Standing over him now, Kovol started moving his arms, almost as if he were pulling an invisible rope out of Elliot's body. Elliot felt the magic being dragged out of him, and he held on to it with all of his strength. But strength was not one of the gifts of Pixie magic, so all Elliot had was his own determination not to let Kovol take this magic. It would only make Kovol more powerful, and it would leave Elliot completely defenseless.
Elliot swatted at the Demon's foot with his hands, but it didn't do any good and only tired him out faster. He closed his eyes, searching for enough magic left inside him to fight back. Anything. But as hard as he searched, he found nothing at all. If he couldn't figure out something soon, the last Underworld war would be over in the next few minutes.
Just when Elliot thought he could hold on no longer, he heard a voice somewhere in the woods behind him. "Let go of our brother!"
"No!" Elliot cried in the loudest voice he had (which at that point was little more than a whisper). That was either Kyle or Cole, one of his younger twin brothers.
A fat stream of water shot through the air, hitting Kovol squarely in the back. It knocked him off balance, and Elliot rolled out from under his foot.
Elliot sat up on his elbows. Kyle and Cole were nearby with a kinked hose they had somehow dragged all this way into the woods. Behind them were Wendy, Reed, Cami, and, for some reason, Tubs.
"What are you doing here?" Elliot asked
"I told them about you," Cami said. "I told them everything. Maybe you can't tell your secrets, but I can."
Elliot scrambled to his feet and ran over to them.
"King, huh?" Reed said, his mouth in a half smile. "How funny is that?"
"This isn't a joke," Elliot said. "You have to run away from here."
"And miss all this fun?" one of the twins said. They released another spurt of water at Kovol, knocking him back down.
"We came to help you fight," Wendy said. "When Mom and Dad are at work, they tell us to take care of each other. Well, that's what we're doing."
"They meant to be sure we all eat dinner and get our homework done," Elliot said. "Not help fight Underworld wars!"
"Yeah, yeah," Tubs said. "Duck."
Elliot ducked down, and Tubs lobbed a rock at Kovol, clonking him on the forehead and knocking him down again.
"Now's your chance," Cami said. "We got that ugly beast distracted. Now use some magic to finish him off."
"I'm not sure I have any magic left," Elliot said. "If I do, it'll take a while to charge up again." He took a deep breath. "Besides, we'll just be fighti
ng him all day unless I can finish making that potion."
"I brought it," Cami said, holding up the bottle of turnip juice.
"Water!" the twins yelled and sprayed Kovol again, but this time he was ready. He used a shield to push the stream of water back onto Elliot's family. Kyle and Cole dropped the hose, and everyone scattered behind the nearest tree, bush, or rock where they could fit.
Elliot had chosen a thick bush off to the right. From there he saw Wendy and Reed behind nearby oak trees, dripping wet. The twins had squeezed together behind a large rock. Cami was in another bush. And...where was Tubs?
Elliot peeked out to where Tubs stood facing Kovol. In his hands was another rock.
Kovol looked confused. "You're not running," he said.
Tubs's eyes narrowed. "I know all about you, jerk. You're just another bully, a loser who tries to make himself feel better by hurting others. I know that, because I used to be a bully too."
"Nobody insults Kovol," the Demon said.
"I used to think nobody insulted me either," Tubs answered. "They do, but they say the insults behind your back. You should've heard what the kids used to say about me."
Elliot was pretty sure a lot of kids still said those things about Tubs. But it was true--ever since Elliot had stood up to Tubs, he didn't bully people anymore.
"I'm the most powerful creature in the world!" Kovol yelled.
Tubs snorted. "If you were powerful, you wouldn't have to be mean. Elliot's the nicest kid I know, and he's more powerful than you'll ever be!"