Having tied its legs together, Dr Bloom tossed the spider onto the centre of the dais. It landed with a thud. Stygian winced.

They were all gathered at the edge of the dais, looking at Moppet.

‘It seems you were wrong about the warehouse,’ Dr Bloom said to Newt pointedly. ‘I went back there to fetch an infrared heat detector. And, since I don’t trust you, I did a sweep of the area – and lo and behold, there it was cowering in the shadows.’

‘And you killed her?’ whispered Newt.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. We need the creature alive. I used a stun grenade.’

‘You had a stun grenade?’ Rowan looked incredulous.

‘Government contract. Warehouse full of weaponry. Of course I’ve got stun grenades. I’ve got grenades of every size, shape and variety. Something for every occasion.’

Yet again, Newt found herself appalled with this scientist’s attitude.

‘This whole world is just …’ Rowan struggled for the word. ‘Nuts! You’re all crazy.’

As if to illustrate his point, Dr Bloom burst into a fit of laughter. She did indeed sound a little insane.

‘I can’t handle this,’ said Rowan, throwing his arms up and walking off. ‘I’m going to get some … lemonade.’

‘What?’ Newt chased after him, grabbing his arm as he reached the hole in the wall. ‘You can’t just walk away.’

‘Yes I can.’

‘Rowan … please. Don’t go.’ After all they had been through, Newt had started to think of Rowan as a friend. And she couldn’t bear the thought of him abandoning her.

‘I need to go.’ He looked into Newt’s eyes. ‘You stay here. Trust me.’ And he left.

What’s he up to? wondered Newt. Is he really just running away? Or has he got a plan? She hated being left out of things.

Frustration building, she turned her attention to Dr Bloom, who was now tapping away on her tablet beside the control dais.

‘What are you going to do now?’ demanded Newt, storming over.

‘We are going to open up the portal. Just doing the final calculations,’ said Dr Bloom. ‘I have some of the Darkness to hold as hostage. And Stygian is confident that he can communicate with the Darkness … and control it.’

‘What’s the point?’ asked Newt.

‘The point?’ Dr Bloom looked amused. ‘Power! Even a small amount of the Darkness could be fashioned into an incredible weapon.’

‘You’ve already got a small amount of the Darkness,’ pointed out Newt.

‘And I have the opportunity to get more. I would be foolish not to take it. And with Stygian’s help, I will be able to control it. Get it to do what I want.’ She waved her tablet at Newt. ‘Imagine that!’

I’ d rather not.

Dr Bloom put the tablet down on a workbench and climbed up onto the dais.

Newt turned away to see that Stygian was still silently standing to the side of the main dais, watching Moppet. Newt walked over to him. His expression was difficult to read. He seemed genuinely upset about his familiar being stunned and tied up … and yet, there was also a hunger in his eyes.

Newt wondered how she should proceed. Confront him? Accuse him? Maybe, she thought, a more subtle approach would be better. Maybe, she could get through to him with kindness.

‘You okay?’ asked Newt, sidling up to him.

‘Me? Yeah, yeah.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I just miss her. We’ve never really been apart since I became a mage. It’s a strange feeling. Kind of empty.’

‘I’m sure she misses you as well,’ said Newt.

Stygian nodded slowly. ‘How did you know Moppet was female?’

‘What?’ The question caught Newt off guard.

‘I’ve not mentioned her gender till just now,’ he said. ‘But at the warehouse you called Moppet a she.’

‘Oh.’ Newt’s heartbeat quickened as she struggled for a convincing answer. ‘Did I? Well … she has a large abdomen. And everyone knows that male spiders have small abdomens.’

‘She chose me, you know,’ he said wistfully, not reacting to her answer. ‘Saw something in me, I guess. Potential. Resolve. Something. Without her I would never have been a mage. Now that I am … she must follow through. This is my decision. Not hers.’

‘It’s not too late to change your mind,’ said Newt. Her voice was soft and filled with hope. ‘You don’t have to open the doorway. You don’t have to control the Darkness. You could stay here in this world. Use your magic to help rebuild the city.’

Magic, thought Newt, seems to be a lot like science. Whether it is good or bad depends on the person who uses it. It comes down to choice.

The spider twitched and Stygian winced again. ‘She’s waking up.’ He looked like he was steeling himself to do something he didn’t want to. ‘Are you ready?’ he called out to Dr Bloom.

‘Almost.’

Newt put a hand on Stygian’s arm. ‘You know that you don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do.’

‘I know.’ Stygian’s expression became determined. He hopped up onto the dais and gently picked Moppet up, cradling her in his arms. It would have looked affectionate, if not for the fact that her legs were still tied together. ‘The thing is … I do want to do this. Very much.’

Newt’s heart sank. How could he want to do this? What was wrong with him?

‘Okay, all set to go,’ called Dr Bloom, activating her energy shield.

‘You can stop playing possum,’ Stygian said to Moppet. ‘I know you’re awake.’

The spider’s eyes flickered open, their sad, despairing gaze falling on Newt.

‘Don’t do it,’ begged Newt. ‘Please!’

‘We’re ready,’ called Stygian.

The three metal arms lowered into place around him, and the whine of the frequency oscillators began.

Newt didn’t know what good it would do – in fact, she knew it was pointless – but she jumped up onto the dais, with the intention of trying to take Moppet from Stygian.

He simply held up his hand and she was flung back, spinning through the air. She hit the floor hard. Pain flared in her head and her left knee. Through her daze she could hear Dr Bloom begin the countdown.

The Darkness, thought Newt, she’s about to let the Darkness in.

‘Five.’

Newt shook her head to try to clear it, but that just made things worse.

‘Four.’

Thinking that she couldn’t just lie there, Newt pushed herself up onto her hands and knees.

‘Three.’

Her knee felt like it was on fire and she collapsed again.

‘Two.’

The realisation hit Newt … there was nothing she could do to stop this.

‘One.’

The whining escalated beyond hearing. The air vibrated around Newt.

‘Activate!’

She looked up to see the air tear apart behind Stygian. His eyes were wide and wild. Newt couldn’t tell if it was with fear or insanity. Wisps of the Darkness emerged from the portal, tentatively winding themselves around him.

‘Behold my greatness! I am Stygian Glimmerloss, the Final. All that is left of the House of Glimmerloss. Mage of War to the former Queendom of Zanak. Advisor and confidant to Her Royal Highness Queen Xanxia, the long dead. And now … Ender of Worlds!’

More of the Darkness gathered around him, stray tendrils coiling around the frequency oscillators and the arms that held them. The metal rusted and crumbled.

But the doorway widened.

‘We begin with this world,’ said Stygian.

‘What’s happening,’ screamed Dr Bloom. ‘What are you doing?’

‘The Dark World is upon us,’ shouted Stygian.