else. Chase stared at me, one hand gently caressing my bare hand. The window partition was closed, but I had a funny feeling Scar was smiling. The sun had begun to set—through the partition, I could see the little overhead light on, no doubt to keep Scar from turning into a full-fledged lion monster too early.
But when we get out of the cars … that’s when it’s going to happen.
“I’m proud of you,” Chase said. “You almost beat her. That was so impressive, watching the two of you duke it out. She knew what you were doing but you changed things up and you gave her a run for her money.”
“I lost, Chase.”
“You took the silver. So did Jasmine. And Rachel. And Margaret took the gold! Can you believe that? I never thought she’d be able to hold up against Rachel. Am I right, Seth?”
Seth grunted, still staring out the window.
“Chase …” I looked into his eyes. “Everything is culminating right now. This is the climax for reals, and the moment the sun goes down all Hell is going to break loose. How can I stop the Malevolence if I can’t even win a fencing tournament?”
“That girl has spent her entire life studying fencing,” Chase said. “She should beat you ninety-nine times out of a hundred. It doesn’t mean anything about your other life.”
“My other life.” I shook my head, staring down at the floor. “My other life is going to kill me, Chase. I’m going to die. One day, my diary is just going to stop. Briar is going to have to transport the magic pen somewhere safe so the next luckless sap can assume the role.”
“But if you kill this prince,” Chase said, squeezing my hand, “the source of the Corruption will be gone. It could mean that they all disappear, right?”
“Or it could mean nothing,” I said. “We don’t know.”
“He doesn’t have a history,” Seth whispered.
We b
oth looked at him. “What do you mean?” Chase asked.
“Remember what Briar was saying, about how the past just disappears when it’s not recorded?” Seth shrugged. “The Malevolence made sure its history wasn’t recorded. And it’s definitely an it, by the way … not a he. And it’s never gonna let Sanda go.”
Chase sighed, leaning back in his seat. He didn’t know what was about to happen next. Neither did Seth. No one really knew what was about to happen next—if they knew, they’d freak out. Just thinking about it now made me freak out. Earlier, it had been like some event far in the future, something I could avoid thinking about. Now it was coming. The castle loomed in the distance, towering over the pine trees that surrounded it, haloed by clouds painted blood-red by the sun’s last rays of light.
“Seth,” I said. I leaned over snapping my fingers a few times until he drew his eyes away from the window. “Listen to me. You need to help Chase in his chair the moment we park.”
“I can take care—”
I cut Chase off, looking into his eyes. “Everyone needs to stay close. No heroics. No worrying about me. The others are going to freak out, and it’s going to be up to you two to keep them safe.”
Chase grimaced, nodding. “Whatever you need, we’ll do it.”
The car pulled onto the road that snaked its way to Castle Vontescue. I took a deep breath, bending down and drawing a saber in the floor, pulling it out and leaving in its place a sword-shaped hole that revealed the bottom of the car. I took off my jacket. Goosebumps lined my bare arms.
This was it.
Chapter 10
“Remember to keep everyone close,” I told Seth. The car had begun slowly weaving its way around the castle. To the west, the sun’s last orange rays dissipated on the horizon.
Darkness was here.
The car stopped in the parking lot. I opened the door, hurrying out with my sword, surveying the scene. The others were getting out of their cars, unaware of the high stakes—every move, every second mattered from here on out. The castle gate was closed, with creepy Sorin standing in front of it, still wearing his sunglasses and mismatched suit. The drivers were still in the cars, each one with the dome light on to keep them from changing into lions.
The new moon above offered no light.
“Come on, come on!” I shouted, pulling Margaret out of her car. To my right, Seth had already helped Chase into his chair and was pushing him toward the gate.
What are the drivers waiting for?
“Alice!” Mr. Whitmann called out, grunting as he climbed out of the lead car. “Where’d you get that sword? You better not have stolen that.”
“Come on, come on! Everyone this way!” The rest of the team made their way toward the gate, confused. Mrs. Satrapi looked concerned, keeping close to her daughter. Scott and Miguel eyed Sorin as he began cackling.
Suddenly, I realized why the drivers were waiting.
“Lambs at a slaughter,” I whispered.
Sorin bounced up and down with glee. “Oh, I do hope this gets bloody!”
“What the blazes is going on?” Mr. Whitmann asked. He pointed a finger at Sorin. “I’m not in the mood for games. You opening that gate or what?”
“Yes, yes of course!” Sorin said, cackling again. He clasped his mangled hands together. “Just as soon as you are all dead.”
I turned back to the limos. The doors opened. All six drivers stepped out, each one illuminated by the little white lights on the inside of the doors. They shut the doors.
And began changing.
First, their neatly trimmed beards puffed out into fully-fledged manes. Their snouts elongated next, each of their teeth growing longer and sharper in the process, little razor-thin whiskers poking out of their noses. They fell onto all fours, muscles tightening. Their clothes disappeared, replaced by thick fur.
Everyone screamed. Mrs. Satrapi held her daughter tight. Mr. Whitmann grabbed as many of the others as he could, valiantly pulling them behind him. Seth wheeled Chase back a few inches, looking to me for help.
“Just stay there,” I mouthed.
Scar stepped forward, his tail swishing from side to side. He eyed Mr. Whitmann with his bad eye, licking his chops. The others spread out, forming a loose circle around us just like a pride of lions would while hunting down a wounded gazelle on the Serengeti.
