see the beady blue eyes of Nigel’s bats glowing back at us. Cleona flew up through the porthole, and I clambered up the ladder and onto the roof behind her.
We found Nigel waiting for us beside the upper gunnery with his coat draped over one of the cannons, and farther away, propped up against the battlements, was an enormous wooden shield.
“Glad you could join us, Cleona,” Nigel said. Cleona slipped out a piece of chalk from her box and flew over to the shield, where she drew two concentric rings and a bright red bull’s-eye in the center.
“So it’s a bit of target practice, eh?” I asked, and Nigel smiled.
“Should one of Nightshade’s minions ever come after you, an egg blaster won’t do you any good if you can’t hit him with it.”
Cleona joined us again by the gunnery. “Game’s simple, really,” she said. “Any eggs outside the bull’s-eye don’t count, and the person with the most bull’s-eyes wins. You’re up first, Nigel.”
Nigel leveled the egg blaster at the target, and after a long, tense silence, squeezed the trigger.
Thwiiip!
the muzzle rasped, and a bright pink egg whizzed across the roof and hit the outer ring with a
splat!
Bits of pink eggshell sprayed everywhere, and a load of pink goo covered half the shield. Nigel frowned—no bull’s-eye—so he handed the blaster to Cleona. A moment later,
thwiip-splat!
It was a purple egg this time, but her shot missed the target entirely and splattered the battlements behind it. Cleona sighed and gave me the blaster.
“Perhaps you’ll have better luck, Grubb,” she said.
“I’ll do my best, miss.”
With a deep breath I aimed the egg blaster at the target, when out of nowhere a black-robed figure rose up on a broomstick and hovered in midair above the battlements. I couldn’t see the figure’s face, but assumed it was a lady by the ringlets of bright red hair tumbling out from under her hood.
I gasped, and my entire body froze.
“Defense! Defense!” Nigel cried, running for the gunnery. A load of samurai scrambled up onto the roof from the garret, but the hooded lady was already moving. She darted quickly over our heads and drew a magic wand from her robes.
“Run, Grubb!” Cleona screamed. She tried to disappear down through the roof, but the lady on the broomstick fired a blast of lightning from her wand and struck the banshee down.
“No!” I cried. Cleona’s eyes were closed, her glowing, transparent body motionless. More blasts of lightning rained down around me and I took cover on the opposite side of the gunnery. At the same time, I heard Nigel cry out from within. He didn’t get the gunnery’s shield up, I realized in horror. Four more blasts exploded unseen behind me, each accompanied by the sound of a samurai’s armor clunking heavily upon the roof. And then all was silent.
I sat there panting in terror. My only hope of escape now was the porthole to the garret, but that was on the other side of the gunnery. I gripped the egg blaster tightly with both hands, and without thinking, scrambled back around the turret, ready to fire. As I expected, Cleona and the samurai lay sprawled out across the roof, but the lady on the broomstick was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, I felt a rush of wind behind me. Before I could turn around, a strong hand clamped down on my collar and yanked me off my feet. I screamed, and in a panic, dropped the egg blaster as I was whisked away off the roof—my legs pedaling frantically at the air as the hooded lady flew me up and over the battlements.
“Let me go!” I cried. The lady plopped me down face-forward on the broomstick. With a viselike arm around my waist she pulled me so close that I could barely breathe.
We flew out from the Odditorium in a wide, swooping arc, doubling back and coming to a stop in midair only a few yards from the balcony.
“I know who you are, Alistair Grim!” the lady called out from behind me. “Show yourself or your son gets dropped!”
Father
We found Nigel waiting for us beside the upper gunnery with his coat draped over one of the cannons, and farther away, propped up against the battlements, was an enormous wooden shield.
“Glad you could join us, Cleona,” Nigel said. Cleona slipped out a piece of chalk from her box and flew over to the shield, where she drew two concentric rings and a bright red bull’s-eye in the center.
“So it’s a bit of target practice, eh?” I asked, and Nigel smiled.
“Should one of Nightshade’s minions ever come after you, an egg blaster won’t do you any good if you can’t hit him with it.”
Cleona joined us again by the gunnery. “Game’s simple, really,” she said. “Any eggs outside the bull’s-eye don’t count, and the person with the most bull’s-eyes wins. You’re up first, Nigel.”
Nigel leveled the egg blaster at the target, and after a long, tense silence, squeezed the trigger.
Thwiiip!
the muzzle rasped, and a bright pink egg whizzed across the roof and hit the outer ring with a
splat!
Bits of pink eggshell sprayed everywhere, and a load of pink goo covered half the shield. Nigel frowned—no bull’s-eye—so he handed the blaster to Cleona. A moment later,
thwiip-splat!
It was a purple egg this time, but her shot missed the target entirely and splattered the battlements behind it. Cleona sighed and gave me the blaster.
“Perhaps you’ll have better luck, Grubb,” she said.
“I’ll do my best, miss.”
With a deep breath I aimed the egg blaster at the target, when out of nowhere a black-robed figure rose up on a broomstick and hovered in midair above the battlements. I couldn’t see the figure’s face, but assumed it was a lady by the ringlets of bright red hair tumbling out from under her hood.
I gasped, and my entire body froze.
“Defense! Defense!” Nigel cried, running for the gunnery. A load of samurai scrambled up onto the roof from the garret, but the hooded lady was already moving. She darted quickly over our heads and drew a magic wand from her robes.
“Run, Grubb!” Cleona screamed. She tried to disappear down through the roof, but the lady on the broomstick fired a blast of lightning from her wand and struck the banshee down.
“No!” I cried. Cleona’s eyes were closed, her glowing, transparent body motionless. More blasts of lightning rained down around me and I took cover on the opposite side of the gunnery. At the same time, I heard Nigel cry out from within. He didn’t get the gunnery’s shield up, I realized in horror. Four more blasts exploded unseen behind me, each accompanied by the sound of a samurai’s armor clunking heavily upon the roof. And then all was silent.
I sat there panting in terror. My only hope of escape now was the porthole to the garret, but that was on the other side of the gunnery. I gripped the egg blaster tightly with both hands, and without thinking, scrambled back around the turret, ready to fire. As I expected, Cleona and the samurai lay sprawled out across the roof, but the lady on the broomstick was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, I felt a rush of wind behind me. Before I could turn around, a strong hand clamped down on my collar and yanked me off my feet. I screamed, and in a panic, dropped the egg blaster as I was whisked away off the roof—my legs pedaling frantically at the air as the hooded lady flew me up and over the battlements.
“Let me go!” I cried. The lady plopped me down face-forward on the broomstick. With a viselike arm around my waist she pulled me so close that I could barely breathe.
We flew out from the Odditorium in a wide, swooping arc, doubling back and coming to a stop in midair only a few yards from the balcony.
“I know who you are, Alistair Grim!” the lady called out from behind me. “Show yourself or your son gets dropped!”
Father
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