Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #1: The Brimstone Key (30 page)

Somehow Monti managed to land the airship with minimal damage. The second they hit the ground, an army of gnomes raced to put out fires and repair the engines. Monti was in the middle of it all, trying to bring order to the chaos.

“Looks like Von Strife didn’t fare much better than we did,” Logan noted, pointing toward two smoking mountains of scrap iron. One of the battleships had managed to get away, but most of Von Strife’s clockwork army had been destroyed.

“Where’s Obadiah?” Ernie asked, scanning the horizon.

Logan turned to Monti. “Wasn’t he with you?”

“He was in the rear observation bridge… the one that got blown away.”

Natalia gasped in horror, and Logan put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure he survived. He’s indestructible, remember?”

Logan set his jaw and turned to Harley. “How’s the arm?”

“Not good.”

“You!” Logan called to a gnome. “First aid. Now.” The gnome ran off, returning moments later with a kit of medical supplies. Logan wiped off as much blood as he could before applying gauze and wrapping a linen bandage around Harley’s chest and shoulder, pinning his arm so it couldn’t move.

“That will have to do,” the Scotsman said, surveying his work. “Are you good enough to walk?”

Harley nodded, and Logan handed him a pistol from his belt. “This isn’t as strong as my Scatter Blaster, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

“What does he need that for?” Natalia asked.

“We’re going to look for Strange,” Logan replied.

With that, he handed each of the Griffins a pack, instructing them to put on the respiratory mask inside. “The air is thin, and it’s full of carbonic acid,” he explained before slipping one of the masks over his own face.

The sky was filled with ash, and the glow from smoldering fires painted the landscape bloodred. Max could see that the tower holding the gateway had been gutted. He just hoped Robert wasn’t among the wreckage.

They wandered silently across the snowy plain, as Logan scanned the surrounding area for any sign of their missing companion.

“Hey, what’s that?” Natalia called out.

A large clockwork arm was lying in a snowdrift. It was broken off at the shoulder, still clutching a massive gun.

“Looks like it came from a Nemesis,” Logan observed. “Let’s hope that there aren’t any others hanging around.”

“There’re more parts over here,” Harley said as he crested a hill.

They had stumbled on a graveyard of clockwork parts that littered the valley. Decapitated heads sat at odd angles. Their eye sockets were devoid of life, and their casings were crushed. There were all manner of bolts, gears, and metal rods strewn about.

“Can you see this?” Logan asked into his comlink.

“Crystal clear,”
Monti replied.
“Wreckage from the blast?”

“Looks like it,” the Scotsman replied.

“Any survivors?”

Logan checked his scanner. “Negative.”

Max walked down the hill, searching for anything that looked like the Dreadnaught he had seen. It was hard differentiating one component from another. Most of the metal was just scrap.

“What are you looking for?” Harley asked.

Max stopped for a moment, debating whether or not he should say anything. “Robert.”

“What do you mean, you’re looking for Robert?” Ernie wanted to know.

Max took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to say anything, but before we crashed, Sprig showed me an image of Robert through a portal inside the mirror in my room. He was hooked up to some kind of a machine.”

“Don’t joke around about stuff like that.”

“I’m not,” Max replied solemnly. “Von Strife was using a machine that was sucking out his soul and placing it into a Dreadnaught.”

“Hold on,” Logan said, looking down at his tracking device. “I picked up something big moving this way.”

“Do you think it’s Robert?” Ernie asked hopefully.

“Look, Ernie,” Logan started to explain, “even if it is Robert inside one of these machines, the longer he stays there, the less likely he’ll be able to recognize any of us. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”

“You’re lying!” Ernie exclaimed as tears started to well in his eyes. “I bet Monti could help him.”

The device on Logan’s wrist started to beep rapidly. “It’s almost on us,” Logan said, raising his pulse rifle.

“I can’t see anything,” Max said.

“Me, either,” agreed Harley. “Do you think it has some kind of cloaking device?”

“It might,” Logan admitted. “According to this, it should be right on top of us.”

“Then why isn’t it firing?” asked Natalia.

Without warning, Ernie took off. Snow kicked up as he raced to find the Dreadnaught.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Logan growled.

