almost couldn’t believe what she saw. Darius lay on the ground, dead. Coffman and Alric might have been dead too – she couldn’t tell.
Then there was Marcus. The Sphere was ready to blast, and she knew there wasn’t time to go after him before it took the lives of more soldiers.
Kaden and Lorcan were right behind her. There was no time. Before the Sphere exploded, all she could think to do was throw up a green shield of energy around them.
She had no idea if it would work. She had no idea if it actually did work. All she knew was that everything had gone black, and she was falling.
*****
Silas followed his father through the dark caves of the Reemlock Mountains.
Will held up a finger to tell him to stay quiet. “We’re not far now. Just another minute or so.”
The path wound through another set of corridors and cave walls until Silas wasn’t sure he would ever be able to find his way out again. But then, of course, he assumed he would not survive anyway.
“I want to know something,” Silas said.
“Yes?”
“Why did you tell me in my dream that destroying the Red Gate would kill me?”
“Because it will,” he answered.
“But, how do you know this for sure?”
“You hear a lot of things when you’re imprisoned in Mudavé,” Will said.
“What, some guard just said that to you or something? I find that hard to believe.”
Will turned on him sharply and grabbed his arm. “Why don’t you go and try it then?” he nearly yelled. “See if it kills you.”
Silas pulled his arm away from the strong grip, surprised at Will’s sudden burst of anger. “I plan on it. Forgive me if I’m curious as to why something would kill me.”
“Don’t you feel it, Silas? In your bones, in the magic?”
Silas knew exactly what he was talking about, but he wasn’t going to say it outright.
Will continued. “When you destroyed the Blue Gate, what happened to you?”
“I blacked out.”
“How long?”
“Two days.”
“What about the Green Gate?”
“I blacked out for three days.”
“And have you felt yourself weaken?” Will asked him. “Have you been able to use your magic as effectively?”
“No.”
“Your magic is tied to the medallions, right?”
“I guess so.”
“You’re destroying the medallions. You’re destroying whatever life you have in you right now.”
Of course Silas had suspected this. He knew that his power came from the medallions and he knew that when each one was destroyed he felt tired and weak.
Silas wished that it wasn’t true.
“I know you find it difficult to believe me,” Will said. “I just wanted you to know what you’re getting yourself into before you do it.”
“I never went into this thinking I was invincible.”
“That’s very wise of you.”
Silas didn’t like his father’s darkened tone. Didn’t fathers want to keep their sons from harm? Shouldn’t Will be urging Silas to stay away from the Red Gate?”
But this man was his father. He had to be. Kaden’s own memories had confirmed this.
Will silently led him further until they came to a door that seemed very out of place to Silas. It was a plain wooden door seemingly embedded in the cave. Before opening the door, Will looked back at Silas.
“Are you ready? He’s just on the other side.”
The revelation came so abruptly. There truly was no preparing for such a fight, and though Silas would have preferred another night’s sleep to gain some of his power back, there was obviously no time for that.
He looked into Will’s eyes deeply, wishing he had more time to explore his mind further. What would Silas find? Would he find pure intentions? Did Will want Silas to defeat Anithistor? Silas had trusted his dreams without considering the fact that he could have been set up by the enemy.
Silas nodded at Will for him to open the door, and his father complied. With a loud creak the door swung inward. Silas half expected to be blasted with some sort of powerful magic, but instead found a massive cavern, dark and foreboding.
It was a grand cave as wide and tall as a stadium. Only a faint light poked through the top from the outside world. This was it. Silas had felt the gate pulling him to this point. But before he could destroy the gate, he had to find his adversary. Though Silas had the medallion, he was not the Red Gate’s keeper. That title belonged to Anithistor.
Before stepping forward, Silas took another look back at Will. The man had his eyes closed, and looked almost like