The Spectrum Force Volume Three by Heather Ray (ready player one ebook txt) 📕

Keith watched clinically as the Shadows gathered their bearings, filling the aisle of smoldering verdure created by Craig's surprise attack.

Blue eyes narrow, he took a few practice swings to grow comfortable with the short alien bo-staff. It's shaped like bo…but it's so short,

he reflected, More like… a katana…

Strangely enough, a rich red energy brimmed along the smooth surface of the staff. Staring incredulously, Keith watched the pole shrink until it was less than a foot in length.

What the hell?

Then, without warning, a beam of energy emerged from the tip, glowing and angry red and halting nearly two feet out. Once it had extended, the energy suddenly flattened… into a blade.

Keith blinked, his free hand itching to rub his eyes and induce some sanity to the day's bizarre events.

It… turned into a katana? Did it hear what I was thinking??

Shaking off his confusion, the Red Enforcer expertly flexed his wrist. The blade whistled as it cut through the humid air.

Keith's stupefaction melted into appreciation. Incredible. It's perfectly balanced, lightweight, agile...

Curious, he descended toward the nearest Shadow. The magical creatures nearby all collected around him at once, capitalizing on the opportunity to douse the light he radiated.

They were ill-equipped to do the job.

Keith watched his new weapon cut through them like paper, breaking the magical spell that gave them form. Rather than melting back into the obscure pool, they evaporated into the air.

"I'll be damned…"

Jocelyn bent backwards, causing the launched fist to sing harmlessly above her head. Yet, however nimble she might have been, it wasn't enough to evade the answering tackle that drew her to the ground.

Her heart quickened, panic rising as the inky black soldiers huddled around her, slowly merging into an amorphous liquid…

"No!" she shrieked, struggling against their grip. She could see the darkness encroach; could feel

that sickening seeping of strength and will...

With an animal scream, she wrestled her hand free, slicing the orange Dia-Staff against the nearest Shadow as if she were firing a powerful backhand with her tennis racket.

And suddenly... it was a tennis racket.

The Orange Enforcer couldn't have been more surprised. She rose to her feet, clutching the handle with both hands as the Shadows closed in. She lifted the racket over her shoulder, preparing another brutal smack, when without warning her target began to shimmer with green light.

She watched it dissolve completely, allowing the green weapon that had stabbed it from behind to fall to the ground.

Almost immediately after touching the cool grass, the weapon came to life, flying to its master's open hand.

"Jocie! You okay?" Matt demanded, racing to her side. The two teenagers stood back to back, weapons at the ready as the Shadows regrouped.

"Yeah," she murmured, though her weighted tone said otherwise.

Matthew scowled, his own anger brewing anew as he considered what had happened to Jocelyn in the last battle. "Don't worry," he assured her, "These things don't stand a chance now. Check this out!"

With a grunt of effort, Matthew tossed his short blade into the air. The weapon streaked forward with pinpoint accuracy, slicing through three Shadows and rendering them all into puffs of putrid magic.

"What is

that?" Jocelyn wondered, watching the blade return to the Green Enforcer.

"It's a sai."

"A what?"

"A sai. Some kind of ancient ninja weapon or something. It's so weird... I thought about a sai, and then the staff just... turned into one!"

Jocelyn nodded, glancing again at her mysterious tennis racket. "What on Earth made you think of a sai?"

A sheepish grin crossed Matthew's face. "Well... remember that old cartoon 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'?"

Jocelyn started to giggle. Despite everything that had happened, his bizarre thought process eased much of her tension.

"Anyway," he continued, disregarding her derision, "the staffs Craig gave us made me think of a bo-staff, a ninja weapon. That made me think of Donatello, the Ninja Turtle that used a bo on the cartoon. And then I started thinking about Raphael... remember the one with the red mask?"

"No... but lemme guess: his weapon was a sai."

Matt shrugged, catching the three-pronged blade after another vicious flight. "Hey... at least I'm using a weapon

. You couldn't come up with anything more practical than a tennis racket?"

