Death's Academy (22 page)

My head is spinning. “What’s going on?” I ask.

Mal bites her lip. “He’s hiding something. He shouldn’t have been able to get back from the Reapless without the Scythe’s powers. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Is there any other way he could have gotten back?”

She shakes her head. “And he’s the
only
one who knows how to do it? That seems a bit unlikely, doesn’t it?”

“I’m going to follow him,” I say and get off my knees into a crouched position.

“What? No! It’s too dangerous.”

“You said it—he’s up to something. We’ve got to find out what he’s doing.”

“But you’ll get caught.”

“I’ll be careful. Besides, what if he doesn’t mean to take all three of us back?”

“A halo would never do that,” Mal says.

“You sure about that?”

Mal folds her arms and glances at the floor. “No … I’m not.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Mal pulls her backpack off her shoulders and pushes it into my hands. “Take this. It may save your life.”

I nod and throw it on. “Stay here,” I say and scamper to the wall. I climb over and drop down onto the other side. I throw myself up against a nearby house and peer toward the unicorn guard pacing in front of the gated entrance.

I look both ways and catch a glimpse of Lightcrest creeping between two gingerbread houses. I make sure the coast is clear and speed after him. I stop at the gaps between houses to check for prying eyes. I keep my distance, staying far enough behind Lightcrest to not draw his attention. He moves purposefully, sliding along the sides of buildings and ducking under bridges, the whole time leading us closer to the side of the cavern wall opposite of the gears and wheels. It takes all of my effort to keep up with him, and I’m panting to catch my breath.

All of a sudden, he drops, swallowed up by the earth. I gasp and race to the place where he disappeared. A manhole covering has been pushed aside and a ladder leads down into the darkness. I drop to my knees and stick my head underground.

A series of long tunnels snake their way in all different directions. I catch sight of Lightcrest’s white shirt moving swiftly down the center tunnel.

“Where’s he’s going?”

I drop down and splash deep into what I hope is water. I make a beeline after him. He almost loses me twice, and if it wasn’t for his gleaming white shirt and flowing blond hair, I’m pretty sure I would be lost. We must be getting closer to the Ferris wheel because the carnival music is getting louder and louder.

Lightcrest cuts down another tunnel and disappears. I race forward, skid around the corner, and see his left foot vanish up a ladder. I wait a moment at the base of the ladder and then climb after him. I inch my head up, my eyes breaking the plane of the street.

The exit from the sewer is tucked up against a looming gingerbread wall. Eaves made of icing shadow where I’m hiding. I poke my head out a bit farther. The spinning and blinking lights on the Ferris wheel immediately catch my attention. We must have gone underneath it and popped out on the other side. It’s monstrous. The steel bolts holding the spokes together are the size of bus tires. It takes all of my willpower to shake the hypnotic trance the massive wheel has placed me in.

“Get a grip!” I mutter to myself and peel my eyes away. “Where has that halo jerk gone to?”

Clop, clop, clop!

I duck below the street and hide. The staccato of the fast-moving unicorn fades away. I rise back up out of my hiding space. I realize that I’m at the edge of a courtyard. The jelly-bean cobblestone has been replaced with orange-and-white candy corn. The Ferris wheel walls in one end of the courtyard and a horseshoe-shaped building closes in on the other sides.

The horseshoe-building stands over a hundred feet at its highest point. The roof peaks and valleys like a mountain range. The top of each ridge is adorned with swirling green-and-white lollipops. Cherry-red licorice lines each gable. The front is shingled by purple rock candy cut in squares. The centerpiece of this cathedral of sweets is an ominous circular door that peers out like a single staring eye. The door is barely cracked, the iron ring attached to its side still swaying where it had been pulled open.

I sit there slack-jawed for several minutes until I
mutter something that if heard by my mom or probably any of my teachers would have gotten me a red bottom. Lightcrest is nowhere to be seen, but it doesn’t take much imagination to guess where he’s gone. He’s crept through the front door.

Why did I volunteer to go on this crazy expedition? I could have been home, watching some shorty TV or riding around on the Hound-ariot. Instead, I’m about to walk right into what is probably the unicorn capitol building. This is great …

I climb the rest of the way up the ladder and make a dash for the door. I squeeze through the narrow opening and pop through. There are two swooping staircases with red velvet carpet running down the center of each one. A chandelier hangs like a diamond shaped uvula between the two staircases. Marble pillars line the lobby.

Clank!
A door is slammed shut.
Clop, clop, clop!

I dive behind one of the pillars and wait until the pair of unicorns cross the lobby and climb one of the staircases. I move from pillar to pillar and am about to take my chances up the staircase when I hear muffled laughter followed by a whinny. It is coming from behind the staircases.

I hear it again. I follow the noise and creep through the gap between the two staircases. There’s a door tucked up behind the staircase. I press my ear up against it. Two voices … it’s Lightcrest and Raindrop.

It’s a skinny room with shiny green-and-white tiles. The walls are painted all the colors of the rainbow like an eager kindergarten class had been set free to decorate how they pleased. A monstrous chandelier filled with fist-sized Christmas lights dangles above.

Lightcrest is sandwiched between two burly unicorns. Each one has him by the arm. His feet dangle about an inch above the ground. Raindrop is pacing
back and forth in front of them with a satisfied smirk. I do a double take and rub my eyes. Behind Raindrop, lying on a marble slab four feet above the ground, is the Scythe.

“But I’m still confused,” Raindrop says. “Explain to me again what you’re doing here?”

Lightcrest twitches and tries to pull away from the guards. Their claws dig deeper into his arms.

“I can’t think of any explainable reason why you would have returned. Our business is finished,” Raindrop says and folds his arms. “You got what you wanted those many years ago and we now have what we wanted. As they say, we are even.”

