He got up, walked to the screened-in patio. I followed him.
M: What kind of spell is it, Augie?
A: They won’t let anyone have that book. They want the world the way it is. They want to enslave magic and keep it in the shadows. I’ve been gone a long time. Haven’t I?
M: Yes.
A: But they’ve been here with me, always. I hear them whispering to each other from around the world. Feel them moving like they’re under my skin. A splinter. A thing I can’t remember but can’t forget.
M: Can you tell me anything else about them? Who they are. Where they are.
A: Everywhere! Everywhere. Because they rule this world from a palace made of doors.
He looked at me again, unfamiliar.
A: I don’t know you.
M: I’m Martin Rank, Augie.
A: I’m really tired.
M: Come sit down…
I could tell the spell was failing, or fading. He was becoming the Augie I’d met before. Glassy-eyed, blank.
A: Ascender…
M: He’s…
A: What are you doing here?
M: My name…
A: You can’t be here. I did this to keep you safe.
I realized he thought I was Ascender.
M: I don’t know what to do Augie. What can we do to stop The Storm?
A: You need to learn all you can, Sender. How close are you? How many fragments do you have?
M: Ten.
A: You’re close. They came for us at twelve, remember?
And then I was a stranger to him again.