The sun was long gone, and the street was dark.

As I stepped away from Lu’s house, I knew it was going to be a terrifying walk home. I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting to see the hideous face of that monster old lady as she crept up on me from behind. Every time a car drove by, I hid behind a tree and watched until it passed. A chilly late-fall breeze shook the tree branches, making them look like gnarled claws trying to reach down to snatch me up.

Expecting something scary to happen is the worst kind of torture. Every shadow becomes a ghost; every sound is a potential danger. By the time I got to my house, I was a mess. My heart was racing, and I was out of breath, even though absolutely nothing strange had happened.

And then my cell phone rang. It was Theo.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m just getting home and—”

“She’s here,” Theo said in a strained whisper that sounded like nothing I’d ever heard come from him.

I stopped short at my front door.

“What do you mean? Who’s there?”

“It’s her,” he said, sounding as though he was on the verge of tears. “She’s downstairs talking to my parents right now.”

My mind went into hyperdrive, trying to understand what this could mean.

“Did you talk to her?”

“No. As soon as I saw her, I ran upstairs and hid in my room,” he whispered, on the edge of panic. “I’m under my bed. I don’t know what to do, Marcus. If you don’t give her the key, more will die. That was her threat, right?”

“Nobody’s gonna die,” I said adamantly. “I’m coming over. Keep talking.”

The McLeans lived only a few blocks from me. I covered the distance in record time as I sprinted along the sidewalk with my cell phone pressed to my ear, listening to Theo’s nervous breathing.

“Go to the door, Theo,” I said. “Listen to what she’s saying.”

“I can’t,” he cried, whining like a terrified two-year-old. “Please, I don’t want anything to happen to my family. Or to me.”

“It’s not you she’s after,” I said, breathless. “It’s me.”

“It’s not you, it’s the key! Just give her the stupid key!”

My gut churned as I heard the fear in Theo’s voice. This was my fault. I didn’t want anybody to get hurt, but giving up the key would be like making a deal with the devil. What horror might be unleashed if that demon took control of the Library?

“Something’s happening,” Theo said, his panic amping up. “I think the house is shaking. What is going on?”

“Hang on, I’m almost there,” I said as I crossed another street and hopped over the curb to the sidewalk.

“It feels like—oh my God, Marcus, it’s an earthquake!”

“Get out of there!” I commanded. “Now! Run down those stairs, grab your family, and get out of the house.”

“She won’t let us,” Theo cried.

“She’s a spirit, Theo. She can’t stop you. Get out of the house!”

“I’m too scared!”

I rounded the final corner and saw Theo’s house. It looked pretty much like ours, with two stories and a lawn in front. I didn’t feel the ground shaking, but I did see that the lawn was strangely high, as if it hadn’t been mowed in months. Thick green grass covered even the walkway that led up to the front door. That wasn’t like the McLeans.

“It might not be real, Theo, but you can’t take the chance,” I said into the phone. “Get out from under that bed and—”

A violent wind suddenly kicked up, flattening the grass and nearly knocking me over.

Crack!

The thick branches of a massive oak tree next to the house were bent back, straining against the wind. The centuries-old tree fought against the powerful force as hundreds of leaves were instantly torn off and blown away, stripping the branches bare.

“You gotta get outta there, Theo!” I screamed into the phone as I ran for the house.

I plowed through the tall grass, got halfway to the door, and tripped over something that was hidden deep down in the thick growth. I went sprawling forward and landed on my chest. Hard. The force of the fall knocked the wind out of me. As I lay there, gasping for air, I felt something pull at my feet. Whatever it was that I’d tripped over, it wasn’t done with me. It felt as though hungry hands were grabbing at my ankles to try and pull me away from the house. I kicked back at the unseen force, desperate to get away.

Crack!

The trunk of the giant oak was bent at an impossible angle. There was no way it could stand up to such a powerful force for much longer.

“Theo!” I screamed.

Crack!

The tree lost the battle. With a sharp tearing sound that was loud enough to cut through the howling wind, the tree toppled. The hundred-foot-high oak splintered near its base with a final, gut-rumbling snap and fell toward the house.

I stopped fighting to get closer because the tree was looming overhead, falling my way. I rolled away as fast as I could, praying that the tree wouldn’t be blown on top of me.

With a monstrous, explosive crash, the tree hit the house and tore through the roof directly over Theo’s bedroom.

“Theo!” I shouted into the phone.

No answer.

I struggled back to my feet, kicking away at the unseen hands that grabbed at me from beneath the grass, and ran for the door.

The giant tree rested against the structure at a forty-five-degree angle. It had destroyed the roof but was stopped from falling flat by the second floor. I didn’t want to believe that Theo was hurt. I had to get him out of there.

I finally fought my way to the house and threw open the front door.

“It’s Marcus!” I screamed, hoping to see Theo, or his parents, or his brothers and sister rushing out.

Nobody answered.

Or more will die.

That was what the Boggin had threatened.

This really was a war.

I ran straight for the stairs and flew up, two at a time. Theo’s bedroom was at the end of a long hallway. When I got to the second floor, I saw no damage. The tree had fallen directly onto Theo’s bedroom, and his door was closed.

