Peter and the Sword of Mercy (50 page)

“Now!” the Skeleton ordered.

Scarlet and Revile yanked on the cables, pulling the clamps free of von Schatten’s legs.

Instantly the column of smoke began to contract and descend, its two streams swirling back into the eye sockets, like black water going down the drain. In seconds the smoke was gone.

The corpse began to move.

As Magill watched in horror, the hideous charred thing that had once been von Schatten rose to its feet. It turned slowly and looked directly at Magill with eye sockets red as fire.

Magill, with Karl right behind, turned and ran.

“Maybe I should go back for them,” said Peter, for the dozenth time.

“I don’t think that would be wise,” said Patrick. “If Magill and Karl can’t handle the situation, then—”

He was interrupted by a chime from Tink, who was still sitting in his hair.

“Someone’s coming,” said Peter.

“Ready?” said George, gripping the bars of his cell window.

“Ready,” said Patrick, his hands on the plank wedged behind the support post.

They stared into the tunnel. They heard running footsteps. Then two figures came into view, and Peter’s heart leaped.

“It’s them!” he cried.

“Get back, Peter,” said Patrick.

Magill, still holding the sword, was almost to them. He was glancing back constantly, clearly frightened. Peter didn’t want to think about what it would take to frighten Magill.

“Steady, now,” said Patrick, gripping the plank. “As soon as they get here …”

Magill and the bear had reached them.

“Keep moving!” shouted Patrick. To George he said, “Now!”

Patrick pulled on the plank, yanking the tunnel support post free. At the same instant George threw himself into the door, which burst free of the now unsupported wall. Immediately huge chunks of earth and rock began to fall from the tunnel roof. A roof beam fell on George, knocking him to the ground.

“GO!” he shouted.

But Patrick and Magill had him by the arms, and were dragging him free of the falling rubble. He staggered to his feet and followed the others, who were already running to Molly’s cell. She was waiting anxiously, her face pressed to the bars. She lit up when she saw her husband.

“Oh,
George!
” she said. “I was so
worried!
”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Now let’s get you out.”

Tink made another warning sound.

“Someone’s coming,” said Peter. They looked back toward George’s cell. The tunnel had not been fully blocked by the cave-in; there was a space about a foot high at the top. Hands were frantically scooping away rocks and dirt. Through the opening Peter saw the heads of two guards.

“Faster!” called a voice. Peter recognized the rasp of the Skeleton. Then his stomach clenched as he caught sight of a face looming behind the guards—a hideous face, with blackened flesh hanging off and two glowing eyes looking directly at him.

Peter turned away.

It can’t be.

“We’d better hurry,” said Patrick. “Mr. Magill, please get the door.”

Magill handed the sword to Peter and grabbed the bars in Molly’s cell door. Patrick and George wedged the floor plank behind the support post.

“Ready?” said Patrick. The others nodded. “Now!”

Again both door and support post gave way, sending dirt cascading down into the tunnel. As Molly tumbled into the hall, George grabbed her, pulling her free. For a moment they embraced, Molly sobbing.

“I’m sorry,” said Patrick, “but we really don’t have time for that.”

Peter saw he was right. The guards had cleared away enough of the first cave-in to start climbing through the opening. The second cave-in had not brought down nearly as much debris; the pursuers would get through quickly.

“Go!” said Magill, pushing the others along the tunnel.

Nobody argued. They headed for the train—Molly and George, holding on to each other; Peter, still carrying the sword; then Patrick, with Magill and Karl bringing up the rear. Their pace was slowed by Molly and George, who were too weak to move at any more than a fast walk. Peter kept looking back over his shoulder, each time fearing he would see that horrible face. They passed the cage that had held the other prisoners, and Peter was glad to note that it was empty, its door ajar. James had used the keys.

He saw a figure in the tunnel running toward them; it was Wendy, coming back as she’d promised. She quickly embraced her parents and said, “The train’s just ahead.”

They quickened their pace a bit and soon reached the end of the tunnel, and the waiting train. As before, the doors to all three cars stood open. Ted and Neville stood in the doorway to the middle car; behind them, sprawled on the canvas-covered floor, were James and the other freed prisoners.

“Where’s the chest?” said Peter.

“It’s right there,” said Ted, gesturing toward the front of the middle car. Peter looked and saw that the chest had been taken off the dolly, which lay by the side of the tracks.

“We need to leave immediately,” said Patrick. “Neville, can you drive this train?”

“I believe so,” said Neville. “The controls have several ingenious safety features, but I …”

“Just get going!” shouted Magill, reaching the train with Karl.

Neville scurried forward to the engineer’s cab in the first car. The others helped George and Molly climb up into the middle car, a difficult task, as they were weak; and since there was no train platform, the door opening was nearly four feet off the ground. Once they were aboard, Patrick climbed in, followed by Magill and Karl, who was given a wide berth by the prisoners. To Peter, standing anxiously next to the track, it seemed to take forever for everyone to board the train. He wondered why Neville hadn’t gotten the train moving yet. He kept glancing into the tunnel.

He saw them even before he heard Tink’s chime.

“They’re coming!” he shouted.

