Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Dedication
- - ONE -
- - TWO -
- - THREE -
- - FOUR -
- - FIVE -
- - SIX -
- - SEVEN -
- - EIGHT -
- - NINE -
- - TEN -
- - ELEVEN -
- - TWELVE -
- - THIRTEEN -
- - FOURTEEN -
- - FIFTEEN -
- - SIXTEEN -
- - SEVENTEEN -
- - EIGHTEEN -
- - NINETEEN -
- - TWENTY -
- - TWENTY-ONE -
- - TWENTY-TWO -
- - TWENTY-THREE -
- - TWENTY-FOUR -
- - TWENTY-FIVE -
- - TWENTY-SIX -
- - TWENTY-SEVEN -
- - TWENTY-EIGHT -
- - TWENTY-NINE -
- - THIRTY -
- - THIRTY-ONE -
- - THIRTY-TWO -
- - THIRTY-THREE -
- - THIRTY-FOUR -
- - THIRTY-FIVE -
- - THIRTY-SIX -
- - THIRTY-SEVEN -
- - THIRTY-EIGHT -
- - THIRTY-NINE -
- - FORTY -
- - FORTY-ONE -
- - FORTY-TWO -
- - FORTY-THREE -
- - FORTY-FOUR -
- - FORTY-FIVE -
- - FORTY-SIX -
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
So the Old Ones of Mind, Spirit, and Elemental magic, which was Destruction, if Fort remembered right. That only left Time and whatever the seventh form of magic was. That at least was fortunate: The last thing they needed was an Old One who could see the future.
Still, the three here could read and take over your mind, take over your spirit and force you into servitude, or… Destruction. So, blow everything up. That wasn’t much better.
But where had his friends gone? Had the Old Ones attacked the portal and taken them prisoner? If they had, why hadn’t they just passed through it? That was their goal all along, and without Gabriel and Rachel guarding it, the portal had been standing open for however long Fort had been gone.
No, if they’d known about it, they’d be on Earth now, and the dragon seemed convinced they were still in the Dracsi dimension. So what had happened to Gabriel and Rachel?
“THEY WILL SENSE MY PRESENCE,” the Old One hissed. “WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME!”
“Do you sense any humans now?”
The dragon slowly nodded. “Two. They are with my brethren.”
And there it was. However it had happened, the Old Ones had his friends. And all because of him. Somehow, Cyrus had been wrong: In trying to save his father, he’d lost two friends, not just one.
“Then there’s nothing for it,” Fort said, feeling numb inside. “We have to face your family. We need to get them back.”
“THERE IS NO FACING THEM,” the Old One said, sneering at Fort. “PERHAPS ONE, MAYBE TWO OF THEM, BUT NOT THE THREE. THEY WILL DESTROY ME AND TAKE YOUR SPIRIT. YOU WILL BE THEIRS, BODY AND SOUL. WE HAVE NO HOPE AGAINST THEM ALL AT ONCE.”
“Can’t you paralyze them before they cast any magic?” Fort asked. “That’s your whole thing, you control bodies! You should be able to stop them before they’re even able to move!”
“THEY WILL TURN MY MIND OR SPIRIT AS SOON AS I APPEAR, AND I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO OBEY THEM,” the Old One said. “THEN YOU WOULD FACE FOUR, NOT THREE.” He lifted a claw, and Fort felt the dragon’s invisible magic squeeze all around him. “AND YOU ARE NOT A MATCH FOR EVEN ME. THERE IS NO HOPE, HUMAN. YOUR FRIENDS ARE LOST.”
No! It couldn’t end like this, not with him losing both Rachel and Gabriel! Cyrus had said he’d only lose one friend, and even that was too many. “There’s got to be a way!” he shouted. “If we can’t outmagic them, then we’ll have to out-think them. If they’re going to attack you first, since you’re the greatest threat… maybe we can use that?”
The dragon snorted. “HOW, BY HAVING YOU ATTACK THEM?”
Fort’s eyes widened. “No. By having me be a distraction.”