The first shadow-spider reached the edge of the white page and jumped. It wasn’t made of skin or bone. It was just a messy pile of flickering dots and oily black ink. Maya no longer had her steam cannon. Her medical tools were gone. All she had left was the iron key. Now, the key was so hot it burned her hand.
“Maya, watch out!” Julian yelled.
He moved fast—like lightning. The Author had vanished, so Julian’s body was unstable. One second he looked solid, the next he was a glowing blue mist. He swung his arm, and a wave of blue energy slammed into the shadow-spider. The monster burst into a cloud of red computer code and disappeared.
“They’re coming from every side!” Maya panted. She stood back-to-back with Julian.
Her doctor’s clothes were ripped. Her hair was tangled and wild. A deep
