Maison smiled. “I know Stevie. We’re best friends.”

  I smiled back her. But it felt dishonest. We almost hadn’t been best friends. I had almost helped the Ender Dragon. If the Ender Dragon had almost gotten me to serve her once, she might actually succeed in the future.

  “There was something else,” I said. “I got the feeling that Endermen can only sense the general area around a crystal. I think the only reason I could sense that specific crystal was because it was already out of its hiding place and it was nearby. I couldn’t sense any of the other crystals.”

  “That’s too bad,” Yancy said. “We could make you a crystal-sniffing Enderman, if you know what I mean.”

  I didn’t, but I could tell Yancy thought he was being funny.

  Alex rose up a little bit and peered out the window again. “Uh, guys?” she asked.

  We all looked at her.

  “It’s time to start worrying,” she said.

  CHAPTER 19

  We all clamored for our chance to look out the window. The whole area in front of the shack was crowded with different mobs. First I saw armed skeletons, zombies, and giant spiders. There were also about a dozen Endermen. They had found us.

  We all ducked down.

  “What do we do?” I asked in a panicked whisper. I gripped the crystal shard close as if that would protect it.

  “This house is only made of wood,” Yancy said. “It’s not going to give us much protection.”

  Just then something began banging on the wooden door. I could tell from the hisses and moans that it was a pack of zombies. That was the only door—we were trapped!

  Alex ran to the other side of the shack. “Maybe we can break the window and get out that way!”

  We all ran after her. But when we reached the window, we saw just as many zombies, skeletons, and giant spiders in the back. The only good news was that we didn’t see any extra Endermen on this side of the shack.

  The crystal throbbed in my hand and I heard the Ender Dragon’s voice mocking me. It’s not too late to join my army, she hissed. I can protect you from all this.

  I gripped my head. When I wasn’t in Enderman mode, her voice hurt so much!

  “Stevie, what is it?” Maison asked frantically.

  “We have to get out of here,” I said. “It’s hours until dawn. The house won’t last that long.”

  Just as I said that, a block got dislodged from the wall. We all stared in horror. Now there was a hole in the wall, like a window but without a plane of glass. Through the hole I could see a giant Enderman holding the block it had taken from the house.

  We had to come up with a plan, and quick! I wished Dad were here to help, or Steve Alexander. Why wouldn’t Steve Alexander’s voice come back now and tell me what to do?

  The zombies pounded harder on the door. The mobs outside screeched and shrieked.

  More blocks began disappearing from the wall. In a matter of seconds, the Enderman would have cleared enough space to get in!

  Suddenly I knew what to do. I turned to my friends and said, “I have to turn into an Enderman again.”

  CHAPTER 20

  “Stevie, are you crazy?” Yancy said. “We barely got you back last time.”

  “But you can climb on my back and I can teleport with you!” I said. “We have to get away fast. If we can make it back to my home, we’ll be safe. It has iron doors and a water block to protect it from mobs!”

  The others looked around wildly. The Endermen were pulling out more blocks until there was a door-size hole in the wall.

  The first Enderman came into the house, followed by two more.

  I couldn’t think of any other options. Even if I could, there wasn’t time!

  “Get ready!” I shouted, tossing the crystal shard to Maison. If I ran right into the Endermen with the shard, they might steal it and I wouldn’t be able to transform back into myself.

  Maison caught the crystal shard in her hands like a baseball. And I went charging toward the first Enderman, even though everything in me screamed not to. Yancy was right—it was crazy to run straight for a dangerous mob so I could turn into a dangerous mob myself!

  Remember who you are! I thought as I ran. This time, you can’t let yourself be tempted by the Ender Dragon!

  I ran straight into an Enderman. Everything went dark and cold again. My body quickly grew taller. My mind clouded. I stepped back, blinking down at the kids by me. One of them was holding a crystal shard. I really wanted it.

  “Stevie!” the girl shouted. “It’s Maison. Take us home!”

