Turning, Sky saw Cordelia running up.
“Cordelia? What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at the Finger of Erachnus with all the other hunters.”
“Malvidia sent some of us here to guard the perimeter in case any stragglers from Bedlam’s army come this way,” said Cordelia. “What are you doing here?”
"We need to find Nikola-the janitor," Sky replied, making an effort not to glance at Andrew. "Have you seen him?"
Cordelia furrowed her brow. "He left a short time ago, headed north. I tried to convince him to come back because it's not exactly safe up there, but he ignored me. Weird guy.
He kept muttering 'a kindness for a kindness,' and 'a bled for a but.' When he spouted off a limerick about urinal cakes, I sort of tuned out."
Sky's ears perked up. "Wait ... say that again."
"What? The limerick?" Cordelia asked, laughing. '"O' round puck that water seeps, not a cake that peoples eats, but sitting in the briny, nowhere near foul heinie, you make every scent so sweets!"'
Hands and T-Bone laughed, but Andrew only scowled. "Not the limerick-the other part," said Sky, worried that Andrew might think he was making fun of his dad. "The kindness for a kindness thing."
"'A kindness for a kindness, a bled for a but."'
"Abled for abut ... blade for tuba-it's an anagram," said Sky. "I helped him move the instruments ... a kindness. I think he wants to give me the blade for the tuba."
Sky cast his eyes around the field. On the far side, he spot ted Mr. Dibble and the marching band. Hannah and the other cheerleaders had formed a pyramid and were partially blocking his view. But as they dropped down, he saw his tuba case, sit ting in the honorary first-chair position.
"We need that tuba case." The ground trembled.
"What was that?" Cordelia asked fearfully.
"What we need is to get these people out of here!" said T-Bone. "Why haven't the hunters cleared the stadium?"
"Why would we? The battle's happening up north at the Finger,'' said Crenshaw as he approached from behind, along with Ren, Marcus, Alexis, and a few of Morton's hunters who Sky didn't know.
The others were dressed in dark clothes, ready to hunt, but Marcus was totally unprepared, as was apparent by his large furry hat and hangdog expression. Marcus was in the band with Sky, and it looked like Crenshaw had dragged him away against his will. Marcus played one of the few instruments that Sky considered worse than the tuba: the castanets.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Sky," Crenshaw continued. "'I'd heard Morton had a special surprise for you."
The ground shook again. The football fans screamed and stomped their feet on the bleachers, oblivious to the shaking.
"We don't have time for you to be an idiot, Crenshaw," said Sky. "You need to clear the stadium. Now."
"Wish we could, but Morton needs us at that manor of yours. He's ordered the hunters to retreat,'' said Crenshaw. "Hagos is trying to convince them to stay, but most-the smart ones, at least-are flying back to the Academy of Legend on the Moonriders. Exile will have to fend for itself."
"You're insane,'' said Sky. "You can't just leave Exile to Bedlam's army! What about your family?"
"My father's leaving, too,'' Crenshaw replied. "And my mother is dead. Even her body is gone now. It dropped through the east cemetery with all the others, thanks to you. There's nothing in Exile I care about." Crenshaw looked at Cordelia, his expression somewhere between anger and desperation. "Are you coming?"
"You've got to be kidding,'' Cordelia scoffed.
Crenshaw's expression darkened. "Fine. Maybe I'll just drag Sky to Morton. Bet you'll come then."
The Cross-Shocker slipped into Andrew's palm, and T-Bone and Hands tapped their crackling metal Shocker gloves together, leaving a trail of sparks. "Try it,'' T-Bone said, grinning as if he'd like nothing more.
"You're outnumbered," Crenshaw pointed out.
"And you're outsmarted," Hands retorted. "And out classed. And your ears are too small for your face. Don't they look small, Andrew?"
"They are disproportionately small," Andrew replied, nodding in agreement.
Crenshaw looked over their electrified weapons and suddenly scowled, as if he'd just realized exactly how big T-Bone was. "I don't have time for this. Come on."
Crenshaw turned and walked away. Morton's hunters fell in behind him, but Ren, Marcus, and Alexis stayed behind with Cordelia.
Crenshaw noticed they weren't following. He turned on them, and his expression grew even darker.
"Our families aren't leaving like yours," Marcus squeaked. "We can't run away to save ourselves while they die."
Crenshaw examined Ren, who shrugged. "Marcus is right. I won't leave my family, even if I don't like some of them very much."
T-Bone nodded approvingly, but Ren wouldn't look at him. "Fine," Crenshaw barked. "Stay and die. See if I care. I don't need any of you!"
With that, Crenshaw spun and walked away, taking more than half a dozen of Morton's hunters with him.
"What do you want us to do, Sky?" Ren asked.
Sky turned back to the bleachers, searching for a way to get these people out. A girl's voice came on over the sound system, narrating the play-by-play.
Before Sky could say anything, Hands took off, running up the bleachers. "Announcer's box-I'm on it!"
"We'll mess up the game!'' T-Bone offered. T-Bone and Andrew rushed onto the field.
