Read Vault of Shadows for Free Online

with. I mean, that first day, when we had to team up to fight the Huntsman and all, we talked a lot. And I thought we were, like, I don’t know, becoming friends. ”
    Shark nodded. “So what happened?”
    â€œIt’s weird, but since we got back from the hive ship, since she got that Heart of Darkness thing back, we haven’t said ten words to each other. Not that I haven’t tried. She hangs around the camp and all, but she hardly talks. Oakenayl never does. Iskiel can’t, and Mook only says ‘Mook.’”
    â€œâ€˜Mook,’” said Shark, and they laughed.
    â€œSo, no, we haven’t really talked about the whole supernatural thing. I guess it just is. ”
    Shark looked at him. “I don’t get you, man. You act like hanging around with werewolves and fire salamanders is no big.”
    â€œIt’s big, believe me.”
    â€œSo how come you’re not freaked? I know I’m freaked. Everyone in camp’s freaked. Barnaby is totally freaked. And why are we all freaked? Because this is pretty darn freaky. Freakity-freak-freak with a capital FREAK. ”
    â€œI didn’t say I wasn’t freaked, Shark. It’s just that it is what it is.”
    â€œYou’re nuts, you do know that.”
    â€œYeah,” sighed Milo, “probably. But are Evangelyneand the others really any freakier than an invasion fleet of outer space insects?”
    â€œAbsolutely.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œBecause outer space alien insects are science. I mean, weirdo science, sure, but they’re just another species and advance tech. The Nightsiders are actually supernatural. Magical. I’ll bet you can find them in a dictionary under ‘things that are never going to be possible.’”
    â€œGuess the dictionary’s wrong, then.”
    â€œRight. That doesn’t help me stop being freaked out.”
    â€œC’mon, Shark, you know what I mean. So, okay, four days ago we didn’t believe in any of this stuff and now it’s right here. This is all actually happening; it’s real. It’s now our version of what’s real. It’s the world. If you’re asking if it scares me, then, sure. Werewolves and monsters and magic? Of course that’s scary. All the things from all those books we’ve been reading are real. Vampires and ghosts and all that. It’s all real.”
    â€œExcept dragons,” said Shark. “I asked Vangie about that and—”
    â€œI don’t think she likes to be called Vangie.”
    â€œâ€”and she laughed at me for being weird ’cause I wanted to know if dragons were real.”
    â€œI know. She did the same thing to me. The Nightsiders don’t believe in dragons.”
    â€œAh, yes,” said Shark, raising a finger and looking sage, “but do dragons believe in the Nightsiders?”
    â€œThat doesn’t even make sense.”
    â€œDude—we’re sitting here next to an alien spaceship we stole, in a camp we’re sharing with monsters, and you just tricked an alligator into killing a shocktrooper. You want to go over the whole ‘what makes sense’ thing with me again?”
    â€œOh . . . shut up.”
    They both burst out laughing because it really was kind of crazy, and sometimes the world needs to be laughed at. Killer barked happily and wagged his little tail.
    After a minute, Milo said, “Hey, you never told me where everyone else is.”
    After the raid on the camp, the Dissosterin had captured thirty-eight survivors, mostly children and older camp followers. No soldiers. The older folks were still recovering from injuries sustained during the raid and from the crash of the red ship. A few were also in deep shock. The kids—some of whom were older than Milo and Shark—were in no better shape, though they seemed better able to process the fact that monsters were real.
    â€œMr. Campos and the other