Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #1: The Brimstone Key by Derek Benz, Jon S. Lewis

to grab one of the rubber balls that dropped from the sky.
    In less time than it took to blink, Ernie sped off and scooped one up before taking cover inside a Dumpster. He watched from relative safety as a heavyset boy with thick fingers and narrow eyes grabbed one of the other balls. The boy was looking for his first victim when apuff of smoke exploded over his head. Then a rubber ball crashed into his face like a pile driver, paralyzing him on the spot.
    “Smoke…” Ernie whispered.
    By teleporting, Smoke could pop in and out before anyone else could react. Ernie’s only chance was to sneak up on him, and even with his super speed, that wasn’t going to be easy.
    Smoke went on the attack. He zapped into view beneath a broken streetlight. Nearby, a girl with eyes that glowed a brilliant green spun around just as Smoke threw the ball at her. His aim was true, but the ball passed right through her. It bounced into the front window of an abandoned delicatessen, shattering the glass. As though it was a normal thing to do, she phased right through the wall to retrieve the ball. Then, like a ghost rising from the grave, she shot up from the street directly behind him.
    “I got you!” she shouted, but Smoke disappeared through a portal before she could throw the ball.
    That’s when Coach Wolfhelm released more rubber balls. In a flurry, five more changelings were knocked out of the game. There were only a few left, and like Ernie, Robert was one of them. Ernie could see the timid boy crouched in the shadows of a doorway across the street. He tried to wave him over, but Robert didn’t see him. Then Ernie spotted a girl hovering overhead. Her wings were made of magical energy that looked like stained glass, and her hair was bright pink. But just as Ernie wasabout to sneak out of his hiding place to nail her with the ball, Smoke opened a portal and hit her.
    “Have a nice nap, Laini!” Smoke laughed as he disappeared. Paralyzed, the winged changeling dropped like a rock. Luckily a giant mattress shimmered into view, softening her landing.
    Figuring there was safety in numbers, Ernie made a dash to Robert’s hiding place. “Don’t worry,” he said, as Robert looked nervously at the ball. “I’m not going to knock you out. Actually, why don’t we team up? When we’re the last two left, we can duel it out just like those old cowboy movies that my dad likes.”
    Robert nodded before turning back to look out the doorway. There was a girl with black hair standing out in the open. Her arms were folded as though she was agitated, but even though she was an easy target, nobody had knocked her out of the game yet.
    “What’s her deal?” Ernie asked.
    “That’s Raven Lugosi. Nobody messes with her… not even Smoke.”
    “Why?”
    “Because she knows everyone’s secrets,” Robert explained.
    “I don’t get it,” Ernie said. “Does she read minds?”
    “Look out!” Robert shouted.
    Ernie turned in time to see Yi Lu racing toward them. He was running from Smoke, who was taking aim at Yi’s shoulders.
    “Out of the way!” Yi cried. He was a fire elemental, and his body was shrouded in flames. He burst through the doorway and leaped over their heads, knocking Ernie and Robert to the ground. The fire singed Ernie’s helmet, but Robert’s back smoked as flames erupted across his jacket.
    “Get away!” Robert shouted to the others.
    “What’s happening?” Ernie called. He wanted to help, but the air around Robert already felt like a furnace.
    “I must have absorbed Yi’s power, but I can’t control it!” Robert shouted. “I can’t hold myself together…”
    “Emergency, evacuate!”
came Wolfhelm’s voice over the intercom. The holographic world disappeared, and the sprinkler system opened up a torrent of water.
    “That’s not going to help!” Yi shouted as he leaped on top of Robert. “I have to suffocate the fire.”
    Smoke rolled out from Robert’s mouth as his veins lit with volcanic fire.