Sky inspected Cordelia. "I hate to ask this since I know you're not Shadow Wargs anymore, but can you still jump through shadows?"
"You mean shadow slip?" Cordelia asked. She glanced at Ren, Marcus, and Alexis, who nodded back at her. "We can, but we're not supposed to. Malvidia said it could draw the attention of a Wargarou who might try to enslave us again."
"The nearest Wargarou is far underground," said Sky. "I think you'll be okay. I need you guys to stand back and watch. If it looks like anyone's about to get hurt, I want you to slip in and get them out. Can you do that?"
"Sure. But hurt by what, Sky?" Cordelia asked. "We've watched the perimeter-nothing's even close to here."
The crowd roared and Sky saw Tick running with the ball. A Quindlemore linebacker dove. Tick leaped over him and kept running for the distant end zone. The crowd was in a frenzy.
Sky put his hand on the ground and felt the rumblings.
Time was up.
"The stragglers from Bedlam's army aren't coming from out there," Sky said, pointing toward the woods. "They're coming from beneath."
The ground rumbled, shaking the bleachers. This time the crowd noticed, and an eerie silence began to settle.
As Tick reached the end zone, a giant hand burst out of the ground, stopping him a few yards short. Tick ripped off his helmet and started backing away.
From the corner of his eye, Sky saw Hannah racing across the field toward Tick, her long blond hair blowing in the wind.
"Hannah .. . ," Sky whispered fearfully.
Another hand appeared next to the first, and then an enormous Harrow Knight crawled out of the earth. Its skin was a mishmash of dirty flesh, copper, and rust, and it rose thirty feet into the air, towering over the goalpost. The Harrow Knight stood silently for a moment, looking over the stadium.
"Please ignore the giant monster in the end zone and kindly proceed to the exits in an orderly fashion," Sky heard Hands say over the loudspeakers, way too little, too late.
Someone screamed, and then the entire stadium erupted in chaos.
The Harrow Knight roared and burst into flames. Reaching down, it ripped the goalpost from the ground and swung it in a massive arc, sending football players flying everywhere. Tick flipped over the post and then dodged again as it swung back at him.
The Harrow Knight raised the goalpost over its head like a trident, with the tip pointed directly at Tick.
Sky found himself bolting across the field, screaming. The trident dropped.
Hannah bowled into Tick, knocking him out of the way. The edge of the go
alpost caught Tick on the side of the head as he fell, and sent him sprawling to the ground beside Hannah.
With a desperate cry, Hannah grabbed Tick and tried to drag him away. Tick wasn't moving.
The Harrow Knight drew back for another strike.
Hannah dropped Tick's arm and stepped in front of him, putting herself between Tick and the Harrow Knight. She stood bravely before that fiery terror, her hair blowing in the wind, her small fists clenched, her beautiful face raging. Sky had never seen her look so radiant and so terrible, and his heart broke at the sight as he screamed and screamed. She faced down that
Harrow Knight alone-small and fragile. Waiting to die.
There was a flurry of shadows and then the goalpost smashed into the ground and snapped at the tip. Sky dropped to his knees in anguish.
The Harrow Knight roared and flung the goalpost into the nearby bleachers. Sky saw another flurry of shadows and people started disappearing. Sky then realized that Cordelia, Reo, Marcus, and Alexis had done exactly what he'd asked them to.
He turned around just as Cordelia appeared with a wide-eyed Hannah and an unconscious Tick.
"Hannah!" Sky cried, wrapping her in his arms.
Hannah huffed, but hugged him back. "Now maybe you know how I feel when you go traipsing off after monsters."
"Please use only designated exits when leaving, as there is a giant flammable monster on the field," Hands said over the loudspeaker.
Tick groaned and Hannah dropped down next to him. "What happened?" Tick muttered.
"A monster hit you in the head with a goalpost," Hannah replied.
Sky glanced at Cordelia; she looked exhausted.
"It's not as easy as it looks," Cordelia said, breathing hard. "Can you get me to my tuba case?" Sky asked, pointing past the storming Harrow Knight to the bleachers near the opposite end zone, where dozens of kids in fuzzy hats ran for their lives.
Cordelia shook her head. "Ten yards is easy. Twenty is possible. But that's over a hundred yards-it's too far."
The ground rumbled. The Harrow Knight's fire died and wisps of smoke rose from his mottled coppery skin as it hardened. The Knight pounded the nearby bleachers, which were now empty thanks to Ren, Marcus, and Alexis.
"What's so important about the case, Sky?" Cordelia asked. T-Bone and Andrew came running up with most of the Arkhon Academy football team, including Squid and Lazy Eye. Several of the players had singed and blackened uniforms.
Sky surveyed the team, frowning, a bad and desperate idea forming in his head. "I think Alexander's shimmering blade is in my tuba case. If we get it, we can free Bedlam. This Harrow Knight is just the first of many. There are thousands of other monsters on their way-the hunters won't be enough to stop them, especially if most of Morton's hunters abandon us. But if we free Bedlam, he can stop this. This is his army. He's the only one who can."
Cordelia nodded. "Get me close."
