The Horrors tightened the circle around us. Their fur smelled sour, like my friend Marci’s dog, who always needs a bath. One of the Horrors spit something brown and disgusting onto the pavement at my feet.

“Let’s go,” he growled. He raised his big paws to my shoulders to start me moving.

I tried to stand in place, but he was too strong. “Where are you taking us?” I demanded.

“Don’t get tense,” another Horror said. “We’re taking you to your friends.”

I stared at him. “Friends?”

“To the other Very Special Guests,” he said. He pulled a fat brown bug from the fur on his chest and flicked it away. “They are all safe and sound with The Keeper.”

They marched us through the crowded plaza. People stopped to stare. They probably wondered why Jackson and I were getting such special treatment.

Or maybe they thought we did something wrong and were in major trouble.

My mind whirred. “Who is The Keeper? Why shouldn’t the other guests be safe and sound?” I demanded.

“Sometimes things get scary here,” a Horror murmured.

“We just got here today,” Jackson explained. “We don’t know what you’re talking about. Really.”

“Almost there,” a Horror said. He pointed to a building up ahead. It was a redbrick building with a marquee over the wide entrance. The marquee read: HAUNTED THEATER.

“You’re taking us to a show?” I asked.

No one answered me.

The Horrors began walking faster. Jackson and I had no choice. We had to jog to keep up with them.

A sign in front of the theater read: MONDO THE MAGICAL.

“I’m totally confused,” Jackson whispered. “A magic show?”

At the side of the theater, I glimpsed two kids, a boy and a girl. They both had straight black hair and bright blue eyes. They peeked out at us from the corner of the building.

Why were they watching Jackson and me so closely? I just got a quick glance at them. When I turned to stare back, they both ducked quickly out of sight. I don’t know why, but just the sight of them made me feel uneasy, suspicious….

The Horrors led Jackson and me to a small gift shop next to the theater. Painted on the front window were the words MONDO’S TRICKS AND TREATS.

We pushed into the store and down a narrow aisle. It was a magic store. The shelves were filled with magic tricks, wands, top hats, and other magician gear.

They marched us through a back room. Then to a stairwell in the far wall.

“Down there,” a Horror said. “Watch your step.”

The stairway was steep and narrow. Our shoes thudded on the metal steps. The air grew hotter as we climbed down.

One flight … two …

I took a deep breath. Stay calm, Jillian. You can handle this.

But there we were, three flights belowground. If we needed help, no one would ever find us down there.

What did they plan to do with us?

They unlocked a door at the bottom of the stairs. They pushed Jackson and me into a big room.

“The Keeper is waiting for you,” a Horror said.

“Keeper?” I asked. My voice cracked.

“Don’t make him angry,” another Horror said. “He can be … harsh.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

The Horrors didn’t follow us into the room. The door clicked shut behind my brother and me.

Jackson and I took a step into the brightly lit room. A huge room that looked like it had been decorated by a five-year-old!

Furry orange and green chairs and couches. A big zebra-skin rug. Bright yellow wallpaper with blue fish all over it. A purple-and-white polka-dot table with big claws on the legs. A striped floor lamp painted red and white like a barber pole, and overhead, a huge crystal chandelier.

So many colors, it was almost blinding down there! It took me a few seconds to see that the room was crowded with kids. They were all about our age. And standing in front of the kids — two men in totally weird superhero costumes.

One of them was dressed in red-and-blue tights, feathery yellow boots, and a leopard-skin cape.

The other man was bigger, broader, with bulging biceps and a wide chest. He was dressed all in purple — purple tights and top, purple cape, purple boots. He had a purple mask pulled halfway down his bright red face.

When I got over my shock, I saw that the purple guy was using both hands to hold a boy off the floor. The boy kicked and struggled, but the superhero wouldn’t let him down.

“Let me go! Let me down!” the boy screamed.

Both superheroes suddenly discovered Jackson and me. They turned and stared at us through their masks.

“Do you know what POPS my PETUNIAS?” the purple one screamed. “Fresh meat!”

The guy in the crazy costume tossed his head back and laughed like a hyena. When he finished his insane laughing, he began to chant: “Fresh meat. Fresh meat. Fresh meat. What rhymes with meat? Eat? Hahahaha.”

The purple one dropped the boy to the floor. The boy hit hard, then scrambled over to the other kids.

Then the purple one began taking long, heavy strides across the room to Jackson and me. “Did you come to see what the Purple Rage can do when he’s in a RAGE?” he bellowed. “Well, goody. You’re just in time!”