Jack Lantern 3: Grave Matters: Jack Lantern, #3

By Vance Smith

Mia Lannigan has everything to lose. Tyrannous Grave will see that she does.

For the first time in her short memory, Mia's life is normal. Having defeated the Sons of Coffins Croft, she has finally found a balance between school, friends, and her clandestine training in magic. Her only complaint is that she's had very little contact with the friends from her abnormal life.

So when Jack Lantern shows up at her school, she expects to finally get some answers. But Jack carries with him terrible news: a silent coup has uprooted the Council of Eternals. Before Mia can come to terms with the new threat, Jack is arrested, and she is forced to choose between what is normal and what is right.

But the head of this coup is a menace Mia hoped they'd already vanquished. And this time, he'll put her powers to their greatest test yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ravania Entertainment
• Release date: Oct 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386278252

Book preview

Chapter One

Helping Old Friends

Mia tapped Sasha’s face lightly, trying to rouse her. She could feel Jack looking at her, his ember eyes burning into the back of her head. She knew he was still smiling, she could feel the smugness of it slipping through the stillness of the air.

‘What?’ Mia snapped, turning to glare at him. He was smiling! Mia had to fight back the urge to stand up and slap him.

Jack shrugged. ‘She’s the first person I’ve made faint in a long time. Usually, people just give me this sort of odd look… like they need to go to the toilet, but haven’t been able to find one.’ Jack pulled a face, something between strain, abject alarm, and annoyance. She had seen people look this way at Jack, while others had simply ignored the fact of his pumpkin head. She found herself fighting back a smile as it crawled across her face.

‘Curse you, Jack Lantern! I’m trying to be mad at you!’

Jack shrugged. ‘I’m unbearably charming. You did your best, Mia.’

Bradley raised a hand, cutting his way into the conversation with a glance to Jack. ‘Erm… not to be rude, but we didn’t come here to chat.’

Mia scowled. ‘Is that so? So you mean you’ve just stopped by to... what, see if I’m still alive?’

‘That’s not what I meant!’ Bradley blustered, panic crossing his face as fast as he spoke.

Jack hung his head, sighing heavily. ‘You’re mad.’

‘Darn right, I’m mad!’

‘And you’re going to tell me why, aren’t you?’

‘Darn right I am!’

Jack nodded, looking up and to Mia as she crouched by her friend. ‘You’re mad because I haven’t talked to you much since we got back from Tibet, aren’t you?’

Mia felt the first part of her tirade catch in her throat. She’d been practising it for months, thinking of new reasons she was mad at Jack and witty things to say to him that would show him just how cross she really was. She glowered as Jack iterated one of her reasons for being livid.

‘I’d barely time to realise everything was over and then you went into hiding or something! You know how scared I was, Jack?’

He nodded, his eyes falling to study the ground. He appeared more and more like a scolded child as Mia continued. ‘I’d call Lu and Bradley and Joe and none of them gave me any more information than you were out of reach! I was beginning to think you’d died, Jack! How do you think that felt?’ She was standing now, though she didn’t remember the act in and of itself. Adrenaline was rushing through her, along with a strange satisfaction at being able to voice her frustrations. She saw Jack open his mouth to answer, but she held up a hand. ‘Don’t even start with me, squash-face! I’ve been sitting at home for months trying to figure out why you left, and why you’re avoiding me. Do you remember the last thing you said to me, Jack? Do you remember what you’d say to me if I was even able to get hold of you?’

‘Mia, I know I’ve not been a great friend of late…’

‘You’ve been a ponce!’ Mia snapped.

She saw Jack’s brow rise for a moment, then he nodded solemnly. ‘You’re right. And for that, I am sorry.’

‘Why did you leave?’ Mia asked, her voice falling into a whisper. She wasn’t mad, not anymore. But it still hurt her that Jack hadn’t been honest with her, that he had hidden from her when things seemed to get bad.

Jack sighed, shaking his orange head ever so slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up, his eyes still not finding Mia’s. ‘I was afraid…’ he said.

Mia narrowed her eyes. ‘Afraid of what, Jack?’

