He slipped back into the firmament and then focused on Jinzeri. The world rushed by in a blur and he found himself in a cave somewhere on the Reishi Isle. Jinzeri, in possession of Truss’s body, was still waiting near the Nether Gate. He looked bored as he cruelly tormented a doe that he had hogtied. He looked up at Alexander and smiled with malice.
Alexander drifted up through the stone of the cave and into the sky overhead. He spent several minutes searching the area until he found the entrance to the cave system that Jinzeri was holed up in. With a start, he realized that it was the same cave system that led to the grotto of the vitalwood tree. He went to the secluded little lake and descended slowly toward the tree.
It was a magnificent deciduous tree with broad limbs and wide, bright green leaves. Colorful flowers bloomed all over the outside branches. To Alexander’s second sight, the colors of the vitalwood tree were bright and pure, filled with life energy and ancient potency. Before he could get any closer, a being appeared and faced Alexander.
“I have been charged with protecting this tree against all trespassers,” he said. “I ask that you leave of your own free will.”
The creature stood ten feet tall and looked like a man, except he was made entirely of pure white light that pulsed softly. His aura was radiant, complex and powerful, easily surpassing that of Tanis or Ilona. Alexander surmised that this was Selaphiel and withdrew, not wanting to risk the ire of a Lord of the realm of light.
Next, he went to the Reishi Keep and into the master Gate Room. The tentacle demon was nowhere to be seen but there was plenty of evidence of its past presence. The walls and floor were scorched with demonic acid where its tentacles had touched. Alexander withdrew from the Gate Room and searched the Keep. It was an odd sensation. He found that he knew the layout of the Reishi Keep in the same way that he knew the layout of Blackstone Keep. Even through his clairvoyance, he was able to navigate through the fortress with unerring precision.
He found the tentacle demon suspended from the rafters of the throne room, lying in wait for some unknown prey. He floated up into the sky again and located the central volcano on the Isle of Tyr. With a thought he was there.
The caldera was bubbling and sputtering with bright red-orange lava. Acrid smoke rose into the sky, leaving a pall hanging overhead. He descended into the caves and caverns of the giant volcano and found the dragons. There were hundreds of the ancient magical beasts. They resembled Tanis, though not as large and their colors were different. Where Tanis had been golden brown, these dragons displayed a variety of colors from reddish black to deep green to bright red, all with a hint of iridescence in the hue of their scales.
Alexander searched through the maze of volcanic tunnels and chambers that permeated the mountain and found the Temple of Fire deep within. It was mounded with treasure all around and several very large dragons slept fitfully atop the heaping piles of gold and silver coins.
The temple itself was less impressive than he imagined it would be. It was a platform of stone fifty feet square with a single large pillar at each corner, easily five feet in diameter and rising fifty feet into the air. In the exact center of the platform was a pit of fire. It burned brightly as if it had been recently stoked with fuel. There was no other structure, not even an altar.
The cavern the temple occupied was huge, rising two hundred feet overhead and spanning five hundred feet at its widest point. Several large passageways led out, each big enough to accommodate a dragon.
Alexander searched deeper within the mountain and after nearly an hour, he finally found the chamber he was looking for. Far underground, accessible only through a winding series of passages fraught with risk from dragons and flowing lava was the tiny chamber where the blood of the earth accumulated within a crystal basin. The colors of the blood of the earth were so vibrant and powerful that Alexander had difficulty looking directly at it even through his clairvoyance. It screamed of power, deep and ancient. As he drifted toward the sky through the stone of the mountain, he thought that no one should have that kind of power. No wonder Balthazar had warned him to keep its existence a secret.
He sent his awareness to the southernmost island of Tyr and found the abandoned ruins of the Reishi Protectorate keep. After a few minutes of searching, he found a number of smaller, better-fortified castles built on higher ground that were still inhabited. They looked crowded and the people had the colors of fear about them. Everyone seemed on edge, though Alexander couldn’t discern why.
He searched out the surrounding smaller islands of Tyr and found them inhabited by petty pirate lords and brigands. The islands seemed to be a haven for criminals, thieves, and cutthroats. There was no government, save the whip of the powerful. The Old Law was nowhere to be seen.
At a narrow point between two of the islands, he saw a battle taking place between two small fleets, each flying different flags. Several ships were burning, a few were listing, and at least one was sinking.
He visited Andalia next. It was a nation of enforced poverty and tyranny. Those who served the King of Andalia lived well—everyone else paid for it. Lancers strutted through the streets of the capital city, sending anyone in their path scurrying for the gutter. Businesses were few and poorly stocked. Food for the people was scarce and of limited quality and variety while those in government ate well.
Alexander spent several minutes searching for the forge underneath the city. The sovereigns had told him that it was where the force lances were made. He wanted to destroy it, but it was very well protected and heavily guarded.
He found the Andalian king, wearing his jewel-encrusted, golden crown; it looked like the gaudy, ostentatious type of crown Alexander had read about in stories when he was a child. The king was obese and slovenly. A swarm of servants and sycophants surrounded him, attending to his every whim. He clearly enjoyed his comforts.
Alexander looked around the island at the force strength of the Lancers and estimated their total numbers to be around two hundred thousand, an army easily capable of destroying all of Ruatha if they could make it across the channel.
When he found the shipyard on the northern coast, he was shocked to see that they were building the exact same type of fast-attack boat that Kevin was building in Southport. They were also building over two dozen troop-transport vessels capable of moving Lancers along with their rhone mounts. These transports were of a different design. They looked like they were capable of running aground on the beach and unloading their cargo of Lancers into the surf very quickly. Alexander started to get worried. If the Andalians didn’t need a port to unload their rhone, they could make landfall anywhere. As soon as these ships were seaworthy, Ruatha would have another wave of Lancers to contend with.
