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at the faces of everyone passing by. None of them were smiling. Everyone was in a rush to get to where they were going, none of them stopping for conversations along the way, and there weren’t as many people as usual. It felt strangely empty.
    Albert closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the very first time he’d walked into this room. There had been so much life then, a sense that adventure was hiding around every corner. That first time, it had almost felt like the Core was so full of magic that the walls could hardly hold it all in. Today, it was as if someone had stolen the very heart away. Now all that was left were fragments, and Albert was determined to discover why.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” he asked a Cleaner, a woman wheeling a big copper bin stuffed to the brim with trash. His voice almost seemed too loud for the silence around them.
    The woman stopped to sweep dust from the floor, her dark curls falling into her face. “Trouble,” she said. “Toil and trouble, my boy.”
    She moved along, leaving Albert, Leroy, and Birdie tostare at one another.
    â€œOkay—that was straight out of some creepy Halloween movie,” Leroy said. “What is going on around here?”
    Birdie rubbed her hands together. “It’s, like, freaking me out, you guys.”
    They stood and stared for a while, not sure where to go, what to do. Last time, Trey had been here to guide them. Today it seemed that there wasn’t any time to waste on Hydra’s return.
    Just then, a ground-trembling roar came from one of the tunnels. People screamed and dove for cover. Leroy ducked behind Albert. A pink cat screeched and leaped onto Farnsworth’s back, claws out. A big, muscular Core worker tripped and toppled into one of the streams.
    But Birdie stood tall and calm, a smile spreading across her face.
    Seconds later, a winged beast emerged from the far tunnel, the one that led to the girls’ dorm. It had large, leathery wings, sharp talons, and an even sharper beak.
    â€œJADAR!” Birdie screamed.
    The Guildacker howled, a sound that was quite doglike, and took flight, its wings barely missing the chandelier overhead. It swooped down and landed soft as a feather in front of Birdie.
    She fell against him at once, wrapping her arms around his big neck. “I’ve missed you!”
    Jadar whimpered and stooped lower. Birdie kissed him on the beak, and he ruffled his wings. The crowdrelaxed; people came out of their hiding spots. Jadar was the most fearsome beast in the Core, straight from the Calderon Realm.
    He was also one of the reasons Albert, Birdie, and Leroy were able to save the world last summer.
    â€œHey, Jadar,” Albert said, waving at the Guildacker. He nudged Leroy in the stomach.
    â€œOh yeah! Hey, there, um, dude. What’s up?” Leroy wouldn’t look the beast in the eye. He was probably still a little afraid of him from last term. Albert held back a laugh.
    Birdie turned back to her friends, and Albert thought he saw a few tears sparkling in her eyes. “Do you guys mind if Jadar and I go for a little flight? It’s been way too long!”
    Albert smiled. “Go ahead.”
    Birdie hopped on, sitting like a queen atop a throne. But before Jadar could soar to the sky, a voice called out.
    â€œHydra!”
    All three of them turned.
    Across the Main Chamber, standing on one of the arched bridges, was a small boy with dark hair and glittering eyes.
    Petra.

CHAPTER 6

Trouble from Within
    P etra wasn’t a Balance Keeper, but as far as Albert was concerned, he was every bit as brave. As Albert, Birdie, and Leroy approached Petra on the bridge, Albert recalled how when they’d first met Petra last term, he was an awkward boy with a voice that rivaled a field mouse’s squeak.
    â€œHydra!” Petra yelped again.
    I guess that hasn’t changed much.
    Petra knew secrets about the Core that not even the oldest students