“Don’t try to speak,” said Nat. “There’s been a slight problem with some mad scientists. Oh … and some werewolves.”

Teddy was just about to say something else when both boys froze. Footsteps! Echoing footsteps in the rock corridors. Nat braced himself. The footsteps stopped outside the cell and the hatch in the door slid open.

They had come for him. It was one of the twin werewolves, the one who sported an eye patch. And he was smiling. Nat, rigid with fear, waited for the door to swing back. When it opened, he almost passed out.

Scale must have done more than hypnotize me, he thought, or else I’m hallucinating.

Outside, flanked by the two enormous Spaghetti twins, was his granddad. Also with them was a large woman who looked like a cross between a soldier and a superhero from a comic book. Nat thought he might as well go along with this dream as it was the best he’d had since arriving at Temple Gurney. He flew into Mick’s arms.

“It’s not a dream!” yelled Nat, dancing around his granddad. “You’re really here! But how did …”

“Shhh,” soothed Mick, holding both Nat’s arms. “That will all have to wait for now, no time. Nat, this lady is Ophelia Tate.”

Nat glared at the large woman coolly. “Oh” was all he could bring himself to say.

Mick shook his head. “We have Ophelia to thank for everything,” he said. “Without her, I wouldn’t even be here.”

Nat eyed Angelo and Vincent warily. “Granddad, these were the men who came looking for us,” he said, “and you’ll never guess what? They’re werewolves!”

“And they are here to help us find Woody,” said Ophelia briskly. “You” — she pointed at Angelo — “what’s the score down here, soldier?”

Angelo stood to attention. Ophelia had correctly recognized him as a former serving soldier in the Green Berets. “Eleven lycans in these cells, ma’am.”

“What about letting ‘em out?” Ophelia grinned. “Create a diversion? That’d give the boys upstairs something to think about.”

Vincent’s face fell. “With respect, ma’am, that’s not a good plan.”

“Oh?” snapped Ophelia. “And why wouldn’t it be?”

“You humans would be ripped to pieces,” said Vincent. “These werewolves are crazy, apart from the new boy.” He pointed to Teddy, who looked confused. He didn’t know he was a werewolf yet.

Ophelia considered. “We have the means to defend ourselves, as do the humans in the lab,” she said crisply. “From what I know about werewolves, they retain some human faculties. We’ll be fine.”

Vincent looked doubtful, then remembered something far more chilling.

“See those?” he asked, pointing upward.

Everyone looked up. Set into the rocky ceiling were round, disklike objects.