Quest Maker (14 page)

M
r. Creedly's strange green eyes glowered down at Caden. His lips were set in a snarl, his teeth fanglike. The rest of him seemed devoured in shadow.

Then the shadows shifted, and soon Mr. Creedly was standing—feet on the floor—in front of Caden. In the closed room, with only the flashlights to see by, it looked almost as if there were spider legs crawling under his skin. He seemed the embodiment of swarming bees and skittering rodents, like something that would nest with the auditorium roaches.

Tito kept his flashlight at the ready. He had his phone in his other hand. Brynne was as motionless as the darkness and looked ready to flick Mr. Creedly away with her telekinesis magic or incinerate him with her pyrokinesis. Truth be told, her magic was likely too strong for an enclosed
space like the wood-windowed science room. Better she unleash her power as a last resort.

“You don't belong here,” Mr. Creedly hissed.

“We'll go,” Tito said, and took a step toward the door.

Mr. Creedly held out a long arm and blocked his way. His eyes flashed green as they caught the light. “You'll stay, young one. You're trapped in my shadow.”

Caden was unsure what that meant, but it couldn't mean anything good. All Caden knew was that the long-limbed creature was possessive of Ms. Primrose and seemed oddly friendly with Mrs. Belle. He couldn't think of two more opposite people than Creepy Creedly and sweet Mrs. Belle. Caden cleared his throat. “She”—he emphasized the “she” so he knew he spoke of the Elderdragon—“won't be happy if we aren't in class Monday. If three students go missing from her school, it will be an embarrassment. Someone will get eaten.”

“She understands my kind. It's in our nature. We will envelop you.” Mr. Creedly folded his arms in and out and twisted until his strange eyes locked on Caden. “She likes you,” he hissed.

That Caden couldn't deny. It seemed Mr. Creedly loathed anyone who was competition for her favor. And the longer Caden kept Mr. Creedly talking, the longer Mr. Creedly wasn't attacking, and Caden would much prefer if his enemies fought among themselves and left him and his friends alone.

Caden took a deep breath. “It's true. I amuse her,” he said, and Mr. Creedly crept closer to him. Caden spoke slowly and clearly. “But it's Rath Dunn who is her favorite.”

“Rathis,” Mr. Creedly hissed, but he kept his eyes focused on Caden. “First you, young one, then him.” As his anger seemed to grow, so did the sounds around them. The quiet was replaced with squeaks and the sounds of tiny feet in the hall. Dark shapes squeezed under the gap between door and floor.

Tito stepped toward the front counter. “Bro, those are rats. And not dead ones.”

Brynne lifted her hands. She pushed like she was using all her power to drive Mr. Creedly into the whiteboard behind the front counter. Caden had seen her use telekinesis magic to move men and women who were more solid than Mr. Creedly. “Get away from us!”

Nothing happened, but Brynne was breathing hard from the effort. Mr. Creedly turned to her. “Magic affects but one,” he said, and he extended one of his long arms out and around her. “And I am many.”

So Mr. Creedly was more shadow and swarm than man. He was too many pieces and places for Brynne's magic to target, and whatever small speck she flung away was replaced with more darkness and insects.

Brynne looked ready to light the room on fire. Tito was about to charge with his flashlight. Tonight, they would fight. But how would they win against an enemy made of
shadows and darkness, an enemy whose weakness—and powers—they didn't know?

One of Mr. Creedly's spidery shadow arms snaked itself around Tito's calf. Another crept along the floor toward Caden's boots. Brynne dodged a dark shape slithering toward her neck.

Caden didn't know exactly what Mr. Creedly was, but he seemed to be made of insects, spiders, and vermin—a sentient swarm whose true form could only be seen at night. Caden, Brynne, and Tito needed to get away from him. To do that, they needed a distraction. And Mr. Creedly hadn't seen what was in Ms. Jackson's box.

Caden squared his shoulders. He kicked open the rat cabinet. Five still remained. “Your kind have suffered here,” he said, “but not by our hands.”

