Festival of Shadows (57 page)

Then the screen melted and the darkness returned. Self-doubt stung him as he journeyed farther into the darkness.

Stratus moved with supernatural speed, and the toys narrowly dodged his slices. He was nowhere and everywhere at once. It was impossible to hit him.
 

Heinrich tried to headbutt Stratus’s arm, but Stratus smacked him against the wall.
 

Lucinda fired a dream blast; Stratus lashed at her, but Bethany pulled her out of the way just in time.
 

“I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to fight,” Bethany said. “He’s darn near invincible.”

Stratus laughed at Bethany’s compliment and lunged for her. Gasket blew fire at him, but Stratus dissipated and swung at Jiskyl instead, who waved his cane and shot lightning bolts at him.
 

Theo convulsed on the floor, and Lucinda glanced back at him. “I believe in you.”

Stratus laughed and flowed toward her as she fired another dream blast, engulfing the room in blue light.
 

Theo touched down on Shawn’s bed. Time sped up, and Theo saw Shawn zip out of the portal under the bed. He moved in and out of the room as the years passed. He blinked, flickered out of sight, and then appeared on the bed sitting next to Theo. The sun slid into the sky, and dawn light washed over the room.
 

Shawn looked at Theo and played with his hands, as if he didn’t know what to say.
 

“What happened between us, old pal?” Theo asked.
 

“I grew up.”

“I guess it happened faster than I thought it would.”

“Yeah.”

Silence grew between them, and it was some time before Theo spoke. “I want you to know that I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you.”

Shawn sighed. “I went through hell because of you. You can’t even imagine the nightmares I saw. They changed me. But maybe it was meant to happen.”

Theo hopped down from the bed and climbed up on the windowsill. He gazed at the cars passing by. “Maybe some things do happen for a reason. The longer I’m in the Stratusphere, the more I realize that.” He gestured around the room. “I tried to hold on to all of this. I wanted it to last forever. Same with Grant. But the more I try to hold on, the more everything turns to smoke that slips between my fingers.”

“You and me both.”

“Yeah.”

Shawn brightened a little. “Don’t blame yourself. All of this, it wasn’t going to last anyway. You were better off with Grant.”

“Yeah, I was. You never liked teddy bears, anyway.”

Shawn laughed. The room dissolved, and Theo watched himself on a screen again. Grant was holding him, and he brought him up to his face, smiling. There was none of Shawn’s heaviness; Grant was pure kid, full of happiness and laughter.
 

I remember this. This was after Shawn gave me to Grant.

“I made you something,” Grant said. He handed Theo a wooden sword and shield. “Since you’re an Ursabrand, your duty is to protect me and the toys from the boogie man. With these, you can protect us all.”

Theo remained stiff, but he wanted to smile.
 

“Now repeat after me,” Grant said. “I, Theodorus Ursabrand, promise to protect Grant and the toys, no matter what happens, even if it means sacrificing my life!”

Theo was silent.

“There,” Grant said. “Now you’re under oath.”

He made Theo slash his sword and bring his shield up. “And don’t forget to practice. You’ll need your skills. And when things get rough, just think of home, and me, your best buddy!”

Mom called from the kitchen. “Dinner time!”

“Be back, buddy.”

Grant shut the door and Theo gripped the sword and shield, feeling them for the first time again. It was odd, revisiting this memory.
 

He jumped down to the floor. He tried to slash the sword, but it was so heavy he fell down. He struggled to get up; the shield was heavy, too.
 

He slashed again and lost his balance. For two hours, he practiced fighting with the sword until it was comfortable in his hands and its weight was no longer a burden. All the while, he kept repeating the oath.
 

Then everything faded to darkness. He flew headfirst again, and his voice resounded from beyond.
 

Now I remember the oath. Now I remember why I am doing all of this. Because I was a failure.

“I don’t need to keep hearing that.”

I’m not fighting because I love Grant. I’m fighting to mask my own failure to protect Shawn.
 

“I said I didn’t want to hear it!”

Theo punched the air, but his voice continued.
 

I should offer my services to Stratus. I can save Grant this way.

“No.”

Then I should offer him my head. I can die with a shred of dignity. I said I’d never want to make this choice, but here I am. The darkness is so inviting. What am I waiting for? Turn or die!

Theo slanted his eyes. “That’s not me talking. I refuse to believe that! Who are you?”

The darkness in front of Theo condensed into a red eye, and he heard Stratus’s laughter.
 

“No. This is an illusion. Why didn’t I realize it sooner?”

Stratus’s laughter grew louder. Theo felt the Whatsamadoozle glowing in his hand—it had been at his side all along. “I know why I’m fighting. I’m not just fighting for Grant. I’m not even fighting for myself anymore.” He stared at Stratus’s eye. “I’m fighting for everyone you’ve hurt. I won’t let you win.”

