Scallion stiffened and stared at me. “You are Ruth Draudimon? Impossible.”
Playing along with Mason’s clever ploy, I said, “Why else would a Psi Fighter unmask in front of a Knight? I would do anything to save my boy’s life.”
Scallion seemed to be contemplating the situation. He took the pistol away from Mason’s head. “Nicolaitan told me your mind was destroyed. He said you’re harmless.”
Mason’s eyes lit up at this information. Proof positive his mom was alive.
“Obviously not,” I said. “I feigned insanity so I could roam Camelot unhindered. I know enough to take him down. Robert is so gullible.”
“No one knows Nicolaitan’s former name but me,” Scallion said. “This changes everything.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Showing you my face won’t save my boy, will it?”
Scallion pointed the gun back at Mason. “No.”
“Then I challenge you to single combat. The last time we met, you told me you’d have to accept, or the other Knights would brand you a coward.”
“I accept,” Scallion said. He put the gun back into his robes. “With pleasure. First I will humiliate you in combat, then I will kill the boy while you watch. Nicolaitan will be pleased I discovered how his pet has betrayed him. He’ll reward me handsomely when I deliver her to him.”
Scallion snapped his fingers, and the Knights backed away from me.
Mason lurched away from the Knights who held him, but they slammed him back to the ground. “Get away from her,” he barked. It took three of them to hold Mason down.
“Tell your cronies to move away from him, Scallion. It’s just you and me.”
“Enjoy,” Scallion said, and a War Hammer burst from his hand. His Knights formed a circle around us. It was obvious that Scallion didn’t intend to fight fair.
I took a deep breath, slashed the air with my psionic weapon, ready to go down swinging so Mason could escape. Just as I was about to engage Scallion in the fight of my life, I saw the happiest sight I could have imagined.
The Andymobile came flying across the football field carrying Andy and my dad, the Kilodan.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The Cavalry Arrives
Before the psionic transport had even skidded to a stop, Andy and the Kilodan were out and ripping through the Knights like lions through a pack of hyenas. Andy stooped to pick up Drake’s unconscious form and put him in the Andymobile, which immediately did a one-eighty and took off across the field with no driver.
Anger, deep and unforgiving, radiated from Andy and the Kilodan. I had never witnessed their fierce power unleashed before. The Kilodan fired both hands out to his sides, and an explosion rent the air. Knights flew in all directions. Andy didn’t even bother to use a Mental Blast. He grabbed one Knight by the arm and threw him like a battering ram into another one. Thought Sabers flashed into my rescuers’ hands, and they moved as one, wading through the mass of Knights, Sabers a blur of motion, Knights falling all around them as they fought to get to me.
“Until we meet again,” Scallion said, extinguishing his War Hammer. He turned and walked away as calmly as a Sunday stroll. “Kill them both.”
“Hey, single combat! Remember?” Jerk.
Joy replaced exhaustion, and I slammed the Knight closest to me with a barrage of kicks that left him unconscious on the ground. Then I tore into the three Knights holding Mason. I knocked out the first one with a Mental Blast before he could react. Mason bellowed like a bull and slammed his shoulder into the second Knight, knocking him off balance. I ran him through with my Saber and stopped the third Knight’s War Hammer just before it crashed into Mason’s head. Knight Number Three turned his attack on me, and while I had his attention, Mason lashed out with a lightning fast right hook, catching him on the jaw. I fired off a side kick that left him face down in La La Land.
“We make a good team,” Mason said.
I nodded. “We do. Now, do you think you can get out of here so I can fight without worrying about you being killed?”
“Probably not. Dalrymple needs help.”
Before I could argue, Mason took off across the field.
The Knights had converged around the fifty yard line, battling fiercely against Andy and the Kilodan. I didn’t know there were that many Knights in the whole universe. I flew into the mob, severing mental connections with my Thought Saber, kicking and punching, sweeping legs and cracking jaws until I found myself back to back with Andy and the Kilodan.
“I see you got my invitation,” I said, piercing the chest armor of an attacker.
