“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you to your duties, Lord Reishi.”
He went into his meditation room. It was a simple square room with windows on one side covered with heavy curtains. A brass lamp stood in each corner, and a ten-foot-diameter magic circle inlaid in gold and silver was set into the floor. In the center of the circle was a cushion. Otherwise the room was empty.
“I have to go for a while, Little One,” Alexander said to Chloe.
She buzzed into view in a ball of light and flew in an orbit around his head before coming to float a few feet from his face.
“I know, My Love. I’ll watch over you. Hurry back—I get lonely when your mind is elsewhere.”
Alexander sat down and cleared his mind. As he’d done so many times in the past, he acknowledged each stray thought and then let it go until his mind was quiet. Then he was floating on the firmament. He could feel the collective angst of the world in the limitless expanse of the present moment as it unfolded in countless lives across the Seven Isles.
He narrowed his focus and thought of the murderer loose in the Keep.
Nothing happened.
When he tried again, he still couldn’t focus on the person he wanted. It seemed he needed a name or at least a passing acquaintance with his target in order to find him. So he decided to focus on his worst fears instead. A single man acting alone would be a nuisance but not a significant threat. He was far more worried about creatures from the dark.
He focused on Jinzeri. He felt a sensation of impossible speed as his awareness coalesced in a large cave. There was ample light in the natural cavern from several clusters of glowing crystals jutting from the ceiling. Along one wall was a jet-black fragment of stone, uneven around the edges but polished to a mirror sheen on its face. It stood about twelve feet tall and was eight feet wide at the base.
The Nether Gate.
Twenty feet in front of it was a magic circle surrounding a stone pedestal cut from the same jet-black stone.
Sitting with his back to the pedestal was Rexius Truss.
He was possessed by Jinzeri and he was eating a rat—bones, fur, and all.
Alexander watched for a moment until Jinzeri turned and looked directly at him, smiling with rat blood smeared around his mouth.
Alexander moved straight up through hundreds of feet of stone until he came to the surface, rising higher still, until he was floating many thousands of feet over the Reishi Isle. He made a mental note of the location in the rugged northwestern mountains of the island and then faded back into the firmament.
Next, he focused on Rankosi.
His awareness coalesced over a road cut through pasture. A lone man was walking briskly like he had a purpose in mind. He was older, with white hair and a white goatee. He was dressed in the simple robes preferred by so many wizards. Alexander floated around in front of him to get a better look, when the man stopped and smiled at him.
“Hello, Alexander,” Rankosi said.
Alexander was taken aback. He couldn’t imagine how the shade knew his name, let alone how he could see him. Not for the first time, he wished he knew how to speak through his clairvoyant presence.
“Of course, I know your name,” Rankosi said. “You and your woman brought us into this world … and without binding us to your will first.” He laughed with maleficent glee. “In all of eternity, we never imagined that anyone would be so foolish. As a reward for such a priceless gift, my brothers and I have decided to spare you until the end, so you can watch the results of your carelessness. We are going to ravage your world and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
Alexander wanted to scream. All of his worst fears about the shades were coming true. He took a firm grip on his turbulent emotions and rose high into the sky directly above the shade until he could make out the form of the Isle of Fellenden. He marked the position of the shade and faded back into the firmament.
Finally, he focused on Shivini.
His fear spiked when his awareness coalesced within Blackstone Keep.
A possessed Ranger stood over the broken and mutilated corpse of another maidservant, savagely beaten to death.
The shade turned from his victim toward Alexander.
“Master has sent me to undo your alliance,” Shivini said. “It was so good of you to summon all of your allies to one place. But there’ll be plenty of time for that. At the moment, I’m very focused on the more important work of beating innocent young women to death. The taste of their fear when they realize they’re going to die is exquisite.”
Alexander was repulsed and infuriated. He drew his awareness up through the Keep to get an idea where Shivini was, then slammed back into his body and bolted to his feet.
“Little One, go find Kelvin and guide him to me,” he said to Chloe without speaking.
She buzzed up and kissed him on the cheek before spinning into a ball of light and disappearing into the aether.
“Be safe, My Love,” she said in his mind.
He came out of the meditation chamber at a run, racing through the sitting room as Anatoly, Jack, and Boaberous scrambled to their feet.
Alexander reached into the Keep Master’s ring as he ran, searching for the location where he’d found Shivini and then looking for the quickest route there. The shade was in one of the areas designated as quarters. Alexander searched for any shields nearby and found three, one at each of the access points to that particular section of the Keep. He raised the magical barriers to prevent his enemy from escaping.
He heard Anatoly bark an order to the Ranger standing sentry outside his quarters. The man ran in the opposite direction to get reinforcements.
Alexander wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he found Shivini, but he wasn’t about to let the shade roam the halls of Blackstone Keep killing people at his whim. He was confident that he could kill Shivini’s host, but he also knew that wouldn’t stop the shade from taking another. Still, he had to do something.
He raced through the halls until he reached the area where Shivini had been. He slowed his pace, stretching out with his all around sight into the rooms on either side of the hall, searching for the shade.
He rounded the corner and saw the Ranger possessed by Shivini savagely backhand Wren.
Chapter 8
She was caught by surprise and fell hard.
Shivini laughed.
Wren recovered her wits quickly, scrambling away from her attacker.
He didn’t seem to be in a hurry as he sauntered toward the terrified young woman.
Alexander dropped the shields around the section of quarters, so Kelvin and his reinforcements could get through. Then he pulled his throwing knife from the sheath on the back of his belt. Just as Alexander threw the knife, Shivini turned toward him. The knife hit the shade in the shoulder and buried to the hilt.
