by James Riley
To Michelle, Chris, Audrey, Doug, Sean, and Mallory.
Thanks for letting me in the club.
- ONE -
SINCE THIS IS YOUR FIRST briefing, I’d just stay quiet and listen,” Dr. Ambrose said to Fort as they waited for the elevator in the slowly transforming hall of the new Oppenheimer School. The walls were being repainted from an awful puke green to a less horrible camouflage green, and all the posters talking about some “Red Scare” were being replaced with warnings about magic and not talking to strange creatures.
“I doubt I’ll have anything to say anyway,” Fort told her, still barely sure what was even happening. Just a few moments ago Dr. Ambrose, the Healing teacher at the school, had collected Fort from his room to head to this mysterious military briefing.
All Fort knew was that according to the short news video Dr. Ambrose had shown him, an enormous black dome now covered the lower half of the United Kingdom. That, and whoever had made the dome wanted Fort—along with his friends Rachel and Jia—handed over to them.
Because of course they did. Just when everything seemed to be getting a little better, this had to happen.
In the last week or so, things had been a bit … chaotic for Fort. He’d learned enough Summoning magic to travel between dimensions in the search for the monsters who had taken his father, while also fighting against a dragon, a city of dwarfs, and his own roommate, Gabriel. And that had been the easy stuff.
The truly terrifying creatures Fort had faced were the three Old Ones, creatures as old as time with a hatred of the human race. The Old Ones had tried to offer Gabriel his missing brother back in exchange for the whereabouts of the last dragon on earth. Only it turned out that dragon was actually Damian, a boy from the original class of the Oppenheimer School.
But through all of that, the one thing that had kept Fort going was the idea that he might find his father alive and bring him home. And somehow, someway, he had. Fort had located his father, who’d been turned into one of those same monsters that had taken his dad in the first place. Then Fort had restored his humanity and brought him home.
Things still weren’t totally fixed. His dad had fallen unconscious as soon as he turned back into himself and hadn’t woken up since. Plus, Dr. Ambrose had apparently found something weird in his dad’s tests. So all Fort wanted to do was go back to his father, hug him tight, and take him home.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. “Colonel Charles came back especially for this emergency, after taking his son Gabriel home,” Dr. Ambrose told Fort. “And he’s none too thrilled with you, I might add, considering what happened.”
Fort nodded silently but inwardly wondered how that was different from any other moment at the school. The only time the colonel had seemed to be on Fort’s side had been when he assigned Fort to be Gabriel’s roommate and basically ordered them to become friends. Gabriel hadn’t taken that order very well, but they’d actually had fun anyway.
That was all over now. The last time he’d seen Gabriel, in fact, the other boy had been threatening to drop him into a volcano if Fort didn’t take him back to the dimension where his younger brother had chosen to remain with the Old Ones.
Fort sighed, wondering how much worse things could get. “Do you know what the dome people want with us?” he asked Dr. Ambrose. “How would they even know our names?”
“Well, considering you were on international news flying with a dragon yesterday, it might have something to do with that,” Dr. Ambrose said with a shrug. “Or maybe they want you because you’ve faced those Draci monsters twice now.”
“Dracsi,” Fort corrected, his stomach tightening.
“Right, that’s what matters now, correcting me about a made-up word,” Dr. Ambrose said, and somehow, her annoyance made Fort feel a bit less like things were completely out of control.
Still, the thought of what might be waiting for him in the briefing sent a chill down Fort’s spine. Who could have put the dome up? The Old Ones seemed like the most obvious answer, but if they had found a way back, then it wasn’t just the UK that was in danger: The entire world would be next.
And if that was the case, Fort wished Dr. Ambrose had left him with his father. He’d just gotten to see him again after everything. Who knew when his dad would wake up, if he even would?
“Try not to be too scared,” Dr. Ambrose said, patting his shoulder awkwardly. “I’m sure the colonel won’t send you three into—”
She stopped in the middle of her sentence right as the elevator did too. But the doors didn’t open in front of them, and when Fort glanced up at Dr. Ambrose, he found her mouth open like she was still speaking.
“Dr. Ambrose?” he said, fear beginning to spread through him. “Dr. Ambrose! Are you okay?”
And then the doctor and the elevator both disappeared, as the out-of-date paint of the new Oppenheimer School was replaced by a bloodred sky. In the distance was some sort of huge fortress made of shining black stone and surrounded by a landscape devoid of any other signs of life.
