"The bowling alley again, huh? Well, I guess it's a start; we know the Marrowick was there, after all, and it didn't have any thing with it when it left," T-Bone stated grudgingly, apparently wishing, as Sky did, that they had more to go on.
Sky couldn't imagine why the Marrowick would have the blade or why it would leave it at the bowling alley for Ursula, but clearly the Marrowick was wrapped up in all this somehow.
He tapped his finger against the table as he considered their options. "All right," he said finally, "it sounds like the bowling alley is our best lead to finding the blade. How about if we meet there in an hour?"
"An hour? Why not just go there now?" T-Bone asked.
Sky hesitated , not wanting to tell them about his promise to help Nikola out of fear they wouldn't understand. "I've got something to do-nothing important; just personal stuff. Besides, it'll take an hour to retrieve our gear and gather Crystal and Andrew; you two don't need me for that anyway."
T-Bone nodded slowly, his eyes full of suspicion. "Okay ...we'll meet you in the sewer near the bowling alley in an hour, then."
"Good," said Sky. 'The blade is the strongest piece on the board right now. Whoever controls it controls Exile's future, for better or worse. We have to find it before Morton and Bedlam."
Chapter 17: Tryouts of Doom
The sensation of falling is not unlike that of climbing, only in the opposite direction and with a much more disappointing end.
As Sky watched Felicity Anne Finley tumble toward the earth, he couldn't help but contemplate the strange complexities of girls and gravitational forces.
Last year Felicity had just been a girl trying to help him recover his pocket watch, using a kiss as a distraction. But now she was something else ... something horrible . . .
"Nice dismount, Felicity! Keep those elbows tucked!" yelled Hannah as she and another cheerleader caught Felicity in their arms and set her on the ground.
Sky sighed. A cheerleader. Honestly.
"Trying out for the team?" asked a voice behind him as he lugged a saxophone up the bleachers.
Turning, he found Chase Shroud standing at the bottom of the steps, eating a large, soggy sausage.
Do I look like I’m trying out?’ Sky snapped. “Besides, tryouts were two months ago.”
“Ah, but there’s always room for talent,” said Chase taking a big bite of sausage. “Sorry, I’m being rude,” Chase continued, mouth full. “Care for a bite?” Chase held out the sausage, offering it to Sky.
“No. Thanks,” said Sky, watching streams of grease drip past the rain-soaked bun and onto the bleachers. "You realize your sausage is getting wet, right? From the rain?"
“If we waited for the rain to stop in England, we'd never eat sausage." Chase took another big bite and smiled through the resulting mustard-stache. "You're not still sore I trounced you this morning, are you?"
"No-should I be?" Sky headed back down the steps toward Nikola's instrument-filled shopping cart. They'd had to make a few trips, and it wasn't the smoothest ride, but it'd helped. He glanced around until he spotted Nikola carefully rearranging the instruments into geometric patterns, and completely messing up Mr. Dibble's seating arrangement. Sky sighed. He'd have to fix it. Again.
He'd tried to strike up a conversation with Nikola several times, to thank him for what he'd done, but Nikola hadn't said a word.
At least he wasn't on the field with Andrew and his step whatever, Jasmine and Ermine. Hannah had apparently let slip that Andrew was at the manor with Crystal, and Jasmine and Ermine had swooped in and snatched him up to do their dirty work, threatening to tell their mother that he was playing hooky if he didn't do everything they told him to. Andrew held their pom-poms while they formed a human pyramid with the other cheerleaders and bossed him around with fake Shakespeare lines-evidently their required reading for English class.
"Drop the pom and pom once more, dear friend, and to the breach with you and your dumb head!" yelled Jasmine as Andrew dropped a pom-pom.
"Up and up you go and with breaking chords, you fall with whole discord and bottom breaks!" Ermine chirped as several cheerleaders tackled Andrew and started hoisting him to the top of the pyramid against his will.
"That's horrible! It doesn't even make sense!" Andrew exclaimed, struggling to break free. "Wait, was that a flatulence joke?"
Sky just shook his head. He felt bad for Andrew, but he couldn't help him at the moment, not until he was finished. Then they could make good their escape and meet up with the others in the sewer near the bowling alley.
"Sure you wouldn't like a bite?" Chase offered again.
"No. Really. I'd better not," said Sky, watching in disgust as Chase took another huge bite.
"Suit yourself," said Chase, shrugging, his mouth full of food. "Nothing like a good hanger."
''I'll take your word for it," said Sky. "Where did you get that anyway?"
"Made it," said Chase. "In London we slaughter our own sheep."
"Really?"
"Just taking the mick, mate," Chase replied.
"Oh. Right." Sky had no idea if that was. good or bad. "Did you want something, Chase, or did you just come to lie to me some more?" he said, lugging up another instrument.
"Morton asked me to keep you company."
