The Legend Thief

by The Legend Thief (mobi)

  "Interesting," said Morton, still smiling. "Though I suspect my objectives are no longer compatible with Bedlam's, and I can see many reasons not to save Exile. Out of curiosity, what's to stop me from simply killing you and taking the blade once you have it?"

  "You can bury me, but you can't make me take the blade if it somehow appears," said Sky. "I want a promise- on your sword-that you'll do what I've asked, or I won't touch the blade. And if I don't touch it, I don't own it, which means if you kill me, you still won't own it."

  Sky knew he was taking a huge risk, but this was the best he could ask for. In the stories, hunters who swore on their blades always kept their word. He could only hope Morton would do the same.

  Morton considered. "You are a confusing little boy. Very well. I swear on my sword that should you recover the blade, and should it shimmer, and should you give it to me freely and wholeheartedly, I will order my hunters to defend Exile and I will free Bedlam. Is that satisfactory?"

  Sky examined Morton's words, looking for a trap. "And you will stay yourself," he added.

  Morton's grin fell a little. "As you say-I will stay as well. Good enough?"

  Sky nodded.

  "Excellent!" Morton exclaimed. "Chase, if you'd do the honors?"

  Chase opened the coffin lid. He stared inside, looking perplexed.

  Sky stepped forward and saw a checkered picnic blanket and his tuba, minus the case, sitting in the coffin.

  "It's a tuba," Chase muttered.

  "Excuse me?" Morton moved closer, followed by Solange. "It iz ze tuba," Solange confirmed.

  Morton picked up the tuba while Solange grabbed the picnic blanket, sniffing it.

  "Zis blanket smellz of nacho cheese." Solange stared at the blanket in disgust.

  Morton inspected the tuba and then played a few notes. "It is indeed a tuba."

  Chase raised his eyebrows questioningly at Sky. Sky shook his head-he had no idea why these things were here. Obviously Nikola had put them here since the picnic blanket belonged to him and he had stolen Sky's tuba earlier. But why, and where was the tuba case? Was some part of Nikola's jumbled brain trying to tell him something?

  "Let us get on wiz zis-ze Moonriders are waiting," said Solange. "And zis town is for ze birds."

  "Yes ... well," said Morton, tossing the tuba to the side. Sky cringed. He hated the tuba, but that was his tuba. Solange threw the blanket on a pile of dirt.

  The coffin was now empty.

  "In you go!" said Morton cheerfully.

  Sky took a deep breath and ... and .. . He couldn't do it. He stared into that cramped space; he imagined the earth surrounding him. "I ... I can't."

  "Oh, come now!" said Morton. "It'll only be for a few minutes, then we'll have you right back up. The Porp-a-lorps are highly accomplished diggers."

  Sky looked at Chase, who gave a slight nod of his head, promising Sky that he would be all right. Sky took a deep breath and climbed into the coffin.

  The coffin bumped against the walls as they lowered him into the earth. He closed his eyes. Breathe. Breathe.

  He heard dirt raining down on the lid and the sounds of the hundreds of firefly like Porp-a-lorps zooming past, pushing the dirt onto the coffin.

  A few minutes.

  A few minutes more.

  Porp-a-lorps thumped into the coffin, shaking it. Morton opened the lid. "See? That wasn't so bad?"

  Sky sat up, gasping for air. Morton stood next to the coffin, but they were still in the hole-they hadn't pulled him out yet. And that made Sky nervous.

  The smile on Morton's mouth fell away. "Where is the blade?"

  "Nothing happened," said Sky.

  "Are you certain?"

  "Positive," Sky replied. Over Morton's shoulder, he could see Chase staring down into the pit, looking worried. There was no sign of Solange.

  "A pity," said Morton. "Perhaps if we gave it more time?''

  ''I'm not going back in there!" Sky declared. He started to rise, but Morton put his cane across Sky's chest, stopping him. "Hmm ... that does create a dilemma," said Morton. "I can't have you running off, and you don't seem inclined to help me. You wouldn't consider telling me how to open the prison, would you? I've used the keys before, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to make them work on the prison."

  Sky shook his head. "I don't know. I've only closed it, never opened it."

  Morton sighed. "I suppose I'll have to figure it out on my own, then. You realize, of course, that our deal is off. Without the blade, I can't exactly free Bedlam and save Exile, now can I? It's too bad. I'd hoped to make a present of Alexander's blade to Solomon to replace the one he lost when they trapped Bedlam, but seeing as how we can't find it, Solomon will have to make do without for the time being. Really, I should've taken it with me when I had the chance."

  Sky stared at Morton. "You killed Alexander."

  "Most certainly," Morton replied. "I stabbed him through the neck with his own blade. But the blade never shimmered for me, I'm afraid, or I never would've left it behind. I thought it was worthless. For the life of me, I've never understood why it didn't work. I was its rightful owner. I even set aside my own blade for it so I could make the new connection, and still it rejected me. It was very frustrating."

  "But why did you kill Alexander? You told me you and Phineas were friends once, and yet you murdered his son!" Sky said accusingly.

  "Oh, many reasons," said Morton. "A grudge against his father. Personality differences. But mostly it was revenge for killing Solomon."

