‘Thanks for opening the portal,’ said Stygian. ‘I’ve been stuck in the Dark World for ages.’

No one said anything.

‘And for flashing the beacon,’ continued the young mage. ‘A portal’s all well and good, but I’d never have locked onto it without all those bright flashes.’

‘That wasn’t a beacon,’ Dr Bloom said. ‘It was discharged electrical energy, used to keep the darkness from coming through the portal.’

‘You were trying to stop it?’

‘Of course,’

‘Okay. So … what’s electrical energy?’ asked Stygian. ‘Is that, like, you know … an alchemical process?’

‘No,’ said Dr Bloom flatly.

‘Oookaaay.’ Stygian looked from Bloom to Rowan and Newt, who were only now cautiously approaching. He gazed around at all the technology, then focused his attention back on Dr Bloom. ‘So … I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark here and say, this is a world without magic.’

‘Magic,’ whispered Rowan.

‘Magic isn’t real,’ said Newt, more to convince herself than anyone else. ‘It’s fantasy.’

Stygian held out his hand. Flames danced on his palm. ‘Really?’ He grinned at Newt. Then winced, rolled his shoulders and arched his hunched back. The flames sputtered and petered out. ‘Sorry. I’m tired. Getting out of there took a lot of effort. I need a rest.’

‘You kept the portal open with magic after I tried to close it?’ said Dr Bloom, almost accusingly.

‘You tried to close it?’ Stygian expression saddened. ‘You weren’t trying to rescue me?’

‘I didn’t even know you were there,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘Even after I saw the light of your … sphere. I thought it might be some other attack, so of course I tried to close the portal. But it stayed open.’

‘I thought you were having trouble keeping it open, so I helped.’ He sighed with a half-hearted smile. ‘Oh well. I’m here now. And I’m still grateful.’

‘So, you come from a world with magic,’ said Dr Bloom suspiciously.

‘You might say that.’

‘You might say that?’ Dr Bloom regarded him shrewdly. ‘Or you do say that? There is a difference.’

‘I like you!’ Stygian grinned. ‘I do indeed come from a world with magic … although that Dark World is not it. That’s a place I got trapped in, you might say.’ He held up his hand with a flourish. ‘In fact, I do say.’

‘You managed to somehow survive in that Dark World … using magic.’ Newt could almost see the thoughts in the scientist’s expressions. She went from mistrust (which seemed to be her default position) to a realisation that the newcomer could probably be used to her advantage. ‘So, you have some control over the darkness.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘You used magic to keep the portal open, after I tried to close it,’ she continued, joining the dots in her mind. ‘But you weren’t able to open the portal yourself.’ A sly smiled crept onto her face. ‘You’re probably going to need my help if you ever want to return to your world.’

‘Probably.’

‘I suspect an alliance may be in order,’ concluded Dr Bloom.

‘Consider negotiations opened,’ said Stygian. He coughed and staggered down from the dais. Dr Bloom moved to help, but he held up a hand. ‘I’m okay. Just weary. And thirsty. I don’t suppose you have any mead?’

‘No mead. Sorry,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘Probably best you just have some water, anyway.’

‘Water?’ Stygian screwed up his face in disgust. ‘Full of icky germs. People get all sorts of diseases from drinking water.’

‘Oh.’ Dr Bloom looked uncertain. ‘I suppose you could have coffee. Or soft drink?’

‘What’s soft drink?’

Dr Bloom turned to glare at Rowan. ‘You. There’s a kitchenette three doors to the right. There should be something in the fridge. Fetch it!’

‘Hey,’ complained Rowan. ‘I’m not your servant, you know. You could at least try saying please.’

‘Please.’ Bloom’s voice dripped with insincerity. ‘You might as well make yourself useful while I fill in our new guest on the situation.’

Rowan was about to complain some more, when Newt pitched in, ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘Excellent,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘You are both irrelevant to the upcoming negotiations.’

When they were out in the corridor, Rowan said, ‘I really don’t like this version of Ms Bloom.’

‘Me neither,’ agreed Newt. ‘She obviously doesn’t care about anyone or anything except her science. I mean… I think she really might have shot us with that Volt Cannon if that sphere hadn’t distracted her.’

