UNFORGIVEN

Max was about to dial emergency services, but he decided to call Logan first. Within minutes an unmarked car that looked more like a hearse than an ambulance showed up. Monti was conscious, but when he tried to stand, he stumbled and fell.

The Templar paramedic took an instrument that looked like a metal wand and swiped it across Monti’s forehead. The device it was attached to lit up, and then the paramedic entered a few more bits of information before putting it into his pack. A second paramedic strapped an oxygen mask over Monti’s nose and mouth before injecting something into his neck.

“Just a little something to help him sleep,” the paramedic said when he saw the nervous look in Harley’s eyes. “Now please, step back.”

Two more men brought a stretcher into the shop. They strapped Monti in it, then covered him with a blanket. With his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes, Monti looked near death.

“Where are you taking him?” Harley asked.

“The hospital down by the mayor’s office in New Victoria.”

“He’ll be all right,” Max said as he placed his hand on Harley’s shoulder.

“I hope so.”

When he finally got home, Max tried to stay up so he could study the updated Toad Report on Catalina, but he didn’t last long. He was exhausted. Besides, it was hard to sleep knowing that Monti was lying in the hospital and nobody knew what was wrong with him.

From what Max could see, the changes to Catalina’s deck weren’t nearly as drastic as the Toad brothers had made them out to be. Max decided to stick with his usual battle deck for the most part, though he made a few changes that he hoped Catalina wouldn’t expect.

The first two rounds of the Iron Bridge qualifying tournament had been an elaborate affair. They were held in the auditorium in front of nearly a thousand people. The mayor of New Victoria had been there, as had a number of Templar dignitaries from around the globe.

Things were going to be different in the third round.

When Max arrived the next morning, armed guards escorted the sixteen remaining duelists to the dining hall. The room had been cleared—even the clockworks were gone.

Soldiers armed with nullifier nets and tranquilizer guns were stationed at every door and window, just in case Smoke decided to make an appearance. With only two changelings remaining in the tournament, it was doubtful that he would, but the staff decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Good morning,” Ms. Merical, Max’s homeroom teacher, said from behind the registration table. She was smiling, as always. “Hurry now. I’ll need to scan and weigh your knucklebones, and then Ms. Butama will test your Kinematic goggles. Once we’re finished, Dr. Thistlebrow will say a few words, and then we’ll begin.”

Max watched as Catalina handed her knucklebones to Ms. Merical. The dice were a strange combination of brown and green, which reminded Max of something that might have come out the backside of the Digger imp that was holding her hand.

“They passed,” Ms. Merical said, “but I’m afraid your Bounder will have to wait outside.”

“I can’t just leave him.”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Ms. Merical said. “It’s official policy, no exceptions. He’ll be fine, though. Just send him out to the pond. It’s nice and dreary out, and there are plenty of places for him to burrow.”

The imp scampered up Catalina as though he were climbing a tree before settling in her arms. “It’ll be okay,” Catalina said. “I’ll come looking for you as soon as I’m done.”

Scuttlebutt looked like he was on the verge of tears as Catalina stroked the top of his lumpy head. Then she bent down to place the imp on the floor. Scuttlebutt started to whimper as Catalina took him by the hand to lead him out of the dining hall.

As the imp was leaving, Ernie burst into the room in a streak of light. When he finally stopped, his face was frantic. “Am I late?”

“You aren’t early,” Hale said from the back of the registration line.

Max watched Ernie walk over to her. He pulled out his battle deck, and they went through the cards together.

“Not bad,” Hale said. “That’s a good one, too. You know when to play it, right?”

As Max watched them, he had an empty feeling in his stomach. His missed the times when Ernie came to him for advice. When Hale was done giving him pointers, Ernie stuffed them back into the front pocket of his jeans. Then he made eye contact with Max.

“Good luck,” Ernie said.

“Yeah, you, too,” Max said. He remembered the extra set of knucklebones in his pocket. “I almost forgot, Harley bought these for you.”

Ernie frowned. “He did?”

Max reached into his pocket to pull out the small velvet bag with the gold drawstring. Ernie took the bag and dumped the contents into his hand.

“He thought they’d match your costume,” Max said.

Ernie stared at the gift before bouncing them in his hand. “They’re amazing.”

Max noticed that Ernie was wearing a black armband with the letters RH written in white. Max smiled, though the expression was laced with sadness. He was certain the band was in homage to their fallen friend, Robert Hernandez. “Where did you get that?” he asked.

Ernie looked down at the armband. “My mom made it.”

“Anyway.” Max didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah, I better get back in line.” Ernie hesitated before walking back to stand next to Hale.

Max turned around to watch Xander hand Ms. Butama his goggles.

