Nightmare Academy Monster War
Dean Lorey

For more ferocious monster fun log on to www.nightmareacademy.co.uk

To three people who helped and encouraged me when it meant the most:

Dr Jean Fant

Tim Schoch And, most of all, Francesca Rizzo

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

Part One Attack of the Fifth

Chapter One the War Begins

Chapter Two Monster in the Mall

Chapter Three No Place Like Home

Chapter Four Exiles at the Academy

Chapter Five the Central Mystery of Central Park

Chapter Six the Hidden Headmaster

Part Two Sword of Sacrifice

Chapter Seven the Netherforge

Chapter Eight the Chasm Wrym

Chapter Nine the Test of Sacrifice

Chapter Ten Theodore Takes His Turn

Chapter Eleven A Reluctant Reunion

Chapter Twelve the Final Turn is Taken

Part Three the Poisonous Plot of Director Drake

Chapter Thirteen the Fight Begins

Chapter Fourteen Bad Day in the Gorgon Maze

Chapter Fifteen Escape from the Shredder-sharks

Chapter Sixteen the Return of A Beautiful Lady

Chapter Seventeen Charging the Sword

Part Four the Queen of Nightmares

Chapter Eighteen the Slumber

Chapter Nineteen the Lair of the Fifth

Chapter Twenty the Core of the Matter

Chapter Twenty-One DRAKE

Chapter Twenty-Two an Old Friend

Copyright

About the Publisher

PART ONE ATTACK OF THE FIFTH

CHAPTER ONE THE WAR BEGINS

Like most big and terrible things, the war between the people of Earth and the monsters of the Nether started out small.

At first, there were just a few isolated attacks. A group of hikers in Maui were set upon by a pack of Dangeroos. The filthy, kangaroo-like beasts stuffed the screaming humans into their pouches and then hopped off into the dense and humid jungle beyond.

The hikers were never seen again.

Several postal workers in the small town of Conyers, Georgia were bitten by one-eyed serpents that lay coiled in mailboxes. The shiny purple beasts came to be known as Yeller-Swellers because their bite caused people to yell loudly in pain and then swell up like giant marshmallows. Fortunately, the swelling was only temporary. Unfortunately, when the victims shrank back down, they didn’t stop shrinking until they were half their original size.

Even the President of the United States was a victim of Monster Attack.

Although he had some of the best security of anyone on the planet, nothing could protect him from his own nightmares. While sleeping in the presidential suite in the White House, he dreamed that he was walking through his old school completely naked. In the dream, everyone pointed at him and laughed - his teachers, his parents and even his dog, Herbert. In fact, Herbert’s laughter was so cruel and mean-spirited that it caused the President to have a panic attack and, quite unconsciously, he opened a fiery purple portal to the Netherworld.

A Mimic slithered through.

Using its long arms and fingers, it quickly abducted the man, stashed him in a cupboard and then changed form to ‘mimic’ him so precisely that even the President’s wife couldn’t tell the difference, although she did mention that he smelled strongly of cinnamon -a common trait of Mimics.

That afternoon, the thing that looked like the President held a press conference. In front of the entire world, it began rhyming like an insane Dr Seuss, telling everyone that the “Monsters are why, we’re all gonna die - so let’s just eat pie. Goodbye!” Then the creature did backflips through the astonished throng of reporters until its true identity was revealed when it knocked over a water bottle and the resulting splash of liquid caused its skin to melt away like candle wax.

After the monster was captured and destroyed, the real President was rescued. The shaken man wasted no time before holding another press conference to explain to the world that no one should panic and that things were completely under control.

But they weren’t.

Sitting in his parents’ apartment in Brooklyn, Charlie Benjamin watched TV with growing anxiety as CNN showed endless reports of Nethercreatures rampaging through cities around the globe. Flocks of Hags spiralled out of a night-time sky to snatch entire football teams from their stadiums - the starting line-up of the Dallas Cowboys was the most recent casualty. Gremlins gorged themselves on power cables at plants throughout the world, plunging entire cities into darkness. In fact, Tokyo was just recovering from a Gremlin-caused blackout.

The fear brought on by these attacks caused millions of nightmares in people across the planet. In turn, those nightmares opened portals to the Netherworld, allowing an incredible influx of new monsters to pour through. Charlie had been taught in his ‘Monster Invasion: What You Can Do About It’ class that this was called the ‘Snowball Effect’. But to learn about it in a schoolroom was one thing - seeing it in action was something terrifyingly different.

“Horrible, horrible…” Charlie’s father Barrington muttered as he watched the attacks unfold.

“Yes, indeed,” his wife Olga agreed. She smoothed her dress and sighed heavily. “Why are they doing this to us, Charlie?”

“Because they can.”

He knew the answer wasn’t very satisfying, but it was true. The monsters were attacking because it was in their nature to attack - it was simply what they were born to do, and they were doing it now with terrifying gusto.

And all because of me, Charlie thought glumly, although he didn’t say it.

The attack of the monsters of the Nether wasn’t his fault, not really, but he’d certainly contributed to their getting to Earth in the first place.

For six months, he and his friends had studied Banishing and Nethermancy at the Nightmare Academy, honing their skills in preparation to one day go to work for the Nightmare Division - the organisation charged with controlling the Nethercreature population on Earth. During their final exam, they stumbled across a plot to bring the last two Named Lords of the Nether out of that terrible land of monsters and here to our world.

Despite Charlie’s best efforts (or maybe because of them, depending on who you talked to) the Named succeeded in their evil scheme and managed to summon the Fifth - a creature of unimaginable power. She promptly destroyed all the Named Lords and established herself as the General of the Army of the Nether, sending her ferocious minions out across the planet to wreak havoc on humanity.

Someone had to take the blame, and Director Drake of the Nightmare Division blamed Charlie and sent him into exile.

As much as he was desperate to leave his parents’ apartment and return to his friends at the Nightmare Academy, Charlie didn’t see how he could. If he left his mum and dad alone, they would most likely be monster food within minutes. Plus, there was that sticky matter of his being ‘exiled’. He didn’t know what it meant exactly, but he suspected it involved him being banished from the Academy - maybe for ever.

Not that a little thing like ‘banishment’ was going to stop him. As far as Charlie was concerned, nothing was going to prevent him from seeing Violet, Theodore and Brooke again after he was sure his parents were safe from the monsters of the Nether. And then…something miraculous happened.

The monsters gave up.

As quickly as the attacks on humanity had started, they stopped. For a full week, there were no monster sightings anywhere on planet Earth. Across the globe, people celebrated and rejoiced. They even went back to their old routines, sure that the Monster War was finally over.

“Charlie, you’re too thin,” his mother scolded as he nibbled at his burger. Charlie kept glancing at the door of the restaurant, sure that some horrible beast was going to lurch in - but the place remained calm and quiet.

“I’m fine, Mom. Really.”

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” his father said, gulping down a chocolate milkshake. “The boy is just growing taller. Children are like toffee - as you stretch them, they get thinner.”

“Well, I think it’s stress. For almost a year now, he’s been expected to save the entire world from monsters all on his own. I mean, he hasn’t even kissed a girl yet.”

“Mom!”

“Well, it’s true.”

Not really, Charlie thought, thinking of the quick kiss he’d shared with Brooke on the beach in front of the Nightmare Academy six months ago, but he didn’t say anything. He glanced again at the front door.

“Will you please stop doing that?” Olga snapped. “Nothing is coming through there! Goodness gracious - no one has seen a monster in over a week.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around…hiding…waiting to attack.”

“And why is that your problem?” His mother angrily jabbed a French fry into her ketchup. “Let the adults in the Nightmare Division handle it - you’re still a child! My child! And as long as you’re with us, we will protect you - not the other way around. That’s just the way it works in the real world.”

