The Traitor of Belltroll

  For the Core that had become his family.

  AL-BERT, AL-BERT, AL-BERT!

  For Leroy and Birdie below. For his mom and all the people on the surface above.

  AL-BERT, AL-BERT, AL-BERT!

  Albert studied Festus—he’d have to time it just right. If the crowd got just a bit louder he might be so distracted . . .

  “ENOUGH OF THIS!” Festus shouted. He released the invisible force from Albert and lunged at him.

  Albert held the CoreSword out and in an instant it turned red around the edges, just as it had done earlier. His chest and hands burned, but Albert could handle this. This was the right kind of hurt, and Albert trusted this power. Something deep inside him recognized the good in it. It grew stronger with every chant of his name.

  Albert dodged the striker and snapped to his feet.

  “You will never hurt anyone, ever again,” Albert said, feet wide, ready for whatever Festus had coming next. “You will never enter another Realm and destroy it.”

  Festus’s eyes widened, and his hands were shaking. Tired as Albert was, he could tell Festus was getting ready to use some too-horrible-to-even-imagine bad magic.

  But it was no match for whatever was happening with Albert.

  Every Tile symbol he’d ever so much as glanced at in the Black Book was now laid out in his mind, like a giant touch-screen tablet just waiting for Albert to tap.

  Albert latched onto the Creature Speak Tile. The hybrids . . . Albert’s mind and Tile were one, and suddenly the bird soared up to Albert, now bowing to his command.

  Call your friends away from the firefall. The hawk cried out and a moment later, the bear-wolf and lizard dispersed. He looked back to Festus, who seemed to be concentrating hard. “You will never touch my friends, or my dog, ever again.”

  Hardly thinking it, Albert harnessed the TieDown symbol, and invisible ropes wrapped themselves around Festus, squeezing his legs together. That symbol was from the Black Book—Albert assumed it was meant for tying down sails on boats or something like that—but no one said Albert couldn’t be creative.

  “No,” Festus said, looking as surprised as Albert at how fast he was conjuring up symbols and acting on them. “This isn’t how . . .”

  The Merge symbol appeared in Albert’s mind, and then Speed and Strength together, and a third one he’d never used before—it looked like the medals soldiers got after doing something brave in battle.

  Albert lifted the CoreSword, which was now flaming red.

  A fourth symbol appeared. He effortlessly called up Leroy’s Synapse Tile—had he seen this image before? No, definitely not. It wasn’t in the Black Book, he was sure of it.

  But the symbol of three figures linked together gave him what he needed.

  Albert flicked his sword toward Festus, just barely hitting the golden striker in his hand.

  BOOM!

  The striker flew from Festus’s hand. It fell from the platform and landed on the Pit floor with a loud CLANG.

  Festus tried to hide his surprise. “You are finished!” he shouted, and started trembling with bad magic again.

  “No,” Albert said. “Nobody will die today.” He swung the sword toward Festus’s neck.

  A spark flew off the thick black chain that held Festus’s Master Tiles as Albert’s sword connected. He screamed and held on to the blazing CoreSword as an explosion burst between him and his uncle.

  Then a flash of black as the chain broke. The two Master Tiles tumbled from Festus’s neck.

  With the TieDown symbol wiped from Albert’s mind during the explosion, Festus scrambled to the ground and grabbed the Tiles, howling like a wounded beast.

  But Albert was quick. He shoved his uncle with the butt end of his sword and Festus flew back with the power of the CoreSword. Albert hadn’t used SlowMo, but it seemed like he had as his uncle fell from the platform, his face a mixture of hatred and horror, the Tiles held close to his chest.

  He hadn’t used Creature Speak again either, but Jadar swooped to the falling Festus and grabbed the Tiles with his outstretched talons, then flew back to the platform.

  Albert reached out a hand.

  Clink.

  The two Master Tiles landed in his palm, and with them, the glittering firefall key.

  Albert fell to his knees, gasping. He dropped the CoreSword, and this time, his hand was scalded. An angry red burn covered his palm.

  The crowd had gone silent.

