As this sank in, Rich grinned, imagining the possibilities. “Does that mean I can use my powers of imagination to think up objects?”
“Yes! That’s one of the reasons why I thought you would make a great copilot. There are special conjuring spheres under the wings that allow you to imagine whatever weapon you want. Just put a finger on the knight, and you’ll be able to sense them.”
Anxious to try this out, Rich put his finger on the side of the knight and found this was true. In his imagination, he could see two spheres on each wing and one on the top of the cockpit. Thinking about the models he had built of fighter planes, he imagined missile launchers on each of the wings and a machine gun on top of the cockpit. He saw them take shape in his mind’s eye, and felt like there were his to command.
“So, Aaron, do you mind if I take them for a spin? There’s nothing around.”
“Fire away, Captain...I mean, Co-captain!”
Rich focused on an empty hill in the distance and decided it was as good a target as any. Once he had it in his mind, the squares that corresponded with that spot on the chessboard map turned dark red. In his mind, he imagined the missiles launching, and with a whoosh, four missiles rocketed out from under the wings, trailing smoke as they converged on the spot he had picked for them.
All four hit at the same time, creating a bright explosion on the top of the hill. Rich heard screams from the back of the plane, and he pointed frantically at the PA system.
“Uh, this is your captain again,” Aaron said into the speaker. “We’re not under attack...that was just a weapons test, and Rich blew this one out of the water...or out of the grass, I guess. We’ll let you know if we encounter actual enemy aircraft.”
The noise from behind them died down, and Aaron broke into a fit of laughter the second he shut off the speaker. “Oh, I can’t get over it sometimes. The wonders of this age. I truly believe I was born in the wrong era.” He straightened back up in his pilot’s chair and made a slight course correction. “Now then, Rich. Until we get there, perhaps you could tell me more about video games. I believe you were explaining the various Final Fantasy games. Weren’t we on the seventh installment?”
Glad for a bit of distraction, Rich launched into an extensive explanation of that game and had started on the next one when Aaron suddenly held up a hand. “Rich, I think that’s it.”
Rich squinted out the window, trying to see what Aaron saw. “You dead guys much have better vision. I don’t see anything.”
Aaron pointed and then reached over and moved Rich’s head so it faced in the direction he wanted. “There. Do you still not see it?”
At first, Rich thought it was some sort of storm on the horizon, with dark, towering clouds gathering and heading in their direction. Then he noticed that the dark shape reflected light instead of absorbing it. The close they got, the more definition it took on, and Rich could see the truth. It was the Corridor, but now instead of being a mostly sandy color, it looked like a skyscraper that had been put in a blender and then surrounded by fog. It was gray now in a variety of shades, with all sorts of jagged edges. He thought the place had looked strange before, but now it looked terrifying.
He looked down at the chessboard and saw that a tiny replica had appeared on the edge of the board, growing ever closer. He cleared his throat and pointed to their control piece. “Shouldn’t we slow down or something? We don’t know what kind of defenses that thing has.”
Aaron made no move to pull back the plane’s speed. “Perhaps, but where is the fun in that? Besides, the Pegasus here is excellent at evasive maneuvers.”
Rich felt a sinking feeling and kept his focus on the chessboard instead of the viewport. A few seconds later, another figure appeared on the board, this time represented by a dark rook piece, coming at the Corridor from another direction. “Aaron, we’ve got company!”
Aaron glanced down at the display and tensed. "Rich, can you imagine more weapons? I’ve got a dark knight aircraft closing in."
Jumping to the first thing that came to mind, Rich imagined missiles and machine guns on the wings of the plane. He wished he could imagine some sort of deflector shields like spaceship from the movies. The dark knights would be coming at them with plenty of firepower.
"Do we have to wait for them to attack us first, or do we fire when ready?" Rich asked.
“We should wait," Aaron said. "It's not our way to be the aggressors, but if they fire even one bullet in our direction, we have every right to defend ourselves. Keep those weapons ready to fire. You will need them."
In a nervous sweat, Rich watched as the dark knight aircraft flew toward them, but didn't show any signs of getting ready to attack. Suddenly, a bright line of green light appeared between the two chess pieces on the board. "Aaron, what’s that? Does that mean they’re getting ready to attack?"
Aaron looked down, biting his lip. "No," he said after a few moments. “It means they're trying to send a message. Probably just demanding we surrender or something."
As likely as that seemed, Rich had a hunch that they should listen anyway. "How do I accept the message?"
Aaron pointed to the white knight that represented their craft. "Just tap the top of our piece. It will open the channel, and you can mute it by tapping it again. You sure you want to talk to them?
"I'm not really sure about anything, but it feels like the right thing to do." Rich shrugged and tapped the piece.
He regretted his words a moment later when Mallory’s voice came over the line. "Hey, Richie," she said. “That's a nice new toy you have. Out for a little ride around the Corridor? Kudos to the decorator. I like the new look."
