Eden's Pawn: Shadow Games Book 1

by C. B. Miller

  “That would be a bad idea,” He said.

  “Great. That’s just great.” Alex made a disgusted noise and approached me. “That was your idea? Hit it with magic and hope it’d stand still while it ate?”

  “Basically.”

  She shook her head, “That was reckless.”

  “Nah, just inner door kung fu secrets.”

  “I have no idea what you just said.”

  I smiled and turned my attention to Markus. “Magister, how is Rebecca?”

  A warm green glow faded from his hands as he waved them over her. Markus deliberated while checking her vitals, “good, good. She should recover nicely, although I doubt a complete recovery is possible.” Rebecca's breathing was deeper and stronger than it had been a minute ago. Some of the color returned to her skin and it no longer glistened with feverish sweat. All that was left of her wound was a jagged, thin, white scar.

  He stood and clasped his hands together. “We have a lot to discuss it seems.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Care to tell us what the fuck that was?” I pointed at the remains of the aezzai. Its body was dissolving into a smoking goo that slowly evaporated into the air, like the pods earlier at the Manticore’s sanctum.

  “As I said earlier, an aezzai.”

  “You gave me a name, but that doesn’t exactly explain what it is or what it was doing inside Rebecca.”

  “Breeding for starters.” Marcus motioned for us to follow him. “She’ll be fine.”

  We followed him into the center of the house, in which the hallway expanded into a massive open air library. It rose three stories and was easily a hundred and fifty feet in length. Rows upon rows of bookcases dominated the floors, and the walls were covered from floor to ceiling with scrolls, books, and other archives. There was an order to everything here that was absent from his den earlier.

  He directed us to a circular table in the middle of the room, and a tome floated down from the third floor into his hands as he sat down. Markus tenderly flipped through the pages while we waited in silence. Finding the entry he was looking for, he slid the blackened leather-bound book over to us.

  Drawn on the page was a spider-like creature with a human-ish face, pulling itself out of man’s body like it was shedding its skin.

  “The aezzai are a race of skinwearers that look an awful lot like the Anansi. There is no relation as far I’ve been able to find, but after what I’ve read, I can’t blame the Anansi for rejecting any kinship with the Aezzai.”

  “I’ve never heard of them before,” Alex murmured.

  “Nor would you. They haven’t been spotted in over seven centuries.”

  “These things have been laying in wait for seven hundred plus years? Why come out now then.”

  “Because they aren’t from our reality. They exist out in the Rifts, and like many of its denizens, they want into our world to feed on humanity and our magic.”

  “The what now?” I queried. I leaned back in my chair, watching both of the mages. Ghosts, vampires, and the like all seemed within the realm of possibilities, but this was starting to feel like he was pulling a fast one on me.

  “Rifts. It’s a series of places that you might call other planes of existence. Like Arcadia and the Realms of the Dead.”

  Markus laughed at the puzzled look on my face and smiled broadly. “You really didn’t think that this was everything, right?” He gestured around and he rapped the table with his knuckles. “There’s magic, son. Much more to what you can physically see, hear, and touch.”

  I nodded, opening my mouth as a slew of questions came to mind, but I didn’t know where to start.

  Markus winked and held up a hand, motioning me to wait.

  “The important piece part is that the Aezzai aren’t from around here. And they can’t get here on their own. If they could, there’d be a lot more trouble than what we’ve been seeing.”

  “You mentioned they feed on magic?” Alex offered. Her eyes were focused on the drawing of the Aezzai.

  Markus’s face grew cloudy, “Yes. They are proficient spellcasters themselves, but wherever it is they specifically come from is virtually cut off from - well, suffice to say they have little to sate their ravenous appetites for magical power. That’s why the Aezzai targeted Bertha’s circle.”

  “But what was that with Rebecca? If they feed off magic, why didn’t they snack and go?” Alex pushed the book away from her toward me.

  Markus grabbed the book, turning a few of its yellow pages before pushing it back. He rested his finger on an entry. I couldn’t read its contents, but I recognized the script as Latin. Alex’s eyes went wide as she read the passage, and she covered her mouth as she gagged.

  “That bad?” I asked.

  She vigorously nodded and turned away. I wondered if she was going to be sick and peered around, hoping to find a garbage can or something close by. A few moments later, she recovered, but her face was still ashen.

  Markus’s brows knitted together, and he sighed heavily. “Remember how I said they weren’t from our reality? Well, to get here, they have to be called. A suitably insane mage might seek one of these beasts out and bring it over because they stupidly think it’s worth it.”

  “I still feel like I’m missing something here. If they eat magic, crazy or not, why bring one over?”

  Alex grabbed the book and flipped the page. Markus grimaced at her rough touch as she jabbed a finger at a drawing on the page. A man held a familiar egg shaped device into the air. Swirls of power and jagged lines of energy connected the item to another bound man in a circle.

  “Remember how Bertha was talking about a True Awakening? It turns out the Aezzai gift their summoner with a massive increase of magical power. For the small low price of mass murder.”

  I had a feeling that she was leaving out details, things that I didn’t want to know that were part of the mass murder.