  Leroy and Birdie.

  Albert didn’t even have to think of a symbol to harness the power of the three Master Tiles together. They might as well have been a key to the universe, with the amount of power Albert felt inside.

  Albert willed the platform to sink, and it did. Just like that.

  When he reached the ground, he stood slowly, carefully. Then he walked across the Pit floor, stopping in front of the firefall.

  The creatures whimpered and bowed before him. Albert waved his hand and the animals turned to ash, which was swept away a moment later in an invisible breeze Albert wasn’t sure he had created.

  So much power.

  Albert walked to the firefall keyhole, standing taller than he’d ever stood before.

  He stuck the key in the hole. It turned easily, and the firefall sizzled to a stop. Albert knew it would. Everything would go his way starting now. He just had to think it.

  He ran to Birdie and Leroy and knelt down in front of them.

  “Wake up,” Albert said and reached a hand out to shake Birdie.

  But his voice felt different, like it was too big for his throat.

  “Leroy,” Albert said, shaking his friend. Yes, his voice was different, too. Brave, confident, persuasive. He could do a lot with a voice like that—be an Apprentice, or a Professor, or even something . . . more.

  He looked down at himself. The Balance Keeper suit he wore suddenly felt pathetic.

  He was better than a mere Balance Keeper. He was Albert Flynn, who had saved the Core from an evil traitor. He deserved to be ruling the entire Core. The Professors would report to him and everyone would have to do what he said. He would lock the doors to the Realms, bar them off for good, or perhaps he alone would have access to the magic of those worlds.

  But why stop with the Core? He would rule the surface world, too. He would make decisions and the world would fall in line. Nothing and no one would be able to stop him from whatever he wanted to do, anytime he wanted to do it.

  He reached up to place the Master Tiles around his neck, where they belonged.

  But then a voice rang out.

  “Give them to me.” It was the sound of a broken man.

  Albert looked up and saw the Professors hauling Festus away from the edge of the Pit.

  “I NEED THEM!” Festus howled, and sobbed. “GIVE THEM TO ME!”

  Albert gasped. This was what the Tiles had done to his uncle. Would it be what the Tiles would do to him?

  Had he not been thinking just a moment ago that he could rule the Core, rule the world? Yes, he could use his power for good, but even that suddenly seemed ridiculous. No one person should have that much power. It would be too dangerous, too unfair to everyone else.

  It was an effort to lift his arm, to open his palm and free the Tiles.

  He threw them as hard as he could, across the Pit, then dropped to his knees.

  He saw Birdie and Leroy waking, then rushing to him, shouting his name. Albert closed his eyes. So tired.

  Suddenly the ground shook, a familiar feeling by now, only even more intense. Albert was disappointed, though not surprised, when a split worked its way through the floor of the Pit and rocks rained down from the ceiling.

  “The strikers,” Albert said as his body wobbled and weakness sunk his body to the floor. “Get them . . . to Belltroll.”

  The quaking worsened, and Albert’s head spun and hit the floor of the Pit.

  And then everyone, and everything, went black.

  CHAPTER 33

  Waking Up

/>   It was so bright, and so soft.

  Albert groaned and opened his eyes. He was lying in a hospital bed in the Core.

  Balloons and flowers and a strange copper statue of some sort sat by Albert’s bed. His right hand was bound up with cotton and wrapping.

  Albert sat up suddenly. Festus. The fight. Birdie and Leroy. Belltroll!

  He swung himself out of bed and swept the curtain aside. He took a tentative step, unsure if he’d be steady on his feet. He felt a little out of it—like maybe he was in a dream—but other than that, he felt fine.

  All the other beds were occupied, and Albert recognized lots of the sleeping figures. Harold, the Core Cleaner who had disappeared at the beginning of the term. Betsy, a red-haired woman who was always sweeping the halls at night.

  There were voices coming from the waiting room of the hospital wing, so Albert hastened his pace, a smile forming on his lips.

  Birdie and Leroy were sitting on the floor in front of an old, barely working TV.

