The Dominion Key (Joshua Dread, 3) - Hardcover

Buch 3 von 3: Joshua Dread

Bacon, Lee

 
9780385743822: The Dominion Key (Joshua Dread, 3)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0385743823 ISBN 13: 9780385743822
Verlag: DELACORTE, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

The third book in the series! The summer is coming to an end and Joshua—along with his friends Sophie, Milton, and Miranda—are about to begin seventh grade. But when a trip to the mall turns into an attack by nFinity and a couple of Phineas Vex's goons, it becomes clear that they're no longer safe in Sheepsdale. To ensure their safety, Joshua and his friends must enroll in Alabaster Academy, a school for Gyfted kids. Located on an isolated island where there are only two types of weather (rainy and very rainy), Alabaster  is filled with every kind of superpowered student you can imagine—not to mention a whole new species of bully. But when Alabaster comes under attack, Joshua and his friends are forced to escape once again. Their only hope for survival is to find a mysterious key that will enable complete world domination for whoever possesses it. But what if Phineas Vex finds the key first?

"A worthy addition to an original and creative series."--School Library Journal

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

LEE BACON is the author of the Legendtopia and Joshua Dread series. He grew up in Texas with parents who never once tried to destroy the world (at least not that he knew of). He now lives in New Jersey.

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1

Our trip to the mall started off normal enough. I should’ve known it wouldn’t stay that way.

I was with my friends Milton, Sophie, and Miranda. Milton and I had gotten to know the girls a while back (long story). Then we were all nearly killed by a supervillain in an indestructible suit (even longer story).

“I hate back-to-school sales,” Milton complained, looking at a BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALE! sign as we wandered into a store. “They should call them summer’s-about-to-be-over-and-there’s-nothing-you-can-do-about-it sales.”

“That’s not quite as catchy,” I said. But I totally knew what he meant. Seventh grade was starting in a few days, and I wished there were a way to slow down time, to keep things exactly the way they were. Long days with nothing to do but hang out with friends. No classes, no homework, no evil maniacs trying to kill you.

“Hey, check it out!” Miranda said. “It’s you!”

Nearby was a rack of T-shirts, all with the same picture on the front. My picture. Except hardly anybody outside our group would recognize me. My identity was hidden by a uniform and a mask. Superheroic letters stretched behind me, spelling out THE NAMELESS HERO.

It was hard to believe that I’d briefly been the most famous kid on the planet. That I’d appeared on TV shows and in commercials, had my face plastered across all kinds of products. It had only been a couple of months since the hype over the Nameless Hero had died down, but to me it felt like a couple of decades.

And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was moving on. The store was obviously trying to get rid of all its Nameless Hero inventory. A sign on top of the rack read

85% OFF!!!

ALL NAMELESS HERO MERCHANDISE MUST GO!!!

Sophie nudged me with her elbow. “That’s a pretty good deal. Maybe I should get one.”

“Or fifty,” I said. “They’ll be collector’s items someday.”

“And every time I see it, I’ll remember the good old days.”

“Like getting chased around Times Square by clones?”

Our conversation came to a sudden stop when I noticed Joey and Brick coming our way. Just seeing the two biggest bullies in Sheepsdale knocked my mood down a few notches.

Joey had red hair and a pointed face that reminded me of a rat with an attitude problem. Brick looked like .?.?. well, a brick.

Joey gave Miranda a harsh look. “Who’s the new girl?” He turned his sneer on Sophie. “Is she a freak like you?”

Sophie stepped toward Joey and Brick. “Leave us alone.”

Even though Brick was about twice Sophie’s size, a shadow of fear passed over his face. He was probably remembering how Sophie had dismantled a hallway of lockers and sent him and Joey to the nurse’s office last year.

See, Sophie has the power of superhuman strength. But it comes with a slight .?.?. side effect. Whenever she uses her Gyft, it causes her skin to radiate in a way that makes her look like Tinker Bell. Except much bigger, and a whole lot stronger.

