[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

off the switch, rendering it unmovable.
Silence filled the room. Becky shifted from one edge of the platform to the
other, trying to see what was happening outside. Valerie remained by the
window. Even Laura stopped struggling and stayed still. Voltmeter halted with
his sword raised, about to make a cut that would separate Kevin's head from
his body. Kevin ignored him, straining his ears, listening for sounds from the
windows.
The silence outside was broken by concerned voices. Voltmeter's men were
nervous. Stan was saying something unintelligible. Then there was the crisp
sound of drawn swords, and a few twangs of bowstrings being let off.
Then, from outside the castle walls, they heard a familiar voice. It wasLogan
, shouting commands. Other voices joined in, officers re-forming their ranks,
soldiers swearing. There was the clatter of hoofbeats on stone, and the band
started up with a cheerful hornpipe. A flight of arrows struck the windows.
And then there came the roar of a thousand voices, joined in one great long
battle cry. The attack was back on.
Voltmeter turned and ran.
* * *
Becky slid down the ladder at top speed and ran to Kevin. "Are you all
right?" She knew, of course, that he wasn't, but she wanted to be reassuring,
and phrases like "You look awful" or "Oh my God!" weren't going to do the job.
She took off her blouse, tore a strip from it, and started binding up his
wrist.
"Fine," said Kevin, who clearly wasn't. He was bleeding from a score of cuts
and swaying on his feet. He ran his free hand over her chain-mail bra. With
her blouse off, he could see the bright scar on the metal where the crossbow
bolt had struck and glanced off. "You almost gave me a heart attack. For a
minute there I really thought you were dead."
"You were very sweet. I was so touched when you cried."
"Yeah, well don't expect me to do it all the time."
"Kids," said Valerie. "I hate to interrupt this romantic tête-à-tête, but are
we getting out of here or what?"
"Where did Voltmeter get to?"
"Down here, of course." She was kneeling by a trapdoor, set into the floor on
the opposite side of the Diabolical Device. She peered into its black depths.
"The hidden switch is over there."
"Don't go in," said Becky. "It's probably booby-trapped."
"He's getting away."
"Where can he go? The castle is surrounded."
"It doesn't matter," said Kevin. "The phlogistocator is going to explode.
We've got to leave now to escape the fireball."
Page 134
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"What?" saidValerie.
Becky looked the machine over. It was just sitting there, a silent, inert
mass of tubing, crystal, and cast iron, with a scattering of stickers that
read NEMA 7 and UL APPROVED. "What makes you think it's going to explode?"
"The Diabolical Device always explodes after the Evil Overlord is defeated."
"It isn't going to explode," said Valerie. "The insurance people inspected it
just last month. It's rated for a Class One Division Two area."
"The book didn't say anything about explosions," said Becky.
"Are you two crazy?" yelled Kevin. "When you defeat an Evil Overlord, the
Diabolical Devicealways explodes! And you have to outrun the giant fireball,
see, and then you throw yourself..."
"Where's the Ancient Artifact?" said Valerie.
They all looked to the top of the phlogistocator. The Ancient Artifact, which
a few minutes ago had been sitting on its pedestal, was gone.
"Where is it? Did he get it?"
"I don't see how."
"Did he sneak back in while we were talking?"
"Maybe the machine is hollow. Maybe there's another trapdoor on top."
Becky leaned over the entrance to the secret passage. "We'll have to go after
him now. With the Ancient Artifact, he can start all over again. Or he might
sell it to another Evil Overlord. There's no telling what kind of damage he
might do."
"Wait," said Kevin. He bent over and picked up his sword, swaying a little as
he did so, and sheathed it."The gift shop. No one can leave without going
through the gift shop. That's where the secret passage leads. Valerie, can you
take us back to it?"
"Yes, but... what are you going to do to Lord Voltmeter? You're not going to
kill him, are you?"
"I will if I can."
"Then I can't help you. I still owe him loyalty."
"What? Valerie, he's a psychotic murderer with no regard for human life, a
madman who has killed countless people and is trying to kill more. He tried to
kill us."
"True, but I feel there's still good in him."
"He also wanted to kill you."
"Of course, there's not very much good in him," said Valerie thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, the bad certainly outweighs the good. Okay, follow me."
The black-haired girl took off, with Becky close behind.Kevin, who was
Page 135
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
getting weaker and more light-headed from loss of blood, tried to keep up.
Valerie led them on a path that was even more twisted than the route they took [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]