AUNTIE NORTH AND ORION were waiting for them. She was reading on a bench. It was so bright that for a moment it looked like neither of them had a shadow. Then Orion leapt forward, and Danny could see it was only the angle they were sitting at.

“We have it!” Glory said. Danny held the glass tube in the air. “The first clue to Rio Luna!”

“Well done,” Auntie North said. Orion barked his approval. He ran into Glory’s arms and her mood brightened instantly.

“Open it!” Glory exclaimed.

“Perhaps we should get somewhere a bit more private?” Auntie North asked. She took out a pocket watch and flipped it open. “The Ravine will do this time of day.”

Danny held the glass tube with great care as they walked. Glory went over every detail of their encounter with the Moon Witch. Auntie North apologized for not having anticipated that kind of challenge. At least they’d be prepared for the next time, even if Glory did have to pull out two splinters from her palms.

They reached the Ravine moments later. The new leaves on the trees were bright green. Though now Danny could never look at tree roots the same way again. There was a small waterfall and nothing else but the sound of water and the breeze. Even the traffic was muffled here. They kept to the shore and gathered around.

He brushed the dirt away from the glass. He unstoppered the top and removed the scroll. The paper was soft and smelled like an old library. Danny wondered if the whole park could hear the sound of his heart. He’d met a character from his book. Sure, she’d tried to crush him with Willie, her magic tree, but Leigh the Bard had also helped him.

Danny pulled the string around the scroll and unfurled it. Instantly, he recognized the magic within. Though the gold markings were fading from his skin now that they’d accomplished their first task, it was the same magic that was in the paper. In the ink. Ella St. Clay had taken magic from Rio Luna to give kids like him the opportunity to dream. He was so excited he was afraid he might crush the paper from holding it so tightly.

Slanted, elegant letters filled the page. It was ripped at the exact angle as the first missing page in the book. When he returned the ending to the story, the golden thread returned and stitched the page back together. Danny blinked a few times, because the ink on the page was illuminated from beneath, just as the first time he’d laid eyes on the book.

“What do you see?” Auntie North asked, leaning closer to the book. There was a shine in her eyes, like she was so thrilled she could cry.

“The words are turning gold,” Glory said. She held her hands to her chest as if she might burst, and Orion barked and barked.

Danny watched the ribbons of gold glisten. He read the words that jumped out. The book had revealed its secrets, after all.

The road to the Red Woods is paved with starlight.

The spring air was crisp, and the sound of laughter from the nearby streets made its way to them. Perhaps he needed to read the rest of the page. Something should have happened by now, but they kept waiting.

“Come on,” Danny said, the familiar sensation of disappointment brewing in his heart. He couldn’t come this far only to fail.

In that moment, a great light burst in front of them. One time, during the Fourth of July when he was six years old, Pili had used her birthday money to buy a box of sparklers. She and Danny lit them up in the backyard of their group home. Pili shared them with the other kids, and they ran around waving the sparklers in the dark.

That’s what these gold lights looked like. The space in front of them was now a sheer wall.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Danny asked. His belly flip-flopped like he was on a roller coaster.

“We are,” Glory said in wonderment. She took Danny’s hand in hers.

As the ripple stopped, the surface became more like clear glass. At the center was a flat metal piece stuck between the clear wall separating this world and Rio Luna. Danny could see straight into the other side. There were hills made entirely of black grass. There was a narrow path that cut through the land and led to a forest of black trees with bright red leaves. A strong breeze moved through the woods, and a tremble rebounded across the hills. The sky was dark, except for the light of the full moon and brilliant stars. There were more stars in the Red Woods than Danny had ever seen. He wished Mrs. Contreras was here so he could show her how wrong she’d been to make him doubt himself. He would tell her that he forgave her because now he was on his way to everything he wanted. He could hardly take his eyes off it, and he reached to touch the portal. He couldn’t help it. He took a step forward.

“What is that?” Danny asked. There was a flat metallic arrow sticking out of the invisible wall.

Glory sucked in an excited breath. “I’d bet my entire hat collection that it’s a key. A strange-looking one but still a key.”

“Is that what’s keeping the portal intact?” Danny reached out his hands. He was a key and a glass portal away from being closer to seeing Pili again.

Before he could get any closer, a hooded figure moved through the forest. It darted straight for them, the end of the cloak flapping like a superhero in flight. For the briefest moment Danny considered: What if that figure running through the woods was Pili?

“Pili!” he called out with a booming voice.

“Danny, wait!” Glory tried to pull him back. “I don’t think that’s—”

But Danny was already reaching for the metal key that separated him from the Red Woods. He went for it. It felt like sticking his hand into an ice bath before a great force pushed him back. He couldn’t move farther, and the shimmering space exploded into a brilliant, blinding light. They all shouted as a great blast of wind knocked them on their backs.

“Are you all right?” Auntie North shouted.

Danny’s head was spinning. The glass tube that once held the parchment was shattered on the ground. When he sat up, the sheer portal vanished.

“It’s gone!” he cried. The doorway was gone and so was the metal piece that had been wedged there—like a key. Danny slapped his hands on the ground to possibly find where it fell. There was a sharp plink, but he couldn’t see where the sound had come from. “Where is it?”

“Danny?” Glory called his name. Her voice was so full of fear that it made Danny whirl around. Glory and Auntie North gathered beside Danny. There was a thumping sound that he couldn’t place. It took Danny a moment to realize what he was looking at.

A creature stood on the path in front of them. Danny searched his mind for a name for the creature. He had the body of a gray hare and was as tall as Danny, but the great antlers that sprouted from his temples made him appear much taller. A cloak was tied around his throat with a shimmering green jewel, and a leather belt was slung across his chest.

Jackalope.

The creature was a jackalope! A very angry one who stomped on the ground and lowered his antlers, ready to charge.