Yeah, right, Charlie thought. The image of his parents protecting him from monsters was so laughable that he couldn’t even conjure it up.

“Well, we may be the adults,” his father said, “but the fact remains that Charlie is an extraordinarily good monster hunter. He’s a…what do they call you?”

“A Double-Threat.”

“Double-Threat! Yes, indeed! The boy can both Banish and Nethermance - most children can’t do either.”

“Well, he didn’t ask for this horrible ability,” his mother replied icily. “I’m just thankful the monsters have stopped attacking so we can stop worrying about it.”

Charlie shook his head. “It’s not over.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do. I can…I can feel it. Something is coming, something bad and I’ve got to…” He hesitated. “I’ve got to leave you and go and find my friends at the Academy - I’ve got to get ready to fight” were the words he knew he should say - but the panicked, desperate look in his mother’s eyes stopped him.

“Charlie Benjamin,” she said with a sigh. “You know I love you more than life itself…but you can’t possibly get rid of all the monsters in the world.”

And that was when a Netherbat crashed through the large front window of the restaurant.

I may not be able to get rid of all the monsters in the world, Charlie thought as the crimson beast sailed inside with a shriek, furiously flapping its leathery wings as startled customers dived for cover from the terrible spray of glass, but I can get rid of this one.

He reached under the table and drew his glowing blue rapier - it felt good in his hand. With another ear-piercing shriek, the Netherbat snatched a screaming, stocky man in its talons, then spun around and flapped towards the broken window, trying to escape with its flailing prize.

Charlie leaped into the air and, with one quick, smooth move, brought his sizzling rapier down on the beast’s left wing. The Netherbat fell to the ground in a fountain of black ichor and, off balance now, careened into a table in a gloopy explosion of mustard and ketchup. Still flapping with its one remaining wing, it flipped on to its back and slammed into the restaurant wall. The nearby customers scrambled to crawl away as the beast snapped at them - until Charlie put a quick stop to that by chopping off the Netherbat’s head.

“Th-thank you!” the stocky man exclaimed as Charlie yanked him from the dead creature’s spasming talons. But before Charlie could mutter “You’re welcome”, two more monstrous bats sailed in, searching for tasty human prey. Charlie gutted one of the beasts as it soared above him and then quickly dispatched the other as it flew into the kitchen. The creature’s carcass slammed down on to the grill, where it cooked and sizzled alongside the burgers and fried onions.

There was silence then, broken only by the popping of frying meat. After a moment, it was joined by another sound.

Clapping.

Charlie turned to see the customers in the restaurant applauding as they struggled to their feet. “Oh, it was nothing,” he said, turning a bright shade of red, secretly pleased. But then he heard screaming. A great crowd of people were rushing out of the nearby shopping centre. Something was inside.

Something bad.

“Don’t,” his mother pleaded.

“I have to,” Charlie replied and, without another word, he ran out of the restaurant and towards the monsters in the mall.

CHAPTER TWO MONSTER IN THE MALL

Screaming customers flooded from the entrance in waves, and pushing through them was like trying to break through heavy surf. Somehow Charlie managed. Once inside, he tried to distance himself from the cries of the panicked people to figure out the cause of their terror. His first clue came from a woman just outside a clothes shop. People streamed past her - mothers clutching children, elderly people hopping along on sticks - but for some reason this woman wasn’t moving.

That’s strange, Charlie thought. And then he realised why.

She was covered, from the neck down, in a clear, gummy mass that completely immobilised her, anchoring her to the floor. Charlie glanced around and saw that she wasn’t the only one encased in the gluey mess. A security guard in the food court on the second storey was trapped against the cash register of a Chinese restaurant and two children in the play area were stuck to a giant foam ladybird.

Only one monster does that, Charlie thought. And then he saw it.

A Ravenous Sticky-Spitter.

The large, lizard-like creature clung to the outside of a glass elevator that was making its way back to the first floor. The beast was incredibly hard to spot - Sticky-Spitters had terrific camouflage; the pigment in their skin mirrored their surroundings so perfectly that most people could only see them when they moved. Charlie didn’t think he’d ever come into contact with a Sticky-Spitter before, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Before his training at the Nightmare Academy, one could have been sleeping right next to him without him ever seeing it.

As the elevator landed on the first floor, the Sticky-Spitter opened its wide mouth and spat out a large wad of glistening goop that shot through the air and snagged a fleeing shoe-shop assistant.

At least his face isn’t covered, Charlie thought, before remembering that Ravenous Sticky-Spitters (or RSSs) preferred to swallow their food alive, so they carefully aimed their spit to immobilise prey, not suffocate it.

With his rapier glowing fiercely blue, Charlie rushed towards the RSS, intent on putting an end to its attacks before feeding time could begin. But as fast as Charlie was, he wasn’t faster than the gluey phlegm that the RSS hurled his way, sticking him to the floor like a fly to flypaper. His arms were pinned to his sides and his face was spattered with flecks of glistening spittle - they had the sour smell of a burp that had been fermenting inside a belly for far too long.

OK, Charlie thought calmly, if I can’t Banish it, I’ll just Nethermance it away.

As one of only three people in existence who could both Banish and Nethermance (although not at the same time), Charlie had options available to him that most people with the Gift could only dream of. He had just begun to open a portal beneath the creature when several Netherstalkers suddenly burst through the air shaft in the ceiling above him, quickly descending on long strands of spider-silk. The double eyestalks that waved on their heads told him they were only Class-2 creatures, which wouldn’t normally present a problem - but this situation was far from normal.

Normally, Charlie wasn’t trapped in a glob of Sticky-Spitter phlegm.

How am I going to get out of this one? he wondered as their large, spidery bodies arrowed down towards him, sharp fangs snapping.

Just before the first of the Netherstalkers pounced on his head, Charlie noticed his father running out of a sports shop, wielding a large baseball bat.

“Get away from my boy!” the tall man shouted. With one mighty swing, he knocked the nearest Netherstalker away. It made a crunching sound, like a snail being crushed underfoot, then swung wildly into the air, still tethered to the thick silken line that spun out of its abdomen.

“Thanks, Dad!” Charlie shouted.

“No time to talk, son,” Barrington replied as he swung at another of the descending creatures. Again there was that peculiar crunching sound and the Netherstalker soared away with a squeal. “You may have noticed,” Barrington continued, eyeing another of the approaching beasts, “that I’ve chosen to use a baseball bat made of wood. Why not aluminum, you ask? Because aluminum doesn’t compare to the feel of a solid length of northern white ash, that’s why.”

He shot Charlie a friendly wink just as the hairy bristles on the leg of another Netherstalker landed on Charlie’s shoulder. Barrington prepared to swing as Olga rushed up with a can of insect spray.

“Get off him, you filthy bug!” she yelled, spraying the creature right in its waving eyestalks. The Netherstalker shrieked and crashed to the slippery floor.

“Olga Benjamin!” Barrington roared. “Excellent work! Where did you get the bug spray?”

“The chemist’s,” she replied. “Best thing to get rid of bugs, don’t you think?”

Barrington smiled fondly. “My girl…”

The two of them went to work dispatching the rest of the Netherstalkers so that Charlie could go after the Ravenous Sticky-Spitter, which was now moving rapidly towards them. Because its skin was camouflaged so perfectly against the wall of the mall, Charlie had trouble judging exactly how far away it really was.

If he opened a portal behind it, there wouldn’t be enough time to open another and the monster would get them and eat them. If he opened a portal too far in front of it, the monster would have time to swerve around the trap and still get them and eat them. But if he opened the portal just right, directly beneath the rampaging creature, then maybe—

Purple fire blazed across Charlie as a wide portal snapped open right below the fearsome beast. The RSS let out a wail of surprise and then plummeted through the portal and into the Nether, tumbling wildly through the air before crashing into the icy waters of the 4th Ring, where it was consumed by a passing Hydra. Charlie quickly closed the portal and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the purple flame on his body had melted the thick gum of the Sticky-Spitter, freeing him. With a couple swipes of his rapier, he killed the few remaining Netherstalkers, then turned to his parents with a smile.

