Lochmordra roared. His tentacles flared back to life, writhing and battering in every direction. While Keyes tried to calm him, Yasha sprinted down the stony mountain back to the beach. To Viola.

But Yasha wasn’t the only one Viola hadn’t noticed. Behind her, a monster loomed. It was the same Beast Barclay had encountered three times now, though in the daylight, he was finally able to see it clearly. It reminded Barclay of a bull, except instead of horns, huge tusks curved upward from its jaws, each made of solid stone. Matching armored plates wrapped around its head like a skull. It stood on its hind legs, and slowly, its head turned to Viola. Part of its armor chipped away, as though brittle rock.

The Tarmacedon.

“Viola! Behind you!” Barclay called, but she was too far away to hear. He spun back around to Tadg. “We have to help her! She doesn’t have her Lore!”

On the beach, Viola was rummaging around on the sand. She didn’t notice the Beast until its shadow swallowed her, blocking out the sun.

Slowly she looked up, straight into the Beast’s red eyes.

“Why isn’t she moving?” Barclay moaned to Tadg. “She needs to run. She can’t just…”

The Beast raised its front hooves in the air, ready to pummel Viola where she stood.

Viola turned her back to it and pressed something small to her face. Just as the legs lowered to crush her, there was a flash of light, and Viola vanished and reappeared at Barclay’s side, making him yelp in shock. She held a cracked silver shard of Starglass in front of her eye like a monocle.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“Starglass lets you use sunlight to leap from one place to—”

Before she could finish, Tadg sprinted to the bow of the ship, pointed his hand, and shot a massive bolt of lightning straight at Lochmordra.

“No!” Barclay shouted, then tackled Tadg to the deck. They landed with a painful thud. “You can’t kill him! It’s Keyes we need to stop—”

“I wasn’t trying to kill him. I was only trying to get him to—”

With another shriek, Lochmordra turned. His eerie white eyes locked onto their ship, and he started to swim away from Keyes.

Toward them.

The apprentices scrambled to their feet.

“I’ll get the wheel!” Viola shouted.

“I’ll man the sails!” Barclay called.

“I’ll reel in the anchor!” Tadg finished.

Barclay yanked the ropes, undoing their knots and freeing the sails. As Lochmordra loomed closer, his tentacles reaching for them, Barclay summoned all of his strength.

Wind!

The ship was hurled ahead. It leapt over the jagged waves, and the breeze whipped Barclay’s hair across his face. Viola spun the helm, steering the ship to draw Lochmordra as far from Keyes and Yasha as possible.