  “I guessing that part of the murder pact involves incubating their young in the victims too?”

  Markus and Alex nodded in unison. Markus leaned back in his chair and let out a heavy breath. “At least you were able to prevent the ritual from being completed.”

  “Well….”

  Markus’s eyes flared up at me, darkness swimming behind his gaze as he stared holes into me.

  I chuckled, “You see, there’s a slight issue there. You’re not going to like this one bit.”

  He leaned forward and growled, “what?”

  I explained in depth my encounter with Bertha and her circle, stopping to describe everything in minute detail for them. Markus summoned a notebook and began to take notes, occasionally stopping to sketch out different things as I spoke.

  When I finished explaining how we were looking for Megan and what little we know about this mystery man, Markus looked like he aged a year or two.

  “From everything you’ve said, I don’t understand what role Erukzakir’s Judgment played in all of this. It doesn’t sound like they needed it for the ritual.”

  “They didn’t, but it’s another source of power to drain. It’s always possible they knew more about the blade than we do too.” Markus remarked.

  “Any ideas on where we could look for Megan then?”

  Markus’s face fell as he looked away from us. “Assuming she’s still alive, no. She’s probably at the bottom of the Chicago River or food for the Aezzai young already. Much past Rebecca’s stage, there’s little hope of saving her. If she’s still alive, she’ll be nothing more than a shell. A host to a half-dozen or more Aezzai young. The only way to stop them before they emerge is to destroy her with fire before they can escape.”

  “That’s insane! You mean to burn her alive.”

  “She already dead. She just doesn’t know it yet.” Alex murmured.

  “Is there any time limit on when they have to complete their deal? Like till the next new moon or anything?” I asked.

  Markus made a non-committal noise and shrugged. “You are now one of the o
nly few living experts on the Aezzai. Only the Aezzai or their summoner could tell us for certain.”

  “We have to alert the Council. Every mage in the city is in danger. This madman will have to strike again to complete their bargain with the Aezzai.” Markus stated.

  I gave Markus a skeptical look, “You’re lobbying for us to contact the Council?” I drew out my statement as I watched Markus’s face. He was the only mage in the Chicago-land area that hadn’t signed the Accords, that hadn’t believed in the peace the deal represented for the majority of beings in the city.

  He nodded. “No matter what you may have heard about my refusal to formally join the Accords, I do recognize their potential value in this matter.”

  Alex’s face twisted in anger, “Maybe if we had more people promoting the good things about -” Her next words died on her tongue as Markus blinked once and stared her down.

  We sat in silence for a minute, each of us lost in thought and staring off into space as we contemplated the panic this would cause. This was probably the first real test of the Accords, calling every were-creature and vampire, to defend the mages and wizards in the city. There was nothing to say this was contained to just Chicago either.

  “What do you think the chances are everyone actually honoring the Accords when called?” Alex’s voice lilted higher than normal as she stared at the book.

  “I think we’ll see a lot of hand-wringing and quote-unquote investigations from each side to confirm our story. Most of the were-creatures are still nursing their broken pride at being forced into the Accords, and I’m sure they’ll take any opportunity to make the High Lord look like a fool.” Markus replied.

  I raised an eyebrow and whistled appreciatively. “For a man that wants nothing to do with politics, you sure know a lot about what’s going on. Don’t look at me for any insights. I try to stay out of sight and out of mind of the big wigs.”

  Markus gave me a faint, grim smile. “ Look how well that’s working out for you.”

  “Touche, sir.”

  “Information is power, and a lack of knowing can kill you. I for one, prefer knowing which person is an exposed wire and those that I can trust not to electrocute me if I get too close.”

  “I know this isn’t exactly a secret, but you know about the vampire packs that have disappeared recently?” I waited for Markus’s nod before continuing, “I think they are related. We ran into these - things. I called them the Wretched because they are like the living dead. Almost like movie zombies, just alive. Kind of. They were filled with the same yellowish fluid flowing from Rebecca.”

  Markus’s voice echoed throughout the hall as he swore in a language I didn’t recognize. Alex shot up from her seat, startled by his outburst, and watched him as he stood up and rushed over to a bookcase.

  “Where is it?” He muttered to himself before flicking out a thin hardback volume and flipped through the pages. He spread the book wide and held it out for us as he approached. “Is this what you saw?”

  Notes were scrawled across both pages over a dozen exquisitely detailed drawings of gaunt men and women being dissected. Their faded color still clearly showed the yellowish blood and skin. I couldn’t read the notes in Latin, but it wasn’t hard to infer that they were about the bones and flesh of these poor beings.

  “Something similar, I guess. I can’t read this, so I can’t say for sure.”

  Markus slapped his forehead and muttered something under his breath. He pointed a finger at me, and it felt like a nail split my skull as an invisible bolt of power struck me. The pain disappeared a moment later, and he looked at me expectantly.

  “Well, can you read it now?”

  I looked down at the page at the foreign script, still unable to decipher or translate the words. “Nope, still nothing.”

  His jaw dropped slightly while his browed furrowed together. A heartbeat later, he rolled his eyes, “Of course, I should have known.”

