They regrouped in the woods behind Daniel’s own backyard as Mollie and Rose joined them. There, in the pitch-black copse of trees that bordered his house, they made their plans. The fliers would take Rohan and search the town for the Shades. No one felt comfortable just waiting for the shadow creatures to come to them—this time they would be proactive. When they found the Shades, they’d return for Daniel. Everyone agreed that it was too risky flying around with Daniel and the ring any more than they had to. While they searched, he’d wait behind for Theo to arrive with Louisa and Herman. Until then, Daniel was to stay hidden and keep the ring safe.
“We should go,” said Rohan.
“Right,” said Daniel. “Good luck!”
It was a familiar sight, the Supers soaring off into the air to attend to some emergency while Daniel stayed behind. But this time it was different. This wasn’t a house fire or some kind of random accident. This time they were fighting monsters. An army of them.
And when they actually found the Shades, Daniel would … what? Brandish the ring? Speak the magic words? Their plan fell apart there. Daniel had a weapon that he had no idea how to use. He’d fought the Shades before, but that was with Eric’s strength and Louisa’s intangibility and Rose’s invisibility. How could he actually use the ring against them? They had to trust Herman to help them with that, and trusting Herman, everybody knew, was the worst possible plan. Ever.
But even bad plans are better than no plans at all. Daniel cursed softly under his breath as he crept through the trees toward his house. The old villain might actually be willing to help them, but only if it served his purposes as well. Daniel felt confident that Herman wanted the Shades gone just as much as they did, but what then? It was the afterward that troubled Daniel. He resolved that if they all survived this, he would destroy the ring once and for all. In the meantime he’d just have to muddle through and figure it out as he went.
The neighborhood still seemed so quiet, so peaceful. Daniel remembered what Herman had said about the Shades: that they would be drawn to the reminders of their old lives. For some of them who were almost as old as Herman, those reminders might be hard to find. But more recent victims of the Shroud’s power would still have families here. Some would still have themselves here—the real boys and girls who’d lost their powers, lost their shadows, and had no idea what was out there hunting them. Daniel thought of the ones he’d known, of Simon and Michael. Were they being haunted tonight by their Shades? Had they been all along?
It seemed like there would be no end to the Shroud’s legacy of terror. Daniel had just stepped onto the grass of his parents’ lawn when he heard a voice speak to him from the darkness. The wind had been blowing in the wrong direction or else he would have caught the smell of rotten fish sooner. He might have had a chance then.
“Hey, New Kid,” said an ugly voice Daniel recognized instantly. “Been looking for you!”
Daniel turned just in time to see Clay Cudgens’s fist appear out of nowhere.
He wasn’t unconscious—he was aware of voices talking and of hands wrapping something around him. He felt the soggy grass and leaves scraping along his face as he was dragged into the trees. He knew about these things, but after being hit in the head, he found it just impossible to focus on them. The ground roiled like waves whenever he opened his eyes, and stars exploded in his vision whenever he closed them.
“Man, Clay,” a voice was saying. Bud’s voice. It was small and whiny for such a big kid, and impossible to mistake. “You really clocked him. Coulda killed him!”
“Nah. That was just a tap. Kid’s a wuss when he’s not stealing someone else’s powers.”
When Daniel’s world finally stopped spinning, the two bullies came into focus a few feet away. Though he could see again, he now had a headache that hurt so bad, it made him squint. He was tied to a tree with some kind of thick cord that had been wrapped around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides. He could already feel the pins and needles stabbing his fingers as the circulation was squeezed off.
Clay and Bud. They’d pulled him back farther into the woods behind his house, out of sight. Daniel panicked when he didn’t immediately see his backpack, with the black ring inside, but neither of the two boys was carrying it, so he must’ve dropped it on the lawn where they’d jumped him. Clay and Bud were keeping their distance from him now that he was awake, apparently afraid he’d steal their powers if they came any closer. But he couldn’t have if he’d wanted to. The ring was too far away.