They found the kitchenette and went in. Brian was in the far corner, trying unsuccessfully to operate the espresso machine. He looked up and groaned.

‘I know I’m into science,’ said Newt, pulling a couple of lemonade cans from the fridge and handing one to Rowan. ‘But proper science. Careful science. Ethical science.’

‘Ethical science?’ asked Rowan, opening his lemonade.

‘Yeah.’ Newt opened her own can and took a sip, glancing at Brian. ‘Should we offer him one?’

Rowan glanced over to see Brian spooning instant coffee into the milk frother. ‘Probably not.’

‘My parents are both science teachers at university,’ continued Newt. ‘And my mum lectures in the Ethics of Science. The idea that scientists should be responsible for what they do. That they should consider the dangers of experiments. That science should be for the good of the human race.’ They both stared at Brian. ‘And I don’t think Dr Bloom cares about the human race.’

They both sipped their drinks in silence for a while, watching Brian poking the logo on the machine rather than the ‘on’ switch.

‘Dr Bloom has captured that bit of darkness,’ Rowan eventually said. ‘You reckon she’s going to … you know …’

‘Make it into some kind of weapon?’ Newt was angry. ‘Yeah. I think so.’

‘Good thing you stopped her from getting more, then,’ said Rowan.

‘Good thing you stopped her from zapping me,’ said Newt, blushing. ‘Um … thanks.’

Rowan nodded awkwardly. ‘So … what do we do? Do we try to stop her?’

‘I don’t see how we can?’ said Newt. ‘And she is right about one thing. We’re going to need her help to get back home. It would probably be good to not make her any angrier than she already is.’

‘Maybe that wizard guy can help us instead?’ suggested Rowan.

‘I’m not sure I trust him either,’ said Newt, putting down her drink. ‘He did say something about being a mage of war. And now the two of them are …’ She waggled two fingers on each hand, forming invisible quotation marks in the air. ‘Negotiating.’

‘We should get back. If we can’t trust either of them, we probably shouldn’t leave them alone together. Who knows what they’re plotting.’

‘Yeah.’ It occurred to Newt that she and Rowan were agreeing about things. Perhaps they weren’t as different as she’d thought.

Brian was now using his feather duster to brush away spilled coffee. Rowan grabbed another can from the fridge to bring back for Stygian, then reached over and flicked the ‘on’ switch on the espresso machine. He gave Brian a thumbs up.

‘The darkness will be difficult to control,’ Stygian was saying as they returned. He and Dr Bloom were seated on the edge of the dais, chatting away like old friends. Newt noticed that his hunch was even more pronounced now that he was seated. And … was it in a slightly different spot on his back? Weird, thought Newt.

‘You want to control it?’ said Rowan, approaching them.

‘Well, yeah,’ said Stygian.

Rowan and Newt glanced at each other.

‘Control it in the sense that it needs to be stopped,’ explained Dr Bloom. ‘It appears to be even more of a threat than I realised. It’s not just seeping into this world. It’s pushing its way into others. Maybe yours.’

‘How do you know that?’ demanded Newt. Suddenly, she remembered seeing a dark patch as she crossed over into this world, and felt scared for her parents and friends. Had the menacing darkness already attacked her home?

Stygian waved, drawing everyone’s attention. ‘Saw it. Felt it. I was trapped with it. I had lots of time to find things out. To communicate with the Darkness.’

‘You can talk to it?’ asked Rowan.

‘Yeah, sort of,’ said Stygian. ‘More like feel its thoughts. It’s hard to explain.’

‘The Darkness has thoughts.’ Newt hadn’t considered that up until now. She had just considered the darkness as a threat. Not as a thinking entity.

‘Tell us about it … the Darkness,’ demanded Newt. ‘Tell us everything.’

‘Okay,’ he said with a grin. ‘But can I have my drink first?’

‘Oh.’ Rowan handed it to him.

Stygian turned the can over in his hands curiously. Rowan was about to explain how to open it, when the can opened itself. Stygian took an experimental sip. His eyes lit up and he guzzled the drink down.

He grinned, then belched loudly. ‘Nectar of the gods,’ he said, eyes aglow.

