Thief of Souls

by Emma L. Adams

“Damn, I wish I’d stayed,” said Dex.

  “You could have, you know,” I said. “But you chose to come back.”

  “I chose to save your sorry arses.” He blew hot air into my face. “Look, if this Cobb dude isn’t much of a threat, you could just take him out as though he was a regular criminal.”

  “We can’t do that to a senior Order member without repercussions,” I said. “Especially back home. I’m gonna have to think about this one. He wants me dead, and he has the law on his side to boot. If I get this amulet off my hands, I can at least take away one of his excuses to punish me.”

  “You didn’t pin the amulet on the water mage?” said Brant. “Wait, if the Air Element went to see the Order, who took care of our thief?”

  “Very good question. You aren’t going to believe this.”

  I told both of them about the Death King’s sudden disembodied appearance and apparent use of illegal magic to take the water mage back to his territory.

  “You saw him?” Brant paled. “That changes things. Did he not want to go to see the Order?”

  “I think there’s a more important question… how was he there?” I said. “He’s a lich. He shouldn’t have been able to cross over into this realm without turning to dust.”

  “We’re talking about the most powerful guy in the Parallel, though,” said Dex.

  “In the Parallel,” I repeated. “Not on Earth. We weren’t even on top of a node, so how’s it possible for him to cross over?”

  “The guy has more tricks up his sleeve than a stage magician,” said Brant. “Creepy bastard. Did he see you?”

  “No, but he did this weird thing where he froze me to the spot without even knowing I was there.” A shiver ran down my spine. “I was sure he sensed the amulet, too. And since he and his Air Element are the disembowel-first-ask-questions-later type, I think I need to pay a visit to his castle directly to set the record straight.”

  Brant shook his head. “If he or his people catch you with the amulet, they’ll think you’re handing yourself in.”

  “If you have better ideas on how to get this thing back into the right hands, I’m all ears,” I said. “I’d have cornered the Air Element, but the Order got there first.”

  “There’s another way into the Death King’s castle,” he said. “Use the nodes.”

  I frowned. “What, there’s a node on the other side of the gate? Since when?”

  “You can find one,” he said. “You’ve always been able to sense them, haven’t you?”

  “Not when I can’t see them,” I said, puzzled by the emphatic hint to his words. “Of course I can sense the nodes. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be able to travel here at all. All practitioners can sense them.”

  “Yes, when they’re standing on top of them.” He looked me in the eyes. “You can do more than that, can’t you? Really think about how you followed that water mage.”

  My mouth parted. He had a point. I’d almost drawn the node into myself as I’d thrown myself after him. I’d always been able to feel the nodes more strongly than most, but I put that down to the frequency with which I used them to travel between realms. Now I thought about it, they said the nodes were the main source of magic the spirit mages had drawn on when they’d created the Parallel.

  “I brought Dex with me.” The fire sprite had vanished, perhaps to give us some peace. “I didn’t do it on purpose, but it’s like the energy from the node just… dragged him along for the ride. How?”

  “I don’t know.” His intense stare didn’t waver. “I can guess, though. I know it’s a lot, but… can you remember when you first learnt about the nodes?”

  That, I could remember. It was one of our first lessons on magic at the academy, long before my two years of corrupted memories. “Sure. I remember learning that the nodes are sources of magical energy, which is why cantrips work better when used close to a node. I don’t remember learning that they can be moved around at will.”

  “Except by spirit mages.” His tone was uncharacteristically hesitant, and he didn’t meet my eyes. “You once told me… I don’t know if you remember, but you mentioned travelling the nodes was the first stage of spirit magic.”

  I faltered, hearing a voice echo in the back of my mind: “Lesson one: travelling through the nodes is the first stage of spirit magic.”

  I had heard it before.

  “Anyone can travel through the nodes,” I protested. “If they couldn’t, nobody would be able to come here at all. Not to mention the original Elements wouldn’t have been able to create this place to begin with.”

