Rivers of Fire by Patrick Carman

Author:Patrick Carman [CARMAN, PATRICK]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: JUV001000
ISBN: 9780316032353
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

There was a drawn-out silence. Dr. Harding leaned against the stone table for support. He was growing weaker, though his mind was refreshed. He looked at the ceiling, rolling equations over in his mind and thinking of all that he had created. He was a gentle man, nothing like Lord Phineus, and he loved the feeling of his mind filling with knowledge.

“The Crat have bitten me, haven’t they?” asked Dr. Harding, coming to a number that opened his mind and showed him how he had created the Crat. Dr. Kincaid nodded silently, wishing it were not true.

“Well, then,” continued Dr. Harding. A quiet understanding had overtaken him. “It’s only a matter of time. You know that.”

Suddenly, there came the sound of shouting from Samuel and Isabel, who were running through the laboratory, darting back and forth between columns. The big room was full of echoes and it wasn’t until the two were very near that they could be understood.

“He’s been taken!” cried Isabel. She was in a high state of panic. “Edgar’s been taken!”

“What do you mean, taken?” said Vincent. It seemed impossible. He hadn’t watched carefully because the yellow door was shut tight and locked. No one else could come in, or so he’d thought.

“Taken!” repeated Isabel. “I tried to stop him, but he was too big.”

“Stop who? What do you mean, Isabel?”

“We shouldn’t have left him alone, but Samuel wanted to show me the books.” Isabel couldn’t bring herself to say what had happened. The mere thought of it frightened her beyond reason.

“Sir Emerik!” cried Samuel. “He came down and took Edgar.”

“Where have they gone?” asked Dr. Kincaid, certain of the answer.

“Back into Mead’s Hollow,” said Isabel. Her voice was shaky and quiet. “We followed to the ladder, but Sir Emerik told us he would hurt Edgar if we tried to stop him or cried out for you.”

“I should have killed that man when I had the chance,” said Vincent, feeling as if he’d failed in his duty. “I’ll kill him this time.” He was already starting for the orange corridor when the determined voice of Dr. Harding stopped him.

“No, you won’t.”

Dr. Harding was standing up straight again. He seemed to have gathered a new strength at the sound of Edgar’s name as he shared a bit of surprising information with everyone in the room.

“Mead’s Hollow will soon fill with water. After that, there’s no way out of the Highlands.”

“You might be surprised,” said Vincent, thinking of Edgar’s unmatched climbing skills.

Dr. Harding stared at Dr. Kincaid, who had once been like a father to him. He’d brought the full measure of Dr. Harding’s brilliance into use to save the Dark Planet. But ultimately Dr. Harding had failed everyone. He hadn’t left his life behind and become Lord Phineus because of the crushing weight of so much knowledge or the relentless pressure from those who needed him to succeed. These things played a role in his evolving insanity, but there was something else, something taken from him, that had finally broken him.

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