Sorcerer's Secret Read Online Free PDF

side of her mouth. “I didn’t refuse you, foolish man,” she said, her voice deep and gritty, as if her vocal cords were coated in sand. “I asked for proper payment, and you would not give me what I required. So I owed you no answers to your questions. And once you left in a huff, you forfeited the right to reenter by this door. It seems pretty simple to me. You blew it. Now get out of here and take your little pets with you.”
    â€œWhat I gave you was more than—” Tobias began again, but the Fortune Teller cut him off, pointing at his neck.
    â€œThere is my fee,” the Fortune Teller declared. “Still hanging around your neck. You know what? I am feeling forgiving. Give me that trinket and I will answer the question that you feel is so important that you come down here to threaten me with your big green monkeys.”
    â€œYou cannot have that,” Tobias said, eyes flashing with anger. His ghostly form turned away. “You leave me no choice. If you will not answer me, then perhaps you will answer my friend.”
    A tendril of blue mist shot out around the corner, returning in the form of a little-girl spirit. The girl walked stiffly, as if her limbs weren’t controlled by her own will. And once Rory saw her wild, terrified eyes, he realized that, in fact, they weren’t. Willem Kieft had taken her over.
    The Fortune Teller pulled back in her doorway, disgust flashing across her fleshy face.
    â€œThat is forbidden, you know this,” she spat.
    â€œShe has not passed through your door,” Tobias said innocently. “She has asked no questions of you. She brings items of great value which I’m sure you would be more than happy to take from her. I fail to see the problem.”
    â€œYou and your master have gone too far,” the Fortune Teller said, pulling herself up to her full height as she filled the doorway. “You have bent the rules to your liking for too long. This door is closed to you!”
    â€œYou cannot stop her from passing over your doorstep,” Tobias said, sounding as bored as if he were talking about the weather. “Those are the rules.”
    â€œI know what you are doing,” the Fortune Teller informed him. “I will not be used. This door is closed . . . forever.”
    The ground began to rumble, and Tobias’s ghostly face blanched. The soft glow emanating from the open doorway began to intensify, until it became as bright as a burning sun. Rory had to cover his eyes to protect them from blindness, even as the rumbling in the earth threatened to deafen him. Through his fingers, he spied ghostly Tobias turning tail and running, disappearing around the corner. The Brokers followed on his heels, but most of them moved too slowly. The burning light blew outward in a blaze of fire, burning through the Brokers closest to the door. A few staggered around the corner, their green metal skin bubbling up and melting like butter on a hot pan. The rest were incinerated by the flames, vaporized by the hot flash.
    In the center of the light, the Fortune Teller was still visible. She turned to stare directly at Rory, her eyes boring into him.
    â€œI am waiting for you,” she said, her voice echoing through time. “Your blood will show you the way.” She turned toward the alley. “I know you’re there, Mr. Russ. I have a job for you . . .”
    With that, the light faded, as did the large figure of the Fortune Teller, and when it was gone, only the rubble remained. The mist has dissipated, its duty performed, leaving them all drained and astonished. Tucket padded up to the ground, sniffing suspiciously at a pebble. Simon snorted, though the look on his face was one of awe.
    â€œTalk about overkill. What’s wrong with sending you a letter?”
    Rory didn’t answer. He had the sinking sensation that even though he’d done his duty as a Light by opening the Trap, Mannahatta was not yet