  Home! I almost wanted to shake my head to clear it. I didn’t want to steal the crystal shard—I wanted to get home!

  The kids all piled onto my back. I was distracted by the crystal again, but then another Enderman like me stepped up close, hissing in my face. That Enderman was mad because I had the crystal and wasn’t sharing. I would show that Enderman!

  I teleported outside the shack, right into the middle of a whole crowd of mobs. The zombies tried to grab me, and the skeletons pulled back their arrows. Before any of them could hurt me, I teleported again.

  When I reappeared, the house was far behind me. The mobs were running after me, and the Endermen were teleporting my way. Even though I was so far ahead, more zombies and skeletons came out from behind the nearby trees and came after me.

  Stevie, the voice called. It was not a good voice. So why did I want to listen to it?

  Stevie, the voice called again in my head. You don’t have to fight me. We can be friends. Steve Alexander was a fool when he chose to fight against me instead of beside me. You don’t want to make the same mistake, do you?

  I tried to ignore the voice, but it was really hard. Each time I teleported, I was surrounded by mobs again. Mostly they were zombies and skeletons, but a few times I appeared right next to a creeper. I had to teleport again extra fast to make sure the creeper didn’t blow us all up!

  This was a much longer distance than teleporting from the mountainside to the house. It was a good thing the others had all eaten some food right before this to get their strength up, because the more we teleported, the weaker they felt. I knew that each time we teleported between one spot and the next, they weren’t able to breathe. It was like being underwater. So each time I reappeared, they all sucked in huge breaths.

  Can your friends make it all the way to your home? the voice asked sweetly. She almost sounded like she was on my side. Like she was concerned about my friends. You should stop where you are, Stevie. It will be better for them not to teleport anymore.

  Her comments got under my skin. I could tell my friends were really uncomfortable and I didn’t want that. But I knew that if I stopped, it would be so much worse.

  I know you have fought many mobs before, but I am different, the voice said. I am misunderstood. Bring that crystal to the End with you and I will explain everything. You’ll see.

  No! I shouted back in my mind. There’s a reason Steve Alexander locked you away! You want to destroy the Overworld!

  Lies! she said. I’ve been so lonely trapped here. When I saw you and your friends during your brief visit to the End, it reminded me of the world outside. It showed me that it was possible to leave the End. I decided it was finally time to break free of this prison. And you will help me. You will bow to me!

  Never! I thought. But there was something dark and sinister growing in my head. The more the creepy voice talked, the more I liked it, even though I couldn’t say why. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe Steve Alexander had lied in his book. He had said that he was foolish and full of himself, hadn’t he? Maybe that meant he had been wrong to lock the Ender Dragon away.

  I didn’t hurt you when you came to the End before, she said. What does that tell you?

  I didn’t know. I felt so confused. I hadn’t even known I was supposed to fight the Ender Dragon until this morning, and now her voice wouldn’t get out of my head.

  “Stevie!” Alex cried. “Stop!”

  CHAPTER 21

  I froze. everyone on my back was panting really hard. Had I been teleporting too fast for them to catch their breath?

  Zombies were emerging from behind the trees, staggering toward us.

  “Grab some food,” Yancy said. He handed everyone a bit of food from his backpack and they all shoved it in their mouths. I knew they desperately needed a break. We were about halfway back to my home. Would they make it?

  The zombies were coming closer and closer. As soon as everyone got their bite of food down, Maison yelled, “Go!” and I disappeared again. We barely made it away before the zombies reached us.

  Look at how they suffer, the Ender Dragon said. Is this any way to treat friends? If you knew how Steve Alexander had treated me, you would think differently about him.

  “Hurry, Stevie!” Maison said. “The other Endermen are still following us!”

  I realized I was so caught up in what the Ender Dragon was saying that I’d stopped for a moment after reappearing. I glanced back. The same dozen Endermen were teleporting behind us, trying to catch up. I vanished again, trying to clear my head. I wished the Ender Dragon would leave me alone!

