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I reached forthe rock as I fell a few yards Then I did screath to nab a divot in the rock, and finally I slowed down the fall

But I had accidentally put my hand on a beetle inside the divot

Startled, I yanked it out and lost all control I sailed through the air for what see tis collapsed And a swar feet surrounded me

I had the sickle But it was the beetles that had beaten me

I lay there for a fewhappened Maybe I’d broken my back Hundreds of beetles found their way underas they went None of the bites alone would’ve been painful But hundreds of bites at once

The sound of splashing reached my ears, and suddenly a wall of water crashed down on me The beetles screeched and floundered in the waves

Maybe I would drown before I was eaten alive

The water covered ed I pressed ot inside et who I was

"Becks!" Jack’s voice cah the water "Move your arms! Paddle!"

I tried toa little bit, and asped in a lungful of air before I pressed ain

And then strong arht lorious air

I couldn’t talk I couldn’t open my eyes

Jack squeezed my cheeks "Becks Talk"

"Hi," I said weakly

"Do you remember who you are?" Jack said

I nodded "Nikki Beckett"

I heard hih, and then he was on the move, withwet and panting Cole was there He’d taken off his shirt and was using it to dry off my face When he pulled it away, it was bloody

"Damn beetles," I whispered

Jack took the shirt out of Cole’s hands and resuht his attention, and he gingerly pressed the shirt against the spot "That was a gouge," he said

I let him fuss for a bit, then remembered ere there in the first place My hand flew to my back, and I felt the ot it," I said

TWENTY-SIX

NOW

The Surface The hotel

Will ht of h a co flippant

"No," I said "A sea of beetles"

"Long story," Jack said "But Becks was aot the Sickle of Cronus Any news from the professor?"

"Yeah," Will said "He says the Shade network, that egg-shaped ball you described, is a sacred stone called a baetylus And he says you need one , in addition to the sickle, to destroy it That is, if you want to escape with your lives"

Knoe had to do one ainst the bed

My eyes closed involuntarily, and within one

When I woke, I saw Jack, Cole, and Will poring over docu on?" I said

Jack came over to the bed and sat down beside ?"

I nodded "Fine Tellme "The professor thinks that the Shade network has a fail-safe attached to it, where if we destroy it, it will set off an alarm and basically trap us in the Underworld Like a lockdown To give us time to escape, he thinks we need to track down the Helmet of Hermes Sound faive the guy with the big head in exchange for that memory?"

Jack nodded "I think so It will supposedly et out"

I looked at Cole "You’d told the guy you would get the pendant Do you have it? Do you knohere it is?"

Cole shook his head "I can’t rehed "I can’t swiently with his hand "You don’t have to Mrs Jenkins’s papers contained a log sheet that shows the chain of custody for the pendant The last name on the list is a woman named Mildred Dorrity She lives in Roy We just tracked down her phone number We’re about to call her"

I squinted "So, this random woman has a pendant that will keep us out of an Everneath prison," I said

"Yes," Jack said

I nodded "Let’s get to it"

Jack put his phone on speaker and dialed her nus, a woman answered She sounded old, her voice frail

"Is this Mildred Dorrity?" Jack said

She paused "Whatever you’re selling, I’ I was just wondering if you know a Kathleen Jenkins?"

Another pause "Kathleen Jenkins is dead"

With that I knee’d found the right person

"I was friends with Mrs Jenkins," I said

"Kathleen didn’t have friends," Mildred said

"We’re looking for a pendant," I blurted out "Please We got your na possession of the Heler pause

"Please, Mrs Dorrity Please help us"

I could hear her breathing, even though she wasn’t answering Whatever ere saying, it wasn’t working

"Mildred," Jack said, his voice aly calm "Have you ever loved someone?"

Noas his turn to pause as aited for an answer

"Yes," she said

"So you know that feeling" Jack was being so tender, so sincere I didn’t kno Mrs Dorrity wouldn’t be swayed "The entire reason we’re calling is because of love Please Do you have the pendant?"

"No," she said "I passed it down to hter, but it was stolen by the Delphinians"

Delphinians This was the second tiroup

"The Delphinians want all the sacred artifacts for themselves," she continued "Devon stole it back for us, but then he disappeared"