They passed the fifty-yard line and rammed into the Gossymers, entering a terrifying gauntlet of fire, hairy legs, webs, and exploding earth.
T-Bone knocked the legs out from under one. The Harrow Wight swung a flaming sword at him and he batted it to the side. T-Bone threw his shoulder into the Gossymer and knocked the beast and rider to the ground.
Sky fired his Pounder over and over, drenching the Gossymers and Harrow Wights in ICE and snuffing out their flames while the football team blocked and tackled, getting scorched. Andrew shot a Gossymer with his Cross-Shocker. The prongs sank into the Gossymer's body and it darted away, dragging Andrew behind it as he frantically tried to hit the release. Sky sprang onto Andrew's back as he passed by and slammed the release, then they were on their feet and running.
They pushed through to the forty, the thirty-five. Players fell everywhere Sky looked and Cordelia flashed around, struggling to get them back within the safety of the V formation. A Gossymer and its rider shot out of the ground directly beneath Sky, sending him tumbling.
The Gossymer stepped over him, and giant pincers dropped, clacking and snapping. Sky brought his Tin up and smacked the pincers away, but the Gossymer twisted, caught the Tin, and flipped it from Sky's grasp. Hands leaped onto the Gossymer and knocked the Harrow Wight off. Then he dug his heels in and they shot forward, over the top of Sky, and rammed another Gossymer that had pinned Squid.
From his back, Sky shot the Gossymer Hands was riding with his Pounder before it could burst into flames and fry Hands. Other players got the same idea and began commandeering Gossymers.
Hannah and Cordelia grabbed Sky and dragged him to his feet. Sky scooped up his Tin and they raced up the bleachers. There was a groaning sound. Metal buckled, and then a Harrow Knight erupted through the seats in front of them.
Cordelia grabbed Sky and Hannah and shadow slipped from seat to seat, dodging through a shower of padded cushions and mangled metal as the bleachers collapsed. Sky's stomach lurched with each jump, and his mind spun. It felt so much like edgewalking that he kept checking to make sure he hadn't left his body behind. They made a final jump, landing near the tuba case.
The Harrow Knight turned around to face them. It raised its hand and a molten copper ball the size of a car began to form.
Sky snatched up the case and they slipped away again as the fiery ball burned through the bleachers where they'd been standing.
Another jump and they were back on the field.
Cordelia collapsed.
"What's wrong with her?" Hannah asked, dropping down to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"She's exhausted-that last jump was too far!"
Hannah ,scooped up Cordelia in a fireman's carry, but before they could get away, a Gossymer stepped in front of them, blocking their path. Hands peeked around the Gossymer's giant head. "Need a ride?"
Sky looked over and saw the football team nearby, struggling toward the end zone and the school beyond. Squid and Lazy Eye, also on Gossymers, like Hands, covered their retreat along with T-Bone, Andrew, and a few players who weren't injured or carrying the injured.
"Yes!" Hannah declared. "We need a ride!"
Hands helped her put Cordelia on the back of the Gossymer, where it was wider, and then she climbed up behind Hands and grabbed ahold of his waist, a detail that seemed to please Hands immensely.
Sky jumped up next to Cordelia and held on to her and the case as the Gossymer darted forward. As they raced to rejoin the football team, dodging through the legs of Harrow Knights and leaping over other Gossymers, Sky reached out with his senses, searching. He called out to the Darkhorn. They had the shimmering blade; it was time to find Bedlam's body. And to do that, he needed the Gnomon, who were, he hoped, at the Finger of Erachnus, where they had led most of Bedlam's army.
Sky and the others caught up to the football team, and the Darkhorn flashed past overhead. Quindlemore's football team emerged from the school ahead, along with all the cheerleaders, and rushed toward the, reinforcing their line and helping with the wounded. Among the cheerleaders, Sky spotted Felicity the girl he'd kissed last year-and his stomach did a little flip.
