“Queen Sofia left for the Gate encampment three weeks ago,” Wizard Petronius said. “She was worried about some strange reports we’ve been receiving, so she asked Mage Jalal to accompany her.”
“If the Sin’Rath found her, she’s already dead,” Alexander said. “I’ll see if she’s still alive. If so, I’ll let her know that I’ve warned you.”
“Lord Reishi, if we can’t confront the Sin’Rath, how do we save our king and our colleagues?”
“You don’t,” Alexander said. “My sister and the Reishi Coven will kill the Sin’Rath. I want you to spread the word that Abel has been compromised. Also, stop any supplies from being sent to the encampment.”
“Yes, Lord Reishi. Thank you for the warning,” Wizard Petronius said before Alexander faded out of sight.
He thought of Sofia and found himself in a network of caves. The Queen of Ithilian sat by a fire with her daughter Evelyn and Mage Jalal. Numerous soldiers milled about, some standing guard, others sleeping, while still others prepared meals. The colors of everyone revealed anxiety at best and outright fear at worst. Alexander appeared across the fire from Sofia.
She bolted to her feet, fear coursing through her already emotionally fragile colors. It took a moment before she recognized him.
“Oh thank the Maker! Alexander, they have Abel. Those monsters have my husband.”
“I know, Sofia. I’m relieved to see that you and Evelyn are alive. When I heard you’d gone to the Gate encampment, I feared the worst.”
“I saw one of them,” Evelyn said. “They’re hideous, but none of the men will believe me.”
“It’s not their fault, Evelyn. The Sin’Rath are demon spawn and their magic is powerful.”
“So what are we going to do?” she demanded.
“You are going to stay hidden,” Alexander said. “The Reishi Coven will deal with the Sin’Rath, but it may be several days before they arrive.”
“Are those creatures going to kill my husband?” Sofia asked, a tremor running through her voice.
“I doubt it. Abel is too valuable to them alive. He’ll be safe until they have no more use for him … but the wizards are another matter.”
“I was afraid of that,” Mage Jalal said. “I should have seen this coming. I should have warned them.”
“It’s hard to see things that you’re not looking for,” Alexander said. “I’ll let my sister know where you are so she can coordinate with you before they move against the Sin’Rath.”
“Thank you, Alexander,” Sofia said.
“We’ll get him back,” he said, fading into the firmament.
He found Abigail preparing a meal at a makeshift camp on the northern coast of Ithilian. Magda and four witches he didn’t recognize sat around the fire while four wyverns slept on the beach nearby.
“Hello, Abby.”
“Where’ve you been?” she demanded, abandoning her cooking and standing to face him. “I’ve been worried sick.”
“It’s good to see you, too,” he said with a mischievous smile. When her expression softened, he motioned for her to sit and then recounted all that had transpired since they’d last spoken.
“So now there’s two of them and they have nine wizards,” Abigail said, walking away from the fire. “This just keeps getting better.”
“Mage Gamaliel is sending a quiver of special arrows for you.”
“That’s welcome news,” Magda said. “The Sin’Rath have proven to be far more powerful than I anticipated. The one called Peti nearly killed me.”
“And she did that just a couple of days after I put an arrow into her left eye and out the back of her head,” Abigail said.
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “That’s unsettling.”
“Wait … how’s Jack?” Abigail asked.
“He’s fine. When I sat down to meditate, he was at his desk, busily scribbling in his notebook.”
“Well, at least there’s that,” she said. “Tell him I said hi.”
“I will. In the meantime, I’ll go talk to Cassandra and see if she can send some reinforcements.”
“Tell her that where the Sin’Rath are concerned, I’ve come to believe that overkill is very much in order,” Magda said. “She’ll understand.”
“I’ll deliver your message,” he said, turning to his sister.
“I love you, Abby. Stay safe.”
With a thought, he was standing atop the fortress island plateau. The place looked to be on a war footing. Sky Knights were drilling attack runs high overhead. Cassandra stood at the edge of the well the Coven used to focus their power into a single spell. Witches were gathering. Trepidation and purpose filled their colors.
“Lord Reishi,” Cassandra said with a deferential nod. “Your visit is well timed.”
“What’s happened?”
“A rider has just arrived with word from Bianca. Zuhl has taken the northeastern fortress island and he’s moving soldiers onto the Reishi Isle.”
“I knew he was up to something,” Alexander said, “but I didn’t expect that.”
“Worse still, he has a dragon.”
Alexander sighed, shaking his head. “I guess I should have seen that coming. He’s built up the fiction that he’s the Dragon God. A lie that big would be tough to maintain without a dragon.”
“We’ve just begun to make preparations for our attack,” Cassandra said.
“I need you to set that aside for now,” Alexander said, then took a few minutes to explain the situation on Ithilian with the Sin’Rath. He finished with Magda’s request for help.
“Those were her exact words?”
Alexander nodded.
“I see,” Cassandra said, looking into the well, deep in thought for a moment. “She and I have had many discussions over the years about the proportional use of force. Her position has always been one of moderation and restraint. That she’s embraced ‘overkill’ in this instance tells me just how dangerous the Sin’Rath really are.”
