Shadows of New York (20 page)

“Steve!” Josh shouted, causing Steve’s huge eyes to turn to him. “Light! Light beats dark!”

It took a second for comprehension to click into place on Steve’s face, replacing the terror. This in turn was replaced by a look of peaceful tranquility. Steve closed his eyes and dropped his arms to his sides.

At literally the speed of light, colors blazed from Steve’s chest, aimed at Mr. Midnight. The wraith’s sword, which had been on a downward arc toward Aiden, froze. His entire form began shimmering around its outlines.

Rosemary, a look of awe on her face, reached a hand out, trying to touch the rainbow right in front of her.

Mr. Midnight’s arm began moving again. Despite struggling to get out of his grasp, Aiden remained held in place. The shadow blade inched closer to him.

Larry had managed to bring himself up to his knees, but still fought to breathe. “Stevie,” he gasped, “Double…up.”

Steve’s eyes popped open and the rainbow faded slightly. “I can’t, Larry. You know I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” said Josh, not knowing what they were talking about, but thinking it wouldn’t hurt to encourage Steve.

Larry nodded. “See? Even…Josh…thinks so. Do it.”

With his eyes once more closed, Steve’s face lost its peaceful expression, instead showing intense concentration. Moments later, the rainbow disappeared, two shooting out in its place. They weren’t the typical arcing rainbow shapes, but wildly fluctuating ribbons of color. Rosemary gasped.

The rainbows converged on Mr. Midnight, who once again froze. Not only his outline, but his whole body shimmered and began vibrating violently. He flew backward, through the railing and hung suspended in midair for a second, like in some old Wile E. Coyote cartoon, before falling. Moments later, halfway between the top of the tower and the river’s surface, there was a bright flash of multi-colored light.

Aiden and Larry were thrown ten feet into the air. Aiden landed with a thud on his back, but Larry gracefully set down on his feet. He reached up, felt his long, thin fangs, and said, “Well, that was interesting.”

Josh ran to Aiden’s side. He was sitting up and smiling. “It’s all right. I’m back to normal. I can tell. Normal for me, at least.”

“Yeah, Cleo, it’s Larry.” Josh looked up to see Larry leaning over the railing, his torso extending far past what Josh thought of as safe, talking on his cell phone. “Cool. I thought so. So, how about I stop by for lunch tomorrow? Okay, bye.” He clicked off his phone and said, “I’m happy to announce that Cleopatra VII Philopator is, once again, dead.”

“Phone,” said Aiden, reaching his hand out to Larry.

Aiden dialed a number and, seconds later, said, “Ann, it’s Aiden. Everyone’s fine.” Josh heard a loud, rapid talking on the other end. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could feel their excitement. Aiden smiled as he said, “Now how did you know that I was in the mood for five alarm tofu chili? We’ll be home soon. Bye.”

“So everyone’s okay?” asked Josh.

Nodding, Aiden said, “Looks that way.”

With no warning, the elevator door slid open. Josh turned, smiling, eager to hear what sort of excuse Aiden would come up with to explain why they were all up on tower. He froze, smile still in place, when he saw that it was Parker and Nichols.

Parker came first, his robes billowing out behind him and each hand holding a condensed ball of fire. Nichols was right behind, a bulky, gold pistol held in his hands and sweeping back and forth.

“Where is he?” shouted Parker.

Larry pointed over the side and made a whistling sound, descending in pitch. It ended when he said, “Splash.”

Parker stared at Larry and reached one hand back, as if getting ready to start a fiery game of dodgeball. “We’ve been looking for you, Larry.”

Stepping between Larry and Parker, Aiden said, “He had nothing to do with it. He’s been on vacation. The game was just a coincidence.”

“Isn’t that the missing leprechaun?” asked Nichols, staring at Steve.

Clenching each fist, Parker extinguished his fireballs. “Okay, what exactly happened here?”

“Steve Lickerman blew up the shadow-guy with his rainbows,” said Rosemary. “It was awesome!”

“Right,” added Josh. “He saved us.”

Parker and Nichols looked skeptical. Aiden walked next to Steve, put an arm around his shoulders, and said, “Mr. Midnight kidnapped Steve. Larry and I tracked them here. We showed up, had a big fight, yadda, yadda, yadda, Steve used a most impressive double rainbow to beat him. Right, Larry?”

