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“The shadow man,” Malik rasped, as if reading his mind. “I can’t explain it…but since he cursed me…it’s like I can feel his magic.”
“Are you saying this hurricane is his doing?” Jamal said, his stomach clenching. He ran blindly, water sloshing up to his ankles now.
“Not his doing, exactly,” Malik gasped out right behind him. His voice sounded even weaker. “But it’s like…he made it worse somehow. I can’t explain it.”
That made Jamal more afraid. He thought about the deal he was considering making with Dr. Facilier—trading the skull necklace for his brother’s life. But if what Riley’s grandmother said was true, then the necklace would make the shadow man even stronger.
Could he take that risk?
More lightning pulsed overhead, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. Meanwhile, the wind was growing stronger, rattling the cypress branches draped with moss. Each time the bayou lit up, the shadows twisted around them, reaching out their clawed hands.
Jamal dodged the shadow monsters, running faster. Then the skull necklace lit up, glowing with reddish light. “Oh, no, he’s coming,” he hissed, trying to run even faster.
He burst into a clearing when, suddenly, red light exploded over the bayou.
It wasn’t lightning this time—it was something else.
A long reedy shadow stretched over the clearing, extending toward them like a curse. The skeletal figure had almost impossibly slender arms and legs, and a top hat perched on his head.
The shadow clutched a staff. The crystal on it glowed with red light.
It was Dr. Facilier.
Then the shadow man himself stepped into the clearing, behind his shadow. He clutched his staff, with the crystal glowing dark red. He grinned, his teeth resembling an alligator’s.
He stood taller than before. He tipped his top hat toward Jamal.
“Enchanté, little man,” he said in a smooth voice. “A tip of the hat.”
Then, suddenly, Dr. Facilier’s shadow came to life, uncoupling from him and acting of its own accord.
It flowed across the clearing and pounced on Malik, startling him with clawed fingers. Malik tried to fight back, but he was too weak.
Jamal lurched toward the two shadows to help his brother, but his hands passed through them harmlessly. He couldn’t touch them.
“No, leave him alone!” Jamal, feeling helpless, yelled at Dr. Facilier.
The shadow man chuckled, his voice echoing through the bayou and raising all the hair on Jamal’s body.
“There’s only one way to make it stop,” the shadow man said. “Don’t waste my time any longer. The necklace—hand it over now. Or say goodbye to your precious brother forever.”
“The necklace—in exchange for your brother’s life,” Dr. Facilier demanded, reaching his hand toward Jamal. “No negotiations this time, little man. My offer is final.”
L
ightning flashed in the sky and thunder crackled. Thick droplets of rain started to pelt them. Meanwhile, Dr. Facilier’s shadow twisted Malik’s neck, strangling him. Jamal’s brother was fading even more.
“Little J…help me,” Malik rasped weakly.
“Let him go!” Jamal yelled.
He pulled the skull necklace out. The eye sockets glowed with light, warning him not to do it. Grandma DeSeroux’s voice echoed in his head: Then there will be nothing and no one to stop him.
But Jamal pushed her voice away. I have to do this, he thought in desperation. I have to save my brother.
He unclasped the thick chain from his neck. Then he reached out to give Dr. Facilier the skull necklace.
“Don’t do it, Jamal!”