‘I was afraid that you’d find out who I was, what I’d done. The man I’d been…’

Mia shook her head. ‘I don’t care about what you’ve done, Jack! I needed someone to help me come to terms with everything that had happened.’ She paused, taking a breath. ‘I needed the man you are! I needed a friend…’

Jack nodded, taking a step forward. ‘I know, Mia. I realise that now.’ He tilted his head in Bradley’s direction. ‘Some help was needed, but I get it.’

Mia looked to Bradley, who shifted uneasily on the spot. She glanced back to Jack who smiled innocently and shrugged. ‘You can’t expect me to get it right all the time, you know. I’m only—’

‘A dolt,’ Mia finished, nodding.

Jack made a face, but Mia ignored it, glancing back to Sasha who still lay on the ground, breathing evenly. She sighed, bending down and glancing at Jack and Bradley. ‘You two had better help me with her,’ she scolded. ‘And if you want my help getting to Tibet, there are some conditions.’

Jack arched his brow. ‘Does this mean you’ll take me?’

Mia rolled her eyes. ‘No, Jack… It means I want you to fetch me some tea.’

‘Sort of an odd time for tea, honestly…’

‘I was being sarcastic!’

‘Didn’t get that vibe, Mia.’

‘Listen, squash-face…’

Bradley walked over to Mia, bending down and helping her heft Sasha to her feet. He leaned over to Mia as they righted her friend and gave a subtle shake of his head. ‘I’d think it’s better if we focus on the problems at hand, instead of having a stupid row.’

Mia grimaced at him. ‘Oh, so when I get mad, it’s stupid?’

Bradley’s eyes went wide again and he shook his head. ‘I didn’t mean that! I—’

Jack covered his eyes with his hands and let out an exasperated grumble. ‘You two are embarrassing me! If you want to argue like this, just get married!’

Bradley looked to Jack in utter horror, letting out something between a gasp and a whimper. Mia scowled at the man. She hated it when he did this. It was like he never missed an opportunity to embarrass her in front of Bradley.

She shifted Sasha on her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of Jack. ‘What did you do that scared that Sorrows fellow so much?’

Mia hardly had time to register the flinch that ran through Jack, but she saw it. His whole body seemed to snap to attention. It was a subtle thing, and he glided through it, taking a step forward, as if walking through the very discomfort of Mia’s question. He smiled in that cocky way that told Mia he’d already ignored her query.

‘Can we go somewhere else and talk about all of this? This is sort of an open area, and I do need you to take me to Tibet, if at all possible.’

‘Why?’ Mia demanded. ‘You’ve not told me anything, Jack. All you’ve done is make Sasha faint and upset me.’

‘Is it because all your friends find me stunning to behold?’

Mia tried to, but she couldn’t stop the laugh that slipped from her. She glared at Jack, but the smile that he gave her made the corners of her own mouth curl up.

‘There’s that smile!’ he said. ‘I was beginning to think you’d forgotten how.’

She sighed, shaking her head. ‘Jack…’

He nodded. ‘I know, Mia. I am sorry. I’ve done wrong by you… I have been a dumdum as the children say.’ He crossed the last bit of distance between them and shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. ‘I screwed up. In answer to your questions… Why have I been avoiding you? What I did to make Curtis so mad? I screwed up, terribly. I’m sorry, Mia.’

Mia nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Jack that she forgave him, but before any words came out, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

‘Excuse me, Mia… Are these boys bothering you?’

With a start, Mia turned to her left, her eyes falling onto the short cropped hair and bright blue eyes of Finn O’Leary. His soft face was pulled into a pout of a smile. It was so smug that Mia’s stomach lurched.

‘Finn!’ she exclaimed, heaving a sigh. ‘You startled me!’

Finn smiled. ‘Wasn’t my intention, love. But are these boys here gonna be a problem for you?’

Jack furrowed his brow.

Mia shot him a warning look, then turned back to Finn. ‘No problem, Finn. Honest. Just some friends from way back.’

Finn grimaced, eyeing Bradley and Jack up and down. ‘You boys know that all visitors are supposed to sign in, don’t you?’

Bradley scoffed. ‘I’m sorry, who’s the tadpole?’ he asked, looking to Mia from Sasha’s opposite shoulder.

‘Name’s Finn O’Leary. You’d do well to watch yourself around Mia, too. She’s not to be bothered.’

‘Oh, is that so?’ Bradley growled.

