Monster War (8 page)

Violet nodded. “Sure. Maybe we can.”

“Excellent!”

The Smith stepped towards the Hag. “It is done. The boy has SACRIFICED. BEGONE.”

“With pleasure.” She turned to Theodore and smiled ghoulishly. “Goodbye, sweetie. And if you ever want to come and visit a gorgeous little cupcake like myself, my offer still stands. We can have
such fun
together.” She blew him a kiss - it smelled like rotten meat - then flew away with a cackle.

There was silence then, a sense of impending doom. Charlie knew what was coming next, they
all
did, and he dreaded it to his core. Finally, the Smith turned to Violet and asked his question.

“Do YOU, Violet Sweet, agree to SACRIFICE that which is most important to you so that Charlie Benjamin can wield the SWORD?”

Violet, tired and alone, gave her answer.

D
eep inside the Nightmare Academy, the Headmaster’s study was quiet and still. A small, bird-like Snark nibbled away at a wooden railing. Suddenly, it looked up, alarmed, as a fiery portal burst open in the centre of the room, filling it with light and heat. Tabitha Greenstreet rushed through, followed by Rex, who carried the Headmaster in his strong arms.

“Place me on the couch, Mr Henderson,” she commanded, gesturing to a worn bamboo sofa covered in a dark, wine-coloured fabric.

“I can bring you up to your bed if you’d be more comfor—”

“The
couch
,” she repeated sternly, “will be just fine.”

Rex gently set the Headmaster down, careful not to aggravate her wounds. “You hungry? You need anything
from the galley? Biscuits or something?”

She shook her head. “What I need is for you to check on my
students
and make sure they are safe from the wrath of those infernal Elemental Golems.”

“Right away,” Tabitha said with a nod. “But let me portal you somewhere else while we do it. The Nightmare Division will be looking for you here. We’re still in exile, you know.”

The Headmaster waved away her concern. “The day I start worrying about Director Drake’s insane ‘orders’ is the day I resign as Headmaster.” She sighed wearily. “I only wish I knew how Mr Benjamin and his friends were faring…”

“Tabby and I can go check up on ’em,” Rex said. “Maybe we can give ’em a hand. We’d love to do it.”

“I know you would, Rexford. But unfortunately, the threat they are facing is from something dying inside themselves - something precious and irreplaceable. It is not from a monster we can slay.”

And that was when they heard the voice - so deep and loud that the entire tree shook with its thunder.

“YOUNG MR BENJAMIN! Come out here, boy! Come and talk to your old friend!”

Rex and Tabitha glanced at each other.

“Can’t be…” the cowboy said.

They raced to the balcony off the Headmaster’s study and looked out on to the beach beyond the great tree. Something was standing there near the crashing waves, something huge and monstrous.

“Pinch?” Rex asked, staring in dismay. “That you?”

The gigantic antlike creature nodded. His enormous legs, as thick as the Academy’s lower branches, were dug into the white sand beneath him like pilings supporting a pier. “Yes, it is me. Surprised?”

“A little. I mean, you were never the most attractive son-of-a-gun on the planet, but now you’re takin’ ugly to a whole new level.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Rexford. I happen to think I’m quite the catch. That is, if you
could
catch me - which you can’t. No mere human can any more. Certainly not
these
fools, although they tried.”

Pinch opened his massive fists, allowing the corpses of several Banishers to tumble to the soft sand like rag dolls.

Rex grimaced - even after the deaths he’d dealt in his life, he still hated to see it. “Where did they come from?”

“The Netherforge. I went there to look for our mutual friend, Charlie Benjamin, but unfortunately, he was not present.”

That’s probably because he’s still in the Chamber of Ancient
Weapons
, Rex thought darkly,
trying to get the sword.

“Well, it’s a dang shame you didn’t get to meet up with him,” the cowboy replied. “Anything I can help you with? Or did you come here just to reminisce about the good old days?”

“I wasn’t aware there were any.” Pinch stepped forward. “I thought, perhaps, that Charlie Benjamin might be here with you.”

“Sorry, Pinch. Ain’t seen him. Hey, have you tried calling Directory Ant-sistance? Maybe they could help.”

“
Ant
-sistance? Is that an ant joke?”

“Yeah, but you ain’t laughing, so I guess it wasn’t a very good one.”

Pinch took another step forward. “You will either bring young Mr Benjamin here to me or I will tear every ship from the Academy’s branches until I find him.”