“They need to be stopped before they can reconstitute their coven,” Alexander said. “And they need to be stopped with minimal harm to the Ithilian wizards and Abel.”
“I understand. I’ll personally lead all of the witches in this fortress against the Sin’Rath. The remaining Sky Knights will begin scouting operations against Zuhl.”
“Good. Don’t attack until we can figure out how to deal with his dragon,” Alexander said.
“Understood, Lord Reishi. I’ll dispatch a message rider to Bianca at once.”
“Thank you, Cassandra,” he said, fading out of sight and back into the firmament.
His magic was becoming second nature, an extension of his will, as easy to command as his own hands. In a blink, he was standing in a large tent within the stout wall surrounding the Reishi Keep.
Commander Perry was studying a map of the Reishi Isle laid out on a large table. He looked up quickly when Alexander appeared but composed himself almost instantly, saluting crisply.
“Lord Reishi.”
“Report.”
“We’ve secured the majority of the Keep with the exception of the throne room and adjacent areas as well as several areas deep under the structure itself. The tentacle demon seems to be hibernating, though it stirs every time we get near, so I’ve ordered my men to stay well clear of those chambers.
“Your friend Rentu recently brought word that the underground fortress has been occupied by Zuhl’s soldiers. My scouts tell me that several thousand men have established a fortified position around the entrance and more are arriving daily. As I have insufficient to both secure the Keep and mount an attack against the invaders, I’ve chosen to monitor their activities. So far, they’ve shown no interest in the Keep.”
“At forces least there’s that,” Alexander said. “Maintain your defensive position here, but be ready to move the bulk of your forces at a moment’s notice. Also, you may hear an explosion from the direction of the hidden fortress. If you do, take no action.”
Com
mander Perry saluted as Alexander vanished, flitting to the hidden fortress. Over a thousand men occupied a makeshift fortification built up around the entrance. A wide trench formed a half circle around the encampment with a high earthen berm littered with sharpened stakes behind it. Three wooden towers armed with ballistae provided watchmen with a clear view of all approaches.
Alexander drifted invisibly into the passages of the hidden fortress, finding soldiers at every turn. He found the chamber where he’d last seen Mage Gamaliel’s explosive weapon, but it was gone. Zuhl’s soldiers had secured a path to the chamber where the Nether Gate resided, barricading several unstable passages with debris, rock, and dirt. Alexander wanted to laugh when he saw that the explosive weapon was part of the material used to fill one of the passages. They had no idea what it was.
Several dragon priests and a wizard wearing a collar were working on the Nether Gate. They seemed to be building a complex apparatus between the Gate and the control pedestal. Several of the components glowed softly with colors of magic.
Fading back into the firmament, Alexander wondered if Zuhl had devised a way to open the Gate without the keystones. He doubted it, considering how much effort Phane had expended to acquire the keystones, but that didn’t change the fact that Zuhl seemed to believe otherwise and it would be unwise to doubt the resourcefulness of a seven-hundred-year-old mage.
Deciding that he should consult the sovereigns before he chose a course of action, he shifted his focus to yet another problem: Hector.
Alexander located him quickly, materializing in the middle of a clearing in the expansive Karth jungle just as Hector, Drogan, and several dozen soldiers emerged from the thick foliage.
Hector’s colors swirled with guilt and loss. Drogan motioned to the soldiers and they fanned out surrounding Alexander. He ignored them.
“Hello, Hector.”
“I’ve been expecting you,” he said.
“So you’ve probably thought about what you were going to say to me then. Let’s hear it.”
“What is this?” Drogan asked warily.
“He’s just a projection,” Hector said.
Drogan cocked his head, then reached down and picked up a rock, tossing it through Alexander’s illusion.
“Huh.”
“I’m waiting, Hector.”
“Phane can bring Horace back … and you can’t.”
“You know better than that. Phane is a liar. That’s what he does.”
Hector shook his head defiantly. “You’re wrong. You have to be wrong.”
“Listen to yourself, Hector. You want this so badly that you’re willing to believe anything, but deep down you know the truth. Horace is dead. Nothing can change that. Don’t throw away everything that he died for.”
“He died for nothing! It was so pointless, so unnecessary. I have to undo it.”
Alexander shook his head sadly. “Some things can’t be undone. But it’s not too late to redeem yourself. Leave these people, return to the House of Karth. They’ll take you in and give you the time you need to mourn your brother and come to your senses.”
“No! Horace will live again,” Hector said, approaching to within arm’s length of Alexander’s projection. “I’ve made my choice and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. You’re not even here.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Hector, but I will.”
“How?” he said, waving his hand through Alexander’s illusion.
“You forget where you are,” Alexander said, tipping his head back and projecting a long howling wail that carried out into the jungle. The birds fell silent.
“What are you doing?” Hector asked, alarm growing in his colors.
“I’m killing you,” Alexander said, projecting another loud call into the jungle.
“Make him stop,” Drogan said. “He’ll attract predators.”
“Please don’t do this, Lord Reishi.”
