About time,” James said as I emerged.
“You didn’t get to wrestle a yeti or anything, did you?” Hen asked.
“Nope,” I replied, setting down the necklace. It curled into an arrow pointing toward the chute.
“Is that what I think it is?” James asked, eyeing the Pearls.
“We’ve got to hurry,” I said, putting the necklace around my neck.
I jogged toward the chute, pulling out a couple of stun bombs from my backpack. They felt like apple-sized burlap bags full of dirt.
“Here,” I said, handing Hen and James each a stun bomb. “He wasn’t sure how well they’d work, but we’re probably going to have company.”
“Stun bomb? Awesome!” Hen said.
“Corbyn, can you handle one?” I asked. He wrapped himself around one but was clearly struggling. “Give it to me. We don’t have many to spare.”
I felt the necklace tug me to the right. “Let’s get on either side of the chute and wait until there are several of them before using the bombs. James can you put the light in your pocket?”
“What exactly do these do?” James asked, holding up the stun bomb as he pocketed the glowing leaf, plunging us into darkness.
That’s when we heard it—the thunking of someone coming down the chute. Corbyn fluttered down, settling on my shoulder next to Key as we flattened against the wall. The Pearls started vibrating as a figure careened out of the chute, landing in a sprawl.
“I made it!” he called out in a metallic rasp. I tensed, feeling exposed as he fumbled in the darkness. He turned in my direction, and for a moment, I thought he saw me. Corbyn trembled on my shoulder. My hand held the stun bomb so tightly that I had a brief moment of panic where I wondered if I could accidentally set it off by squeezing it too hard. Then the sombra turned away, examining the room.
More rumbling came from the chute. Hen and James looked at me, waiting for instructions. I felt a strange hollowness in the pit of my stomach. They were trusting me with their lives, but I was scared out of my mind.
Hen made a head gesture toward the standing Sombra and mouthed something that I took to be, Now?
I shook my head even though I wasn’t quite sure myself.
The Pearls kept vibrating. I wish Arnold had told me what that meant.
Three more Sombras shot out of the chute. I nodded at Hen, and she immediately threw her stun bomb into the tangled mass. For about ten seconds, nothing happened and the three of them made their way to their feet.
Oh crap. I thought, scrambling to come up with a plan B should these fail.
Then one by one, all four Sombras fell to the ground.
“Yeah!” Hen whispered as two more shot out. I threw the second bomb at them.
“Why haven’t any of you morons lit your stones?” a female voice rasped. Then she too sank to the ground along with her companion, who let out a cry that I feared would be heard above.
The chute fell silent, but the Pearls continued vibrating ominously around my neck.
“Think that’s all of them? Can we go?” James whispered.
I shook my head. Something felt off. I sensed movement but saw nothing. Then, a menacing female voice came from above us. “Three little sweeties and an itsy bitsy fairy. What have you been doing?”
James tossed a stun bomb at a dark figure clinging to the ceiling. The three of us realized an instant later that this wasn’t the brightest idea as it didn’t come near to hitting the Sombra and came tumbling back down. We scattered as it hit the ground in middle of where we had been standing.
“Awww! The little kiddies want to play keep-away?” she taunted, metallic voice somehow sweet and menacing—like frosted sugar cookies with arsenic sprinkles.
I tried to put distance between myself and the source of the cackling laughter. The Pearls tugged me toward the opposite end of the room.
“Do you have a pretty necklace for me?” the female Sombra asked, moving along the wall toward Hen and James. I felt the Pearls tugging me away toward the opposite end of the room.
“All we found was this dumb house,” Hen said.
“I don’t believe you,” she replied. “Let’s make a little deal. You give me the pretty necklace, and I’ll give you a scrumptious lollipop.”
“What does she think we are? Five-year-olds?” James muttered incredulously.
“Puka kanchay!” a new masculine voice called from the base of the chute. A reddish glow suddenly illuminated the room as more Sombras arrived. We were now officially outnumbered.
The creepy woman was closing in on Hen and James. I wished I knew what the vibrating Pearls meant. If anything, the shuddering was getting more and more urgent.
And I suddenly knew what to do. The Pearls stopped tugging and formed an X on my chest under my shirt. I reached into my back pocket for the decoy necklace.
“Hey, I’ve got the neck—” But Corbyn suddenly took off, carrying the real Pearls toward the Sombra on the wall.
“Corbyn!” I yelled, chasing after him desperately. He flew higher, holding them out of my grasp.
“I’m sorry,” he called over his shoulder. I continued running after him as two of the Sombras at the entrance ran to head me off.
“Look at Itsy Bitsy Fairy doing his civic duty,” the woman said, dropping to the floor as Corbyn approached. He dropped the Pearls in her hand, and she giggled. “One is going to be very pleased.”
“Please don’t hurt the others,” Corbyn squeaked.
“Hurt them? Me?” she asked brightly. “I would never dream of such a thing.”
I stopped running. “Key, can you–?” I asked turning to the bird on my shoulder.
Squerk! It said as though confused. Then it flew off as I felt two pairs of arms grab me from behind, a knife pressing into my neck.
“You two, come over here, or this one dies,” a male voice rasped.
Having a knife pressed into my neck was chilling like nothing I’d ever experienced. Knowing that someone else—a stranger—had total control over whether I lived or died was terrifying.
James and Hen surrendered, and we were thrown to the ground. The Sombras yanked off my backpack.
Now that we were much closer, I got a better look at the Sombras. I hadn’t really noticed before, but there was an unnatural darkness around their faces. Despite the light of their stones, there was a permanent darkness around their faces that hid their identities completely.
“This is all my fault,” I said. “Sorry, guys.”
“Oh good, I was hoping I could blame someone else for Corbyn betraying us,” Hen said.
“I never thought I’d say this, Santiago, but of your new friends, I prefer Hen,” James added.
I barely heard them. The female Sombra gleefully placed the Pearls over her head. I felt like retching.
On the bright side, at least the bird got away.
