CHAPTER 8

Ella ducked and hit the ground. But as she rolled away from the vindicator, he sprinted toward her, raising his axe again.

Ella sprang to her feet and grabbed for her sword. But it slipped from her sweaty fingers and clattered to the ground. She couldn’t reach it—not in time!

The vindicator’s axe was coming down now. It moved as if in slow motion, as if time were standing still. Ella’s last thought was of Taiga. I’m sorry, buddy, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you.

She waited for the blow of the axe—but it never came.

As she whipped open her eyes, she saw that the axe was still overhead, moving downward second by second. It was moving in slow motion! And broken glass lay on the floor all around.

Jack’s potion of slowness! Ella spotted her cousin in the doorway, just before Gran and Rowan pushed past him into the room. Gran took out the vindicator with a single fierce strike of her sword. As Rowan watched the mob fall, she looked disappointed that she hadn’t gotten in a blow, too.

But Ella collapsed to the floor in a heap of relief. She squeezed back tears, not wanting anyone to see. Then she felt Jack beside her. “Thanks, buddy,” she said, pulling him into a hug. “You saved me, you know.”

“I know,” he said. “Just like you saved us from the super-charged creeper.”

Ella laughed at that and opened her eyes. “That’s why we stick together, right?”

He nodded.

“That’s right,” said Gran, pulling Ella to her feet. “So no more running ahead of us into rooms, alright?”

When Ella saw tears glistening in Gran’s eyes, she felt a pang of guilt. She’d nearly scared Gran to death, too. But she wouldn’t do it again.

As they continued down the long hall, opening doors to check for more hostile mobs, Ella stuck close to Jack and kept her sword drawn. They passed more bedrooms, some with single beds and others with double beds. But Ella wasn’t sleepy anymore.

I may never sleep again, she thought to herself, after her battle with the vindicator and his axe.

“Meeting room,” Gran announced, closing a door behind her.

“Library,” said Rowan, closing her door, too.

“Wait, what?” Ella felt a tingle of excitement run down her spine.

Rowan shrugged. “Just bookshelves filled with books. Don’t you have enough of those at home?”

“Yeah, but these might be enchanted books,” said Ella. “Enchantments I don’t have yet. They could help us!” She didn’t mention the fact that the only anvil she’d seen in the house had been damaged. Without an anvil, it would be tough to enchant anything. But still, she had to see those books!

Gran gave in. “We’ll go in together,” she said. “And I’ll go first.”

This time, Ella pushed past Rowan to be second in line. As soon as Gran opened the door, Ella smelled the familiar scents of leather, paper, and dust. Her heart ached, because the library smelled like home.

After they’d circled the room, making sure no illagers lurked inside, Ella ran her fingers down the spines of the books. They came in all colors and sizes, but she didn’t pull any off the shelf. Because none of them had what she was looking for—the faint lavender glow of enchantment. As she rounded the last shelf, she blew out a breath of disappointment.

That’s when she saw Jack slide a book into his backpack. Before she could ask what he was doing, he raised a finger to his lips. His brown eyes pleaded with Ella not to tell.

Why not? she wondered. What did he find?

When Gran rounded the corner too, Ella plastered on a smile. “No enchanted books here,” she said. “Oh, well.”

Jack shot her a look of gratitude as he zipped up his backpack and followed her out of the library.

When they’d reached the hall, Ella tugged on his arm until he stopped walking. “You’ll tell me later?” she whispered.

He nodded solemnly.

When they reached the last door in the hallway, Ella held her breath. If this room was clear, maybe they could rest. Maybe she could finally let her guard down, or at least set down her heavy sword and trident.

But the room wasn’t empty. A spiral staircase stood in the middle.

Gran flung out her arms. “A-ha!” she announced, bouncing on her toes like a child.

“What?” asked Ella and Rowan at the exact same time.

“This staircase leads to only one thing,” said Gran. “A chest. A chest that may hold a saddle for your old grandma.”

As she took the stairs two by two, Gran looked anything but old. Ella laughed and followed her up, winding around and around until they’d reached what looked like a dead end.

Sure enough, beyond the very last step, sat a chest.

Gran threw open the lid as if it might be filled with emeralds. One by one, she took out items and handed them to the children.

Bread, which made Ella’s stomach growl.

Redstone dust, which Jack scooped up and added to his backpack. “For potions,” he explained, when Rowan shot him a quizzical look.

Rotten flesh, which Gran pulled out with the tip of her sword.

“Ew!” cried Rowan, backing away.

But as Gran neared the bottom of the chest, her face fell. “No saddle.”

Ella looked over her shoulder, hoping Gran was wrong. But a saddle isn’t the kind of treasure that gets lost or hidden behind other things. Still, she wished she could make Gran feel better.

“How about these?” Ella cried, reaching for a couple of music discs at the bottom of the chest. “You could play them in your jukebox!”

When Rowan rolled her eyes, Ella’s shoulders drooped. “Right.” They weren’t at home, where Gran could play music on her jukebox. They might no longer have a jukebox—or a home to return to. She tossed the discs back into the chest and closed the lid. “Sorry, Gran,” she whispered.

Gran said nothing. Was she really that upset?

Ella turned to see. But the expression on Gran’s face wasn’t sadness. It was fear, which turned Ella’s blood cold.

She followed Gran’s gaze down the spiral staircase and saw white bubbles floating up, like snowflakes rising instead of falling. “What is it?” whispered Ella. “A potion?” It couldn’t have been Jack’s. He stood beside her, trembling.

Gran shook her head. “An Evoker cast a spell,” she whispered. “To summon vexes.”

Vexes?

A high-pitched horn rang out, piercing Ella’s ears. Then a ghostly mob appeared up above. Then another. And another!

The first vex glowed red—blood red.

It let out an evil shriek as it swooped low.

Straight toward Jack.