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Rebels followed him. Spencer raised his eyebrows at Daisy, telegraphing his disbelief that they were trusting Dez. She lifted her squeegee, ready to swipe the portal if it started to close.
    Then Spencer stepped out of the janitorial closet at Welcher Elementary School and into the band room of New Forest Academy.
    By the time Spencer caught up, the others were hunkered around a tiny glint of metal in the far wall.
    “It looks like the real thing,” Walter said, running his thumb over it.
    Spencer looked at Dez, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How did you know the nail was here?”
    Dez looked around as if it were obvious. “I spend a lot of time in this room,” he said.
    “This is the band room,” Spencer reminded him. “You always thought musical instruments were dumb.”
    “That was before I started playing the tuba,” Dez said.
    “You play the tuba?” Daisy called from the portal.
    “Don’t make fun,” Dez said. “When Mr. Hylton heard how loud I could burp, he told me I should play the tuba.”
    “Since when do you listen to what the teachers say?” Spencer said.
    “I don’t,” answered Dez. “But the tuba rocks! Every note sounds like a fart!”
    “I hate to break up such an educated conversation,” Penny said, “but we really need Spencer to tell us where to go.”
    “If you touch the bronze nail, it should be enough to give you a fix on Director Garcia’s location,” Walter said.
    Spencer took a knee next to the wall. He’d gotten swift and accurate at these bronze visions. It was easy now to pick which warlock to spy on, and he was able to maintain the link for long periods of time without fainting.
    Spencer stretched out his index finger and pressed it against the smooth head of the nail. The dim band room fizzed into speckles of white. Then his vision cleared, and he was looking through Director Garcia’s eyes.
    The Latino man had a hand on a doorknob. He looked over his shoulder, and Spencer gasped to see half a dozen Pluggers mounted on overgrown Extension Toxites. Orange cords connected rider to beast, allowing the humans to control the gigantic, armored Toxites.
    It happened so fast. Spencer saw the Pluggers and sensed Garcia’s exact location. But before he could pull his finger off the nail, the director threw open the door and charged into the band room. Through Garcia’s eyes, Spencer saw the Rebels hunkered behind the timpani, watching Spencer make his connection to the bronze nail.
    Spencer willed the vision to end, plucking his finger away from the nail in the wall. The room went white again, and he felt himself falling backward, his head bumping against the kettledrum. By the time he adjusted to seeing through his own eyes, a number of bad things had happened.
    Mop strings lassoed Daisy around the middle and pulled her through the portal as the bludgeoning tail of an Extension Filth shattered the glass. In a heartbeat, the portal back to Welcher was gone. Daisy fell among the glass shards, facedown on the band room floor, the squeegee still in her grasp.
    The Pluggers were spreading across the room, blocking any chance of escape. Extension Grimes clung to the walls, giant Filths bowled past chairs and music stands, while overgrown Rubbishes rose near the ceiling, the riders held in by the magical rug saddles.
    In the center of the chaos stood Director Garcia, adjusting the cufflinks on his pressed shirt. His hair, perfectly styled, whisked away from his olive forehead, and there was a look of excitement on his smooth face.
    Dez stood beside him, wearing an aloof expression as Director Garcia put a congratulatory hand on the boy’s shoulder.
    Spencer felt a rush of anger rise all the way from his toes. He knew it! They never should have trusted Dez!
    Director Garcia flashed a white smile and gestured around the band room to the Pluggers awaiting his command to attack. When he spoke, his voice was touched with that familiar Spanish accent.
    “Welcome back to New Forest