“Odds are, it’s nothing good,” Leroy said with a groan.
Farnsworth raced away, the glow of the torches flickering across the surface of his smooth coat.
A small crowd had gathered outside of the doorway to Lake Hall, and as Hydra arrived, Albert heard the news.
“It was only a matter of time,” Tussy, Professor Asante’s Apprentice, was saying to her mentor. “I mean, sure, the glass was thick and supposedly lava-proof, but . . .”
“What happened?” Birdie asked.
“There you are,” Tussy said. She held an arm toward the open doorway. “Professor Bigglesby and Hoyt are just inside.”
Albert looked back at his friends and shrugged. Then he led the way, shuffling past Tussy and Professor Asante, into the dark stone stairwell that carried them down to Lake Hall.
They didn’t get far before the heat came.
And then the glow of orange as the tunneled stairwell opened up and Lake Hall came into view below.
It was . . .
“Lava,” Leroy gasped. His face was a mask of horror, reminding Albert of the face of a woman he had once seen at the site of a bad car crash near his apartment in New York.
What used to be a shimmering dark lake, with floating docks scattered across its surface, was now a pool of bubbling, bright-orange and yellow lava.
“The glass wall shattered,” Birdie said, pointing across the lava pool to where there used to be a big wall blocking off a space full of swirling liquid rock.
The lava behind the wall was the light source for Lake Hall, and a major conversation piece when newbies arrived each term. And now it had spilled through with the quake. The Whimzies were nowhere to be seen, and Albert hoped they were far away, up in the highest part of the cavern.
“The turtles!” Birdie gasped. “What happened to them?”
“Animals can sense things,” Leroy said. “Maybe that’s why they weren’t here yesterday, because they knew something was coming. I hope they’re somewhere safe.”
Professor Bigglesby and Hoyt stood a little farther down the stairs, staring out at the chaos below.
“Gather around, Hydra,” Professor Bigglesby said. “Glad to see you weren’t injured too badly in the quake.” He waved them over. “We’re going to need your strength now more than ever. This area is off-limits to students, but you needed to see the destruction that Belltroll is capable of.”
“There have been quakes before, right?” Albert asked.
“Not of this magnitude,” the dwarf said sadly. “I’m afraid the Imbalance is worse than we originally suspected.”
Albert could feel the heat from the lava stealing his breath away. Down below, it bubbled and popped like an angry, boiling sea. “What about the surface world?” he asked. “If this is happening here already, what’s happening up there?”
Bigglesby shook his head. “We’ll know more tomorrow when we enter the Realm. But look down at the chaos, Balance Keepers. Let it fuel you forward, with the hope that we can stop this.”
Three Core Watchers arrived, carting big bags full of their strange scientific instruments.
“Impossible,” one of them said as they shuffled past Hydra to head farther down the stairs and investigate.
“And yet, possible,” answered another.
Professor Bigglesby looked out at what remained of Lake Hall and sighed. “Such a shame. We’ll be eating bagged lunches for the rest of the year at this rate.”
Leroy gasped, and Birdie leaned over to console him.
Hoyt just stared at the mess, his eyes wide in shock.
And maybe a part of Albert was in shock, too. At any second, Belltroll could send up another quake.
Nowhere, and no one, was truly safe.
After a sleepless night, Albert and Leroy met Birdie in the Main Chamber the next morning. Birdie’s hair was a mess of curls piled on top of her head, and Leroy still had remnants of sleep in his eyes.
But, as unnatural as it was waking this early, it seemed the entire Core had come to see Team Hydra off. After the news of Lake Hall, everyone needed to witness the physical act of four brave Balance Keepers heading into the wild Realm to try and save the day.
Hope, Albert thought. I have to believe we can give it to them.
The rest of the Balance Keepers were all packed to the left of the door. They wore their own team shirts—Alpha, Ecco, Blaze—but there was a look about them that spoke of silent unity. Albert appreciated their show of solidarity, but the quiet was freaking him out. The first time his team had entered a Realm, everyone had cheered and sung the Core song. It had given Albert the boost of confidence and energy he needed to bravely enter the Realm.