Mr. Creedly widened his eyes. His web of shadows drew inward, then moved toward the dead creatures. He gathered them to him. They absorbed into his chest. Ants scampered down his cheeks like meandering tears.

Then Mr. Creedly turned his focus to Caden. His jaw seemed to dislocate and unhitch from his skull, and he let out an unearthly scream. It was a loud, hollow, high-pitched sound. The last intact glass beaker shattered. Vermin squeezed under the plywood window.

They had their chance.

“Run!” Caden yelled.

Tito and Brynne darted for the door. Brynne waved her
hand. The door flew from the hinges and slammed up and into the ceiling. Caden plowed through the rats and ran after them for the hall. As he did, Mr. Creedly's screams stopped, and Caden heard skittering footsteps following. Mr. Creedly hunted them.

They ran down the hall for the side door that led outside. Caden glimpsed back and saw Mr. Creedly running across the ceiling. He reached for Caden with his shadowy arms. Caden ran faster, but Mr. Creedly latched on to his wrist. It knocked Caden off balance and—
clank
—he crashed face-first into an open locker door.

His left cheek stung. It felt as if hundreds of small, sharp needles pierced the skin by his wrist. Without thinking, he brought the flashlight down and smashed Mr. Creedly's arm. It dissolved into a fluttering mass of termites, ants, and wasps. Mr. Creedly screamed. He lunged at Caden with five long shadows.

Brynne turned. “Caden!” She looked like she was going to run back.

Tito was at the side door. He had opened it. He turned back as well.

“Keep running!” Caden yelled. “Don't stop!”

The flashlight was no sword, but it was heavy. It had smashed the one arm well enough. Caden dropped into attack stance seven. Attack stance seven was for multiple opponents, and Mr. Creedly claimed to be many.

Caden had to be fast—fast and sure like his brothers
and father had trained him. He smashed the next arm with a downward strike. Insects screeched out. Then he spun around. He kicked through arm three and drove the flashlight through arm four. Arm one was starting to reform. He slammed the light into arm five. He was left in a cloud of insects, but already the insects were morphing back into shadow.

Caden dashed for the door.

Brynne and Tito were running back toward him.

“I told you to run away!” Caden said.

Tito skidded to a stop and switched directions. Brynne did the same. They zoomed through the side door to outside. The spring air felt soft on Caden's skin.

Tito slammed the door shut behind them. They ran down the drive, and Caden whistled for Sir Horace. His mighty horse charged from the night like a cavalry of one and knelt before them. They were galloping away when Caden heard the side door crash open. The night was filled with Mr. Creedly's high-pitched, terrifying screech. When Caden chanced a look back, he saw a spidery form with long limbs and reflective green eyes watching from the side of the school.

Caden turned and faced forward. Instead of directing Sir Horace through the creature-filled forests, he let his steed run on the empty night roads, cautious to look for cars and to stop at the colorful intersection lights. Soon they were in Rosa's sculpture-filled yard.

Caden and Brynne climbed down from Sir Horace. Tito fell off.

Caden petted Sir Horace's mane. For now, they were safe.

“So,” Tito said. He brushed off his jeans, got to his feet, and reached into his pack. “Look what I grabbed out of the drawer.” He waved an envelope in the air, the one Rath Dunn had planted in the room.

Brynne beamed in the moonlight. “Sir Tito, you're becoming a regular thief!”

While Caden was glad Tito had grabbed the envelope, he didn't think thieving skills were such a good thing. He pointed at Brynne. “You've been training him.”

“So?” Brynne said. “You've been training him, too. Why can't I?”

“I'm training him to become an Elite Paladin, not a thief.”

“Actually, I'm going to be an architect,” Tito said. He fiddled with the envelope. “It's already been opened.”

The back door creaked open. They all held their breaths. A moment later, Jane stepped out. She was dressed in her nightclothes and her feet were bare. “Did you find anything?”