Finn ignored Bradley and looked at Mia with a smile. ‘I missed you on your way out, Mia, but I…’ He faltered, finally noticing Sasha. ‘Is your friend… is she okay?’

Mia looked from Sasha to Finn in a rush. ‘Who, Sasha? Yeah. Never better, actually.’

‘Really? Because she looks unconscious from where I’m standing.’

Mia shrugged. ‘She just got a little too excited. You see…’ She glanced around, grasping for some explanation. The last thing she needed right now was a concerned Finn going off to tell the school nurse, or worse, the headmaster that Sasha Grey had fainted and Mia Lannigan was talking to two strangers, one of which had a pumpkin for a head.

‘She fainted out of excitement. My friends here just happen to be members of her favourite band!’

Finn cocked an eyebrow, looking over Bradley and Jack once again. ‘Band, eh? What’s your name, then?’

‘Ichabod and the Headless,’ Jack said, smiling.

‘Never heard of you.’ Finn countered.

‘They’re really big in Korea.’ She shrugged. ‘You know Sasha… She’s always listening to those K-pop bands.’

Finn stared at Jack for another moment, before finally tearing his eyes away and shaking his head. ‘No, love. I didn’t know that.’ He smiled at her. ‘How about you finish up here and meet me by the pitch. I was going to practice with some of the lads. We have a football match on Saturday. I want your opinion on my…’ He smirked. ‘Form.’

‘I don’t think so, Finn.’

He shrugged. ‘Your loss. Maybe tomorrow?’

‘Unlikely, Finn. You’re repulsive.’

Finn laughed as he walked off. ‘I love that sense of humour, Mia. That’s why we’re perfect for each other.’

Mia shuddered as Finn walked out of earshot and Jack and Bradley turned to look at her.

‘What an intolerable little toad!’ Jack commented.

‘I don’t like your friend, Mia.’

Rolling her eyes, Mia smiled. ‘That’s why we’re perfect for each other, Bradley…’

‘Erm… I, well…’ Bradley stammered.

Mia felt her ears burn and she turned to Sasha who was stirring, her eyes fluttering open. She glanced up.

‘Oh, thank heaven!’ she said, happy for the distraction, more than anything. She turned, grabbing Sasha by the shoulders and holding her up on her feet.

Sasha’s eyes began to focus on Mia and their surroundings and she smiled weakly. ‘You’re friends with a pumpkin, Mia,’ she explained.

‘To be fair, he’s more than just a pumpkin,’ Bradley put in, taking a step back and folding his hands across his chest.

Sasha looked with a shadow of surprise to Bradley, then her eyes followed the scene around her to rest once more on Jack. She laughed nervously. She shrugged off Mia’s support and nodded, that same laugh coming once again.

‘So… what are you, then? A Wizard?’ She whirled on Mia, not waiting for Jack to answer. ‘This all makes sense now! You really are a Witch!’

Mia saw Jack slam his palm against his face. Sasha turned at the sound, observing Jack with indifference.

‘It’s no use pretending otherwise!’ she snapped, letting her hands rest on her hips. ‘I’ve been thinking about all of this kind of stuff for years, you know. There’s more proof out there then you realise.’

Mia smiled, walking past her friend to come to stand by Jack. He leaned over to her, narrowing his eyes. ‘Do you think I’m a wizard, too?’

Sasha scoffed. ‘Well, excuse me if I don’t know the proper terms! What do you call yourselves, then? Warlocks? Sorcerers?’

Jack laughed. ‘I haven’t heard anyone called that in a very long time!’

‘So you are magic!’

Mia glared at Jack. ‘Don’t you have some sort of law against blurting out stuff like that?’ she whispered.

‘I was just going to ask that,’ Bradley agreed.

Jack looked to each of them in turn and shook his head. ‘If we did, you two would be the perfect role models for it. Very subtle, kids. Very subtle indeed!’

Sasha nodded in triumph, looking from Mia to Jack. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Jack held up a hand, shaking his head. ‘Trust me, missy… You’ve heard enough.’

Sasha harrumphed, glaring at Jack, but he paid her no mind, looking instead at Mia. He steepled his fingers, letting the ends tap together in a nervous patter, his eyes the only constant in his posture.

‘Important things, Mia. I need to speak to the monks at Whitestorm.’

Mia narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge Jack. She didn’t even know how he knew the name, let alone why he wanted to go back there. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’ she asked, a stern edge to her voice.

