Read Festival of Shadows Online
Authors: Michael La Ronn
Festival of Shadows (8 page)
Theo leaped onto the battle ax and hung on tight. Cutter tried to shake him off but couldn’t.
“Clingy, are we?” Cutter asked. The Whatsamadoozle disintegrated underneath Theo’s grip and he crashed to the ground. It rematerialized in Cutter’s hands as a bow and arrow.
Theo struggled on the ground as Cutter aimed for him. On the ground nearby, Theo saw a yo-yo and a Frisbee.
~ Theo threw the yo-yo at Cutter’s eye.
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Theo threw the yo-yo just as Cutter released the arrow. The yo-yo hit Cutter in the eye and he stumbled backward; the arrow disintegrated just before it reached Theo’s heart.
The yo-yo rolled back to Theo’s feet.
~ Theo used the yo-yo as a weapon.
~ He used the yo-yo to tie Cutter’s legs.
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Theo wound up the yo-yo and smacked Cutter repeatedly until he dropped the Whatsamadoozle in the grass.
“Ouch, you little—”
Theo snatched the Whatsamadoozle, and it glowed in his palm.
“The Whatsamadoozle is mine now.”
“You’re a conniving little cub. You’re going to pay for that.”
Cutter spread his wings, and their edges began to move like chainsaws and made a terrible grinding noise. He swiped, but Theo jumped out of the way. Then he ripped around and sawed ten trees in half.
“Teddy bear cutlet. Sounds delicious!”
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Theo ran in circles around Cutter’s legs, and the dinosaur tripped and fell. Theo snatched the Whatsamadoozle, and it glowed in his palm.
“The Whatsamadoozle is mine now.”
“You’re going to pay for that,” Cutter said, ripping the wire off his legs. He spread his wings, and their edges began to move like chainsaws and made a terrible grinding noise. He swiped, but Theo jumped out of the way. Then he ripped around and sawed ten trees in half.
“Teddy bear cutlet. Sounds delicious!”
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The ax thwacked the Frisbee, shattering it, but Theo was safe. He took one of the shards and slashed Cutter’s arm—the dinosaur recoiled and dropped the Whatsamadoozle. Theo grabbed it, and it turned into a golden ball in his hand.
“The Whatsamadoozle is mine now.”
“You’re a conniving little cub. You’re going to pay for that.”
Cutter spread his wings, and their edges began to move like chainsaws and made a terrible grinding noise. He swiped, but Theo jumped out of the way. Then he ripped around and sawed ten trees in half.
“Teddy bear cutlet. Sounds delicious!”
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As Theo ran, Cutter caught him, threw him into the air, and reared the ax.
“Batter up.”
Theo curled himself into a ball and hoped that Cutter didn’t connect. Instead, he hit the ground, and Cutter stood over him, grinning.
“Why should you die now when I could give His Grace the pleasure?”
He reached for Theo, but Theo rolled out of the way and bit his arm.
“Arrgh!”
Cutter dropped the Whatsamadoozle and Theo dove into the grass and grabbed it.
“The Whatsamadoozle is mine now.”
“You’re a conniving little cub. You’re going to pay for that.”
Cutter spread his wings, and their edges began to move like chainsaws and made a terrible grinding noise. He swiped, but Theo jumped out of the way. Then he ripped around and sawed ten trees in half.
“Teddy bear cutlet. Sounds delicious!”
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Theo took off into the forest with Cutter on his tail. The dinosaur cut down trees left and right as he followed.
The Whatsamadoozle glowed in Theo’s hand. He imagined it as a mallet, and it flashed. A magnificent mallet, three times his size but as light as a small stick, pulsed in his hand.
He swung around and smacked Cutter in the chest. The dinosaur fell back, his wings sawing through several trees as he tumbled. One of them fell on him, but he threw the tree off and ran after Theo faster than before.
“You won’t get away, bear.”
The trees rustled again and shuffled around them as they ran.
Not again.
Theo squinted through the canopy and saw that he was running toward the north star; he was in the southeast corner of the forest, and he guessed that he must have entered the forest from the west end, which was where he needed to go—but so much was happening that he couldn’t be sure.
Cutter was unfazed by the forest movement. “Some measly trees aren’t going to stop me from having teddy bear shish kebabs.” He leaped into the air, his bony feet stretched wide to land on Theo, but Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a shield with spikes. Cutter landed on it instead and yelled, jumping away. He reared his wings back and fired two slicers of blue energy at Theo. They looked powerful, and Theo didn’t know if the shield would protect him.