  “Known what?” Alex piped up.

  “Mr. Jones here has a very rare gift which makes it impossible for anyone to, how do I say this politely, unduly influence his mind and emotions. Unfortunately, that means he’ll have to learn Latin the hard way.” Markus shrugged, and Alex looked at me questioningly. He pulled the book from my hands and read off each of the sections. The details in every entry lined up with my encounter with the Wretched earlier.

  It was impossible to miss Markus’s darkening mood. He was scowling by the time he slammed the book shut and replaced it on the shelf.

  “What do those things have to do with the Aezzai?” Alex asked as he sat down.

  He slumped into his chair and put his feet up on the table. “They are shock troops for the Aezzai, and that means two things. The Black Oryx and Bertha’s brood wasn’t their first target, and there’s a mage running around out there that’s completed their deal with the Aezzai. Which means we’re too late to stop them, and there are gods know how many Aezzai out there breeding.”

  “In the past, what happened to the summoner?”

  “The Aezzai ate them.”

  “And presumably, whoever summoned them this time would know that, right?”

  “Like I said, there’s a level of insanity necessary to contact and deal with these beings. They all think they will get away with it.”

  “What did the Aezzai do after they devoured the mage?”

  “They spread like a plague until they were contained and cleansed by fire. There was a reason Nero watched.”

  “What if this time they got away with it? What if they figured out a way to keep the Aezzai so distracted that they could keep the creature satisfied and at bay. Like say, presenting them with a buffet of magical beings to feast on? Maybe the one spot where a few disappearances would have fingers pointing long before the knives come out.”

  Markus grunted and waved a hand dismissively. A smile slowly crossed his face as he looked up at me.“That … might work.”

  “Then we might still have a chance at stopping this thing.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  "Well, shit."

  "What is it?" Alex replied.

  I pointed at the man waiting at the end of the drive. He waved and tipped his head as we slowly approached.

  "Someone you don't like?"

  "You could say that."

  I thought about just gunning it and turning out onto the street as the man stepped to the side. I discarded the idea and rolled down the window as we came to a halt.

  He ducked down and placed both hands on my door. I resisted the urge to reach through the window, grab his neck, and snap it.

  "Good morning Kaedin. I'm happy I found you so early in the day as I think we have need of each other." His pearly white teeth shone as he tipped his head at Alex. "I don't believe we've met before, miss?"

  Alex started to respond when I interjected, "Alex meet Dane Valor. Dane Valor, meet Alex."

  Dane's practiced friendly facade broke for a tiny moment at the mention of his name. I resisted the urge to gloat, to seed the tiniest little doubt in his memory magics or The Order's information network. His expression returned to his normally pleasant demeanor, “Nice to meet you, Alex.”

  I felt Alex tense in the seat next to me, and I tapped the steering wheel. “So, Dane. I’m starting to get the impression you have a crush on me or something.”

  Dane laughed and gave me a suggestive look, “Let’s just say I’m becoming a bit of a fan. Your handiwork last night was newsworthy. Looks like you have a bit more in common with me than I thought.”

  I didn’t like the way he said ‘newsworthy,’ but I had the feeling he didn’t track me down to talk about burning down Bertha’s. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of asking him. Gesturing for him to continue, I relaxed into the seat.

  “We’ve run into a bit of a pickle, and I thought to myself. ‘Dane, is there anyone in this city who might be able to help out?’ Your name just popped in my head.” He mimicked an explosion with his hand and made a poppin
g noise.

  “That’s odd Dane, why would I help you?”

  “Because it helps both of us of course.” He leaned closer and grinned wider. “You see, there was a woman that burst from the bookstore not five minutes before it went up completely in flames. So we followed her.”

  My heart pounded in my chest, and I forced myself not to react. He watched me for a moment before straightening up, his stupid grin plastered to his face the entire time. “While I’m curious how you got out undetected, you’d never believe what we discovered.”

  He paused expectantly, waiting for me to say something. After an uncomfortably long silence, his smile disappeared, and he sighed. “I see, well. Seeing as how I’m a good guy, I’ll fill you in.”

  I suppressed a smile as Alex coughed, “bullshit.”

  Either Dane hadn’t heard her clearly or decided to ignore her. “You see, she met up with another mage - a solitary in your lingo that we’ve been concerned about.” He recounted.

  I wanted to tune him out and drive off, but a tingling in the back of my head told me that he wasn’t trying to waste my time. Dane Valor had something important to say. Something so important that The Order felt it should share it with me. It was also the only lead we had, despite the untrustworthiness of its source.

  I bit back a sarcastic remark and pretended my indifference. “That’s so kind of you to be concerned about one of us. What does that have to do with me?”

  Dane leaned in again, his gaze on Alex. “It appears that this man might have taken offense to our oversight, and several of our number have gone missing after observing his comings and goings. He met up with the young woman that escaped the inferno last night, and it appeared to be a messy breakup. She handed something off to him, and well - let’s just say they won’t be getting married anytime soon after that fight.”

  “You’re not insinuating she was meeting with The Grey, are you?” Alex growled.