"Changelings look out for each other."

Natalia spun to face Ernie. "What did you tell them?"

Ernie turned away.

"If we had been there, Robert would still be alive," Yi said. Then flames erupted in both hands. "Unfortunately, you were there instead."

"Is that supposed to scare us?" Harley said, taking a step toward Yi. He was a head taller than the changeling, but Yi didn't back down. Sparks jumped from Yi's skin. Then his hair turned into a blaze of fire, and flames burst from his eyes.

"You tell me," Yi said. "You're the one who walked in here with a grenade launcher."

The other changelings closed ranks, circling the Grey Griffins like a pack of hungry wolves. Sprig growled before snapping at the girl holding the ice club.

Max didn't want to fight, but it didn't look like he was going to have a choice. He twisted the Codex ring on his finger, and the gauntlet reappeared. Blue energy sparked as Max flexed his hand.

Ernie stepped between Yi and Harley. "Stop it!"

Yi's chest was heaving. Harley's eyes were narrowed.

"I can't believe you told them that Robert's death was our fault," Natalia said, her fists clenched. Her body was shaking. Ernie tried to look her in the eyes, but he couldn't. "Robert is dead because Otto Von Strife tore his soul out of his body. We didn't have anything to do with that."

"We could have fixed him," Ernie said. He was mumbling. His voice was barely a whisper.

"I hope you don't honestly believe that," Natalia said. "We did what we did to save your life, and this is how you thank us? I know you're upset because your friend is dead, Ernie, but this is pathetic."

"Forget it, Natalia," Max said. The gauntlet disappeared, turning back into the Codex ring. "Let's just go."

Natalia started to say something else, but she closed her mouth. Then she stomped through the woods back to the snowmobiles. Harley, Max, and Sprig followed, leaving Ernie alone with the other changelings.

THE INVITATION.

Ernie wasn't the only member of the Grey Griffins who'd chosen to hang out with new friends. Even though Natalia was upset, she decided to keep her plans with Brooke Lundgren, whose father was the director of Iron Bridge Academy. In the past, Natalia had been jealous of Brooke, but over the last few months the two had become fast friends.

While the girls went shopping in Bloomington, Harley headed into New Victoria with Monti McGuiness, a Templar inventor who had become something of a mentor to Harley. None of them extended an invitation to Max, so he sat alone at his kitchen table with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a mug filled with milk.

Max lived in an enormous house on the shores of Lake Avalon. His family had more money than they could spend, but Max would have traded it all to bring them back together. His parents' divorce had been devastating, and Max just wanted things to go back to the way they used to be.

Of course that would have been impossible. It was widely believed that his father was dead, the victim of an ancient dragon by the name of Malice Striker. Max missed his dad, but he was also angry. After all, his father had betrayed the Templar by joining a band of werewolves called the Black Wolf Society. Then he manipulated Max to help in his scheme to destroy the world.

Max sighed.

"What's with the long face?" A man with short hair that blended into the stubble on his beard walked into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a tight-fitting sweater with a distressed griffin on the front. "Didn't you catch the troll?" He tossed a paper sack onto the countertop and reached over to pluck a cookie off Max's plate.

"Oh, hi, Logan," Max said. "Yeah, we got it."

"Then what's wrong?" Logan said, his Scottish accent curling his words.

Logan was his bodyguard, but Max considered him family. He was also everything Max wanted to become. The Scotsman could hold his breath for over six minutes and punch through a brick wall, and he used to race Ferraris in Europe. However, what Max admired most was Logan's confidence. The world could be crumbling down around him, and Logan wouldn't flinch. Max wished he could be like that.

"Come on, then," Logan said. "Give us the story, will you?"

Max sighed. "Well, Ernie blew us off again."

"Is that so?"

"He told us he was too sick to go hunting, but he was actually hanging out with some of the changelings."

"I suppose it makes sense," Logan said. "They're all running scared, so they're probably relying on one another for support. I can't blame them for that."

"It's just that... I don't know. The Grey Griffins are supposed to support him. Besides, Ernie doesn't seem like the same person anymore."

"He's not," Logan said. "Change is a part of life."

"Maybe you're right."

"I'm always right," Logan said with a wry smile. "What about your other cohorts?"

"Natalia went shopping with Brooke, and Harley is somewhere in New Victoria with Monti."

"Let me get this straight," Logan said. "You're upset because your friends are having fun without you."

"When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous."

The Sumners' plump housekeeper walked into the kitchen with an envelope in her hands. She stepped in front of Logan, ignoring the Scotsman, and handed it to Max. "I believe this is for you."

"Thanks, Rosa."

Max slipped his finger under the flap of the envelope. Then he pulled out a single piece of parchment with the Iron Bridge Academy coat of arms printed at the top.

Iron Bridge was a private military school run by the Knights Templar. Its students were trained to save the world from unseen dangers such as six-armed ogres, poltergeists, and savage werewolves.

"Very official," Logan said. "What is it?"

"Apparently, I'm being transferred into a class called Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation."

"Who's the teacher?"

"It doesn't say." Max tossed the paper across the table. "With my luck, it'll be Nipkin."

"Maybe this will cheer you up," Logan said. He grabbed the paper sack from the countertop and tossed it to Max.

"What is it?"

The bag crinkled and crunched as Max reached in to pull out a few packs of trading cards.

