The Forever Gate Read Online Free PDF

how-are-yous and exuberant jolly-goods just as if Hoodwink wasn't a fugitive wanted for terrorism.
    Hoodwink quickly segued into the reason he'd come. "Is Cora home?"
    "Cora? No, she's in Rhagnorak, training to be a singer. Didn't I tell you about her application?"
    Rhagnorak. A city at least two portal hops away. You couldn't walk Outside between the cities, but you could travel to them by portal. "No." Hoodwink tried to hide his disappointment. "You never told me."
    Briar slapped him on the knee. "You dirty rascal! You just can't leave my sister alone can you!" Briar seemed a little too jolly, like he was trying to hide something. Or was he just nervous that an escaped terrorist had called upon him?
    "I'm going past the Gate, Briar," Hoodwink said. "I'm going Outside, I am."
    Briar merely gaped at him. "Well that's... that's very nice. Good for you."
    "I've met the Users."
    "Really?" Briar wiped at his brow, visibly perspiring now. He was glancing at the front door a lot. "Interesting. I've never been sure if they were just some rogue organization invented by the gols as a funnel for our hate. A political tool. Your little terrorist act caught the attention of the Users, did it? Terrorism attracts terrorists, I suppose."
    Hoodwink held up his hand, extending one index finger. Sparks of electricity danced from it. Briar flinched.
    "What are you hiding, Briar?" Hoodwink said.
    "Well!" Briar stood. "Good luck to you in your adventures on the Outside and all. Tally-ho." He turned toward the hall, but was too late, it seemed, because Cora stood transfixed behind him.
    "Cora darling," Briar said. "I told you to stay in your room."
    She pushed past him.
    "So it really is you." Cora stood over him. "I knew Briar lied to me. He told me the maid had shooed off some beggar at our door. But then while I was lying on my bed, I heard your voice, and I thought, no, it can't be. Surely Hoodwink wouldn't come here , of all places. Surely Hoodwink wouldn't dare set foot in my brother's home. Not after what he did to me."
    Cora had never forgiven him, and she never would, though she knew it wasn't his fault. Hoodwink didn't meet her eye. "I talked to her, finally, I did. She's well. Doesn't remember us, of course."
    "Can't you just leave her alone, Hood?" Cora said. "Can't you just leave me alone?"
    He risked meeting her gaze. Her face was full of ire, and resentment. "I came to say good-bye. I've never stopped loving you, for what it's worth."
    She smiled sardonically. "Not much. Good-bye then. Now go."
    Not quite the reception he'd expected. He could hurt her so easily. With all your brother's money, you couldn't save her , he wanted to say. Though you ran into his arms, begging him to take you in . But no, he wasn't here to hurt her, and doing so wouldn't lessen his own feelings of guilt.
    "Our daughter was the one who planted the bomb at the Forever Gate," he said.
    Cora's lips twitched, but she said nothing.
    "The Users put her up to it. She's one of them, now. They wanted her to cross to the Outside. They wanted her to talk to the gols out there."
    "Stop it." Cora said. "Stop it. Stop it! Get out of here!"
    He barreled on. He wanted her to know of his sacrifice. It was important to him. "I wouldn't let her do it. The Users are sending me in her place. I'll probably die."
    "Please," Cora said, covering her face. "Just go."
    Briar hugged her, and turned her away from him. "Hoodwink..."
    A harsh knock came on the front door. "City watch! Open up!"
    Hoodwink shot Briar an accusing glance.
    "Sorry, Hood." Briar backed away, bringing Cora with him. "I really am. They've been watching my house since your escape."
    The door thudded so heavily that it shook on its hinges. "Open up now or we'll break it down!"
    "You bastard." The sparks flared on Hoodwink's knuckles. But it was just a show. He wasn't fully charged, not even close. He wouldn't be able to take on the city guard, not in his condition. "You didn't say a word. How did they get to you?