The trees kept shuffling around, and he spied a low-hanging vine on a nearby tree.
Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a:
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Theo
aimed the whip at the vine, and he sailed into the air just as the energy slicers whizzed by him. Cutter passed beneath him, his wings cutting the trees that suspended the vine, and Theo fell to the ground.
Cutter pivoted and laughed; he was standing in the way Theo needed to go.
“Let’s see you keep your bearing now.”
The forest dissolved before Theo’s eyes, and he couldn’t focus. He sank into the ground, and everything became a mirror image of its former self.
~ North | |
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Theo dashed past Cutter, narrowly missing the dinosaur’s wing. As he ran, several trees ahead formed a wall, preventing him from going farther.
Theo slid to a stop, looked back, and saw Cutter gaining on him.
Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a:
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Theo jumped on the stick and bounced once; it was springy, and he knew that it could launch him high and far.
~ He tried to bounce over the wall of trees.
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He landed behind Cutter; the dinosaur kept charging ahead and accidentally sawed the wall of trees in half.
“You’re in my way,” Theo said, turning the Whatsamadoozle into a giant mallet. He smacked Cutter on the head fifteen times until the dinosaur collapsed.
“Ay-yi-yi . . .”
Theo jumped over Cutter’s body and took off running. As he did, the forest reversed itself.
A nearby tree grabbed Theo by the waist and launched him into the air; he broke through the canopy and saw the moon in the sky, and the forest exit nearby.
When he crashed through the trees and landed on the ground, the forest reversed itself again. The tree that had grabbed him laughed and disappeared among the other shuffling trees.
“I’m not the one cutting down your relatives,” Theo said.
Cutter was still lying senseless on the ground.
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The trees settled down again as Theo ran, and he saw a burst of blue through the branches—the exit.
I’m almost there.
He heard rumble in the forest again, and Cutter was on his tail.
“That hurt,” he said. “But you’re still going to die. I’m going to cut this entire forest down to get you.”
The exit grew closer and closer, and Theo thought only of Grant as he ran.
Cutter reached him and just as he was about to saw him in half, an angry tree grabbed the dinosaur and launched him into the air.
Theo broke out of the forest and looked back. The trees juggled Cutter, and they threw him all over the forest until he disappeared, groaning.
Theo fell to his knees, panting. “That was too close.”
He stared up the hill where the caravan was—it would be a short walk. The Whatsamadoozle turned into a golden ball in his palm, and he started up the path.
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Theo ran and ran, and after a long time, he finally saw an exit. He broke through and looked back at the forest.
“I need to get out of here before he comes looking for me.”
He looked at the area around him, but it didn’t look familiar.
“I exited the wrong way. It’s going to be a long walk back to the caravan.”
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An angry tree grabbed Theo in midair and slammed him to the ground. He jumped up and saw Cutter approaching. He took off through the forest again in a different direction because he had no choice.
He ran with Cutter on his tail for a long time until he saw moonlight through the trees.
The exit. I’m almost there.
He turned the Whatsamadoozle into an ink gun and sprayed black ink in Cutter’s eyes.
“I can’t see! You’ve blinded me!”
I should have done that sooner.
Theo burst out of the forest and didn’t look back; he hoped the ink stayed in Cutter’s eyes for a long time.
He looked around, but the area wasn’t familiar.
“I took the wrong way out,” he said. “It’s going to be a long walk back to the caravan.”
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Theo cut through the trees, and one of them landed on Cutter, knocking him down.
That should buy me some time.
Cutter sawed through the tree and took off after Theo faster than before.
Maybe not. I’ve got to slow him down.
Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into a:
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Theo shot flames at Cutter and the dinosaur screamed. When the flames subsided, Theo saw Cutter with his wings over his face trying to protect himself, but his wings were glowing—the flames had strengthened them.
“Ha. Ha.” Cutter slashed the ground and set it on fire, creating a ring of fire around them. His wings spun and their fiery grind was deafening.
“Time for bear cutlets.”
Theo turned the Whatsamadoozle into:
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He waved the scepter and sprayed a torrent of ice and snow at Cutter, freezing him in a block of ice. The blast was so strong that it also froze all the nearby trees in a thick sheet of ice.
The area grew quiet, and the ice settled and cracked as it hardened.
Theo ran as fast as he could until he exited the forest. He looked back, but all was still quiet.
I’d better get away before he thaws.
Over the hill, the lights of the caravan blinked, and he made his way up the dirt path.