Albert, Leroy, and Birdie crawled along behind him, twisting their way through the roots of the Troll Tree. They went deeper and deeper, and every time Farnsworth turned a corner, Albert felt his heartbeat quicken.
He was half expecting the traitor to leap from the shadows and steal the Master Tile from around his neck. It would be so much better if he knew who he was looking for. He’d gone over and over a list of possible traitors in his mind, but it was a long list. The traitor could be anyone.
Anywhere. At any time.
“We’re almost there,” Albert said, forcing those thoughts to the back of his mind.
“Good,” Leroy said, “because I’m getting too tall for crawling around in this tree.”
“Just keep moving, Memory Boy.” Birdie giggled from the back of the group.
Finally, the tree opened up. Farnsworth’s eyes cast an eerie blue glow on the doorway that led to the Core.
“Here goes nothing,” Albert said.
He placed his hand on the sticky lock. Warm goo covered his fingertips—he would never get used to that feeling—and the door creaked open. A glowing orange platform sat waiting like an old friend on the other side.
Farnsworth hopped on, either oblivious to the dangers that could be waiting below, or completely and totally fearless.
Albert, Birdie, and Leroy followed. The platform sank, and Albert closed his eyes and wished—and hoped—that the Core would still be safe when they reached the bottom.
Albert had expected the Path Hider’s domain to be destroyed. He’d envisioned pipes split in half, with steam pouring out like waterfall mist. He’d expected the Path Hider’s gears to be scattered all over the floor, and the wires spitting angry sparks like fireworks.
But everything was normal. Fat pipes crisscrossed the large room, spitting out little bits of steam that made the place feel warm and safe. The same old tangled wires hung like vines, and in the distance, the cranking sounds of the Path Hider’s gears buzzed and whirred.
Farnsworth ran through the room, sniffing about as if he were searching for the Path Hider so he could say hello. He came sprinting back, his ears drooping.
“I guess the Path Hider isn’t here,” Albert said as he and his friends hopped off the platform. He knew the Path Hider worked overtime, and was probably somewhere in some hidden part of this room, chugging down mugfuls of coffee, or trying to scrub the grease off his miner’s helmet.
“No,” Birdie whispered. “But someone else is.”
She was right.
Across the room, through the steam, Albert spotted a shadowed figure heading toward them, and it wasn’t the Path Hider. This one was shorter, with wider shoulders, and he or she walked with purpose. The person was heading straight toward Team Hydra.
Farnsworth growled, his hair rising on his back.
“Oh man, it’s too soon for this,” Leroy whispered, leaning down as if he could hide himself. “This is the moment when we run, right?”
Albert’s body was frozen. He wasn’t sure if he should go forward or backward, and suddenly his mind was running through all the Tiles he’d studied recently in the Black Book. SuperSpeed, and Invisibility, and Gale Force, the ability to soar like the wind.
But then Farnsworth’s growl turned to a happy bark, and as the steam cleared, Albert saw the shimmer of an emerald-green jacket. His face broke into a smile.
“Dad!”
He ran, ducking and dodging pipes, and threw his arms around Professor Flynn.
There was the familiar smell of evergreen trees and freshly cut wood as Albert’s dad returned the hug. “Hey, kiddo,” Professor Flynn said. “I’m glad to see you made it safely. Did you like your surprise?”
Albert stepped back, his smile big and bold.
But when he saw the dark circles underneath his dad’s eyes, his smile faded. It looked like his dad hadn’t slept in weeks. Then again, Albert didn’t think he’d be able to sleep either if he had been the one in charge of the two Master Tiles that were now in the traitor’s hands. His dad couldn’t be feeling so great about himself right now. And with this Imbalance . . .
“What’s going on?” Albert asked. “There was an earthquake back home, and then when we got to the Troll Tree, it was . . .”
Professor Flynn held up a hand. He lowered his voice to a rushed whisper. “We can’t talk here. It isn’t safe.”