“These are beautiful,” she said.

“Thanks,” Xander said. “My dad had them custom-made in Milan. I think they’ve turned out pretty okay.”

“I would say so.”

When it was his turn in line, Max opened the drawstrings of his pouch and dumped his new knucklebones into Ms. Merical’s palm.

“You look exhausted,” she said.

“I was up kind of late last night.”

“Yes, I heard about Monti. That’s terrible.”

“The doctors want to run some more tests, but I guess he’s up and walking around,” Max said.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Ms. Merical retrieved the knucklebones from the measuring scale and handed them back to Max. “They run that poor man ragged. What he needs is a nice vacation somewhere warm.”

Max placed the knucklebones back into his pouch. Ms. Merical reached out and took him by the wrist. “Your grandfather would have been so proud of the young man that you’ve become,” she said. Then she let go before patting him on the top of his hand. “You go on now, and good luck.”

Ms. Butama, the Bounder Care teacher, was seated next to Ms. Merical. Though she was born in Nairobi, she’d spent most of her youth in London, where she picked up her accent. “So this is it,” she said as Max handed her his Kinematic goggles. “What will you do if you win?”

Max shrugged. “My mom thinks we should invite everyone over for pizza or something, but I don’t know.”

“Team building is a very good thing.” She smiled. “Now let me take a look at these.” Ms. Butama pulled his goggles over her eyes before flipping the switch to turn them on. Then she lifted a series of cards in front of the lenses. “Everything appears to be in order.”

Next, Dr. Archimedes Thistlebrow logged the cards that Max had selected for his battle deck. “Now you’re sure about this one, are you?” the Arithmetick teacher said as he held up a Blight Spider card.

The creature wasn’t much bigger than a spriggan. It stood on two legs and had six arms, each ending in a clawed hand. The Blight Spider also had eight large eyes and a snub nose, and its body was covered in grey bristles.

“Not really,” Max said.

“Pardon the pun, but Blights are a bit of a wild card,” Dr. Thistlebrow said. “They can surprise you in more ways than one, if you catch my meaning, so be careful.”

“I will,” Max said. The Toad brothers hadn’t told him any of that when they suggested he add the card to his battle deck. Unfortunately, once a card was logged, it couldn’t be replaced, so Max was stuck.

When Dr. Thistlebrow finished, Max was directed to join Catalina at a table near the back wall. She refused to look at him as she sat down, which wasn’t a good sign. Catalina had always been friendly, but Max understood why she hadn’t been speaking to him. Even if it was a misunderstanding.

“Hey, Sumner.”

Max turned around to see that Hale had left her place in line. “How’s it going?” he asked.

“I’m good. So are you going to keep that temper of yours in check today?”

Max let a half smile cross his lips. “I’ll try.”

“Watch out,” Hale said, nodding toward Catalina. “I hear she’s out to get you.”

“Thanks to Harley’s big mouth.”

“Just remember, there’s no such thing as luck. Stay focused and you’ll make the team.” With that, Hale walked to her table.

“Hi,” Max said as he approached Catalina at their table.

Catalina already had her cards and knucklebones out. She rolled her eyes.

“Look, I kind of heard that you were upset with me, and—”

“If you’re trying to distract me, it’s not going to work,” Catalina said as Max sat down. Her eyes were narrowed and her lips were pursed.

“I didn’t say anything about Scuttlebutt. That was Harley.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Catalina said. “You were laughing with everyone else. Besides, he’s your friend.”

“I didn’t laugh. I mean, maybe I could have told him to knock it off or something, but I would never make fun of your Bounder. Trust me, Natalia does it to me all the time. She hates Sprig, and I know how it feels when people say stuff like that.”

Catalina’s eyes softened for a moment, but then the scowl returned. “Nice try.”

Max wanted to defend himself, but he thought better of it. Catalina was upset, and nothing he could say would change her mind. Instead, Max slipped his Kinematic goggles over his eyes and waited for the duel to begin.

“If I could have your attention,” Dr. Thistlebrow said as he walked to the center of the dining hall. “I won’t bother with the rules. If you don’t know them by now, then you shouldn’t be in the room. However, I do want to congratulate you for making it this far.”

There was an obligatory round of applause, but Dr. Thistlebrow was quick to raise his hand to wave them off. “Now I know we all recall the events of last December with heavy hearts. The staff very nearly canceled this tournament, but Robert’s parents asked that we move forward with our heads held high in his honor.”

The applause grew louder.

“The winners of today’s duels will be awarded one of the coveted spots on the varsity team. From there we will select two additional alternates based on an array of criteria. The attitude you display in defeat counts as much as your skill. Now then, please begin.”