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Chapters (64)
  1. About the Book
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Chapter One: The Swamp
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. Chapter Two: The Way Forward
  7. CHAPTER TWO
  8. Chapter Three: Central Park
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. Chapter Four: Unexpected News
  11. CHAPTER FOUR
  12. Chapter Five: The Cave of Doors
  13. CHAPTER FIVE
  14. Chapter Six: The Gang’s All Here
  15. CHAPTER SIX
  16. Chapter Seven: Esau’s Fortress
  17. CHAPTER SEVEN
  18. Chapter Eight: Into the Maze
  19. CHAPTER EIGHT
  20. Chapter Nine: Freefall
  21. CHAPTER NINE
  22. Chapter Ten: The Coils of the Labyrinth
  23. CHAPTER TEN
  24. Chapter Eleven: Torment
  25. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  26. Chapter Twelve: Invitation
  27. CHAPTER TWELVE
  28. Chapter Thirteen: The Grasping Tower
  29. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  30. Chapter Fourteen: The Swarmers Go Forth
  31. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  32. Chapter Fifteen: Down the Rabbit Hole
  33. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  34. Chapter Sixteen: Soranna’s Gambit
  35. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  36. Chapter Seventeen: Together Again
  37. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  38. Chapter Eighteen: Difficult Choices
  39. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  40. Chapter Nineteen: A Welcome Respite
  41. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  42. Chapter Twenty: Isaac’s Confession
  43. CHAPTER TWENTY
  44. Chapter Twenty-one: The Giant’s Playground
  45. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  46. Chapter Twenty-two: Alice and Goliath
  47. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  48. Chapter Twenty-three: Torment’s Children
  49. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  50. Chapter Twenty-four: The Hunt Begins
  51. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  52. Chapter Twenty-five: End of the Line
  53. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  54. Chapter Twenty-six: The Gideon, Reprise
  55. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  56. Chapter Twenty-seven: Reunion
  57. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  58. Chapter Twenty-eight: Homecoming
  59. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  60. Chapter Twenty-nine: And If You Wrong Us
  61. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  62. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
  63. About the Author
  64. Also available in The Forbidden Library series:

Instead something shifted, deep inside her. It strained, twisted, and broke with a crack, like one of her bones had suddenly given way. But there was no pain, only a profound sense of space all around, as if she’d been wearing blinders and heavy earmuffs all her life and they’d suddenly been removed. She was still running, and she could feel the texture of the world, like sheer fabric sliding through her fingers, and feel where it was twisted, bunched, and folded over.

The screaming came from over there. A long way off. But it was just a matter of grabbing hold of the cloth, pulling it into a new shape, bringing here and there together so they were not so far apart after all. And then—

Chapter Thirteen: The Grasping Tower

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE GRASPING TOWER

ALICE SKIDDED TO a halt. She was still on a bridge, but not the same bridge. The towers rising around her were different. The dome of the keep was nowhere to be seen. Ahead of her, where a blank wall had been, there was an arched doorway into a tower. The scream had come from inside.

She had no idea what had just happened, but there was no time to waste. Alice grabbed the Swarm thread, just in case, and hurried inside. There were no torches on the walls here, and she hurriedly yanked at the devilfish thread as well to light her way. As the pale green glow revealed her surroundings, she stopped dead, staring around in horror.

The interior of the tower was not like the others at all. There were no floors, just empty space. The entire tower was one giant cylindrical room, with a rusty iron staircase winding perilously around the edges.

As her eyes adjusted, Alice could see what looked like tiny, iron-barred windows, though no windows had been visible from outside. When she looked up, she could just see a ball of dull crimson light hovering three or four stories above her. The devilfish light and the hellish glow made for twisting, lurid shadows.

The screams had definitely been coming from above. She began to climb, quickly at first and then more cautiously as the iron steps shifted and squeaked in their bolts. She reached the first of the little iron windows, but nothing was visible on the other side except a darkness so black the devilfish’s glow could not penetrate it.