Lois was the first to react, rushing to her son’s side. “Are you okay? Oh my God, you’re bleeding!” She pulled a tissue from her pocket and pressed gently on his neck.

“My sister the vampire,” he croaked weakly. All attention focused on Brianna, who lay in a limp heap at Henry’s feet. “Brianna?” He reached for her but pulled back sharply as her outline flickered. For just a nanosecond, the form of a small girl appeared. Then, just as quickly, it winked back into a hedgehog.

“What happened?” Brianna sat up groggily.

Serena picked her up gently. “You saved us.”

“Yeah, right.” But when she saw their faces, she knew it was true. “Well … I couldn’t let Henry have all the fun.”

“Modesty is a fine trait in a young lady.” Serena gave her a quick kiss.

“Are you bleeding?” asked Brianna.

“Don’t you remember? You bit me.” Henry smiled.

Brianna blanched. “Cool.” Then she passed out.

“It would appear we have our answer.” Coralis addressed the group as they gathered in a circle on the floor.

“What came out of the uranium?” Lois asked.

“Gamma rays,” said Joseph. “I attended government hearings while trying to get them to close the mines. Many of our people became sick—some died—from exposure to radon gas and gamma rays. I suspected uranium might provide some help in defeating our enemy … ”

“Suspected?” said Henry.

Joseph smiled coyly. “Call it an educated hunch. But you showed us something else. How did you know to release the energy from the gold?”

Henry shifted uncomfortably. The gold nugget in his hand was just a nugget now—Coralis has declared it completely devoid of the moon’s energy. “I didn’t know anything. I don’t even know why I did that. It was like something took over my body. I was so angry, and I was afraid … ” He hesitated. “I was afraid we were all going to die.”

“Ha!” Coralis beamed. “I knew you had it in you, my boy. From the moment you made the sun flare in the car.” He stood, energetically brushing the soil from his coat. “Enough talk. Lois?”

“Thirteen minutes.”

“Lucky thirteen,” said Brianna.

“Lucky indeed. We have bigger fish to fry,” Coralis exclaimed.

“Like the size of a whale,” Brianna quipped.

“Technically, a whale is a mammal,” said Henry. “Perhaps a whale shark?”

“You might be a decent Wandmaker, but you’re still my brother the nerd.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Henry smiled, but another thought nagged at him. “If just a small amount of gamma radiation could kill us, what’s going to happen when … ”

The group was lost in silent thought as another minute ticked by.