“It’s preposterous,” Connie Nipkin, dean of the changeling program at Iron Bridge Academy, said. “The changelings are carefully monitored for their own safety, and I can assure you that none of our students have been wandering around the streets alone.”
When Max finished reading, he folded the paper, handed it to Natalia, and then sat back against the bench.
“There’s no way Ernie could pull off something like that,” Harley said. “I mean, come on. We’re talking about the same kid who refuses to water-ski because he thinks a giant snapping turtle is going to swallow him.”
“Who else would dress up in a costume to fight crime?” Natalia asked.
“Look, I know that’s Ernie’s fantasy,” Harley said, “but I’m telling you, there is no way he’s wandering around New Victoria looking for a fight. Did you see the picture of the guy they caught? He had a tattoo on his neck, and it looked like he could bench-press a car.”
“I’m more worried about Smoke,” Natalia said. “What’s going to happen when Ernie bumps into him?”
“Yeah, well, Smoke is definitely looking for him,” Harley said.
Natalia frowned.
“Monti and I saw him in New Victoria last night. He wanted us to give Ernie a message.”
“What?”
“I’m not sure,” Harley said. “I told him to bug off.”
Natalia bit her lower lip. “What are we going to do?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Max said. “Ernie’s fast enough that he should be able to get away from just about anything.”
“Not if he’s asleep,” Natalia said.
“The Templar placed nullifiers around his house,” Max said. “Smoke can’t get in or out—at least not when he’s using his power. He’ll have to walk in like everyone else, and since it’s under twenty-four-hour surveillance, I doubt he’ll show up anytime soon.”
“All it takes is one mistake, and we could lose him forever,” Natalia said.
Max sighed. “Why didn’t he come to us?”
Before anyone could answer, the students heard the brakes screech. The passenger car lurched, and sparks flew outside the window as the lights flickered overhead. Moments later the Zephyr came to a stop.
Ross fell from his seat and tumbled down the aisle. The flap of his backpack flew open, spilling the contents across the floor of the subway car.
“What are these?” Natalia asked, reaching down to pick up a mask and a black driving cap from under a stack of comic books.
Ross regained his balance and snatched the mask out of Natalia’s hand. “Those are expensive collectibles, thank you very much.”
“You don’t even want to know how much they cost,” Todd said.
“Try me.”
“Never mind,” Ross said, placing them back in his bag.
“If they’re so expensive, what are you doing carrying them around in your backpack?” Harley asked.
Ross looked like he’d just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Are you two part of that Agents for Justice nonsense?” Natalia asked.
Ross looked to Todd for help, but Todd was watching the commotion outside.
“This isn’t good,” Todd said over the murmurs of the other students. His head was craned out the open window.
“What?” Natalia asked, forgetting about the mask and the hat.
“I heard the conductor talking about shield failure this morning.”
“What?”
“Here’s the deal,” Todd said. “To move between dimensions, you need a powerful shield, or you get pulled apart like quantum spaghetti.”
“That’s disgusting,” Natalia said.
Max could see small clockworks on wheels through his window. They were heading toward the engine as the tunnel echoed with the sound of air wrenches, welding torches, and clanging metal.
“Assembler bots,” Todd said.
“Technically they’re Assembler clockworks,” Ross said.
“You’re right,” Todd said. “If they were robots, they’d have wires and silicon chips.”
“Let’s just hope they can get that shield repaired,” Ross said.
“Wait,” Natalia said. “They’re going to test it first, right?”
“That’s a good one,” Ross said.
“Then how are they going to know if the shield is working?”
Lightning raced along the underside of the subway train before slamming into one of the clockworks. With a yelp, it flew backward.
The Zephyr flared back to life.
“It looks like we’re about to find out,” Ross said.
THE MASK
“You can open your eyes now,” Harley said once the Zephyr crossed safely into the Land of Mist. “The shield held.”
Natalia lowered her hands and blinked. When she looked out the window, she saw that they were speeding through a glass tunnel beneath the enchanted waters of Lake Avalon. Exotic fish swam through a kelp forest as iridescent crabs the size of small cars crept along the bottom.
“Look at that,” Ross said. He was pointing out the window as a shadowy form approached the Zephyr.
“What is it?” Natalia asked with a wrinkled nose.
“I have no idea,” Ross said.
The creature looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Its head and torso were vaguely human, with spikes protruding from its shoulders and back. However, from its waist down it was a fish.
“We really need to start carrying a camera,” Todd said.
“I saw one that I liked at Mad Meriwether’s,” Ross said. “Maybe we can stop by after school and pick it up.”
“Don’t forget, we have that���” Ross stopped and looked at Natalia out of the corner of his eye. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “You know, the m-e-e-t-i-n-g.”
Natalia rolled her eyes.
The Toad brothers settled back into their bench, content to listen to music as the Zephyr trundled along its path. Meanwhile, Max shuffled through a stack of his new Round Table cards, trying to memorize the strengths and weaknesses of each clockwork so he’d be ready when Logan quizzed him.