What were they even doing here? They must’ve come to his house to take advantage of the blackout, to get a little revenge. Maybe they were going to trash his bike. Or just egg his house. But they didn’t have the faintest clue about what was really going on. They hadn’t seen the Shades. They didn’t know that the Shroud was still alive or about the ring. They were just bullies looking for a little payback.
“Have … to let me go.” Daniel wanted to say something more urgent, to explain the terrible danger they were all in and how each second that passed put his friends and the whole town in more and more peril, but he just couldn’t get all those words in the right order. His head hurt too much.
“What’d he say?” asked Bud.
“I don’t know. He’s mumbling.”
“What if you gave him a repercussion?”
“That’s concussion, you fat moron. And I told you I didn’t hit him that hard.”
“Maybe we should check on him.”
“You check on him,” said Clay. “I ain’t getting any closer to that stinkin’ power stealer than I already am. I don’t like Shrouds.”
Shrouds. They thought Daniel was just like Herman. Maybe they were looking for more than just payback after all.
It hurt too much when Daniel tried to focus on the boys standing so far away, so he concentrated on what was closer, his immediate surroundings. He was tied up with a frayed length of rope. The bullies must’ve snatched it from their junkyard. The knot wasn’t tied well, and given time, Daniel could probably wiggle his way out. That is, if the two of them hadn’t been standing there watching his every move.
He didn’t have time for this.
“You guys don’t understand,” Daniel said slowly. It still felt like he was talking through a mouthful of cotton. “The whole town’s in danger!”
“No? Really?” said Clay. “Like we didn’t know that! Here you and the rest of those fakes are marching around acting like you’re a bunch of superheroes, while you’re the real monster! Your loser friends know what you are?”
“Yes! I mean they know about the powers,” said Daniel. “But I’m not a monster. It was Herman Plunkett, the real Shroud. He’s back and—”
“Oh, save it,” said Clay. “I’m tired of your talking. Bud, gag him.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you tub o’ lard! Use one of his socks or something—just shut him up.”
Bud took an uncertain step toward Daniel. The air took on a freshly pungent reek.
“What about all the lights?” asked Bud, looking at the darkened neighborhood. “What if there is something bad happening here?”
“That something is sitting right there all tied up!” said Clay. “The blackout’s probably because of him anyway. Knocked out the lights so he could sneak up on us and steal our powers.”
Clay stepped up to Bud and shoved a thick-knuckled finger in the boy’s face. “You know what he is. He took your powers up there at the Old Quarry, and you got lucky it wasn’t permanent. It’s starting all over again! I thought we were free and clear after that Plunkett guy bit the dust, but now here’s another one. He tricked us into helping him off the old man so’s he could take his place!”
Bud let out a whimper and started to back away, but Clay grabbed the bigger bully by the shirt collar and held him fast. He started shouting at Bud like a barking dog. Flecks of spittle foamed at the sides of Clay’s mouth.
“You want that? You want to go back to the way things were?”
&
nbsp; Without warning, Bud shoved Clay. It wasn’t a very strong push, not where Clay was concerned, but the shock of being shoved by Bud—for what was probably the first time ever—must’ve thrown Clay off balance. He let go of Bud’s shirt as he tumbled backward onto his butt.
“Yes! I want it!” Bud was crying, his face wet with tears and snot. “I want it!”
“What are you talking about?” asked Clay.
Bud didn’t answer. Instead, he stomped over to Daniel and plopped down on the ground next to him, his stink cloud drifting along behind him. Daniel couldn’t lift his hands to cover his nose, so he tried to bury his face in his shoulder to escape it. Bud didn’t seem to notice or care. He just sat there in the fallen leaves crying, trying to muffle the sound of his blubbering with his own hands.
“Can you do it, Daniel?” Bud asked after he’d quieted a bit. “Can you take my powers away? Only this time can you take them away for good? Please?”