His eyes flitted to and then away from Albert’s Master Tile, like it was an angry talisman. Like Professor Flynn wasn’t sure if it was safe to be in the presence of it.
Albert retucked it beneath the collar of his shirt.
Birdie and Leroy caught up, and Professor Flynn nodded a greeting to them, broken from his spell.
“Let’s move,” he said. His eyes fell onto Albert’s, and he nodded. “Stay close.”
He turned on his heel and marched off, disappearing into the steam.
CHAPTER 6
Lucinda’s Silence
The gondola whizzed along its track, carting the group to the inside of the Core. Professor Flynn kept quiet the entire time, shushing them when they tried to ask questions.
Were they in that much danger of being overheard? Was the traitor really so powerful that they could listen in on conversations as the gondola rushed along at top speeds?
Albert guessed that yes, probably the traitor was that strong. Causing Imbalances was the height of power. Anything less complicated had to be a piece of cake.
Everything went by in a blur—the Memory Wipers dipping and diving in and out of the open windows, Farnsworth’s velvety ears flapping in the wind, tickling Albert’s chin. Everything was the same, but everything was not.
There was a certain stale taste to the air, as if the Core itself knew that there was someone here who didn’t belong.
Finally, the gondola slowed and Lucinda’s floating platforms came into view.
Just seeing her, standing there looking so normal, lifted a little bit of weight from Albert’s shoulders.
Until he remembered that Lucinda was on his list of possible traitors.
He narrowed his eyes as the gondola stopped in front of her.
“Back so soon?” Lucinda asked. Her voice wavered as she spoke, and there was a thin line of sweat beading on her brow. She was a large woman, and her hands were covered in giant glittering gemstone rings. Kimber, her black snake, sat on her shoulders. It flicked its tongue and hissed, and Farnsworth growled.
Albert had always found Lucinda to be creepy, in several ways. Last term, when Team Hydra discovered the Book of Bad Tiles and found out Lucinda was behind it, it had sent her creepiness factor up to an eight out of ten.
But then again, Lucinda had given Albert the Counter last term as well, a device that helped Hydra keep track of how much time they had in Ponderay before the Imbalance got out of hand.
Albert enjoyed a good mystery. But Lucinda was one he just couldn’t crack.
“What are you three doing here?” Lucinda asked. Her voice wasn’t as sugary as usual. A little on the salty side, actually, Albert noted.
Professor Flynn answered before Albert could. “I’m escorting Team Hydra back to the Core, for an important meeting.”
“Well, not without a gift from Lucinda, right?” Lucinda rifled through a rucksack she had on her ramshackle stand. Her hands shook, and she dropped a small metal orb. It tumbled sideways and disappeared into the abyss below. She giggled, the sound strangled and out of place. “Oh, goodness. Well, I’ve got other things to do. You should be off, now, shouldn’t you?”
She wouldn’t look up, and Albert was pretty sure her hands were shaking even harder now.
“Are you all right?” Birdie asked.
Lucinda’s snake hissed again, and instead of tightening itself around her neck, it began to uncoil. Lucinda tried to grab it, but it hissed louder. Was it rebelling? It was definitely trying to free itself from her shoulders.
“Perfectly fine, dear,” Lucinda said as she gained control and recoiled Kimber aro
und her neck and shoulders. For one moment, her eyes fell onto Albert’s Tile. She let out a little gasp, and her face reddened. “Move along, now. Old Lucinda has work to do. No time to talk today.”
Birdie’s smile was tight. She raised her eyebrows at Albert and Leroy, and both boys shrugged.
“Well, uh . . . see you later,” Albert said. He looked at Farnsworth, who let out two barks. The gondola started up again, and they left Lucinda behind.
Leroy let out a huge breath. His shoulders relaxed. “That woman just gives me the heebie-jeebies,” he said.
“Nobody uses that phrase anymore, doofus,” Birdie said.
Leroy turned to her and laughed. “Nobody says doofus anymore, either.”
They argued back and forth, and for once, Albert didn’t mind. At least they were acting normal. Between the missing Path Hider, the Troll Tree, Lucinda, and his dad’s strange silence, Albert just wanted something to feel the same.