  Maybe she was trying to confuse me and distract me on purpose. Since I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t even tell the others what was going on and ask them for help.

  And the land out here was so dark, even though my Enderman eyes could see better in the dark than human eyes. We’d left the torch back at the shack in our hurry to get out, so we had no way to light our path. The way things were going, we’d be battling all night. And Endermen could survive in sunlight, so even the dawn wouldn’t save us.

  I pushed myself to teleport farther with each jump. It was hard, but it worked. And it didn’t seem to affect the others any more than normal teleportation. But when I glanced behind me, I saw that all dozen Endermen were still following. I hadn’t thrown them off my trail at all.

  Then I finally saw a light in the distance. It was the village near my home! After the next jump, I could make out some of the houses.

  That was strange. There were a lot more torches than I remembered there being at night. And a lot of the villagers were out, even though it was after dark. In fact, it looked like lots of extra people, as if a few villages had all gathered.

  At the edge of the village were a man and a woman, giving orders like they were leading an army. My heart leapt with hope.

  It was Dad and Aunt Alexandra!

  I teleported right to the edge of the village and stopped. Everyone slid off my back as Dad came running over. I was so glad to see him!

  “We made it!” Maison said as she stood on wobbly feet.

  “I think I need to sit down,” Yancy wheezed.

  But that’s when Dad reached us. He lifted his diamond sword high in the air and swung it at me, shouting, “Begone, monster!”

  CHAPTER 22

  Dad’s diamond sword came rushing at me and I had to teleport a few feet away to dodge it. I tried to yell to him that it was me, Stevie. But I still couldn’t speak!

  “Uncle Steve, no!” Alex shouted. “That’s Stevie!”

  Dad looked at me, his eyes wild in the torchlight. “Stevie?”

  “Look at his eyes,” Maison said. “When he transforms he gets an Enderman’s height, but his eyes are the same!” She didn’t wait for Dad to say anything. Instead, she ran over to me and touched my shoulder with the crystal shard.

  There was a puff of purple light and then I was back to being myself.

  “Stevie!” Dad exclaimed, kneeling beside me. “I had no idea! I got your note. Your aunt and I got people from different villages together to help you!”

  “This is the second crystal shard,” Maison said. “But the mobs are after it!”

  Dad took a quick look at the approaching Endermen, and the zombies and skeletons flanking them. “Everyone get ready!” he shouted to the villagers. “Don’t let them near the crystal!”

  Aunt Alexandra fussed over Alex. “You look sick!” she said.

  “Just exhausted from teleporting,” Alex said. Her eyelids were drooping.

  “Yeah, let’s not do that again,” Yancy said, pulling more food out of his backpack. “Who’s hungry?”

  Alex, Maison, and Destiny dove for the food. Yancy grabbed some for himself too, and they polished it all off in seconds.

  I turned my attention back to the approaching mobs. With so many villagers around we might have a chance of defeating them all, but it would still be hard. I gripped my diamond sword, glad I hadn’t lost it when I was an Enderman and not thinking clearly.

  An Enderman teleported right next to us, reaching for the crystal in Maison’s hands. I lashed out with my sword, driving the Enderman back. But a moment later three more Endermen appeared, surrounding us.

  Roaring, the villagers ran to battle. The ones near us were hitting at the Endermen with their own weapons. Others ran just outside of the village, where all the zombies and skeletons were. The air was thick with arrows from both villagers and skeletons.

  I struck at the Endermen as they came close, but the battle was a blur. There were so many mobs pressed all around us! Every time I knocked one Enderman out of the way another came to replace it. They were so tall it was like they were blotting out part of the sky. I felt myself getting closed in. I missed how powerful I’d felt as an Enderman. But I was glad to have my own mind back.

  Don’t be so certain, Stevie.

  That awful voice!

