“I think I need to talk with the sovereigns about this place,” Alexander said, returning to the main room, “especially Malachi.”
“Any idea how long we need to stay in here?” Jack asked.
“At least several hours,” Chloe said. “Selaphiel tore the world open. He and the demons will be drawn into the aether and then to the netherworld and the realm of light. The rift will heal naturally within a few hours but it isn’t safe until then.”
“Do you think he managed to banish Jinzeri?” Isabel asked.
“Probably,” Chloe said. “A rift to the aether draws creatures from the light or dark into it. Without the Wizard’s Den to take refuge in, I would have been drawn in as well.”
“If that’s true, then Rankosi is all that’s left,” Alexander said, turning to Isabel. “I’ve been thinking about that. Phane said the shades would be banished if you were killed.”
Isabel nodded. Alexander could see the flare of guilt in her colors. She still blamed herself for freeing them into the world.
“I wonder if it works the other way around, too,” he said. “If we get rid of all three shades, maybe the passage to the netherworld within your mind will close.”
She blinked a few times as the possibility sank in. “Do you really think?”
Alexander shrugged. “We can hope. I’m not sure if Phane was telling the truth about that, though. He may have just been trying to dupe me into killing you,” Alexander said, drawing her into his arms. “He’s obviously never been in love.”
“That will be his undoing,” Isabel said with a gentle smile as she looked into his eyes.
“That would be fitting,” Alexander said, letting her go with a wink. “While we wait, I think I should try to get some answers.”
He went to the hearth and found a cold piece of charred wood. After surveying the room for a moment, he pushed the table out of the center and started drawing a magic circle on the stone floor.
“Do you think your clairvoyance will work in here?” Jack asked.
“Yes, but I doubt I can see anything outside the Wizard’s Den,” Alexander said. Once he finished with the circle, he took a cushion off one of the chairs and placed it in the center.
“I’m going to have a chat with Malachi,” he said. “The rest of you should try to get some rest. We have a lot of ground to cover.”
Chloe floated over and landed on his knee as he sat down and closed his eyes.
“I will watch over you while you’re away, My Love.”
“Thank you, Little One.”
He touched the Stone and abruptly found himself in the Reishi Council Chamber. He took his seat and fixed Malachi with a hard look.
“Why was there a demon in the Wizard’s Den?” he asked.
Malachi scowled. “How could you have bested such a beast? You should be dead.”
“I didn’t best it. Selaphiel did,” Alexander said. “The Wizard’s Den opened while we were talking to him.”
Malachi spat in disgust, shaking his head. “Pure dumb luck,” he said.
“Why was it in there?” Alexander asked again.
“I was afraid Phane might kill me,” Malachi said with a shrug.
“How lonely your last years must have been, my son,” Demetrius said. “You are such a disappointment. Had you obeyed the Old law and taught your son right from wrong, you would’ve had nothing to fear.”
“Bah,” Malachi said to his father.
“What else did you leave in there for Phane?” Alexander asked.
“Everything,” Malachi said.
“Is there anything else in the Wizard’s Den that’s deadly?” Alexander asked.
“Yes,” Malachi said with a contemptuous smile.
Alexander glared at him as he formulated his next question. “Are there any magical items within the Wizard’s Den that are designed to harm those who use them?”
“Yes,” Malachi said, his smile turning to a sneer.
“Which items?”
“The book on the top shelf, third from the right,” Malachi said. “Also the onyx sphere on the desk.”
“What does the book do?”
“If you read a single word of it, your soul will be instantly drawn through the book into the netherworld,” Malachi said.
“And the onyx sphere?”
“If you gaze into it, your mind will become lost in the firmament,” Malachi said.
Alexander nodded, appraising the Sixth Sovereign. “Did you really hate your son so much?”
“Not at all, but his ambitions were obvious,” Malachi said. “He murdered all of my other children to ensure that he would inherit the Stone. Such ambition is rarely patient.”
“Which book contains a banishing spell?” Alexander asked.
“Second shelf from the top, fourth book from the left,” Malachi said.
“Is that the only one?”
“Of course not,” Malachi said.
And so it went for nearly an hour. Alexander asked Malachi a string of questions, narrowing his focus with each until he had a clear picture of the items of danger and importance within the Wizard’s Den. He was still not confident that he’d uncovered all of the danger hidden within the magical room by its previous occupant, but he had a better idea of the contents.
Many of the spellbooks detailed the process for summoning specific demons—their appetites and desires, powers and proclivities, weaknesses and temperaments. Each demon was carefully catalogued so that Malachi could summon just the right creature for the task at hand with full knowledge of what it would take to bring the demon forth from the netherworld, what it would take to bind it to service, and what unique abilities it possessed.
Several books contained different versions of banishing spells: some that relied on the realm of light to drive a demon into the aether and then into the netherworld, others that opened a rift in the fabric of the world of time and substance much the same as Selaphiel had, and still others that opened a portal directly to the netherworld that would allow passage in only one direction.
Others tomes contained painstaking records of careful research conducted into the netherworld by Malachi Reishi over the many years of his life. Whatever else he was, he was not stupid. He took the pursuit of knowledge very seriously, and his tomes represented the definitive body of research into the netherworld. No one before or since had explored the darkness as thoroughly as Malachi had. While Alexander was wary of the corrupting influence of such knowledge, he had high hopes that Kelvin and his wizards could use the information to develop new ways of fighting creatures from the netherworld.
