22
Blaze of Glory
Cindy threw her arms over her head as the mallet came down. Blaze jumped in front of her. Hot John’s prosthetic cracked against the base of his skull. The cowboy stumbled.
“Guess Andrus was right about you, huh?” Hot John said. He picked Blaze up by his belt, whipped him around then threw him into the trough outside the saloon.
“What did you do to him, ya’ big creep?” Cindy said. Blaze’s head hung over the back of the trough, swinging side to side. She reached down to feel his pulse. Not a beat. “You killed him. He was your friend and you killed him.”
“It he was truly our friend he would have never betrayed us,” Osbert said. “Sadly his efforts to save you proved futile in the end. Go on, Jonathan. Finish the job and we’ll go collect the humors we took from those children last night.”
Hot John raised his mallet hand to strike her.
A haze in the air, and Dogboy popped into view. “Don’t move a muscle, you stupid crook,” he said, running toward them. “I’ve been dreaming about this forever.” He shot an orange blast at Hot John blowing him back through the saloon doors.
“What happened to you?” Cindy said. “You look like you got run over by a truck.”
“I thought I’d never see you again” Dogboy said, picking her up in a big bear hug.
“You were gone two minutes,” Cindy said.
“It felt like years,” Dogboy said as he set her down.
“Ahem,” Osbert said. “Apologies for the disruption, but I believe my acquaintance here would like a word.”
Hot John stumbled out of the saloon. He put on his crown and growled.
“Listen here, ugly,” Dogboy said. He stomped over to Hot John then floated a few feet in the air so he could look him in the eye. “I just got done fighting a bunch of humongous magical puppets. You’re looking pretty small right now.”
Hot John swung his mallet hand, but Dogboy dropped to the ground and rolled away before it connected. A crystal ball, orange flames swirling in the center, appeared in his hand. It confused him for a moment and he almost dropped the thing, but then he knew exactly the right word to say.
“Fetch.”
Dogboy pitched the ball high. It flew clean across the park, disappearing behind some trees near Happy Town.
Hot John turned tail, running down the path away from Old California.
“Where is he going?” Osbert said. He turned to his men. “Brothers, it’s up to you now. Avenge Andrus. Destroy this boy.” He took off down the path after Hot John.
Dogboy rose in the air, his entire body glowing orange, energy licking out at the air around him. He dove towards the remaining thieves in the street. The first one he buzzed got a kick to the forehead. He swiped the sword off a passing pirate then swept out a clown’s legs with it as he flew by.
“Perhaps we should follow them…” said the short one.
“And regroup?” said the tall one. The rest followed as the two escaped down the trail.
“Puppets? Crystal balls?” Cindy said. “What kind of scam are you trying to pull here?”
“It was a busy few minutes,” Dogboy said, dropping the sword as he landed in front of her.
“Same here,” Cindy said, pointing to the cowboy’s body laying in the trough.
“He’s—” Dogboy said, pulling his mask off.
Cindy nodded.
Dogboy held his mask over his heart then looked up in the sky as he spoke. “Um… Mr. Cowboy was…”
“They said his name was Blaze,” Cindy said, her head bowed in reverence.
“Blaze was a crook. That’s true. He was pretty lousy at first, but when things got really bad, he helped us, and that’s gotta count for something right? Especially at the end.”
“Shouldn’t we call an ambulance or something?” Cindy asked.
Dogboy grabbed Cindy around her waist then lifted her into the air, his aura extending around them. He struggled to breath. Flying with the extra weight seemed to drain him as much as if he had her over his shoulder, although it didn’t feel like a burden. “We will, as soon as we take down the Guild once and for all.”
“You sure this is safe?” she said. “What did that old guy do to you anyway?”
“Look. There’s Osbert heading into the funhouse,” Dogboy said. He banked right, gliding out over the blue river running through the park. “The story is totally bonkers. You’ll love it. I swear I’ll tell you, but we need to finish this first.”
“It’s a date,” she said as she watched her shadow sail over the sidewalks below them.
Axle opened his eyes to find Mr. Horum poking his shoulder. Nuncio leaned against the wall, holding his hurt wrist. Jennifer and Jesse slept in the corner.
“What’s happening here, dude? Last I knew that creep had us strapped up to some ride.” Axle said.
“They bring you back after big hoopla on stage,” Mr. Horum said. “They not all here if you know my meaning. Empty people.”