“Robert!” Ernie called. “Robert, are you out there?”

There was no response.

“Look, if you can hear me, it’s Ernie! You know, Agent Thunderbolt!” Ernie called out, hoping that if Robert was nearby, he would show himself.

The air in front of Ernie began to ripple like the surface of water in the wind. A moment later, Ernie found himself standing in the shadow of a menacing clockwork. The war machine was wrapped in thick armor and bristled with weapons.

Natalia gasped as she stepped behind Harley, looking around his shoulder.

“Robert, you have to listen to me,” Ernie continued. “I know you’re in there. I promise, if you let us help, we’ll find a way to get you out.”

The Dreadnaught’s head rotated like a turret as it took focus on Ernie.

Agent Thunderbolt smiled weakly through his respirator. “That’s right. It’s me!”

The monstrous machine seemed to consider Ernie before it scanned the metal bones of destroyed clockworks. Then it turned back to Ernie and raised a hand toward him.

The air exploded with electrical fire as a missile smashed into the Dreadnaught, sending it reeling backward. At the same time, a black shadow raced overhead. It was a Templar hover-copter, and it was coming back for another shot.

“No!” Ernie cried out.

Logan activated his comlink and tried to call the pilot off, but it was too late. As the copter flew by, the clockwork launched into the air. Boosters embedded in the bottom of its feet kicked in. With a metal-crunching thud, it punched a hole through the side of the hover-copter. There was a terrible explosion and the wreckage of the ship smashed into the earth in a cloud of fire and smoke.

The Dreadnaught landed on top of the smoking ruin
and began hammering at it like an enraged animal. Pieces of metal flew everywhere, but Ernie still moved closer.

“It was a mistake, Robert.”

The Dreadnaught turned toward Agent Thunderbolt. One of its shoulder plates flipped up, and a large Gatling gun appeared. Suddenly twenty barrels were leveled at Ernie.

“Please, Robert.” Ernie held his ground. “If you come with us, we can help.”

There was no hesitation this time. The Dreadnaught opened fire, its barrels spinning fast. The explosions sent a shower of ice into the air. When the war machine’s barrels died down, Ernie was nowhere to be found.

With Ernie out of the way, the Dreadnaught unloaded on the other Griffins. Cannons fired wildly as its fists crushed the earth.

Max felt a rush of wind over his shoulder. Logan had sent a plasma rocket smashing into the chest of a massive clockwork. The explosion was blinding, but the metal beast wasn’t even stunned. It swung a giant fist at the Scotsman’s head, narrowly missing as Logan threw himself between the machine’s legs. He rolled back to his feet on the other side and fired another round directly into its face. The clockwork was barely fazed.

“The Mark Six Plasma Charges aren’t working!” Logan shouted into his comlink.

“I know,”
Monti called back.
“It looks like it’s time for Plan B.”

Logan signaled Max and Natalia. “You heard the man.”

Max was the first to drop his pack into the snow. He tore open the top and fished out a strange device that was about the size of a hockey puck. He ignited his gauntlet and slapped it onto the circular THOR emblem on the top. Instantly, a spark of red energy crackled across the surface.

Natalia was next. She removed her backpack and pulled the ripcord as it hit the ground. The bag opened up, and thirty brass spheres rolled out into the snow. Each was covered with etched lines connecting a series of flashing lights that pulsed like tiny heartbeats.

Just as Logan was about to get smashed into oblivion, two more Templar hover-copters appeared, engaging the Dreadnaught from a safe distance. They didn’t have the firepower to take the brute down, but they would buy the Griffins some time.

“Hit the activator!” Logan ordered.

Natalia complied and the spheres began to twist and rotate, unlocking themselves to transform into small Assembler clockworks.

“Your turn, Max,”
Monti called across the comlink.
“This is our only chance!”

Max prepped his jump boots and raced toward the Dreadnaught. It was distracted by the hover-copters. As he sailed toward the Dreadnaught, he raised his gauntlet and swung with all his might. Max could feel the
machine’s head crumple as he hit it. The impact sent Max flying off into a snowdrift, as the Dreadnaught fell to the ground.

