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Connect to it, Ren said to Alana. Don’t be afraid.

The magnetic pull was getting stronger. And stronger.

An iridescent doorway formed in front of us. Beyond it was a blackness even I couldn’t see through. Shrieks sounded in the distance.

That can’t be good, Louie said.

And just as we stepped into the screaming void, I glanced over my shoulder at Itzamna. He was no longer in god mode. He was now a massive blue dragon soaring through the open ceiling and into the sky.

Unlike all the other times I’d marched, fallen, or been tossed into a shimmering gateway to tumble like a sock in the dryer, this portal was gentle. There were no bone-chilling gusts or vicious whispers. No sharp projectiles or body slams.

We left the library behind us with two steps and were zipped into a darkness blacker than Zotz’s wings on a moonless night.

“Where are we?” Alana spoke between quickened breaths.

“Zane?” Ren said. “Can you see anything?”

“Nothing.”

A distant moan/growl came next.

Louie made an eep sound.

And then we emerged in what looked like a backlit ice cave. Except it wasn’t cold, and I heard the sound of wheels on a track, like a train. The place felt more like a theater stage than the real deal.

“Where the heck—” I began, but my question was swallowed up by a bobsled/car thingy zipping past on the rails a few yards in front of us. Shrieks and laughter filled the air.

“Oh no!” Alana cried. “I brought us to the Matterhorn.”

“At Disneyland?” Ren’s knees nearly buckled before I righted her.

“Those coordinates were for Disneyland?!” A gran sonrisa lit up Louie’s face.

The ride had a tangy metallic smell. Another bobsled zipped by. Okay, I don’t know about you, but when you visit Disneyland for the very first time, you don’t expect it to be through a magical portal when the universe is on the brink of a bat god takeover.

“How did we end up here?” Ren asked. “Did I read the coordinates wrong?”

“Louie said to think cold,” Alana said with a sigh, “and monsters, and…I guess this place sort of popped into my mind, with the abominable snowman, and…Sorry. I got nervous.”

“He said to not think of monsters,” I reminded her.

“This isn’t my fault,” Louie argued. “But super-good choice. Like, way better than meeting up with a dumb calendar.”

Alana’s eyes frantically swept the space. “I blew it. We can go back the way we came, or…Wait! I think”—she started climbing over the rails toward another alcove—“there’s another gateway over here.”

Perfect! Forget getting killed by an evil god. I was going to get crushed by a racing bobsled.

“Hurry.” Ren tugged on my arm. “Before we get arrested by Disney policía!”

“Disneyland has cops?” Louie asked as we hopped the rails. “You think they wear Mickey ears?”

“You’re not helping,” I said.

“Think hot cave this time, with a seven-foot landing,” Louie said. “And don’t think about—”

Alana shot him a glare. “I got this, Louie.”

We joined hands, waiting for Alana to take the first step. When she did and we plunged into the gateway, all I could think was Please, Alana, don’t throw us into an avalanche of knives.


Tags: J.C. Cervantes, Jennifer Cervantes The Storm Runner Fantasy