The Legend Thief (13 page)

"What does this have to do with me?" Sky asked.

"Possibly nothing," said Morton, examining him. "But should you learn anything about said blade-or happen to remember something a
supposedly
dead relative might have told you regarding its whereabouts-you must bring it to my personal attention. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Sky replied, having no intention of telling Morton anything unless he had to. Even if Morton knew about the blade, he likely didn't know about the inscription on the lid of the coffin, especially since Morton didn't seem to realize that Alexander's coffin was sitting in Sky's kitchen. Sky still had secrets he could trade, if he needed to. Secrets were, after all, the currency of the hunters, according to Chase.

Of course, as soon as Morton's hunters returned with news that the coffin was missing, the secret would get Sky in serious trouble. The mud and coffin tracks on the foyer tiles weren't exactly subtle, and Morton would doubtless make the connection.

What intrigued Sky most was that Morton not only seemed to believe that Phineas was still alive (the "supposedly" dead relative), but also that Phineas might have told him something about Alexander's blade. Phineas had seldom talked about Alexander or the shimmering blades, and never at the same time. And yet Morton clearly thought there was a connection between Phineas and Alexander's blade. Sky racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything Phineas might have
said ,
or why Morton would suspect a connection in the first place.

"Next," Morton continued, "we believe that should Bedlam free himself or manage to take control of you despite our precautions"- Morton looked pointedly at the barrow weed sticking out of Sky's nose-"he will attempt to free his brother, the Arkhon."

Sky nodded; he had guessed as much. Bedlam would have quite an unpleasant surprise when he found Solomon Rose tromping around in the Arkhon's body, assuming Bedlam got that far. Sky had no idea where the real Arkhon was, or even if he was still alive.

Sky looked up from his thoughts and found Morton's eyes drilling into him again. An uncomfortable silence passed, and Sky began to fidget. Morton couldn't possibly know about Solomon, could he?

Morton finally broke eye contact, and Sky felt as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

"No one, of course," said Morton, "wants the Arkhon roaming free any more than we want Bedlam roaming free. This brings us to the crux of our problem ..."

"You want the keys," said Sky, his stomach dropping.

"Smart boy," said Morton. "You
will
give us the keys. Finally, there's a question of loyalties. Your previous mentor was ... how shall I put this delicately?
Of questionable character."

Sky bristled. "There was nothing questionable about Phineas’ character."

Morton smiled indulgently.
"Of course.
Nevertheless, after extensive discussions on the matter, we've determined that your education is incomplete. If you choose to accept our conditions, and live, you must declare your loyalty to the Hunters of Legend, train with us, and take a new master."

A chill went through Sky. "And who's that?"

Morton's smile grew even bigger.
"Myself, of course."

Sky gulped. This was the humiliating part. Morton wasn't a gracious loser; Sky had embarrassed him. Now Sky would pay. A training accident, a dangerous hunt gone bad , maybe just a knife in the dark, but if he put himself in Morton's hands, Sky had the feeling he'd wind up just as dead as saying no.

"It's a great honor," Morton assured him. "It's your choice,

Sky: Use the barrow weed, give us information on the blade, hand over the keys, and accept me as your new master.
Or ..
.
die
. Make your choice."

Sky shook his head. "That's the worst choice I've ever heard."

"Morton, I've got a choice for you: Accept my challenge light like a hunter," Beau spat. "Stop picking on children." "But, my dear Beau, you are
not
a hunter," Morton replied.

"Phineas booted you out himself. And why was that again? Ah, yes.
For marrying a creature who was not only a daughter of the Arkhon, whom you were sworn to hunt, but a Whisper
spy
as well."

Sky perked up. He knew Beau had left the
hunters
years ago- at least in name- but he never knew why, not really. Beau had told him that the hunters had booted him out when they'd discovered that Ursula was a Whisper, a monster who would shift into just about anything over the three days of the full moon. But he'd left out a big chunk of story.

"I don't have the keys," Sky muttered, derailing Morton and Beau's conversation.

For the first time Morton looked confused. "What?"

"I don't have them," said Sky. "I've only got the watch." Morton glanced at Malvidia.

"Sky, this isn't the time for games," said Malvidia urgently.

"Give Morton the keys."

Sky glared at Malvidia. He didn't notice a knife in
her
back. He'd handed her the hunters, and she'd negotiated one of the worst deals in history. She'd sold him out; she'd sold all of them out.

"He's telling the truth," T-Bone jumped in. "We lost one of the keys last year."

