The boy nodded, and Barclay picked him up in his arms. He wasn’t big for his age, but neither was Barclay, and the extra weight slowed him down as he ran. But he was still faster than the Brutopods. He dashed out of their reach and carried the kid several blocks east, where a crowd of Munseyers was evacuating.

No sooner did Barclay hand the boy off to a grown-up than a familiar golden hexagon shone beside him. Hasu appeared, Bitti buzzing beside her face.

“Come with us!” she said, seizing Barclay’s hand.

There was another flash of golden light—this time so bright that Barclay had to squeeze his eyes shut. When he reopened them, they were on a different street, one lined with ash trees. Shazi and Viola stood back-to-back in a face-off with two Brutopods.

Viola aimed a red beam of light at the larger one, making steam waft off its shell with a hiss. The Brutopod retreated, writhing in pain.

Shazi took on the smaller one, wielding not one but two swords. They clattered against the Brutopod’s sturdy pincers.

“Where’s Cecily?” Hasu called.

“I don’t know!” Shazi shouted back, huffing between breaths. “Oudie just took off, and she ran after him!”

“You help Viola,” Hasu commanded Barclay, and then she raced to Shazi’s side. For someone who claimed she was always nervous, Hasu kept a level head in battle.

Barclay did as ordered and sprinted to Viola’s side.

“Oh good! You’re here,” Viola said. “Listen. You need to blow the Brutopod onto its back—then it won’t be able to get up. Can you do that?”

“I—I think so. Just stand back.”

He aimed at the thrashing Brutopod and summoned the strongest wind he could muster. But he missed.

“Look out!” Viola called. She slammed into Barclay, tackling him just before a heap of broken branches rained down where he’d stood. The tree Barclay’s Lore had struck groaned, then it snapped and toppled onto the fishing shed beneath it. The building collapsed with a loud crash.

“I’m sorry,” Barclay groaned. He hadn’t had problems aiming his Lore since they’d been in the Woods. Which meant he wasn’t just falling behind the others. He was growing worse. “I don’t—”

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence. The Brutopod dashed toward them, and—without pausing to think—Barclay aimed a second blast of wind. This one met its mark. The gale swept the Brutopod right off its feet, and it landed with a thunk on its back. Its legs flailed helplessly in the air.

Behind them, Shazi expertly parried the other Brutopod’s blows. Then, hollering, she drove her boot down onto the center of its forehead. The Brutopod stumbled back into Hasu’s portal, and it vanished.

“Where did you send it?” Viola asked, standing up and panting for breath.

Hasu shrugged. “The middle of the Sea.”