“What’re you gonna do?” Joey asked. “Show off your freaky glow-in-the-dark trick for everyone in the mall?”

He gestured to the crowds of shoppers moving through the aisles around us. As much as I hated to admit it, Joey had a point. If Sophie used her Gyft right now, it would draw a lot of unwanted attention.

And believe me, for kids like us, unwanted attention can be a very bad thing.

“Let’s just go,” I said to Sophie in a low voice. “They’re not worth it.”

“Speaking of freaky .?.?.” Joey turned toward Milton and me. “It’s the Amazing Exploding Dork and his trusty sidekick.”

My hands curled into fists. I could feel my own Gyft--spontaneous combustion--crackling inside me. It always starts off the same: A tingling in my fingertips. A pounding heartbeat. Energy pulsing through my veins. It wouldn’t take much to make these two regret ever messing with us.

But a few shoppers were looking in our direction. I wasn’t sure how they’d react if I blasted Joey and Brick all the way to the underwear department.

“Come on,” I said to my friends. “Let’s hit the food court.”



“I sure could go for some cheese fries!” Milton was at the front of our group, an excited look on his face. He gets that way whenever cheese fries are an option.

Sophie didn’t look nearly so thrilled. I could see that the confrontation was still weighing on her.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Sometimes I just wish I could be--”

“Like everyone else?”

Sophie let out a deep breath. “Exactly.”

I definitely knew how she felt. I’d spent my life trying to blend in, to be normal. But that’s basically impossible when you’ve got parents like mine.

“Those guys are jerks,” I said. “They pick on everyone. It’d be weird if they didn’t mess with you.”

“I guess you’re right.” A slight smile formed on Sophie’s lips. Her blue-gray eyes shone a little brighter. She looked like she was about to say something else when a voice cut into our conversation.

“Are we getting cheese fries or not?”

Milton was standing next to a cell-phone kiosk, tapping his foot. Sophie and I hurried to catch up.

The food court was bustling. We grabbed one of the last available tables, setting down the large plate of cheese fries in the middle so we could all share.

“I wish we didn’t have to go to school on Monday,” Milton said between bites.

“I’m just glad to be starting off the year with friends.” Miranda smiled at us. Below her right eye, a birthmark in the shape of a star stood out against her olive skin. “That’s a first for me.”

“Me too,” Sophie said. “Besides, at least at school I don’t have to be around my dad and that redheaded bimbo.”

Sophie’s dad was the world-famous superhero Captain Justice. And as for the “redheaded bimbo” .?.?. that was Sophie’s nickname for her dad’s new girlfriend, Scarlett Flame. Ever since their romance went public, hardly a day passed by when I didn’t see photos of the two of them cuddling on the cover of Super Scoop magazine or battling zombies on the evening news.

“You should see them together.” Sophie made a gagging noise. “It’s disgusting. She comes over to watch Dad’s show with him. The only thing Scarlett Lame likes more than my dad is seeing herself on TV.”

Captain Justice’s reality show, Hangin’ with Justice, had become a national sensation. Maybe Sophie didn’t like witnessing the romance between her dad and Scarlett Flame, but apparently the rest of the country did.

I reached for a handful of cheese fries, but the plate was gone.

“You already finished the fries?” I frowned at Milton. “Thanks for leaving some for the rest of us.”

“What do you mean?” Milton stared at the center of the table. All that remained was a glob of cheese where the plate had been. “They were just here a second ago.”

“Guys--look.” Miranda pointed beneath the table. On the floor was our plate of cheese fries.

“How the heck did they get there?” Sophie asked.

“Dunno.” Milton shrugged.

“Well, they couldn’t...

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Verlag
DELACORTE
Erscheinungsdatum
2014
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0385743823
ISBN 13 
9780385743822
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
249
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Verantwortliche Person
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