“Now I don’t know why we gotta resort to
violence
. I mean, why can’t we just talk this out like two grown men - you know, man-to-mant?”

“Mant? Another ant joke?”

“Yeah, but that was a pretty good one, I think.” Pinch smiled. “Do you? So will you assist me, Rexford - or shall I simply kill you now?”

Rex raised a finger. “Just hold that thought.” He turned to Tabitha and whispered, “Well, darlin’, looks like
this is the end of the road. Now here’s what you’re gonna do - go get the Headmaster and start portalling everyone outta here.”

“You want to run?” she whispered. “Let’s stay and fight.”

“Fight? You see what Pinch looks like now? He’s the size of a building and crazy to boot. No fighting’s gonna happen here - only dying - and if we try it, we’re gonna take a lot of students with us. I can’t chance that.” He turned back to Pinch and shouted: “OK, I made my decision. I’m gonna go with option two - the one where you ‘kill me now’.”

Rex threw his lasso up to the prow of the wrecked ship above him and swung out on it - straight at Pinch - like Tarzan on a vine. Pinch snatched him from the air with a giant claw.

“Rex!” Tabitha yelled. “What in the world are you doing?”

“What I need to, just like
you
need to do what I told ya to!” Rex turned back to Pinch - this close, his red, plated face loomed like the side of a skyscraper. “OK, Ugly, you got me. Now go ahead and do what you promised - kill me now. Go on. Squeeze me to death. Pop off my head like a cork - shouldn’t take but a second.”

“What are you up to, Rexford?” Pinch asked, eyes narrowing.

“Up to? Dang, Pinch, you always think everyone’s got an ulterior motive just cos
you
always got one. Now go on and squeeze. Here, I’ll give you a count - one, two, three,
squeeze
!”

“
Stop that!
”

“What?” Rex looked genuinely befuddled. “What’s the problem now?”

“You’re trying to control things. I’m the one in charge here - not you!”

“Geez,
obviously
you’re in charge, Pinch. I mean, you’re the killer here - I’m just the killee. Now here we go: one, two, three,
squeeze
!”

“I said STOP IT!”

“Or what? You’ll kill me?”

Pinch groaned. “You are the single most frustrating human being in existence, do you know that?”

Rex grinned. “Guilty as charged. Just ask Tabitha. She’ll go on and on about it.”

I’ll be danged
, Rex thought.
This crazy plan is actually
working
.

He knew that Pinch wanted - more than anything - to be the most powerful one around. As long as he kept insisting that Pinch kill him right away, Rex was pretty
sure that the vain man would refuse. After all, no one could tell Edward Pinch what to do! It wasn’t a great plan, but Rex hoped that, with a little luck, it would at least give Tabitha enough time to evacuate the students from the Academy before Pinch could turn his full fury on them.

“Let’s just get back to the business at hand,” the cowboy said, “which is the killing of little old me. Now you just do exactly what I tell you, Pinch. On the count of three - squeeze. Here we go. One, two, three -
squeeze
!”

Then, to Rex’s horror, Pinch did.

Deep in the Chamber of Ancient Weapons, Violet turned to the Smith.

“Whatever the sacrifice is, I accept it so that Charlie can get the sword.”

“EXCELLENT.”

The giant frog’s eyes glittered and Charlie, still paralysed, was repulsed to see how thrilled the creature was to inflict more pain.

How many other seekers have there been?
he wondered.
And how much did their friends suffer at the whim of the Smith?
Given the extraordinary toll taken on the people involved, Charlie thought it would have been a miracle if
anyone
had ever actually laid hands on the priceless weapon.

Of course, it wasn’t actually
priceless
- it had a price. A terrible one.

“Brooke BRIGHTON,” the Smith said, turning to the girl. “I require you to open a PORTAL.”

She snorted angrily. “Why would I -
crooooak!
- ever help you?”

“Because if you do NOT, then your sacrifice will be in vain and Charlie Benjamin will not get the sword!”

“Ask Theodore to open one - he’s better at it than me.”

“Not any more,” the Smith replied with a sneer. “Now open a portal, girl - to the Nightmare Division!”

Gritting her teeth, she did. A purple portal snapped open into the heart of the High Council chamber, startling several employees working there.

“YOU!” the Smith yelled, pointing a warty finger at a man in an orange jumpsuit as he mopped the floor. “Get General Dagget here now. Tell him the SMITH is ready with -
crooooak!
- the SACRIFICE.”