Fort stared around him in horror. What had just happened? Where was he? Had the people who made the dome just reached out and taken him? But even if they had, where had they brought him?
Maybe this was some kind of dream, or Mind spell? He touched his arm, and it felt solid enough, as did the dusty ground beneath his feet.
“HELLO, FORSYTHE,” said a voice from behind him, the power of it vibrating in Fort’s chest. His heart began racing even faster, and he slowly turned to find a cloaked creature floating in the middle of the air.
Or at least he assumed it had to be a creature, because it had spoken. Only there was nothing beneath the cloak, which was covered in glowing black symbols. There was no physical body at all, just what looked like a face, or maybe only eyes. As he stared, the cloak seemed to pull Fort in, the world kaleidoscoping around him, as he found himself almost drowning in a thousand different versions of himself. There he was with his father holding him as a baby, and Fort felt every cry he made. Another vision hit him, this time the first day of kindergarten, and he was flooded with too many emotions to deal with, from missing his father to excitement about his new school.
And then he was in D.C., and a giant, scaled hand was driving out of the ground. Terror struck him like a blow, and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, could only watch as the hand pushed up out of the Lincoln Memorial—
And then the monster disappeared, replaced by a strangely familiar twenty-year-old man, his body glowing with several different colors of light, as if he knew multiple types of magic. Whoever it was smiled at Fort, and for the first time, Fort felt almost a strange sort of peace. The man started to say something, but then the cloak blew out in the wind, cutting off the vision in midstream.
The emotions of it all disappeared along with the vision, and their absence sent Fort to his knees. What was that thing?
“YOU KNOW WHAT I AM, FORSYTHE,” the creature said, and for the first time Fort noticed there were hands at the ends of the arms of the cloak. One hand was covered in a spiked black glove; the other was solely bone, like a skeleton.
“You’re … you’re an Old One,” Fort said, barely able to look at it.
“I AM,” the Old One said. “AND IT’S TIME WE HAD A TALK.”
- TWO -
I’VE BEEN TRYING TO FIX things for a very long time, Forsythe,” the Old One said, the force of its voice enough to keep Fort on the ground. “UNTOLD MILLENNIA HAVE PASSED, AND EVERYTHING HAS GONE ACCORDING TO MY PLAN. EVEN YOU HAVE PLAYED YOUR ROLE ADMIRABLY, NOW THAT WE’RE REACHING THE END.”
What? What did it mean, play a role? “I’d never help you!” Fort shouted, trying to sound braver than he felt and failing miserably.
An eerie laugh floated out o
f the empty hood. “YOU NEVER HAD A CHOICE. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HANDLED, ALL THE DETAILS TAKEN CARE OF. I HAVE SEEN ITS SUCCESS, BRINGING BACK MY WAYWARD FAMILY ONCE AND FOR ALL.”
And suddenly Fort felt a lot more scared, only this time, not for himself. “Bringing your family back? But that would mean you’re—”
“HERE ON EARTH,” the Old One said, gesturing with his skeletal hand. “IN THE FUTURE ANYWAY. I AM THE TIMELESS ONE, FORSYTHE, THE ALL-SEEING MASTER OF TIME MAGIC. I HAVE OBSERVED UNIVERSES CREATED AND DESTROYED, WITNESSED THE DAWN OF LIFE, AND WATCHED IT DIE OUT ALONE. EVEN MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY DON’T KNOW WHAT I DO. IT’S BEEN MY CURSE, AND MY RESPONSIBILITY, FOR THEY ARE BUT WAYWARD CHILDREN IN MY CARE.”
Fort looked around, wondering if the Old One was telling the truth. Certainly it would have the power to take him to the future, but did the world really end up like this, dead and lifeless? It was almost too horrible to believe.
“OH, THIS REALLY IS YOUR WORLD,” the Old One said. “OR IS AS IT WILL BE, ONCE MY FAMILY RETURNS. BUT YOU SEE, THAT’S WHY I’VE BROUGHT YOU HERE TODAY. BECAUSE AS MUCH AS YOU’VE BEEN PERFORMING EXACTLY AS I WANTED UP UNTIL TODAY, NOW THAT WE’RE APPROACHING THE END, YOU’VE CHOSEN TO DEVIATE FROM THE PATH I SET FOR YOU. AND WE CAN’T HAVE THAT, CAN WE?”