"You
lost
one of the keys," Morton scoffed. "You've got to be joking. Where's the other?"

"Here."

Sky turned around and saw Crystal standing in the
hall ,
holding up the remaining monocle.

Behind her, the hall was full of people: Andrew, Hands, Mom, Dad, and Hannah-even Tick, Lazy Eye, and
Squid ,
dragging a still unconscious Derek between them. Slowly they entered the foyer, spreading out.

"The happy family and friends," said Morton, watching as Tick, Lazy Eye, and Squid dropped Derek to the floor none to carefully and reached for their weapons. "Helen, Herman-nice to see you again. It's been a long time since the Academy."

Chase started backing away with Sky. This was exactly what Sky didn't want to happen.

"It has," said Mom, her voice strained, a butcher knife suddenly in her hand. "What brings you to Exile, Morton?"

"A grim business, I'm afraid," Morton replied, ignoring the weapons.

"Take the keys and leave him alone," said Crystal, throwing the monocle at Morton's head. He deftly snatched it out of the air with hardly a glance.

"Two keys is more than enough to stop Bedlam from opening the prison," Andrew added, holding his Cross-Shocker casually at his side. "You don't need the other key to keep it shut." "Andrew has a point for once," Malvidia chimed in. "Surely Sky accepts the other terms you've offered?" She glanced at Sky, her expression cold.

He looked around at all his friends, his family. They'd fight to keep him alive. They'd
die
to keep him alive. This wasn't just his life on the line anymore.

"Sky, you don't have to do anything," Dad insisted, inching forward, putting himself between Sky and Morton. "We won't let anyone hurt you."

A chill shot through Sky at those familiar words, and he thought of Nikola, his great protector, his tragic and broken d1ampion, and he realized: Nobody could protect him. Not from this. But right now, he could protect
them.

Sky nodded at Malvidia-a curt, quick jerk. He had doomed himself, but he had saved everyone else. Besides, he was probably doomed anyway.

"The boy is slow, but he's not stupid," said Malvidia. "What do you say, Morton-do we have a deal?"

Morton examined the monocle, ignoring Malvidia and Dad and everyone else. "Marvelous things, these monocles," he said, adjusting several of the monocle's knobs. "I was there the day the First Hunter forged them, you know. So long ago, now ... The War of Legend wasn't going our way. High casualties in the Sahara; the Balkans overrun; Legend pushing through the Alps with an army of Erabin and Vindikites. We tried to cut him off at Grimsel Pass, but the Cloying took us. The First Hunter forged the monocles and named them Hope and Vengeance; the watch, Patience. They were symbols more than anything not powerful like the shimmering blades she would later create. Still, they had their uses, as far as they went."

Nobody spoke as Morton put on the monocle.

Sky felt a sudden bump from behind and fell to the floor. He glared back at Chase, who had pushed him.

"Fortunately," Morton continued, "one of those uses will help us spot a liar." Morton started looking around the room, staring at each of the hunters as if he could see through them. "No ... no
.. .
no
..."The monocle settled on Sky. "Ah, there he is. Sky, would you be so kind as to hand over the monocle in your pocket?"

"What?" Sky asked, confused.

"Two keys
is
not enough, you see," said Morton. "It's all three or death for thee."

Slowly Sky reached into the pocket Morton was looking at and pulled out the missing monocle. He stared at it in wonder. "I ... I don't know how-"

"It's all right," Morton cut in, snatching the watch and monocle from him. "The deal is done." Morton pulled the monocle from his eye. "We're going to have so much fun together, Sky-I just know it."

Morton nodded at Hagos and Solange, and they released Beau and T-Bone.

"You've fallen a long way, Hagos," said Beau, straightening his coat. He looked at Solange. "Solange, you haven't fallen far enough."

Solange stuck her tongue out at him like a little girl. Morton strode toward the door. "See you tomorrow, Sky, bright and early. We've got a blade to find, and you've got much to learn and little time before Bedlam's army arrives!"

Morton paused halfway out the door. "Oh, and Sky-lie to me again and your punishment will be most creative. Don't let the bowler hat fool you; I am not a nice man."

With that, Morton left, followed by Malvidia and the other hunters. Chase left last of all. He gave Sky a cheeky wink and closed the door behind him.

"The
nerve,"
Mom complained after they left.
"And that Chase, pretending to be your friend."