He heard Lucinda’s voice and the sound of fighting.
 
The darkness shattered around him, and he was lying on his back in the throne room. The toys huddled in a corner, out of breath and zapped of their energy. Stratus rose over them and turned his hand into a hammer. He raised it and brought it down toward them. The toys closed their eyes.
 

Theo clutched his golden shield, and in an instant, he was in front of the toys with the shield in front of his face.

Stratus struck the shield. It glowed, flooding the area with light, and the impact knocked him backward.

The shield blinked rapidly and a golden sword pulsed in Theo’s hand.

 
“Thanks for believing in me,” Theo said to Lucinda.
 

Lucinda staggered up and stood next to him. The other toys did the same, even though they could barely walk.
 

“Welcome back, sleepyhead,” Jiskyl said.

Stratus pounded the floor and the castle shook; the walls disconnected, the floor dissolved, and the ceiling crumbled into an ethereal skyscape full of nebulae. The ground turned into craggy rock, leaving the toys standing on a cliff that overlooked nothingness.
 

Stratus rose higher and higher. He transformed into a shadow dragon with glowing red eyes, smoky breath, and a ferocious roar. He hovered over the cliff, breathing shadow fire.

The toys readied themselves again, and Theo pointed his sword at Stratus.
 

“It ends now.”

“How the heck are we gonna defeat him?” Bethany said, slapping her lasso.
 

“Never lose hope,” Theo said. “Remember?”

Bethany nodded and climbed onto Gasket, who flapped his wings and blew fire angrily.

Heinrich ran to Theo’s side. “I am lucky to have met a friend like you. Up you go, my little cub!” He picked Theo up and launched him toward the dragon’s mouth, shouting, “When this is over, I want my Whatsamadoozle back!”

Theo slashed the dragon. It roared with pain, but grew taller. Theo couldn’t reach the dragon’s head anymore, and he fell backward toward the nothingness.

He landed on Gasket, who flew upward as Bethany yee-hawed.
 

“No matter what happens,” Bethany said, “we’ll have your back. Let’s make this place a world worth living in.”

Gasket blew fire at the dragon’s torso. It roared and tried to swipe them out of the sky, but Bethany flung her lasso and wrapped it around one of the beast’s claws. She yanked with all her might and pulled it toward Gasket.
 

“You have to keep going. I won’t be able to hold him for long.”

Theo leaped onto the dragon’s arm and ran up. The dragon blew fire at him and he hid behind his shield, waiting for the burning to begin.

But the fire never touched Theo. There was a blue flash, and the fire turned to a giant ice crystal that hung suspended in the air, spiraling up to the dragon’s mouth.
 

Jiskyl waved at Theo from below. “Are you still sleepwalking?” the old fish said. “Keep climbing!”
 

Theo climbed the ice quickly, avoiding the dragon’s claws as they broke the ice behind him. When he was level with the dragon’s head he jumped into the air, ready to drive his sword deep into its skull, but the dragon grabbed him with its claws and squeezed him.
 

A dream blast struck the dragon’s claws. The dragon let go of Theo, and he began to fall again.
 

Another dream blast hit Theo in the back, knocking him upward. Then another. And another. The barrage of dream blasts brought him high over the dragon’s head again, and he shot downward toward its crown.

“One more blow,” Lucinda said from below. She fired a dream blast into Theo’s sword, and it glowed blue.
 

Theo drove the sword into the top of the dragon’s head. It screamed as shadows flowed out of its body. Theo dug the sword in hard and deep, and the dragon jerked, throwing him off.
 

Theo landed on Gasket, who had circled up to meet him, and they flew down to the other toys. They all watched as the dragon dissolved before their eyes. Its roar, once deafening, diminished to a whisper, and the skyscape, once vivid and colorful, faded slowly to black.
 

A portal back to the throne room appeared behind them.

“It’s over,” Theo said, sheathing his sword.

 
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Heinrich said, running toward the portal. The other toys followed and jumped through.
 

Theo was last. He jumped toward the portal, but some of the lingering shadows had gathered. A hand snatched Theo’s leg and pulled him into the ether.

Lucinda screamed, but it was too late.

Theo and Stratus tumbled into free fall, slashing at each other as the world crumbled around them. They fell for what seemed like an eternity until they landed on a shadowy floor. Darkness surrounded them.

Stratus rose, but he was breathing heavily. His body, previously pure shadow, was now fog and bone. Half his head was missing, and he only had one red eye now—the other was gone. He looked as if only a few blows would finish him forever.
 

~ “I’ll never lose hope.”

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CHAPTER 10

A Discovery

Jiskyl worked among the festival ruins, trying to rebuild the big top by himself, but it kept falling over on him.