Jack raised his brow, the orange flesh creasing like folds of odd earth. He shook his head, forcing a smile. ‘Nothing you need to be concerned with, Mia.’

Sasha scoffed. ‘Yeah, right!’

Jack snapped his eyes to the girl. ‘Don’t you have boys to chase, or something?’

Sasha’s mouth dropped open a little, her eyes growing as cold as Mia had ever seen them. It was such a sight, Jack laughed nervously, taking a step back and turning to the relative safety of Mia’s disappointed glare. He cleared his throat. ‘We’ve just managed to come across a certain individual by way of a tip from an undisclosed source. This individual seems to have some very important beans to spill, if you’ll forgive the expression. And, well… Whitestorm wanted him…’ He held out his hands in something of a shrug. ‘We got him for them.’

Mia shook her head, trying to sort out everything that Jack was saying. It didn’t make any sense. Since when did Jack do favours for monks half way across the planet?

‘So, what? Are you bounty hunters now?’ she asked, looking from Jack to Bradley. Before either could offer an explanation, she held up a hand. ‘And another thing… How is it either of you even know about Whitestorm? It’s supposed to be—’

‘It’s no secret that you train there, Mia,’ Jack said flatly.

Bradley nodded. ‘Monday, Wednesday and Friday. After school, two hours.’

Mia’s eyes bulged. ‘Are you two stalking me?’

Bradley rolled his eyes. ‘Mia, we’re not…’

‘We’ve got a job to do, Mia. And honestly, we can’t talk about it here,’ Jack said, throwing a furtive glance about the parking lot.

Mia scoffed. ‘Important things, right?’

Jack gave her a false smile. ‘Something like that…’

Mia took two steps forward, beckoning over Bradley. When he was within arm’s reached, she grabbed his wrist roughly, doing likewise to Jack. She glared into his ember eyes and grimaced. ‘You’re not impressing yourself to me, Jack Lantern.’

‘Well, let’s just get this over with, shall we?’

Mia felt something inside her sink. Jack, he’d changed. It seemed in one moment, he was the man she’d known for so long, the man who’d saved her. In the next moment, he seemed a stranger. His words were cold, his connections callous, and his emotions leashed.

Mia turned to Sasha and gave the girl a stern pout. ‘You… Don’t tell anyone about this!’ She stabbed her index finger at her friend, still holding Jack and Bradley’s wrists tightly.

Sasha smiled brightly. ‘Just promise to fill me in later!’

Mia rolled her eyes and turned to Jack. ‘Hold on, Mister Lantern. I wouldn’t want you to end up half way in a rock face.’

Jack smiled nervously but Mia ignored him. She let a cold feeling rush up her spine, grabbing onto it with her mind just as it reached the base of her neck. She focused on the familiar image of the white stone monastery that she frequented. She could almost feel the warm breeze floating off the vineyards, the smell of grapes so light on the air.

Every muscle in her body tensed, and with a great rush of motion, the world around the three of them seemed to fall away, as if gravity had pulled it from under their feet in a fantastic rush. In the next moment, Mia’s stomach was rushing up, trying to burst through her chest. The world rushed up, surrounding them. The force of impact collided with Mia’s knees, but she absorbed it, accustomed to the sensation now.

Jack and Bradley sprawled to the ground, gasping for air as they did. Mia almost smiled at the sight. It served them right for keeping secrets from her! She hurriedly brushed this sentiment off, crouching down and helping Bradley to his haunches. He grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes meaningfully. ‘Mia, you need to get Khan!’

Mia pulled back at the name of her instructor. He was a large part of her training, and a very good man, but Bradley shouldn’t have known his name. A strange sort of fear, one without reason or a solid base was clawing at Mia. She turned to Jack, who had scrambled to his knees. He nodded, taking in a gasp of air. ‘We need to hurry! Something is very wrong, and someone is watching us!’

Mia felt the fear sink its claws into her heart, Jack’s words doing the last of the damage. Dread collapsed onto her and she stumbled back, falling to the stone walkway just removed from the massive pale monastery.

Things were worse than she could have imagined.

