But whatever was there, they’d handle it. Because after almost eight months, he had finally caught up to his father, and nothing was going to stop Fort from bringing him back home.

“I told you not to come here,” Sikurgurd said, watching them from the other side of the teleportation circle.

“You were right,” Rachel said as she stepped through after Jia. “What’s in here, anyway?”

The dwarf just looked at them sadly. “It’s called Dragon’s Teeth. What do you think?”

A long, low growl echoed through the tunnel, shaking the ground beneath their feet with its power.

A small movement out of the corner of Fort’s eye caught his attention, and he saw Jia reach out and squeeze Rachel’s hand supportively. He hadn’t realized how close they’d gotten since coming to the new school.

“I’m sorry about this,” Sikurgurd said as they all stared down the tunnel. “I really am. But if the Old Ones can go back to your home, maybe they’ll leave my people in peace.”

His words made Fort move, but it was already too late. Sikurgurd had his eyes closed and was slowly closing his hands together. “Hey!” Fort shouted, and leaped for the teleportation circle, but it closed as he reached it, with the dwarf on the other side.

“Betrayed again,” Rachel said, glaring at Fort. “Does he not realize we can just open another circle?”

“That’s what makes me nervous,” Fort said. He attempted to open a circle back to where they’d just come from. The magic filled his hands, but just like when he’d tried to teleport somewhere he hadn’t seen, no circle opened.

“Um, why aren’t you teleporting?” Jia asked, sounding a bit panicky.

The ground shook with another growl as Fort turned to his friends sadly. “Because I can’t. I think we’re trapped here.”

- THIRTY-ONE -

WE’RE WHAT?” RACHEL SHOUTED. “This is why I said we shouldn’t come. Among the other reasons, all of which are still valid!”

Fort winced. “I think we should probably be quiet,” he whispered. “If that really is a dragon down there, we don’t want it to know we’re here.”

“DO YOU IMAGINE I CANNOT HEAR YOU, HUMAN?” said a voice so powerful it shook dust from the ceiling.

They all stared at one another for a moment before Gabriel nodded and turned to walk toward the voice.

“What are you doing?” Rachel hissed at him.

“I’m going to see if that’s really what we think it is,” Gabriel said. “And if it is, I want to know if it’s the last one.”

Their conversation back in the skeleton room came flooding back to Fort, and he wondered again who might have been visiting Gabriel in his dreams. If he’d heard the Old One too, what had the creature offered him?