"You mean he wants you to watch me in case I find the blade," Sky retorted.
Chase grinned. "Sure you wouldn't care for a bite?"
Someone screamed on the field-a wild, feral sound.
Sky jerked his head around expecting some horror to come crawling out of the earth. Instead, he saw the football coach, Coach Blackburn, waving his clipboard and screaming at the top of his lungs as he followed Tick across the field. Tick looked exhausted and fed up with practice.
Squid and Lazy Eye, looking perplexed, followed a few steps behind the coach.
"Well," said Chase, "this looks interesting. You know, I've always secretly fancied American football."
Coach Blackburn stopped midfield and threw down his clipboard. Tick kept walking, removing his pads as he marched toward the cheerleading mats.
Sky smiled. It seemed like small pleasures were the only pleasures he got these days. He'd learned to take advantage of them whenever he could, and this particular pleasure, however small, was going to be very pleasurable indeed.
Hannah glanced up, noticing Tick for the first time, a look of absolute dismay crossing her face. Tick stopped in front of Hannah, and the cheerleading squad went silent.
Hannah held her breath.
''I'm here to try ou- "
"No!" Hannah shouted, cutting him off. "Tryouts ended two months ago!"
"Come on, let him try," said Felicity, coming to Tick's defense.
"It's not like you didn't get your own special tryout last year." "The siren's lips call truthful sounds ashore," said Jasmine, smirking.
"I-" Hannah started, but Tick turned away, jaw set, and walked toward Jasmine and Ermine, who tittered as he approached.
"I was just joking in the hall!" Hannah cried . ''I'm sure quarterback's a very challenging position! Why don't you go back to it? This isn't putting you in my good graces!"
Tick grabbed Jasmine and raised her above his head. Jasmine balanced on his hands on one leg, holding the other leg out.
"Well, that's fine and all but-" Hannah began.
Tick launched Jasmine into the air. She flew upward, kicking out in splits before landing in Tick's outstretched arms. Jasmine put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, but Tick had eyes only for Hannah.
Sky might have been seeing things, but he could have sworn Hannah's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink.
"That's impressive, but-"
Tick set Jasmine down, nearly dropping her. She stumbled to her feet, glaring, but Tick had already started backing away to the far side of the mat. He took a breath and then started running. He planted his hands, becoming a blur of spins and flips, twists and turns-a symphony of incomprehensible motion-coming t
o a perfect stop in front of Hannah, his chest heaving.
"I-"
Before Hannah could finish, Lazy Eye and Squid tackled Tick and dragged him back across the field, gathering his pads as they went. Tick kicked and screamed about wanting to be a cheerleader-clearly he had snapped-but Squid and Lazy Eye didn't let go.
Hannah watched silently as Coach Blackburn berated Tick and Tick yelled back, refusing to play tonight unless the coach called off practice and let them rest. Tick threatened to go back to the cheerleaders again. Coach Blackburn finally relented, and the players headed for the showers.
As the last player left the field, Hannah turned back to the cheerleaders, most of whom were smirking at her. "Practice is over!" she yelled.
Sky smiled. Small pleasures.
"That's quite a show," said Chase, finishing off his sausage. "I think your friend's given you the slip."
Sky glanced down and saw Andrew still on the field.
"Not him, the other guy," said Chase, pointing at the instruments.
Nikola was gone.
And he had taken Sky's tuba.
Chapter 18: Friends of Mystery
T-Bone lifted Sky up so he could see through the sewer gate. Rain runoff streamed through, splashing them both, but Sky had a clear view of the back of the bowling alley.
"They've got it taped off- crime scene," Sky said. "Looks like a new back door, too." Sky could hear music thumping. "Sounds like they're open. Okay. Set me back down."
T-Bone lowered Sky.
Sky brushed water from his clothes. It'd taken him a while to unload the rest of the instruments and get rid of Chase, and still more time to get here with Andrew. He'd never found Nikola, though at one point, he'd caught a glimpse of him heading north with his checkered blanket and Sky's stolen tuba. By the time Sky reached the spot, Nikola .had disappeared, leaving absolutely no sign of his passing. He hoped Nikola wasn't doing anything unseemly with his tuba, such as using it to bake urinal cakes.
"Back door's not an option," said Sky. "Any other ideas?" Nobody said anything.
"Well, we have to get in there," said Crystal. "If we can't use the back door, maybe we should go through the front." "Andrew and I can go in; we're not suited up yet," said Sky. "No good," said Hands. "Andrew comes here too often for disco night."
''I'm a jive machine," said Andrew, grinning.
"It's true," said Hands. "Andrew can groove like nobody's business and still hit the pins. He'd be recognized, as would I if something happens in there, we don't want it traced back to us."
Crystal looked thoughtful. "All right, Sky will come with me. You three wait here. Andrew, get suited up. If anything happens, come in and get us. The note warned of Harrow Wrights. I don't expect anything would attack us with people around, but you never know."