Chapter Two

A Dubious Plot

Men and women were mulling about on the steps of the monastery’s large entrance. Mia glanced around as she, Jack and Bradley made their way toward the building. To her left, Mia could see five monks, their arms waving in intricate patterns as huge blocks of pale stone lifted into the air in front of them. She watched the stone float slowly into place, forming a large wall that stretched wide, bending out of view near the first dip in the ground that fell off into what Mia knew was an apple orchard.

All around, the size of the epic building encompassed them, making Mia feel as it always did – secure, but nervous.

The monks of Whitestorm Monastery had been building their new home for nearly a year, and every time Mia saw it, it seemed bigger. Every week, new orchards, vineyards or gardens were being cultivated, their fruit growing at incredible rates.

‘How far away are we from the ruins of the old monastery?’ Jack inquired as they crested the top of the stairs.

Mia glanced at him. ‘I don’t know…’ She gestured at the surrounding mountains, which clawed at the sky on every side of them. ‘I know we’re deep into the mountains, but I’m not sure where. From what I’ve been told, though, we’re a lot closer to India than we were before.’

Jack nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. He glanced at the gardens one last time before they entered the building. He looked off, past the apple orchard, where the ground slowly fell into a deceptive decline, the ground winding down into the valley so far below them.

Whitestorm clung to the side of one of the mountains, nestled somewhere near the middle of the low peaks, close to a plateau. The monks had another building there, but Mia hadn’t seen it. She had only heard stories from the man who had been helping her gain control of her power, her unexplained magic.

The group walked down a quiet hallway, the left side open to a large garden by means of evenly spaced arches. Jack sniffed, and Mia turned to him. ‘Why won’t either of you tell me what’s going on? I’m terrified.’

Jack forced another smile and glanced to Bradley before saying, ‘It’s probably best we don’t say anything more… at least, until we know it’s safe.’

Mia didn’t know whether to laugh, or scream. Deciding that neither of these options were great, she took a deep breath and turned down another long corridor. A brightly dressed monk with cracked, peeling paint adorning his face smiled as they passed, bowing slightly at the neck. Mia returned the gesture, then pointed to a door just beyond them.

‘He should be in here,’ Mia managed.

Jack hurried forward, but Mia reached the door first. She knocked, the rough wooden planks scraping her skin and doing little to inform anyone inside of her presence. There was a moment in which silence enveloped them, but after another moment, Mia heard a voice, muffled by the large door, inviting entrance.

She pushed on the heavy wooden door and it swung inward, revealing a sunken room at the bottom of three shallow steps. Jack bounded down the stairs as Rukh Khan turned, a book held open in one hand. He smiled as he saw Mia at the top of the stairs, his dark brown eyes twinkling the way they always did when he had a joke for her.

He was a young man. Mia placed his age near thirty, but his dark brown eyes seemed to hold the wisdom of a much older man. He had short black hair, neatly parted, and a strong jaw. His full lips split into a broad smile as he closed the book. He was dressed in a black shirt and jeans and he bounded forward happily. As Jack reached him, the smile faltered.

‘Hey, Jacky,’ he greeted. ‘What’s this all about?’ he asked, his distinctive accent colouring his tone with what Mia liked to call presence. She knew, however, that it was simply how he sounded, English being a second language to him. Rukh looked past Jack to Mia and shrugged. ‘You’ve got Mia with you, and Brad.’ He waved to Bradley. ‘Hey man, how’s it cooking?’

‘Not exactly well, Rukh…’ Bradley explained.

‘Not well, eh? That doesn’t sound good.’ He looked back to Jack. ‘You know, by the look on Mia’s face, Jacky, I think you’d better start explaining all this, because I’m starting to get a little worried, you know? I don’t like to be worried, either. It throws off my whole vibe.’

Jack nodded, sniffing. ‘Is the room secure?’

Rukh smiled, looking around. ‘Are you kidding me? Jacky! We’re in the stomach of the mountains. We’re surrounded by stone and dirt and monks.’ He slapped Jack on the arm. ‘We’re safe, man. Don’t worry. I trust. Don’t worry!’

Jack gave the man a hard look before relenting. ‘Things are bad. I don’t know how… But I’m sure now. The Council has been compromised.’

Mia knit her brow together, taking a step forward. ‘You’re joking. You mean that group of rude old Eternals?’

‘We’re sure of this,’ Bradley insisted. ‘For months now, we’ve been—’

‘Wait a minute!’ Mia snapped.