"We’ll fight this, Sky," Beau promised. "Morton's out of control. No one will expect you to go through with this ridiculous apprenticeship, no matter how many hunters witnessed the contract-"

"Beau," Sky cut in. "I have to go through with it. You said it yourself: Morton's out of control. Who knows what he'd do if I tried to back out? He might burn Exile to the ground before Bedlam's army ever gets here! Besides, he won't hurt me-not really. If anything happened to me, he'd lose face again. He won't let that happen," Sky lied.
Poorly.
Morton would make him pay, Sky had no doubt. Fortunately, most of them seemed to buy it, but not the monster hunters. Crystal frowned at him.

"Look," Sky continued, "let's focus on stopping Bedlam and we'll worry about Morton
after."

Mom and Dad exchanged
the look.

"And you promise you'll tell us if Morton steps out of line?" Dad asked.

Sky nodded.
Another lie.

"All right," said Mom. "We'll play along for now. You should shower and go to sleep. And so should your friends. And get that poor boy off the ground!"

Tick, Lazy Eye, and Squid scrambled to pick up Derek, accidentally ramming his head into a table.

"Careful!" Hannah cried. "You're going to damage his best parts!"

"His brains?" asked Lazy Eye.
"His eyebrows!"

Dad scowled. "I don't want you looking at boys' eyebrows, Hannah."

Mom sighed. "Hannah, please just take everyone home. It's been a long day."

"I'll walk them to the car," said Sky.

"Okay," said Mom, "but be careful. We'll sort this all out tomorrow."

"Would it be okay if I stayed here, Mrs. Weathers," said Crystal, "with
her?"

Mom pursed her lips. "Won't your father be worried? We really should call him-"

"He's out of town," said Crystal.

"And he didn't leave a number? The name of the hotel where he was staying?" asked Mom.

"Could have," said Crystal, shrugging.

Hannah, Tick, Lazy Eye, and Squid shuffled out the door with Derek, banging him into the wall.

"Careful!" Mom cried. She turned back to Crystal. "Maybe Beau could check the house-"

"No, no!" said Crystal, perking up. "I mean, the house is a mess; I'd hate to waste Sheriff Beau's time. I can check in the morning. I think I remember where it is. And I'd hate to worry Dad when he's overseas and couldn't catch a flight this late anyway."

"I suppose
... ,
" said Mom hesitantly. "But are you sure you wouldn't prefer to stay in one of the spare rooms?"

''I'd like to be by her," said Crystal, "in case she wakes up."

"All
right," Mom conceded. ''I'll get you a blanket ... but try to get some sleep."

"I will," Crystal assured her.

Mom ,
Dad, and Beau left, leaving Sky alone with Crystal and the others.

"Do you want us to look for the phone number?" Sky offered, exhausted, but desperate to help in some way.

"Don't worry about it," said Crystal, waving her hand dismissively.

"We'll stay, too, if you want," Andrew offered. T-Bone and Hands nodded.

"Go home! I'm fine," said Crystal.
"Seriously.
I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"All right," said T-Bone, "but call us if anything changes and don't do anything
.. .
anything
..." "Stupid?" Crystal supplied.

"I was going to say don't do anything Sky would do," said T-Bone.

"Hey," said Sky, "''m right here, you know."

"But mostly," said Hands, "don't do anything without us." "Don't worry, I'll wait until we can be stupid together," said Crystal.

"That's all I ask," said Hands.

They left Crystal behind and walked out the door toward Hannah's car.

"''m curious," said T-Bone, looking ponderous, "has anyone ever
met
Crystal's dad?"

"I did," said Andrew as they stepped onto the cobblestone path.
"A few years ago.
He's a journalist of some sort, always on assignment."

T-Bone grunted.

''I'm still completely lost," said Hands. "What exactly happened tonight?"

"You guys aren't going to like this," said Sky.

He filled them in as quickly as he could while Tick, Lazy Eye, and Squid attempted to shove Derek into Hannah's rather small car.

"That's just freaky," said Andrew. "Why would Crystal's mom dig up a dead body?"

"Maybe she's a
vampire ,
"
said Hands, "
Nosferatu
.
The unholy scourge.
The walking dead with pointy teeth."

"You do realize that vampires were just weak shifters who ate dead people, right?" said Sky.

"A boy can dream, can't he?" said Hands.

"So what are you going to do, Sky?" asked T-Bone. "You aren't seriously thinking of going through with this apprentice thing, are you?"

"I have to," said Sky. "Morton's too old-I think his brain's rotted. You heard him in there; he'd destroy Exile if I blinked at him weird. Besides, now that Bedlam's lost control of Crystal's mom, he's likely wandering around in someone else's body. Bedlam's probably the one who shot Cass, and Morton wasn't on the hunt tonight."