“You two are…you’re Leet!”

Barrington grinned. “I have no idea what that means, but I’ll take it as a good thing.”

“It is. Trust me.”

Olga smiled primly. “I’d better get to work helping out the other unfortunates that have got caught in the big lizard’s spit. I’ll be in the supermarket getting peanut butter. It helps remove chewing gum from hair, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t be useful in this situation.” With that, she strode off.

“Terrific, isn’t she?” Barrington said proudly once Olga was out of earshot.

“Yeah. She really is.”

And that’s when they heard a scream.

What now? Charlie thought as he and his father raced in the direction of the sound.

The screaming woman stood in front of an electrical store, pointing at a widescreen TV in the window. Charlie pushed his way through the crowd of people around her to see an aerial view of Central Park in Manhattan - or what Charlie knew should have been Central Park. But the wide lawn of Sheep Meadow and the rippling waves of the toy-boat pond were now gone from view, covered by a thick, impenetrable white mist that had settled over the place like an Otherworldly shroud.

“What is that weird fog?” a small boy asked, awestruck.

“And where did it come from?” an older man in a baseball cap added.

Charlie thought those were both perfectly legitimate questions, but he had another more urgent one: what is it hiding?

Olga Benjamin’s peanut-butter idea didn’t help free the captured shoppers from the Sticky-Spitter’s slime balls, but it turned out that vinegar did - also her idea. After she had finished helping the last of the victims escape their gluey prisons, she met up again with Charlie and Barrington. They were waiting for her in the mall car park, keeping a careful watch on the sky.

“See any Hags?” Olga asked as she walked up.

Charlie shook his head, amused that his mother knew that if they were looking up, they might be searching for Hags. “It looks clear.”

“That’s good news.” Olga smoothed out her dress, which was spotted with monster goop, then turned to Barrington. “It appears that things are finally under control. Ready to head home?”

Barrington nodded. “I am…” He seemed hesitant.

“But?”

“But Charlie has something to tell you.”

Olga turned to her son. “Go ahead, Charlie. Don’t be shy.”

He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mom, but I can’t go with you. The monsters are going to keep attacking us - until they’re all dead or we are. I just…I need to do what I can to help.”

“Of course you do,” his mother replied promptly.

Charlie wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. Where was the explosion of dismay? The pleading that he come to his senses and return home, where it was safe?

“You have a destiny,” his mother said, cradling his cheeks in her warm hands. “I didn’t want to acknowledge it before, but now that I’ve seen how skilfully you handle yourself and how much good you can do for others, I can’t deny it.” She smiled gently. “You go on and do what you need to, son.”

“I wish I could stay here and protect you.”

Olga shook her head. “Your father and I will be fine.” Having just seen them in action, Charlie knew it was true. He hugged her then and she whispered, “Be safe.” He could feel her breath tickling his ear.

“I will,” Charlie promised. Then he turned to his father and extended his hand.

Barrington laughed. “A handshake? You’ve got to be kidding me!” He snatched his son up in his arms. Charlie could feel his father’s stubble on his cheek and he smelled his aftershave. “You go get ’em, son. Then you come back to us, safe and sound, you hear?”

Charlie nodded, then stepped back and opened a portal. The war with the creatures of the Nether had taken a new and unexpected turn and Central Park - with its monstrous mystery - was clearly going to be the next battleground. The real fight was about to begin, and for that Charlie Benjamin needed his friends.

He had to return to the Nightmare Academy.

Charlie waved goodbye to his parents, then jumped through the fiery gateway and was soon gone from view.

CHAPTER THREE NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Theodore Dagget and Violet Sweet were repainting the outside of the broken yacht that housed the Addy students at the Nightmare Academy when they heard a familiar voice.

“Thought I’d find you painting,” Charlie said cheerfully as he walked towards them over the rope bridge that was strung between two huge branches of the mighty banyan tree.

“Charlie!” Violet squealed, running over to him. She hugged him tightly - then quickly drew back.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked, surprised.

“You shouldn’t be here. You’re exiled. What if someone from the Nightmare Division sees you? It’s not safe.”

Charlie shrugged. “Nowhere’s safe right now - not with all those monsters out there. I’m not going to hide; I’m going to fight. Besides, no one’s keeping me from my best friends - no one - not even the Nightmare Division.”

Violet burst into a sunny smile and hugged him again, more tightly this time.

“Geez, calm down,” Theodore said with a grin, “or you’ll knock him off the bridge before he has a chance to save the world.”

Charlie laughed. “Yeah, right…” He gestured to Theodore’s clothes, which were covered in blue paint. “You get any on the ship or just yourself?”

“Hey, don’t give me any grief, OK? I’m a precision instrument! A finely crafted tool for Banishing! Painting is beneath me.”

“Yeah, beneath you, above you, in your hair, on your clothes - you’ve got paint everywhere but where it’s supposed to be.” Charlie inspected the Addy yacht. There was fresh wood on one side - it looked like it had been recently repaired. “Is that damage from Slagguron?”

Violet nodded. “We’ve been doing our best to fix things up, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Just a few weeks earlier, Slagguron, one of the four Named Lords of the Nether, had slammed his wormlike body against the trunk of the massive tree, knocking several boats from its branches and damaging many more. Charlie still found it hard to believe that the raging colossus was dead now - he and all the Named - killed, in an instant, by the Fifth.

“You’re thinking about the Fifth, aren’t you?” Theodore asked. Charlie always found it eerie how good his best friend was at reading his mind. He nodded.

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“Well, stop it! You don’t have to kill the most deadly monster the world has ever known right this second. Heck, you can relax for five or ten minutes before you go after her…”

“How generous,” Charlie grinned. But his grin quickly faded. “Look, I know I’m not supposed to be here right now - being exiled and all - but I think the Fifth is up to something, something big, and we need to check it out.” But before he could continue, a new voice suddenly cried out.

“Charlie Benjamin!”

Charlie turned to see Brooke Brighton waving to him from a platform high above. Even from this far away, he was amazed by how pretty she was.

“Hey, Brooke!”

“Stay right there.”

With an excited whoop! she slid down a vine strung between her platform and the Addy yacht far below, her long, blonde hair whipping freely in the wind. She landed next to Charlie with the nimbleness of a cat. “I missed you!” she said, then hugged him tightly before giving him a quick, friendly kiss.

There, Charlie thought, remembering his mother telling him he’d never even kissed a girl. Now I’ve been kissed twice.

“Hi, Brooke,” Theodore said expectantly. “You miss me too?”

“Lame,” Violet said, pretending to cough.

“I am not lame!”

“I didn’t say anything. Just had a little tickle in my throat.” Violet coughed again and said, “Desperate.”

“Hey!”

“Of course I’ve missed you, silly,” Brooke said with a smile. She gave Theodore a quick hug, then turned to Charlie. “So where have you been? Tell us everything.”

“I will…but you go first. Has anyone from the Nightmare Division been to the Academy?”

Brooke nodded. “Yeah. They checked out the damage that Slagguron did and said they were going to come up with a plan to protect the place. We’re completely exposed to the monsters of the Nether now that the Guardian’s dead.”

The Guardian.

A pang of sadness hit Charlie upon hearing the name of the small, sad creature whose aura had always protected the Academy from Nethercreatures. Its shocking death had set into motion the horrific chain of events that was still unfolding.

“I still think about him, you know,” Charlie said. “How needy he was. He just wanted a friend really.”

Violet nodded. “Ever since his death, the Nightmare Division has wanted to station some Banishers and Nethermancers here to protect us.”