All eyes turned to her, Jack’s looking especially annoyed. He seemed on edge, as if every moment he spent idle stole something from him. Mia didn’t care, though. She’d had enough, and now it was time for answers.

‘Months?’ she snarled. ‘What are you two talking about? I’ve been sitting at home for almost a year, and no one has told me anything. Now you’re talking about plots and… Jack, you’re capturing people? What is going on?’

Jack took a deep breath. ‘Mia, since we got back, I’ve been investigating the Council of the Eternals—’

‘And you didn’t tell me?’ Mia yelled.

‘No, Mia! I didn’t! I’ve been threatened. By the Council and people I don’t even know. They’ve told me to stay away from you, from this investigation, from all of it!’ Jack was fuming. Mia could see his hands shaking as he tried to regain control of his temper. He scowled, putting his hands on his hips and turning from Khan to face her more directly. ‘There’s a plot at work here, Mia. And I’ll be damned, but it seems like you’re involved again.’

‘So you decided to keep that from me, too?’

‘I wanted to protect you, Mia!’ Jack growled. ‘Don’t you get it?’ he asked, throwing his hands up, his eyes narrowing. Frustration dripped from his voice as he continued. ‘Since I left, I’ve been protecting you. We all have!’

‘By keeping me in the dark?’

‘Yes!’ Jack insisted. ‘The Council of Eternals thinks you’re dangerous, too powerful for your own good. A threat! They’ve been watching you, me and Lu. Everyone.’

Mia felt her stomach drop. She shook her head, trying to reason out what she was hearing, but her flesh shivered at the thought. ‘You’re not making any sense, Jack. Who’s watching us, and why?’

Jack sighed. ‘I don’t have time to explain, Mia.’ He turned to Rukh. ‘We did it. That’s why I’m here. We intercepted one of the messages.’

Mia bounded down the steps, Bradley close on her heels. Before she reached Khan and Jack, she stabbed her index finger at Jack. ‘You said you’d captured someone, not intercepted a message!’

Bradley winced. ‘That might have been a lie.’

‘Since when do you lie to me?’ Mia demanded.

‘Since everything went pear shaped!’ Jack interjected.

Mia turned to Rukh, putting her hands on her hips. ‘Are you going to explain this to me?’

Rukh looked at her nervously, stuttering for a moment. ‘Listen, Mia. This is a long story, do you know what I’m saying?’

Mia threw up her hands, the frustration boiling over. ‘I don’t care if it’s a long story! I think at this point, I deserve to know!’

The man gave Jack a sidelong glance, his head tilting to one side. He shrugged. ‘She’s got a point, my friend. I mean, she is involved, right? Perhaps it is time we tell her what’s been going on.’

Jack grimaced. ‘We don’t have time, Rukh…’

Mia stuffed her hands onto her pockets and took a step forward. ‘Make time, Jack. I’m sick of being kept in the dark.’

Bradley came to stand beside Mia, nodding in agreement. ‘I told you, once she found out any of it, you’d have to tell her all of it.’

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Great, now my sidekick has turned on me, too.’

‘Erm… I’m not your sidekick!’

‘We’ll discuss that later.’ Jack dismissed Bradley’s objection with a wave of his hand. He gave Rukh one last look of concern before turning to face Mia.

‘I’ve been investigating the Council of the Eternals since we escaped Tibet last year. They wanted me to do some mop up interviews with Doctor Nightmare, and being as how he was so involved with everything that happened, I thought I was the person best suited to the job.’

‘You agreed to help them?’ Mia asked. ‘I got the feeling you didn’t exactly care for their opinions, Jack.’

Jack narrowed his eyes. ‘Do you want me to tell you what’s been going on, or do you want to talk?’

Mia raised her hands defensively, snaking her head and giving the man a small pout. ‘By all means, squash face… Continue!’

Jack shook his head, running a hand across the back of his neck, but continued just the same.

‘Doctor Nightmare’s a slimy one, Mia… But he was surprisingly forthcoming when I talked to him.’ Jack shrugged. ‘Maybe he was playing it up, but I think he looked around and realised he wasn’t going anywhere. All of his colleagues were dead or in hiding, and despite all his efforts, Professor Grave died, not even a day after he was brought back to life. I think he realized he had nothing to lose, and talking could only help his situation.’