The machine struggled to regain its feet as a plume of smoke rose from the gash in its head. Sparks flew out of its joints, and the light behind its eyes flickered erratically.

“Quick!” Logan ordered Natalia. “Before it starts to repair itself!”

Natalia flicked the control panel, and the Assemblers went to work. They swarmed over the fallen giant like a metallic pestilence. With hands made from wrenches, drills, grinders, cutters, hammers, and torches, they were efficient and fast.

One of the Assemblers deactivated the Dreadnaught’s regen system, and from there it was just a matter of time before the war machine was scrap. The Gatling gun was removed, and then its right arm. Two Assemblers pulled a knee apart, and a third stripped its fingers.

“No!” Ernie cried as he raced to the Dreadnaught.

Natalia ran to hug him. “We thought you were dead!”

Ernie pushed her away. “Max, you have to stop them. They’re killing Robert!”

“I’m sorry, Ernie, but you heard Logan. That isn’t Robert anymore.”

“What happened to you?” Ernie shouted. “If Iver had been here, he never would have let this happen!”

Ernie jumped on the colossal machine and kicked
at the Assemblers. Several fell, but it was too late. The machines had done their job with mechanical efficiency, splitting open the Dreadnaught’s chest before unscrewing the head. Ernie watched in horror as the light of the Dreadnaught’s eyes extinguished.

“No!” Ernie screamed. “You guys are monsters! You killed him!”

A wisp of vapor swirled up out of the metal shell. It gathered there for a moment, taking the shape of a young boy who regarded Ernie with tired eyes. Then, out of the north, a cold wind blew. The figure dissolved into nothing.

Logan walked solemnly to Ernie and placed a gentle hand on Agent Thunderbolt’s shoulder. Ernie tried to pull away, but Logan held firm. Then Ernie’s chest heaved, and his shoulders shook. He couldn’t hold back the sobs, and he didn’t care.

A grey December sky hung over Iron Bridge Academy. Classes had been canceled so the students and faculty could gather in the courtyard to honor Robert. A stone memorial had been erected, surrounded by colorful flowers that were warmed by faerie magic.

Robert’s parents were dressed in black, their eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Ernie stood beside them in silence as tears ran down his face. Natalia slipped her arm around his shoulder. He smiled weakly, only half listening as Baron Lundgren continued the eulogy.

“…and this garden will stand in constant bloom to symbolize Robert’s indelible spirit. Yet despite our
sorrow, we must push forward. The weak must be defended. The helpless, protected. Robert may have died, but his spirit remains. He will be with us in our fight, never far from our thoughts.”

Cain’s voice was melancholy as he leaned on his walking stick. Brooke was standing next to him. It was her first time back on campus since the Reaper attack. “The Templar have a long history, and we know well the pain of losing loved ones. We have been victims of hatred. We have been outcasts. We have known the pains of torture, but we have never been defeated. Our anguish will only serve to strengthen our resolve. Long live the Templar.”

“Long live the Templar!”
the crowd answered.

Max looked up at Obadiah Strange, who had returned to Iron Bridge a few days before. The indestructible man looked grim. He also knew that Von Strife still had the Brimstone Key and that the mad genius was more than capable of rebuilding his clockwork army. A man with his determination and wherewithal would never give up.

“I have asked Ms. Burrows to make her office available should any students wish to talk with someone today,” Cain added. “The rest of you are free to return to your homes.”

As Ernie turned to leave, Robert’s mother placed her hand on his shoulder. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a package. “This was Robert’s journal,” she explained with a raw voice. “He spoke so highly of you, Ernie. I know he would have wanted you to have it.”

Ernie shook his head and stared at the ground.

“We insist,” Mrs. Hernandez said firmly, handing Ernie the journal before she kissed him on the forehead.

Ernie removed the brown paper wrapping and opened the book slowly. As he thumbed through the journal, he stopped at a passage that Robert had written the day before he was abducted:

We were given powers for a reason….

Max walked over and threw his arm around Ernie’s shoulder. Natalia took Ernie’s hand as Harley stood silently. There was nothing more to say.

An hour after the memorial service, more than a dozen changelings were crammed into a storage room on the top floor of Sendak Hall.