Daniel didn’t answer. A few months ago he wouldn’t have dared to imagine that there was something worse than being powerless, but here it was. It was being shackled with powers you despised. Louisa hated her powers so much, she’d lied to all her friends. And now here was Bud begging Daniel to take them away. Daniel couldn’t have understood until recently. Now he understood all too well.
“No,” said Daniel finally. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Bud nodded.
“I really am sorry, Bud,” said Daniel.
“Of course you don’t want my sucky power,” Bud said.
“ ’Cause then you’d be just like me.”
“That’s not what I meant.…”
Bud stood up and wiped his face along his jacket sleeve. He looked over his shoulder at the lightless street.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Something bad’s happening out there tonight, and I’m going home.”
Clay didn’t try to stop him. He didn’t call him names or threaten him. He didn’t even watch his only friend march away into the night. Clay’s eyes were fixed instead on Daniel, and they were cold and cruel. Daniel hoped he looked brave in the face of that stare, but that was hard to do all tied up and at the mercy of Clay Cudgens. That fact alone would normally have been enough to terrify Daniel, but the Shades were out there somewhere too.
Daniel heard the distant sound of voices shouting. It might have been Eric and Mollie, but he couldn’t be sure. Whoever they were, they sounded afraid. Bud was right—something bad was happening. It had already started.
Clay heard it too. He glanced in the direction of the voices, but he didn’t move.
“Clay,” said Daniel, “they’re in trouble. We’ll all be in trouble if you don’t let me go.”
“This is some kind of trick, right?” said Clay.
“It’s no trick!”
But Clay was no longer listening. He was looking at something coming down the street toward the two of them. Daniel followed his eyes and saw a black shape drifting toward them in the night. Daniel recognized it at once—a Shade. Clay, unfortunately, didn’t.
“Bud?” called Clay. “That you?”
The Shade paused and cocked its head. Then it changed direction and began coming their way, drifting away from the houses and closer to the woods where Clay held Daniel captive. As it drew near, it became obvious even to Clay that this wasn’t Bud. When two more Shades appeared next to the first, Clay began backing up. They hadn’t yet spotted him through the trees, but they would soon. They were a pack of dogs on the hunt.
“What are those things?” Clay whispered.
“They are the real enemy,” answered Daniel. “Now quick, get me loose!”
For a moment Daniel was actually hopeful that Clay would untie him, that he’d at least give Daniel a fighting chance, but Daniel was always overestimating the heartless bully. Leaving Daniel tied up and helpless, Clay turned and sprinted deeper into the woods. It wasn’t a stealthy retreat, though, and one of the Shades peeled off from the group to pursue Clay as he crashed through the underbrush. But that still left two more for Daniel. And they were getting close.
He’d gotten one hand nearly free, but the Shades were already at the edge of the trees. He wouldn’t make it in time.
“Stop wriggling!” a tiny voice whispered. “I can’t see what I’m doing!”
Daniel stopped moving. He was alone with the dark, but something was tugging at the ropes. As he watched, the knots began untying themselves.
“Rose?”
“Shh!” answered the dark. “I’m staying quiet. I didn’t giggle! Not once!”
The rope loosened around his middle and then went slack. Daniel’s arms were numb and practically useless from the lack of circulation, but luckily his feet worked just fine. The Shades had already begun snaking through the woods.
Daniel gestured for Rose to follow him, and since he didn’t really know where she was, he hoped she was watching as he slipped silently out of the trees and onto the grass of his own backyard. He was careful to tread lightly on the crackling leaves, but once his feet hit the grass, he made a dash for the house. On the way he scooped up the fallen backpack, nearly tripping over himself in the process.
His parents kept a spare key hidden in the rock garden next to the patio door. The key was where it was supposed to be, beneath a weathered old garden gnome. As Daniel retrieved it, he whispered into the darkness.
“Rose?”