  But who’d been the original founders of the Parallel? The spirit mages. They’d opened up the nodes and used their combined power to create a paradise designed for the magically inclined. A paradise, at least at first.

  “Yes, anyone can travel via the nodes,” he said, “but spirit mages can sense them in a way none of the rest of us are capable of. And you can use the same method to find the node on the Death King’s territory and travel there without risking capture.”

  My throat went dry. “I don’t know how. Look where using spirit magic got me last time. Spirit magic breeds corruption.”

  The image of the blood on my hands flashed into my mind and bile burned the back of my throat.

  He shook his head. “I’m not gonna argue semantics with you, but before the war, spirit mages were considered as legitimate as the rest of us.”

  “Until they destroyed the Council of the Elements and themselves along with it.”

  “Well, yes,” he said. “But the Order took your memories, not your magic. You still know how to travel the nodes, on a subconscious level. Whoever that mentor of yours was, he taught you well.”

  “He’s dead,” I said. “And I don’t remember a single second of our training. It’s useless to me. All it’s done is paint a target on my head.”

  “And saved your life,” he said. “I don’t blame you for being afraid, but travelling via the nodes isn’t breaking the law. And it might be the only way for you to circumvent the Death King’s army and get to the man himself.”

  I wished I could believe him. Hell, maybe he was right, but that didn’t mean I was any more equipped to sneak past the Death King’s defences without risking capture. As for exposing the traitor in the Order… no way.

  “There’s someone coming.” Dex appeared. “Someone who looks very much like a certain vampire.”

  I tensed, falling into a fighting stance, and Brant moved towards the door. A moment later, the door crashed open, revealing the vampire.

  “So this is your little hidey-hole.” He bared his teeth. “I’m going to enjoy taking you apart.”

  “Nice try.” Brant’s hands sparked with fire. “This is your last warning. You should have told your thief boss not to screw with either of us.”

  “Oh, he knows the girl survived,” said the vampire. “He also knows what you’re hiding. Give me the amulet.”

  Fire flared from Brant’s hands, but the vampire vanished, reappearing behind me an instant later. Flames danced past my cheek, and I pivoted away from the vampire’s even white teeth. I wasn’t about to get bitten again.

  “Brant, stop!” I said. “He’s trying to trick you into setting the place aflame.”

  “It’ll be worth it if he’s in it,” he said.

  “Not if we’re here, too.” Brant couldn’t be burned by his own flames, but the house was a different story. And me, for that matter.

  Teeth snapped inches from my ear as I spun around, dodging the vampire by a hair’s breadth. Brant hit him with a flaming fist. The vampire shrieked, his body ablaze. His hands flailed, but the scorching flames devoured every inch of him, his skin peeling from his bones like mouldy wallpaper. In seconds, nothing remained of him but a pile of ashes.

  I released a breath. “What’re the odds that he alerted his friends about our hideout’s location?”

  “Pretty high.” Brant irritably kicked the vampire’s ashes across the floor. “C’
mon. We should leave.”

  We crept out into the street and made our way through the outskirts of the city towards the warehouses and the swampland beyond.

  “We have to end this.” I felt for the amulet tucked away in my cleavage. “Once this is off my hands, I can stop worrying about the enemy getting hold of it. It’ll be the Death King’s problem.”

  “Speaking of problems.” He indicated the stretch of visible swampland behind the warehouses. “There’s an army between us and there.”

  Sure enough, the swamp was alive with warrior wights. Some on horseback, others on foot, cadaverous figures with sharp blades in their hands. Behind them, meanwhile, were other shadowy beings. Liches. One of them must be the amulet’s owner, but if I walked into their midst, they’d kill me before I could speak.

  No. I had to get past the army, and it seemed the only way to do that was to hop through a node and come out somewhere closer to the castle.

  I turned to Brant. “How confident are you in my untested abilities? I have no bloody clue what I’m doing.”

  “I have every confidence in you,” he said. “If you get that thing back to its owner’s hands, we’ll be free to pursue the thief without fear of retribution from more than one side.”

