Monster Madness by Dean Lorey Page A

that and embarrassed that it meant so much to him that she did.
    With one flap of his giant wings, Tyrannus rose into the air above the powerful stream of water from the Headmaster’s portal, then dived at Charlie and his friends with a hideous, brain-melting screech…but by the time he got to them, they were gone.
    They had returned to the Nightmare Academy.

    The armory of the Nightmare Academy was located in the large hold of an iron frigate near the base of the banyan tree, where the branches were thicker and could support the massive weight of the metal ship. Charlie and Violet inspected the many rows of weapons that were hung on hooks under a sign marked ADDY GEAR.
    “They’re all definitely nicer than the Noob weapons,” Charlie said. “But I still kind of like my rapier.”
    He swished it deftly through the air to make his point.
    “I hear you,” Violet said. “I still like Bun-Bun—he’s my stuffed bunny from when I was a little girl—but sometimes you have to know when it’s time to say good-bye, you know? How would that little rapier protect you against something like Tyrannus?”
    “How would anything protect us against a monster like him?”
    “Let’s go!” a stern voice behind them commanded. “This is just an upgrade. It ain’t like you gotta marry it.”
    Charlie was happy to hear the rough but somehow welcoming sound of Mama Rose’s voice. She was a large woman, pink-cheeked and strong, and she gave off an aura of comfort like the smell of home-baked chocolate-chip cookies.
    Mama Rose turned to Violet. “Go on. Look around, girlie, and find one that speaks to you.”
    Violet looked over the many spears and maces and swords that were precisely mounted on the iron wall. In a way, it reminded Charlie of how his dad used to hang tools in the garage. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
    “That one,” she said, pointing. It was a one-handed ax with a double-sided blade as long as her forearm, and a handle made of ash.
    Mama Rose grinned. “It’s talking to ya, ain’t it?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    “Then take it.”
    Violet lifted the weapon from its hook. Holding it easily in her right hand, she gave the ax a few casual swipes through the air.
    “Wow—it feels light but strong.”
    “A big step up from that puny little dagger, huh, girlie?”
    “Absolutely! It makes me feel powerful just holding it.”
    “That’s how a Banisher should feel.”
    “I don’t know why I can’t pick out a weapon,” Theodore moaned. He had been standing in the corner, pouting. “Sure, maybe I wouldn’t be a hundred percent as good as Violet and Charlie, but I know how to handle one. I come from a long line of Banishers, you know.”
    “That so?” Mama Rose said mildly, then turned to Violet. “Why don’t you give him yours?”
    “My new ax?”
    “Sure. Hand it over to him. He said he can handle it.”
    “Fine,” Violet said, clearly reluctant, but she did as Mama Rose told her.
    “Come to Daddy!” Theodore said gleefully, wrapping his fist around the ax handle—but the second Violet let go of it, the weapon clanged to the ground with the force of an anvil.
    Mama Rose laughed, long and loud.
    “Good grief!” Theodore shouted. “It’s so heavy! How can you even lift it?”
    “I don’t know,” Violet said with a shrug. “It doesn’t feel heavy to me.”
    “Because you’re a Banisher, girlie!” Mama Rose said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to feel to you.” She turned to Theodore. “And when are you gonna stop tryin’ to be something you’re not, little mister?”
    Theodore, embarrassed and angry, stomped out of the armory without saying a word.
    “You shouldn’t have done that,” Charlie said. “You really hurt his feelings.”
    Mama Rose swiveled her large head toward him. The look in her eye made Charlie wish he’d never said a word. “Now, you listen to me, Charlie Benjamin, and you listen good. You ain’t doing that boy any favors by coddlin’ him and tellin’ him he’s