Eyes in the Stone — John R. Heninger

Jaxon Meadows can't get a break. He thought he finally rescued that Nightkeeper girl, Mara Qatan, who nearly died to save him. But now she's lost again, either in his own world or that fantasyland called the Netherside. Worse, the other rescuers -- his friends -- may all be dead. The answers to these mysteries all lie in the Netherside. But who wants to go back there again? Pirates, Snorgworts and other creepy monsters! Not to mention those Loaches, who'd just love to suck the life right out of him. If it weren't for that eerily-bloody sword he found, the poor boy would think he'd lost his mind. Come along with Jaxon Meadows one more time, to his home town and then on to the Netherside, where there's one last chance to set things right. Because if he fails again, Jaxon won't have a “home” worth going back to. And neither will you.

For more adventures in the Secrets of the Netherside trilogy, read:

The Nightkeeper's Shadow Book I

Search for Pandemonia Book II