Today, the room was full of only whispers. The countdown clock from last term was back on the wall, a giant 6 blazing bright red on the screen.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this a third time,” Birdie said.
“I can’t believe we’ve survived two Realms,” Leroy added. “If you want to know the odds of it happening again . . .”
“Maybe keep those to yourself,” Albert said, trying to shake his nerves away.
A roar broke out, and Birdie’s Guildacker, Jadar, swooped in from one of the tunnels, landing on the big copper chandelier overhead. It creaked and groaned. A few First Termers looked up warily, but everyone else was used to Jadar by now. Geoff, Leroy’s Jackalope from Ponderay, hopped in next, and Albert felt his shoulders relax a little. He already felt safer with Jadar and Geoff in the Main Chamber. Farnsworth was glad to see the great beasts, too, evidence of Hydra’s success in the other two Realms. He barked a greeting, his blue eyes flashing bright as day, and suddenly all the other companion creatures joined in, hooting and howling and hissing.
Professor Bigglesby emerged from the crowd and approached Hydra, his tiny frame covered in a thin leatherlike armor.
“Hydra, Hoyt. You will wear this, too,” Bigglesby said. He clapped his hands, and Petra appeared, hauling a huge rucksack behind him, his forehead damp with sweat. He’d probably dragged the thing all the way from the dwarf’s office. Albert exchanged a look with Leroy. Since when was Petra Bigglesby’s servant?
“What’s up?” Leroy asked, helping Petra haul the bag the last few feet.
“Professor Bigglesby’s Apprentice chose life on the surface,” Petra explained as he set the bag before Albert, Birdie, and Leroy. “I guess with all the fear that’s going around, it makes sense people would want to get out.”
“Better here, fighting against the darkness, than up on the surface, not knowing when it’s all going to end!” Birdie said, her face flushing red.
Petra dug through the bag. “It’s true, Birdie, I agree. But in any case, things are probably going to get worse before they get better. That always seems to be the way things go.”
“Not if we have anything to do with it,” Hoyt said as he, too, made his way through the crowd of people. He at least looked like he’d slept last night. His eyes were bright, and he didn’t look as scared as he had yesterday in Lake Hall. “You guys ready?”
Albert nodded. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”
He knew he should talk to Hoyt about what happened in Ponderay. But Albert just couldn’t bring himself to do it yet, not without losing his temper. He turned his attention back to Petra.
Petra lifted a leather vest out of the bag and tossed it to him. “You’ll be wearing this at all times in the Realm. Bigglesby says it’s made of dragon skin, from the dragons that used to be in Belltroll before they went extinct. Anyway, it’s super tough but super light.”
Birdie grinned as Petra handed the rest of them similar vests. Then he produced helmets, wrist guards, and shin guards.
“For the quakes,” he explained.
As all three Hydra members and Hoyt strapped on their gear, the little dwarf sauntered over.
“Vigilance is key, Balance Keepers!” Bigglesby’s voice was shrill as ever. “We stay close together, and we work as a team. Pay attention, and if one boy falls behind—”
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“Or girl,” Birdie said.
“Or girl,” Bigglesby corrected himself. “If any boy or girl falls behind . . . we move on without them! We blaze forth like a mighty scalding fire!”
He turned to the crowd and began to shout about bravery and camaraderie and something that sounded a little like weapons and death, and the crowd silenced, everyone leaning in to listen to the crazy old dwarf as he went on his epic pump-up rant.
Albert turned to Leroy, whose face was practically snow white.
“Did anyone else hear the whole moving on without the fallen part of his speech,” Leroy said, “or was it just me?”
Right then, Albert caught sight of his dad’s face in the crowd. Professor Flynn and Trey were standing on the other side of the stream, deep in conversation with Professor Asante and Tussy.
“You haven’t talked to him much yet, have you?” Birdie asked.
Albert shook his head. “He’s distracted, I guess. Understandably.”
“No worries, bro.” Leroy leaned in, the bill of his hat knocking Birdie in the forehead. “I’m sure he’s doing his best to help us out in his own way.”
