“Holy fates, what is this place?” Bree muttered.

I studied the huge space, which dipped down like a perfect round amphitheater. At the bottom, in the middle, Arach’s heart was hooked up to some kind of crazy contraption that shot light straight into it. It was suspended over a basin of some kind, but I had no idea what the purpose was.

Wide steps led down to the heart, but each was covered with massive snakes. They writhed, guarding their contraption. Overhead, lightning struck, making the room glow eerily. The noise was thunderous, echoing off the walls.

Bree raised her hands, her magic surging.

It was clear that she was trying to call upon the lightning, a gift from Thor, Norse god of lightning.

Her brow creased as she focused. The lightning struck, a dozen bolts heading straight for the snakes. It lit them up, and they writhed, twisting around in the amphitheater pit. They lunged toward the lightning bolts, drinking it up.

“Holy fates, they like it,” Rowan said.

Oh crap. She was right.

The lightning seemed to be feeding the snakes.

Bree let her hands fall. “Well, forget that.”

She dragged off her disgusting cloak, letting her wings flare wide. They gleamed silver and bright. She shot into the air, flying over the pit of snakes, headed right for Arach’s heart.

She was going to get it!

Then one of the snakes lunged out of the pit, leaping for her. It flew through the air, over twenty feet high, performing a feat of acrobatics that should have been impossible for an animal without legs.

What the heck?

What kind of dark magic made that possible?

Right before Bree reached Arach’s heart, the snake’s head plowed into her. She screamed, flying through the air and landing with a thud on the pile of serpents.

Lachlan leapt forward, throwing out his hands and freezing them. “I can’t hold it long!”

Bree scrambled to her feet, drawing her sword from the ether. Her silver wings looked bent and broken, the fall having crushed them beneath her weight. “I can’t fly, but I can fight!”

Three tiny blurs streaked by me, racing for the snakes.

“The cats!” Rowan cried.

She was right.

Somehow the Cats of Catastrophe had appeared! They had a knack for waiting until I really needed them, and now was definitely the time.

Muffin, Bojangles, and Princess Snowflake III leapt into the pit of snakes.

“What are you doing?!” a voice shouted.

My gaze darted from the snakes to the edge of the amphitheater. On the other side, an irate woman was charging toward us. She wore a vibrant green dress that looked like snake scales, and her hair was a silver cloud. Manic light gleamed in her eyes, and the scent of her magic was dry and reptilian.

“The Extractor,” Caro said. “I’ll take care of her.”

She raced for the woman, sprinting around the side of the amphitheater.

I charged after the Cats of Catastrophe, Rowan at my side. As I neared the first step down, Lachlan’s magic faded.

“That’s all I’ve got!” he shouted.

The snakes burst to life, writhing and slithering.

I leapt down onto the first stair, joining Muffin, who was going for the eyes of one of the great beasts. I stabbed one in the neck with my sword. It hissed wildly, then exploded in a burst of black dust.

They were magic! Not real.

Good.

I preferred destroying magic rather than animals.

I lunged for another, leading with my sword.

Lachlan hurtled past me in his lion form, ripping and tearing at any snake that got in his way. He cleared a path, so I followed, passing by Princess Snowflake III, who was coated in the black snake dust. She leapt onto another serpent, Bojangles following close behind her.

I darted past one attacking snake, but was stopped by a second. It was too quick, wrapping itself around my middle before I could stab it with my sword.

“Lachlan!” I cried.

He spun around, hurtling back toward me on enormous paws. His massive jaws sank into the snake’s side, and he yanked, pulling the creature off of me.

Panting, I ran past him, nearly to the platform at the bottom of the amphitheater. Arach’s heart called to me, the magic crashing over me in waves that seemed to give me strength and speed. I darted around one and stabbed another in the throat, narrowly avoiding the sharp fangs that headed straight for my shoulder.

On the opposite side of the amphitheater, Bree battled her way toward Arach’s heart. Above her, Caro fought the Extractor, who whipped out at her with her tremendously long arms.

Holy fates! The woman had snakes for arms.

Caro beat them back with concentrated jets of water, holding her own. With one enormous blast, she took out the Extractor altogether, sending the woman flying back a dozen feet.

Caro laughed, her hood thrown back from her head to reveal her shiny platinum head, then dived into the pit of snakes, ready to keep fighting.