“We really have to talk about the people you hang out with,” Andy said, blasting two Knights at once with a powerful side kick.
“What part of ‘wait here, I’ll send instructions’ were you unclear on?” the Kilodan’s voice came across my mask.
“Look out!” I yelled.
A Knight appeared behind the Kilodan, swinging a War Hammer in a wild arc at his heart. The Kilodan simply grabbed the Hammer in his gauntlet, took it away from the Knight, and hit him over the head with it.
“Thank you,” the Kilodan said. “Now back to my question.”
“Well, here’s the thing. I didn’t expect to find out that Tammy Angel was part of the setup to kill Dalrymple.”
“Good answer,” the Kilodan said. “Now turn around. You have a visitor.”
I spun just in time to stop a War Hammer from taking out my legs. I parried the blow with a hard slash. “Are you back?”
Phobos spun his Hammer at me again. “Did you miss me?”
“You have a sense of humor,” I said, parrying and riposting. “Where did you find it?”
“In this situation.” Phobos threw a devastatingly fast spinning back fist at my face. “Did you know that Scallion is escaping?”
“Escaped. Past tense.” I snagged Phobos’s wrist and pulled him into a hip throw that he flipped right out of, landing smoothly on his feet.
“Nice move!” I said, honestly impressed.
“Thank you,” Phobos said, throwing a haymaker at my face, which I caught and pulled into a shoulder throw, slamming Phobos to the ground. He snarled and vaulted to his feet.
“Tammy’s not the Morgan girl, is she?” he said, springing back as my kick grazed his chest armor. “She is such a disappointment.”
“How so?” I asked, ducking under his roundhouse.
“She never saw through Scallion’s deception.”
“But you did,” I said, unleashing a barrage of kicks.
Parrying while he backpedaled, Phobos said, “I did. You are the Morgan girl, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I am. Maybe not. Why did you set Scallion up?”
“Scallion is a worm,” Phobos said, riposting violently.
“And Nicolaitan?” I feinted high and thrust low.
“A different story,” Phobos said, leaping over my attack. “Nicolaitan took me in and accepted me for who I am. Other than my parents, no one else ever had.”
“Admirable of him,” I said.
“The training was great,” Phobos continued. “I had abilities I never imagined, and this Amplifier brought them out in ways I never knew existed.”
“I sense a but coming on.” I lowered my weapon.
“But I became uncomfortable with the things Nicolaitan was asking of me.”
“Like turning over the Morgan girl.”
“Among other things.” He extinguished his War Hammer.
“Which is why you set up Scallion.”
“It was the last thing I needed to do before I disappear forever,” Phobos said, relaxing, standing stock-still. “I’m really starting to like you. I almost hate to end it like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like this.” Phobos turned and sprinted toward the stadium gate with uncanny speed. There was no way I could keep him from escaping without doing something drastic.
So I did.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Phobos Tells All
> Sorrow, I thought, and my Thought Saber snapped into a Memory Lash. With a flick of my wrist, the Lash snaked out and coiled around Phobos, tightening like a noose. I concentrated, forcing the Lash to connect deeply. Memories I knew were his filled my head. I became Phobos.
Nicolaitan got right to the point, as he always did. “There is a girl in your school who has talents similar to your own. But she is much more powerful. Her parents died at my hand, but I allowed her to go free. In hindsight, that was a mistake. I should have taken her with me and trained her.”
I knew he was lying. There was something about this girl’s story he wasn’t telling me.
“I want you to find her for me. She is too skilled to reveal herself by accident, so you will have to lure her out. We will use the boy Arthur Rubric, although I am afraid I have to deny your request to destroy him in single combat. The girl would immediately know your true identity. But not to worry, my boy, there are better ways to destroy a man. When I am finished with Arthur, the girl will practically throw herself at your feet to save him.”