Albert knew his dad was probably up late into the night, trying to figure out who the traitor was. Professor Flynn hadn’t meant to lose the two Master Tiles, of course, but that didn’t stop him from trying to fix things.
He caught Professor Flynn’s eye and smiled and waved. His dad waved back, gave Albert a quick thumbs-up, and turned back to Trey.
“Albert!”
A voice rang out through the crowd, and a familiar round, dark-haired woman wove her way toward Hydra.
Lucinda’s snake, as was usual lately, was trying its best to unwind itself from her shoulders.
“Wretched thing!” Lucinda hissed, and wrapped Kimber back around her neck like a living scarf. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” She held out a small black cuff with a little screen on it. “Your Counter, from last term. Professor Bigglesby requested I deliver it to you myself. It’s already set.”
“Oh, thanks,” Albert said.
Lucinda’s smile was tight as she helped Albert clasp it around his wrist.
“Best of luck to my favorite Flynn!” She wiped sweat from her brow. Her eyes flitted down toward Albert’s black Tile. “Such a beautiful color,” she said. “Just like my Kimber.”
The snake hissed, finally uncoiling himself from her neck. He fell to the ground, then slithered away at lightning speed. Lucinda yelped and shoved her way into the crowd, disappearing without a good-bye.
That was creepy, Albert thought. He didn’t want to trust Lucinda.
But the Counter had worked last term. And if Bigglesby himself asked her to deliver it . . .
“Albert!” Birdie shouted and waved him over. “Let’s go!”
They were about to enter Belltroll. He’d need whatever help he could get.
And for all Albert and his teammates knew, the traitor could be waiting just inside.
The tunnel that led to the Ring of Entry was dark and silent, a combination that chilled Albert to the bone.
They’d only climbed through the wreckage of the broken door a few minutes ago, if Albert was correct, and already he felt trapped.
He wished they would all walk faster, get to the light sooner. Every step, he wondered if a hand would glide from the darkness, unseen, and grasp his Master Tile, tear it away from its cord around his neck, and then use it to burn the world to ashes.
The ground trembled every few seconds. The shaking wasn’t enough to knock anyone off their feet; it felt more like the Realm had a pulse. A heartbeat. It was like a living, breathing being.
And it wasn’t happy.
The only indication that anyone else was there with him were Hoyt’s footsteps behind Albert’s back, and Birdie’s, Leroy’s, and Professor Bigglesby’s in the front.
Finally, a light appeared in the distance.
It grew bigger, and brighter, until Albert’s boots hit soft green grass, and the tunnel spit them out into the Ring of Entry. A light breeze tickled Albert’s nose and cheeks.
“Wow,” he said.
It was truly the only word that came to mind in that instant, because Belltroll literally stole his breath from his lungs.
It was as if Albert had walked into an oil painting, one that was so green and so bright, he had to squint his eyes to truly take it all in.
Professor Bigglesby wasn’t joking when he’d said Belltroll was the most incredible Realm of the three.
“I can’t believe this is real,” Birdie said.
“My eyes hurt,” Leroy said. “It’s so . . .”
“Green,” Albert finished for him.
“You can say that again,” Hoyt added. “Man, I wish Slink and Mo could see this.”
It was like someone had spilled a roll of perfect emerald fabric across the entirety of the Realm.
Green and green and more green. The Ring of Entry sat before them, the patches of land and water just down at the bottom of a sharp, grassy hill. Beyond that, as the water thinned out and more grass took its place, the landscape climbed upward into the hills that made the Ring of Emerald.
Albert wanted to close his eyes and feel the breeze dance across his skin. There were no birds singing, but he imagined how lovely they would have sounded here.
Or maybe the singing voices of the centuries-old dragons that used to soar across these glittering skies.
Beyond the hills, in the distance, was the ghostly form of the jagged mountain range. Troll Mountain stood in the center, as tall and beastly as ever. It was so far away, Albert wasn’t sure how they’d ever make it there.
He also didn’t see a single thing wrong with the Realm of Belltroll.