I beat my way past one last serpent, then stumbled onto the platform where Arach’s heart was hooked up to the crazy contraption.

A sharp beam of light was shooting straight into the stone heart, fueled by the lightning from above. A single drop of pearly blue liquid dripped from the bottom of the heart into a basin below.

Those bastards!

I didn’t know what they were trying to do with her heart, but I knew it was bad freaking news.

I touched the stone heart, the light sending shockwaves of pain through my hands and arms. Tears sprang to my eyes at the unbelievable burning sensation, but I gripped Arach’s heart and yanked it out of the light, stumbling backward.

Magic burst out from the heart, some kind of unfamiliar spell igniting at my touch.

What the hell?

In the distance, a roar sounded.

I glanced up.

The cloaked figure!

He’d just appeared, no doubt called by the spell that I’d just ignited when I grabbed the heart.

“Ana!” Bree shouted.

She’d fought her way down to the platform and stood on the other side, about fifteen feet away from me.

“Bree! Get this thing out of here! Use the charm!” I threw the heart at her, and she lunged, snagging it out of the air. “Go!”

She didn’t hesitate, just dug into her pocket and grabbed the transport charm she’d stolen from the demon, then chucked it on the ground. She lunged into the portal, taking the heart with her.

To safety.

The cloaked figure roared, a sound of rage unlike any I’d ever heard.

“It’s gone!” I screamed. “You lose!”

I sprinted for him, realizing that the snakes were racing away in the other direction, desperate to escape him. The direction I was throwing myself toward. Lachlan, Rowan, and Caro joined me.

Together, we ran for the cloaked figure, sprinting up the stairs, dodging the fleeing snakes. We neared him at the same time, slamming into a force field that held us tight. Frozen.

Then the ether sucked us in, tearing us away from the Extractor’s lair. My head spun as I rocketed through space, heading toward the unknown.

When the ether spit me out into the darkness, I fell to my knees, gasping.

Heart thundering, I scrambled upright. We were in a field that smelled of wheat, and the night was cool and dark.

“Where the hell are we?” I asked.

“No idea,” Rowan said.

But the cloaked figure had brought us here. My friends stumbled to their feet. The cloaked figure raised its hands, sending out a blast of magic so strong that it sent me flying off my feet. I smashed into the ground about ten yards away, my insides feeling like they’d been pulverized.

It was magic like Bree’s sonic boom, but instead of being one direct hit, the blast had radiated out from the cloaked figure in a complete circle, taking out every one of us.

My skin chilled. That was new. And powerful.

I staggered to my feet, my muscles shaking.

Beside me, Caro raised her hands, shooting the cloaked figure with a blast of water the size of a semi-truck. Thousands of gallons shot toward the figure, slamming into him and throwing him back.

Caro stumbled to her knees, her face white. She gasped. “I’m tapped out.”

Rowan charged, her blade raised. She was closest, and she reached our enemy as soon as he stood. Rowan swung her blade, aiming for the head, but the cloaked figure threw out a hand. Magic hurtled toward her and slammed into her chest.

Rowan spun in a circle, flying away and crashing to the ground. I raced for the figure, but Lachlan beat me to him. He was so fast in his lion form. He jumped into the air and landed on the figure, throwing him back onto the ground.

They wrestled, each equivalently strong. Magic swelled around the figure. A sonic boom exploded out from him, throwing Lachlan off of him. The lion flew through the air, then landed with such a crash that the ground shook.

The figure lunged toward Rowan, who was slowly rising from the ground.

I charged, grabbing the figure’s cloak, trying to slow his momentum toward my sister.

Dark magic shivered up my arm, making my stomach turn and my muscles quiver. I gritted my teeth and yanked, calling on my magic—any magic—to help me. The light that was deep inside me flared to life, and I begged it to rise to the surface, imagining using it to save Rowan. To save us all.

The magic burst forth, a sharp white light that blinded even me.

A terrible shriek sounded, coming from the figure whose cloak I gripped. I pulled harder. As my vision cleared, the cloak ripped away, as if I’d loosened it from the wearer.

Three ghostly figures exploded forth, shooting for the sky.

I tumbled backward, the cloak gripped in my hand.

The three ghosts—or phantoms or wraiths or something—shot away so fast that I barely got a look at them. There were three, maybe female, and then they were gone.

