FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS

A gust of wind swept through the room, swirling until it formed a funnel of sand. Moments later, a creature larger than a troll started to take shape. Its shoulders were wide, its arms long, but it didn’t have any eyes or a mouth.

Yi walked into the temple, fire bursting throughout his body. As he raised his hands to unleash a torrent of flames, the sand monster struck. Its arm stretched across the distance like pulled taffy and hit Yi in the chest. The force sent him flying, and his flame was doused as his head struck the ground.

“Go!” Kenji said, instructing his drake to finish the job, but the tiny dragon couldn’t produce enough flame to turn the sand to glass. The sand monster wrapped its granular hand around the tiny dragon and threw it against the wall.

Blinded by rage, Kenji ran toward the creature. Raven tried to hold him back, but she couldn’t get a very good grip. As Kenji’s foot touched the first stone, the ground started to rumble. Just as in the SIM Chamber, the sand started to drain, leaving a forest of columns spanning a deep pit.

Kenji took a running leap at the sand monster as it stood on one of the pillars. He screamed as the monster’s arm shot out, pounding him in the chest. Kenji flew backward, gasping as the air left his lungs. There was a sickening crack as his head hit the stone wall. Kenji slumped down, unconscious.

Brooke ran over to help Kenji as Max lifted his gauntlet to unleash a spray of blue fire, which engulfed the sand monster. Its chest turned to glass that quickly spread down its arms and legs, and then up its neck. The monster fought to break free, but cracks spread up its now-glassy arms and legs. It teetered before shattering.

“Let’s move!” Xander said. “We have less than a minute to pull this off.”

Sprig, who had taken the form of a spider monkey, leaped from Max’s shoulder before turning into a griffin. She beat her wings and flew toward Natalia. As Natalia lifted her arms, Sprig grabbed her wrists. They flew over the pit, and Sprig dropped Natalia onto the small island where the pedestal stood.

Natalia mistimed her fall. She landed hard, twisting her ankle as she fell to the ground. Her Phantasmoscope flew from her hand and skittered toward the edge of the island. Natalia winced as she stretched her arm. The handle of her Phantasmoscope slipped over the side. Natalia’s fingertips grazed one of the lenses, but she couldn’t reach it in time. She watched the Phantasmoscope fall.

“No!” Natalia shouted.

Sprig pinned her wings to her sides before she dove into the shadows of the pit. Natalia had crawled to the edge of the island, where she watched Sprig reach for the Phantasmoscope. There was a clanking sound, and the griffin rose back into the air. Natalia’s eyes were wide, and she held her breath as Sprig circled back toward her.

Sprig morphed back into a spider monkey before landing nimbly on the island with the Phantasmoscope grasped firmly in her tail.

“I could kiss you,” Natalia said, though she didn’t. Instead, she took her Phantasmoscope and turned to the Schrödinger Box, which sat on the pedestal.

“The drone isn’t picking anything up,” Harley said as one of his inventions hovered over the pedestal.

“Neither am I,” Natalia said.

“So what are you waiting for?” a taunting voice rang out. The Relic Hunters recognized the voice, and a wave of panic spread through the team.

Everyone turned to see Smoke standing on one of the pillars. Sprig started to screech as she did a series of backflips with her teeth bared.

“Cute pet,” Smoke said as he watched Sprig morph back into a griffin. Her claws scraped against the stone of the island as her wings spread wide in a show of aggression.

With Smoke distracted by the faerie, Denton took a running leap before he launched across the chasm to where Smoke was standing. He wrapped his arms around Smoke, and the momentum took both boys over the side. In a flash, they vanished, only to reappear halfway across the room on another pillar.

Denton was on top of Smoke, his knees pinning Smoke’s shoulders to the ground. He raised his fist, but Smoke vanished. Denton punched the ground as Smoke reappeared on the island with Sprig and Natalia. Sprig lashed out with her talons, but Smoke was already gone. So was the Schrödinger Box.

“Where did he go?” Xander said.

“I’m right here,” Smoke said. He was standing on one of the pillars with his arm wrapped around Raven’s neck. She was fighting to break free, but his grip was too tight.

Max raised his gauntlet. It was crackling with energy that reflected in his eyes.

“I hope you have good aim,” Smoke said, baiting Max. “I’d hate to see what would happen if you hit her instead of me.”

“I don’t care!” Raven shouted as Max narrowed his eyes. “Do it!”

“What are you waiting for?” Smoke asked.

“I said, do it!” Raven shouted.

Max lowered his arm.

“That’s what I thought,” Smoke said.

“Wait,” Obadiah Strange said, walking out from the hiding place where he was observing his students.

“Look, everyone, it’s the indestructible man,” Smoke said mockingly.

Strange raised his hands in surrender. “Perhaps we could strike a bargain before things get messy.”

“Why would I, when I can just take what I want?” Smoke said.

“Leave the girl and take me in her place,” Strange said.

“No!” Ernie shouted, racing over to stand between Smoke and Strange. “You can take me.”

Smoke smiled as he raised an eyebrow. “It’s tempting,” he said. “It really is, but Von Strife made a special request for this one.”

“That’s only because I’m a bit out of his league,” Strange said.

Smoke frowned. “If I wanted to, I could just take you both.”

“I suppose you could try,” Strange said, “but I don’t think you’d like the results.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Perhaps.”

Smoke stood there, his eyes brimming with indecision as the Relic Hunters watched the terrible negotiation for Raven’s life unfold.

“We can take him,” Harley said.

“Yeah,” agreed Yi.

“If you so much as sneeze, I’m out of here, and I’m taking her with me,” Smoke said, his eyes never leaving Strange.

“This is your last opportunity,” Strange said. “Choose wisely.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” Smoke asked.

“You’ll have to trust me.”

“Yeah, right.”

Strange narrowed his eyes as he bared his wooden teeth.

“Fine,” Smoke said. He let go of Raven and pushed her in the back.

“Wait,” Ernie said, spinning to confront Strange. “You can’t just leave us here.”

“For all we know, there could be a clockwork army waiting outside,” Harley said.

“There isn’t, is there, Mr. Thorne?” Strange said.

Smoke shook his head.

“But they’ll kill you, just like they killed Robert,” Ernie said. His voice was strained with emotion as his body shook.

Obadiah Strange looked down at Ernie, and his eyes softened. A somber smile spread across his lips as he placed his hand on Ernie’s shoulder. “There are some sacrifices worth making,” he said.

“But—”

“It will work out in the end,” Strange said, following his words with a wink. Then he took Ernie’s chin so Ernie had to look him in the eyes. “I promise.”

Ernie nodded and turned to Smoke. His eyes were filled with anger, and he spoke with determination. “No matter where you go, I’m going to hunt you down. I don’t care if it takes a hundred years. You’re not going to get away with this.”

“I told you,” Smoke said before he disappeared. He reemerged next to Strange with the Schrödinger Box tucked under his arm like a football. “Von Strife isn’t the villain.”

Before Ernie had a chance to respond, Smoke placed his free hand on Strange’s shoulder. Then they vanished, leaving the Relic Hunters alone in the temple.