“Neville!” shouted Ted. “Start the train!”

“Almost there!” Neville called back.

Peter looked back up the tunnel. He counted three…no, four guards running toward them. The Skeleton was right behind them.

Behind the Skeleton was the thing that had been von Schatten.

He heard a hiss of air, and turned to see that the train had finally started moving. He took a last hasty glance into the tunnel. The first guard had almost reached the end. Peter flew into the train. It was picking up speed. Peter willed it forward.

Faster.

The first guard emerged from the tunnel. Now the second guard. Now the others.

Faster.

The guards reached the doorway to the third car. One by one, they hauled themselves in. Peter prayed it would be just the guards—Magill and Karl could handle the guards.

Faster, please …

Too late. The Skeleton, with an odd slithering motion, almost lizardlike, was in the third car. Then came the Ombra creature, who seemed to glide into the car effortlessly.

Their pursuers were all on the train.

“Close the gate!” shouted Patrick, pointing to the passageway at the back of the car.

Magill ran over and slammed the metal gate shut. It had a latch; he closed it. Seconds later, the guards were attacking it from the other side, delivering powerful kicks. The metal was bending. The gate would not hold.

The train was picking up speed. Peter looked ahead; they were just reaching the Westminster Bridge station, through which they had entered the Underground. Suddenly an idea struck Peter.

“Jump out!” he shouted, grabbing one of the freed prisoners and pulling him to his feet.

“What are you doing?” asked Patrick.

“It’s the starstuff they’re after,” said Peter. “Not these people.”

Patrick and Magill, understanding instantly, started grabbing the weakened prisoners and shoving them out the door as the train reached the platform. Some went willingly, some less so. They all stumbled and fell, but in a few seconds they were all safely off the train. The last to go was James, too weak to resist.

“Peter, help me!”

Peter spun and saw Wendy dragging her parents toward the door. They were resisting, but they, too, were very weak. Peter rushed over, and together he and Wendy managed to get them out the door just before the train reached the tunnel. Wendy caught a last glimpse of them rolling on the platform, holding on to each other. Then the train was in the tunnel.

“Thank you,” she said to Peter.

“Why didn’t you jump off?” he said.

“Why didn’t you?”

Before Peter could answer there was a crash at the end of the car. The guards had broken through the gate. One of them started to enter the car, then immediately retreated in the face of a roar and a swipe of the massive paw of Karl, who stood blocking the passageway.

The train was picking up speed.

“What do we do now?” said Ted, over the rumble of the wheels.

“For now,” said Patrick, “Karl seems to have them bottled up.”

“That won’t work for long,” said Magill. “He can hold back the guards. But not that thing he was fighting back there. In close quarters like these, it will have its way with Karl. And once that thing is in here with us …”

“
Both
of those things,” said Peter.

The train was now traveling at its top speed, slightly above sixty miles per hour. It rocketed through another station.

“Could we push the chest out the door?” suggested Ted.

“No,”
said Wendy. “If it breaks open, it could kill people. Many people. And if doesn’t break open, they’ll just get it back, and everything we’ve done is wasted.”

They shot through another station.

Tink chimed.

“He’s coming,” said Peter.

The Skeleton appeared in the passageway between the cars. Karl roared and lunged forward, then jerked violently backward. The Skeleton advanced another step.

“Give me the sword,” said Magill.

Peter handed it to him, and Magill rushed toward Karl, trying to help, but there was not enough room to maneuver. The Skeleton’s claw lashed out; Karl staggered and fell backward. As the bear gamely struggled to rise again, Magill lunged at the Skeleton, thrusting the sword. This time he miscalculated. The Skeleton, with snakelike quickness, grabbed Magill’s wrist. Magill screamed and jerked away. The sword clattered across the floor of the car. Magill stumbled back to the others, his now useless right arm dangling, his face a mask of agony.

Another station flashed past.

Karl was back on his feet, again blocking the Skeleton’s path. But he was losing ground an inch at a time, and Magill could no longer fight with him. There was no doubt now: the Skeleton was going to win this fight.

Peter picked up the sword.

“Get into the front car,” he said. “Everybody.”

“What are you going to do?” said Wendy.

“The only thing that will stop them,” he said, looking at the chest.

“Peter,” said Wendy, “you can’t…”

“Please,”
said Peter. “I’ll be all right. This is our only chance. They’ll have us in another minute.”

There was no argument to that.

“Go to the front, and stay away from the passageway,” said Peter. “Mr. Magill, when I tell you, call Karl.”

Reluctantly, the others went into the front car. Peter, holding the sword, positioned himself next to the chest. Karl, still snarling, had been backed up halfway through the car. The Skeleton came relentlessly forward, followed by the guards and Ombra. Peter tried not to look at the glowing eyes. He knew they were looking at him.

Another station flashed past.

Peter took a breath, then turned to Magill.

“Now!”
he shouted.

Magill growled something. With a roar, Karl reared up on his hind legs, took a massive swipe at the Skeleton, then spun and ran past Peter into the forward car.

Now Peter stood alone next to the chest. He tapped the lock with the sword.

“If you come any closer,” he said, “I’ll break it open.”