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Back The Last Dragon Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. - ONE -
  4. - TWO -
  5. - THREE -
  6. - FOUR -
  7. - FIVE -
  8. - SIX -
  9. - SEVEN -
  10. - EIGHT -
  11. - NINE -
  12. - TEN -
  13. - ELEVEN -
  14. - TWELVE -
  15. - THIRTEEN -
  16. - FOURTEEN -
  17. - FIFTEEN -
  18. - SIXTEEN -
  19. - SEVENTEEN -
  20. - EIGHTEEN -
  21. - NINETEEN -
  22. - TWENTY -
  23. - TWENTY-ONE -
  24. - TWENTY-TWO -
  25. - TWENTY-THREE -
  26. - TWENTY-FOUR -
  27. - TWENTY-FIVE -
  28. - TWENTY-SIX -
  29. - TWENTY-SEVEN -
  30. - TWENTY-EIGHT -
  31. - TWENTY-NINE -
  32. - THIRTY -
  33. - THIRTY-ONE -
  34. - THIRTY-TWO -
  35. - THIRTY-THREE -
  36. - THIRTY-FOUR -
  37. - THIRTY-FIVE -
  38. - THIRTY-SIX -
  39. - THIRTY-SEVEN -
  40. - THIRTY-EIGHT -
  41. - THIRTY-NINE -
  42. - FORTY -
  43. - FORTY-ONE -
  44. - FORTY-TWO -
  45. - FORTY-THREE -
  46. - FORTY-FOUR -
  47. - FORTY-FIVE -
  48. - FORTY-SIX -
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  50. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

But why did the Old Ones seem so confident that Gabriel’s brother, Michael, wouldn’t choose to return home? All Fort knew about Michael was what he’d seen in Sierra’s memories, back when she and Damian were still asleep beneath the Oppenheimer School. He’d seemed like a goofy kid, and Sierra had liked him. Michael had studied Destruction magic, and if Fort remembered right, had set his room on fire.

So, pretty normal all around. But then why would they take the chance? Had they used Spirit magic on him? That seemed pretty likely, but didn’t really fit with giving him the option to make a choice.

Maybe whatever had happened to Michael had been done to Fort’s father, too, and that explained why his dad hadn’t woken up? But Michael hadn’t been turned into a Dracsi, so that didn’t seem too probable.

Either way, they’d have to be ready to run at a moment’s notice, so Fort inched closer to Gabriel. From this distance he could see into the circle, but whatever lay beyond—Fort assumed it was the home of the Old Ones—was almost incomprehensible to his mind.

There was nothing solid there, just… madness. Shapes dissolved into sounds, and colors became ideas. Everything felt… sharp, like it could cut your mind the way a fever dream feels. Fort took a step toward the circle, drawn either by some sort of insane gravity, or through the horrible appeal of madness. He forced himself to look away.

Fortunately a figure appeared on the other side, blocking out the insanity. “Michael?” Gabriel said, his voice cracking as the boy from Sierra’s memories stepped through the teleportation circle, which quickly closed behind him.

This Michael had the same red hair, the same face, but somehow his body seemed to be constantly changing, at times almost fluid like a liquid, only to quickly shift to nearly diamondlike density. His whole body faded away until it was close to transparent, like a cloud, then caught fire like D’vale, and then back again. And his eyes…

Fort turned away, unable to even look at them further. Michael’s eyes looked just like what had lain beyond the teleportation circle—lunacy personified.

“HELLO, GABRIEL,” Michael said, waving his hand and leaving a trail of mist behind it. “IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME. HOW ARE YOU?”

“Mike,” Gabriel said, tears streaming down his face. “What… what did they do to you?”

“THEY OPENED MY EYES, GABRIEL,” Michael said, and Fort flinched at their mention. “OUR BODIES ARE MADE OF STAR MATTER. WE ARE ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE, AND MORE! EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED, AND I CONTROL IT ALL.”