FORT’S MIND RACED FRANTICALLY AS he neared the monster’s gaping mouth. Remove Fear had run its course now, and he could barely think, now that he was about to be eaten. He took a deep breath as he tried to think of other spells he knew. “Utri cor” were the words to Cause Disease, and “nenutri cor” was Cure Disease. Did that word “nen” negate the spell somehow?
“Nen mon d’rexe cor,” he shouted, adding the word to the Heal Heavy Wounds spell. But no magic filled his hands, and now he’d reached the monster’s mouth.
“Monnen d’rexe cor! Mon d’nen rexe cor!” he shouted in a panic, trying anything.
But nothing happened, and the creature brought its giant razor-sharp teeth down toward him. He screamed and dove away, landing back in the palm as the teeth scraped against the scales on its thumb, then moved down toward him.
Covering his head with his hands, Fort curled up on the palm, squeezing his eyes shut.
He had to try, just once more.
“Mon d’rexenen cor,” he whispered.
And there it was. The same white-hot pain filled his arms, and he immediately threw both arms above him, almost in defense. His hands struck the monster’s teeth, and the magic passed right into the creature.
This time, its shriek lasted for almost a minute.
Wrapping one arm around a finger, Fort watched triumphantly as the creature wailed in agony, its head slamming back and forth against the cavern walls. Fort wanted to laugh, to shout, to celebrate at the top of his lungs as it threw its hand far away from its face, like it didn’t want him anywhere near it.
And for good reason. But that wasn’t going to save the monster. Not anymore. Because Fort had figured out the language of the magic instead of reading it in the book. And somehow, he could still remember the words he’d used. There they were, still in his memory, fresh and ready for another casting.
Above him, the creature writhed in pain, roaring in anger and now fear. “You deserve this!” Fort shouted up at it from its hand. “You’re going to suffer for what you did to my father!”
With that, he brought his own hands down onto the scales and cast the spell again, then again, and again.
Each time, the pain radiated over Fort, making him scream, but the effect on the creature was exponentially greater. With each new spell, the magical energy passed farther up the monster’s arm and into its chest. From there, it spread out over the entire massive body, withering away its muscles and sending scales dropping from its skin like rain.
“Are you enjoying this?” he shouted as the monster shuddered, its body wasting away to the point that it couldn’t even lift its hand anymore. “This is for my father! I hope you feel every ounce of pain he did!”
The monster quaked, and the motion almost buckled Fort right off, but he managed to latch onto another of the withered fingers, and he attacked again.
“Come on!” he shouted as the magic filled the beast. “Is that all you can take? I’ve got enough for hours of this!”
The monster roared again, but instead of attacking him further, it began to descend again, back into the ground, using its still-healthy opposite hand.
“That’s it?” he shouted as the creature lowered them both down toward the glowing purplish portal. “You’re running away? You coward! Face me!”
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MINION? came the Old One’s voice in Fort’s head, and he winced at the force of it. IT HAS BROKEN MY CONTROL. YOU ONCE AGAIN CAUSE US PAIN!
As the voice subsided, Fort readied another spell but paused for a moment. The Old One controlled the monster? So had the magic Fort cast been somehow channeled back up into the Old One too?
Somehow, that made his revenge even sweeter.
The monster was now actually digging itself back down toward the portal, the hand Fort held on to hanging uselessly at its side. It whimpered as it increased its speed, sounding almost like a wounded animal, and the sound nearly tugged at Fort’s heart.
But it wasn’t an animal. This was a bloodthirsty, raging monster that had killed his father! Sneering, he cast another Cause Heavy Wounds spell into it, and the creature squealed, hastening its descent once again. They were getting close to the portal now, and its light reflected up on the cavern walls.
But with each new terrified squeal, Fort’s rage seemed to lessen. Even trying to remind himself of his father didn’t seem to help—it was hard to even think over the creature’s loud whines. As the light of the portal intensified, the rage disappeared entirely, leaving Fort feeling both empty and nauseous.
He’d been dreaming about getting revenge for so long, and now that he had the power, it somehow felt . . . wrong.
But no! He couldn’t stop now. This was for his father. This was justice!
Is it? his father’s voice said in his head as Fort watched the portal get closer. Why are you doing this, Fort? This isn’t the boy I know, the one who’s going to grow up to be the first astronaut president. You’re just torturing this creature. What does that accomplish?
The monster’s lower body passed through the portal, just seconds ahead of its hand holding Fort. If he didn’t escape now, he’d be taken through to the creature’s dimension.
But if he let go, the creature would escape. He might never have another chance to face it.
“It deserves this,” Fort whispered, staring at the approaching purple light. “It . . . it hurt you! It took you from me!” He whispered the words of the Cause Heavy Wounds spell, cringing against the white heat, then moved his hand over to the now-charred flesh of the creature’s finger he was wrapped around.
But this won’t bring me back, said the voice in his head. That thing wasn’t even in control. The Old One was making it do this!
Fort winced, knowing the imagined voice of his father was right. The creature wasn’t here by choice. All its actions had been under the control of the monster in Damian’s body.
Just like when it had stolen his father.
“I can’t just let this go!” he shouted to no one. “This is all I have left!”
And soon you won’t even have that, because you’ll be taken to the monster’s dimension, the voice said to him. Just like I was.
Fort growled in frustration, feeling both shame at the pleasure he’d taken in the creature’s pain a moment before as well as a primal need not to let this go, not to let his father down again.
You could never let me down, Forsythe, he heard his father’s voice say in his head.
Something wet fell on his cheeks, and Fort shuddered, releasing the spell he’d been holding in. The white pain disappeared into nothingness, and he quickly cast another spell.
This time, his hands glowed a cold blue, and he healed the creature, allowing the muscles, scales, and bone beneath his arms and legs to begin to grow back, replacing what he’d taken so horribly moments before.
That’s my boy, his father’s voice came to him.
Again and again, Fort cast his Healing magic into the creature, and as its muscles and sinew re-formed in its arm, it slowed its descent, right as Fort approached the portal. On the other side, he could just make out more of the monsters, all equally as horrific as the one he’d been torturing, but somehow, at this moment, he could only feel sorry for them.
They weren’t to blame here. This was the Old One’s fault. The Old One and Damian, who’d unleashed it on the world.
“I’m sorry for what I did,” Fort whispered to the creature, who seemed to be shaking less now. “I, um, don’t suppose you’d let me jump off before you go home?”
The creature looked down at Fort with its red eyes, and he wondered if it actually understood a single word he said.
“Maybe not,” he whispered. “Either way, I really am sor—”
The air around him started to shimmer, and he froze, not sure what was happening. Had the monster pulled him through the portal?
But no. There were no giant creatures surrounding him now. Instead, he floated above what looked like the ruins of a battlefield.
The ruins that had once been the Oppenheimer School.