“Right,” agreed Larry. “But only after Midnight and I had an epic battle that will be sung of throughout the ages.”

Parker looked at Aiden. “And you brought kids to this big fight?”

Shrugging, Aiden said, “Hey, I’m their nanny. It’s my job.”

“Seriously, Aiden?” Parker sounded exasperated.

“Seriously, Underhill.” Aiden sounded serious.

With a sigh, Parker said, “Okay. We’ll need to get official statements from everyone.”

“Fine,” said Larry. “We’ll just head back to the Cooper house for a little bit, drop the kids off, get a bite to eat, and clean up. I can’t show up to the Twenty-First Precinct looking like this.” His hands swept down his dirty and disheveled clothes.

“And, I presume, get your stories straight?” asked Nichols.

“Something like that,” said Larry.

* * * *

No sooner had the apartment door opened than Josh heard his mother yell, “Where have you been?” She was standing right in front of them in the entry, arms crossed and scowling. His father and Mrs. F-G, looking both relieved and worried, were right behind her.

Aiden, Josh, and Rosemary froze. Josh glanced over his shoulder at Aiden and knew that it didn’t look good. Not only were Aiden’s clothes ripped and soaking wet from sweat, but his shoes were missing. And, of course, there was also the golden sword in his hand.

“We, uh,” began Aiden, “we just went out for a little walk.”

“At this time of night?” Josh’s mother asked.

“I thought I’d treat them to a little ice cream,” said Aiden, picking up steam as he went. “End of the week treat. We took a detour through the park. I was goofing around and fell in the stream. My shoes got really stuck in the mud, so I figured I’d just leave them behind.”

“And that sword?”

“It was just lying on a bench. I figured I’d turn it into the police tomorrow, just in case someone lost it.”

His mom’s eyes were squinting. Josh knew that look. It meant that she knew everything was a lie. “Really? You mean you weren’t on top of a bridge fighting some vampire and a shadow demon?”

“What? A vampire? That’s crazy.” Aiden didn’t sound very convincing at all.

“I’m sorry,” said Mrs. F-G, “I couldn’t think of anything, so I had to tell them the truth.”

“It’s okay, Ann. Listen, Robert, Jennifer, I did everything I could to keep the kids safe.”

“He did,” added Josh, feeling like he needed to protect his protector. “Without Aiden, Mr. Midnight would have done all sorts of bad things. Aiden stopped him.”

Jennifer exhaled loudly and said, “I don’t know what to think. Normally, I’d be upset about everyone telling me all these wild, fantastic stories, but there’s something to this. Something about vampires, like some kind of
déjà vu
.”

Josh’s dad stepped forward and put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Jennifer, Aiden’s done a great job with the kids. He wouldn’t do anything crazy.” He looked at Aiden, doubt in his eyes. “Would you?”

Aiden pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. “Hey, Bernie. Listen, do you think you could stop by the Coopers’? Thanks.”

“Bernie? Who’s Bernie?” asked Josh’s mom, her voice bordering on hysteria.

Aiden smiled. “Just a friend of mine. You’ve met him before, but you might not remember. Anyway, he’ll be here shortly to straighten this all out.”

All’s Well That Ends Well…And With A Dance Party

Josh stared at the podium in surprise. Standing there, addressing the crowd, was the Imagine Nation President, who he knew better as a pop music mega-star. She said, “For service above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby grant the Medal of Guts, the highest honor the Imagine Nation can bestow, upon those you see here today. Gentlemen, a grateful Imagine Nation thanks you.”

The assembled crowd roared its approval. The president, looking stately in her dress of raw bacon, white roses, and live gerbils, moved along the line from Steve to Larry to Aiden (who looked nauseous and wrinkled his nose as she passed) to Josh, placing a large silver medal around each of their necks.

With the award presentation over, the crowd wasted no time vacating the ceremony hall and moving to the reception hall, where an elaborate and expensive buffet waited for them.

“Honestly,” said Josh, gazing at the president. He recognized her from the music videos his mom didn’t know he watched. “I had no idea she was part of the Imaginary World.”

Larry chuckled. “Well, with a name like Duchess DeeDee, are you really all that surprised?”

* * * *

Those seated at the Table of Highest Honor sat back in their chairs, stuffed full of the most delicious food any of them had ever eaten.

“That buffet put me to shame, even with my full powers restored!” Mrs. F-G said with a smile. “That Tricia Jane sure knows how to cook!”

