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  roctor

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  Spellbound

  An Imprint of Magic Wagon

  abdopublishing.com

  For the Boatwright family —JP

  abdopublishing.com

  Published by Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2018 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Spellbound™ is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon.

  Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota.

  052017

  092017

  Written by Dax Varley

  Illustrated by Jon Proctor

  Edited by Megan M. Gunderson

  Art Directed by Candice Keimig

  Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Varley, Dax, author. | Proctor, Jon, illustrator.

  Title: Scarlet Portal / by Dax Varley ; illustrated by Jon Proctor.

  Description: Minneapolis, MN : Magic Wagon, 2018. | Series: Demon slayer ; #8

  Summary: While Max’s mom recovers, he goes in search of the Scarlet Portal and a final showdown with the demons.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016962107 | ISBN 9781532130090 (lib. bdg.) |

  ISBN 9781624029639 (ebook) | 9781624029783 (Read-to-me ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Mothers and sons¬--Fiction. | Kidnapping--Fiction. |

  Demonology--Fiction.

  Classification: DDC [Fic]--dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016962107

  Table of

  Contents

  c h a p t e r 1

  Under Bones ...........4

  c h a p t e r 2

  Down, Down ............12

  c h a p t e r 3

  Spiders .......................26

  c h a p t e r 4

  Underworld .........36

  c h a p t e r 1

  Under Bones

  Hospitals. Ugh! They smell like pine cleaner and puke.

  I hated seeing Mom there. She

  looked like Frankenstein’s monster, all hooked up to SNAKY wires

  and tubes.

  4

  Of course, I wasn’t doing

  much better. I had lots

  of stitches. That last demon

  showdown had nearly killed me.

  It’d been three days since I

  rescued her. She slept

  most of the time. And people

  constantly crowded her. Finally, we had a moment alone.

  “Mom,” I said quietly. “Can

  you hear me?”

  Her eyes opened to

  .

  “Uhhm,” she uttered.

  6

  7

  I leaned my face close to

  hers. “The SCAR LET

  PORTAL. I need to find it.”

  Her face scrunched. Her heart

  monitor beeped double-time.

  “Do you know where it is?

  Mom?”

  Her voice came out all croaky.

  “Not exactly. But I overheard

  the monsters say it was in the

  cemetery.”

  “Where in the cemetery?”

  9

  She licked her cracked lips. “I don’t know. They said it was under bones”.

  Under bones? Yikes! Would I have to dig up a grave?

  “Whose bones?” I asked.

  She stayed silent.

  “Mom?”

  She cast me a

  look.

  “Mom?” I shook her a little.

  “Whose bones?”

  But her eyes slowly batted

  and shut, and her heart monitor slowed again.

  Under bones. It was a start.

  11

  c h a p t e r 2

  down, down

  At home, I grabbed my pack.

  Taking a shovel from the shed, I left.

  Poe flew overhead as we made our way to the cemetery.

  Under bones .

  12

  I peered out at the rows and

  rows of graves and

  a sigh. “I can’t dig up every one.”

  Poe settled on my shoulder.

  “Caw! Caw!”

  Under bones. Under bones.

  Then something caught my eye. Demon tracks.

  “ Demons!” Poe squawked.

  15

  “

  ”

  Shh! I warned. Gripping

  the shovel, I crept along, following their trail.

  More and more footprints. Soon

  they came together in one big

  cluster . . . right in front of a family crypt.

  I glanced up at the name over

  the door. Bones. Whoa! This was it.

  But why were there no demons

  around? A chill prickled my

  skin. Because they’re all inside, opening the portal.

  17

  Without thinking, I rushed to

  the door. I slammed the

  shovel against the lock.

  Bam!

  Then again.

  Bam!

  Again.

  Bam! Bam! Bam!

  It broke open with a clunk. I

  readied my slingshot. Then Poe and I slipped in.

  18

  19

  Inside the DUSTY crypt

  were two coffins. That’s it.

  “Uh . . . where’s the PORTAL?”

  20

  Poe ruffled his feathers and

  perched on one of the coffins.

  That’s when I noticed the lid was cockeyed. I lifted it and peeked in.

  Whoa! A staircase.

  21

  Poe hopped

  on my arm, and we

  started down.

  The stairs were

  dark and steep. I eased

  down them, one step at a

  time. I’d hate to come this far only to fall and break my neck.

  22

  Down, down, down,

  we went . . . into a giant

  lighted cavern. Right

  there in the middle,

  was the SCAR LET

  PORTAL—a weird

  web stretched

  across the floor. Made

  of hair. Red hair.

  I glanced around. Why

  isn’t it guarded?

  I moved closer, wondering how

  this WOVEN thing could open like a door. Oh well. It didn’t matter now.

  I’d whack it into small chunks.

  I hurried forward and—

  whoop!—stepped into a snare. One second I was upright, the next I was hanging over the portal by one leg.

  That’s when they appeared.

  Demons. Dozens and dozens

  of them.

  25

  c h a p t e r 3

  spiders

  26

  One big, ugly brute stepped

  forward. He was missing an

  .

  “We’ve been waiting for you, Max.”

  Blood rushed to my face, both

  from fear and from being upside down. But would I let them think they’d won? No way. “I’m going to destroy the portal.”

  27

  Their eerie laughter echoed

  off the walls.

  “No,” One-Eye said. “You’re

  going to open it.”

  With that, he sl ashed a claw

  across my jaw.

  Gah! The cut stung like a wasp.

  Warm liquid trickled down my

  cheek, then fell onto the portal . . .

  ,

  ,

  .

  28

  Then the freakiest thing

  happened. As each drop hit the

  portal, it sprouted spidery legs.

  30

  Yes, my blood became crazy

  red insects, skittering about. They scurried in a circle, WEAVING

  a new pattern in the web.

  31

  The demons hissed.

  The blood bugs’ pattern began

  to spin, kicking up a

  shield. It

  twirled like a whirlwind, spinning with fierce speed. The force hit my face like a fan.

  32

  It continued to swirl, bigger,

  FASTER, until the portal’s center split wide. I could see straight down . . .

  into the u n der w orld.

  33