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Back The Lost Books
Chapters (132)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. CHOSEN: LOST BOOK 1
  3. BEGINNINGS
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. INFIDEL: LOST BOOK 2
  35. BEGINNINGS
  36. ONE
  37. TWO
  38. THREE
  39. FOUR
  40. FIVE
  41. SIX
  42. SEVEN
  43. EIGHT
  44. NINE
  45. TEN
  46. ELEVEN
  47. TWELVE
  48. THIRTEEN
  49. FOURTEEN
  50. FIFTEEN
  51. SIXTEEN
  52. SEVENTEEN
  53. EIGHTEEN
  54. NINETEEN
  55. TWENTY
  56. TWENTY-ONE
  57. TWENTY-TWO
  58. TWENTY-THREE
  59. TWENTY-FOUR
  60. TWENTY-FIVE
  61. TWENTY-SIX
  62. TWENTY-SEVEN
  63. RENEGADE: LOST BOOK 3
  64. BEGINNINGS
  65. ONE
  66. TWO
  67. THREE
  68. FOUR
  69. FIVE
  70. SIX
  71. SEVEN
  72. EIGHT
  73. NINE
  74. TEN
  75. ELEVEN
  76. TWELVE
  77. THIRTEEN
  78. FOURTEEN
  79. FIFTEEN
  80. SIXTEEN
  81. SEVENTEEN
  82. EIGHTEEN
  83. NINETEEN
  84. TWENTY
  85. TWENTY-ONE
  86. TWENTY-TWO
  87. TWENTY-THREE
  88. TWENTY-FOUR
  89. TWENTY-FIVE
  90. TWENTY-SIX
  91. TWENTY-SEVEN
  92. TWENTY-EIGHT
  93. TWENTY-NINE
  94. THIRTY
  95. THIRTY-ONE
  96. THIRTY-TWO
  97. THIRTY-THREE
  98. THIRTY-FOUR
  99. THIRTY-FIVE
  100. THIRTY-SIX
  101. THIRTY-SEVEN
  102. CHAOS: LOST BOOK 4
  103. BEGINNINGS
  104. ONE
  105. TWO
  106. THREE
  107. FOUR
  108. FIVE
  109. SIX
  110. SEVEN
  111. EIGHT
  112. NINE
  113. TEN
  114. ELEVEN
  115. TWELVE
  116. THIRTEEN
  117. FOURTEEN
  118. FIFTEEN
  119. SIXTEEN
  120. SEVENTEEN
  121. EIGHTEEN
  122. NINETEEN
  123. TWENTY
  124. TWENTY-ONE
  125. TWENTY-TWO
  126. TWENTY-THREE
  127. TWENTY-FOUR
  128. TWENTY-FIVE
  129. TWENTY-SIX
  130. TWENTY-SEVEN
  131. TWENTY-EIGHT
  132. TWENTY-NINE

“What lies ahead of us is the issue now,” the traitor said. “We can deal with this fire soon enough. But looking ahead I see a slaughter.”

Qurong flung the glass at him. “Their slaughter, you mean. I won’t let this string of fighters perched like proud cockatoos foil my plan! We go in!” He swung onto his horse. He’d become so accustomed to the pain of sudden movement that he gave it no mind.

“Then you’ll lose your army,” the traitor said. “You can’t keep going back—”

“Don’t talk to me of our old ways!” Qurong roared.

“Then be my guest. Commit your men to their deaths.”

Qurong breathed heavily through his nose. There would come a day when he’d leave the fighting to his generals. Perhaps to the traitor himself. But today he commanded.

“You can see it, can’t you?” the traitor asked softly. “They have the upper hand. Their archers will kill most of our horses in the canyons from their positions above. Like fish in a barrel.”

“Fish in a barrel?”

The traitor hesitated. “A saying Thomas uses. The point is, this plan has been compromised. We’d be better off attacking from the east, where there are no cliffs.”

“But our forces are here! Because of you, I will add.”

“Better to fight another day,” the traitor said.

And Qurong knew he was right.

“We’ve been foiled by black magic,” the priest of Teeleh said behind them.

“Curse your black magic!” Qurong snapped.

The priest didn’t flinch. There was something to this whole mess, this business of Teeleh and missing books, that Qurong thought might end up playing into his hands.

“Your decision?” the traitor asked.

“We fight another day,” Qurong said and spit to one side.

The traitor dipped his head. “Wise. And that day will be sooner than you think.”

Then he did something that Qurong found very strange indeed. He withdrew a silver ring from his pocket, rode to a boulder jutting from the sand—the only such rock for a thousand paces—and placed the ring on top.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Qurong demanded.

“Do you want your battle?”

“I don’t see what a ring has to do with battle.”

“But I do.” He took out his knife, cut his finger, and soaked a small piece of cloth with the blood. Then he placed the cloth under the ring.

“Enough with your secrets,” Qurong said.

The priest spoke confidently. “It’s the language of black magic!”

The traitor returned to their sides. “No. But it’s a language that is as strong. They will know. Believe me, they will know.”

TWENTY-NINE

TWENTY-NINE

Father! Father!” screamed Thomas’s daughter, Marie, running like the wind through the front door. “They’ve been found!”