Read Paladin Prophecy 2: Alliance for Free Online

dismay.
    Ajay just shook his head. “Look at the people in the photograph, you ape,” he said.
    After Nick drew a blank, Will pointed directly at Nepsted. “Look at this guy and tell us what you see.”
    Nick looked closer at it, opening wide and then scrunching up his eyes, while he made a variety of halting sounds, his mind sputtering like a balky outboard engine.
    “First time with the new mouth, Nick?” asked Ajay.
    Nick jumped to his feet and paced: “Wait a second, don’t tell me—dang, I know I know that dude. I’ve seen him before.”
    “Yes, you have,” said Will. “More than a few times—”
    “Got it! Suh-napp!” Nick snapped his fingers and slapped the picture with the back of his hand. “Dude looks exactly like this midget wrestler on TV. Actually, little dude’s not a wrestler, exactly. He’s more like a gangster-manager for another wrestler, one of the heavyweight dudes who’s—air quotes—World Champion, but like the bad guy World Champion—they call them heels —who’s always attackin’ and ambushin’ the good guy World Champion—they call them baby faces if you can believe that. I know, strange, right?”
    “Are you finished hallucinating yet?” asked Ajay.
    “But this little guy wrestles sometimes, too,” said Nick, toweling off. “During their sneak attacks. He’s got some wicked moves and he’s pretty buff for a smallish dude and I’m telling you, this is a dead ringer for—”
    “It’s Nepsted, Nick,” said Will, a little sharper than he’d intended.
    Nick stared at him, then looked at the photo again. “No way. When was this taken?”
    “In 1937,” said Ajay. “Somewhere on campus.”
    “So maybe this is Nepsted’s grandpa, or great grandpappy,” said Nick.
    “Nick, we’re pretty sure this is Nepsted himself, ” said Will.
    Nick paused, mouth hanging open, then said calmly, “Yeah I’ll go with that.”
    “And we believe that this other gentleman at the table,” said Ajay, pointing him out in the picture, “is Will’s relentless pursuer, Mr. Hobbes.”
    “Dude, you mean Bonehead? Hold on, hold on,” said Nick, putting his hands on either side of his head. “Wait, wait, dudes, oh my God, this could mean that … Bonehead and Nepsted know each other?”
    “Okay, you’re all caught up now,” said Will, glancing at Ajay.
    “This is big. This is unbelievable. This thing is TIGHT.” Nick paced around, thinking. “And it means midget wrestler dude could be Nepsted’s great-grandson.”
    “Remind me why we needed to find Nick again,” said Ajay, clamping both hands to his forehead like he was holding back a migraine.
    “The squid,” said Will.
    “Right,” said Ajay.
    “What squid?” asked Nick.
    “ Your squid. When you got attacked by the paladin statue,” said Will, taking Nick by the shoulders and forcing him to stand still. “Last fall, down in the locker room, when the bear helped you.”
    “Dude, you expect me to forget a thing like that?” asked Nick, pulling away and putting on his sweatshirt.
    “Sit down for a second, Nick,” said Will, guiding him onto a bench.
    “What are you going to do, hypnotize me?” asked Nick, chuckling until he saw the look on their faces.
    “No, that requires a subject with at least a lower primate’s level of intelligence,” said Ajay.
    “I want you to remember another part of this. Think back now,” said Will softly. “You told us that when the bear ran off and the statue fell apart … a giant squid started talking to you.”
    “Did I say that? I did, didn’t I? Okay. Right. Only it wasn’t with words. It was more like thoughts that went right into my head, and I’m not really sure this thing was exactly a squid—”
    “Maybe it was a rabid woodchuck,” said Ajay.
    “No, that wasn’t it,” said Nick, with a faraway look in his eye, moving his arms as he relived it. “It was more like a thousand long pasty dreadlocks came to life underwater, each with a mind of their own,