“Ernie went through a lot of trouble to ditch us,” Max said as Sprig landed in the branches overhead. “Maybe we should leave him alone.”
“That’s not happening.” Harley trudged up the steps to the front door.
Natalia shrugged and followed, but Max didn’t move.
“Come on, Sumner,” Harley said, pushing the door open. “You know how Ernie gets. He just wants attention.”
Ernie stepped out from behind a tree. “No, I don’t.”
Natalia jumped. “You scared me.”
Ernie had always been the shortest member of the Grey Griffins, but over the past year he’d grown nearly six inches. Now only Harley was taller, but not by much. Ernie was still thin, though, with a mess of black hair that needed to be cut weekly now that he was a changeling.
Despite the temperature, Ernie had foregone his winter jacket and stocking cap in favor of his Agent Thunderbolt costume. It consisted of a vintage World War I army helmet, aviator goggles, leather gloves, and a shirt with a bolt of lightning stitched across the chest.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked.
“We’re hunting a Tundra Troll,” Harley said when he caught Ernie looking at his grenade launcher.
“I called you three times,” Max said. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been busy, I guess.”
“Doing what?” Natalia asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be bedridden with a debilitating cold?”
Ernie’s eyes narrowed. “What does it matter?”
There was a clatter in the trees. Sprig had spotted a mouse scampering across the snow and swooped down from her perch to grab it with her talons. She returned to the branches to eat her meager meal.
“So what is this place?” Max asked.
Ernie walked up to the house and then turned back to Max. He wouldn’t look him in the eye. “It’s just a place I like to come to think.”
“When did you find it?”
“A few days ago,” Ernie said. “Look, it’s no big deal. Besides, I was getting ready to go back home. Maybe I’ll catch up with you later.”
“You’re hiding something,” Natalia said. “I can tell by the way your eyes keep shifting.”
“No, I’m not.”
“See the way you’re fidgeting? It’s a classic tell. Why won’t you look me in the eyes?”
“Fine,” Ernie said. He looked her in the eyes. “I’m not hiding anything.”
“Then you won’t mind if I go inside and take a look,” Harley said. He took a step toward the doorway, but Ernie got in front of him.
“I thought you weren’t hiding anything,” Harley said.
“Come on,” Max said. “Let’s leave him alone.”
“I’m not going anywhere until Ernie tells us what he’s doing out here,” Natalia said.
“You’re the detective,” Ernie said. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“You’re infuriating, do you know that?”
“Look, we’re trying to have a meeting, okay?” Ernie said.
“We?” Harley asked.
Ernie’s eyes shot wide as if he wasn’t supposed to say that.
“Who else is out here with you?”
“Nobody.”
“It’s okay,” a soft voice spoke.
Max recognized the changeling who emerged from the doorway. Her name was Hale, and from the looks of things, her transformation from human to faerie had accelerated over the winter break. Her antennae had grown, her eyes were red, and her wet skin looked like it belonged to a tree frog.
“What’s going on?” Natalia asked.
A dozen more changelings emerged from hiding places, each a unique combination of human and faerie.
“Think of it as our clubhouse,” Hale said as she put her hand on Ernie’s shoulder, which Max found odd.
“It looks like it should be condemned,” Natalia said.
“Not everybody has a billionaire friend to buy them a fancy place to hang out,” Hale said. She was looking at Max. “People like us are stuck with whatever we can find.”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Max averted his eyes and kicked at the snow. He didn’t like it when people judged him for his parents’ money. It wasn’t his fault they were rich.
“So what’s with the guns?” Hale asked.
“We were hunting,” Harley said.
“For what? A dragon?”
The changelings laughed.
“Close enough,” Max said. “It was a Tundra Troll.”
“And you bagged it without a scratch? I’m impressed,” Hale said. Max blushed from the compliment. “Those things are nasty.”
“What happened to your inhibitors?” Harley asked. The dean of the changeling program at Iron Bridge Academy made all the changelings wear devices that restrained their powers. The inhibitors also carried tracking devices, which allowed Dean Nipkin to know where those students were at all times.
“Oh, we still have them,” Hale said, turning so Harley could see that hers was lodged behind her ear. “We just found a way to circumvent them.”
“How?” Harley asked.
“Tell him, Annie,” Hale said.
A slender girl who didn’t look old enough to attend Iron Bridge stepped forward. Her hands were locked behind her back, her eyes focused on the ground. “I reprogrammed them.”
“You reprogrammed the inhibitors? I didn’t think that was possible,” Harley said.
“I can kind of control machines,” Annie said.
“We still show up on the grid,” Hale said. “But no matter where we go, Dean Nipkin thinks we’re back at school. And now we have our full powers.”
“Why didn’t you do that before?” Natalia said.
“Nobody asked me,” Annie said.
“Why aren’t you with your families instead of hanging out here?” Natalia asked. “I mean, this is supposed to be our winter break.”
