The Shadow Crosser (The Storm Runner 3)

Ren dangled her boots over the hole’s edge. “It’s so dark in there,” she said. “Zane, can you see anything?”

I got down on all fours and poked my head inside. It was like looking down the steepest tube slide at the water park. “I can’t see past the bump. But that could be a serious drop, Ren. Maybe we should find another way….”

Ren nodded, then said, “I have to follow it.” And she pushed past me and slid into the tunnel.

“Ren!” I plopped down onto my butt, turned Fuego into a tattoo, and went in after her. My first thought was I’m going to kill Ren. My second thought was This is what an iced pinball must feel like. I rocketed down a near-vertical drop that forced my stomach into my throat.

I was certain Alana and Louie were right behind me, because their howls and screams echoed so loudly I thought they might crack the ice.

“Looks dreadfully cold,” Itzamna said, faking a shiver sound. “And dangerous.”

I continued to plummet in the darkness, racing at what felt like fifty miles per hour, twisting and turning, looping upside down three times. I may have even lost gravity for a second before the god’s glasses flew off and I was hurled into open air. There was no time to think or panic or do much of anything but close my eyes as I plunged into a steaming lake, feetfirst.

The water folded around me, peaceful and calm. I could easily stay suspended here forever, I thought. It’s so warm. So easy. So quiet. I slowly opened my eyes. Red-and-orange starfish clung to underwater cliffs. A giant black stingray glided by. Shimmering pink and yellow plants swayed gently above a silvery-green reef.

This was underwater heaven.

All my thoughts and fears melted away as I floated weightless, worriless. Who needs air when you’ve got a view like this?

And then a face appeared. To be specific, a boy’s pale face. I didn’t recognize him. He was maybe ten years old, with dark, buggy eyes. Kind of ghostish-looking. But nothing could scare me out of this haze, this trance the water had me in.

Then the boy’s arms wrapped around me—his skin cold compared to the warm water. He pulled me to the surface as I struggled against his Herculean strength. He had puny limbs, so how could he just overpower me like that?

I had no concept of how long I’d been underwater. I was feeling so serene, I’d forgotten about everything else. The second I hit the surface, reality washed over me. I gasped for air as I treaded water. I was under a gray sky and facing a black-sand beach lined with massive trees. Their branches were so heavy they bowed to the water’s edge.

“Zane!” Ren stood on the shore, waving one hand over her head.

I coughed up water and swam over to her while the ghost boy drifted back under. I looked down to see him staring up at me, unblinking.

The air had cleared my head, and instantly all my worries and fears rushed right back in. I dragged myself onto the sand and shook off on all fours like a dog, thinking the water had to be drugged or magic or cursed.

“Are you okay?” Ren asked, seemingly more concerned about my cough than the fact that a ghost kid had hauled my butt to the surface. “You might have trouble focusing for a few minutes until the water’s effects wear off.”

“Where are we?” I asked, peering around the empty beach. Beyond the thick trees a massive bluish-green mountain loomed, looking like a gigantic pile of moss.

“The rope led us here. Isn’t it amazing?” She sounded happy, but when I looked up at her, Ren was grimacing. That’s when I noticed the hand over her head was once again gripping the time thread, which seemed to be struggling to get free.

“You need help with that?” I asked, getting up and reaching for it.

“NO!” Ren shoved me back with her free hand.

“What the heck?”

“Sorry, Zane, but it will fry you—as in instant electrocution—if you touch it.”

“Yeah, that would be bad.” I willed Fuego into my grasp, but nothing happened. Huh. I thought maybe my cane was waterlogged or something.

“It’s only safe for me to hold the thread,” said Ren.

“Gotcha,” I said as my scrambled mind veered off in another direction. “Did you see that kid?” I coughed a couple more times. “Did he look kinda see-through to you?”

Just then, the ghost kid’s head popped out of the water and tossed Itzamna’s glasses at my feet before disappearing back under the surface.

“Thanks!” Ren called out to him like they were long-lost friends.

“You know him?” I snatched up the glasses and started to pace. It felt odd without Fuego keeping me balanced.

“Just met him.”