Panting, I dropped the cloak, then stumbled to my feet.

Rowan finally managed to rise, her face pale and her limbs shaking. Caro wasn’t much better off, but at least she was standing. But Lachlan…

He lay sprawled on the ground in his human form. He’d been hit with a direct shot from the cloaked figure.

Panic thundered through me.

I sprinted for him and fell to my knees at his side.

His face was white, his form still.

I’d never seen anyone take such a hit from so close. I touched his chest, tears pricking at my eyes. “Lachlan!”

He didn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe as I shook him, trying to wake him up. “Lachlan?”

His eyes opened, stark in his pale face. They zeroed in on me. Confusion gave way to recognition and something I couldn’t identify.

He touched my cheek. His voice was rough as he said, “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“Wait?”

“For you. Pretending there’s nothing here is stupid.”

“You nearly died, and that was your big realization.”

“It seemed good enough to me. I—”

“Guys!” Rowan’s panicked voice cut through the night. “Incoming!”

I didn’t want to look away from Lachlan—not when he was saying things like this—but Rowan’s tone made it clear that shit was about to hit the fan.

I surged to my feet as a roar sounded in the distance. I turned, catching sight of an army of demons thundering toward us. They were armed to the teeth, their gazes bright on us.

I looked at Lachlan, who was climbing to his feet, still shaky from the blow.

“I’ve got it.” His voice was strained, but he held up his hand, creating a portal to get us the hell out of here.

It took a moment—his magic was nearly tapped out—but finally, it flared to life. One by one, we leapt in, just as the demons got within shooting range.

* * *

We arrived back at the Protectorate, panting and high on adrenaline. I’d grabbed the discarded cloak before jumping into the portal, though it was doubtful that it would provide any answers now that the three figures weren’t wearing it.

We appeared at the edge of the courtyard. As usual, the air was cool and damp in the Highlands. The moon shined high in the sky, illuminating the castle with a pale white glow. We yanked off our horrible cloaks, and I breathed a sigh of relief to feel the dark magic no longer touching my skin.

“Can’t wait to destroy these things,” Rowan muttered.

“Ditto.” Caro nodded.

“What the hell was that thing that flew out of the cloak?” Rowan asked.

“I have no idea.” I looked toward the dark sky, as if I might see it here, at the castle. “But I doubt that’s the last we’ll see of it.”

As if they’d heard us arrive, Ali and Haris pushed open the main doors and ran out.

“Are you okay?” Ali shouted.

“Everyone safe?” Haris added.

“We’re fine!” Caro yelled.

“Is Bree back?” I ran toward them, my friends at my side.

“She’s back! And the ghosts are doing better.” Ali grinned widely. “It looks like you did it.”

I glanced at Lachlan, who looked stronger now. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but Arach and the ghosts had to come first. He nodded, as if he understood.

I sprinted into the entry hall, pulling to a stop when I spotted the Pugs of Destruction, racing down the stairs like their tails were on fire. They were no longer faded and weak, but just as vibrant as they’d ever been.

Mayhem flew right toward us, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Right before she reached us, she farted fire, then spun in a circle, clearly confused.

I laughed. “Oh, thank fates.”

Bree ran down the stairs after them, a huge smile on her face. “Are you all right? Is anyone injured?”

“We’re fine,” I said. “Just beat-up.”

Every muscle ached, and I was sure my friends felt like crap, too. But we were all walking, which meant we were doing dandy.

The Cats of Catastrophe appeared in the hall, each coated with the black snake dust. They spotted the pugs and meowed, then chased them back up the stairs, the six of them going on a rampage through the upstairs corridor that would definitely piss off Potts. I grinned.

“Where is Arach?” Lachlan asked.

“In her office.” Bree gestured for us to follow her down the hall. “Let’s go find her. Jude is with her.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Jude. We’d succeeded, so I was sure Jude would be happy with me.

Well, I was pretty sure.

Whatever the case, I wanted her to be really happy. Same for the rest of the directors. Happy enough to cut me some slack on blowing Lavender off her feet and to maybe advance me another level at the Academy.

As a group, we hurried down the hall. Lachlan stayed near my side as Bree led us into Arach’s colorful office, the tall walls covered with bright paintings.

