Good Ogre by Platte F. Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

Messing around with something like the Shadric Portal shouldn’t be taken lightly—you of all people should know that.”
    â€œYeah,” Dirk jumped in, “Send Wayne back to find Sumyl and her magic carriage. But for now, you need to listen to Sarah.” Hearing Dirk argue that he should stop and think things over was like the Pillsbury Doughboy swearing off bread. But they did have a point. Then again, Max’s own father had made the artifact, just like the Codex of Infinite Knowability resting in his backpack. Something had made Max take it from his nightstand—as if the magical book knew what was going to happen. Whether that was a good thing or not, Max wasn’t sure.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Max said, rising from his seat. “I’ve actually been thinking about this for a long time—long before Wayne got here. This isn’t my home anymore.”
    Sarah stepped up to him and put her hand on his arm. “Max, I’m asking you not to do this. I know things have been hard, but taking the easy way out—especially when it involves Shadric magic—isn’t the answer. This is how people lose track of themselves—they take shortcuts. They forget that when it comes to the easy way, there’s always a cost.”
    Wayne rose and pulled a black object out of his satchel. It was about the size of a small laptop computer and was shaped like an oval. It reminded Max of an empty pictureframe, only it was a shimmering black and adorned with intricately carved skulls. The skulls made a design so that they were bound together by a twisted, thorny vine. Four blue gems were inlaid along the surface, and at the top a rune-covered door peeked through the twisting mass of skulls and vines. “This is what the arch-sorcerer Sporazo created,” Wayne said, holding it in front of Max. “This is the Shadric Portal.”
    â€œPlease, don’t . . . ,” Sarah warned, but Max wasn’t listening. He took the ancient artifact in his hand and the blue stones immediately began to glow.
    â€œDude, skulls are not good!” Dirk warned. “But at least they’re not red .”
    Suddenly the stones turned red, casting a crimson light over the portal’s surface.
    â€œIt knows you,” Wayne said.
    Max rose and slowly walked to the center of the gym floor, the Shadric Portal humming in his hand. The others trailed behind him.
    â€œSeriously, just put it down,” Dirk said, his voice growing tense. “When have glowing red skulls ever been a good thing?”
    â€œMax, listen to us,” Sarah urged. “Don’t open the portal.”
    But Max could feel the magic crawling up his arms like he was reaching into a warm bath. The humming sensation increased, filling his ears and drowning out the voices of his friends. The artifact grew even warmer, and the strange metallic frame started to soften and stretch. Max knew that magic was being employed, but it was as foreign a feeling as it was familiar. Whatever the Portal was, it was a part of him. And yet it was also alien and unknown.

    Max began to pull the sides of the Shadric Portal apart, watching as the frame expanded, growing impossibly as it did so. He stretched his hands as far as he could, widening the portal to the size of a small door. Through it, reality seemed to bubble and grow dark. Max let go, somehow knowing that the portal wouldn’t fall. He stepped back and watched as it hovered in the air. On the other side a strange world came into focus: The ground floated like great islands of ice over a swirling, chaotic storm. In the distance a structure rose, like an ancient temple thrust together when the world was new. Then the voice rolled through the door and exploded around them. It was deep and moved with theimpending finality of an iceberg calving into the ocean. “It is done!” the voice roared, and there was no doubt who it belonged to.
    â€œThe