“We’re too dangerous,” Denton said. He looked like an anthropomorphic lion, complete with intimidating fangs, a tail, and a mane that had grown thick over the last few weeks. “Nipkin convinced our parents that it was better to keep us locked up so we didn’t hurt anybody.”
“Ernie was able to go home,” Natalia said.
Ernie turned away.
“That’s because he’s one of you,” Denton said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Natalia asked.
“It means he’s a Grey Griffin,” Hale said. “Everyone knows you get special privileges.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Whatever,” Hale said. “Look, this is as close to Christmas vacation as we’re going to get, so we’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t blab to Nipkin. Otherwise she’s going to lock us up and throw away the key.”
“How did you find out about this place?” Max asked, hoping to cut the tension. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve never seen it before.”
“It used to be part of the school,” Hale said. “There’s an elevator that leads to one of the subway stations. It’s only a few stops away from Iron Bridge.”
“Raven found it,” Ernie said. He held up a key that was fastened to a chain around his neck. “You need this to activate the portal inside the elevator.”
“Where is she?” Natalia asked. Raven Lugosi was a changeling who had the ability to draw memories from inanimate objects. If there were secret passages, Raven could certainly find them.
“Back in Sendak Hall,” Denton said. “She thinks we’re reckless.”
“Aren’t you worried about…?”
“Smoke?” Hale asked, referring to the changeling who had kidnapped Robert. “We have a few surprises if he decides to show his face.”
The other changelings murmured in agreement.
Sprig flew down from her perch. The moment she landed, she shifted into a white wolf. Her fur standing on end, she snarled, revealing a set of teeth that rivaled Denton’s. “Max should leave this place.”
The changelings stopped laughing.
Max watched as Denton’s eyes narrowed. A girl named Nadya who had been sitting in a second-story window leaped down, landing nimbly on the snow. A spray of crystals erupted from her palm to form a club of ice.
“Easy, Sprig,” Max said. He reached out to scratch behind her ear. “Ernie’s friends are our friends, too.”
“Look, unlike the Grey Griffins, we have Ernie’s back,” Yi Lu said. He was flipping a fireball in his hand.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Natalia asked.
“Changelings look out for each other.”
Natalia spun to face Ernie. “What did you tell them?”
Ernie turned away.
“If we had been there, Robert would still be alive,” Yi said. Then flames erupted in both hands. “Unfortunately, you were there instead.”
“Is that supposed to scare us?” Harley said, taking a step toward Yi. He was a head taller than the changeling, but Yi didn’t back down. Sparks jumped from Yi’s skin. Then his hair turned into a blaze of fire, and flames burst from his eyes.
“You tell me,” Yi said. “You’re the one who walked in here with a grenade launcher.”
The other changelings closed ranks, circling the Grey Griffins like a pack of hungry wolves. Sprig growled before snapping at the girl holding the ice club.
Max didn’t want to fight, but it didn’t look like he was going to have a choice. He twisted the Codex ring on his finger, and the gauntlet reappeared. Blue energy sparked as Max flexed his hand.
Ernie stepped between Yi and Harley. “Stop it!”
Yi’s chest was heaving. Harley’s eyes were narrowed.
“I can’t believe you told them that Robert’s death was our fault,” Natalia said, her fists clenched. Her body was shaking. Ernie tried to look her in the eyes, but he couldn’t. “Robert is dead because Otto Von Strife tore his soul out of his body. We didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“We could have fixed him,” Ernie said. He was mumbling. His voice was barely a whisper.
“I hope you don’t honestly believe that,” Natalia said. “We did what we did to save your life, and this is how you thank us? I know you’re upset because your friend is dead, Ernie, but this is pathetic.”
“Forget it, Natalia,” Max said. The gauntlet disappeared, turning back into the Codex ring. “Let’s just go.”
Natalia started to say something else, but she closed her mouth. Then she stomped through the woods back to the snowmobiles. Harley, Max, and Sprig followed, leaving Ernie alone with the other changelings.
THE INVITATION
Ernie wasn’t the only member of the Grey Griffins who’d chosen to hang out with new friends. Even though Natalia was upset, she decided to keep her plans with Brooke Lundgren, whose father was the director of Iron Bridge Academy. In the past, Natalia had been jealous of Brooke, but over the last few months the two had become fast friends.
While the girls went shopping in Bloomington, Harley headed into New Victoria with Monti McGuiness, a Templar inventor who had become something of a mentor to Harley. None of them extended an invitation to Max, so he sat alone at his kitchen table with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a mug filled with milk.
Max lived in an enormous house on the shores of Lake Avalon. His family had more money than they could spend, but Max would have traded it all to bring them back together. His parents’ divorce had been devastating, and Max just wanted things to go back to the way they used to be.
Of course that would have been impossible. It was widely believed that his father was dead, the victim of an ancient dragon by the name of Malice Striker. Max missed his dad, but he was also angry. After all, his father had betrayed the Templar by joining a band of werewolves called the Black Wolf Society. Then he manipulated Max to help in his scheme to destroy the world.
Max sighed.
