Opal continued to rotate the artifact in her hands. “There’s a tiny crack,” she murmured, “right here, in the center …” She pressed a fingernail into it, and a thin line appeared. Opal chewed her lip, thinking. Then she gripped both ends and spun them in opposite directions.
The cylinder divided in half.
“Bingo. It’s a tube.” She eased the sections apart.
Another object slid out, but Nico caught it. “Whoa,” he said. “Good thing it fell handle first.”
He was holding some kind of antique dagger. The blade was long and thin, sharpened on both sides and ending in a wicked point like an ice pick. It had an odd double guard, and the hilt was carved with the same torch insignia.
“Notcool,” Logan said. “Workers aren’t allowed to store weapons in here.”
“But what’s it for?” Nico hefted the knife. “Why hide an ancient dagger in a stone tube?”
Logan waved a hand vaguely. “To … you know … fight things.” Then his eyes widened. “Maybe we can use it against the figments!”
“Can I hold it?” Opal asked. Nico handed her the dagger. She flipped it upside down and ran a finger along the tarnished handle. The bottom of the hilt stuck out oddly, and was notched and serrated in a bizarre pattern. Opal suddenly squealed. “Nico, this part looks like a key!”
“Jeez, it could be.” Nico blinked. “Maybe we should go back to the tunnel. The carving is in that weird open space, and we’ve never really looked around.”
Opal nodded, eyes shining. “We definitely could’ve missed something.”
Logan ran a hand through his dust-caked hair. “The tunnel? With thosethingsroaming through there? That doesn’t sound like a great idea.”
Nico met Logan’s eye squarely. “What’s happening is our fault, Logan. Me, Opal, Tyler, and Emma. We started this. Ifthere’s a way to stop the Darkdeep, it’s our responsibility to find it and shut it down.”
Logan’s eyelid twitched. His fingers trembled slightly.
“Butyoudidn’t start anything,” Nico continued. “This isourmess. None of us will think less of you if you bail. But I think Timbers is in serious danger, including this warehouse, your dad’s company, our homes, everything.”
Logan’s jaw clenched. Something clouded his eyes.
“I’m sorry about your quadcopter,” he said suddenly.
Nico gawked.
“I never said it to you, but I am.” Logan spoke in an even voice, but the intensity of his gaze pinned Nico to the floor. “And I’m gonna tell my dad to leave yours alone. I don’t know if he will, but … what’s happening isn’t right. Your dad was just doing his job.”
Logan glanced at Opal, who stared back at him.
Nico realized his mouth was still hanging open. He closed it. Swallowed. There was an awkward silence.
Logan cleared his throat. “What I’msayingis, I’m in. Let’s find out what this dagger is for. Let’s save our freaking town.”
Opal actually clapped her hands. “Awesome!”
A smile broke through on Nico’s face.
“Yeah, man. Let’s do it.”
28
OPAL
“Sothat’snew,” Tyler muttered.
Mist curled up from Still Cove, wraithlike tendrils swirling over the cliffs above the cave, as though a ghostly, limber, writhing forest had grown overnight. Opal reached out to touch a wisp, but it slipped through her fingers.
“Not really.” Logan climbed off his four-wheeler. “There’s always fog near Still Cove.”