The Orange Enforcer grinned, an idea striking her. She lifted her left hand, drawing a well of energy into her balled fist. Once she had collected enough, she opened her hand, revealing a vibrant orange sphere crackling with power.

She tossed the sphere vertically, her racket arching over her right shoulder. As soon as the sphere descended, she pounded it with the racket.

The sphere flashed with enhanced power, streaking through nearly a dozen Shadows and vaporizing them all.

Matt blinked. "I… take that back."

Jocelyn clenched her fist anew, charging up another 'ball'. "Daddy always said I had a killer serve."

A form in purple somersaulted over a squadron of Shadows, landing in a deep knee bend. Without a glance behind her, the granite pole extended to twice its length, cutting four Shadows down at the knee.

She straightened. "How're you doing, Tammy?"

The Yellow Enforcer nodded her enthusiasm. "This is much easier than before," she answered, driving the sharp end of her javelin through three Shadows. "These staffs have an energy that seems to repel these things."

Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "Or even dispel

these things. They aren't rejoining… they're actually evaporating… like smoke."

She then watched her friend toss her weapon through a half dozen more dark foot-soldiers. "Why a javelin?"

"High school track team. Came in first in the javelin throw in the J.V. county championship once. I kinda figured a javelin was something

like a weapon."

Rachel grinned. "You certainly handle it well."

Tamara smiled fiercely at the compliment. "And what about you? Have a secret love for flagpoles? Or were you in the Color Guard?"

Rachel adjusted her grip on the long staff. "When I first met Spectra, she fought the Denebian soldiers with a pole similar to this. It was more than effective; so I thought I'd give it a go."

"And…?"

The leader of the Spectrum Force smirked. Grabbing the pole at the center, she began twirling it rapidly, deflecting a wave of tar-like evil that tried to overwhelm her. Once the liquid separated into individuals, she ceased spinning the staff, clenching it tightly with her hands two feet apart. Pouncing forward, she smashed one Shadow at the base of the neck and another under one knee.

Satisfied with her performance, she twirled the staff again with flourish before setting one end into the ground beside her.

Tamara shook her head in mock reproof. "Showoff!"

*May I have a moment?*

The soft-spoken telepathic question was so contrary to the surrounding melee that it startled Spectra. She froze in place, consciously tightening her arms around her feverish father as she sought the one that reached out to her.

She decided to respond. *Who are you?*

A ripple of light, and suddenly a short mammalian materialized only a few feet from her. Large amber eyes gazed directly at her, despite the cloak that hid her from view.

Spectra had never laid eyes upon such a being. Yet for some reason, she knew exactly at whom she was gazing.

*Midjinari…*

He nodded. *I am called Nishal. The oldest of the four.*

Nishal approached, paying no heed to the sound of explosions nearly a mile away in the clearing. He reached out one small, four-fingered hand, and touched the sweat-soaked forehead of his fallen comrade.

*Death eats him,* he explained, shaking his head slowly. *It is relentless.*

Spectra felt her stomach flip anew. *Phaedra claimed the Blight can be rescinded. Is it true?*

The boyish face grew thoughtful. *I am unfamiliar with this 'Blight.' However, your High Father may offer you wise counsel on this matter. You must seek him immediately.*

Spectra nodded her agreement.

*When you see Luminus, I ask you to inform him that we have retreated.*

Her jaw visibly dropped. *Where will you go?*

*Until the Bright One returns, we must remain hidden. The Diadem must be protected until then.*

*You can come with me!* Spectra pleaded. *To Lumina City! Phaedra won't find you there.*

Nishal solemnly shook his head. *The combined power of the Diadem and the assembly of Warriors of Light will create a beacon so dazzling, no cloaking device or spell can mask it.*

Spectra turned her burning eyes back to her father, lost in the throes of anguish so completely, he couldn't possibly voice the objection she knew he would feel.

Nishal seemed to sense her thoughts. *Warrior Gaius has done all that can be asked of him. We would not ask him to accompany us, even if he were hale.*

*Then… then I'll go!* she insisted. After all her father had sacrificed to guard the Diadem, she couldn't let his duty lapse!

His arm swept backward, gesturing to the smoking forest. *You have your charges