He wrapped his arms around Farnsworth, closed his eyes, and listened to the voices of his friends as the gondola continued on toward the Main Chamber of the Core.
It was only when it finally stopped at the double doors that Professor Flynn finally spoke.
“Remember. No questions,” he said, pointing at the three of them, “until we’re in a safe place.”
He looked over his shoulder at the darkness of the cave. It was as if he was searching for something, or someone.
“Dad?” Albert asked.
Professor Flynn snapped out of it, turned away, and pushed open the double doors. They groaned like old spirits whispering a warning to the Core.
Nothing, and no one, is safe.
CHAPTER 7
A Strange Greeting
Normally, the Main Chamber was a sight to behold.
Students were always rushing back and forth, laughing and sharing stories about who had defeated whom in a Pit Competition, or in a friendly game of Tiles in the Library. Core creatures hopped across the pipes, crisscrossing the ceiling space, or swung from the giant chandelier that shed a warm glow on everyone below.
But today wasn’t normal.
Albert stepped through the double doors and was shocked at how much of everything there wasn’t.
The Main Chamber was as quiet as the Cave of Souls.
Strange, Albert noted, there isn’t a soul in sight.
“Where is everyone?” Birdie asked. Her voice echoed across the empty room, and Albert flinched. This wasn’t right at all. One word echoed in his mind.
Danger.
Where was the laughter? Where was the chaos that, to some, was a big fat headache, but to Albert felt like home?
He stole a glance at his dad. Professor Flynn just stood there, his arms pressed neatly to his sides, staring across the Main Chamber.
“There you are!” a voice said from across the room. A familiar tall, spindly figure was heading toward them. It was Trey, the Apprentice for the Calderon Realm, and one of Professor Flynn’s most trusted friends.
“We need to get moving,” Professor Flynn said, ushering Albert, Birdie, and Leroy forward. They met Trey halfway, on one of the arched bridges that stood over a glittering silver stream.
Albert stopped to greet Trey, but Trey shook his head and motioned for them to keep moving.
“We’re late as it is,” Trey said. “The entire Core has been waiting for your arrival.”
“Arrival for what?” Albert asked.
“You’d think you three were First Termers, the way you keep asking questions,” Professor Flynn said, chuckling.
His voice was just light enough to make Albert feel a little bit safer, for the time being.
They walked quickly, disappearing into one of the tunnels. Blue flames on torches lined the walls, but as Albert passed by one of them, the flame flickered, and a sickly greenish tinge took its place. When Albert looked back, the flame was blue again. Strange.
“We’re heading toward the Pit,” Albert said. “What’s everyone doing in there?”
“Save the questions, kiddo.” Professor Flynn waved him off, speeding up so that he and Trey could speak in hushed voices up ahead.
“This is totally weird,” Birdie said as she ran her fingers through one of the cool blue flames. “Everyone’s acting like we’re in the middle of a war.”
“We are,” Leroy answered. “A war with hunger. I haven’t eaten in hours.”
“Leroy,” Birdie growled.
Albert grinned despite how on-edge he felt. Leave it to Leroy to always make light of situations that were way too dark.
“Let’s just see what everyone’s up to, and then we’ll decide if it’s time to worry or not,” he said.
They followed Professor Flynn and Trey down the tunnel, all three of them wondering what would be waiting in the Pit.
It was everyone. The entire Core.
People were packed in the stands, pressed tightly together so everyone could fit, and some were even standing or sitting around the edges of the Pit. Professors were all gathered on the far right, talking in hushed voices. Albert’s dad and Trey headed straight for the Professors, their faces tense.
“Is this like a meeting or something?” Birdie asked.
Albert shrugged as he took it all in.
The last time he saw the Pit, it was a smoking heap of rubble after the traitor had destroyed it. Now it was covered with a thick black tarp, which probably meant the repairs still weren’t done. A rush of heat went through Albert as he thought of all the Balance Keepers who wouldn’t be able to train because of this. Including his team.