“Don’t worry about it, Ann,” Larry assured her while licking the last of the au jus from his fingers. “The Imagine Nation has a whole staff of food oracles at their disposal. TJ may be the Head Food Oracle, but she has tons of help, especially for grand occasions like this.”

“Must be nice,” Steve said, yawning and stretching his arms above his head.

“What’s a food barnacle?” Rosemary asked as she took one last bite of her pink, glittery mini-cupcake.

“A food
oracle
, dummy,” Josh corrected his sister. “It’s what Mrs. F-G does. You know, making exactly the kind of food you want exactly when you want it. It’s a special power.”

“Aiden, Josh called me a dummy!” Rosemary whined at Aiden, who was busy chatting with Siegfried and had missed the insult.

“Josh, I think medal-winners are too mature for name-calling,” Aiden said.

“Well, I for one think you’re looking particularly mature this evening, Josh,” Cleo said, smiling at him. “
Love
the tie!” This wasn’t too surprising, since the tie had been a thank-you gift from Cleo for Josh’s role in restoring her powers.

At that moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to the president, who had reentered the reception hall after a costume change. Her admirers “ooohed” and “aaahed” at the latest ensemble.

With a gasp of delight, Rosemary jumped from her chair and ran over to the president. “I just love your sparkly metal bikini!” she gushed.

“Thank you,” Madame President answered, beaming. “It’s chain-mail made in the traditional Celtic method.”

“I have no idea what that means, but it’s super pretty!” Rosemary replied. “Wanna have a dance party?”

The president’s smile became, if possible, even wider. She grabbed a microphone from her nearest assistant and led Rosemary up onto the small stage at the head of the ballroom.

“My little monsters!” Madame President announced into the microphone. “I invite you to join me in a celebratory dance ritual!”

With a wave of her hand, the lights lowered, and the music began to pulse, coming from unseen speakers, or perhaps from no speakers at all. It was the president’s latest single, and she started doing the choreographed routine.

Rosemary followed along as best she could, a huge smile on her face. “Larry! Steve! Aiden!” she called toward the Honor Table, which was closest to the stage. “Come on!”

Larry took Rosemary up on this suggestion, offering an arm each to Cleo and Ann, and leading them up onstage with him. Aiden, Steve, and Josh looked at each other uncomfortably. Siegfried glared at a fixed spot on the opposite wall, pretending not to notice the sudden rush of people jumping from their chairs and dancing on the spot.

“Come on, Steve!” Rosemary called again. “I know you can dance!”

“She does have a point,” Steve said with an embarrassed little grin, getting up and joining the group onstage.

Josh watched Steve climb the steps and join in the dance, his arms and torso staying stationary while his feet moved so fast that they were almost a blur. Josh’s eyes shifted over to Siegfried and waited until it looked like his attention was elsewhere.

“So, um, Aiden,” said Josh, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “Why are you letting Steve get away with it?”

“Get away with what?”

Josh gave him a look of utter disbelief. “Well, let’s see. Not only did he direct Mr. Midnight to his targets, but he lured you into a trap with ginormous snakes. And then he gets a medal for all that.”

“Oh, yeah. All that.”

“Yeah. All that.”

Aiden looked rather uncertain as he said, “Well, he did save the day in the end. And I talked with everyone involved, and they didn’t see the harm in keeping certain parts of the story quiet.” He grinned and added, “Plus, as part of his penance, he’ll be providing the light show for all of Larry’s parties for the next two hundred years, so I don’t know if I’d say he got away clean.”

Josh shook his head. “I’m serious, Aiden.”

The grin faded and Aiden replied, “I know. Me, too. You see, it’s complicated. The thing is, he’s my friend. I feel like I need to protect him. And I feel responsible, like Larry and I unintentionally pushed him into doing what he did. And I feel indebted that he was there for us in the end, when it mattered most. And I think—”

“I think I get it.”

Aiden fixed Josh with a stare. “You do? I’m not sure
I
do.”

With another look at Steve dancing, he said, “You’re just doing what you think is right.”

Aiden smiled. “Well, what do you think? We’ve fought giant snakes, climbed a world-famous bridge, and defeated one heck of a bad guy. Think we can brave public humiliation?”

Josh grinned. “Why not?”

Climbing up onto the stage with their friends, Josh and Aiden danced.

* * * *