He sent his awareness to Karth and searched the island for nearly an hour. He found an enormous army barracked all around the central city. Supplies flowed in from the outer territories to provision the massive number of soldiers. Along the coast, he found several shipyards busy building large, oar-powered ships capable of transporting a couple of hundred soldiers each. The scope of the preparations being made to destroy everything he knew and loved was daunting.
Alexander cautiously searched out the main fortress of the Reishi Army Regency. It was a huge, sprawling complex of fortified buildings surrounded by a giant stone wall. Unlike Blackstone and the Reishi Keep, this fortress had been built by men and not magic. At least there was that, Alexander thought.
He searched deep under the fortress until he found what he was looking for. It was a set of three magic circles suspended in the air by heavy chains. Each was made of silver and inlaid with gold symbols. One was suspended horizontally and two were vertical, each at a right angle to the other. Within the sphere of magical circles was a creature of darkness that made Alexander’s soul squirm.
It had no distinct form. Instead, it was a haze of blackness staining the air. Its colors were dark and hateful, seeming to communicate a craving for the living energy of those who existed in the world of time and substance. Tendrils of dark power stretched away from it through the aether, reaching out across the Seven Isles to each of the wraithkin.
The room was accessible through a single series of passageways that were spelled and trapped and heavily guarded. Even if Alexander could get to Karth undetected and make his way into the fortress without being discovered, he doubted that he had the ability to bypass all of the security measures Phane had in place to protect his new pet. Alexander felt a little thrill of fear at the building certainty that he would have to risk using the potion to save Isabel, placing her life in jeopardy in the process.
Finally, Alexander sent his awareness to the Isle of Zuhl, where he saw an army of nearly a million battle-hardened and brutish soldiers sprawled out across the tundra surrounding the Gate. They were beginning to move some of their number to the crescent bay on the southwest coast of the island. Alexander understood immediately that Zuhl was putting his forces in place so he could bring them aboard his ships as soon as they were seaworthy. Once his navy was built, the Seven Isles would fall to him. Alexander was certain of it.
He faded back into the firmament and gently returned to his body, then sat staring at the wall for several minutes until Chloe buzzed into a ball of light and came to rest floating a few feet from his face.
“What troubles you, My Love?”
Alexander shook his head in dismay, unable to put words to what he’d just witnessed. He felt like a pretender. His enemies were well ahead of him in all ways. The feeling of defeat started to take root in his soul.
“I had no idea the magnitude of what we face,” he whispered. “I knew they had more soldiers than we do, but they’re both building huge navies capable of moving thousands of soldiers. Once their fleets are seaworthy, we’ll be at their mercy.”
“You will find a way to defeat them, My Love. I have faith in you.”
“I wish I did,” Alexander muttered. “I have no idea how to withstand such power. We simply can’t win in a fight.”
“Then find a way to defeat them without fighting them, My Love.”
Alexander shook his head silently as the weight of impending doom settled on him. If it was just one of his enemies, maybe he could defeat them, but he didn’t stand a chance against everything he faced. The entire world had gone mad and he felt like the only voice of reason arguing against the insanity. It felt so futile.
“Do not despair, My Love. More than anything else, despair feeds the darkness. Hold on to love and hope even in the face of certain defeat. With love in your heart, anything is possible. Without it, nothing else matters.”
Chapter 15
Alexander sat brooding over what he’d seen with his clairvoyance. It was nearing dark and he was still in a foul mood. The war council was scheduled to begin the next morning, and he was afraid that once he reported on the magnitude of the threats they faced, his allies would quail in fear. The odds seemed insurmountable.
Isabel had made a few attempts to cheer him up but finally decided to let him be alone. She was coming to understand her husband’s moods and knew that sometimes he just needed time to work through his feelings. After a long day of flying back from Southport, followed by several hours of work preparing the aerie for the arrival of many more Sky Knights, she had gone to bed early. There was much still left to do and never enough time to do it.
With his all around sight, Alexander saw Lena come into the room from the dining hall. He knew in a glance at her colors that Shivini had her. A jolt of fear coursed through him but he mastered it quickly and schooled his expression, pretending to be absorbed in his thoughts even as he reached out for Chloe with his mind.
“Shivini is here, Little One. Go and warn Isabel.”
“At once, My Love.”
Lena, possessed by the shade, gently cleared her throat and Alexander turned with a feigned start.
“Oh, you startled me,” he said. Deception was the most potent weapon on the battlefield. It could often carry the day when nothing else would lead to victory.
“I’m sorry, My Lord,” Lena said. “Would you like some tea?”
“That would be nice,” Alexander said with a forced smile.
“You seem tense, My Lord,” Lena said. “Perhaps I could relax you.” Her suggestive smile communicated more than words. Shivini was trying to seduce him. If he hadn’t been so filled with wariness and fear, he might have laughed. Instead he decided to play along to buy time.
“I am feeling a bit anxious,” Alexander said. “I would welcome a distraction. There are so many people depending on me and I really don’t know how to help them.”
Shivini savored despair and hopelessness. Alexander used that knowledge to his advantage, giving the shade what he most wanted to hear.
Lena poured his tea, leaning over deeply to give him a clear view of her breasts. She stood with a warm and inviting smile, just a bit too close.
“If you’d like to come to my quarters we could be alone,” Lena said. “I could give you a massage … or anything else you’d like.”
Alexander did his level best to play along. He furtively glanced down at her breasts, then quickly back to her face and nodded slowly.