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
“Clearer now?”
They had enough water to kill Alucard, and perhaps the bat had feared for his life to that extent. But even if they used all the water they had with them, they could never escape the lair.
Silvie was still staring at Teeleh with a mixture of disbelief and horror. The beast did not move, did not speak, did not breathe, as far as Johnis could see. It was as if he’d come only to observe and give his blessing. To what end, Johnis could not know. But he knew now that there was no good ending to this misguided journey. They’d survived once, but they would not survive twice.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Johnis?
The voice that spoke in his mind belonged to little Karas, whom he’d rescued. All in vain. She was now haunting him.
Johnis!
He turned to his left, from the direction the voice came from in his mind. In his mind’s eye Karas stood, holding the four Books of History, each wrapped in red twine. She was staring with wide eyes past him at Alucard, clutching her treasure in both hands. And on either side of Karas stood Darsal and Billos, scanning the room with darting eyes.
Johnis blinked away the vision. But the sight of Karas, Darsal, and Billos remained stubbornly unchanged. Karas looked at him again. “What’s . . . what’s happening?”
They were real. Here. All of them. With the books.
And this is why Teeleh is here, Johnis realized. For the books.
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-FIVE
Do your bidding,” Teeleh said.
Alucard stepped around Johnis and slowly approached the trio, who stood unmoved. His wings dragged behind as he slogged forward, but Johnis knew better than to be fooled by the sluggishness of his movements.
He stopped when he was halfway to Darsal, so that they formed a triangle with Alucard at one point, Johnis and Silvie at another, and their comrades at the third.
“Give me the books,” he said.
“Not exactly what I had in mind,” Billos said, looking at the worms on the wall. “I think I prefer the white room with DELL.”
“This isn’t good,” Darsal said, her eyes fixed on Alucard.
“You made a vow,” the beast said.
Darsal just stared, but Johnis knew she had. They would now find out what that meant.
“You can’t, Karas,” he said.
“Then give me her.” Alucard stretched one talon toward Darsal.
“No.” The muscles in Billos’s jaw bunched. “Over my dead body.”
“Perhaps. But the vow was made over the books. You can’t use the books to undermine that vow. They cannot help you escape me, to whom you owe your life.”
The words hung between them like knives that would slash flesh before this engagement was over. The only question was, whose flesh?
Teeleh and his entourage breathed and peered from their right, undisturbed. Unflinching. Unchallenged.