The Legend Thief (21 page)

T-Bone lifted Sky up so he could see through the sewer gate. Rain runoff streamed through, splashing them both, but Sky had a clear view of the back of the bowling alley.

"They've got it taped off- crime scene," Sky said. "Looks like a new back door, too." Sky could hear music thumping.
"Sounds like they're open.
Okay. Set me back down."

T-Bone lowered Sky.

Sky brushed water from his clothes. It'd taken him a while to unload the rest of the instruments and get rid of Chase, and still more time to get here with Andrew. He'd never found Nikola, though at one point, he'd caught a glimpse of him heading north with his checkered blanket and Sky's stolen tuba. By the time Sky reached the spot, Nikola .had disappeared, leaving absolutely no sign of his passing. He hoped Nikola wasn't doing anything unseemly with his tuba, such as using it to bake urinal cakes.

"Back door's not an option," said Sky.
"Any other ideas?"
Nobody said anything.

"Well, we have to get in there," said Crystal. "If we can't use the back door, maybe we should go through the front." "Andrew and I can go in; we're not suited up yet," said Sky. "No good," said Hands. "Andrew comes here too often for disco night."

''I'm a jive machine," said Andrew, grinning.

"It's true," said Hands. "Andrew can groove like nobody's business and still hit the pins. He'd be recognized, as would I if something happens in there, we don't want it traced back to us."

Crystal looked thoughtful. "All right, Sky will come with me. You three wait here. Andrew, get suited up. If anything happens, come in and get us. The note warned of Harrow Wrights. I don't expect anything would attack us with people around, but you never know."

While Andrew suited up and Crystal suited down, Sky sifted through the duffel bag that held his gear. In the bottom, he found three poorly wrapped presents. He pulled the top one out and shook it. "What's this?"

T-Bone glanced over.
"Presents.
We're not singing."

''I'll sing," Hands offered.

"We're
not
singing," T-Bone stated again.

Sky shook the first one. "A scarf?" he guessed.

"Open it," said T-Bone. "It's from all of us-Beau, too. We couldn't have done it without his mad metallurgy skills."

Sky opened it. Inside, he found a large circular mint tin. "Is this a hint or something?"

T-Bone took the mint tin and slid his hand through a small metal handle welded to the bottom. He squeezed the handle and the lid flipped open. A piece of material exploded out and unfolded in the blink of an eye, locking into a pearl-tinted transparent shield about four feet across.

"
Ah .
..
very
nice," Sky lied.
"A cloth shield.
Very useful."

T-Bone smiled. "Andrew, the matches please."

"Of course, oh bossy one," said Andrew, pulling a match book from his pocket and lighting a match. He held it next to the smoky, transparent material and put his hand on the material opposite the match.

"Impervious to fire."
Hands threw a rock and T-Bone deflected it effortlessly.
"Impervious to damage."
T-Bone pivoted and threw the shield like a
frisbee
. It shot into the stone wall of the sewer, sinking to the tin.
"And very, very sharp."

'That seems dangerous," said Sky, looking at the sharp edges and imagining himself with a missing head.

"It is," said T-Bone as he ripped the tin out of the sewer wall. "Push the handle here with your thumb and it'll fold the edges a bit-take off the sting."

T-Bone squeezed the grip and the shield collapsed back into the mint tin, the lid flapping shut behind it. "After that, lock it up. We call it the Tin."' He twisted the handle and popped it off. Then he tossed both the Tin and the handle to Sky.

"We wouldn't want anyone chopping their fingers off," said T-Bone, grinning. "We've been working on this for months, but that letter you found warned of Harrow Wights nearby. Hands and I did some research-those things burst into flame. We figured it was best to get you the Tin now. There's also a new cloak waiting for you when you get back. We wove in some of the same materials we used on the Tins, so it's now resistant to fire and damage as well-not impervious, like the Tins, but much better
than
they were."

"
Er
... thanks," said Sky, impressed.
"Much cooler than a cloth shield."

"Wait until you see mine," said Hands, tossing Sky the next present.

Sky caught it with as much trepidation as he'd caught the decapitating shield.

"This one's just from Hands," Crystal clarified. T-Bone and Andrew nodded vigorously.

When the present didn't explode, Sky opened it. Inside, he found two oven mitts embroidered with characters from Hands’ favorite book series:
Embrace of the Vampire.
"
Er
... let me guess
.. .
These are loaded with sleeping darts that shoot through the fingertips?"

"No. But that's a good idea," said Hands. "Those are oven mitts. They're for taking hot things out of ovens.
For baking cakes and stuff."

"Ah, okay
... ,
"said Sky, "thanks."

"No
prob
," said Hands, smirking at some joke Sky couldn't begin to fathom.

"You've got some serious issues to work through, Hands, you know that?" said T-Bone, shaking his head.

Hands laughed.

Sky tossed the oven mitts in the bag and started to open the last present.

"This one's from me," said Crystal.
"Sort of."

Sky ripped off the last bit of paper and found one of Uncle

Phineas’ old coats.

