The Invisible Tower by Nils Johnson-Shelton Read Free Book Online Page A

his concern. He looked Artie over and smiled broadly. “The sword—Cleomede—she becomes you, my boy.”
    Artie didn’t really care about that at the moment. “Tom, shouldn’t we get going?” he asked.
    â€œOh yes! Of course we should! To the moongate, lad!”
    Thumb wheeled and ran back to the path they’d come up. Artie eagerly followed him.
    As they ran in silence, Artie thought, I just killed something with a sword. I just killed something with a sword. I JUST KILLED SOMETHING WITH A SWORD!
    But then his mind went blank as a sound unlike any he’d ever heard rose up behind them. It was part wail, part scream, part three-alarm fire. He looked over his shoulder and saw a huge green glow light up the trees from where the sword in the stone had been. Artie and Thumb stopped briefly in their tracks. Thumb turned to Artie with a look of terror on his face and yelled, “Quickly, lad, as fast as you can!”
    They took off at a dead sprint, and in spite of being much smaller, Thumb kept up with Artie quite easily.
    The sound behind them changed. It was like a huge machine beginning to turn on, or like a gust of air pushing itself through a massive bellows.
    It was the sound of two wings beginning to flap.
    â€œDon’t look back, my boy!” Thumb implored.
    Artie wasn’t planning on it. He saw the moongate ahead and ran fast and then faster. Thumb did the same. They hit the portal at breakneck speed and tumbled through it head over heels.
    Artie looked behind them. There was nothing there. Just the woods surrounding Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio, on a beautifully moonlit night.
    â€œWhat was that, Tom?” Artie asked, out of breath.
    â€œThat, my boy, was a close shave, wouldn’t you say?”
    â€œUh, yeah! But was that really a dragon?”
    â€œCan’t be sure, but it certainly sounded like one.”
    Artie started to walk away from Thumb, who’d shrunk back to his smallest size. Artie reached over his shoulder to touch the hilt of the sword. It was too much.
    He dropped cross-legged to the ground. Thumb walked to Artie’s feet and rested a hand on his leg. He sighed and said, “I know this is a lot to take in, lad.”
    â€œI’ll say. These things don’t happen, Tom. I’m talking to a man the size of a baseball… And we just killed three baby dragons… These things don’t happen.”
    Thumb gave Artie a grave look. “Whether you like it or not, these things do happen, and whether you knew it or not, these things have been happening to you your whole life. You did well back there, but trust me, you will have to do more than that before your days are done. I know this isn’t making sense, but it will. I swear to you, it will.”
    Artie took a deep breath and nodded. “All right.” He stood. “Let’s get back to Merlin. I want to get that controller and go back to my family.”
    Thumb nodded. “Of course, lad.”
    They silently made their way along Serpent Mound. When they reached the spot where they’d crawled through Mrs. Thresher, Thumb tapped the ground. It started to glow and very quickly the light became so intense that Artie was momentarily blinded. When the light faded, he found himself back in Merlin’s basement, in the first room at the bottom of the stairs.
    The little man—or fairy or whatever he was—said, “There’s the sink. Why don’t you wash up?” Artie went and splashed his face and forearms. As he did, he noticed something orange swirling down the drain.
    Dragoling blood.
    Great.
    When he was done, Thumb looked him up and down and said, “Good as new. Merlin’s upstairs waiting for you. He’ll give you what you came here for.”
    Artie looked over his shoulder and saw the hilt still hanging there. It was so light. “Okay,” he said.
    â€œI’ll be seeing you right soon, lad. You and me,