Soon, the Zephyr pulled up to the subway stop at Iron Bridge Academy. There was a cloud of steam. The doors slid open, and the students filed onto the platform. Chatter echoed off the brick walls as everyone got in line to take the escalator up to the campus.
Max still wasn’t used to the clothing of the Templar society. Like Harley, he stuck with blue jeans while the rest of the boys dressed in waistcoats and vests, with bow ties, ascots, derbies, and sporting caps. Frock coats were common, as were pocket watches and canes. None of it looked very comfortable as far as Max was concerned.
Natalia, however, loved the fashion. She wore an army green military cap with a high-collared shirt, a matching vest and hose, a camel-colored skirt, and brown boots. There were plenty of girls dressed in ruffled skirts and ankle boots, corsets and camisoles. Wide hats with plumage were the rage, as were gloves and shawls.
The critical accessory worn by everyone was a pair of goggles. The brand, style, and the way a person wore his or her goggles said a lot about the individual. Some wore them over their eyes indoors or out, rain or shine. Others pushed the goggles up to their foreheads. There were ornate riding goggles, gunnery goggles, and aviator goggles from wars long past.
“I don’t see Ernie anywhere. Are you sure he didn’t miss the train?” Natalia said as she pulled her goggles up over the bill of her cap. Then she followed the Toad brothers onto the escalator.
“Of course we’re sure,” Todd said.
“He’s right there with Catalina,” Ross said, pointing back to the crowd below.
Ernie was leaning against a pillar as he talked to Catalina Mendez. Unlike Scuttlebutt, her lumpy Bounder imp, Catalina was actually pretty. She was tall and slender, with dark eyes, long lashes, and black hair that she had pulled back in a ponytail.
“Watch your step, please,” a service clockwork wrapped in polish
ed brass said from the top of the escalator.
Max walked out of the depot and into the cold morning air. It was a dreary morning, and the entire campus was shrouded in fog. Like the rest of New Victoria, Iron Bridge Academy didn’t appear to belong in the modern world. Some of the buildings looked like warehouses, others like apartments.
The faculty housing had steeply pitched roofs, dormers, and wraparound porches. Buildings such as the menagerie were constructed entirely of steel girders and large panes of glass. At the heart of it all stood a massive structure made of grey brick with white trim. It housed a research facility, dormitories for the few students whose parents didn’t relocate to the area, offices, and most of the classrooms.
“I don’t know what’s worse,” Natalia said as she opened her parasol to keep the drizzle from spotting her clothes, “the rain in New Victoria or the snow back in Avalon.”
“Should we wait for Ernie?” Max asked as Sprig shifted into a pigeon before flying off to the rooftop of the school.
“Do whatever you want,” Harley said. “I have to finish a report on Lord Merlin Silverthorne before homeroom starts.”
“Wait, do you hear that?” Natalia asked.
Max strained his ears. After a few moments he heard an angry voice carry across the school yard. A thin woman was arguing with someone beneath a gas lamp near the front entry. “Is that Dean Nipkin?” he asked. There was too much fog to be sure, but the rectangular glasses perched on the end of her sharp nose were hard to miss.
“I think so,” Natalia said, “but who’s she screaming at?”
“That’s Chief Constable Oxley,” Ross said.
“Who?” Harley asked.
“You know, as in the highest-ranking officer of the law in New Victoria?” Todd said.
“I heard he has a clockwork arm, just like Doc Trimble,” Todd said. “They say his first arm got gnawed off by a horde of Vampire Pixies.”
“Give it a rest already,” Natalia said.
The chief constable was a large man, with broad shoulders, an ample belly, and a handlebar mustache. His size, however, didn’t appear to intimidate Dean Nipkin in the slightest. He stood quietly with his hands tucked behind his back as she berated him.
“I wonder what they’re arguing about,” Ross said.
“You know perfectly well what they’re arguing about,” Natalia said. “If I were you, I’d start talking before it’s too late. Then again, I bet the sentence for obstruction of justice is only four or five years, tops.”
“Yeah, well… we gotta go,” Ross said before running off.
“We’ll see you in homeroom,” Todd said over his shoulder.
RESCHEDULED
Ernie managed to ignore the other three Grey Griffins for the entire morning, despite sharing three classes together. Max tried to make eye contact with him, but every time he did, Ernie turned the other way.
“Don’t forget to save a chair for Ernie,” Max said as the Griffins sat down at their usual table in the dining hall.
“Why?” Harley asked. “He’s sitting over there with the Toad brothers.”
Max turned to see Ernie and the Toad brothers talking, laughing, and eating in the back of the room. He shook his head before slumping into his chair. It hurt to be rejected—especially by one of his best friends.
“I’m telling you,” Harley said between mouthfuls of stuffing with cranberries, “you have to let it go.”
“He’s right,” Natalia said. “If Ernie wants to be a jerk, that’s his problem. But you can’t let it get to you like this.”
Max swirled his mashed potatoes with his fork. “I know. It’s just that I keep thinking Ernie was right about Robert. Maybe I should have done something.”
“Like what?” Harley said. “You were following orders. Period.”
“I guess.”
“Are you going to eat that?” Harley asked. He was pointing at a dinner roll.
“You can have it,” Max said.
