Nico jabbed a finger at her. “Then how come you didn’t mention your little chat?”
“Because I know how much you hate him!” Opal shot back. “Logan isn’t as bad as you think, but I’d never reveal our secrets. Give me alittlecredit.”
Nico’s hands flew up. “You’re defending him?!”
Opal winced. “Okay, he’s been awful to you, I admit it. Logan can’t let go of his father’s stupid grudge. But he has another side, too. I wish he’d let more people see it.”
Nico scoffed, but Opal raised a palm as if she were about to swear an oath. “I didn’t tell him anything,” she promised. “It was his mom’s idea we go to the park, and I couldn’t get out of it. I spent the whole time counting down the seconds until I could bail and come here.”
“Then what were you two giggling about, huh? Who’ll buy my house after I’m gone?”
“I was trying to throw him off our scent!” Opal took a deep breath, as if struggling to keep her voice level. “Logan is suspicious about where I’ve been lately. I’m usually around ourblock a lot, but suddenly I’m never there.” Her face reddened. “So I made up something,” she mumbled at the floorboards.
“Made what up?” Emma asked.
Opal rolled her eyes. “I said I’ve been practicing a dance solo for the festival. ‘A Radish Emerges,’ I called it. Like, you know … me sprouting from a seed into a vegetable.”
Tyler barked a giddy laugh. “Oh man, I’d pay to see that one.”
“That’swhat we were laughing about,” Opal said, glaring at Nico. “I even told him that messing with your dad was wrong. He didn’t like that, but I said it anyway.”
She fell silent. Nico was staring at his shoes.
“I didn’t say a single word about this place.” A hint of pleading entered Opal’s voice. “I wouldn’t do that. Not to any of you.”
Nico’s head rose. He met Opal’s eye. “You swear it?”
“I swear.”
Nico held her gaze a moment longer. “Okay. I’m sorry. I worried maybe … I thought …” He released a pent-up breath. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. I was wrong and I’ve been acting like a jerk. My bad.”
Nico heard Emma exhale. Tyler wiped his palms on his jeans with a relieved whistle. Opal was still standing apart from the others, as if unsure the storm had passed.
“Come on,” Nico said, managing a grin. “We’ve got work to do.”
Opal smiled. “Yup. And I just discovered something important.”
Nico arched an eyebrow. Emma and Tyler looked Opal’s way as well.
“I think the figments are getting stronger.”
“Well,yeah.” Tyler seemed underwhelmed. “The last ones weren’t as hazy as the purple bear. I guess the Darkdeep needed a few rounds to warm up.”
“It’s not just that,” Opal said. “Godzilla left a footprint behind!”
Nico shook his head. “But they’re just figments. Ideas lifted from our heads. They aren’t real, Opal. You can wave an arm right through them.”
Opal shrugged. “I checked the grass. It’s bent in the shape of a giant lizard foot.”
“Godzilla’s a dinosaur, not a lizard,” Emma corrected automatically. “At least, he was in the original movie. A theropod.”
Tyler covered his face. “How is that relevant?”
“Just saying.”
“Whatmattersis,” Opal continued, “these figments are more real than just flimsy images. And they might be getting realer.”
Nico’s eyes tightened. “This is bigger than we thought.”