‘You will excuse me if I continue with my work while you chat,’ said Dr Bloom, getting to her feet.

‘What are you going to do?’ asked Newt suspiciously.

Dr Bloom pointed up to the hatch where the mechanical arm with the captured piece of the Darkness had disappeared. ‘I need to transfer that to a proper containment unit and begin my analysis.’ She glared at Newt. ‘Of course it is somewhat less than I wanted.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten your sabotage.’ She headed off to her control dais.

Stygian put the can down and rubbed his hands together. ‘Okay, explanations. Like I told the Doc, I’ve been searching for a way to help my queen defeat our enemies. Wasn’t having much success with the traditional methods of raining down fire and brimstone and inciting insect plagues, so I thought I’d have a go at something a little more outside the box. I had these old family scrolls about traversing worlds and opening doorways, so I thought … what have I got to lose?’ He sighed. ‘Turns out I had a lot to lose. I got a doorway open … but … you know … things didn’t really work out.’ He frowned and Newt got the distinct impression he was concealing something. ‘Instead of becoming the saviour of the realm, I got trapped.’

Stygian arched his back, wincing.

‘You okay?’ asked Rowan.

‘Yeah, yeah.’ Stygian wiped the perspiration from his forehead and tried to laugh it off. ‘Just a niggling pain in the … back. Thought I had it … under control.’ He grinned amiably. ‘Anyway, while there, I figured I should, you know, look and listen. Turns out I could kind of tune in to the Darkness. It’s hard to explain. It sort of thinks. But it’s more like it was feeling and reacting to me.’

‘So, what’s it feeling?’ asked Newt.

‘Anger mostly,’ said Stygian, his brow furrowing, his eyes hardening. ‘Bit of hate. It’s never had visitors before. Never had to deal with anything other than its own existence. Now it knows there are other worlds, it’s been sending itself out. Pushing through. Wherever a doorway has been created, there’s a weakness. That’s where it’s pushing.’

‘So this is all your fault,’ said Newt, pointing an accusing finger at the mage.

‘Only a bit.’ He grinned again. Newt was beginning to find it annoying. ‘It’s the Doc who’s really set it off. What with all that electri-something energy.’

‘What are you going to do?’ asked Newt.

Stygian lowered his voice. ‘Well, the Doc wants me to help her find a way to harness and control the Darkness. She wants to turn it into a weapon.’ He glanced over to where Dr Bloom now had the Darkness in a containment box attached to various scanners and probes. ‘But …’

‘But what?’ Newt’s voice was hopeful.

Stygian regarded her carefully. She felt like she was being assessed. Then he shrugged.

‘I … want to –’

Stygian threw back his head and gasped. He arched his back and contorted. His face was red with effort, his brow now covered in sweat.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Newt, staring in horror at the boy.

‘Nothing,’ he wheezed through clenched teeth. ‘Fine. Will. Keep. Control.’ He thrashed about, his body racked with uncontrollable spasms.

Dr Bloom came running over. ‘What the blazes is up with him? He’s not dying, is he? That would be inconvenient.’

‘He’s a human being,’ snapped Newt, her patience with the scientist wearing thin.

Stygian’s face was now so red that it looked about to explode, his pimples standing out in a particularly alarming shade of magenta. He managed one last gasp of ‘Oh, no’, before collapsing facedown on the floor.

Newt went to his aid, but Dr Bloom held out an arm to stop her. ‘Don’t!’

‘Why?’ demanded Newt. ‘He might be dying.’

Rather than answer, she pointed to the hunch on his back.

It was moving.

Under the boy mage’s robes, the lump was writhing.

Newt took a step back.

Whatever was on Stygian’s back, was trying to get out from under the robes. It thrashed about, undulated and then strained against the fabric. Something sharp, like a shiny black tooth, poked through the material.

The robes tore, revealing black, menacing mandibles in a brown furry body. It shuddered and squeezed itself out through the rip in the mage’s clothing, until it stood quivering on the boy’s shoulders.

Rowan yelped and backed away.

Newt held her breath.

Dr Bloom scowled.

But no one took their eyes off the massive spider.