Barclay hesitated. It should’ve been Viola or Hasu backing her up, not him. But the two other girls were distracted fending off Oudie’s shadow, and Shazi had already sprinted headfirst into danger. So, stomach in knots, Barclay followed after her.

His Lore was no more predictable than before. Each gust he called flew in a new direction—up to the sky, out to the ocean, down to the sand. But Barclay never had a moment to pause and focus. The Brutopods stampeded at him one after the other, and Barclay sent out countless bursts of wind, hoping at least a few would hit their marks.

“Ahh!” Shazi shrieked. One of Barclay’s gusts had swept her off her feet and flipped her over like an omelet.

“Sorry!” Barclay called, mortified.

“Ugh! Never mind that—what matters is that every time we take down a Brutopod, more just crawl out of the water.”

“It’s like what happened in Knunx with the Sleábeaks. Except the Brutopods are a lot nastier.”

Suddenly a gale of wind struck Barclay from the right, so strong that he was thrown onto the ground. He groaned and lifted his head, searching for the perpetrator. But Shazi looked just as flabbergasted as he did.

“What are you doing?” she asked, struggling to her feet as another Brutopod shuffled near. “Get up! Get up!”

Before Barclay could, another wind blew, making sand pelt his skin. His eyes watered as he spotted Root advancing toward him.

Root looked strange—his head bent low, his black fangs bared. As though preparing to attack.

“Root?” Barclay said hoarsely.

Root didn’t seem to have heard. He shook his head about, growling. His eyes had gone an unnatural white.

Then Root pounced.

At him.

Before Root’s fangs could sink into Barclay’s arm, Barclay returned Root to his Mark. Root instantly disappeared, but even so, his golden Mark thrashed across Barclay’s shoulder. Like a monster locked inside a cage.

“Hey, I could use some help— Saif?” Shazi said a few yards away. “Saif, what are you doing?!”

Saif whipped toward Shazi, his spearlike tail pointed straight at his Keeper.

Before Saif could impale her, Barclay aimed a gust of wind at him, and thankfully, he didn’t miss. Saif skidded back across the beach.

“What are you doing?” Shazi demanded. “He’s my Beast! You can’t—”

“Look at him! Look at his eyes! Something is wrong with him—just like with Root and Oudie.”

“But what’s wrong with—”

“I don’t know. But send him back to his Mark. Now.”

Just as Saif prepared to charge at them a second time, he vanished.

Shazi hugged her arms to herself. “I’ve never seen him like that before. Is… is he going to be all right?”

“Barclay! Shazi!” Viola screamed from across the beach. She pointed at the water. “Look out!”