The Sign-Seeker
- Standing in front of the doors, Will tries to figure out where they will lead. He finally decides to open them, and when he does, he finds two people waiting for him—an old woman and a tall man.
- They welcome him by name, so he knows he must be in the right place.
- When they ask Will to tell them about the last few days, he does, and is surprised by what he tells them. He knows that funny business with the Walker and the Rider has a lot to do with why he's here.
- Will knows the Rider was chasing him, not just the Signs, and the Old Lady confirms this for him. The man introduces himself as Merriman Lyon (amazing name, right?) and says he's been waiting for him a long time.
- Evidently the Old Lady has a bunch of aliases, so she'll just stick with "Old Lady" for now. As you wish, madam.
- They tell Will that he has a gift and is part of the Old Ones, and then they prove it to him by showing him what his mind can do.
- First they communicate telepathically, sending his brain an image and then having him think of one to send them.
- Will thinks of his home and they are able to describe it to him, down to the very last detail of his mom's ring. Dang. Cool trick, you guys.
- Next up? Mastering control over objects. All Will has to do is think something and it can happen. Merriman tells him to light a candle, and while Will doesn't get it at first, he soon manages to start a fire with only his mind. Take that, Boy Scouts.
- All this magic is getting fun—well, until Merriman reveals that the gift is a burden, too. Sure, it's cool to use magical powers, but there are also times when being an Old One is not so fun. Like, say, when the Dark powers are rising… as they are now. Gulp.
- Next they show him other Old Ones and Dark Ones in his mind. If Will remembers their voices and who they are, it can help him defeat the Dark later on.
- Will doesn't understand all of this (and frankly, neither do we), but he figures he should listen to what they tell him.
- As Will closes his eyes to see the images, Merriman tells him that if he sees the shape of the poor sad dog, that will be the last thing he ever sees. Dramatic much?
- Suddenly Will hears his mom's voice calling to him for help. He wants to run to her, but he's told not to open the door under any circumstances.
- But Will can't take it any more—he must open to the door and go to his mom—so he runs to the door. But the Old Lady tells him that it is just the Dark, trying to gain power over him.
- While he's still young and hasn't mastered his power yet, the Dark will try to destroy him. Things will only get worse.
- Will learns that even though the Dark are powerful, they can never destroy the Light (a.k.a. the Old Ones) unless they gain dominion over the earth. All Will has to do is stop that from happening. Oh, that's it?
- The Dark lights a fire to try to break the magical circle around Will, Merriman, and the Old Lady. The Old Lady and Merriman scream at Will to put out the flame so the Dark won't gain control, but it's too late—though they try to stop it from happening, the force is too much for them and overwhelms Merriman and the Old Lady.
- Will knows he wasn't paying attention to them and messed up; he feels even worse when Merriman confirms that it is his fault the Dark took hold of them at all.
- Luckily the Old Lady didn't die, though she's not there anymore and won't return until she restores her power enough to fend off the Dark.
- Merriman explains that the doors are a window into any time and place ever.
- See, all time co-exists, so Will can use the doors to get to other places and eras. Boom.
- Then Merriman says he has to leave Will for a bit, though he assures him he'll be just fine since he has the power—literally.
- Will is then transported back to his own house as his sister wakes him up.
- It's his birthday.