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Alex jumped at Hunter’s voice, throwing Skyla off balance and causing both of them to fall unceremoniously to the ground.

“Great entrance,” Jordan joked, reaching a hand out to Alex while Tom moved to help Skyla.

“Thanks,” Alex said, as he pulled her to her feet. “What just happened?”

“Pre-programmed Bubbledoor,” he told her. “Once you retrieved whatever object Hunter sent you to find and the both of you held on, it activated. Didn’t your note warn you?”

“Uh, no,” Alex said, rubbing her bruised behind. “Definitely no warning.”

“All right, class,” Hunter called out. “Now that you’re all back—some in better condition than others—let’s see how well you fared.”

He asked them to step forward and hand over their strange assortment of objects. Kaiden and Jordan produced a bulky backpack, Tom and Pipsqueak held out a large canvas painting, and Declan and Blink passed over what appeared to be a live animal—something very similar to a squirrel. Alex decided she was better off not knowing how they caught it, let alone how it had activated a Bubbledoor. Some things were best left a mystery.

When Hunter held his hand out to Alex and Skyla, Alex passed him the statue.

Hunter peered at it closely, as did Alex, since she hadn’t looked at it properly yet. It was a small figurine of a mushroom. An appropriate choice, considering.

“What’s this?” Hunter asked.

Alex felt her brows draw together. “It’s the figurine of clay. The one we had to retrieve.”

He glanced from the mushroom to Alex, looking at her closely.

“Right,” he said, drawing the word out before turning to speak to everyone again. “We’re finished for the evening. If you need to see Fletcher, make sure to visit the Med Ward before curfew. We’ll meet again on Thursday night.”

They started to leave as a group after Hunter’s dismissal, at least until he called out, “Alex, a word?”

“I’ll wait for you at the edge of the forest,” Jordan offered, and she sent him a grateful smile.

Once everyone had left, Hunter asked, “Do you still have the note I gave you?”

“Sure.” She reached into her pocket and handed over the instructions.

His eyes flicked over the words and then he looked up at her, gesturing to the mushroom figurine. “Do you want to explain this?”

Feeling confused, Alex said, “What do you mean?”

“And how did you get back here without the picnic basket?”

She blinked stupidly. “Picnic basket?”

Hunter made an impatient sound. “Read the note again, Alex.”

She took it from him and did as ordered. The handwriting was the same as earlier… but the words were different.

Follow the arrows and retrieve the picnic basket.

Beware of traps.

The Bubbledoor will bring you back.

“It didn’t say this before,” Alex whispered, reading the note again. “And I didn’t see any arrows.”

“What did it say when you first read it?” Hunter asked.

Alex recited what she could remember of the poem and told Hunter about where it had led her and Skyla. She didn’t mention Raelia, though. The story was already odd enough without the supernatural element. And while she knew the people of Medora were no strangers to mysterious happenings,shewasn’t quite ready to own up to what she’d experienced with Lady Mystique. Not out loud. Not yet. She’d talk about it later with her friends, but not in the middle of the eerie forest with her intimidatingly perceptive teacher. Instead, she simply told him about the mushroom circle in the clearing and how the statue had brought them back.

“Interesting,” Hunter said when she was done. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to tell me? Like how an unauthorised Bubbledoor transported you back here?”