Chapters (132)
- COVER PAGE
- CHOSEN: LOST BOOK 1
- BEGINNINGS
- 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
- INFIDEL: LOST BOOK 2
- BEGINNINGS
- 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
- RENEGADE: LOST BOOK 3
- BEGINNINGS
- 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
- CHAOS: LOST BOOK 4
- BEGINNINGS
- 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
The world is coming apart at the seams, she thought. First Billos, and now Karas. They are mad, all completely mad.
NINE
NINE
The spider named DELL stared at Billos with glowing, pupilless red eyes. A whole circle of them ringed its head like a crown. They hadn’t actually “opened” per se, but they had come to life and were peering at him.
Still, the beast did not move.
Billos had been in tight, life-threatening situations dozens of times, and if there was one thing that had been cut into his instincts, it was the importance of seizing the advantage. He had to move now, while he had the element of surprise. Surely the beast was as stunned as he; what else explained its inaction?
Billos feigned left, then darted to his right, knife still extended. His plan was simple: disable one leg, maybe two if he had the opportunity; leave his enemy vulnerable on one side, then keep to that side.
He thrust the knife into the thigh, twisted, and ripped backward. The skin tore, bled a white fluffy substance.
Feathers.
Billos jumped back, confused by the sight. The creature had not reacted. It hadn’t even flinched.
He lowered the knife and stood up. So then, it wasn’t a spider, not an ant, not a beast of any kind. This was a flower, or a bush, or . . . a tree maybe. Or a weapon of some kind. Maybe a fancy buggy.
And since the wall looked like the glass Thomas insisted came from his dreams, perhaps this object also came from his dreams.
For that matter, maybe Billos had stepped into Thomas’s world.
He walked forward and tentatively touched Dell’s leg, then decided that his first instinct had been correct. This was a chair or a bed, not a leg. Which meant he was supposed to sit or lie on it.
For the first time since he’d crossed into this strange and terrible place, Billos grinned. A daring, fascinated grin with just a little relief.
This didn’t end his troubles, of course—he still had to find a way out before he starved to death. The books were nowhere to be seen, and he didn’t have the slightest idea what the contraption did or how to work it, but at least he wasn’t pinned under its hungry jaws.
“So, so, so, what do we have here?” he muttered. “Tell me what surprises you hold for me, DELL. Let’s make friends.”
Armed with his new conclusions, Billos slowly ran his hand over the cut he’d made. A chair. Yes, of course, how foolish of him to think this contraption was a spider.
DELL was undoubtedly a horseless buggy. Six reclining seats and a spokeless wheel in the center. He touched one of the shiny black spheres that rested at the top of each chair, saw that they were attached only by cords, and carefully lifted one up with both hands.