While Andrew suited up and Crystal suited down, Sky sifted through the duffel bag that held his gear. In the bottom, he found three poorly wrapped presents. He pulled the top one out and shook it. "What's this?"
T-Bone glanced over. "Presents. We're not singing."
''I'll sing," Hands offered.
"We're not singing," T-Bone stated again.
Sky shook the first one. "A scarf?" he guessed.
"Open it," said T-Bone. "It's from all of us-Beau, too. We couldn't have done it without his mad metallurgy skills."
Sky opened it. Inside, he found a large circular mint tin. "Is this a hint or something?"
T-Bone took the mint tin and slid his hand through a small metal handle welded to the bottom. He squeezed the handle and the lid flipped open. A piece of material exploded out and unfolded in the blink of an eye, locking into a pearl-tinted transparent shield about four feet across.
"Ah . .. very nice," Sky lied. "A cloth shield. Very useful."
T-Bone smiled. "Andrew, the matches please."
"Of course, oh bossy one," said Andrew, pulling a match book from his pocket and lighting a match. He held it next to the smoky, transparent material and put his hand on the material opposite the match.
"Impervious to fire." Hands threw a rock and T-Bone deflected it effortlessly. "Impervious to damage." T-Bone pivoted and threw the shield like a frisbee. It shot into the stone wall of the sewer, sinking to the tin. "And very, very sharp."
'That seems dangerous," said Sky, looking at the sharp edges and imagining himself with a missing head.
"It is," said T-Bone as he ripped the tin out of the sewer wall. "Push the handle here with your thumb and it'll fold the edges a bit-take off the sting."
T-Bone squeezed the grip and the shield collapsed back into the mint tin, the lid flapping shut behind it. "After that, lock it up. We call it the Tin."' He twisted the handle and popped it off. Then he tossed both the Tin and the handle to Sky.
"We wouldn't want anyone chopping their fingers off," said T-Bone, grinning. "We've been working on this for months, but that letter you found warned of Harrow Wights nearby. Hands and I did some research-those things burst into flame. We figured it was best to get you the Tin now. There's also a new cloak waiting for you when you get back. We wove in some of the same materials we used on the Tins, so it's now resistant to fire and damage as well-not impervious, like the Tins, but much better than they were."
"Er ... thanks," said Sky, impressed. "Much cooler than a cloth shield."
"Wait until you see mine," said Hands, tossing Sky the next present.
Sky caught it with as much trepidation as he'd caught the decapitating shield.
"This one's just from Hands," Crystal clarified. T-Bone and Andrew nodded vigorously.
When the present didn't explode, Sky opened it. Inside, he found two oven mitts embroidered with characters from Hands’ favorite book series: Embrace of the Vampire. "Er ... let me guess .. . These are loaded with sleeping darts that shoot through the fingertips?"
"No. But that's a good idea," said Hands. "Those are oven mitts. They're for taking hot things out of ovens. For baking cakes and stuff."
"Ah, okay ... ,"said Sky, "thanks."
"No prob," said Hands, smirking at some joke Sky couldn't begin to fathom.
"You've got some serious issues to work through, Hands, you know that?" said T-Bone, shaking his head.
Hands laughed.
Sky tossed the oven mitts in the bag and started to open the last present.
"This one's from me," said Crystal. "Sort of."
Sky ripped off the last bit of paper and found one of Uncle
Phineas’ old coats.
"T-Bone and Hands mentioned your Valentine's Day shirt," said Crystal, smirking. "Thought you could use a coat to hide those pretty pink hearts. Plus, it's kind of cold out and the coat has lots of pockets for your stuff. I found this one in an old bedroom at the manor. Good enough, you think?"
"I could kiss you right now ... ," said Sky, staring at the coat.
''I'd rather you not," Crystal stated flatly.
Sky glanced up. "What? Oh ... I was talking to the coat." Crystal frowned.
"Not that I wouldn't!" Sky hurriedly added.
Crystal's frown deepened.
T-Bone and Hands laughed. Andrew looked at the ceiling. "I mean ... you know . .. or would," Sky stumbled. "But, that is to say, I'm very appreciative and-"
"Are you done yet?" Crystal cut in.
"Very," said Sky.
"Good. Let's go, then," Crystal snapped.
Sky put on the coat and shoved a few canisters of Fog and Jumper fuel into his pockets. Crystal had apparently spent part of the day, when she wasn't watching over her mom, refilling and repairing their equipment, because the canisters were full.
Crystal and Sky exited the sewers and made their way around to the front. Sky pushed on the door and found it locked.
They peeked through the windows. The lights were on, music was playing, and they could see people moving around inside.
"That's weird," said Crystal. Sky tapped on the glass.
The door cracked open and a woman poked her head out.
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