  "But Alexander didn't kill Solomon," Sky pointed out.

  "Solomon became the Arkhon."

  "Yes, I realize that now. It's an unfortunate situation. When Alexander returned alone after their hunt of the Arkhon, I con­ fronted him. He told me that Solomon had died a hero, but his story was full of holes and he refused to give me details. But I knew Alexander and, at the time, I believed his cowardice had cost Solomon his life. My greatest apprentice, my son, dead because of a cowardly boy who was like a brother to him! I found Alexander in his study, and I stabbed him with his own blade."

  "And you're calling him a coward?" Sky prodded. "I still don't get why you used his Slippery Wick Brew to imitate him."

  Morton stared at Sky as if he were crazy. "I did no such thing."

  "But there were reports that Alexander was seen leaving his office a short time before his body was found," said Sky, feeling like he was missing something.

  Morton waved his hand dismissively. "Rubbish."

  He lifted his cane from Sky's chest and Sky sighed in relief. He had honestly thought that Morton intended to bury him again.

  "Well, we'd best be off," Morton chirped.

  Sky started to climb out, but Morton's cane swung back into place, stopping him. "Not you."

  With a quick thrust, Morton pushed Sky back down into the coffin and closed the lid.

  Sky pounded on it as dirt rained down once again and Porp-a-lorps zoomed past.

  "Chase! CHASE!" Sky screamed. "You can't let him do this! CHASE!"

  Sky heard Morton's voice growing softer and softer with each clump of falling dirt. "This is for your own good, Sky-a punishment to remind you that I am your master now. We'll return for you right after we release Solomon; I'm sure he'll be terribly happy to see you. It's better this way, really. You'll see. Until then, try to stay alive."

  Sky fought to get out of the coffin, but it was no use.

  He felt a vibration coming through the wood- Earthspeak. His Hunter's Mark surged with light, and he heard Chase say, "I'll be back for you, Sky. I promise."

  But the words that started in Chase's voice ended in Errand's. And then Sky knew for certain. Chase and Errand were one and the same.

  "Don't leave me, Errand!" Sky shouted back through the earth. "Don't leave me!"

  "I promise I'll return," Errand said one last time. "As soon as I can."

  Sky screamed, pounding against the lid.

  "Get me out of here! Get me out!
Errand! ERRAND!"

  Chapter 24: A Gift Freely Given

  Sky closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly. It would have been much easier to calm down if that person would stop screaming. Sky realized he was the one screaming, so he closed his mouth.

  “All right…all right, just stay calm,” said Sky to the confining darkness.

  He took a deep breath.

  “Just… be… calm.” Sky took another deep breath.

  Then he lashed out, pounding at the coffin with his legs and fists.

  “Get me out of here! Get me out! Get me out—”

  The coffin dropped a foot and Sky stopped freaking out. He could hear something slithering through the dirt above and below, and then to the sides, wrapping around the coffin.

  "Hello?" Sky whispered.

  The coffin fell again, and this time it didn't stop. It plummeted down and down. Sky started screaming in earnest.

  Something thumped into the coffin's sides, wrapping around, enfolding him in a very dangerous hammock. Sky heard crackling and popping, and then he jerked to a stop. Whatever was outside began to constrict.

  The coffin cracked and a trickle of dirt fell into Sky's mouth.

  He spit it out. "Give me a minute here!"

  The crackling of the pine box grew louder.

  Sky pulled out one of the erfskin cookies Phineas had given him. He stared at it, feeling almost as frightened of the cookie as he was of whatever was outside the coffin. Phineas had said the cookie would give him the strength and resilience of a Gnomon. It was also made with baking fungus and had been regurgitated by a Gnomon. Only imminent threat of death could make him eat this cookie. He closed his eyes and took a tiny nibble....

  His eyelids flipped back open: It was better than he had expected.

  As he swallowed that tiny bit, he could breathe more easily. He felt his pores open to an alarming degree, and air rushed in, making him light-headed. His skin seemed to harden and his muscles tightened.

  "Whoa ... nice."

  He shoved the rest of the cookie back into his pocket with the others, fearing to eat too much, unsure of the side effects. They wouldn't be too dangerous, or Phineas wouldn't have given him the cookies. But Phineas had a weird sense of humor; he might find it funny to see Sky with a terrible rash for a week or an extra ear growing out of his forehead. Character building, Phineas would call it.

  Sky didn't know how long the erfskin cookie's effects would last, but he could always take another nibble if he needed it. Then, experimenting, he pushed at the sides of the coffin with his newfound strength, and they cracked.

  A tree root immediately rushed through the crack, slithered across his chest, and slipped out the other side. Then it constricted and started crushing him. Hundreds of maggots-some the size of his fist-crept through the opening and crawled over his body, and Sky remembered the warning outside the Grove about maggots. He gagged as the creatures coated him in slime.

  "Bad .. . idea .. . ," Sky wheezed, struggling to breathe through the root's crushing pressure.

  He put his Hunter's Mark against the root to see if he could talk to the tree above. Any tree smart enough to know he was trespassing had to be smart enough to stop crushing him. "Please . . . stop...." He felt his Hunter's Mark warm, and light spilled out. The root began to let up.