Then the memory changed. I was in the boy’s bathroom with Art Rubric. He was high again. I knew I could stop Art from bullying me, but I wasn’t allowed. It wasn’t right. Being treated like a dog was humiliating. I couldn’t take it anymore. I concentrated, and said, “Stop it, Art.” His eyes grew wide. “You? Get out of my head.” I concentrated harder. “Never touch me again.” Art’s eyes rolled back, and he grabbed his head with both hands. Fear of Nicolaitan filled my chest. He would know I had revealed my identity. My concentration faltered. Art shoved me against the stall door and slammed his fist into my stomach. I couldn’t breathe.
End it, end it, end it. Nicolaitan was making it worse. I wanted out. I wanted to die.
Memories flashed through my mind like a slide show set on high speed. Dr. Captious was dead. The only teacher who ever understood me. Art’s dead face, so peaceful in his casket. So many kids, so many tears. Even for someone like him. I hurt. I should never have listened to Nicolaitan. I should have warned Art. Rinnie Noelle held my hand, comforting me, telling me that nothing is worth killing myself over. She is a good friend. She was right about Mrs. Bagley helping me through the pain.
I extinguished the Memory Lash and became myself again, in total disbelief. Phobos had dropped to his knees while his memories cycled through my mind. All around us, the battle raged, but no one seemed to notice us. I buried my emotions to hide the turmoil I felt. I always knew when I finally unmasked Phobos I would be surprised, but I never expected to be crushed.
Phobos pulled himself to his feet and faced me. His mask was so real, a boy with a lion’s face. But the face beneath it would also be childlike, innocent—a victim of bullies. The Memory Lash had shown me his heart and his deep, deep remorse over what he had done. I had seen the effect of the Memory Lash firsthand and knew he would never be the same. So I made a decision that I hoped I wouldn’t regret.
“Go,” I said. “Before the police arrive.”
“No,” Phobos said. “I’m done with this.” He breathed deeply then reached up to pull off his mask.
“Don’t,” I said. “Not here. They’ll kill you.”
“I don’t care.”
“You once told me that nobody ever risked anything to save you. I’m risking everything right now. Tish needs you. For Pete’s sake, Pickles needs you. We all need you.”
“We?” Phobos lowered his hand and stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. “Nicolaitan was right. You’re the last person I expected to be the Morgan girl.”
“Ditto.”
“I was told that hurting innocents was the only way to find you. I didn’t realize the innocent would be me.”
I shrugged.
“This is the second time you saved my life,” Phobos said. “I won’t forget.”
“Go,” I said. “Please. We can talk about this at school.”
“I’m not coming back to school.”
“You have to. If you leave, he’ll kill you. If you stay, you can help us take him down. Now we have someone inside the Knights. You’re one of us.”
Phobos nodded. “Thanks. You should look behind you now.”
I spun in time to see the attack coming. The Knight’s fist shot out at my face like a streak of lightning. This was no Proletariat. I recognized the move from my encounter with wannabe-Apprentice, Egon Demiurge—a Mental Blast sucker punch combo. Just as the Knight’s fist was about to crash into my face, I slapped it aside with one hand and slammed him in the masked jaw with the other one. His head snapped back, his feet flew out from under him, and he landed on his back with a thud.
Across the field, Phobos did a two-finger salute and disappeared under the bleachers.
“Who taught you to fight like that?” a voice came across my com.
I spun to see Andy and the Kilodan crossing the field. “My dad.”
Andy put his hand on my shoulder and whispered, “You scared me, girl.”
I reached up and squeezed his gauntlet. “I’m sorry. But if I hadn’t come…”
“Police Chief Dalrymple would be a charred memory, and so would Miss Angel.” The Kilodan pulled me into a fierce hug.
“You scared him a lot worse,” Andy said, jerking his thumb at the Kilodan.
The soft noise of movement caught my ear.
“Alert!” the Kilodan whispered, releasing me from the much-needed hug. “Act normal—cold and uncaring.”
“Normal for you,” I said quietly.
Police Chief Dalrymple limped out from behind the charred remains of the goal post, leaning on Mason for support, gazing around at the unconscious forms scattered across the field. “Nothing but flunkies,” he said. “Nicolaitan didn’t even have the courtesy to come to my kidnapping.”