“What’s with the long face?” A man with short hair that blended into the stubble on his beard walked into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a tight-fitting sweater with a distressed griffin on the front. “Didn’t you catch the troll?” He tossed a paper sack onto the countertop and reached over to pluck a cookie off Max’s plate.
“Oh, hi, Logan,” Max said. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Logan said, his Scottish accent curling his words.
Logan was his bodyguard, but Max considered him family. He was also everything Max wanted to become. The Scotsman could hold his breath for over six minutes and punch through a brick wall, and he used to race Ferraris in Europe. However, what Max admired most was Logan’s confidence. The world could be crumbling down around him, and Logan wouldn’t flinch. Max wished he could be like that.
“Come on, then,” Logan said. “Give us the story, will you?”
Max sighed. “Well, Ernie blew us off again.”
“Is that so?”
“He told us he was too sick to go hunting, but he was actually hanging out with some of the changelings.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” Logan said. “They’re all running scared, so they’re probably relying on one another for support. I can’t blame them for that.”
“It’s just that… I don’t know. The Grey Griffins are supposed to support him. Besides, Ernie doesn’t seem like the same person anymore.”
“He’s not,” Logan said. “Change is a part of life.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right,” Logan said with a wry smile. “What about your other cohorts?”
“Natalia went shopping with Brooke, and Harley is somewhere in New Victoria with Monti.”
“Let me get this straight,” Logan said. “You’re upset because your friends are having fun without you.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous.”
The Sumners’ plump housekeeper walked into the kitchen with an envelope in her hands. She stepped in front of Logan, ignoring the Scotsman, and handed it to Max. “I believe this is for you.”
“Thanks, Rosa.”
Max slipped his finger under the flap of the envelope. Then he pulled out a single piece of parchment with the Iron Bridge Academy coat of arms printed at the top.
Iron Bridge was a private military school run by the Knights Templar. Its students were trained to save the world from unseen dangers such as six-armed ogres, poltergeists, and savage werewolves.
“Very official,” Logan said. “What is it?”
“Apparently, I’m being transferred into a class called Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation.”
“Who’s the teacher?”
“It doesn’t say.” Max tossed the paper across the table. “With my luck, it’ll be Nipkin.”
“Maybe this will cheer you up,” Logan said. He grabbed the paper sack from the countertop and tossed it to Max.
“What is it?”
The bag crinkled and crunched as Max reached in to pull out a few packs of trading cards.
“Aren’t you getting a little old for that game?” Rosa said as she started preparing dinner.
“You’re never too old for Round Table,” Max said.
“I’d have to agree with the boy,” Logan said.
The trading-card game had originally been developed to teach children in the Templar community how to fight monsters and faeries without risk of injury. Over the centuries, children continued to play well into adulthood. Before long, games once played in the back of pubs became global tournaments.
Max opened the paper bag to dump the rest of the contents on the table. Each pack was wrapped in shiny foil. “Have they even announced the Clockwork Chaos expansion series?”
“I have a mate who works in the game-design department,” Logan said. “He agreed to give me a few packs in exchange for a bit of a favor.”
“Like what?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Logan said. “You need to learn how to take clockwork soldiers down. It starts with the cards, and then we’ll start training in the SIM Chamber. After that,
we’ll see about a field test.”
“But we’ve already gone up against clockworks.”
“Trust me, Max. It’s only just begun.”
NEW VICTORIA
The usual drizzle that blanketed New Victoria had turned into a full-blown storm. Lightning flashed, thunder echoed, and Monti McGuiness pulled out what looked like a pocket watch. With the click of a button, the lid snapped open. He spun a small dial attached to the face, and a metal bar sprouted from his backpack, unfolding an umbrella over his head.
“That’s better,” Monti said. He removed his goggles and wiped them with a handkerchief.
“I don’t suppose you have another one of those, do you?” Harley asked.
“Sorry.”
“I should have remembered to bring an umbrella.”
Monti looked up at the clock tower. “It’s too late tonight, but maybe we can rig one of these up for you next week.”
With cobblestone streets enveloped by fog and a skyline filled with smoke billowing from chimneys, New Victoria could have been the backdrop of a Sherlock Holmes story. It was on an island in the middle of Lake Avalon, but few from the town of Avalon knew it existed. The strange city was caught between the world the people of Avalon knew and the Shadowlands, a land of wild magic ruled by an overlord named Oberon and his bride, Titania. Because of that, New Victoria was invisible except to those who had access to the right portals.
“By the way,” Harley said, “how’s everything going with those clockworks back at your workshop? Have you been able to rebuild them yet?”
“I’m afraid not,” Monti said between coughs. “I knew Von Strife was a genius, but they’re more complex than I’d imagined. He was a century ahead of his time, maybe more. I mean, I’ve been working around the clock, and I haven’t got a single machine to fire up yet.”
“That’s probably why you’re getting sick,” Harley said. “People need to sleep.”
Monti shrugged. “That and the weather, but I don’t have much choice. I’m shorthanded, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #2: The Relic Hunters Page 2