“Loads of creepy crap,” Tito said. He held up the envelope. “And whatever this is. Mr. Rathis put it in the science room.”

“How do you know?”

“He was there,” Tito said. He pulled out the contents and used his flashlight to read them. “It's a service call for the fume hood. Or a printout of one.” He flipped over the envelope. “This thing was stamped last year.”

Well. Caden didn't know what that meant. He felt his brow crease. Brynne was looking at the sky. Obviously, she didn't know what it meant either.

Jane touched his arm. “It shows the school hasn't done what it's supposed to do.”

“I see,” Caden said. But he didn't. “What does Rath Dunn gain?”

Brynne glanced back at him. “I don't know, but it's similar to the complaints, right?”

“Sort of,” Tito said.

Sir Horace whinnied and nudged Caden's ear with his wet nose. Caden petted his soft gray hair. In the undergrowth, a cricket croaked.

“I'd feel better inside the house, bro,” Tito said. “I've had enough bugs for one night.”

Caden agreed, but he first needed to speak with Sir Horace. He scratched his stallion's nose. “Be safe, friend,” he said. “Especially this night. Don't fight without me. If there's danger, run away.”

“He can't understand you, Caden,” Brynne said. “He's a horse.”

Caden knew Sir Horace was a horse. And he couldn't allow Sir Horace to be insulted. “He's a Galvanian Snow
Stallion, deemed the eighth finest in the land.” He raised his chin. “He understands perfectly.”

Although . . . now that Caden considered it, Sir Horace was of the Greater Realm. And he wasn't gifted in speech like Caden. He might not understand the local English. To be safe, Caden repeated the command in Royal Razzon.

Brynne and Tito glanced at each other, wearing expressions similar to Rosa's and Officer Levine's when they thought Caden unhinged. “I don't know if he understands English,” Caden explained.

Sir Horace leaned over to nuzzle Jane.

“Either way, he should understand now,” Jane said.

Caden patted Sir Horace once more and nodded.

On the second floor, Rosa's light came on. Tito pointed. “Ah crap. Hurry.”

Brynne and Jane rushed inside using the back door. Caden and Tito climbed the escape rope, as the attic steps creaked. Then they stored it under Caden's bed.

A few minutes passed in silence. It appeared they'd gotten back to their room without Rosa knowing. Tito flicked on his bedside lamp. Orange light streamed across the slanted walls. “Might as well keep it on. Otherwise, I'll think Creepy Creedly is up there creeping around.”

“A good plan.” Caden was restless. He sat on his bed and replayed the night's events in his mind. He looked at Tito. After battle, it was important to analyze actions. “Why did you turn on your phone while we were hiding?
It seemed foolish. And you're rarely that.”

Tito grinned. He pulled out his cell phone and sat beside Caden on the bed. “We need proof, right?” he said. “Asheville-type proof, too, not crazy fantasyland proof.”

“We do.”

Tito swiped his finger across the phone a few times. “Listen,” he said. A moment later Ms. Jackson's voice played: “I want that chatty prince, too. He's the reason my siblings are gone.” Then Rath Dunn spoke. “That's not part of our deal. And I've already promised him to his brother.” After a while, he heard Mr. Creedly's voice. “You don't belong here.”

“I recorded them,” Tito said. “How's that for proof of misdeeds?”

Had they said anything truly damning? “Do you have the rest?”

“It's muffled after that. But cool, huh?”

“It's good,” Caden said. “We need more, though.”

“Well, it's a start,” Tito said.

It was a start. A smart start at that. Truly, Tito would make a formidable Elite Paladin. “We should collect more evidence with phones,” Caden said. “And we need to get into the cafeteria.”

“Okay. But not until Monday. Sneaking over there again would just be dumb. Give me your phone. I'll send you the audio file.”

After Caden had it, he played the message again. Rath
Dunn's voice sounded menacing.

“And I've already promised him to his brother.”

What did that mean? “My brother wouldn't hurt me.”