"T-Bone, Andrew! Come on!" Sky yelled. He turned to Hannah. "I-"
"Have to go," Hannah cut in. "I know. I'll hold them off as long as I can, and I'll take care of Cordelia."
Sky nodded, and a quiet understanding passed between them. Hannah smiled sadly, a tear running down her cheek. "I understand why you have to do this, Sky. I really do. I'm beginning to suspect that you might not be the only one caught up in Phineas’ legacy. I just wish I could keep you safe."
Sky smiled back at her, his smile every bit as sad. "No one can keep me safe-there are no safe places left for me. I'm not sure there ever have been. But Phineas taught me how to think and how to survive. And you and Mom and Dad have loved me, even if you don't know what I am. That's got to count for something. Besides, safety is for prey- I'm a hunter. It's others who need safety from me."
Several more Harrow Knights burst from the ground behind them, joining the growing army of Harrow Wights and Gossymers driving them toward Arkhon Academy. The army dropped back slightly, waiting for the Harrow Knights to take the lead, as the Darkhorn circled above.
Sky hugged Hannah and then slid down from the Gossymer. "Hey, I'm not safe, either," Hands complained.
Hannah laughed. "Hasn't Sky warned you about me, Hands?" Hannah cocked an eyebrow and Hands gulped. Then she leaned forward as if she was going to kiss him. With a quick shove, she launched him from the Gossymer. She smiled down at him. "I've got enough boy problems already. Come back when you get bigger eyebrows." She dug her heels into the Gossymer, driving it forward again. "And keep my brother alive!"
The Darkhorn landed directly in front of Sky as T-Bone and Andrew arrived.
The players passed by, staring in wonder at the glorious light and the' beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared. The line started to break. The woman licked her lips.
"Stop that!" Sky ordered. The woman scowled at him, and the illusion disappeared.
The Harrow Knights bellowed and the Darkhorn reared back, issuing a challenge. Bedlam's army started to charge. Sky hit his Jumpers and leaped onto the Darkhorn's back, followed by T-Bone, Hands, and Andrew. They left the ground just as the army's front line reached them. The Darkhorn smashed into a Harrow Knight, plowing it over, and then they were soaring over the decimated field and out of reach.
The stadium was a disaster. The bleachers had collapsed, the announcer's box lay in ruins, and hordes of monsters rushed across the field, charging the school.
"I'm going to count that last run as a score-a tie, then," said Hands as the scoreboard fell over.
"Shut up, Hands," said T-Bone. "And if anyone says we're about to go into overtime, I'm going to punch you."
Below, Sky saw Hannah leading the football team into Arkhon Academy. To the west, he saw lightning strike the manor dome and the beginnings of plasma clouds forming into great funnels.
"I don't think it's overtime," said Sky fearfully as they rose higher and higher and the terrifying battle around the Finger of Erachnus came into view. A giant hole sat open near the northern edge of the field, and wave after wave of Bedlam's massive army spilled out, engulfing the hunters' pitiful resistance. Along the southern edge, where they fought to block the army from the school, Sky saw dozens of shadowy silver creatures- Moonriders, he supposed- flying away, carrying the majority of Morton's hunters to safety as they abandoned Exile.
"I think we've started an entirely new game," Sky whispered. A swelling ball of crackling energy spread out, growing larger and larger, with the manor at its epicenter.
The Darkhorn veered. The energy crashed around them in a raging storm. And then they were falling and falling, down and down, without veering, without swooping, and without a sound.
Chapter 27: Army of Bedlam
Sky, T-Bone, Andrew, and Hannah hit their protective Shimmers as the massive Darkhorn crashed through th
e forest, smashed through some wooden bleachers, and plowed into a column of advancing Gossymer riders near the Finger, leaving a deep furrow of earth and wood devastation behind.
The Darkhorn's hair released them and Sky tumbled off, clinging to the tuba case. He scrambled away as the Darkhorn rolled to her feet. She let out a mournful wail and slipped into the shadows.