"T-Bone and Hands mentioned your Valentine's Day shirt," said Crystal, smirking.
"Thought you could use a coat to hide those pretty pink hearts.
Plus, it's kind of cold out and the coat has lots of pockets for your stuff. I found this one in an old bedroom at the manor. Good enough, you think?"

"I could kiss you right now
... ,
" said Sky, staring at the coat.

''I'd rather you not," Crystal stated flatly.

Sky glanced up. "What? Oh ... I was talking to the coat." Crystal frowned.

"Not that I wouldn't!" Sky hurriedly added.

Crystal's frown deepened.

T-Bone and Hands laughed. Andrew looked at the ceiling. "I mean ... you
know .
..
or
would," Sky stumbled. "But, that is to say, I'm very appreciative and-"

"Are you done yet?" Crystal cut in.

"Very," said Sky.

"Good. Let's go, then," Crystal snapped.

Sky put on the coat and shoved a few canisters of Fog and Jumper fuel into his pockets. Crystal had apparently spent part of the day, when she wasn't watching over her mom, refilling and repairing their equipment, because the canisters were full.

Crystal and Sky exited the sewers and made their way around to the front. Sky pushed on the door and found it locked.

They peeked through the windows. The lights were on, music was playing, and they could see people moving around inside.

"That's weird," said Crystal. Sky tapped on the glass.

The door cracked open and a woman poked her head out.

She was old- wretchedly old- with saggy wrinkled skin that was caked in a thick, almost orange makeup. Long wisps of white hair, like cotton filaments, fluttered from her head, struggling to escape the horror that was her mole-speckled scalp. Despite her apparent age, her eyes were all fire.

"What do you want?" the woman asked.

"We just, ah
... ,
" Sky started.

"If you're looking to bowl, you should know we're closed," the woman cut in.

"Oh," said Sky. "What are all those people doing, then?" The woman glanced over her shoulder, looking at the crowded bowling alley.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," the woman replied tartly.

"What my brother means to say is that we were here a few nights ago and he left his shoes behind- wore the completely wrong shoes home," said Crystal, rustling through her backpack. She pulled out a
very
worn pair of bowling shoes. Sky tried to hide his astonishment at her preparation. "We'd like to return these and search your lost and found, if we could."

The woman wrinkled her brow. "I don't know ..."

"There you two are!" a voice snapped behind them. Sky turned and saw a familiar-looking woman with charcoal hair marching toward them, but he couldn't place her. "What's taking you so long?"

"I
... ,
"Sky began, but the woman reached them and put her arms protectively around him and Crystal.

"Were my instructions unclear, children?" The newcomer raised an eyebrow, clearly encouraging them to play along. "Perhaps my message got lost in translation. Let's find the shoes quickly and leave-
!need
to pay a visit to my friend Miss Terry to teach her how to keep better track of her things." The woman sounded upset.

Sky opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Her friend, Miss
Terry ...

For a moment Sky considered the possibility that this was Ursula herself, upset that he had taken the encoded note from her desk. As
a Whisper, Ursula could shift into anything if she had a biological sample of the subject, but the full moon was still a few weeks off. Besides, the woman seemed upset with Ursula, not with him, and it wouldn't make any sense for her to be upset with herself.

Sky examined the woman more closely . . . her charcoal hair, so familiar ... not Ursula, and yet she clearly knew about the note he'd found in Ursula's office, which meant she was probably the sender, "M
" ...

Everything suddenly fell into place, and Sky realized with a shock why she looked so familiar: She was the woman from Nikola's picture, a hunter he had seen at least twice before.

She was M-not Malvidia or Morton, but "Em," as in "Ernaline." And like Nikola, she had been there the night Sky was
Changed
by the Shadow Man. She was Nikola's wife, who had carried him away and fought to give Phineas time to escape with Sky.

Sky knew who Nikola's son was, the son he had mentioned last night and long ago. Sky stared at Em, so stunned he could hardly think. .. . How was it even possible?

Crystal narrowed her eyes, obviously thinking hard, but she didn't have the information he had. She didn't know.

"You look like a fish when you do that with your mouth," Em observed.

Sky closed his mouth.

"Who are you?" the old woman at the door barked. "Why are you bothering me?"

"My name is
Ju
-"

"Em," Sky blurted before he could stop himself.

He saw Crystal stiffen when she heard the name; she'd figured it out.

The old woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously, watching them.

"
Er
... M, as in Mom, is what I meant," Sky corrected pathetically. "She's our mom."

The old woman's eyes narrowed even further, until they were just visible beneath her flabby orange wrinkles.

Em stepped in. "Yes, I'm their mother-an unfortunate position, as you can clearly see...."

The old woman nodded in agreement, her wrinkles retracting a bit.

"But most people call me Juliet," Em continued, apparently not wanting to tell the woman her real name. "Now, if you'll just allow us to-"

"Incident last night," the old woman stated gruffly, interrupting her.
"Closed till further notice."