Professor Bigglesby, a tiny dwarf who was hundreds, perhaps thousands of years old, took his place in a crane-like machine by the side of the Pit. He fired it up and it extended, lifting him in a little cage into the air, so that he hovered over what used to be the Pit.
“Please, find a spot and settle down.” Professor Bigglesby spoke into the MegaHorn, a device that amplified his voice so that it echoed loudly through the room. “Quickly, quickly!”
Albert nudged his friends forward, and they went to find a seat in the stands.
The bleachers were packed with lots of familiar faces, including one dark-haired boy who rose from his seat and waved so frantically he slapped a Core Cleaner in the face, sending his glasses flying into the crowd.
Birdie giggled. “I see Petra hasn’t changed since we last saw him.”
“We should go over there, before he accidentally starts a fight,” Leroy added.
As they walked, people laughed and reached out their hands to pet Farnsworth’s soft head. A group of girls on the front row called out his name and petted his tummy as he rolled onto his back, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“He’s more popular than we’ll ever be,” Leroy added.
When they were all seated, Petra leaned over and said hello. “I’m glad you guys made it okay. It’s been rough down here.”
“How so?” Birdie asked.
“You want the honest truth?”
They all nodded yes.
Petra glanced left and right, then leaned in when he was satisfied that no one was listening. “Well, since the Pit was broken, they’ve been working around the clock to fix it. But every time they seem to get ahead, it breaks all over again. It’s like someone’s sabotaging it.”
“But that’s terrible!” Birdie whispered.
Petra nodded. “They’ve even had people guarding the entrance at night! Nobody goes in or out, but in the morning . . . the Pit’s broken. Like a ghost went in there and destroyed it.”
“But how is that even possible?” Albert asked.
Petra shrugged. “They put cameras in there, but they don’t show anything. You know what I think?” He lifted a finger and tapped Albert’s Master Tile.
Everyone nodded, understanding perfectly.
“And that’s not the worst of it,” Petra exclaimed, a little too loudly. Birdie held a fingertip to her lips, and Petra nodded and lowered his voice. “Some of the Core work
ers have disappeared.”
A little shiver raced through Albert’s veins. That was something he wasn’t expecting to hear. “Disappeared? Like, out of thin air?”
“Kind of.” Petra frowned. “Cleaners are working in the halls at night, cleaning up while everyone’s out of their way. I used to help my mom do it when I couldn’t sleep. Nightmares, you know?”
Leroy nodded.
“There’s been three of them. Two Core Cleaners and one Core Historian—some old dude who’s usually hanging around the professors’ lounge in the Tower.”
“Where are they disappearing to?” Birdie asked. “Maybe they just left. Got scared.”
“That’s what the Professors thought, but they left their possessions behind. The weirdest part is that all three of the disappearances happened in the Main Chamber. At night.” Petra shifted in his seat and looked each of them in the eyes before continuing. “The Core Cleaners’ brooms and trash bins were just sitting there left behind, and the Core Historian’s glasses and book were lying on the floor like he’d dropped them.”
Albert felt like he was going to be sick. This was too creepy. Too not okay. The Core wasn’t safe.
It seemed Petra wasn’t done yet. “But the strangest thing is that all three of them disappeared in the exact same spot.”
“Where was that?” Leroy asked. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees. Albert leaned in, too.
Petra’s face paled. “Right by the door to Belltroll.”
Eeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee! A piercing screech split the half silence.
Albert’s heart raced in his throat, and he whirled around, thinking it was a scream. But it was only Professor Bigglesby, tapping the MegaHorn.
It squealed loudly again, and after Farnsworth and several other companion creatures stopped howling or hissing or cawing, the crowd fell silent. If Petra had anything else to say, it would have to wait.
“Balance Keepers, Core workers, Professors, and Apprentices,” Bigglesby said into the MegaHorn. “Thank you all for gathering on such short notice. I’ll get straight to the point.”
The Traitor of Belltroll Page 3