Hundreds of monsters lurched through the woods, and a small group of hunters-maybe fifteen in all-dropped from the trees, landing among the monsters. Sky spotted Dad leading the charge and swinging a massive shimmering ax, his normally smiling face contorted in a madness and rage that Sky had never seen before, an expression he would never forget, an expression that terrified him and chilled him to his bones. Beau stormed next to him, screaming and swinging a pair of shimmering knives faster than Sky could track. Em chased after them, filling the monsters with arrows, followed by T-Bone's mother and Hagos Adera. They plunged into the hordes, leading the other hunters, obvious that their children were standing nearby, watching. "Did that just happen?" T-Bone asked in awe, rubbing his neck.
Andrew scowled and spun away, marching toward the Finger of Erachnus. Sky, T-Bone, and Hands followed. The woods all around were filled with the sounds of fighting monsters shrieking, hunters yelling, creatures dying.
They picked up their pace, racing across the open space around the Finger. They found Malvidia there, barking commands.
She frowned as they approached. "Why do I have the feeling you're bringing me bad news?"
"They need help at the school," Sky replied, breathing hard, still trying to process what he had just seen. "Some of Bedlam's army popped up on the field."
"I have hunters there," Malvidia replied.
"Most of whom left to join Morton at the manor," Sky retorted, feeling annoyed.
Malvidia stared at them with cold eyes. She turned back to the hunter she had been talking to before they'd arrived and spoke quietly. The woman nodded and ran off. ''I'll send what I can, but I don't have much to spare. I'm beginning to fear that Morton had the right idea."
Malvidia began circling the Finger, shouting orders at the hunters as she passed. Many were in sorry shape, bleeding and bandaged and laid out on stretchers and makeshift cots.
"Morton is releasing the Arkhon," Sky stated, watching a hunter treat a woman with a missing arm.
''I've noticed," said Malvidia, glancing at the strange storm clouds swirling in the distance.
"I've found Alexander Drake's shimmering blade, but we need Bedlam's body," said Sky. "Are the Gnomon here?" Malvidia stopped walking. She narrowed her eyes. "You've found Alexander's blade?" Sky nodded.
"Show me," said Malvidia.
Sky opened the case and pulled out a long, rusted blade. The moment he touched it, the blade shimmered to life, and he could feel it and the secrets it held, almost as if it were a part of him.
Malvidia inhaled sharply. "You exceed all expectations, Sky."
Sky grinned.
"Don't feel too proud," Malvidia cautioned. "I have very low expectations."
Just then Rauschtlot and Nackles popped out of the ground a short distance away, along with a half dozen other Gnomon, many of whom looked injured.
Malvidia quickened her pace. "Osmer, I need you! I can't understand a word these Gnomon say!"
Rauschtlot and Nackles had been talking to the other Gnomon, but they turned to face Malvidia and noticed Sky for the first time. Nackles smiled with nearly all her mouths.
"Sssky!" she exclaimed in Gnomon, giving him a big hug that made his bones creak.
"Okay! Okay! That's enough!" Sky squeaked. Nackles released him with a shy smile.
"Greetingsss, Sssky," Rauschtlot hissed. She had a nasty cut on her arm and patchy discoloration on her skin in places.
At the mention of Sky's name, the other Gnomon all turned to watch him, their skin going icy blue as they stilled, listening and looking far too attentive for Sky's liking.
"Are you two all right?" Sky asked in Gnomon.
"Never mind, Osmer," Malvidia said as a somewhat dashing old man came strolling up. ''I'd forgotten about Sky and his lifetimes of study to learn all monster languages."
"Balderdash, Malvidia!" said Osmer. "Go easy on the boy." "Grandpa?" Hands said incredulously. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to go back to the nursing home!"
Osmer waved his hand dismissively. "Pah! I just stay there for the ladies. I'm not that old."
