“Mike, they’re going to let you come home with me,” Gabriel said, stepping closer to his brother and slowly holding out a hand. “Do you understand what I’m saying? You can come back to Earth, with me and mom, even with the colonel. We’re your family. That’s where you belong.”

“EARTH?” Michael tilted his head, as if he was confused. “NO, I DON’T BELIEVE I WILL. NOT YET. I HAVE TOO MUCH TO LEARN HERE. THE OLD ONES ARE GOOD TEACHERS, GABRIEL. IF YOU LET THEM, THEY CAN OPEN YOUR MIND TOO, AND YOU CAN SEE THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE, AND WHAT THIS REALITY TRULY IS. THEN YOU AND I WILL BRING THEM BACK HOME AND HELP ALL OF HUMANITY TO SEE, JUST LIKE WE DO.”

Fort swallowed hard, readying a teleportation circle. That was it. The Old Ones had given Michael the choice, and he’d chosen to stay with them. And that meant—

“Mike, no,” Gabriel said, stumbling toward his brother. “Please, you have to come back. They’re letting you decide! Are they making you say these things? If the real you, the Michael I remember, is in there somewhere… just say the word, and I’ll help you. I’ll fight them and bring you back no matter what! I don’t care if I have to burn down the universe to do it.”

“OH, GABRIEL,” Michael said, putting a hand on his brother’s cheek. “THEY ARE NOT MAKING ME SAY ANYTHING. I’VE LEFT YOU AND DAD BEHIND NOW. BUT IT’S NOT TOO LATE. COME WITH ME, AND YOU’LL SEE WHAT I HAVE. LET ME PROTECT YOU FOR ONCE, GABRIEL.”

Gabriel looked up at his brother and raised a hand toward him. Was he going to leave with Michael, go back with the Old Ones? He couldn’t… could he?

“Mike, I—”

THE CHOICE HAS BEEN MADE, Ketas declared, and Fort felt the Old One’s presence push into his mind, infecting him with its incomprehensible horror. Gabriel also stiffened as a yellow glow appeared over his head, the same thing likely happening to him. HOWEVER, OUR APPRENTICE HAS MADE YOU AN OFFER, AND YOU MAY ACCEPT. BEFORE YOU DO, LET US MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INFORMATION WAS TRUE.

The cavern around them disappeared, replaced by a mental image of a human woman standing before two children, both tied up and looking completely out of it. Lost in his own mind, Fort screamed noiselessly as he recognized first Sierra, then Damian, with Agent Cole standing over them.

“This will all go much easier on you if you reveal where the stolen books went,” Agent Cole said, leaning in toward Sierra, whose head lolled to one side.

WE HAVE INDEED FOUND THE LAST DRAGON, Ketas said in their heads. PERHAPS WE WILL SHOW YOU HIS TRUE POWER NOW?