"Aren't you getting a little old for that game?" Rosa said as she started preparing dinner.

"You're never too old for Round Table," Max said.

"I'd have to agree with the boy," Logan said.

The trading-card game had originally been developed to teach children in the Templar community how to fight monsters and faeries without risk of injury. Over the centuries, children continued to play well into adulthood. Before long, games once played in the back of pubs became global tournaments.

Max opened the paper bag to dump the rest of the contents on the table. Each pack was wrapped in shiny foil. "Have they even announced the Clockwork Chaos expansion series?"

"I have a mate who works in the game-design department," Logan said. "He agreed to give me a few packs in exchange for a bit of a favor."

"Like what?"

"Don't worry about it," Logan said. "You need to learn how to take clockwork soldiers down. It starts with the cards, and then we'll start training in the SIM Chamber. After that, we'll see about a field test."

"But we've already gone up against clockworks."

"Trust me, Max. It's only just begun."

NEW VICTORIA.

The usual drizzle that blanketed New Victoria had turned into a full-blown storm. Lightning flashed, thunder echoed, and Monti McGuiness pulled out what looked like a pocket watch. With the click of a button, the lid snapped open. He spun a small dial attached to the face, and a metal bar sprouted from his backpack, unfolding an umbrella over his head.

"That's better," Monti said. He removed his goggles and wiped them with a handkerchief.

"I don't suppose you have another one of those, do you?" Harley asked.

"Sorry."

"I should have remembered to bring an umbrella."

Monti looked up at the clock tower. "It's too late tonight, but maybe we can rig one of these up for you next week."

With cobblestone streets enveloped by fog and a skyline filled with smoke billowing from chimneys, New Victoria could have been the backdrop of a Sherlock Holmes story. It was on an island in the middle of Lake Avalon, but few from the town of Avalon knew it existed. The strange city was caught between the world the people of Avalon knew and the Shadowlands, a land of wild magic ruled by an overlord named Oberon and his bride, Titania. Because of that, New Victoria was invisible except to those who had access to the right portals.

"By the way," Harley said, "how's everything going with those clockworks back at your workshop? Have you been able to rebuild them yet?"

"I'm afraid not," Monti said between coughs. "I knew Von Strife was a genius, but they're more complex than I'd imagined. He was a century ahead of his time, maybe more. I mean, I've been working around the clock, and I haven't got a single machine to fire up yet."

"That's probably why you're getting sick," Harley said. "People need to sleep."

Monti shrugged. "That and the weather, but I don't have much choice. I'm shorthanded, and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

"I could come by after school to help out."

Monti stroked his chin. "You know what?" he finally said. "As long as your mom is okay with it, that might work out."

"Really?"

"We'll have to find a way around the liability issues. It won't go over well in the press if you lose a hand in one of the machines."

Harley shrugged. "You could always build me a new one. You know, with interchangeable parts. There could be a grappling hook... a claw... maybe even a grenade launcher."

"You're starting to sound like Doc Trimble," Monti said, referring to the school physician, who had a prosthetic arm.

"Did you hear that?" Harley asked as they passed the graveyard behind the Cathedral of St. Peter.

Monti shook his head. "I didn't hear anything."

"There it is again," Harley said. He stopped to look through the tall iron fence, which was topped with barbs.

Monti cocked his head to the side. Then his eyes opened wide. "Moaning?"

"Yeah."

"You don't think it's... forget it."

"Zombies?"

"Impossible. Right?"

A loud gong sounded, and Monti jumped. The church bells were announcing that it was six o'clock. The sun was long gone, and a thick cluster of clouds was blotting out the moon. The only source of light in the entire city was the meager gas lamps that lined the streets, and that wasn't much.

Then they heard the echo of footfalls. A man in a long coat, a scarf, and a top hat crossed their path. His brow was furrowed and his nose was sharp. Monti looked over his shoulder to make sure the stranger didn't double back. When he turned around, he could see another figure standing not half a block away.

"Who's that?" Monti asked.

"I can't tell."

The figure started walking toward them. At first he was nothing more than a silhouette against the grey sky, but soon enough Harley could see that he was dressed in an overcoat and a driving cap. He was small, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. There were plenty of urbanized goblins living in New Victoria, and they could be wicked.

"Stop right there," Monti said. He flicked his wrist. A spring-loaded mechanism inside his sleeve released a small plasma pistol into his hand.

"Take it easy," the stranger said. He held his arms wide to show that he wasn't holding a weapon. As the stranger walked beneath the light of a gas lamp, Harley narrowed his eyes as his lip curled back into a snarl.

"What's wrong?" Monti asked when he saw Harley's reaction.

"That's Aidan Thorne," Harley said through his clenched jaws.

"Wait," Monti said. "You mean the changeling who took Robert?"

"We call him Smoke, but yeah," Harley said. Smoke took off the cap to reveal blond hair that was twisted into spikes, and he had a pair of aviator goggles pulled over his blue eyes.

His changeling ability allowed Smoke to teleport anywhere in the world if he'd been there before, or if the spot was in his line of sight. Smoke had been a student at Iron Bridge, but he'd turned on the Templar and helped Otto Von Strife abduct Robert Hernandez. No one had seen him since Robert's death. Until now.

"Did you miss me?" Smoke asked.

"Not especially," Harley said. "What do you want?"

"I came to deliver a message to Agent Thunderbolt."

"As you can see, he's not here."