  You could hear me when you found the first crystal, the voice said. We were connected then. Since you became an Enderman, we’re even more connected now. I know you better than you know yourself, Stevie. I know who Steve Alexander really was. And I know the true story of the Overworld’s beginnings. You know nothing.

  I was so distracted by the voice that an Enderman was able to push right past me. It hurried toward Maison, reaching out to seize the crystal.

  CHAPTER 23

  “No!” i shouted. i swung my sword. the enderman disappeared to avoid being hit, so Maison and the crystal were safe for the moment. How was I going to fight if that voice kept talking to me?

  The Ender Dragon must have known how distracting she was, because she kept speaking. You can’t get rid of me that easily, the Ender Dragon hissed. My power is only beginning to grow. At first only Endermen obeyed my wishes, but now other mobs are doing so as well. Before long I’ll be out of the End myself, and there will be no way to defeat me.

  “Stevie, look out!” Maison called. She pushed me out of the way before a skeleton’s arrow flew past, right where I’d been standing. Alex jumped over and shot the nearby skeleton with her own bow and arrow, taking it out for us.

  Another Enderman came forward, and Dad struck it with his diamond sword, bellowing. Dad was on a rampage, hitting most of the mobs that tried to get close to us. But there were so many monsters that a few still got through.

  “Take out the Endermen first!” I heard Aunt Alexander shout. “The Endermen are leading the charge!”

  Everyone turned their attention on the Endermen. Arrows flew. Swords slashed. In a matter of seconds, the twelve Endermen were gone.

  The other mobs got a little less frenzied for a second. It was like they weren’t sure what to do.

  It didn’t take them long to figure that out, though. A hostile mob is a hostile mob. Maybe they weren’t as smart as the Endermen, but they knew to attack people. As I watched, more and more mobs were marching out of the darkness and toward the village. There were monsters almost as far as I could see.

  CHAPTER 24

  “We have to get back home,” i said. “we can hide the crystal there, and they won’t be able to get inside. We can wait until dawn!”

  Dad shouted, “Villagers! A few of us will take the crystal someplace safer. The mobs should follow us there.”

  “How do you know the mobs will follow you?” one villager demanded angrily. He had a diamond sword that he was using to defend his home. “You might just be leaving us alone against them all!”

  Dad shook his head. “Watch. Kids, Alexandra, come with me!”

  We did. As soon as we started running out of the village with Dad and Aunt Alexandra, everything changed. The mobs stopped going after the other people at the village and came after us instead. The angry man was gaping as zombies walked past him as if he wasn’t even there.

  We all stayed together as a group to make it harder for the mobs to hit us. But we were still being attacked by something with almost every step. And more mobs were constantly at our heels.

  “Creeper!” I shouted, noticing one right ahead. It started to shake, getting ready to explode, but Alex got it with her arrow first. The creeper vanished, and I felt a moment of relief. That moment didn’t last very long.

  If only I could turn into an Enderman again! That would let us move so much faster. But there weren’t any more Endermen around and …

  And you won’t be able to resist me for long, the Ender Dragon said. You thought you were getting a handle on things, but it was only temporary. The more times you turn into an Enderman, the better my spirit will be able to possess you.

  No! I thought. If it was that big of a risk, I’d never turn into an Enderman again!

  The Ender Dragon sniffed. It doesn’t matter to me, she said. I will have you one way or another.

  “The mobs are everywhere!” Yancy cried, pushing back a zombie that had staggered up to him. More zombies were right behind it.

  Dad let out a low growl as his sword slashed through the horde of mobs. “You kids stay close to me,” he said. “We’re going to make it!”

  I wasn’t so sure.

  Stevieee, the voice called. It was singsongy, in a mocking, cruel way.

  Leave me alone! I thought back at the voice.

  I have a surprise for you, she said.

  She was right. When our house came in view, we saw the entire place was surrounded by mobs.

  And all of them were ready to attack.