Arach stood next to the fire, glowing brilliantly. Florian stood next to her, looking just as good. He was no longer pale and wispy, thank fates, and his tall, curling wig sat proudly on his head.

Jude, Hedy, and the rest of the department heads stood at their sides. Everyone turned to face us. Florian shot us a massive smile.

“Are you all right?” Jude demanded.

“We’re fine,” Lachlan said.

Jude’s face relaxed. “Good. And well done.”

I strode over to Arach, inspecting her. She looked normal. “Are you better?”

“Much.” She nodded, a serene smile on her face. “But tell us what you learned.”

“All right.”

We all took a seat around the table in the middle of the room.

Lachlan looked at me, holding my gaze for a moment. “I think this is Ana’s story to tell. She called the shots.”

“And made good calls,” Caro said.

I smiled at her.

Bree nodded enthusiastically, though she didn’t bother to speak on my behalf. We all knew that she was so biased in my favor that I could have spent the whole adventure burping and falling, and she’d have said I did pretty good.

“Can’t say that I’m surprised you did well!” Florian said. “An exemplary trainee!”

I smiled at him, glad to have one person—ghost—in my corner.

“What happened?” Jude asked. “What did you learn?”

I explained our trip through Grimrealm, and about finding Arach’s heart hooked up to the strange contraption in the middle of the snake pit.

Arach frowned, touching her chest. Her heart might not be in there anymore—it was deep below the castle again, I had to imagine—but still, I couldn’t blame her for being weirded out.

I leaned forward. “Once I touched the heart, it activated some kind of spell that alerted the cloaked figure. He—they—appeared immediately. We all ran for the figure, but as soon as we reached it, some kind of spell ignited and swept us away.”

“To be clear, the cloaked figure took you away?” Jude asked.

“I think so.” I shook my head. “It didn’t want us to be in that room anymore. Once Arach’s heart was gone, it took us right out of there.”

“But why? Surely, it might have had backup where you were?” Hedy asked.

“It took us to a field, where we fought. Eventually, we drove the cloaked figure away. Then reinforcements showed.”

“So the figure took you there to get rid of you?” Jude said. “It had backup in that field.”

“I think so, though it took them time to make their way to us. I don’t think the cloaked figure expected to run into us when it appeared at the Extractor’s lair.”

“It would never expect us to make it into Grimrealm at all,” Lachlan said.

I thought back to Arach’s heart. “I don’t think the cloaked figure took us away just to kill us. I think it didn’t want us getting whatever was in the basin under the heart.”

“What do you mean?” Hedy asked.

I explained the single glowing droplet that had fallen from the heart, keeping my gaze on Arach.

She nodded. “I am not surprised. I feel slightly weaker than I was before. Not much, but something is missing.”

“The Extractor,” Lachlan said. “He took something from your heart. Magic.”

“I think so.” Arach nodded. “I don’t know if they got all that they needed, but it sounds like the cloaked figure didn’t want you to get whatever they had taken.”

“And now it’s long gone,” Bree said. “No way they didn’t move it right away.”

“I have to agree on that point,” Jude said. “But we can send in backup to check.”

“We can go,” I said.

She pointed at me. “You need to rest. Ali and Haris can go, along with reinforcements. If you tell them how to get there, they’ll have no problem. My instinct is that it’s pointless recon, anyway, but we have to try.”

She was right. I was way too beat, and it was probably pointless.

“So the cloaked figure was the mastermind,” Jude said. “But you have no idea who it was?”

“Three wraiths,” I said. “Or ghosts. I couldn’t make out much.”

“I think they were women,” Bree added.

“Their magic was powerful.” Caro shivered. “If Ana hadn’t yanked their cloak off, we’d have been done for.”

“It must have bound them to the physical plane,” Hedy said. “I’ve heard of such things.”

“So they’re ghosts?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Hard to say. But how did you get the cloak off? That should be impossible.”

“My magic. Lachlan has been helping me, and I used my new light power against them. It helped me tear the cloak off them.”

“Perhaps you’re connected to them, somehow,” Jude said.

I didn’t like the sound of that. But I couldn’t deny it. Lachlan had wrestled with them in lion form, and even he hadn’t managed to get it off them.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Jude said. “In the meantime, well done, Ana. You broke the rules, but you delivered.”

“Thank you.”

“I think that calls for some celebration.” She grinned. “You’ve advanced another level at the Academy.”