“Volg? That’s Mordan. You can tell by …”
Then it hit him.
Two people had gone into the Darkdeep. One horrible figment came out.
“You have sullied Hexra’s burial ground!” Volg/Mordanthundered. “The war continues! You shall beDESTROYED.” The creature reversed the flaming sword and drove it into the ground.
That was enough for both of them.
“Run!” Nico shouted, matching action to words. Logan was a step behind him.
Air swooshed over Nico’s head. He heard a bone-jarringthwack, followed by the hum of quivering metal.
“It’s trying to kill us!” Logan shouted, nearly face-planting in panic. Nico grabbed his elbow to steady him and risked a backward glance. The sword was stuck in the belly of an oak tree. Huge robot arms were straining to free it.
Itistrying to kill us. A figment! What is happening?
They ran smack into Opal, Tyler, and Emma at the edge of the pond.
“Back back back!” Nico shouted. “This one’s homicidal!”
The others spun on a dime, but Logan stopped dead. He stared at Nico, wide-eyed and panting like a spooked racehorse. “This one? What do you mean,this one?”
Nico seized Logan by the shoulder. “Now is not the time! We’ll wait this thing out on the houseboat.”
Logan lurched free. “You’re crazy,” he whispered. “All of you!” Before anyone could stop him, Logan shot past the stepping-stones, tearing around the back side of the pond toward the gully that hid the tunnel. Away from the bellowing ogre god with a razor-sharp sword.
“Inside, right now!” Nico shouted.
“What about Logan?” Opal said.
“What aboutus?” Tyler shot back. Emma was already on the second stone, bounding for the boat. The others followed like a ragged flock of birds.
Nico heard something crunch behind him, then a furious roar. He didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. Didn’t take a single breath until his sneakers hit the porch. There he whirled, terrified he’d see a fiery broadsword slicing toward his throat.
But the figment was mired near the shoreline. It had one foot on dry land, the other in the pond. The first stepping-stone had cracked under its weight and its left leg was now buried in the mud. The creature’s robe sparked and hissed. Its fiery sword went out. Volg/Mordan bellowed in fury. It took another step, sinking to the waist.
“Too heavy!” Tyler nearly sobbed in relief. “Maybe it can’t reach us.”
The robot ogre dragged itself out and stood dripping in the darkness, staring at the houseboat. A growl carried across the water. The creature began to circle the pond.
“There’s no other way to the houseboat,” Nico said, trying to slow his rampaging pulse. “I … I think we’re safe. Unless Volg/Mordan can fly.” He laughed nervously.
“Volg? Mordan?” Opal wiped sweat from her forehead. “What are you talking about?”
Nico felt the adrenaline leaking out of him. “I’ll explaininside. We’re stuck here until that monster disappears anyway.”
It tooktwo hoursfor the figment to vanish—even though it was huge, could speak, and was trashing the world around it. Nico explained his theory about the double monster—that it sprang from his and Logan’s imaginations combined. As the robot ogre circled, slamming its sword into the ground, the group dug into the books they’d gathered, looking for anything about the Darkdeep.
Nico was sitting by the window when the monster finally disappeared. He felt the ghostly tickle of a sword swinging for his neck. Broke out into a sweat.
The creature outside might be gone, but the warning was inescapable.
A figment had tried to kill him.
20
OPAL