And to keep me away, Charlie thought. Even though he didn’t exactly know the terms of his exile, he knew they wouldn’t want him anywhere near the Academy.

“So why did you come here, DT?” Theodore asked. “Is it about what’s going on in Central Park?”

Once again, Charlie found it freaky how easily Theodore could read his mind. He nodded. “What do you know about it?”

“Well, what I heard,” Brooke said, “is that, apparently, the Division used some kind of X-ray equipment to look into the mist.”

“And there’s things in there!” Theodore exclaimed. “Gross, snail-like creatures. And something else too. Something big is growing in the fog. Something giant.”

Something giant growing in the fog. That didn’t sound good.

“Someone needs to check it out,” Charlie said. “And I figure that someone is us. Who’s with me?”

But before they could answer, a familiar voice rang out.

“What are y’all yappin’ about?”

“Mama Rose!” Charlie yelled as the Housemistress of the Nightmare Academy stepped into view. “Great to see you!”

“I wish I could say the same,” the large woman sniffed, her meaty hands on her thick hips. “You’re skin and bones, Charlie Benjamin! Now follow me so we can get some grub into you pronto.”

Before Charlie could resist, Mama Rose roughly ushered them up to the pirate ship at the very top of the Academy - ever since Slagguron’s attack had destroyed the galley, the students had been using it as their new mess hall. Steaming piles of pancakes were heaped in towering stacks on a great wooden table.

“Pancakes for dinner?” Charlie asked with a grin.

“And why not?” Mama Rose replied, her southern accent as thick as the maple syrup that dripped off the food. “They don’t call them ‘breakfast cakes’, do they? They call ’em pancakes and pan is just the Greek word for ‘all’, which means you can eat ’em all the time.”

“Are you nuts?” Theodore howled. “They call them pancakes cos you cook them in a pan. Duh.”

“Well, don’t you just know everything, Theodore Dagget!” Mama Rose shot Charlie a wink and he couldn’t help but laugh.

It was good to be home. Or at least Charlie felt that way until he saw Geoff Lench - Brooke’s too-handsome, too-strong, too-everything boyfriend. The tall, blond boy bounded over. “Well, look who’s back. It’s Charlie Benja-traitor.”

“Benja-traitor?” Theodore replied with a snort. “Was that supposed to be a joke? Because usually jokes have some element of humour in them.”

“Shut up, Theo-dumb.”

Theodore shrieked with fake laughter. “Theo…dumb! Genius! In fact…it’s so funny that…I’m dying…from…hilarity…”

Theodore laughed so violently that he fell off the bench and on to the floor, where he twitched a few times and then went still.

“Ha, ha,” Geoff said as he sat down next to Brooke. “Your friends are morons, you know that?”

“They’re funny,” she replied, “and I like them.”

“Well, you’re the only one. You really need to stay away from these clowns, Brooke - particularly the exile.” He shot a withering glance at Charlie. “I leave tomorrow morning to start my job at the Division - Facilitator, Rank 1, thank you very much, hold the applause. They’ll be asking you to come and join me soon, Brooke, if you just don’t blow it.”

“I haven’t decided what I want to do yet,” Brooke said, looking away.

“There he is!” a cheerful voice boomed out and Charlie turned to see a flash of colour scrambling up one of the giant branches of the Academy, partially obscured by wide, green leaves. “Charlie Benjamin, monster hunter!”

“Professor Xix!”

The giant, friendly Netherstalker leaped from the branch and on to the deck of the pirate ship. “Indeed it is. I’ve been missing you, lad. Good to see you whole and well!”

“I was just thinking the same thing about you! Hey - this is the first time I’ve ever seen you up in the tree.”

“Because it’s the first time I’ve ever been able to come here! With the Guardian’s aura no longer preventing Nethercreatures from getting near the Academy, there’s nothing to stop me any more. I quite love it, actually - so peaceful, so much fun. It makes me realise what I’ve been missing all these years, down in those dank Banishing caves, tending to my beasties.” He absently cleaned one of his five eyestalks with a black, bristly foreleg. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think I ever want to leave.”

“Then don’t,” Charlie replied with a smile. It was good to see the Academy’s Beastmaster so happy.

“Would you like some dinner, Professor?” Violet offered, gesturing to the pancakes.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

Quick as a blink, Xix snagged a cockatoo in mid-flight with a sticky line of webbing then yanked the squawking creature into his mouth in a colourful explosion of feathers.

“Delicious,” he said, chewing loudly.

Geoff turned to Brooke in disbelief. “And this is who you want to hang out with instead of me? A bunch of dorks and a bird-eating monster? Unbelievable.”

Suddenly, a portal snapped open beside them and several adults stepped through, all dressed in the starched uniform of the Nightmare Division.

“Charles Benjamin,” a deep voice said. It was a voice they all recognised.

“Dad…” Theodore said weakly.

CHAPTER FOUR EXILES AT THE ACADEMY

Theodore’s father, William, stepped through the portal and on to the deck of the pirate ship. The medals on his black uniform gleamed in the sun, identifying him as the General of the Nightmare Division.

“What are you doing here?” Theodore demanded. Charlie had never heard him take such a stern tone with his father. It made him sound…older somehow.

“Why I am here does not concern you.”

“But it concerns me,” Mama Rose said, stomping up to the much bigger man. “In the Headmaster’s absence, I’m the head honcho and I don’t like fools portalling in and out of my tree. Now state your business or be on your way.”

“All right,” William said, then turned to Charlie. “Mr Benjamin, your presence at the Nightmare Academy suggests you are under the impression that you can return to your studies. Clearly, you do not understand the terms of your exile.”

“I guess not,” Charlie replied, “probably because no one has ever bothered to talk to me about it.”

“Then let me clarify. You are no longer allowed on any property owned or controlled by the Nightmare Division - which includes the Nightmare Academy. You are to have no contact with anyone associated with either of these places, including your former fellow students.” He glanced warningly at Theodore. “Further, you are forbidden from interfering in our battle against the monsters of the Nether. You may fight them in self-defence, but that is all. If you have any questions, everything is spelled out here in great detail.” William held up a document with the words ‘ORDER OF EXILE’ written in bold at the top and signed by Director Drake at the bottom. He handed it to Charlie. “Read it carefully and follow it to the letter.”

“Or what?”

William blinked, still holding the orders. “Excuse me?”

“I said ‘or what’? What if I don’t follow it? What are you threatening?”

Even Charlie was surprised by the depth of his anger. How dare Director Drake tell him where he could go, who he could hang out with and what he could and couldn’t do to protect innocent people in this terrible War of the Nether? Drake was just a bureaucrat, a pencil-pusher - he didn’t even have the Gift himself, but he certainly had no problem bullying people that did!

“If you violate any of the Rules of Exile, you will be Reduced,” William said simply.

Charlie shrugged. “So what? Do you know how many times Drake has called for me to be Reduced? He’s like a playlist with only one song.”

Charlie expected William to argue back, but was surprised when the Banisher gently pulled him to one side, away from the others. “That may be, Charlie - but he really means to do it this time.” For just an instant, Charlie could see through the tall man’s gruff façade to the human being underneath. It was a welcome sight. “Most people were on your side before - you were just a child and the Headmaster was highly regarded. But no more. They’re frightened now. The stakes are too high and almost everyone in the Division agrees that you’re just too great a threat. They all want to see you Reduced, Charlie, and Drake is looking for any excuse to do it. If you violate these rules—” he held up the Order of Exile “—the Director will call on me to carry out the punishment and I will do it, do you understand?”

The General thrust the Order at Charlie, then turned to address the others. “From this moment on, Charlie Benjamin is never again to set foot here at the Academy and is forbidden from having contact with any of its students.”

“That’s not going to work for me.”

Charlie stared in surprise at Violet. She was glaring at William with a hand on her hip and an expression that said, quite clearly, ‘You don’t scare me’.