"Sky, I need you to ask the Gnomon what they found," said Malvidia.
"Okay. Rauschtlot, what did you find?" asked Sky. Malvidia sighed. "In Gnomon, please."
"Right," said Sky. Switching to Gnomon, he asked the question again.
"The Whisssper guards the body with the Waaargarou," Rauschtlot hissed. "They willll not come up."
Sky translated, adding, "Winston said Ambrosia and Gourmand are working with Morton to free the Arkhon."
"I am aware." Malvidia surveyed the battle, looking pained. Sky turned to Rauschtlot and, in Gnomon, asked, "Rauschtlot, do you know where Bedlam's body is?"
"Yesss," Rauschtlot hissed. "But Paragoth is clossse. She is unpleasssant."
"So I've heard," said Sky. He turned back to Malvidia. "Rauschtlot can take us down."
"Excuse me?" said Malvidia.
Sky realized he was still talking in Gnomon. He switched.
"You don't have to send your hunters-we'll go. You just need to hold off the monsters up here until we free Bedlam."
Malvidia examined him. Then she surveyed the battle. "Hunters will die. Morton will free the Arkhon long before then. If we leave now, we could save some of Exile's populace and regroup with the hunters. Bedlam won't stop, and there's a wide world to consider beyond Exile."
"Start evacuating, but give us until the second wave of energy is released from the manor before you retreat with the hunters," said Sky. "The first wave just means Morton has opened the front gate. But the Arkhon won't wake up until the pendulum stops and the second wave hits."
"We may all be dead by then...." Malvidia stared off into the woods to the north. "Very well, Sky."
Malvidia drew a long shimmering blade from a sheath and stabbed it into the ground. She adjusted a few straps on her black mourning dress. "I will give you until the second wave to return, if I can. Don't disappoint me, or Exile's destruction will be on your shoulders." She took up the sword and marched into the northern woods.
Osmer whistled. "I don't know how you got on her good side, Sky, but someday we'll have to talk."
Sky stared at Osmer. Good side? Seriously?
Sky strapped the shimmering blade on so that it hung from his shoulder, and then he handed T-Bone, Andrew, and Hands each one of Rauschtlot's cookies.
"Eat up-they're good," said Sky. "Rauschtlot baked them."
Everyone glanced at Rauschtlot, who smiled back at them. Then they popped the cookies into their respective mouths.
"Wow. That really is good," said T-Bone appreciatively, licking his fingers. Rauschtlot's smile grew even bigger.
Andrew and Hands nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "The Gnomon made those? I've never heard of Gnomon
sharing secrets before. Any idea what's in them?" Osmer asked suspiciously.
"Something called erfskin, I think," said Sky.
"Most interesting," said Osmer.
Sky felt stronger, his skin thick, his pores open. Even his eyeballs felt hard, which was a very strange sensation, almost as strange as the wind blowing through his skin.
"All right, Rauschtlot, we're ready," said Sky. "Lead on."
Rauschtlot grabbed Sky and slung him onto her back. Rauschtlot's skin parted just under her arms and a mouth opened up on each side, swallowing Sky's hands and closing to hold him in place.
"Whoa! That wasn't part of the deal!" Sky exclaimed.
The largest Gnomon, who was several feet taller than Rauschtlot, grabbed T-Bone and flung him into place as if he weighed nothing. Two other Gnomon grabbed Andrew and Hands.
Nackles held her hand palm out-the Gnomon sign for good-bye.
"Good thing we reinforced our cloaks, I suppose," said Andrew, staring at the ground apprehensively. "Since it appears we're going for a swim."
"Hhhold on," Rauschtlot hissed.
And with that, she dove into the ground.
Chapter 28: Paragoth the Earth-Eater
Sky inhaled. Dirt rushed into his mouth and lungs, and then out again through his pores. He could feel it spilling from his skin, through his clothes. A rock bashed into his forehead and bounced harmlessly into his wake.
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