Dropping down was easy. All they had to do was vent off some of their hot air. Watch continued to stand staring off into space. Because the castle was next to the cemetery, the other Cold People were not far away, about a quarter of a mile. It would take a miracle for them not to see the balloons. For that reason Adam knew they had to act fast. He worried that they might be making a huge mistake. But he figured if he had to risk his life, it should be for his friend.

They landed in a small clearing in the cemetery, a hundred yards behind Watch’s back. Still, incredibly, he appeared unaware of them. They had two flamethrowers left. Sally took one, Bum the other as they climbed out of the gondolas. Adam searched the ground for a strong stick, and found one that fit his grip.

But Adam limped as he walked.

The numbing sensation was definitely climbing.

As a group, they approached Watch.

Watch continued to stand gazing at a huge tombstone.

Adam realized it was Madeline Templeton’s.

The tomb was the end of the Secret Path.

A portal into other dimensions.

Was Watch in such pain, Adam wondered, that he was thinking of fleeing into another reality? It was horrible to think of his friend possessed with the evil spirit of the Cryo Creatures.

But it was not as horrible as having to stare into his friend’s face.

Watch suddenly whirled on them.

His eyes shone with a cold light.

His mouth twisted into an evil line.

A painfully high-pitched wail tore past his lips.

Then he attacked.

Adam—although lame—was leading the group and was therefore closest to Watch. He was the first one to suffer the brunt of Watch’s newfound power. With his bad foot, he just couldn’t move fast enough to get out of Watch’s way. He felt as if he had been rammed by a freight train when Watch crashed into him. For a second Adam went flying through the air. He dropped his stick. He only stopped when he ran into a bigger stick—a tree, actually. It hurt to smash into the trunk, but Adam was back up in an instant.

The situation was already desperate and the fight was only three seconds old. As Adam’s vision cleared, he saw that Cindy had also been knocked down. She may have been hit harder than he had because she didn’t get up right away. Bum and Sally were still safe, for the moment, behind their flamethrowers. But they were doing nothing to corner Watch. On the contrary, Watch was driving them farther apart. Because they wouldn’t fire, they had only the tiny flames at the tips of their flame throwers to scare him. Watch didn’t look all that scared.

“Shoot off more fire,” Adam said. “Let him know he can be burned.”