The Legend Thief (31 page)

The other members of the football team
nodded,
their expressions grim. Sky hated to ask-it was going to be dangerous-and he knew from the vibrations coming through the earth that this one Harrow Knight was the least of their worries, but they needed that blade. It was the only way to save Crystal and Exile.

As if in answer to his thoughts, the ground rumbled again. And then, in the middle of the field, a single Gossymer appeared.

"That doesn't look so bad," Lazy Eye commented.

"Looks like a Quindlemore cheerleader to me," Squid quipped.
"All legs and hair and hairy legs."

"Please ignore the giant spider in the center of the field," Hands announced over the loudspeaker. "Your panic will only cause it to burst into flames."

The screaming began anew and the Gossymer promptly burst into flames.

"He's got a bright future in announcing," Tick said groggily, staring up at the announcer's box. Several of the players nodded in agreement.

"Hands!
Get down here, you idiot!" T-Bone yelled, sounding annoyed.

At that moment the Harrow Knight clawed up a chunk of earth and launched it at the announcer's booth. Hands jumped through the door as it hit, and the announcer's booth toppled off the bleachers. Hands brushed
himself
off, then hit his Jumpers and sailed over the rapidly thinning crowd. He crashed next to Sky in a wave of shimmering light and rolled to his feet. "Did I miss anything?"

A dozen more Gossymers crawled out of the ground with smaller, human-size Harrow Wights on their backs. The Gossymers sat silently near the center of the field as the Harrow Wight riders took in their surroundings.

Sky pulled out his Tin shield and flipped it open. Hands, T-Bone, and Andrew did the same. T-Bone threw them their cloaks and coats, and they put them on, tossing their nasty jerseys to the side. There was no point hiding anymore. Their new cloaks were resistant to fire and damage, like the Tins, and would serve them far better.

"You-give me your pads," said Hannah, pointing at one of the smaller football players.

"Me?" the player asked, looking confused.

"Hand them over," Hannah demanded. The player glanced around, shrugged, and then pulled off his helmet and shoulder pads. •

Tick struggled to sit up. "What are you doing?"

''I'm tired of watching from the sidelines," said Hannah, putting the shoulder pads over her shirt. "And you're in no condition to lead this team."

"What makes you think you can?" Tick asked.

"Oh, please," said Hannah, rolling her eyes. "For the last year all you've talked about is football. You three"-Hannah pointed at the player without pads and two others-"carry Tick and try to keep him from doing something stupid. You and you- tell Jasmine and Ermine to organize the cheer leaders and get these people into the school. The rest of you, line up!
Double-wing, hard V formation on my mark.
Spread offense at case.
Option run to line.
Hot route out.
Got it?”

The players all grunted.

"I have no idea what you just said," Sky muttered.

"Just stay between me and Hands," said Hannah, pulling on her helmet.
"You too, Cordelia."

Sky and Cordelia nodded dumbly.
"Break!"
Hannah yelled.

The line formed up in a sort of V-shape, with wings. T-Bone took his place at the tip of the V. Lazy Eye and Squid took positions next to Hannah, and the others fell in line. Sky found himself next to Cordelia, protected in the center of the wedge- the quarterback position-with Hannah to his left, Hands to his right, and Andrew directly behind him.

Hannah surveyed the field; more and more Gossymers burst from the earth with each passing minute and several were already rushing toward them.

"Red forty-two!"
Hannah shouted. The line shifted to the right.
"Hike!"

The line surged forward.

T-Bone barreled into the first fiery Gossymer with his shield while Squid and Lazy Eye tackled the legs. The Gossymer toppled to the side and the line rushed past. A coppery silk web shot from the downed Gossymer's spinnerets, enveloping one of the players, who fell to the field as it constricted around him.

Hands threw his Tin. It spun through the air and severed the thread before the Gossymer could reel in. Sky snatched up the Tin, folded the sides, and threw it back to Hands as Cordelia shadow slipped the player to safety, reappearing at Sky's side a moment later.

"What are those things?" Hannah called as they pushed forward.

"Gossymers!"
Sky yelled back.

"As in Gossymer threads?
As in the threads that wiped Derek's memory and took his beautiful eyebrows away from me?"
Hannah cried as they ran.

Sky nodded.

"Yellow ninety-six!
Black thirteen!" Hannah yelled.

Sky waited for the line to adjust position, but nothing happened.

"What did you tell them?" Sky asked.

"I told them not to eat the Gossymer threads because they're the thing that took Derek's luscious golden eyebrows away from me!" Hannah replied.

"They had a code for that?" Sky asked in surprise.

"Not really," Hannah replied. "It means something more like 'Don't eat the food of your enemies'- they had an incident last year."

Sky snorted.

"Red forty-seven!"
Hannah yelled.

The line veered left and closed around them.

Ahead, Sky saw nearly a dozen Gossymers headed their way with Harrow Wights on their backs. Beyond the end zone, he could see Ren, Marcus, and Alexis leading the giant Harrow Knight away from the crowds. And still in the bleachers, sitting patiently, he could see his broken tuba's bright white case.

They passed the fifty-yard line and rammed into the Gossymers, entering a terrifying gauntlet of fire, hairy legs, webs, and exploding earth.

T-Bone knocked the legs out from under one. The Harrow Wight swung a flaming sword at him and he batted it to the side. T-Bone threw his shoulder into the Gossymer and knocked the beast and rider to the ground.