“What are you talking about?” Fort shouted, slowly pushing to his feet. “I would never follow any plan of yours, especially if it brought the other Old Ones back!”
Again, the Timeless One laughed. “YOU NEVER HAD A CHOICE, CHILD. JUST LIKE YOU DON’T NOW. TO KEEP YOU FROM INTERFERING WITH MY DELICATE PLAN, I’VE DECIDED TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE GAME FOR A BIT. A YEAR OR TWO SHOULD TAKE CARE OF IT.”
Fort’s eyes widened. A year or two? “What game are you talking about?”
“THE ONLY ONE WORTH PLAYING,” the Old One said, and reached for Fort, its hands glowing with black light. “I TRULY AM SORRY ABOUT THIS. YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WERE WORKING OUT SO WELL. BUT SOMETIMES ONE SMALL OVERSIGHT CAN THROW EVERYTHING OFF, AND I CANNOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN. BUT DON’T WORRY. I’LL BRING YOU BACK IN TIME TO WITNESS MY FAMILY’S RETURN. YOU DESERVE TO SEE WHAT YOUR HANDIWORK HAS BROUGHT ABOUT, AFTER ALL.”
“No!” Fort shouted, but it was too late. Black light shot out from the creature’s hands, directly at him. Fort created a teleportation circle in front of him to block it, but the black light disintegrated the circle and continued straight toward Fort—
Only to stop just before it touched him, and then blow away with the arid wind.
Fort looked up in surprise. So did the Old One.
Standing off to the side was an old man, a human, wearing a brown robe that’d seen better days. His long, white beard was tucked into his belt, and he smiled as he gave Fort a nod. “Don’t worry, Forsythe,” he said, sounding almost amused. “I’ve got this.”
“YOU?” the Old One said, and floated back a few feet. “YOU’RE BREAKING THE RULES. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE!”
The old man grinned wider. “Oh, no? You’re the one who’s cheating, my boy. We agreed that there’s no changing the past, but here you are, trying to do just that. You’d think you’d have learned that by now, even at your young age.”
Fort just stared in confusion, not following at all. Who was this man, and how was he intimidating the Old One while smiling?
And even stranger, why was he calling this horror in an empty cloak “young”?
“I WILL BRING THE OTHERS BACK!” the Old One roared, its hands glowing with black light again. “YOU CAN’T STOP ME, OLD MAN!”
The bearded man rolled his eyes. “So dramatic. Don’t get all in a huff: You’ll still have your turn. But you’re not meant to face these children just yet. And I’m not going to let you cheat, not while I’m around to stop it.”
The Old One laughed. “YOU WON’T BE AROUND FOREVER. IF I SUCCEED, YOU WILL NEVER EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
“Probably true,” the man conceded, then shrugged. “Sounds like you better get moving, then?”
Without another word, the man snapped his finger, and the Old One disappeared in a burst of black light. Fort just watched in amazement as the man turned to him, now looking much more apologetic.
“What … what?” Fort said, struggling to wrap his mind around everything.
“Ah, sorry about all of this,” the man said, blushing. “I really should have nipped it in the bud before it got this far. You’re not due to fight that one until a little under a year from now.”
“A year from now?” Fort said, his eyes widening. “I have to fight that thing?”
“Well, you and the others,” the old man said. “Granted, you could try taking a different path, but I think you’ll find it’s hard to change your destiny once it’s in motion. And the destiny of you and your friends has been set for thousands of years.”
“Thousands of years?” Fort said, completely confused. “But how could that be? I’m only twelve!”
“Fair point!” the man said, and laughed loudly. “But we’ve known you were coming. We’ve known all of you humans were coming, and what that would mean.” He paused. “But I don’t know why I’m bothering telling you any of this, as I’ll be wiping this all from your timeline. You can’t remember any of it, not if you’re to choose the path you’re meant to.”
He raised his hands, and they glowed black just like the Old One’s had. “Wait!” Fort said. “I don’t know what’s happening!”
“Oh, you’ll get used to that as you get older,” the man said, and the light surrounded Fort. “But don’t worry! Next time we meet, I promise I’ll try to guide you as best I can.” He shrugged. “It won’t work, but I’m happy to try!”