The sacrifice. Charlie suddenly realised what the Smith intended to do and his heart sank. He wondered if Violet suspected as well and he could see from her grim expression that she did.

Within moments, General Dagget rushed through the portal, followed by two Banishers from the Nightmare Division. The tall man glanced around, quickly assessing
the situation. His gaze settling on Brooke’s horrible disfigurement. He struggled to conceal his revulsion.

“I see the girl has sacrificed.”

“Yes, ‘the girl’ has sacrificed,” Brooke said, moving towards him. “And thanks for calling me ‘the girl’ and not something more appropriate like ‘the frog’.”

William grunted dismissively. He turned to Theodore. “Are you OK, son?”

“Definitely. What’s up, Dad? Cool outfit! Nice medals.” His eyes widened in surprise. “Wow - when did you make General?”

William surveyed him with clinical detachment then turned to the Smith. “Has my son sacrificed as well?” The Smith nodded. “He has lost all memory of the boy who was once most -
crooooak!
- IMPORTANT to him.”

William seemed relieved. “Good. Time will show it’s for the best.” He flashed Charlie an angry glance. “The boy he once knew has brought him nothing but pain. He is better left forgotten.”

“Who are you talking about?” Theodore asked.

“No one, son.”

No one
.

Maybe it
is
for the best
, Charlie thought.
Maybe William was right
. Theodore would probably be happier now that Charlie was no longer a part of his life. He would
certainly be
safer.
Heck, they all would be.

“You may now take the GIRL, General,” the Smith said, gesturing to Violet. “She has agreed to SACRIFICE the thing most valuable to her…and that is her BANISHING ability. She must -
crooooak!
- be REDUCED.”

The word hung in the air with terrible finality. For months, Director Drake had screamed for their Reduction and yet they had always managed to escape the barbaric procedure - but now the war against the monsters of the Nether, as well as the safety of the entire planet, seemed to depend on Violet sacrificing herself to the very thing they had struggled so hard to avoid.

“
You
might call it a sacrifice,” William said to the giant frog, “but, at the Nightmare Division, we simply call it justice. The girl chose exile, which banned her from getting involved in the Monster War under penalty of Reduction.” He gestured to the Sword of Sacrifice as it glittered in the amber crystal. “I’d call this getting pretty involved, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Violet said with a huff. “Trying to save the world. What a crime.”

“There’s a right way to do things, young lady, and a wrong way. You chose
wrong
.”

“I stood up for my friends. I protected them. When
have you ever protected anyone but yourself?”

William grimaced. “It’s all black and white to you, isn’t it? That’s youth talking. When you get older, you’ll realise the world is not so simple.”

“That’s only because of people like you and the Director.”

“ENOUGH of this babbling,” the Smith croaked. “It is TIME. Take her now.”

No
, Charlie thought.
Please…no…

“For what it’s worth,” William said to Violet with just the slightest hint of compassion, “the procedure is completely painless. When it’s over, you won’t even know what you’ve lost.”

“Like Theodore?”

“Yes, in fact. Theodore is
happy
now that he doesn’t have the temptations and distractions of that ‘other’ one rolling around in his head.” He turned to his son. “Aren’t you?”

Theodore shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Soon you will be certain.” The General squeezed his son’s shoulder reassuringly with a large, calloused hand.

Violet shook her head in something like amazement.

“Wow. I keep expecting you to reveal some hidden agenda to explain why you’re being so horrible. I mean, after all, you’re Theodore’s
father
- you can’t
really
be this
way, can you? But you
are
. There’s no secret, noble reason you’re acting like this. You’re just a really bad guy.”

“I understand that you’re upset. At your age, I probably would have been as well. You may find this hard to believe, but I have Banished all my life and the ability has brought me nothing but pain. Be thankful you’re soon going to be rid of it.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t send a thank-you note.”

Charlie continued to be amazed by how strong and determined Violet had become. It was hard to reconcile the girl in front of him with the Violet he had met just six short months ago - the Violet who only wanted to draw dragons and be left in peace. She was a dragon herself now.

“So how are we going to do this?” William asked. “The easy way…or the hard?”

Violet glared at him. “When have I ever done anything the easy way?” She swung her axe at the General.

William, startled by the suddenness of the attack, barely managed to sidestep the blow, falling to one knee. With practised grace, he drew his sword and parried her second strike, while the other two Banishers behind him rushed at Violet, tackling her.

“What are you doing?” Theodore shouted. “Don’t hurt her!”