Shivini laughed.
“This body isn’t mine, you fool. You can’t kill me.”
He pulled the knife out and licked the blood coating the blade with a malicious smile.
“I do so love that taste,” he said.
Alexander closed the distance quickly, drawing Mindbender as he ran.
Shivini stood his ground and spread his arms wide.
“Kill me,” he said tauntingly. “I’ve always relished the fear of a dying host.”
Alexander stopped just outside of striking range, leveling his sword at the enemy. He was at a loss. The Ranger possessed by the shade was innocent. He didn’t deserve to die, yet Alexander couldn’t let his body be used to commit murder. He decided to stall.
“Have you found Kelvin?” Alexander asked Chloe silently.
“Yes, My Love. We’re nearly there,” she replied.
“I just spoke to Rankosi a moment ago,” Alexander said to the shade. “How is it that you’re serving a master and he’s free to do as he pleases?”
Anger contorted Shivini’s face. “Phane discovered my presence and bound me to his will. In the end, it won’t matter,” he said with a shrug. “Once we open the Nether Gate, Phane and everyone else will be at our mercy … and we have very little.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Alexander said.
“You still don’t understand, mortal. We will live forever. Even if we can’t dominate this world during your lifetime, we will eventually. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Not if I destroy the Nether Gate,” Alexander said.
“Such limited thinking,” Shivini said, shaking his head. “Now that we know such a device is possible, we can always build another. All it takes is the right host, one with the proper foundation of experience and knowledge for us to build on.” He smiled at Alexander’s growing realization.
“You’ve doomed the world, Alexander. And the part that I find the most delicious is that you did it all for love.” Shivini started laughing maniacally just as a squad of Rangers approached from the other end of the hall.
Anatoly motioned to Wren, and two Rangers cautiously approached with weapons drawn, guiding the young woman back down the hall and away from the shade. The squad lined up across the hallway, blocking Shivini’s retreat.
The shade looked over his shoulder and shrugged. “Perhaps it’s better this way. Once her story spreads through the Keep, all of the young women will be even more terrified of me. It’s always more satisfying when their fear rises into unbridled panic.”
Kelvin approached from behind with Chloe.
“Alas, I’m afraid I still have a few tasks to carry out for my temporary master,” Shivini said. “I’ve enjoyed our conversation. Trust that we will have other opportunities to chat in the future.”
Shivini sliced his host’s throat with Alexander’s throwing knife. Alexander saw the shade leave the man’s dying body, the Ranger’s expression changing from malevolent glee to stark terror as his consciousness reasserted itself.
The shade floated toward the squad of Rangers. They held their ground, but Alexander could see the fear in their colors. Shivini passed into one. There was a struggle between the shade and the Ranger, then Shivini passed out of him and into another. After a momentary struggle within the second man, Alexander watched the Ranger’s colors change as Shivini possessed him.
The shade stabbed the Ranger who had resisted him with a gleeful giggle, then turned and ran down the hall.
“Do you have the collar?” he asked Kelvin.
“Of course,” Kelvin said, handing it to him. Alexander raced after the shade, with his friends right behind him.
The shade led him through the Keep, always staying ahead but not too far. It seemed as if he was deliberately drawing Alexander after him. When Shivini passed people in the halls, he stabbed or slashed at them gleefully, leaving a trail of injured people in his wake. Alexander raced past the fallen, trusting that Anatoly would assign Rangers to tend to them.
Shivini took the most direct route to the Hall of Magic. When Alexander recognized where the shade was going, he erected the shields surrounding the long hallway.
They reached the first shield and Shivini transitioned his host into the aether for just a moment, just long enough to pass through the shield. He looked back at Alexander with a grin and raced on down the hall.
Wizard Hax came out of a room just ahead of the shade.
“Shade!” Kelvin bellowed in warning.
Hax muttered a quick string of words and Alexander saw his colors swell momentarily. When Shivini passed, slashing with his sword, the blade met a magic shield that saved Hax from injury. Shivini ran on.
Alexander dropped the shields around the Hall of Magic and continued the chase. He was getting tired, his lungs burned and his heart pounded, but he raced on. When he saw Shivini turn down the corridor lined with summoning chambers, his blood ran cold.
Again the shade shifted into the aether just long enough to pass through the shield Alexander kept in place across the entrance to that hallway. There were still a few demons trapped inside magic circles within that section of the Keep. It was one of the things on Alexander’s very long to-do list. He never felt comfortable having those demons trapped in there, but he also didn’t want to fight them if he could help it. Now he might not have a choice.
He dropped the shield to the hall and raced after Shivini. The shade passed a door leading to a chamber that Alexander knew housed a very unpleasant-looking demon and continued to the next door, which led to another imprisoned netherworld beast. Shivini stopped just long enough to giggle with maniacal glee before he entered the room. Alexander was out of breath, but he’d managed to close the gap somewhat. He was only thirty feet behind Shivini when the shade entered the room.
He stopped and drew the Thinblade in his right hand and Mindbender, blade down, in his left.
“Demon!” he called out over his shoulder to his friends as they caught up to him.
Boaberous stepped up on one side and Anatoly took a position on the other. Jack tossed up the hood of his cloak and faded out of sight. Kelvin produced a blue glass orb about an inch in diameter and whispered an incantation over it. Three Rangers were still behind Alexander, the rest had stopped to help the wounded. They drew weapons and stood ready behind Kelvin.