Rich clenched his fist, barely resisting the urge to scream at her. She and her fellow dark knights still held Laura and his cousins captive. "What do you want, Mallory? As much as I'd like to do a tiebreaker, I’ve got bigger problems. The Gray Knight is going to wipe all of us out if we don't do something about it."
Rich thought he heard Mallory laugh. "Oh, that's old news, Richie. And as much as I would enjoy a dogfight to the death, we’re also here for the Gray Knight. Perhaps you'd like to join us in crashing his party? At the least, you could provide a good distraction for the Gigantaurs."
Rich found it hard to believe what he was hearing. Had Mallory just offered to join forces? How could she even think that he'd say yes?
"You know, if this dark knight thing doesn't work out, you could always become a comedian," Rich said. "How would I know you wouldn't betray us? There's no way we can trust that you'd actually be helping us."
"Maybe not," Mallory said. “Perhaps we will betray you, but that's a whole lot better than all of us getting wiped out. Have you ever stopped to think what the world this would be like without the powers of order and chaos? Wouldn't be much of a place, would it?"
Rich muted the channel and then looked at Aaron, hoping that Aaron would help him figure out what to say. "Well, we can't make this decision by ourselves," Aaron said. "Our entire craft has been listening to this conversation. Go back there, Rich, and get a feeling for what they want us to do."
Rich unstrapped himself from the seat and scrambled to the back of the plane, where everyone was already huddled together. His eyes went straight to his parents. "What do we do? I don't want to team up with them, but I also don't know if we can win by ourselves."
The whole rest of the group tried to talk at once until Phillip silenced them with a shout. "This is not an easy decision, son. But we also can't afford to wait too long. We might have to ask for their help later, but there's no reason we shouldn't try this ourselves first.”
Rich’s mother spun on her husband. "How can you say that? Don't you remember? The Gray Knights are much more powerful than the rest
of us now. It's pointless to run into a fight we can't win."
Phillip crossed his arms over his chest, his expression annoyed. "Who says we can't win? If there's one thing I know for sure is that you can't trust a dark knight. Not for an instant. If they're offering to team up, it's only because they've got some other motive for doing so. Believe me, I teamed up with a dark knight once, and it even seemed to be going great for a while. Then she left me to die. Mallory would do the same to us."
Some of the other knight voiced their agreement with a cheer, but his mother didn't look convinced. "Are you sure this isn't just about your delusions? It’s even more dangerous for you to go back than anyone else. You’re not thinking clearly."
All knights started arguing again. Jan and a few others seemed to be on Phillip’s side. Nadia didn't say anything. She sat there and looked as though she was trying not to be sick.
It was hard for Rich to tell what to think. He didn't want to team up, but his grandparents had been clear about how much trouble they were all in.
Rich took one of his conjuring spheres and turned it into a bullhorn so he could talk above everyone else. "All right!" he yelled. "This is pointless. Who gets to make the final decision?"
Everyone fell silent, looking around at each other, and finally settling on George.
The older knight cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, I am the senior member, but I think you both have valid points. It feels like battling a dragon on one of my quests, which is uncomfortable to say the least. Against my instincts, I say we must declare a truce for now, but they are crafty. Keep your eyes open at all times or they will gobble you up as surely as a dragon.”
Rich didn't wait for the arguing to start back up again. He rushed back up in the cockpit and fastened himself in next to Aaron. “I assume most of that was loud enough for you to hear."
"Yes, sir," he said. “Your move.”
Rich settled down in his seat and reestablished the connection. “We’ll do this together—for now. But if we see anything we don't like, you're on your own. Got it?"
Mallory chuckled on the other end. "Oh, don't worry, Richie. You're definitely going to like having me on your side. Follow me. It's still the same procedure to get in, but if you want our ships to come with you, you have to be close. We’ll be under heavy fire the entire time. I'm guessing you could extend that protective shield around both of us?"
Rich didn't really know, but he decided it was worth a try. Aaron eased the plane forward so they fell into tight formation right behind the other aircraft. Rich put a finger on the chess piece and extended his shield around the plane. It didn’t reach far, so they would have to keep close to each other.
The dark knight ship turned directly to face the Corridor and picked up speed. Aaron accelerated, keeping in perfect sync with them. When they reached a certain point, Rich saw small explosions launch from all over the Corridor, sending enormous spiked chains rocketing at their ship. They bounced off the shield almost at once, but did not break through.
Rich flinched, feeling that somebody had punched him hard across the face. Sure, the ship enhanced his abilities, but he wasn’t going to be able to take very many hits like that.
As the chains retracted, Rich could see that each was tipped with a slender spike that rotated at high speed, turning the ends of the chains into massive drill bits.
As the chains retracted, Mallory spoke again. "Lower your shields for five seconds. We’re going to attack."
