The Return of the Titans by James Thompson Page B

runes on either side.
Like this. Got it?” He looked first at Aaron then at Justin. Both
nodded. “Good. It will take you a while to get used to the
controls. Do either of you play piano?”
    Both boys said no. “Pity,” Mr. Bellisle
said. “Controlling your avatar is almost like playing a keyboard on
a piano. Oh well, no matter. So, watch what happens as I use the
runes.”
    Both teens watched, mesmerized as Mr.
Bellisle touched the runes with his fingertips. It does look like
he's playing music, Justin thought.
    They watched as the tiny gryphon opened its
wings and flapped them once. It reared back and waved its front
talons in the air. At the same time, it flung back its head and let
out a small but audible screech.
    “Oh that is so cool!”
Aaron said. Justin agreed and watched as the figure paced around
the arena, moved forward and back, even sat down on its
haunches.
    “So how does it actually
battle, sir?” Aaron asked eagerly.
    “When the two avatars
touch in the arena, the fight begins automatically,” Mr. Bellisle
answered. “Each avatar has two special attacks, and that's where
your thumbs come in. Now watch the gryphon.” The man tapped his
right thumb on the fifth rune beside his fingers. The gryphon
whirled, its wings slashing the air in front of it. “And the other
attack is this,” Mr. Bellisle said and used his other thumb. This
time, the gryphon leaped into the air and punched downward with its
two forelegs. Justin noticed a tiny, thin strand of metal kept the
figure attached to the metal surface. “You can also combine the two
special attacks into one. And when you are done, or want to change
avatars, just remove all your fingers from the runes.” As he said
this, Mr. Bellisle lifted his hands from the symbols and the
gryphon seemed to melt back into the metallic floor of the
arena.
    He sat back and beamed at the two teens. For
a moment, they were too amazed to say anything. Justin finally
spoke up and thanked Mr. Bellisle. “Not at all, not at all,” the
man said as he got up and picked up the tray. “Just don't turn into
an Arena addict like me, or Mrs. Mallon will have my head.” He
smiled at them and headed for the door.
    “Um, Mr. Bellisle? How do
we turn it off?” Aaron asked.
    The man laughed. “Oh of course! Stupid of
me. Just run your finger along the runes in the opposite direction,
from left to right. Have fun, guys.” He nodded and left the
room.
    Justin moved back to his couch. “So, you
want to try it?” he asked Aaron.
    “Are you kidding? Of
course!” He reached out and then hesitated. “Let's go through some
of the avatars, see what's available.”
    Justin nodded. “Good idea. Go ahead, I'll
watch.”
    “Okay, here goes.” Aaron
touched the rune beside the first one that Mr. Bellisle had
used.
    The floor of the arena shimmered and another
little figure arose.
    “Hey, nice!” Aaron
exclaimed. It was the figure of a man wearing armor. He was armed
with a sword and shield. Aaron tapped the special attack buttons,
one after the other. First, the warrior smashed his shield forward.
Next, he crouched and then leaped up, swinging his sword
downward.
    “Too cool,” Justin said as
he watched in fascination.
    “Okay, Just, you try the
next one. Third from the right corner,” Aaron said. He removed his
fingers from the runes and the warrior melted back into the
ground.
    “Right. Here goes.” Justin
touched the rune. Then he gasped. It was a minotaur; almost a
perfect miniature replica of the Sentinel that he had seen twice.
Its huge mace was resting on its shoulder and Justin could swear
that the tiny eyes were glowing red.
    He also tried the two attack runes. The
minotaur swung its mace sideways with great force. Then it lowered
its head and charged forward, slashing with its horns.
    “This is too amazing,
Aaron!”
    “Totally. Okay, my
turn.”
    The two teens tried each rune in turn. In
all, they saw ten avatars, all but the warrior were beasts