Radiant Oddities (Anomaly Saga #4)

15

"Here's the plan," said Chandler, peering through the grate below him. "We jump through the grate and try not to break our legs."

"I hate this," said William. "Let's do it."

LaVarre's voice echoed up from further behind. "Sounds good to me!"

Chandler pounded on the grate and it fell to the floor. He twisted himself around in the vent, then let himself fall through.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed as he hit the ground. "I'm okay."

As William and LaVarre fell down after him, Chandler observed his surroundings. They were in some kind of grand meeting room, complete with a massive table and golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

"We should get out of here before everyone shows up," said Chandler. "We wouldn't want to be caught in a place like this."

At that moment, someone fumbled with a nearby doorknob.

"Run!" whispered William, and the group separated. LaVarre dashed under the table. William jumped into a nearby wardrobe and closed himself inside. Chandler ran behind a nearby marble pillar.

The door opened, and Chandler heard someone's footsteps head to the table in the center of the room. Then another's, and another's, and a whole crowd swarmed inside. Once the noise had stopped, Chandler dared to peek at the table.

Every seat was filled with all kinds of people. Chandler recognized a lot of them. Greyhorn and Victoria were present. So were several of the people he had seen at the dance. Everyone looked normal except for the person at the head of the table, who wore a unique dark mask that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie. He also wore a dark cloak and a strangely familiar wide-brimmed hat. Was this the Host?

"We are all here," said Greyhorn, giving a half-bow to the masked man at the end of the table. "We are ready to hear the Host's verdict on the issue at hand."

The masked man nodded. "We are gathered here today for the trial of Casey Diamond," he said, his voice clearly altered by his mask. "He has committed the highest form of treason."

Chandler's stomach dropped. How had they caught Mr. Diamond? This was not at all according to plan.

"Shall we bring him in?" asked Greyhorn, and the Host nodded. A couple people left the table and returned a minute later carrying Mr. Diamond with him, his hands cuffed behind his back.

"Casey Diamond," said the Host. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mr. Diamond glared at the Host. "I don't have to say anything to you. Even when I'm gone, I have friends who will carry the torch for me. You must be stopped."

"So you have chosen death," said the Host. "Unfortunate. You were a good man once."

"So the only good people are the ones that blindly do everything you tell them to?" Mr. Diamond shook his head. "That's a heavily flawed way of looking at the world. And you know what else is heavily flawed?"

The Host tilted his head slightly. "What?"

"Your assumption that you've caught me." And with that, Mr. Diamond slipped out of the handcuffs and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the Host. "Don't touch me," he said to the guards. "Because if you do, I'll shoot."

The Host laughed. "You think you'll kill me? Is that it? You versus me and my twenty-five protectors? That's quite the fight you've set up for yourself."

"I'll do it alone if I have to," Mr. Diamond said.

Chandler couldn't help it anymore. He hated watching. He leaped out from behind the pillar, jumping up onto the table. "He isn't alone," he said.

LaVarre crawled out from underneath the table, and Victoria kicked him in the ribs. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "I'm with them, too. The Host doesn't appreciate me enough!"

William ran out of the wardrobe and leapt up next to his brother. "We're not going down without a fight," he said.

The Host laughed. "You're all very persistent. It's cute. You're too confident."

Without warning, Alice and Katrina burst inside the room, each of them carrying a weapon. "We're here, too!" Alice shouted. "And this ends now!"

Alice jumped up to Chandler's side, and Katrina moved to stand by William.

The Host waved at them dismissively. "This means nothing to me. Don't you see?"

Something about the Host's mannerisms seemed so painfully familiar to Chandler. And then in that moment, he realized.

"The game's up," Chandler said. "I know who you are. I probably should've kept that recording device, huh?"

The Host was silent for a moment. Then he reached for his mask and took it off, and everyone saw that the Host wasn't even a he after all.

It was Ms. Lockley.