Hoping this wasn't a trick, Rich lowered the shield, and the instant he did, the dark knight’s ship sent a volley of what looked like fiery missiles rushing at the Corridor. They slammed into the nearest chain, snapping it where it exploded against the links. The massive drill heads dropped to the ground, still spinning.
After the count of five, Rich raised the shield again, and not a moment too soon. A few of the chains closest to them had already had retracted all the way back in and shot out again. A bunch of them hit the shield directly behind their plane, and Rich got the chills again, his stomach feeling like he’d just eaten something rotten.
"Fall back!" Aaron cried. "We’ve got to get out of range before the next ones hit."
Aaron pulled back on the chess piece, and the dark knight craft followed. A second wave of chains shot out at them and they barely kept ahead, flying at full speed until the chains snapped tight at the ends of their lengths.
"Not bad, Richie," Mallory said. "We're gonna have to go back in for a few more runs like that. We take a hit, we lower the shields, and we fire in the short window. You got that?"
Before Rich could answer, Aaron started. "Excuse me, Mallory," he said, laying on the sarcasm thicker than Rich had ever heard, “but I'm doing the flying and Rich’s doing the shielding. I deserve some credit."
“I'm sure there's a medal in it for you later," Mallory said. "I'll get ready. Let's go."
They shot forward again, and this time flipped onto one side, probably so the impact wouldn’t be as bad. They took the blow, lowered the shield, and fired as quickly as they could. They didn't hit all of their targets, but several snapped off.
Before Rich could raise the shield, a single chain leaped out and smashed into the left wing of the dark knight aircraft. Rich raised the shield until the chain broke off. At least he’d done some good, but now the nemesis plane was flying erratically.
"Switch to healing!" Aaron cried. "You’ve got to fix that fast. It’s got much better firepower than we do, and we’re going to need the help."
Rich lowered the shield, hoping he could make his gifts of healing work on an airplane instead of a person. He reached out and found that the plane felt like something alive, like a large bird.
He expended some of his energy and set the wing back into place. The dark knights’ plane righted itself, but before they could celebrate, Rich saw a chain whizzing past the cockpit. Aaron dove to miss it, and they found themselves hurtling at the ground.
Aaron pulled up from the nosedive, and if Rich had felt a little sick before, now he felt miserable. It took him a few seconds to get his shield back, and he realized they were probably too far away from the dark ship.
"Aaron, pull back into formation. I can't extend the shield that far!"
Aaron, looking a little green himself, wove the plane around until they had the dark plane back in the sights. It fired constantly at more oncoming chains, keeping them from reaching Rich and Aaron’s aircraft.
Aaron spun the plane to the side, coming back into formation just in time to deflect the next attack. This time, the shield failed completely as the chains retracted, and Rich screamed for them to retreat.
Aaron hit the intercom to speak with the rest of the plane. "Phillip, get in here quickly!"
Phillip burst in a few seconds later, and Aaron pointed to Rich, still flying the plane with his other hand. “He needs some of your energy. We won’t survive the next attack without a shield."
Phillip nodded, placing his hands on Rich’s shoulders. Immediately, Rich felt some energy returning to him. "Why don't you switch it up?" Phillip asked. “There’s something about the powers that make them less effective if you keep using the same one over and over. Next time, right before they hit you, use your power to turn everything to stone."
"You got another one in you?" Mallory asked over the com, the disdain evident in her voice.
"My shield’s out, but I think I can use my rook’s stone skin instead. It always attacks the one in front, so why don't you switch positions with me? That will give you more time to fire anyway."
The line went dead for a few seconds before Mallory answered. "All right. I’ll give it one try. Don't screw this up. Let's hope you fly better than you play chess."
He kept his eyes on the advancing chains, gripping the controls tighter and tighter, feeling his stomach clench. At the last second, he activated his power, turning the skin of the plane completely to stone.
The impact shook the entire craft, and he hoped everyone was wearing their seat belts. An intense grinding sound filled the cockpit, and Rich thought the drills were going to burrow right through the skin and take them out of the sky.
The sound and vibration stopped a few seconds later. He waited a couple more seconds to be sure, and then disengaged the stone skin. The stone covering the entire craft had meant a few seconds of flying blind and losing altitude. As soon as they got their visibility again, he could see that the dark knights had done what they did best—most of the remaining chains were now falling to the earth.
“We about ready to bust down the front door?” Rich asked.
Mallory answered quickly. “You have to worry about that yourself. I assume you brought your lost-and-found object with you? I think I’ve destroyed all the chains on the right-hand side. If you come in from there, you’ll probably have enough time to say the words that will let you in.”
Rich fumbled in his pocket for his wallet, where he always kept his Mickey Mantle baseball card. “You heard her, Aaron. Take us around from the right, and I’ll say what I need to say. Keep an eye out for chains just in case.”
The plane swung around and Rich cleared his mind, thinking about the password. When they had nearly reached the Corridor, he started the familiar words, holding the card up in one hand.
Bishop_Betrayal Page 7