“I’m not sure what the problem is, Professor,” Albert said. “It just seems . . . fine. Doesn’t it?”
No sooner had he spoken the words than the Realm groaned loudly. A quake rumbled beneath his feet. Albert tumbled sideways into Hoyt, whose hard head conked against his. It felt like being in a car on a bumpy country road with Pap as the driver.
The shaking stopped as suddenly as it began.
“Not a normal quake,” Professor Bigglesby noted. He stood off to the right of the group, surveying the land with a look of fatherly affection. “Typically, the grinding of Troll Mountain makes a rumble so slight you’d hardly notice. We’ll need to keep track of the frequency of the quakes. If another one like that happens this hour, it’s much too soon. Now, onward! Let’s explore the face of our beautiful mistress, and hope she’s kind to us today!”
He marched forward, his arms swinging and his little legs carrying him with surprising speed down the hill that led deeper into the swampy moors of the Ring of Entry.
Hydra stood there staring at one another with amused expressions on their faces.
“That guy,” Leroy said as he flipped his hat backward, “is one of the strangest people I have ever, and will ever, meet.”
CHAPTER 12
The Ring of Entry
It had been weeks since Albert, Birdie, and Leroy had practiced in the Pit.
Sure, they’d helped save the world in Ponderay just last term, but for the past several weeks, Albert had been sitting behind a school desk, his feet bouncing up and down beneath it, desperate to run. To move, or do something actually worth doing.
Trudging his way through the Ring of Entry, in the swampy part of Belltroll, wasn’t worth doing.
Even Birdie didn’t think so.
“I love water,” Birdie said. She grabbed her Water Tile to clean it off but couldn’t find a sludge-free piece of clothing to wipe it with. “This, though, is NOT water. This is, like . . . totally disgusting.”
They’d been making their way across the moor for the past two hours. The ground was like a puzzle with missing pieces.
The area was mostly a sludgy mess of water and mud and algae and floating sticks, though there were mossy islands every couple of feet, like stepping-stones—mossy islands tha
t sometimes weren’t mossy islands but just extra-large clumps of mud and algae and floating sticks masquerading as mossy islands. Albert would know. He’d stepped on one too many non-islands.
The Ring of Entry was much larger than it looked on the map, and Albert wondered if they’d ever make it out. He leaped from one moss-island to the next, passing Leroy, who lost his footing and splashed into the moor, taking Hoyt down with him. Each island was only large enough for a single person, so the Balance Keepers and Professor Bigglesby were spread out like a chain across them all.
“Isn’t there some kind of creature we can use to bypass the moor?” Albert asked Professor Bigglesby, who was a few islands ahead of him, currently leaping with a strength Albert didn’t know the man’s small legs possessed. “Those dragons would have been pretty useful right about now.”
“Indeed they would be. Long ago, the Realm was also home to a herd of Pegasi,” Professor Bigglesby said. Birdie squealed and jumped up and down behind them, her boots squelching in the mud.
“Flying horses?” Leroy called out from the back of the pack. “Now that’s cool.”
“It was wonderful,” Professor Bigglesby said loudly enough so everyone could hear. “But the Pegasi have long since become extinct as well. So, alas, we must make our way on foot.”
That was depressing. It would have been so easy to hop on a Pegasus’s back and soar over all this muck and mud.
Albert could imagine using the Jackalope symbol to leap away from here, but one look at the rest of Team Hydra, and he just knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave them in the dust, even if Professor Bigglesby’s speech in the Main Chamber suggested he actually very much could.
“What’s the point of this anyhow?” Hoyt shouted somewhere behind Albert. “We aren’t going to find any clues here about the Imbalance. Nothing would last in this mess. Not even a footprint, if there was someone who came through here before we did.”
He was right. Twice, the swamp had nearly sucked Albert’s boot right off his foot.
Professor Bigglesby’s voice carried back to them from the front of the pack. “We must push forward to get to the center. No shortcuts in Belltroll, I’m afraid, just like in life. Now keep your eyes open. We’re nearly at the halfway point.”