“I’m here,” answered a breathless voice. “But my shoes got all muddy.”
Daniel glanced down at the concrete patio floor and saw a pair of size six footprints leading from the yard to the door. Another glance told him that the Shades hadn’t followed them onto the lawn. Not yet. Perhaps the two of them could get inside without being seen.
Daniel gritted his teeth as the door creaked open—the patio door always squeaked terribly. He felt Rose squeeze by him through the doorway; then he shut and locked the door behind them. The patio door was mostly glass, but it gave Daniel some sense of security nonetheless. As they slipped into the basement, Daniel took a deep breath for what felt like the first time in hours.
“Rose, you all right?”
“Yeah. These were new shoes, though. My mom’s gonna be mad.”
Daniel smiled in spite of everything. Rose had a six-year-old’s perspective on the world, and nothing, not even shadow monsters, could change that.
“I’d forgotten about you, Rose.”
“I know. Mollie did too. She flew off to fight the monsters, but I wanted to stay with you.”
“I’m glad, Rose. Thank you.”
“Welcome,” said the empty air.
“You know,” said Daniel, “you can turn visible now. They can’t see you inside here.”
There was silence for a moment; then, “I don’t wanna.”
Daniel nodded. “Right. I understand. That’s probably smart.”
Daniel looked down at the backpack in his hands. There were two Shades out there in the woods somewhere. Wasn’t that what he’d been waiting for? He had the ring, and he’d found the enemy, but now what? He had no idea what to do with it.
And even with Rose by his side, Daniel felt alone. He was worried about his friends. He was sure that had been Mollie and Eric shouting.
Outside the glass door, the trees looked so much darker than normal, especially without any ambient light to see by. There wasn’t a hint of movement out there. No wind, nothing. Everything was as still as a statue.
“All right, Rose. I want you to stay put. Keep hiding.”
“I wanna go with you!”
“It’s not safe!” said Daniel.
The door to the upstairs sat atop a long stairway almost directly above the spot where Daniel and Rose were arguing. Therefore, when it was thrown open, Daniel was almost immediately blinded by the sudden flashlight beam being shone directly into his face. He couldn’t see, but the voice was recognizable enough, as was the tone. Daniel was in trouble.
“Daniel Corrigan,” his father said.
“You. Are. Grounded!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grounded
Daniel had escaped a pair of superpowered bullies and a cave full of shadow monsters, only to be trapped in his living room by his parents.
This was bad. This wasn’t a go-to-your-room kind of grounding—it was a total-surveillance, we-won’t-let-you-out-of-our-sight kind of grounding. Daniel’s father, his mother, and Georgie sat on the couch watching Daniel squirm. Lit by one of his gram’s old candelabras, they looked like some kind of medieval inquisition waiting to pass judgment. Where had he been for the last several hours? Why was he a dirty mess? Where were his friends, and didn’t he know that with the blackout their parents would be worried too?
Daniel and his friends had disappeared like this before, last year in fact. And although they’d been saving the town’s children from the Shroud, they hadn’t been able to tell their parents that. That night had led to long, long punishments and deep suspicions.
“Do you know what a recidivist is?” Daniel’s father was asking.
“Dad! I can’t stand here and—”
“It’s the term they use for a criminal who cannot stop committing crimes. A repeat offender.”
“Dad—”
“Let’s let him talk,” said his mother. “Where were you, Daniel?”
“Daniel’s in big trouble,” said Georgie.
Daniel swallowed. He needed to think carefully about how to answer. His friends were out there. The Shades were out there. But his panicking would just make him look more guilty than he already did. He needed to calmly and rationally explain to his parents where he’d been, and why he’d been acting so secretive lately. In short, he needed to come up with a whopper of a lie. He needed something that would get him off the hook, at least temporarily. If they sent him to his room, he might be able to sneak out the window and deal with the consequences later. He’d be grounded for life this time, but that was a small price to pay. As it was, he was worried about making it through the night.