“I see you have a new aide,” the Kilodan said.
“I do,” Dalrymple said. “And it seems we have a lot of work to do. Mason, I’d like to introduce the Psi Fighters. They help the city with, shall we say, special problems like this one.”
“Hi.” Mason looked back and forth between Andy, the Kilodan, and me. I forced myself not to laugh. I knew he was totally nervous about how to handle our secrets. “We meet again,” Dalrymple said to me. “A pleasure. I hope we’ll continue to work together.”
I nodded.
Dalrymple turned to the Kilodan. “Over a dozen Knights. Are you certain my jail will hold all of them?”
“It’s been thoroughly tested,” Andy said. “They will not escape. What will you do with the others?”
“Proletariat.” Dalrymple’s face was sad. “What a thing to call another human being.”
“To Nicolaitan,” the Kilodan said, “that is all they are. You will find that many of them have no prior criminal record. They are innocent.”
“Even the innocent can be lured down a wrong path,” Dalrymple said. “If they don’t have records, I’ll question them and turn them loose. But I’ve started a file of names. Once a kid goes down this path, he’s more easily lured the next time. Now if you’ll excuse me, Mason and I have criminals to identify.”
Mason smiled at me, then turned to follow Dalrymple.
“So do I,” Andy said to me as the Andymobile rolled across the field toward us, Drake in the driver seat.
“What?” I said.
“What’s the name of the Knight you let go?” Andy said.
“No,” I said. “Who.”
“Okay, who?” Andy asked.
“Of course.”
“Of course WHAT?”
“No, silly, who!” I said.
“Who?” Andy asked a bit more loudly. “Hey, this is my game!”
“Gotcha!”
The Kilodan shook his head. “His name is Hieronymus Friedrich Bodenwerder.”
“How did you know?” I said, totally shocked. “Oh, right. You’re, like, the Kilodan, and it’s your job to be annoyingly right all the time.”
“There’s that,” the Kilodan said. “Plus a bit of inside
r information. The Megadan’s alter ego was helping the boy after an apparent suicide attempt that some brave girl talked him out of.”
“Yeah, well, I meant to tell you about that.”
“Anyone need a ride?” Drake said.
“Hey, how do you get to drive when I’m not allowed?”
Drake shrugged. “If there’s a plus side to being unconscious for most of the fight, I guess this is it.”
“Enough chatter,” Andy said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Drake Says Goodbye
I didn’t sleep much that night, partly because I didn’t get home until late, mostly because I couldn’t stop thinking about how the stress from being a Knight and the abuse from Art had made Hi suicidal. He was a sweet kid. He was my friend, a member of the Dweeb League. I hated how Nicolaitan had tried to turn him evil.
I suppose that’s why I needed to be a Psi Fighter.
The next evening after practice had let out, I got more shocking news.
“The police found a body this morning,” Andy said. “It was a warning to the Knights.”
“To the Knights?” I said. “How do you know?”
“It was tied to the goal post that wasn’t burned. The man wore the black armor of a Knight, but his face was exposed. It was Scallion. His mask was tied around his neck, along with a large vial of blood. And his heart had been torn from his chest.”
“Oh, that’s awful!”
“In more ways than one.” Andy frowned. “I think Nicolaitan has perfected Handless Death. When he couldn’t kill Mason, he found a way to make an already deadly technique much worse.”
“But Psi Weapons can’t harm flesh. How is that possible?”
“Nicolaitan found a way. It looks like he told you the truth when he said there was a rogue, but it wasn’t a Psi Fighter. It was Scallion.”
“Wow,” I said.
“As we suspected, the Knights are behind the corruption on the police force. Scallion was a desk sergeant named Nick Veronica. He was using Tammy to fence his stolen goods. Nicolaitan underestimated his Knights’ fear of him, so he made an example of Scallion to make sure they all knew their place on the food chain.”
Live and Let Psi Page 26