So that’s what Celeste had meant when she’d said she had extra help with the island’s defenses.

“Those hippies are so trusting,” the pirate said. “So stupid. Soon, we will invade. Those tree-hugging fools won’t stand a chance against us. They abhor violence. They probably don’t even know which end of a weapon to hold.”

He prattled on happily, completely unaware that Naomi was glowering at him. He didn’t even notice Sera walk up beside her.

“We’re ready to go,” she told Naomi. “You ok?”

“Yeah.” Her laugh cracked with bitterness. “It figured that as soon as the guy got interesting, it turns out he’s evil.” She sighed, then turned toward the pirate. “Does Cloud know he’s going to be screwed out of this deal?”

He laughed. “Oh, you’re a smart one, aren’t you? No, he doesn’t suspect. As though we would just hand him an island that’s the sole source of Fairy Lily in the region. Do you know how much that stuff sells for? And there are at least a dozen other plants of similar worth on that island. The Captain would never give up Fairy Island.”

“Of course not,” Naomi said. “But I wonder if your captain knows… oh, never mind. He probably doesn’t. And I’d hate to spread bad news.”

“Bad news?” Concern plagued the pirate’s brow, crinkling up his forehead. “What doesn’t the Captain know?”

Naomi stepped up to the bars. “That you’re all going to be screwed out of Angel Island.”

He blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Even the Magic Council, the most powerful supernaturals in the world, haven’t found a way to easily take back Angel Island. It won’t be taken over by someone else. Not even Darksire. You will not get your prize.”

The guard dropped his mouth, then closed it. “You’re just trying to turn me against the others.” He frowned at her. “It won’t work.”

Naomi shrugged, then blasted a shot of Fairy Dust through the bars. It hit him in the face, pouring through his gaping mouth.

“You’re right, I was trying to turn you against them,” she told the sleeping pirate on the floor. “But that doesn’t mean what I said isn’t true.”

Sera squeezed her shoulder, then ran back to the window. Time to leave before more guards came. “Is everyone ready to get out of here?”

The children murmured their assent.

“Good.”

Sera thrust out her hands, sending a ball of elemental mayhem at the barrier. The barrier moaned in protest, then shattered, the collapse of magic rocking the whole building.

“Naomi, you first,” Sera said. “Check to make sure the coast is clear.”

Naomi kicked up the wall and slid herself through the opening. A moment later, her head appeared in the window. She shot Sera a big thumbs up, then cleared out of the way. The children squeezed through the window one-by-one, more orderly than Sera had expected.

With every second that dripped by, she was sure the pirates would storm into the room to stop them, but it wasn’t until they were all running down the hill toward the shore that she caught sight of the Princes of Twilight. Sera led the children through a small grove, away from the pirates.

“Our boat is too small,” Naomi commented as they ran.

“We’re not taking that boat.” She cut left, down toward the neighboring shore, where a pirate ship was docked.

Naomi’s eyes widened as they panned across the high beams and big sails of the pirate captain’s ship. “You can’t be serious.”

“Once everyone is on board, set sail for Fairy Island.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Trust me,” Sera said. “Now get the children to that ship.”

“What are you going to do?”

Sera grinned at her. “I’m going to cause a little mayhem.”

She stopped at the top of the ridge. As the last child followed Naomi onto the path that would lead them to the shore, pirates burst through the foliage. Demented grins—some of them missing teeth—shone in the moonlight as they saw Sera. She shot a few blasts of lightning at them, just to get their attention, then sprinted off down a different trail. The pirates followed.

They chased her across the beach where she and Naomi had landed their boat. Sera could see the tips of the pirate ship’s sails on the neighboring beach. By the time the pirates noticed their ship was sailing off, it would be too late. Hopefully.

A ball of fire shot past Sera, barely missing her. A reminder that she should be paying attention to the pirates chasing her. They were mages after all. She ran faster, cutting across the beach. She tugged at the tide with her magic, rolling the waves higher onto the shore. She heard the crash of water, then a few pirates shooting gurgled curses her way. A few of them shot more than foul language at her. She spun around to stare down the storm of magic roaring behind her.

Balls of fire and lightning and ice shot through the air, along with knives and logs and kelp. Beneath Sera’s boots, the ground rumbled, the deep growl of earth awakened. The fiery forms of summoned creatures joined the stampede. Some of the mage shifters in the pirate’s crew had changed into beasts. It was an army of death and devastation. And Sera had no intention of being around to meet it.

The pirates were hot on her trail, so obsessed with catching her that they didn’t realize they’d crossed into the area controlled by the Night Terrors. At least not until it was too late. A war cry, shrill and loud, rose from the bushes up ahead. Other voices joined in, blending together into a terrifying cacophony, warning of blood and pain. And death.