"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," said Squid, "but if it helps, I think we can get you past the Harrow Knight and to that tuba case."
The other members of the football team nodded, their expressions grim. Sky hated to ask-it was going to be dangerous-and he knew from the vibrations coming through the earth that this one Harrow Knight was the least of their worries, but they needed that blade. It was the only way to save Crystal and Exile.
As if in answer to his thoughts, the ground rumbled again. And then, in the middle of the field, a single Gossymer appeared.
"That doesn't look so bad," Lazy Eye commented.
"Looks like a Quindlemore cheerleader to me," Squid quipped. "All legs and hair and hairy legs."
"Please ignore the giant spider in the center of the field," Hands announced over the loudspeaker. "Your panic will only cause it to burst into flames."
The screaming began anew and the Gossymer promptly burst into flames.
"He's got a bright future in announcing," Tick said groggily, staring up at the announcer's box. Several of the players nodded in agreement.
"Hands! Get down here, you idiot!" T-Bone yelled, sounding annoyed.
At that moment the Harrow Knight clawed up a chunk of earth and launched it at the announcer's booth. Hands jumped through the door as it hit, and the announcer's booth toppled off the bleachers. Hands brushed himself off, then hit his Jumpers and sailed over the rapidly thinning crowd. He crashed next to Sky in a wave of shimmering light and rolled to his feet. "Did I miss anything?"
A dozen more Gossymers crawled out of the ground with smaller, human-size Harrow Wights on their backs. The Gossymers sat silently near the center of the field as the Harrow Wight riders took in their surroundings.
Sky pulled out his Tin shield and flipped it open. Hands, T-Bone, and Andrew did the same. T-Bone threw them their cloaks and coats, and they put them on, tossing their nasty jerseys to the side. There was no point hiding anymore. Their new cloaks were resistant to fire and damage, like the Tins, and would serve them far better.
"You-give me your pads," said Hannah, pointing at one of the smaller football players.
"Me?" the player asked, looking confused.
"Hand them over," Hannah demanded. The player glanced around, shrugged, and then pulled off his helmet and shoulder pads. •
Tick struggled to sit up. "What are you doing?"
''I'm tired of watching from the sidelines," said Hannah, putting the shoulder pads over her shirt. "And you're in no condition to lead this team."
"What makes you think you can?" Tick asked.
"Oh, please," said Hannah, rolling her eyes. "For the last year all you've talked about is football. You three"-Hannah pointed at the player without pads and two others-"carry Tick and try to keep him from doing something stupid. You and you- tell Jasmine and Ermine to organize the cheer leaders and get these people into the school. The rest of you, line up! Double-wing, hard V formation on my mark. Spread offense at case. Option run to line. Hot route out. Got it?”
The players all grunted.
"I have no idea what you just said," Sky muttered.
"Just stay between me and Hands," said Hannah, pulling on her helmet. "You too, Cordelia."
Sky and Cordelia nodded dumbly. "Break!" Hannah yelled.
The line formed up in a sort of V-shape, with wings. T-Bone took his place at the tip of the V. Lazy Eye and Squid took positions next to Hannah, and the others fell in line. Sky found himself next to Cordelia, protected in the center of the wedge- the quarterback position-with Hannah to his left, Hands to his right, and Andrew directly behind him.
Hannah surveyed the field; more and more Gossymers burst from the earth with each passing minute and several were already rushing toward them.
"Red forty-two!" Hannah shouted. The line shifted to the right. "Hike!"
The line surged forward.
T-Bone barreled into the first fiery Gossymer with his shield while Squid and Lazy Eye tackled the legs. The Gossymer toppled to the side and the line rushed past. A coppery silk web shot from the downed Gossymer's spinnerets, enveloping one of the players, who fell to the field as it constricted around him.
Hands threw his Tin. It spun through the air and severed the thread before the Gossymer could reel in. Sky snatched up the Tin, folded the sides, and threw it back to Hands as Cordelia shadow slipped the player to safety, reappearing at Sky's side a moment later.
"What are those things?" Hannah called as they pushed forward.
"Gossymers!" Sky yelled back.
"As in Gossymer threads? As in the threads that wiped Derek's memory and took his beautiful eyebrows away from me?" Hannah cried as they ran.
Sky nodded.
"Yellow ninety-six! Black thirteen!" Hannah yelled.
Sky waited for the line to adjust position, but nothing happened.
"What did you tell them?" Sky asked.
"I told them not to eat the Gossymer threads because they're the thing that took Derek's luscious golden eyebrows away from me!" Hannah replied.
"T
hey had a code for that?" Sky asked in surprise.
"Not really," Hannah replied. "It means something more like 'Don't eat the food of your enemies'- they had an incident last year."
Sky snorted.
"Red forty-seven!" Hannah yelled.
The line veered left and closed around them.
Ahead, Sky saw nearly a dozen Gossymers headed their way with Harrow Wights on their backs. Beyond the end zone, he could see Ren, Marcus, and Alexis leading the giant Harrow Knight away from the crowds. And still in the bleachers, sitting patiently, he could see his broken tuba's bright white case.
The Legend Thief Page 25