‘And you trusted him?’ Mia asked, aghast.

‘No, Mia. I didn’t trust him, but I was smart enough to listen to what he had to say.’ He shook his head. ‘And if half of it is true, then we’re in bad shape…’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Nightmare explained that the Croft didn’t do all they did alone. He confirmed suspicions that Lucky and I had. The Sons of Coffins Croft had people inside the government. From what Nightmare told me, it wasn’t an isolated thing. He said there were even members of the Council that were loyal to the Croft.’

Mia held up her hands, halting Jack’s explanations. She rubbed at the side of her head with one hand, then pointed to Jack. ‘Are you saying you believed him? Jack, he’s playing you! He sees it as a bargaining chip, or… maybe he just wants to cover their tracks, divert the blame… whatever!’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘You can’t actually believe anything he’s saying.’

‘I believe what reason dictates I should believe. Besides, I think you need to calm down just a touch… I have been doing this for a while,’ Jack said flatly.

‘This isn’t reasonable!’ Mia snapped. ‘Doctor Nightmare is a psychopath!’

Rukh took a cautious step forward, raising a hand as if to calm Mia. ‘We’ve been thorough. No rushing to conclusions, okay? The facts, Mia… They’re not lying.’

Mia stifled a curse as she looked around the room. Anger was searing through her veins the more they talked about this. With every insistence that something was terribly wrong, Mia felt a growing urge to scream. She refused to believe any of this. It simply couldn’t be!

‘The Croft are finished!’ she finally blurted out.

Bradley shrugged. ‘Not as finished as we’d hoped, obviously.’

Mia whirled on him. ‘You were there, Bane! The head in a jar is dead, the Empty Headed are dead. Grave, The Horror, his hooded mates, they’re all dead! This conversation is stupid, and I can’t believe you brought me all the way here, just so you two could spout nonsense!’

Jack grabbed Mia firmly by the arm, turning her to face him. His eyes were alight with fury and frustration, but he held his anger back as he spoke evenly. ‘When have you doubted me before? When no one else believed you, when people refused to come to your aid, who helped you? I trusted you, Mia… And it is clear you trusted me! What has changed?’

‘I don’t want it to be true!’ Mia yelled, tearing her arm from Jack’s grip. She took a step back, breathing hard, her confession bearing down on her. She tried to speak, but her throat contracted, fear and anger and defeat all washing over her like a bitter wave. Before she could stop it, a tear escaped her eye, rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away, taking in a deep breath as she looked to Jack once again.

‘It was supposed to be over, Jack! The danger should be done…’ She slouched. ‘I’m just so tired of being scared.’

Bradley stepped to her side, putting an arm awkwardly around her shoulder.

‘None of us want to believe this, Mia,’ Jack said softly. ‘But the terrible truth is, there’s a plot running through the very fibre of our world. Now, whether or not the Croft is behind it, or just a few remnants, I can’t be sure. But the danger is real, and it needs to be addressed.’

Mia took a deep breath, then another, partially to calm herself, and partially to hide the cry that threatened to escape her. Finally, she asked, ‘So, did Nightmare tell you who the spies were?’

Bradley made a groaning noise. ‘That’s just not our luck. According to him, their anonymity was one of the only reasons he was still alive.’

‘Two days after I talked to him, he was transferred to a new prison. I was then told to keep quiet about what he said,’ Jack added.

Mia shook her head, trying to process all of the new information. Though the transfer could have been innocent, the rest of Jack’s story was enough to raise several warning flags.

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this?’ Mia finally asked. ‘I could have helped you!’

‘We wanted to, Mia…’ Bradley assured her.

‘I wasn’t in the best place,’ Jack explained. ‘And what happened next made it impossible to contact you… at least, for a while.’

Mia furrowed her brow. ‘So, what happened?’

Jack gave a bewildered shrug. ‘Another week passed, and I was called to the Council again. By this point, I was pretty sick of their shenanigans, but I went on the notion that maybe I could find out where they’d stashed the Doctor, and maybe shed a little more light on what was going on. When I arrived, I was shuffled into the council chamber, and before I could even make a smart remark, the questions started flying, hard and fast.’ He gave Mia a withering smile before continuing. ‘What was the source of your magic, how was it possible that you managed to teleport? What were the limits