  He took a deep breath.

  And then, on the lid, in the light of his Hunter's Mark, the words changed. Instead of "With Hunter's Mark the buried dead shall shimmering blade hold in my stead," he read, "Place Hunter's Mark here to live."

  Sky shoved his glowing mark to the spot, and the root on his chest began to tighten again.

  More words appeared:

  I GIVE YOU THE GIFT,

  OF THE SHIMMERING BLADE,

  THOUGH NOT IN MY HANDS,

  AND TAKEN AWAY.

  I GIVE IT FREELY,

  COMPLETELY,

  AND WITH MY WHOLE HEART.

  THE BLADE IS NOW YOURS,

  YOUR GIFT TO IMPART.

  SINCERELY,

  ALEXANDER DRAKE

  P.S. IF YOU'RE DESPERATE ENOUGH TO BURY YOURSELF FOR THE BLADE, YOU DESERVE IT.

  P.P.S. IF YOU'RE SOLOMON ROSE, I TAKE IT ALL BACK.

  Sky felt a warm sensation flow through him, the light got brighter, and then the words disappeared completely. Sky waited for the blade to drop through the earth or something, but there was nothing more. What in the world? ...

  The root on his chest constricted, growing tighter and tighter, and this time it wouldn't let go when he asked it to. Maggots crawled all over him, and he could feel them gnawing at his hardened skin.

  Sky punched the pine box again and again, shattering it to pieces. Dirt cascaded in around him. He gulped in air and forced the root from his chest. He clawed at the earth, pushing his way up. Maggots clung to him. Roots lashed at him.

  Sky held his breath, struggling, until he inhaled and dirt filled his lungs. He stopped breathing. His skin leeched air from the dirt, and he kept driving upward. A root caught his ankle and dragged him back down. Sky jerked his leg, snapping the root.

  His fingers broke through the surface. Grabbing hold, he yanked himself up, clawing and scraping. His head popped out. His chest. His hips. Finally he tumbled out of the earth, flopped to his back, and knocked the maggots from his body.

  Sky rolled to his knees, spitting out dirt. He barfed and coughed until there was nothing left, until his lungs and stomach were empty. He inhaled deeply, savoring the sweet air.

  He sat that way for a time, breathing, until his trembling subsided and the terror left him. He felt his skin return to nor­ mal, and the Gnomon-like strength disappeared as the nibble of erfskin cookie wore off.

  Noticing his tuba nearby, he crawled over and set it on his lap. It was badly dented and several of the valves had broken off. He put it to his mouth and blew out a sad-sounding note.

  Based on the strange message, Sky now felt certain that he owned Alexander's blade. He could use it to free Bedlam, if he ever found it. But the only person who could have given him the blade was Alexander's killer and-based on the message­ Alexander's killer was none other than Alexander himself, which didn't make any sense at all.

  Whatever the case, it didn't matter anymore; he now owned the blade, which took him one step closer to saving Crystal, and he didn't have time to ponder four-hundred-year-old riddles. Right now only one thing mattered: finding the blade.

  Glancing up, he saw T-Bone, Hands, and Andrew running toward him.

  "Sky! Are you okay? What happened?" T-Bone exclaimed as they ran up.

  "Crystal ... is she alive?" Sky asked, climbing to his feet, fearing he was already too late.

  "When we left, she was," Hands replied. "Winston-or I should say, Phineas-and your mom are keeping her alive, but it's a close thing."

  "How did you find me?" Sky asked. He started walking through the monuments toward the Grove, staring up at the sky, watching.

  "Phineas told us where you were," said Andrew. "Phineas? How did he know?" Sky asked.

  "Errand appeared in his head, or something," Hands replied. "Told him Morton was finally on his way to free Solomon and that they'd buried you. Phineas is setting up defenses around the manor, but Malvidia dragged Beau and your dad down to the Finger of Erachnus. She's grabbing every hunter and former hunter she can find to fight off Bedlam's army. It's not looking hopeful."

  "That about sums it up," said Sky.

  "Sky, what's going on?" T-Bone asked, sounding frustrated. "Because I'm utterly confused. How is Errand back? Where has he been?"

  "Errand's posing as Chase Shroud," Sky replied. "From what I understand, he and Phineas have been spying on the Hunters of Legend and Bedlam for the last year, trying to 'steer events,' as Phineas put it. I don't know the full story, but it appears that they're the ones who manipulated the hunters into coming here in the hopes of stopping Bedlam's army-a backup plan that's likely to fail, by the sounds of it, but might buy us some time."

&nb
sp; "So Phineas and Errand are behind the hunt on you?" Hands asked.

  "''m not sure about that," Sky said hesitantly, hoping it wasn't true; he couldn't see Phineas doing that, but Errand ... "Morton hates Exile. He would love to see it burn to the ground. Once Bedlam's army started marching, I think Errand must've leaked information about Solomon and the blade as a way to lure Morton here. As Solomon's former apprentice, Errand is the only one besides Solomon who could've known about the link between Alexander's blade and Bedlam's Chrysalis-a link that's not mentioned in any of the stories."