“Thanks.” Harley ripped it open and slathered it with butter before stuffing half of it into his mouth. He washed it down with an entire glass of milk.
“Do you even taste your food when you eat like that?” Natalia asked.
Harley belched.
“You realize that you’re supposed to behave like a gentleman,” Natalia said, though it didn’t seem to have much effect. Harley continued to inhale his food. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
As Natalia sat there looking disgusted, Max found himself smiling for the first time all day. The Griffins were more like siblings than friends. Bickering came as naturally as breathing.
Max did his best not to look at Ernie for the rest of the lunch hour. Instead, he enjoyed his meal and talked about past adventures with Harley and Natalia.
“Are you finished with that, sir?”
Max turned to see a clockwork that looked like a trash can on treaded wheels.
“Yeah, thanks,” Max said.
“Very good.” The clockwork took his plate. A compartment opened up from its chest, and the clockwork scraped the food off the plate before sliding it into a rack. Then it pulled out what looked like a miniature ruler to scrape the crumbs from the tablecloth.
Max looked over his shoulder to find Ernie deep in conversation with the Toad brothers. It looked like Ernie was holding an invitation to the new class, just like the one Max had received over the weekend.
“Max, did you hear what I just said?” Natalia asked.
He turned back around. “Sorry… what was that?”
“We were thinking about going to the Spider’s Web on Wednesday,” Natalia said. “Do you want to come?”
“Yeah, sure.” It had been a while since they had gone to the comic shop, and it sounded like a good diversion.
The bell rang, announcing that lunch was over. Max was about to reach for his backpack when he found the Toad brothers standing in front of him, smiling.
“What’s going on?” Max asked.
“Did you hear the news?” Todd said.
“You know, about the Round Table tournament?” Ross said.
“Not yet.” Max stood up and tried to slip past them to head toward the exit.
Todd and Ross followed.
“We were worried that it was going to be canceled, but it’s back on,” Todd said.
“That’s great.”
“The tournament is going to pick up right where it left off,” Ross said. “Except it’s not going to be open to the public.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be in a secret location,” Todd said. “You still have your Toad Report on Mendez, right?”
Max shrugged. “It’s somewhere.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ross said. “We can get you another copy.”
“You realize how historic this is, right?” Todd said.
“Not really.”
Todd and Ross looked at each other with raised eyebrows before turning back to Max.
“This is a really big deal, Max,” Ross said. “You could be one of the youngest duelists in the history of the Templar academies.”
“Do you know what that’s going to mean for our business?” Todd said.
“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me,” Max said.
“Remember how we made our deal, right?” Todd said. “We gave you free Toad Reports for the entire tournament, and you agreed to be a spokesperson for our brand.”
Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“We’re ready to expand into the professional tournaments,” Ross said. “With your endorsement, Toad Brothers, Incorporated, is going to become the most powerful company in the gaming industry.”
“Look, guys, I have a lot on my mind right now.”
“We know,” Todd said. “That’s why we arranged a practice duel for you.”
“Let me guess. Xander?” Max asked. After all, Xander Swift was the undisputed amateur Round Table champion in the world, and for some reason, the T
oad brothers were dying to turn Max and Xander into rivals.
“Actually, we had someone else in mind,” Todd said. He looked at Ross from the corner of his eye.
“Don’t get us wrong,” Ross said. “We can’t wait to see you go head-to-head with Xander, but if you’re going to prep for your Round Table duel against Catalina, you need someone who plays like her.”
“Yeah, and somebody who looks like her, too,” Todd said.
The brothers started laughing, but Max frowned. He wasn’t sure he still wanted to play in the tournament after what had happened to Robert Hernandez. The Toad brothers’ annoying game of guess-who wasn’t helping.
“Are you going to tell me who it is?”
“Don’t make us ruin the surprise,” Ross said.
“This is stupid,” Max said.
“You don’t get it,” Todd said, “but you will. Round Table is going to put you on the map.”
“Yeah,” Ross agreed. “So are you going to show up?”
Max sighed before shaking his head. The Toad brothers thought they were applying pressure with their comments, but they weren’t. Max didn’t care if he was on the map or not. Still, he committed to being in the tournament, and he was going to see it through, even if he was having doubts about continuing. He figured practice would do him some good. Still, Max didn’t want the Toad brothers to think that they had won. “I’ll think about it,” he finally said.
ROLL CALL
Max was already having a tough day when he walked through the door of his Bounder Care class with Sprig. She had taken the form of a white tiger that morning, and she hadn’t changed since. Some of the other students were intimidated, and she liked the reaction.
Brooke Lundgren was already seated in her desk. Honeysuckle, her overly protective Bounder pixie, was there, too. Neither looked at Max. In fact, Brooke hadn’t spoken to him in months.
Max didn’t get it. They’d been neighbors their entire lives, and now everything felt awkward. Everything seemed to fall apart after a murderous creature known as a Reaper attacked Brooke. He wasn’t sure if she blamed him for it or what the problem was. Girls were too confusing—especially Brooke. To avoid any drama, Max decided to sit on the opposite side of the room. It was easier that way.
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #2: The Relic Hunters Page 4