“Whether or not it works for you, young lady, is irrelevant. It is simply a fact.”

“No one is going to tell me I can’t be with Charlie - I don’t care what kind of ‘orders’ you have.”

William frowned. “Well, you’re welcome to join him in exile…although I do not recommend it.”

“Then consider me exiled.”

“Violet!” Charlie cried. As gladdened as he was by his friend’s support, he couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for her getting kicked out of the Academy. Her mother was dead and her father was nowhere to be found. Without the Academy, what did she have left? “Don’t do this. Really. I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll be all alone.”

“That’s OK. It won’t be the first time.”

Violet shook her head. “No, it’s not OK. When you want to open a portal, what’s the fear you summon up?”

Charlie hesitated. “Being alone, I suppose.” He hated saying it out loud. It made him feel too…vulnerable.

“I won’t let that happen to you, Charlie. Not now, not ever.” She turned back to William. “You can tell Director Drake that I stand with Charlie.”

“Me too.”

All eyes turned to Theodore. He held his father’s gaze with steady conviction. “Charlie’s my best friend. I won’t leave him. That’s TI - Totally Impossible. You should know that.” Charlie was about to protest when Theodore threw up his hand. “And don’t even bother telling me ‘no’. You know you’re not going to change my mind, so don’t even try. This is a Double-D.”

“A Done Deal?” Charlie asked.

Theodore nodded and a smile broke through his stormy expression. “That’s just the way I roll.”

Charlie knew Theodore well enough to know that once his mind was made up, he wasn’t easily persuaded to change it.

“OK,” Charlie said. “And thanks. Seriously.”

“Don’t do this, Theodore,” William said with a sigh. “Consider your actions carefully. The choices we make can have great and terrible consequences.”

Theodore’s eyes blazed with anger. “You mean like the way you chose to kill the Guardian and then decided to blame it on Charlie!”

The other students gasped in astonishment. There it was, out on the table - the real reason for Charlie’s exile. William shifted uncomfortably, and Charlie was surprised by how unsettled the General looked in the face of his son’s rage.

“That’s not what happened.”

“I saw you, Dad. I saw you there in the lair of the Named, killing the Guardian.”

“You saw me holding it.”

“Which is what killed it!”

It had been several weeks since Theodore had stumbled across his father in the icy lair of the Named. Charlie hadn’t been with them then - he’d been in a nearby cavern, fighting the monsters of the Nether - but he could easily imagine the sight that had so tortured his best friend.

William, tall and strong, holding the limp body of the Guardian - a frail creature of great power, yet so desperate for human touch. But just as the Guardian’s aura was poisonous to the creatures of the Nether, the touch of a human was poisonous to the Guardian.

“The Guardian was already dead when I got there, Theodore. I told you that.”

“I know you did. And you also told me that Charlie killed it.”

“The Director said that.”

A small distinction, Charlie thought. But a very important one.

“So does that mean you deny it?” Theodore pressed. “Or do you agree with the Director? When Charlie took the Guardian away from the rest of us, did he touch it and kill it?”

William’s answer seemed to bring him pain: “Yes.”

He’s lying, Charlie suddenly realised. He’s not just mistaken - he’s actively lying. He knows he’s wrong, he knows I’m innocent, but he’s doing it anyway. Why?

And then the answer struck him like a thunderbolt.

Because he knows who really killed the Guardian - and he’s protecting him. Charlie knew there was only one person in the world, aside from Theodore, that William Dagget would gamble his reputation to protect…

Director Drake.

No one saw who really killed the Guardian, but that was only because no one saw Director Drake slip out of the icy lair of the Named and enter the safe haven where the Guardian was holed up. No one saw him embrace the frail creature and press the poison of his skin against it, knowing that it would mean the Guardian’s death.

No one…but Theodore’s father, William.

“I don’t believe you,” Theodore said, staring at his father as Charlie and the rest of them looked on silently. “Whether or not you killed it, you had something to do with it. It definitely wasn’t Charlie. Definitely.”

“Son, listen to me…” William replied, clasping Theodore’s shoulder with a strong hand.

Theodore shook it off. “Don’t call me that. Never call me that again. I’m not your son.” He turned to Charlie. “Let’s go. Let’s leave here and never come back.”

Brooke stood up. “Well, if you’re going, I’m coming with you.”

“Are you crazy?” Geoff cried out. “Don’t be stupid, Brooke! You’re a Leet Facilitator - you’re going to graduate in a few weeks and join me at the Division! Do you seriously want to throw that all away to go prancing around in exile with this…Noob?”

He spat the word ‘Noob’ at Charlie like it had a bad taste.

“He’s not a Noob,” Theodore said, stepping threateningly close. “He’s an Addy, just like the rest of us. The Headmaster promoted us.”

“The Headmaster!” Geoff laughed mirthlessly. “Is that old relic even still alive? No one’s seen her in a week! I heard she croaked.”

Even though Theodore wasn’t strong, he was fast, and his small, bunched-up fist connected with Geoff’s jaw almost instantly. Taken by surprise, Geoff dropped to the ground and Theodore pounced on him like a terrier, throwing punch after punch in crazy, windmill fashion.

“You take that back!” Theodore shouted. “She is not dead!”

Suddenly, Theodore felt a strong hand on his back as Mama Rose snatched him by the shirt and yanked him off the older boy. “Calm down, ya runt! I agree he needs a good butt-kickin’, but now is not the time!”

“I’m going to knock you into tomorrow, idiot!” Geoff said, leaping towards Theodore. But before Geoff could make contact, a strand of spider-silk snaked through the air and wrapped around his leg. Professor Xix quickly reeled him in, slamming Geoff to the ground and dragging him backwards across the floor.

“Save the fighting for later, child,” the Professor said calmly. “We’ve more important things to discuss.”

Mama Rose turned to William. “Yeah, important things like what a sad and stupid piece of work you and the Director are. If I didn’t have to protect these boys and girls here at the Academy, I’d join Charlie and his friends in exile!”

“Duly noted,” William said softly.

“And you can add me to that list,” Professor Xix seconded. “I would join them as well, if I didn’t have to stay and care for my beasts.”

“Well, we all have our priorities,” William replied. “For me, it’s the safety of all the human beings on this planet. For you, it’s…well, I guess it’s your beasts.”

Xix’s eyes darkened with anger and he was about to respond when a fiery portal popped open next to William and an adult Facilitator ran through.

“General Dagget?”

“Yes?”

“We need you right away, sir. There’s been a development.” The Facilitator suddenly looked very serious. “The fog over Central Park has lifted, General…and there’s something there.”

CHAPTER FIVE THE CENTRAL MYSTERY OF CENTRAL PARK

A purple portal snapped open on the roof of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Charlie Benjamin stepped through, followed by Violet, Theodore and Brooke. The tall, pretty girl sighed dramatically. “Well, this is typical. We’ve only been exiles a couple of minutes and already we’re in trouble.”

“How do you work that out?” Violet replied, barely even glancing at her.

“You heard General Dagget. He said that exiles aren’t allowed to interfere in Nightmare Division business. Well…here we are. Interfering.”

“We are not interfering!” Theodore said. “We’re just looking. Heck, everyone on the planet is looking.” He gestured to the news helicopters buzzing noisily overhead.

“Well, they’ve definitely got something to look at,” Charlie replied, staring off at something the others couldn’t yet see. “You better come and check this out. You won’t believe it.”

Everyone joined him at the edge of the hotel roof and looked down. A gigantic nautilus shell, easily five storeys high, towered over Central Park - its gleaming, pearly exterior stretched nearly from one end to the other. Thousands of snail-like creatures swarmed across it, secreting a glistening ooze from their bellies. The slime quickly hardened in the afternoon sun, adding yet another layer to the massive spiral. It was as ominous as it was beautiful.