“You’ve chosen to serve the darkness,” Alexander said, a hard edge to his voice. “The truth is, I’m doing you a favor. If Phane ever made good on his promise to resurrect Horace, you would discover the true meaning of the word horror.”
Alexander transformed into a ball of brilliant white light and rose several dozen feet overhead, projecting a keening wail that was sure to attract the attention of predators for leagues in all directions.
It wasn’t long before the first chameleon lizard arrived, killing a soldier at the edge of the clearing and dragging his corpse into the jungle. Alexander didn’t remain for long after the hunting pack of lizards arrived. Hector had been his friend. He hated that it had come to this, but duty demanded it. He slipped back into the firmament amid screams of terror and death as Phane’s expedition force was picked to pieces.
He found Wyatt and Ayela in a cave with a dozen or so Karth soldiers and Tasia, still recovering from her fight with Aedan.
Wyatt stood quickly and saluted, fist to heart. “Lord Reishi, I wish I had better news to report. My men are all dead. Princess Lacy and Wren were recaptured, and we failed to secure the third keystone.”
“I know,” Alexander said. “I’m sorry about your men.”
Wyatt nodded, looking down at the ground with a great sadness welling up in his colors. Ayela put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
“Lord Reishi, what can we do?” she asked.
“I need you to get Lacy and Wren out of the Regency fortress and away from Phane and Isabel.”
“What about Lady Reishi?” Wyatt asked.
“She won’t be free until I banish the Wraith Queen,” Alexander said. “Right now, the best thing we can do for her is to get everyone she cares about away from her. But there’s a problem. Lacy and Wren are wearing Andalian slave collars. You might need Trajan’s help to remove them.”
“He went north,” Ayela said, shaking her head sadly. “I fear he’s lost to us. That cursed bone has claimed his sanity.”
“I’m sorry, Ayela.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
“We’ll think on the problem,” Tasia said from her makeshift bed against the cave wall. “Perhaps there’s another way to defeat these collars you speak of.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Alexander asked.
“My body is broken, but my mind is just fine,” Tasia said. “And with the help of Ayela’s potions, I’ll mend soon enough.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Would you like me to relay a message to Bragador?”
“When I accomplish the task appointed to me, I will return home. Until then, I have nothing to report.”
“Fair enough,” Alexander said.
Tasia hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Is Anja well?”
“She’s well and she’s amazing. I’ll tell her you said hello.”
“Thank you,” Tasia said.
Chapter 3
Alexander returned to his body and a mild headache. Not too long ago, he would have been in serious pain from spending so much time using his illusion magic.
He touched the Sovereign Stone and took his seat at the table. After detailing recent events, he turned to Malachi.
“Tell me everything you know about Mage Cedric’s war staff.”
Malachi scowled. “That blasted staff kept my armies at bay for years. I tried to replicate it, I tried to steal it, I even tried to destroy it, but Cedric was always a step ahead of me.”
“What does it do?” Alexander asked.
“Mostly close-combat spells—fire, ice, and the like.”
“Mostly?”
“Its real power is the falling-star spell.” Malachi scowled again. “I could never figure out how he did that. The whole war would have turned out differently without that staff.”
“What exactly is a falling-star spell?”
“Just like it sounds,” Malachi said. “That staff can call stars out of the sky. The first time he used it against me, I lost five legions in an afternoon. Fifty thousand battle-hardened soldiers, wiped out to a man in minutes.
After that, the war ground to a halt for decades. Neither side dared commit large numbers of troops, so the fight turned to magic and subterfuge, assassins and treachery.”
“Why didn’t he use the staff against you?”
“I owned the oceans and the Gates,” Malachi said. “Cedric couldn’t get close enough to my territories to attack … not for lack of trying, mind you.”
“What would this falling-star spell do to a city?”
“Level it,” Malachi said. “There wouldn’t be anything left but a smoldering hole in the ground.”
“How do I defend against it?”
“You don’t. The only defense against a spell like that is to be elsewhere when it hits.”
Alexander shook his head in dismay. “Why didn’t he put that in the first Bloodvault?” he whispered.
“Mage Cedric probably believed that such power should be earned,” Balthazar said.
“From what you’ve said about Mage Cedric, I suspect he gave serious thought to destroying it,” Constantine said. “A wise mage would create a weapon like that only out of desperation.”
Malachi snorted derisively.
“Who has this staff?” Balthazar asked.
“A thug named Elred Rake. He’s working for Phane and he’s headed straight for Blackstone Keep.”
Malachi smiled. “Well, well … maybe Cedric’s staff will finally be put to good use. How delicious … his Keep destroyed by his own weapon.”
“Silence,” Alexander commanded.
“Such a weapon would make Phane considerably more dangerous,” Balthazar said. “I recommend you direct your full attention to recovering it or destroying it.”
“I need to go get my wife,” Alexander said, shaking his head helplessly.
“It sounds like this threat is more imminent,” Dominic said. “While I certainly understand your concern for Isabel, you must remember your duty as the Sovereign. After Blackstone falls, this Elred Rake will move against your cities in northern Ruatha and they will be defenseless against such power.”
Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept Page 3