A few books contained spells that relied on dark magic but did not involve summoning. One spell caused the one touched to age twenty or more years in the space of seconds, another could bring a recently deceased person back to life for an hour or so, during which time they were bound to serve the caster of the spell. Malachi suggested that this spell was the most effective tool of interrogation he had ever devised.
Several spells were designed strictly for killing. One projected a shaft of darkness that would enshroud the target in a black haze that consumed his life force over a period of several seconds. Another sent a wave of dark force at the enemy that desiccated his body as it passed through him, leaving nothing but a dried husk that crumbled into dust moments later.
One tome in particular gave Alexander chills. It described the process for transforming a living person into an undead creature, still possessed of all knowledge and memory, yet dead and lifeless … an animated corpse that was impossible to kill because it was already dead. Malachi had been researching a perverse form of immortality and he’d been nearly ready to attempt the spell. Had he succeeded, the world surely would have fallen under his dominion and would probably still be under his boot.
There were a number of other items of interest as well.
A sacrificial knife lay on the desk. It was enchanted to ensure that the soul of one killed by the blade would be bound to the will of the person wielding the blade, guaranteeing that the wielder could use the soul as a bargaining chip when summoning a demon. Apparently, in his early years of studying the dark arts, Malachi had encountered a few creatures from the netherworld that were dishonest, stealing the soul of his sacrifice before he could extract his price.
There was a box of six gold rings, each of which allowed the wearer access to the magical protections and capabilities of the Reishi Keep, much the same as the rings Alexander had found in Blackstone Keep.
One of the more useful items was a flagon that poured an endless stream of clean water.
But of all the treasures contained within the Wizard’s Den, none compared to the small stone box filled to the brim with Wizard’s Dust, enough to create dozens of wizards, enough for several mage fasts, enough to tip the balance of power in Alexander’s favor.
Once he had thoroughly grilled Malachi, he turned to the other sovereigns for advice.
“Balthazar, what can you tell me about the Wizard’s Den?” Alexander asked.
“It can be opened by you and you alone, and then only when you hold or wear the Stone,” Balthazar said. “I added that feature to ensure that you couldn’t close the door while the Stone was inside unless you were inside as well. Within the Wizard’s Den with the door closed, you are in a world all your own. Nothing outside can reach you; conversely, nothing within can reach outside. Your clairvoyance will not work beyond the walls of the Den as long as the door remains closed. Time does not pass within the Wizard’s Den unless there is a living being inside. If you put someone in the Wizard’s Den and close the door, they will experience the flow of time as the rest of the world does, but if there are no living beings inside the Den, then time does not pass. Hence, you can leave a plate of steaming hot food on your table, close the door and return days later to find the plate of food still hot and fresh.
“I added the balcony and endless fog for a very specific reason. Some items of magic cannot be destroyed without prohibitively dangerous consequences. The fog exists to give you a place to dispose of such items that is quite beyond anyone’s reach. Simply toss the item over the balcony railing and it will fall through the fog for all time; but be certain, because once you cast an item into the fog, it’s lost forever.
“The room will remain at a comfortable temperature regardless of conditions outside, provided the door is closed. I added the hearth because fire sooths me and I occasionally like it warmer. As for light, you have no doubt noticed the glowing stones in the ceiling. They are controlled by your will, providing a range of illumination from sunlight bright to total darkness. The fog provides ambient light as well but the door to the balcony will close out any light from beyond if you want total darkness.
“Of all the powers conferred by the Sovereign Stone, the Wizard’s Den is one of the most helpful. There are countless uses for such a place and it has served us all well during our service to the Seven Isles.”
“Thank you, Balthazar,” Alexander said.
Then he proceeded to detail everything that had happened since he last spoke with the council. He told them how he had defeated Shivini and the price he’d paid. He told them about the campaign he was waging against Zuhl’s forces on Fellenden and about the invasion of Ruatha by yet more Andalian Lancers. He told them about his journey to the Reishi Isle and his dreams with Rentu. Finally, he told him about the Nether Gate and the vitalwood tree. They listened with interest, absorbing the details and integrating them into their understanding of the state of the world.
“Your move against Zuhl is wise and correct,” Balthazar said. “If he’s permitted to build a fleet, he will dominate the world through sheer numbers. Your effort to secure one of the keystones of the Nether Gate is also vitally important, though I fear Phane is ahead of you on that score. Securing the nectar of the vitalwood tree is an excellent first step toward defeating Phane’s hold on Isabel. What is your next move?”
“I intend to return to Blackstone Keep and clear out the Wizard’s Den, have the wizards examine and study everything we find, and refurnish the Den with items that I know won’t try to kill me.”
“A wise precaution,” Balthazar said. “You might suggest to the Guild Mage that he adapt one or more of the banishing spells into enchantment spells so that he can empower weapons to destroy creatures from the netherworld. In that way you can arm yourself directly without having to rely on another wizard to cast a banishing spell for you.”
“I hadn’t considered that,” Alexander said. “I’ll definitely suggest it. Also, I plan to ask Kelvin to take the mage’s fast with some of the Wizard’s Dust we found. I’ll need any suggestions you can offer for improving his chances of success.”
“Of course,” Balthazar said. “Although, I must caution you, properly preparing for the mage’s fast is a lengthy process. It will take some time and I suspect the heartstone of the Keep will fail before he’s ready to enchant another.”
“I know, but there’s nothing else I can do about it,” Alexander said.
“I suggest you bring the bridge into the world of time and substance before the Keep’s magic fails completely or else your people will be trapped,” Balthazar said.
“You’re probably right,” Alexander said.
“Have you given any thought to securing the keystone on Tyr?” Constantine asked. “The Nether Gate is still the greatest threat you face.”