Violet shook her head in amazement. “What is it?”

“Their new lair,” Charlie replied. “At least that’s my guess. But I don’t know what those things are.” He pointed to the snail-like creatures that were now slithering off the side of the shell and heading into the large opening in the end that faced the hotel.

“Shellweavers,” Brooke replied. The rest of the group stared at her blankly. “Don’t worry, there’s no reason you’d know about them. I never saw one until Professor Xix showed them to us in our ‘Building The Nether: Deadly By Design’ class.”

Charlie nodded. “OK. So what do they do?”

“Basically, they build things. Their slime dries as hard as steel. Harder maybe. Apparently, they constructed a couple of the palaces in the Inner Circle.” She shrugged. “They’re not dangerous.”

“Maybe not,” Theodore said. “But there’s definitely something down there that is. Check out the soldiers.”

He pointed to the hundreds of soldiers that ringed the park. Some stood - rifles at the ready - while others kept watch inside their tanks and military vehicles. The entire area was on lockdown. There were no civilians anywhere.

“Wow, they really want to keep people out,” Brooke said.

“Or keep something else in,” Theodore added. “Something like that.”

He pointed to the entrance to the colossal shell. Something walked through the pearly curves, something regal and fierce.

“The Fifth,” Charlie whispered.

Even from this distance, her alien beauty drew all eyes like a magnet. She was tall - nearly two metres - and her great mane of silver hair flashed brilliantly in the afternoon sun, spilling over crimson skin like a rain of steel on an ocean of blood. Her legs were long and strong and she had four arms, each ending in purple talons - the exact colour of her cat-like eyes. The Shellweavers that slithered past her cowered as they tried to escape into the lair to shield their moist bodies from the heat of her ferocious glow.

The soldiers circling the park were instantly aware of her presence and they quickly grew quiet. Even the distant roar of traffic and the drone of the helicopters circling overhead disappeared, as if some giant creature drew in its breath and inhaled all sound and noise and clamour.

All silent. All still.

The Fifth opened her mouth and began to speak.

“Good people of Earth, I bid you welcome.” Without even seeming to strain, her silken voice boomed up the sides of the skyscrapers and down the cavernous arteries of the city. “I have known many names. Some call me the Fifth; to my monstrous babies I am known as Mother; others call me Pearl - in honour of my marvellous new home.” She gestured to the spectacular shell behind her with a flick of her top right hand. “But I invite you to call me by my real name - the Queen of Nightmares.”

She smiled slyly. Charlie knew from grim experience that there was death behind that smile - death and suffering.

“She’s beautiful…” Theodore whispered. Violet stared at him incredulously. “In a totally creepy and evil way, of course,” he quickly corrected himself.

“I understand you’ve all had a…difficult…week,” the Queen of Nightmares continued with mock sympathy. “I’m told my darling babies visited you in the dark of the night with their pointy teeth and sharp stingers and caused you no end of trouble - children screaming, grown-ups carried off into the blackness. Terrible times…”

She shook her head sadly, although Charlie detected more than a hint of amusement.

“I am here today to tell you that the misery you have experienced is only the beginning. You have barely begun to taste the doom that will descend upon you. Today, this minute, things are going to change. And when they do, when you realise the full scope of the horror that is coming to your world, you will scream for the gentle days when all you had to fear were the beasts of your nightmares.”

She raised her four arms. “Good people of Earth, your rule is over. The time of the monsters has come.”

Oh no, Charlie thought. What’s she going to do?

But before anything further could happen, there was a sound. Small at first - a low, dull whine - it soon sharpened and became the bright roar of a fighter jet screaming overhead. As it passed, two long, silver tubes launched from its wings and arrowed down towards Central Park far below, leaving twin trails of smoke.

Missiles! Charlie realised. They’re going to shoot her with—

WHAM! The explosion was so immense that Charlie and his friends were thrown to the ground as a wave of heat blasted them. A ball of fire blossomed out from the front of the enormous nautilus shell and plumed upwards, revealing a scorched crater beneath. As Charlie scrambled to his feet, he saw that the shell itself was untouched - the massive explosion hadn’t seemed to damage or harm it in any way.

“Well, I’m no chef,” Theodore said, shakily standing, “but I’m guessing that four-armed chick’s goose is cooked.” He turned to help Violet and Brooke up, while Charlie peered into the thick black smoke that blanketed the front of the shell, desperately looking for any signs of movement.

Nothing. And then he heard a sound.

Laughter. A female voice - rich and throaty and full of mockery.

As the smoke cleared, he saw the Queen of Nightmares standing exactly where she had been when the missiles first slammed into her: untouched and unharmed. Her purple cat-eyes glittered with dark delight.

“Charming,” she said, and her casual tone of voice chilled Charlie to the core. “What’s next? Poison? Lightning bolts? Asteroids? Please, send me your worst…as long as I get to do the same.” With that, she raised all four arms to the sky. Her silver hair flashed in the sun. “Wonderful people of Earth, it’s time to introduce you to my newest babies…my dark darlings…my Elemental Golems. Say hello to…Fire!”

With a flick of her top right hand, two circles of glowing cinder on the scorched earth beside her erupted into brilliant flames. The fiery pillars raged upwards, growing and expanding, licking at the sky with orange tongues until forming themselves into creatures. They were blazing, brutish things, five storeys high and made entirely of fire. Every step of their thick legs left behind bubbling pools of lava and every touch of their fingers summoned an inferno.

Violet shook her head. “This is bad…”

Then, with a flick of her lower left hand, the Queen of Nightmares made the ground shudder violently. Two huge slabs of rock exploded from the still smoking dirt and then crashed back down with earthquake-like force. Deep cracks spider-webbed across them, causing huge boulders to fall as if chiselled away by some insane, invisible sculptor. Giant stone creatures emerged. They were horrible, blocky things with wide foreheads and fists the size of tanks. Their dull, empty eyes made them look stupid and slow, but Charlie guessed that they were deadly.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the Queen of Nightmares said pleasantly. “Meet Earth.”

The two Elemental Earth Golems walked to stand beside the two Elemental Fire Golems. With every step they took, the world shook with thunder.

“Um, wow,” Theodore said. Charlie and the others nodded in agreement.

The Queen of Nightmares continued. “As all good schoolchildren know, there are not just two elements - there are four. I’d now like to introduce you to Air.”

With a flick of her bottom right hand, the air on either side of her began to spin violently.

“And Water.”

With the slightest of gestures from her top left hand, the water in the Pulitzer Fountain at the southern end of Central Park shot upwards, twisting and churning, until it split to create two gigantic spouts, each thirty metres high. The enormous columns of water and air expanded and reshaped themselves until they formed entirely new Golems, huge and terrible. Their existence was impossible, and yet, there they were.

The two violently spinning Water Golems sailed back to the shell on a giant wave that would have doomed even the most experienced surfer, while the two Air Golems - looking for all the world like living tornadoes - settled down on either side of their fellows to create a line of eight Golems, two of each kind.

Brooke stared at them in dismay. “Even if we destroyed all the regular monsters of the Nether, the Fifth could just create more of these things!”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah. And we don’t even know if she can be killed. I mean, not even a missile strike could take her out.”

“Oh, you’ll kill her,” Theodore said, arms crossed. “Definitely.”

“How?”

“Well, how am I supposed to know? I’m sure you’ll figure something out. I mean, that’s what you do, isn’t it? You’re good like that.” He clapped Charlie on the back.

Before Charlie could reply, the Queen of Nightmares lowered her arms and said, “Delicious people of Earth, the time for talking is over. Now is the time for dying.” She turned to the Elemental Golems. “Attack, my beautiful babies.”