“You think you’ve won?” I asked him.
He cocked his head.
I raised my arm. “Watch this, buster!”
Nothing happened. The lions looked around.
“That was the signal!” I shouted over my shoulder.
A torch landed on the ground to my left, right in front of one of the massive lions. It bounced on the gravel, causing little sparks to fly up. The lion roared, his body partially transforming back into a human’s—half-man, half-lion—until he retreated into the safety of the darkness and transformed back into full lion form, his big eyes glowing gold.
“What is this?” Scar growled.
Three more torches flew over the wall, forming a protective ring of light around the group and forcing the lions back. They snarled, hissed, and roared. One, uncaring of the protective semicircle of flames, leapt over one of the torches, his body changing back to a human in mid-air. He landed in front of Margaret and Rachel, who fell backward and collapsed next to Mr. Whitmann, who quickly got in front of them. I reached over, running the Corrupted through with my sword. He exploded in a flurry of ash.
Margaret screamed at the top of her lungs. Mr. Whitmann pulled her and Rachel to their feet and held them close. Rachel kicked at the ashes near her feet.
I turned to Scar. “Your boys aren’t so tough without their claws.”
He stepped closer, his body reverting to human form, his heavy mane retreating into a well-trimmed gray beard under his jawline. He tapped at the torch with one brown shoe, grunting. “These are ordinary torches. They will burn out quickly enough.”
“And you are trapped!” Sorin added, bouncing up and down with glee. “Trapped!”
Behind him, the gate slowly began to open. I watched it out of the corner of my eye, my saber still pointed at Scar.
“No!” Sorin screamed. “That’s impossible!”
“Everyone inside!” I shouted. “To the keep! Go go go go!”
“You heard her!” Chase said. “Let’s not wait around to get eaten!”
I took one cautious step backward, my eyes darting from left to right. The lions paced behind the torches, growling low, guttural growls that seemed to resonate deep inside my chest. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, numbing my entire body. I breathed deep, stepping under the gate.
“You will not escape,” Scar said, following me. He was inside the circle of flames, where the other lions refused to get near. They were scared of the flames. Scared of what happened in Ukigos so many years ago. It would buy us some time, but not much.
“I don’t plan on escaping,” I told him. “I plan on killing you.”
His snarling smile tugged on his leathery, worn skin. “Perhaps. But ours will be a battle for the ages.”
“No. I’m just going to kill you real quick.” But I wasn’t so sure. I blinked, nearly squeezing a tear out. You lost the fencing tournament. Now you’re going to face something far, far worse.
The gate closed. Scar watched a moment, then turned left, tilting his head.
The front gate.
“Move!” I shouted, turning back to the group. “Hurry! No brisk walking, only jogging and running! Run like you’re about to be eaten by giant lions!”
“You’ll all die!” Sorin screamed, grabbing my shoulder with one mangled hand and squeezing my still-healing cuts. I cried out. “You’ll all be destroyed by the master! He—”
Before I could even turn, his hand was wrenched away, followed by a loud thump. I turned, giving Briar a nod as he stepped off of Sorin’s unconscious body. He dusted himself off, hurrying to my side. “I thought we agreed on Now! as the signal for me to throw the torches,”
he whispered.
“I got caught up in the moment,” I said, smiling. “Come on!” I crossed the courtyard, meeting everyone at the rear entrance to the keep. “Everyone to the foyer!” I shouted. They took the entrance two at a time. To my surprise, no one was crying, not even a little bit. They’re in shock, Alice. This is something they should have never seen. There will be consequences for this.
“Hurry!” Chase said. He turned to me, worried, his face pale.
“Go,” I said in as calm a voice as I could manage. “I’m right behind you.”
I followed him and Seth and invisible Briar inside, pulling the door shut and turning the heavy iron lock. It wouldn’t hold long, but we didn’t need much time. Just enough for them to escape. But what about you, Alice? How are you going to escape?
At the foyer, Briar hurried ahead of me, opening the door to my bedroom and scurrying inside. The others watched the door open on its own, but if they were surprised their stoic faces didn’t show it. They huddled in a tight group, pale, sweating, eyes wide as if they’d just been born. In a way, they had been. This was an entirely new world now.
There will be consequences for this. They’ll never be able to undo what they’ve seen. If they live through the night.
If you live through the night.
“Stay here,” I told them. “Seth, make sure they stay. We need more torches.”
“For what?!” Magaret screamed.
“For the tunnel,” I answered, hurrying to my bedroom.
Inside, Briar had laid out six torches on my bed. Each one was made of a thick stick about three feet long, with a thin off-white strip of fabric wrapped tightly around the end. Fabric that had once been a bed sheet, I realized. “I couldn’t make any more,” he said. “It was too risky, sneaking around.”
“You did good, pal.” I glanced longingly at my suitcase. “I’m going to miss those clothes.”
Briar nervously clasped his paws together. “Perhaps later would be a better time to lament?”
“Right.” I crouched down, drawing a new sword in the floor. Not a steel saber, but a wooden sword with a thick circular blade that was pointed at the end. I pulled it from the ground, feeling its weight in my muscles. It was heavier than a saber. The hilt was long enough for both hands to grasp it, letting my left arm help with the heavy lifting.