Free Dark Calling by Darren Shan Page A

Have Seen, They Did Not.”
    “OK,” I say slowly. “Our universe and the Demonata’s were born out of the ashes of the old one, like a phoenix rising from
     the flames after it dies. So what’s this place?”
    “This Is The Crux, The One Point Common To Both Universes. The Explosion Happened Here. The New Universes Spread Out In All
     Directions From This Area. The Universes Overlap Each Other. They Share The Same Space But Never Touch. Except Here. The Crux
     Exists In Both Universes At Once.”
    “And those black and white panels are the remains of the Kah-Gash?”
    “Yes, But Only Of Its Body. All Conscious Beings Have A Body And A Soul. What You See Here Are The Kah-Gash’s Physical Remains.
     The Segments Of Its Soul Flew Off Along With Everything Else.”
    “Does that mean there are sixty-four pieces?” I ask.
    “No. There Are Only Three. You, Bec, And…” Art falls silent, then says, “Something Is Happening.”
    “What do you—” I start to ask.
    “Quiet!” Art snaps.
    I look around, trying to determine the source of Art’s unease. My first thought is that the demons are mounting an attack,
     but they don’t seem to be paying any attention to us. And the panels are revolving the same as before. So why…
    Wait. I’m wrong. The panels aren’t the same. They’re not circling any longer. They’re gliding forward now. Towards us. Towards
me.
    “Art?” I mumble. “What are they doing?”
    “Gravitating Towards You. Possibly Trying To Reunite.”
    “Is that bad?” I ask.
    Art doesn’t answer. Instead he reverses direction and suddenly we’re flying towards the ring of fire as fast as we can.
    “What’s going on?” I shout.
    “We Do Not Know,” Art says. “We Had Not Expected Such A Reaction.”
    “What will happen if they join?”
    “We Are Not Sure. Maybe Nothing. Maybe The End Of All We Know.”
    “The end of the universes?” I gasp.
    “Perhaps.”
    I stare with horror at the giant squares. They’re coming together slowly, but not slowly enough for my liking.
    “Will they stop if we get out of here?” I ask.
    “We Think So,” Art says. There’s a brief pause. “We
Hope
So.”
    I watch helplessly as we draw away from the panels. It looks like we’ll make it out of here before they join. After that we’ll
     just have to pray that—
    A blast of magic strikes us and Art makes a high-pitched shrieking noise. We’re knocked sideways. I glance to my left, the
     direction the shot came from. I spot a pack of demons streaking towards us. They unleash more bolts of magic, but the Old
     Creatures intercept them and blast them aside or absorb the shots themselves.
    “Art?” I whisper, fearing the worst.
    “I Am Not Dead,” he says. “You Will Perish Too If I Die.”
    We pick up speed again.
    “Why are they doing this?” I pant, keeping a close eye on the fighting. The Old Creatures and demons aren’t engaging at close
     quarters—they hover apart and take long-range shots at one another—but it looks ugly. A few of the balls of light are shattered
     while I watch, and several of the demons are ripped apart.
    “The Demonata Wish For The End Of The Universes,” Art says. “They Must Have Seen The Panels Move, Spotted You, And Guessed
     You Were The Source Of The Disturbance. Like Us, They Cannot Know What Will Happen If The Panels Join, But They Clearly Wish
     To Keep You Here And—”
    Art is struck again. He doesn’t slow this time, but his scream lasts even longer than before. We’re almost at the ring of
     fire, but a demon has broken through the ranks of Old Creatures and is narrowing the gap, moving faster than we are.
    We hit the wall of fire and plow through. It feels even hotter than it did the last time. Areas of my skin start to smolder.
    “You Must Use Magic,” Art says calmly. “I Cannot Protect You As I Did Before. I Am Wounded And Must Focus On Opening A Window.”
    “If we make it through the fire, we’ll be safe, right?” I yell, doing what I