As if turned on by a switch, the eight horrific creatures headed out of Central Park and into the city beyond. The military personnel that ringed the park held their ground and fired upon the rampaging monsters, but their bullets passed right through the Air, Water and Fire Golems and bounced off the Earth Golems like grains of sand off steel.

One of the Earth Golems shattered the large glass cube above the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue with a gigantic stone fist, followed instantly by a Water Golem that flooded down into the exposed complex beneath. A Fire Golem breathed lava on the nearby FAO Schwartz Toy Store, while an Air Golem rocketed high into the air and crashed down into Times Square, sucking soldiers into its deadly, whirling funnel.

As the Golems wreaked their destruction, Nethercreatures swarmed up from the sewers and down from the skies to attack the fleeing, panicked people. Dangeroos stuffed some of them into their stinking pouches while Hags descended, cackling, from the smoke-darkened sky to carry off others in a swirl of filthy hair and tattered ballgowns.

“What do we do?” Brooke screamed as they watched the devastation from their vantage point atop the Plaza Hotel.

Charlie shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Nothing!” Theodore shouted. “What kind of an answer is that? Come on - let’s go spank these bad boys! Use some of those sweet Double-Threat moves you’ve been working on!”

Charlie pointed towards a purple flash far below. It was a portal created by a Nethermancer, who leaped through, followed by a mace-wielding Banisher. “They don’t need us. The Nightmare Division is already sending in the troops. In fact, there’s your dad—”

Charlie nodded down the street to a black-clad Banisher swinging a two-handed sword at a Silvertongue.

“OK, great!” Theodore shouted. “My dad’s here! The cavalry has arrived! Woo-hoo! Now let’s go and help out!”

“We don’t have time. There’s something much more important that we have to do first. We’ve got to—”

“CHARLIE BENJAMIN.”

Charlie looked down to see the Queen of Nightmares standing in front of the giant nautilus shell. She smiled as her voice boomed across the city. “People are dying around you by the hundreds. Will you save them? Or are you afraid?”

“I’m not afraid,” Charlie replied. “But getting rid of your ‘babies’,” he gestured to a Fire Golem that was climbing the Empire State Building, turning everything it touched into molten slag, “isn’t going to solve anything. I don’t need to stop them, I need to stop you - or you’ll just keep making more of them.”

“Very true. There’s a whole world out there to destroy - a monster’s playground - and my beautiful babies will soon rule it all.”

“Every playground has bullies and every bully has a weakness. We’ll soon find yours.”

The Queen of Nightmares’ laughter pealed across the skyscrapers, shattering glass. “Of course you will, Charlie Benjamin. Of course you will.”

With that, she walked inside her pearly lair and was gone.

“OK,” Brooke said. “Nice creepy confrontation with the most deadly boss of the Nether. Now how were you planning on killing her exactly?”

“No idea,” Charlie replied. Unfortunately, that was true.

“There you are!” a familiar voice suddenly roared from somewhere high above. Charlie looked up to see a portal hovering in the air over the nautilus shell in the park. It was so far away that he struggled to recognise the person looking through it - until he noticed the weathered cowboy hat the man wore.

“Rex!”

The cowboy smiled. “We been lookin’ all over for you, kid. Shoulda’ known we’d find you exactly where you’re not supposed to be - messin’ around with Miss Mega-Monster.”

“I’ve got a lot of questions for you!”

“And I probably got answers for some of them, which is why you need to come see us! Portal over and do it quick - me and Tabby gotta get back to the Headmaster pronto.”

He turned to go, heading into the bluish landscape of the Nether.

“Wait!” Charlie yelled. “Where are you guys?”

“Well, I don’t exactly wanna shout out our super-secret location in front of the lair of the Fifth - but here’s a little hint…” Rex leaned back and threw something towards Charlie. The small object sailed through the air, glittering as it spun. “See ya soon, kid!” the cowboy shouted as the portal began to snap closed. “And hurry!”

Charlie leaped forward to catch the baseball-sized ‘hint’ that Rex had thrown.

“Well?” Theodore asked, leaning in. “What is it?”

Charlie showed them. It was a snow globe, and the plastic snow inside seemed to be swirling around a familiar-looking building.

“Isn’t that Buckingham Palace?” Violet asked.

Charlie nodded. “Looks like it. Hey, Theo - think you can whip us up a portal to take us there?”

“Can I whip you up a portal?” Theodore echoed with a snort. “Hello? This is Theodore ‘Portal’ Dagget you’re talking to - I whip up portals like pastry chefs whip up soufflés! One delicious, nutritious portal coming right up!” He closed his eyes and began to focus on his core fear.

As he did, Charlie looked out across the city to see many other portals popping into existence like embers from a windswept campfire - the Nightmare Division was clearly sending in the troops. Suddenly, a blue axe flashed in front of him, followed by two large, mosquito-like creatures that thudded to the roof, dead. Charlie recognised the beasts almost immediately - Bloodsuckers. They speared you with their long, sharp noses and sucked you dry, like a juice box.

“Thanks!” Charlie said, turning to Violet, who was wielding her axe. “I was sort of drifting and I didn’t even see—”

But Violet wasn’t listening to him. A cloud of Bloodsuckers boiled down towards them from the smoky sky and, as each one arrived, she chopped it up without thought or pity. Charlie loved to watch Violet Banish - a calmness descended over her as she moved with an almost machine-like precision: elegant, exact and lethal.

“How’s that portal coming?” Brooke asked, turning to Theodore. “No hurry, as long as you don’t mind getting carried off by giant mosquitoes or spending some close, personal alone time with Mr Tornado.”

She pointed to an Air Golem as it spun towards them from the destruction it had wreaked in Times Square. Its eyes were like twin hurricanes.

“Ye of little faith,” Theodore replied.

Just before the Golem slammed into the Plaza Hotel in a massive explosion of concrete and steel, he snapped open a portal. As the landmark structure collapsed around them, everyone leaped through the gateway, which hung in space like a balloon.

Moments later, the Plaza Hotel, which had stood for over a hundred years, was gone…and so were Charlie and his friends.

CHAPTER SIX THE HIDDEN HEADMASTER

Afiery portal snapped open on the red brick in front of Buckingham Palace. Charlie stepped through first, followed by Violet.

“So where do you figure they are exactly?” she asked, glancing around.

“Don’t know,” Theodore replied, stepping through next, followed by Brooke. “But I bet the guys in the hairy hats do.” He pointed to the main entrance of the palace. It was guarded by several bayonet-wielding men wearing red jackets and furry black hats. “Let’s just tell them to bring us to the Headmaster before giant monsters destroy the world.”

Brooke grinned. “We could do that…or we could try it my way.”

“And which way is that?” Violet asked.

“The pretty girl way.”

She walked over towards the nearest royal guard with her thousand-watt smile turned on full blast. “Hey there, soldier! I love your uniform…it makes you look so strong and tall.” She leaned towards him. “So listen, we think a good friend of ours is a guest inside the palace. Can you help us find her?”

The guard stared straight ahead, unblinking, not responding in any way.

Brooke glanced at Charlie, baffled - being ignored was clearly something she didn’t have much experience with. She turned back to the guard with a flip of her pretty blonde hair. “Hey, don’t worry. I get it. You’re just supposed to stand there like a statue. That’s your job, right? Totally cool. You’re rocking that look really well, by the way. So here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll tell you who I’m looking for and you just whisper where she is - it’ll be our little secret. Her name is Headmaster Brazenhope.”

No reply from the guard.

Charlie could tell from Brooke’s expression that she was getting frustrated and he knew that when she got frustrated, she got angry and when she got angry—

“Look here!” the tall girl snapped. “I don’t like this attitude! Now you better help us out this instant because if we don’t get in there and see the Headmaster right away, giant monsters are going to destroy the world - comprende?”

“Hey, that was my plan…” Theodore mumbled.

“Comprende?” Charlie asked, walking up to her. “He doesn’t speak Spanish, Brooke - he’s British.”

