Chapter 43

After Julie cast the spell, she put her wand away, stashing it in the back pocket of her jeans. She and Ryan stepped through the portal, and then they were sucked into the tunnel. They were used to this by now. Up ahead, they got a glimpse of Julie’s living room through the swirling light. Julie noticed that the tunnel was shorter than usual.

“Maybe this is a sign that we need to hurry before anyone else is poisoned,” Julie thought aloud.

Ryan looked at her, perplexed.

“The tunnel,” she explained. “The connection is shorter than usual. We barely have to swim through here to get to the other side.”

Ryan shrugged. “Maybe,” he said noncommittally. “But it’s probably just a coincidence.” Julie and Ryan gave a few kicks to propel themselves through the tunnel, but when they got close enough to break through the other side, Julie paused. She squinted at the image ahead