  “Sure, and the Death King himself will sign up to join us.” I rolled my eyes. “Dex, I need help.”

  “At your service.” He gave a salute. “Want me to throw fire around and ruin someone’s day?”

  “No, I want you to tell me whereabouts that army comes to an end. Is there anyone standing closer to the Death King’s castle, behind the gates?”

  “Oh, sure, I’ll just pop in there.” He gave a snort. “I can’t do that, Liv.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t?” I said. “You can travel through walls.”

  “Not whatever the Death King’s got around his castle, I can’t,” he said. “I tried once. It was like trying to fly through a brick wall.”

  Damn. Maybe he has some kind of spirit-proofed barrier. For someone who employed spirits himself, it was a reasonable enough explanation. “Can you just tell me where the army ends, then?”

  “Yes, O master.” He flitted away above the swamp, while I walked with Brant to the nearest node. The shimmering current of energy tugged at my heart, humming underneath my skin.

  I turned to Brant. “It sounds like the Death King’s prepared for intruders.”

  “There’ll be a workaround,” he said. “I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

  Dex reappeared. “The army is all around the swamplands, but there’s only two liches on each side of the gates. As for what’s behind the gates, I couldn’t see that well, but I think all four of his Elemental Soldiers are out here in the swamp again.”

  “All right.” I drew in a breath. “I’m going to try to travel through to a node on the other side of the gate.”

  “You’re what?” he squeaked. “What ridiculous idea has that mage of yours put into your head now?”

  “Dex, this is serious.”

  “If you say so.” He snorted. “I can’t get near the place. It’s like there’s some kind of barrier in the way, keeping me out. Who’s to say it won’t do the same to you?”

  “Only one way to find out.” It stood to reason that the Death King would have some hardcore defences around his territory, but I had to get the amulet back to him somehow, and I was all out of other ideas.

  “You’re stronger than a sprite,” Brant told me. “You won’t have any trouble, trust me.”

  I opened and closed my mouth. “If you say so.”

  Every trick Dirk Alban had taught me was buried somewhere beneath the surface along with my memories. Too bad there was no reaching them. I just had my instincts, a few cantrips, and all the good fortune my lucky dice could bless me with.

  Here goes nothing.

  I stepped into the roaring current of energy, and then I jumped.

  12

  I flew through the node’s current, fixing an image of the Death King’s castle in my mind’s eye, its spired roofs growing closer. Then I flew out of the node, the air buffeting me in all directions and the shape of the giant castle looming over my head. The structure looked positively prison-like from this angle, all turrets and towers and crenelated walkways. Dark grey in colour, it resembled a medieval fortress transplanted over here from the Middle Ages, while the gates stood behind me, sharp and uncompromising.

  Nobody stood waiting to accost me. Dex was right. The lich guards must be on the outside of the gates, not the inside, while the army was mostly concentrated around the edges of the swamp. They knew the thief was in the city, but they couldn’t possibly know I’d flown through the nodes and skipped over the swamp altogether.

  I rotated on the spot, breathing hard. I’d made it past the army. Now I just needed to return the amulet.

  Dex appeared at my side. “Time to storm the castle.”

  “I thought you were too scared to come near the place,” I commented. “We’re in. Now I need to find…”

  I reached for the amulet, but no longer felt its weight around my neck. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

  “What?” said Dex.

  “The amulet. It disappeared.”

  “Maybe it went back to its owner.”

  Somehow, I doubted we’d be that lucky. I scanned my surroundings, wondering when it had fallen… and then I realised I was floating several feet up in the air, above the swampy ground. No wonder the castle didn’t seem quite as looming and tall as it did from a distance.

  “Uh, Dex, is there anything different about me?”

  “New haircut?”

  “Seriously. Look at my hand.” I extended my right arm, and it passed straight through Dex as though I was no more substantial than he was.