“Let’s twist him, Raindrop. Let’s twist him like a top!” one of the unicorns gripping Lightcrest’s arm says.

“No, no. Not yet … We’ll make him squeal soon enough. I have a few more questions for our illustrious guest.” Raindrop steps forward, his snout inches from Lightcrest’s face. “The deal was, we help you with the ocean liner.”

“The
Queen Suzanne
,” the other unicorn holding Lightcrest blurts out.

“Yes, the
Queen Suzanne
. We help you sink it, allow you to save all of those disgusting human passengers, and then pin the blame on the hoodie.”

I throw my hand over my mouth to keep me from gasping.

Raindrop continues. “We make it look like you prevented the greatest unsanctioned crossing of humans ever. We make you look like a hero, make you famous.
You owe your life and everything that you are to us. Have I left anything out?”

Lightcrest’s head droops, his chin pressed against his chest. Raindrop examines him like he’s a slab of meat hanging in front of him. He lets out a snort.

“Let me venture a guess why you’re here. Let’s see if I can understand why the great Lightcrest Michaels has returned to our city … You mean to be the hero again, don’t you?” Raindrop’s claw flashes forward, gripping Lightcrest by the jaw. He jerks his head up so they’re looking eye to eye. “Don’t you? You were going to steal back the Scythe of Grim. You were going to save the day again. Be the great hero! But you’ve forgotten, you insignificant little halo, that you are not a hero. You’re nothing without us. We made you … And now we’re going to unmake you. Tie him up!”

The two unicorns pull out long red licorice whips and fasten them around Lightcrest’s wrists and ankles.

“You!” Raindrop points to one of Lightcrest’s guards. “Let the captain of the guards know we have a prisoner and that I want six more guards in here.”

“Yes, sir,” the unicorn answers and dashes from the room.

“Keep him here,” Raindrop says to the other guard.

Raindrop glances at Lightcrest lying facedown on the stone floor. A wide toothy smile zigzags across his face. “We’ll see what punishment Sundancer wants for him,” he says and leaves Lightcrest and the guard.

I scurry back behind the wall and shrug the backpack off my shoulders. I throw it open and glance
inside. There is one hound retriever left, the can of ice spray, and Brilliance’s skull-sized stone that she asked Mal to carry for her.

“Think! Think!” I mutter under my breath.

I peek back around the edge of the wall into the room. Besides the marble slab holding the Scythe, the room is bare. My eyes float up and the chandelier drifts an inch to the left, pushed by a slight breeze. I follow the ropes that keep the chandelier suspended. An idea pops into my head.

I pull my head back around the corner, and I lift Brilliance’s stone into my hands. I feel its weight and my fingers examine its shape. It weighs and feels remarkably familiar. I grip it with the Lou-cow-ski hold and pretend to roll it down the corridor. I nod a couple of times. It could work.

Suddenly the image of Brilliance booting my roll through the golden hoop pops into my head and doubt pounces on me with the ferocity of a spider monkey, slapping my face and pulling my ears. I gulp and shake my head.

“You can do this, you can do this,” I whisper. “You can do this …”

I take a deep breath. “Here goes nothing,” I mutter and jump around the corner into the room. “Hey, zebra butt!”

The unicorn spins around to face me. He springs forward.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

I wait for the precise moment, bow my legs, twist my hips, and fling the stone. It spins and skids across
the green-and-white tiles toward one of the walls. The Unicorn lets out a laugh.

“Terrible aim, kid!” he yells.

I smirk. “Wait for it.”

The stone hits the wall and ricochets up into air. The unicorn skids to a stop with his mouth open and watches the stone soar through the air. The stone hits the bolt that holds the chandelier aloft. The rope snaps and the chandelier tilts and swings. The stone rebounds toward the opposite wall, floating lazily.

“Come on! Come on!” I say.

It hits the other bolt and the final rope snaps. The chandelier quivers and drops. The unicorn lets out a squeal and crouches to leap away. He’s too slow, and the chandelier lands on top of him, encircling him. His arms are pinned to his sides, and the weight of the chandelier causes him to flop onto his backside. He struggles against it in vain.

I was hoping that the chandelier was going to just knock the unicorn out, but trapping him like this makes me look, in my mind at least, pretty amazing.

I saunter toward him, a smile plastered on my face. “How’s that for aim, horse-boy?”

The unicorn gives me a dirty look. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Oh yeah? How are you going to do that? You couldn’t even lift your arm high enough to scratch your nose if you wanted. How ya gonna kill me?” I say and lean up against one of the walls, very satisfied.

He grunts and struggles to free himself, but he can’t budge. “Help! Help!” he screams.

Crap!
I didn’t plan on him calling for help. He’s going to wake up the entire city! I run back to Mal’s backpack, grab the hound retriever, aim it at the unicorn, and fire. The suction cup streaks through the air and smacks him firmly over the snout, completely covering his mouth. He lets out a whimper.

“Mmhh! Mmhh!” he grunts.

“What was that?” I hold my hand to my ear. “Sorry, I don’t speak donkey,” I say with a grin.

I rush past the unicorn, jump over Lightcrest, and scoop up the Scythe.

“Help me!” Lightcrest pleads.

I glare at him. “Why should I?”

“You’re just going to leave me?” he asks.

“Just like I’m sure you would have done to us,” I say and start to walk past him.

“I wasn’t going to leave you two, I swear!” he says and struggles against his bonds.

“You’re the reason my dad was blamed for the
Queen Suzanne
. You’re the reason for everything!” I say.

He licks his lips and nods. “I know how to get us out of here,” he says.

I stare at him for a moment.

He lays his forehead onto the floor. “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t pick your dad out; it just happened to be him. Many times I meant to say something, but …”