“Maybe give me a second,” Axle said. He used the wall to support himself as he got up. “I gotta get my head straight.” The cell door was standing open. “Wait. Did you do that?”
“Never leave magician alone in locked room if you want him staying there,” Mr. Horum said, holding up a taut wire eight inches long. “He find a way out you betcha.”
“This guy has insane skills,” Nuncio said. “He whipped that out a couple minutes ago, stuck it in the lock, a little click-click-pop, and he’s outta his cell.”
“I’m expert at great escapes,” Mr. Horum said. “For next trick, I open door. Wake your buddies. Quickly.”
Axle shook the others awake. Jesse’s eyes grew wide when he noticed Axle. He scuttled back against the wall.
“Aw, please don’t hurt me,” he said. “I didn’t mean to leave you guys behind. I freaked out.”
Axle backed Jesse into a corner. “You got me and my friends drugged, ya little punk. It ain’t like I can forget that. You feel me?”
“Wait. Wait. I can help you guy seriously. You want inside City Hall? Get me some blueprints and you’re in. I want to get the mayor back for all of this as much as you guys do.”
Axle took a step back. “Get up,” he said.
Jesse stood up, clasping his hands to keep them still.
“Say ‘I’m a sniveling little coward that puts my friends in danger.’”
“I’m a sniveling little coward that puts people in danger,” Jesse repeated, sniffling through the words
“I can’t believe you said it,” Axle said, laughing as he play-punched Jesse’s shoulder. “I get it, dude. This stuff is pretty intense. Want to know a secret?”
“Sure,” Jesse said, smiling as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.
“These cats scare me too.”
“Glad you’ll be, like, sticking around, kid,” Jennifer said, tussling Jesse’s hair. “Maybe we should have him zap us to Florida or something.”
A metal CLANG from door.
“It real shame,” Mr. Horum said, holding the lock in one hand and the door handle in the other. “Why go cheap on locks? Maybe they figure ‘We got cages. No big deal.’ Who knows? Main thing is we good to go here.”
The group crept out then shuffled down the hallway toward the exit. Mr. Horum put his finger to his lips then eased the push bar in to open the door a few inches.
Nobody along the walkway. Not a sound from the park outside.
“Okay, let’s move,” Axle said, barging past the others. “I told you guys I’d get you out of here.”
“Axle, keep it down,” Nuncio said, catching up to his friend while the others lagged behind. “Those guys could be anywhere.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Axle said, picking up his pace. “I’ve still got my powers. I can take these guys one-on-one no problem.”
“Listen to friend,” Mr. Horum said. “These nasty guys you betcha.”
Axle stopped, grabbed Mr. Horum’s arm, then waved the other on. “Yo, wait up on that stage over there. We’ll catch up in a second.”
The others continued up the stairs. Mr. Horum smiled at the boy, a confused look in his eyes.
“Look here, Gramps. Don’t call me out like that in front of my crew. We appreciate you getting us outta there and everything but you ain’t the big man here. That’s me.”
Mr. Horum laughed. “Oh, yeah. Big man, sure. No problem, boy-oh. Would no want to cross big tough guy like you, hmmb?”
“You making fun of me?” Axle asked, rubbing his fingers together, which set off a few sparks.
Jesse came running back down the stairs. “You gotta get up here quick,” he said, running back up the stairs. “We found the bad guys.”
Axle leaned in close to Mr. Horum then whispered in his ear. “Keep it cool and we don’t got a problem. You follow?”
Mr. Horum nodded, and they went up the stairs together. From the stage, they saw dozens of men in clown costumes sitting quietly in the theater seats. Nuncio, Jess, and Jennifer were crouched down behind a speaker.
“Yo, that’s a lotta guys,” Axle said. “Why don’t we slip out of here and find another way?”
“Good idea, boy-oh,” Mr. Horum said. “You kids lucky to have this guy as leader you betcha.”
Mr. Horum patted Axle on the back to show his approval, which pushed him a half-step forward. The half-step happened to cross Nuncio’s foot, so a simple stumble turned into a wicked spill onto the stage.
Axle jumped up as the thieves started moving to quell the intruder. He held his fists out at his sides, blue lightning swirling around them.
“Yo, who wants to be the first to go out in a blaze of glory?” he said as they climbed on the stage.
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