  “I could win, you know,” Birdie was saying. “If you would just stop using your Tile!”

  “That’s like asking me not to breathe!” Leroy whined. A game of Tiles was laid out between them, and Farnsworth was chewing on a blue bone, his eyes flashing.

  Albert’s dad was sitting on a couch nearby, snoring. Hoyt, Slink, and Mo were there, too.

  Everyone he cared about was here, in one place.

  “This looks like fun and all,” Albert said. “But I’m starving.”

  Everyone whirled around. “ALBERT!”

  Farnsworth reached him before anyone else did, and then it was a flurry of hugs and slobbery dog kisses and Birdie slapping Albert’s arm, telling him she’d pummel him if he ever scared her like that again, and Albert was laughing.

  “Is Mom safe?” he asked his dad. “What about Pap? What about the surface world?”

  Professor Flynn nodded. “Mom and Pap are perfectly fine. The surface world will take a while to recover.” He looked down at his hands for a moment. “Lives were lost, and many homes were destroyed, but . . . it’s all over now. You did it, Albert. You stopped Festus.”

  “Lives were lost,” Albert said slowly, nodding. He sank to the couch, beside his dad. “If we’d stopped the Imbalance in time . . .”

  Birdie and Leroy scooted closer.

  “Bad things happened,” Birdie said carefully. “But it’s not anyone’s fault but Festus’s. He did this.”

  “And you stopped him,” Leroy said.

  Albert let out a deep sigh. He allowed himself one moment to think about the chaos that was caused because of Festus. He allowed himself to feel the pain of the loss on the surface world, the fear that those people must have felt.

  Then he swallowed it down and looked around at his family and friends.

  They were safe. They were all here with him, and after everything that had happened, he couldn’t have asked for much more.

  Birdie leaned in and hugged him again. “Thank you for saving us,” she said. “Me and Leroy. I don’t remember much about when he took us, but . . . thank you.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you,” Albert said.

  Birdie pulled back. “What do you mean?”

  Albert smiled and shook his head.

  Then he remembered the strikers. “The Imbalance! What happened?”

  Hoyt nodded, and Albert noticed the fresh cuts on his lip, the bruises all over Slink’s and Mo’s faces. “We took care of it.”

  His dad patted Hoyt on the shoulder and smiled. “They’re more than a backup unit, Albert. Got the strikers hung back up and working in record time.”

  Hoyt’s face reddened. “We wouldn’t have made it without you, Albert,” he said. “It’s thanks to you for helping us get those Trolls back to sleep before we got there. And for helping Spyro agree to give us a ride.”

  “We do still have to go back and give them peppermints,” Slink said. Mo shrugged beside him.

  “And in case you’re wondering, Lake Hall construction is under way. We should be eating real food again in no time,” Leroy added.

  Once Albert started laughing, he couldn’t seem to stop.

  The hugs resumed, and he was so relieved he could have slept for days.

  But he’d slept enough.

  He had some business to take care of.

  “We need to call a meeting,” Albert said. “The entire Core. And we need to do it now.”

  His dad nodded. “We were waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Festus?” Albert said. “And Lucinda?” The names made a shiver go through him, but his dad put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Their trial is happening in a few minutes. They’ll both be there, but I promise, the security is under control. And the Tiles are safe for now. If you don’t want to go . . .”

  Albert held up a hand. “I have to see the traitors one more time, and make sure everyone knows the truth.”

  As for seeing the Master Tiles again . . . that would be a battle Albert would have to face on his own.

  A few minutes later, after the cyclops nurse had officially declared Albert well enough to be released, everyone left the hospital wing together, Albert’s dad behind him, and his best friends at his sides, as they headed for the trial.

  It was over. It was almost over, as soon as Festus and Lucinda were banished.

  “I’m glad you’re awake,” Birdie said. She slung an arm across Albert’s waist.

  “Thanks again for saving us,” Leroy added. “That jerkbutt caught us off guard.”

  “Jerkbutt?” Birdie asked. “Is that even a word?”

  “He’s smart enough he can make up his own words,” Hoyt said, catching up.