“Theo!” I called out, fearing he was trapped. Or worse.

I took one step toward his room but stopped when his bedroom door flew open and somebody ran out.

It was Theo. Alive. Unhurt but not yet safe.

“What’s happening?” he screamed in panic.

“We gotta get outta here!” I shouted back. “C’mon!”

Theo ran toward me.

“What about my family?” he called.

“We’ll find them,” I said. “Let’s just get downstairs and out of—”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The doors on either side of the hallway blew off their hinges as if powerful explosions had erupted in each room. Theo was hit by one of the careening doors and knocked against the far wall.

I was so stunned, I couldn’t move. What was happening? Before I could get my wits back, heavy vinelike tendrils reached out from each room, snaking into the hallway like monster pythons. They were thick, bark-and-leaf-covered vines that had a mind of their own as they slithered into the hall, seeking their prey.

Theo.

“Marcus!” Theo called in terror.

Theo had been knocked onto his stomach. He tried to get to his feet, but a vine wrapped around his ankle and pulled him back toward his room, dragging him across the floor. It was as if the fallen tree was reaching into the house, groping for victims.

“Help!” he screamed.

That kicked me into gear. I ran down the hallway, jumping over the broken doors and stumbling past the ever-growing vines that continued to fill the hallway. Theo reached out for me, and I grabbed his hand.

“Please don’t let it get me!” he cried.

I pulled him toward me with one hand while reaching forward to yank the vines off his leg with the other. As vicious as they were, I was able to tear them free from Theo’s ankle and pull him to his feet. We held on to each other for support as we pushed our way back toward the stairs. It was like fighting our way through a dense jungle as the leafy vines continued to grow, filling the hallway. It felt as though every tendril was another hand grabbing at us, trying to pull us back toward whatever fate it had in store.

With a powerful mix of fear and adrenaline, we fought our way to the stairs and hurried down, with the vines chasing us from behind, reaching out, wanting us back. We went straight for the door, blasted outside, and charged through the tall grass until we got to the sidewalk.

Theo fell to the cement walkway, exhausted.

“My family,” he called out, breathless.

“I know,” I said while digging for my cell phone. “I’m calling 911.”

Theo pulled me down so we were on the same level and looked me square in the eye with fear and desperation.

“Give her the key,” he begged with tears in his eyes. “Or more will die.”

“I will,” I said, trying to keep from crying myself. “I will. But first let me get help.”

“Good, good, thank you,” he said, sounding relieved.

I pulled out my cell phone and was about to enter 911…

…when I stopped. I suddenly realized something. My mind raced back over events, trying to understand. Something was wrong, and not just because Theo’s house was being engulfed by deadly predator vines.

“Or more will die,” I said, and looked down at Theo. “How did you know about that?”

“She’s evil,” Theo said.

“Yeah, but how did you know she told me that? And used those words? I didn’t tell you.”

“Yes, you did,” Theo whined.

“No, I didn’t. How did you know, Theo?”

Theo looked up at me with pleading eyes, then suddenly changed. His face relaxed. The look of fear and panic disappeared. He stopped breathing hard, wiped away his tears, and laughed. He actually laughed. I thought for a second that his mind had snapped.

“How did you know about that, Theo?” I asked, pressing.

Theo sat up straight, gave me a shrug, and disappeared.

He simply vanished.

I heard a voice coming from the house.

“The next time it might be real.”

I shot a look to the destroyed house to see a figure standing in front of the open door, surrounded by a jungle of vines.

The Boggin.

“Surrender the key,” she said, and raised her hand out toward me.

A dozen emotions took hold of me. Relief was the first, but it was quickly followed by anger. This demon was torturing me. She was evil. She had to be stopped.

“Bite me!” I shouted at her.

“Then you have made your choice,” she said, sounding irritated.

The witch’s shadowy image transformed into white smoke that drifted skyward. She was trailed by dozens of thick, writhing vines that rose up and followed her like rats following the Pied Piper. The tendrils snaked out of the house and stretched higher, until they too disappeared into the starry night sky.

I looked back to the house to see…absolutely no damage. No broken windows. No tall grass. Most important, the giant oak tree stood straight and tall where it always had. Undamaged. I didn’t have to look to my phone history to understand that Theo hadn’t actually called me.

The whole thing was an illusion staged for my benefit…and horror.

“Hey, Marcus!” came a little girl’s voice.

The McLeans’ Volvo was pulling into the driveway. Mr. and Mrs. McLean were in front, Theo and his little sister, Claire, in back.

Claire leaned out the window, waving at me. “We got pizza left over! Want some?”

Theo got out of the car and walked to me while pulling on his ear. He knew something was wrong.

“No thanks!” I called to Claire.

“Are you okay?” Theo asked. “What are you doing here?”

I couldn’t stand the idea of facing Theo just then. He didn’t believe that any of this was happening to begin with. How was I going to persuade him to be careful?

“I’m fine,” I said. “But we gotta talk. Tomorrow.”

“Uh, yeah. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not even close to okay,” I said, and turned away, headed for home…with no idea of how I was going to deal with the evil power of the Boggin that seemed to be growing stronger by the minute.