  “Fuck me,” he said. “I mean, don’t. That’s metaphysically impossible for both of us at the moment.”

  “Dex, I’m a ghost. A phantom.”

  “Most phantoms can’t say one-syllable words.”

  No… but the Death King’s defences had done something to me. When I’d hopped through the node, I must have left my body behind. I’d made it in, but the amulet hadn’t.

  “Bloody great.” I sighed. “How do we get out of here, then?”

  “Presumably, the same way we came in.” Dex flew up into the air, admiring the towering shape of the castle. “Don’t you want to take a look around? It’s not like anyone can see us.”

  “Famous last words,” I said quietly.

  A shadowy figure emerged from the castle, passing straight through the oak doors as though they didn’t exist. The breath punched from my lungs, and against my will, I found myself being dragged towards the ground as though pulled by an invisible force. Now the castle seemed to loom taller than ever, yet my eyes were fixed on the person drawing closer, clothed in shadowy armour.

  The Death King closed the distance between us, silent and fearsome. His shadowy hood and dark mask were all but fused to his face, hiding his features, yet from this angle, the Death King looked more… present. Not the transparent shadow he’d been when I’d seen him talking to the Air Element back home. Still semi-corporeal in a way only liches were, but more solid than I was at the moment.

  I’m dead. I’m so dead.

  The Death King spoke. “Who are you?”

  I found my voice. “Nobody.”

  “You’re astral projecting,” he said. “You’re not one of mine. Who sent you?”

  “I’m what?” I couldn’t think of anything better to do than to feign ignorance. “I’m here to see the Death King, but I sort of expected to bring my body with me when I did it.”

  Astral projecting. A familiar voice whispered in my mind, “The second stage of spirit magic is astral projection.”

  “Did you really expect to gain access to my castle so easily?” He moved closer, his cloak whispering along the ground. “Nobody is allowed in here but my own kind. The only reason I am sparing you is because I’m curious as to how y
ou learned to astral project and bring a fire sprite with you, too.”

  Dex startled, swooping into an exaggerated bow. “Oh, your Deathly Highness, we made a mistake. Terribly sorry.”

  “Yes, we are.” I backed up. “But I’m willing to meet with you in the flesh. I have something you want.”

  “I don’t negotiate with rogues.” Behind him, several other figures emerged from the castle, all equally shadowy, albeit without the decorative armour or mask. Crap. Of course he hadn’t sent his entire army out there into the swamp. Each of his fellow liches had an amulet like the one I’d unintentionally acquired, which meant they could get knocked down a thousand times and still get up again.

  “Two intruders,” said the Death King. “Take them out.”

  The liches floated towards me, insubstantial as mist yet cold as an arctic frost. Hands grasping, shadowy and skeletal, cloaks swirling like tattered curtains.

  “Wait!” yelled Dex. “I’m just an innocent bystander.”

  If either of us had been solid, I’d have cuffed him on the head. “Hey! We’re not here to harm your king. I’m on your side.”

  The Death King looked me directly in the eyes. “If you’re telling the truth, I’d strongly advise that you run.”

  His companions advanced forward, each wearing black cloaks which moved like serpentine shadows. The Death King alone wore real armour, his own cloak more solid-looking, and embossed with the emblem of a skull. The twin of the mark on the amulet I’d unintentionally stolen.

  No. It can’t be.

  Shadowy hands reached for me, sucking on the living force within me like drawing the marrow from bone. If I let them touch me, I was worse than dead.

  The node. Find the node.

  I didn’t need a body to travel through the nodes. Dex was proof of that. Pushing down my panic, I sought the bright rushing current of energy, piercing the swampland like a star in endless blackness. Dex flew closer, all but clinging to me, and the brief flare of energy was enough to restore some of my strength. I reached for the brightness, pulsing through the heart of the Parallel, and let the node draw me in, willing myself to travel back towards the point where I’d left my body behind. The node’s embrace swallowed me up, and I emerged from the other side in a rush, spinning dizzily on the spot.