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The chaos eleh no longer so eager to fight

"Go on, you coward," screa stupid lu -- but not at Call Twisting around, it lunged at Drew Drew screa over hiht of the icy pain that had shot through him at just a touch of the chaos creature’s substance And now that substance was sinking down over Dreas jerking and twisting in its grip, his eyes rolling back to the whites

"Call!" The voice yanked Call out of his shock -- it was Ta down to him from the rafters She was on her knees, and Aaron was beside her The h his wrists were braceleted with blood where he had clearly been tied up, probably when they had dragged hiisteriuet out of there!"

"I can’t!" Call pointed with Miri The chaos elemental, and Dreere between hi to the doors behind hi We’llHavoc Please, he thought Please The body in his arainst his chest, he could feel the steady beat of Havoc’s heart The extra weight hurt his legs, but he didn’t care

He’s going to be okay, he told hi back, he saw that Ta down from the rafters, close to the other door But as he looked up, the chaos elemental rose from where it was hunched over Drew Several ue lashed out to taste the air with its forked tip Then it started to move toward Call

Call yelled and jumped back Havoc jerked in his arround He ran toward the doors at the far end of the rooether, nearly knocking the stop Call nearly fell over hihted himself

He stared around the room -- it looked a lot like the laboratory of Dr Frankenstein Beakers of odd-colored liquids bubbled all around, , and the walls were lined with cages full of elehtly

Then Call heard it behind hirowl The chaos ele after them, a massive, dark cloud covered in claws and teeth Call jerked into an uneven run again, sending beakers of liquid crashing to the floor as he hurtled tohat looked like a display of old weapons on one of the walls If he went for the ele axe, maybe --

"Stop!" A e bookcase His face was shrouded in darkness, and he swung ahim, let out a whimper and dove under one of the nearest tables

Call froze The stranger swept past hih!" he cried in a deep voice, and pointed the onyx end of the staff toward the ele across the roo it squarely The darkness swelled and grerapping the eleave a last horrible, bubbling cry and vanished

The man turned toward Call and slowly drew back the hood of his robes His face was half hidden by a silver mask that covered his eyes and nose Below it, Call could see the jut of a chin, a neck slashed hite scars

The scars were new, but the mask was familiar Call had seen it before in pictures Had heard it described A mask worn to cover the scars of an explosion that had almost killed the wearer A mask worn to terrify