The Land Book 9 Novels & Stories

Even Draven’s smile vanished. The old woman walked toward us, slow and careful. Tears filled her eyes. I stepped back. “W-What’s wrong?” She didn’t answer. When she was only a few feet away, she dropped to her knees. I froze. “W-What are you doing?” Her forehead nearly touched the stone. The courtyard went dead silent. I looked at Kai. His jaw was clenched. At Draven. For the first time, he wasn’t smiling. The old woman lifted her head. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “The Bride of the Ninth Life has returned.”

“If I didn’t know better, this might be a peaceful place.” “The only thing that makes any place evil is the people in it. This place is only bad because you remember it that way. That hut could have been a shelter for a runaway that needed a roof during a bad storm. That tunnel could have been a pathway to safety.” Brett’s eyes locked on me. Studying me as I talked. “Survival training is supposed to make you face your fears so you can see past them. It’s meant to teach you that you are stronger than you think. That you are capable. Brett, you are capable of seeing past this. This place isn’t evil.” She looked around at the squirrel that jumped over a tree branch. The hawk that flew down and

God stepped forward slightly. “You see why I built this,” he murmured to her. Not smug. Not triumphant. Just certain. “Peace benefits him.” Luke’s next strike slammed into the domain with sudden violence. The entire house shook. Bookshelves rattled. The projection shattered into light. Luca stumbled. Instinct took over. Lily reached for him. And when her arms wrapped around her son — The domain surged with blinding intensity. Not God’s power. Hers. The crack in the sky sealed halfway instantly.

"I am the Adrian who opened the Ninth Cipher." His heartbeat stopped. "No." "That never happened." The older Adrian nodded. "Not in your history." "But history has been rewritten many times." The reflection raised one hand. The surface of the compass transformed into another vision. An enormous city stretched beneath a sky filled with floating books. Its towers reached into the clouds. Children laughed through streets lined with silver trees. The Nine Doors stood open. No darkness. No war. No fear. Adrian stared in disbelief. "What place is this?" "The world that almost survived."