Without another word, all of us—including Winston, Candace, and Tay—set off for the library. We rushed down the first-floor hallway and pivoted left into a second, much larger corridor. The library was at the very end with two arched double doors flanked by twin bronze mermaids. The one on the left was named Pearl, and the one on the right Diamond. According to JMS legend, they were servants of Mami Wata, a water spirit goddess.

Papa had told me that Mami Wata was a powerful celestial who opposed the rule about not interfering in human affairs. She and her servants had done their part to disrupt the slave trade that brought many people of African descent to the Americas. They’d made the sea treacherous and slipped onto ships at night to free as many people as they could. I didn’t blame Mami Wata and the other celestials who stepped up, especially when said humans were using their powers to do bad things.

We skidded to a halt at the head of the corridor. Beyond the bronze mermaids, the library was pitch-black. Darkness bled across every bookshelf in sight, thrashing and twisting and hissing.

“What the heck is that?” Winston asked.

“Try to keep up, will you?” Eli said, grinning, but he looked nervous too. “Whatever that is, and I am not saying I know what it is, it’s nothing compared to what we faced in the Dark.”

“Are you sure about that, Eli?” Frankie mumbled under her breath. “Because that looks worse than the forest of hungry shadows and the flesh-eating grove.”

“So you’re saying that everything in the Dark wants to eat us?” Tay asked, his voice squeaky.

“Pretty much,” Zeran answered with a smirk.

“No, thank you.” Candace backed away. “I’m not going in there.”

I shook my head. I’d expected Winston and his crew to duck out at the first chance. “We’ll handle this.”

“You’ll handle this?” Winston laughed mockingly. “Quit playing, little Maya.”

“Stop calling me little,” I snapped. “My name is Maya. Call me that or don’t talk to me.”

“Dang, it was just a joke.” Winston rolled his eyes. “Didn’t know you were so sensitive . . .”

Zeran crossed his arms. “As if you really care.”

“Fine, whatever,” Winston moaned.

I tightened my grasp on the staff. “I’m going in.”

“I’ll go with you,” Zeran said.

“You know I’m in,” Frankie added.

Eleni was shaking as she stared into the darkness. She’d spent a thousand years stuck in a deep sleep while the Lord of Shadows used her magic to slowly destroy the veil between worlds. She had to be afraid that he’d try to do it again. “Are you okay?” I asked.

Her skin had faded to a shade paler, like she’d seen something far worse than a ghost. “The darkness . . . it’s alive,” she said. “I can feel it.”