“Actually, I do know a little Spanish,” the guard said defensively. He held his thumb and forefinger a few centimetres apart. “Un poquito.”

“You talked!” Brooke shouted. “I knew you could!”

“Hey, kid!”

Charlie was startled by a man’s voice high above. He looked up to discover Rex Henderson hanging out of a third-storey window, waving cheerily. Against the majesty of Buckingham Palace, the cowboy’s glowing lasso and weathered Stetson made him seem like a page out of ‘What’s Wrong With This Picture’.

“Stop goofing around and get on up here! We got a lot to talk about!”

Charlie and his friends rushed inside, past the palace guard. As soon as they were out of earshot, the man sighed heavily. “Americans…”

Charlie had never seen anything as ornate as the inside of the palace. Elegant statuary and priceless paintings seemed to fill every nook and cranny.

“Hey, is that a Rembrandt?” Theodore said, pointing to a haunting portrait of a dour-looking man. He ran his fingers across it. “Look, you can feel the paint - it’s real!”

“Of course it’s real,” a clipped British voice scolded. “And now it’s ‘real’ dirty.”

They all turned to see a thin, older man walking towards them with a puffy cloud of white hair atop his skeletal head. He was dressed in an extravagant purple suit - velvet by the look of it.

“Sorry about that, sir,” Violet said. “That’s just Theodore.”

“And I am one of Her Majesty’s valets. My name is Oscar.”

“Like the Grouch?” Theodore blurted.

The man turned to him. “What an atrocious little boy you are.”

“Exactly,” Theodore replied, nodding. “Definitely atrocious.”

“Believe it or not,” Charlie said, “he’s actually got a few good qualities.”

“Perhaps we should mount an expedition to find them someday. Until then - follow me, please.”

With that, Oscar strode through the maze of hallways and stairs as the rest of the group struggled to keep up. Before long, they arrived at a heavy, hand-carved door. Oscar opened it and led the group into an elegant parlour filled with antique furniture. Rex was perched casually on the arm of a peacock-blue sofa that Charlie guessed cost more than his father had made in his entire lifetime. Tabitha Greenstreet stood on the other side of the room, her red, bejewelled hair perfectly framed by the pattern on the ivory wallpaper.

“There you are,” Tabitha said, rushing to them. She hugged Charlie tightly. “We’ve been so worried.”

“We’re fine,” Charlie replied. “But the rest of the world isn’t doing too good. Have you seen what’s going on with the Elemental Golems?”

Rex nodded. “Yup. Just when you think you know every Nethercritter out there, them fiends whip up some new ones to throw at ya. It’s…it’s wearying, is what it is.”

“May I get you anything?” Oscar asked. Then, with the slightest of devilish grins, “A selection of cheeses, perhaps?”

“No more cheese!” Rex roared. “I mean, ya’ll been unbelievably kind to us, but I’m about cheesed out. Everything here is cheese! Cheese selections, cheese sandwiches, cheese on toast. I had a dream last night where I was crushed under a giant wedge of cheddar cheese before being rescued by pirates from a cheese boat that was sailing on an ocean of melted cheese. In other words - no more cheese, ya got that!”

“Am I to understand,” Oscar said mildly, “that you would not care for any more cheese?”

“Let me put it this way - if I ever ask for cheese again, I want you to—”

“Is there any way we could see the Headmaster?” Charlie interrupted. “We really need to talk.”

The Headmaster lay propped up in bed in the room just off the parlour. Her normally brown skin looked waxy and ashen. She listened carefully as Charlie finished his story.

“So basically, we’re exiled and not allowed to do anything or we’ll get Reduced, but we have to do something because the whole planet’s in danger.”

The Headmaster nodded and Charlie detected a wince of pain. The wounds she’d suffered in the icy lair of the Named were grave, and she was still only in the beginning stages of recovery. Watching her now, Charlie flashed back to the last time he had seen her healthy and active - mowing down literally hundreds of Nethercreatures as they swarmed across her like ants on a sugar lump.

“The fate of the planet is in your hands,” she said, her voice not much more than a whisper. “As you witnessed, the Fifth cannot be destroyed by any mortal means. Even weapons with a touch of the Nether on them, like yours—” she gestured to Charlie’s rapier with a trembling hand “—won’t harm her. To destroy her, you need one of the Ancient Weapons, forged in the Nether eons ago. You need the Sword of Sacrifice.”

“Fine. How do we get it?” Violet asked. Her eyes were as flinty as the axe at her side and Charlie was struck once again by how hard she seemed now. The Banisher that stood beside him was a far cry from the gentle, artistic girl he had met just over six months ago.

“You don’t get the sword, Ms Sweet,” the Headmaster said softly. “Only a Double-Threat can wield something so powerful. And since Pinch has betrayed us and I’m clearly in no condition to get out of this bed, let alone fight, the task falls to Mr Benjamin, I’m afraid. But he cannot do it alone.”

Theodore stepped forward. “We’ll protect him - no problemo there. Nobody hurts Charlie Benjamin when Theodore Dagget is around. Nobody.”

The Headmaster shook her head. “It’s not your protection he needs, Mr Dagget. It’s something far more precious. The Smith will explain it to you.”

Charlie shrugged. “Who?”

“The Smith,” Rex said. “As in blacksmith. You can find him in the Netherforge, out there in the mountains of the 3rd Ring. That’s where Banishers go to make their weapons, and he’s the fella in charge.”

“Is that where you got your short sword?” Violet asked, gesturing to the one that hung from the cowboy’s belt.

Rex nodded. “Yeah. The Smith showed me how to forge it, like he does for everyone - like he’ll do for you someday, if there is a ‘someday’.” He turned to the Headmaster. “I can warn them not to touch him, right?”

The Headmaster smiled dourly. “It seems you just have.”

“We shouldn’t touch the Smith?” Charlie asked. “What will happen if we do?”

Rex sighed. “It would be…bad.”

“Define bad,” Brooke said. “Bad as in…?”

“Bad as in just don’t do it or you’ll hate yourself for the rest of your natural life!”

“Oh,” Brooke replied, startled. “That kind of bad.”

“Will you take us to him?” Charlie asked. “To the Smith, I mean.”

Rex nodded. “Course I will.”

The Headmaster shook her head solemnly. “That’s not possible, Mr Henderson - you know that. They must go without you. The seeker of the blade must bring with him his three closest friends.”

“Rex and I are his friends,” Tabitha replied. “We’re as close to him as anyone.”

“No. You are his mentors - and there are only two of you. I know you don’t wish to see the children suffer…but if they do not, the world will suffer.”

Brooke looked a little queasy. “Excuse me, Headmaster, but exactly in what way will ‘the children’ suffer?”

“Soon you will understand, Ms Brighton.”

Suddenly, the parlour door opened and Oscar rushed in. “I’m terribly sorry for intruding in this manner, but there’s been a rather dramatic development. Something quite horrific is happening.”

He picked up a remote control and turned on the wall-mounted television. As a newscaster babbled hysterically, live pictures from four major cities around the world flashed up on the screen.

In Spain, Air Golems stormed across a large bullring (helpfully identified as the Plaza de la Maestranza). The red dirt in the centre of the arena was funnelled up into the giant, rampaging creatures, turning them a dark, dusky colour. Screaming patrons tried to flee, but soon found themselves hurled miles across the heart of Seville by the tornado-like force of the monsters. Charlie was astonished to see a bull flung into the wall of the stadium, where it hung by its horns like a dart in a dartboard.

On another corner of the screen, Charlie saw Fire Golems smashing through the heavily fortified walls of Red Square in Moscow. The terrible creatures headed for the colourful spires of the Kremlin where they vomited up great geysers of lava. As they went about their destruction, they all but ignored a Russian military brigade that desperately tried to gun them down.

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