Sky fired his Pounder over and over, drenching the Gossymers and Harrow Wights in ICE and snuffing out their flames while the football team blocked and tackled, getting scorched. Andrew shot a Gossymer with his Cross-Shocker. The prongs sank into the Gossymer's body and it darted away, dragging Andrew behind it as he frantically tried to hit the release. Sky sprang onto Andrew's back as he passed by and slammed the release,
then
they were on their feet and running.

They pushed through to the forty, the thirty-five. Players fell everywhere Sky looked and Cordelia flashed around, struggling to get them back within the safety of the V formation. A Gossymer and its rider shot out of the ground directly beneath Sky, sending him tumbling.

The Gossymer stepped over him, and giant pincers dropped, clacking and snapping. Sky brought his Tin up and smacked the pincers away, but the Gossymer twisted, caught the Tin, and flipped it from Sky's grasp. Hands leaped onto the Gossymer and knocked the Harrow Wight off. Then he dug his heels in and they shot forward, over the top of Sky, and rammed another Gossymer that had pinned Squid.

From his back, Sky shot the Gossymer Hands was riding with his Pounder before it could burst into flames and fry Hands. Other players got the same idea and began commandeering Gossymers.

Hannah and Cordelia grabbed Sky and dragged him to his feet. Sky scooped up his Tin and they raced up the bleachers. There was a groaning sound. Metal buckled, and then a Harrow Knight erupted through the seats in front of them.

Cordelia grabbed Sky and Hannah and shadow slipped from seat to seat, dodging through a shower of padded cushions and mangled metal as the bleachers collapsed. Sky's stomach lurched with each jump, and his mind spun. It felt so much like edgewalking that he kept checking to make sure he hadn't left his body behind. They made a final jump, landing near the tuba case.

The Harrow Knight turned around to face them. It raised its hand and a molten copper ball the size of a car began to form.

Sky snatched up the case and they slipped away again as the fiery ball burned through the bleachers where they'd been standing.

Another jump and they were back on the field.

Cordelia collapsed.

"What's wrong with her?" Hannah asked
,
dropping down to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"She's exhausted-that last jump was too far!"

Hannah ,scooped
up Cordelia in a fireman's carry, but before they could get away, a Gossymer stepped in front of them, blocking their path. Hands peeked around the Gossymer's giant head. "Need a ride?"

Sky looked over and saw the football team nearby, struggling toward the end zone and the school beyond. Squid and Lazy Eye, also on Gossymers, like Hands, covered their retreat along with T-Bone, Andrew, and a few players who weren't injured or carrying the injured.

"Yes!" Hannah declared. "We need a ride!"

Hands helped her put Cordelia on the back of the Gossymer, where it was wider, and then she climbed up behind Hands and grabbed ahold of his waist, a detail that seemed to please Hands immensely.

Sky jumped up next to Cordelia and held on to her and the case as the Gossymer darted forward. As they raced to rejoin the football team, dodging through the legs of Harrow Knights and leaping over other Gossymers, Sky reached out with his senses, searching. He called out to the Darkhorn. They had the shimmering blade; it was time to find Bedlam's body. And to do that, he needed the Gnomon, who
were
, he hoped, at the Finger of Erachnus, where they had led most of Bedlam's army.

Sky and the others caught up to the football team, and the Darkhorn flashed past overhead. Quindlemore's football team emerged from the school ahead, along with all the cheerleaders, and rushed toward the, reinforcing their line and helping with the wounded. Among the cheerleaders, Sky spotted Felicity the girl he'd kissed last year-and his stomach did a little flip.

"T-Bone, Andrew! Come on!" Sky yelled. He turned to Hannah. "I-"

"Have to go," Hannah cut in. "I know. I'll hold them off as long as I can, and I'll take care of Cordelia."

Sky nodded, and a quiet understanding passed between them. Hannah smiled sadly, a tear running down her cheek. "I understand why you have to do this, Sky. I really do. I'm beginning to suspect that you might not be the only one caught up in Phineas’ legacy. I just wish I could keep you safe."

Sky smiled back at her, his smile every bit as sad. "No one can keep me safe-there are no safe places left for me. I'm not sure there ever have been. But Phineas taught me how to think and how to survive. And you and Mom and Dad have loved me, even if you don't know what I am. That's got to count for something. Besides, safety is for prey- I'm a hunter. It's others who need safety from me."

Several more Harrow Knights burst from the ground behind them, joining the growing army of Harrow Wights and Gossymers driving them toward Arkhon Academy. The army dropped back slightly, waiting for the Harrow Knights to take the lead, as the Darkhorn circled above.

Sky hugged Hannah and then slid down from the Gossymer. "Hey, I'm not safe, either," Hands complained.

Hannah laughed. "Hasn't Sky warned you about me, Hands?" Hannah cocked an eyebrow and Hands gulped. Then she leaned forward as if she was going to kiss him. With a quick shove, she launched him from the Gossymer. She smiled down at him. "I've got enough boy problems already. Come back when you get bigger eyebrows." She dug her heels into the Gossymer, driving it forward again. "And keep my brother alive!"

The Darkhorn landed directly in front of Sky as T-Bone and Andrew arrived.

The players passed by, staring in wonder at the glorious light and the' beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared. The line started to break. The woman licked her lips.

"Stop that!" Sky ordered. The woman scowled at him, and the illusion disappeared.