  Albert smiled as they walked along, Farnsworth leading the way.

  CHAPTER 34

  The Core Trial

  They avoided the Main Chamber, heading instead down the tunnel that led to the Library.

  When they got there and Professor Flynn opened up the two heavy wooden doors, Albert’s eyes widened.

  The Library had been transformed.

  Bookshelves were moved aside, and the giant zip line and rock-climbing wall were gone for the day. In their place was a set of bleachers, pulled right out of the Pit. The Library was already packed with everyone from the Core. Whispers spread throughout the crowd as Albert arrived.

  “If this is too much too soon . . . ,” Professor Flynn whispered, but Albert shook his head.

  “It’s okay, Dad. I’m fine.”

  He was better than fine, because here was proof that the Core was alive and safe. Only a few faces were missing from the stands, and some of them were the ones he’d already seen recovering in the hospital wing.

  “Some people left for good,” Leroy explained as they walked along. As they approached the bleachers, a few people cleared a spot in the front row for Albert and his friends.

  “They were too scared of a repeat traitor event happening,” Birdie added.

  “It’ll never happen again,” Albert said.

  And just as he said it, he saw Festus and Lucinda.

  A small stage had been set up in the center of the Library, and a podium with the MegaHorn on top. Professor Asante and Professor Bigglesby were sitting on the stage, waiting. Festus and Lucinda sat side by side in metal chairs on the other side of the stage, their wrists and ankles bound in copper handcuffs.

  Festus had looked so giant yesterday, so looming and terrifying.

  Today, he looked incredibly small. His hair was greasy and stuck to his scalp.

  Lucinda didn’t look much better. Her fingers were completely bare, no giant rings. And no Kimber slithering from her neck.

  Instead, the snake was coiled up on the stage nearby, watching. Guarding them.

  Festus’s head whipped up toward Albert. His multicolored eyes were sapped of all emotion, but he didn’t look away as Albert took his seat in the stands. He was squeezed between Leroy and Birdie, with Hoyt, Slink, and Mo on the sides. His friends
, guarding him like an army.

  But there’s nothing to be afraid of, Albert told himself. Not anymore.

  Professor Asante stood and moved to the podium.

  “We are gathered here today to decide the punishment seen fit for Festus Flynn and his accomplice, Lucinda Lore.”

  Murmurs spread throughout the stands, but nobody seemed all that shocked to hear that Festus was related to Albert. Apparently, news had traveled fast while Albert slept.

  Professor Asante pulled out a scroll, which unraveled to the floor. “We will begin with the reading of the crimes.”

  Festus was charged for entering every Realm, for trying to sabotage the peaceful nature that kept them each in Balance, and for tampering with the instruments of the Core. He was charged with theft for stealing both Master Tiles, and with attempt to harm not one Balance Keeper, but many. His final crime was breaking the laws of his previous punishment, which had banished him from the main Core to the Path Hider’s realm many years ago, without the freedom to leave that space for any reason whatsoever.

  That last part surprised Albert. He had never seen the Path Hider anywhere other than the Path Hider’s realm, but he had just assumed the Path Hider was a solitary person. How many years had he been confined there? Albert thought of being cramped up in his tiny Manhattan apartment during that big hurricane a few years ago. He was batty by the time it was safe to go out. But what would have happened to him had he never been able to come out?

  Professor Asante cleared her throat and stepped closer to the MegaHorn. “Festus Flynn, how do you plead? Guilty, or not guilty?”

  Festus lifted his head, slowly, his eyes focused only on Albert.

  “The Tiles,” he said, his once-powerful voice cracking. “Give them back to me.” He shook against the handcuffs, and Albert felt himself flinching, afraid for a second that Festus could break away.

  But his power was gone, along with the three Master Tiles that were hidden somewhere safely away.

  The absence of Albert’s own Master Tile around his neck was strange, but also, he realized, freeing. It was fine with him if he never saw those black Tiles again. Still . . .

  I wonder if I’ll get another Tile, Albert thought. I wonder if I’ll ever be a Balance Keeper again.