“What path?” Fort shouted. “How will you—”
And then the lifeless planet disappeared, and Fort was back in the elevator, with Dr. Ambrose reaching out to pat his shoulder.
“Try not to be too scared,” she said. “I’m sure the colonel won’t send you three into danger.”
Fort flinched away in surprise at her touch, and she pulled her hand back immediately. “Whoa, I didn’t realize you were that nervous,” she said.
“I … didn’t know either,” Fort said. He had the strange sense that something bizarre had just happened, but he had no idea what. He’d been standing here in the elevator with Dr. Ambrose, talking about the dome, and she’d said the colonel wouldn’t send them into danger. And then …
And then nothing. The elevator was still moving, and Dr. Ambrose was looking at him oddly. So why did he feel so unsettled, then?
“I know none of this is easy, getting it all sprung on you out of nowhere,” Dr. Ambrose said as the elevator dinged, and the door opened. “But don’t worry about it. Colonel Charles just wants you here to be briefed. You’ll be completely safe the whole time.”
Fort nodded as she stepped out, clearly expecting him to follow. She had a point: They were in the middle of one of the only schools for magic anywhere in the world. Even the Old Ones couldn’t reach them here from their other dimension, not without Summoning magic.
With that, he took a long, calming breath. It was good to remember that if nothing else, the Old Ones weren’t coming back, and even if they did, Sierra and Damian were tracking down the books of magic. Granted, Fort didn’t trust Damian at all, but with Sierra to watch over him, he’d hopefully have the power to keep the Old Ones away.
And without their threat, how bad could things really be?
- THREE -
FORT’S VERY FIRST MILITARY BRIEFING had already started when he arrived. “Time is short, so I won’t keep you long,” Colonel Charles said from the front of the Briefing Room, then paused as Dr. Ambrose brought Fort in. Everyone turned to look at Fort, and he felt his face begin to burn as the doctor led him gently toward the back, where Jia and Rachel were seated.
Of all the stares, though, the colonel’s was the angriest. The man looked like he hadn’t slept in days, which he probably hadn’t, not with everything that’d happened with his son Gabriel and the Old Ones. �
�Good to see everyone’s here, finally,” Colonel Charles said, and Fort winced.
“Sorry,” Dr. Ambrose said, as Fort silently took an open seat next to Jia. “Had to make sure my patient was fit for active duty, Colonel.”
This earned Dr. Ambrose a similar glare to the one Fort had gotten, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved that the doctor was on his side, at least a bit.
“Your devotion to your job is noted, Doctor,” Colonel Charles said. “Now if I might continue?”
She waved absently, dropping into a seat along the wall.
“Are you okay?” Jia whispered to Fort. “I’m sorry I couldn’t finish healing you. There were so many people that the Old One morphed—”
The memory of D’hea—the Old One of Corporeal magic—turning soldiers two-dimensional or merging them together filled Fort’s head, and he shook it off, trying not to think about how letting the Old One into the school had been all his fault. “I’m okay,” he whispered back.
“As I was saying, I’ll make this quick,” Colonel Charles said. “This isn’t a surprise, ladies and gentlemen. We knew this day would come. Many of you have been briefed on the situation from your squad leaders already, but for those who haven’t, we have another potential D.C. situation on our hands.”
A low murmur came over the assembled soldiers as the lights dimmed, and the screens on the wall lit up to show the video Dr. Ambrose had shown Fort earlier, news footage of an enormous black dome now covering half of the United Kingdom. A few of the soldiers actually gasped, while Rachel and Jia just stared in shock. That was understandable; even having seen it before, Fort couldn’t help but shudder at how unreal the world had become.
Eight months ago, a monster attack or a dome covering a country would have been unthinkable. Now it was happening every few weeks. And if Fort was terrified by that, he couldn’t imagine how the general public must be panicking.
“Another attack was inevitable,” Colonel Charles said, stepping in front of the screens. “And since that’s the reason you’re here, why the TDA even exists, consider yourselves at bat. At 2000 hours yesterday, Unknown Magic Users, or UMUs, created this dome over the countries of England and Wales, the southern half of the isle of Great Britain. The units of the United Kingdom military stationed outside the dome have attempted to breach it without any success. We don’t know if the soldiers inside have made similar attempts, as we’ve had zero communication with them.”