spotted Bert and Beckett lighting another dung missile.
I have to get out, she choked, hiking her dress collar over her nose. But the doors were still so far . . .
The Ice Giant of Frostplains thundered by, smacking people away and barreling towards the exit. Instantly Sophie started scurrying behind him like a mouse in the wake of an elephant, while the Giant swatted left and right, his huge, ice-blue hand flashing the same silver ring she’d seen on the Elf King and Queen of Jaunt Jolie. Through his legs, she spotted open doors and clear sky ahead—a comet streaked through the air outside, a helix of navy and pink, like a sailor’s flare—
Did Bert and Beckett dungbomb the streets too?
Suddenly she glimpsed Bert and Beckett, using a rope to climb down a stone wall towards the doors, before the boys yelped and reversed direction as Aran, Wesley, and more pirate guards leapt onto the rope to chase them.
Sophie knew she should stay and help the boys; a real Dean would protect her students, Evers and Nevers . . . but instead, she found herself scampering faster for the doors behind the giant, hiding in his shadow, so the pirates tracking Bert and Beckett wouldn’t see her. She didn’t bother feeling guilt over it. She wasn’t Agatha, after all. She wasn’t Good. Those boys needed to fend for themselves. That was the point of fairy tales. And she . . . well, she needed to get as far from Camelot as possible.
She was nearing the exit now, hugging closer to the giant’s boots. If she could just slither out of this church, she could blend into the mob . . . she could disguise herself and find a way back to school . . . to Agatha. . . . The thought of seeing her best friend again made Sophie dump caution; she broke away from the giant and sprinted between his legs, elbowing people out of her path. She felt the heat of the sun flush across her skin and as she crashed through the doorway, she looked up into the heavenly white glare—
A hand snatched her backwards and she whirled to see Rhian in the doorway. “Stay with me!” he said, rattled. “We’re under attack!”
Suddenly, loud bells jangled in the distance, frantic and high-pitched. . . .
Alarm bells.
Sophie and Rhian swiveled and saw Camelot shrouded by an alien fog, silver and glimmering, that obscured the entire castle. Behind the fog, they could hear shouts echo from the towers, resounding downhill, as the bells clattered wilder and faster.
“What’s happening?” Sophie breathed.
“Intruders,” said Rhian, clasping her wrist tighter. “They’re at the castle too. . . . Japeth. He might still be there! He’s alone . . . We have to help him—”
He yanked Sophie through the door, but it was mayhem outside, with dignitaries still fleeing the church now mixing with the hordes of citizens in the streets, who’d smelled the stink bombs and heard Camelot’s alarms and joined the stampede like harrowed geese. At the same time, a heap of these spectators from far-flung kingdoms saw Rhian and Sophie emerge and flooded towards them, desperate to meet the new king and queen. Cornered, Rhian pulled Sophie back to the door, but that only got them caught deeper in the crush, like buoys in a storm.
But now Sophie saw someone streaking through the mob on horseback, smashing people aside. . . .
Japeth.
“The dungeons,” he panted at his brother, his gold-and-blue suit sprayed with white rubble. “They’ve been breached—”
A cry tore through the sky overhead.
It wasn’t human.
Rhian, Japeth, and Sophie raised their eyes.
A flock of stymphs ripped out of the fog, carrying Sophie’s friends on their spines—Kiko, Reena, Beatrix, Dot, with fingerglows lit, leaning forward and firing spells at the king and his liege. Three stun spells hit Rhian in the chest, launching him through the open church doors, while another bludgeoned Japeth off his horse. Dot turned the ground beneath Japeth’s feet to hot mocha, sending him plunging headfirst into the deep, steaming moat. Doves tweeted as Japeth flailed in boiling chocolate: “Agatha’s been caught!” “She’s no match for the Lion!” “She’s no match for his liege!” “Praise to King Rhian! Praise to Japet—”
A red-skinned demon ate the doves.
Sophie wheeled and saw Hester and Anadil on a stymph, swooping towards her.
“Grab my hand!” Anadil ordered.
The pale witch reached out her palm as Hester steered their bird downwards, with Anadil’s and Sophie’s fingers about to touch—
A pirate dagger pierced Anadil’s arm,