“Ratagan, is your wyvern up to another quick flight?” Alexander asked, pointing to the top of the three towers rising out of the heart of the Reishi Keep.
“Of course,” Ratagan said.
“What are you doing?” Anja asked.
“I have to turn off the Gates.”
“Oh,” she said, frowning as she looked up at the towers. “Well, I want to go with you.”
“Me too,” Abigail said.
“I’m just going to turn off the Gates,” he said.
“And we’re going with you,” Abigail said. “Open the door.”
“All right,” Alexander said, shaking his head and opening his Wizard’s Den.
A few minutes later, Ratagan launched into the sky, gaining altitude with each powerful stroke of his wyvern’s wings. He landed gently on the highest bridge spanning the distance between two of the towers.
“We won’t be long,” Alexander said, dismounting and opening his Wizard’s Den. Everyone filed out onto the bridge.
“Huh,” Jack said, looking out toward the smudge of light on the horizon left by the setting sun. “Somehow, the view from up here seems more peaceful than it did last time.”
“Maybe that’s because we don’t have a bunch of people trying to kill us right now,” Alexander said, patting him on the shoulder in passing as he entered the Keep. It was cold and dark, altogether lifeless. Just as he’d left it. He knew that the tentacle demon was still lurking within, but it was far from the top of the towers. Aside from that, Perry’s men had cleared most, if not all, of the unwelcome inhabitants.
Alexander led the way up the stairs, passing through several levels, all as vacant as the last, before he reached the broken door to the Gate room. It seemed so anticlimactic. From the moment he’d learned that Peti had possessed Abel, he’d been terrified that the witch would send her armies into the rest of the Seven Isles and plunge the world into a frenzy of slaughter and carnage. As he touched the control and deactivated the Gate system, tension seemed to drain from him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning his mind to the next threat.
The next enemy he planned to face was the tentacle demon that had taken up residence in the Reishi Keep’s throne room. Its presence posed a constant threat to the soldiers garrisoned there, limited their access to the Keep, and stood in the way of Alexander reaching the lower levels where the Sovereign’s library was located. Once there, Alexander would be able to take command of the Keep’s magic and defenses, much as he had with Blackstone Keep.
While all of those reasons were important, they were not the real reason he needed to face the tentacle demon. Central in his mind was Azugorath. His ability to defeat her was a constant question, a nagging source of doubt and trepidation. If he went against her and fell, all would be lost, yet he knew without doubt that he would confront her, no matter the risk.
The tentacle demon would be a test of Luminessence. Of all the creatures born of darkness that Alexander had ever faced, this demon seemed the most formidable, dangerous, and undefeatable to him. He could still vividly remember how quickly and powerfully it could move, how wide its fang-lined mouth could open, and how caustic the acid oozing from its tentacles was.
Even with all of his magical sight, even armed with the Thinblade, he knew that he would die if he faced the tentacle demon in open battle. But … if Luminessence could banish it, then there was a good chance its light could send Azugorath back to the netherworld as well.
“I thought this place would be more interesting,” Anja said, running her finger along the edge of the podium that housed the master controls for the entire Reishi Gate system.
Alexander chuckled. “Come on, let’s go have a war council.”
***
Alexander scanned the officers and witches present in the large tent that Perry had hastily transformed into a council chamber. A series of field tables, set up end to end, occupied the center of the tent with chairs lined up against both of the longer walls. Magda, Cassandra, Commander Perry, Wizards Dinh and Jahoda, as well as nearly two dozen witches that Alexander had never met, sat at the table along with a number of Perry’s officers. Horst and Ratagan sat along the walls with several of the ranking sergeants under Perry’s command.
Most of the people present were exactly as they appeared. While many possessed the vibrant and rich colors that Alexander had long ago learned to associate with magic, all but two had the colors of good, decent people who were dedicated to protecting the world from the likes of Phane and Zuhl.
Two of the sergeants stood out. Their colors were dark and cloudy, filled with malice and deceit. Each sat in a chair along the walls of the tent close to the end of the table where Alexander’s chair was placed.
Commander Perry stood when Alexander entered, followed by the soldiers under his command and the witches. Alexander waved for them to sit back down, finding himself a bit flustered by the deference he was given, especially here in the field.
“Lord Reishi,” Commander Perry said, still standing. “All key personnel are present and accounted for.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Alexander said, making his way to the head of the table, his sight more focused on the two unwelcome guests than anything else. Abigail took the chair to his right. Perry was already in the chair to his left.
Anja walked right up to the commander and looked him in the eye for a moment like she expected him to move. When he just frowned back at her she leaned in.
“You’re in my chair.”
He looked to Alexander, who shrugged helplessly.
Jack leaned in and whispered to Abigail, “Told you she’s not always that polite.”
“My apologies,” Commander Perry said, moving to the next chair down the table.
Jataan took up his position behind Alexander and just to his left, his dark eyes scanning the room for any hint of threat. More often than not, Alexander thought his diligence was a bit overdone, especially in settings like this, but today he felt differently. The two men with dark colors were scarcely more than ten feet away on either side. Without Jataan at his post, if they attacked in unison, one might get through. With the Commander of the Reishi Protectorate standing watch, Alexander doubted he would even have time to get up before they were both dead.
That provided some measure of flexibility. If they were assassins, they would make their move soon enough. If not, then they were spies. Alexander was thinking furiously how he might use them to mislead Zuhl, or whoever they worked for, when his battle sight came to life.
Both men surged to their feet in unison, drawing long daggers as one and lunging toward him, catching him between them … except that Alexander saw their attack one precious moment before it actually happened. By the time the man to his right had drawn his dagger and raised it to strike, Alexander had bolted to his feet, drawn the Thinblade and taken his hand off at the wrist, bringing the flat of his sword down on the man’s shoulder.
“On your knees.”
The second man had risen to his feet in the same moment as the first, but by the time he was standing with his dagger in hand, Alexander was well out of range and Jataan was standing in front of him, his hands empty and at his sides.
“Drop it,” he said.
The man looked around a bit frantically, then lunged at Jataan, the tip of his blade driving straight at Commander P’Tal’s heart, but the commander wasn’t there when the blade arrived. He slipped to the side and drove the point of a dagger that quite suddenly appeared in his hand into the soft spot just behind the man’s ear.
The entire fight lasted all of six or seven seconds, just long enough for every witch at the table to begin casting a spell, then stop when they realized that the threat had been eliminated.
“Who sent you?” Alexander asked.
The man shook his head defiantly.
“I can always take your other hand,” Alexander said.
“Or your head, for that matter,” Abigail said, stepping up next to Alexander with
her Thinblade drawn and pointing at the one-handed prisoner.
“He’ll kill me.”
“And you think we won’t?” Abigail said, snorting derisively.
“Commander Perry, how long have these two men been under your command?” Alexander asked.
“They arrived with the last supply shipment from Ithilian, about three weeks ago.”
“Or they infiltrated at the same time to cover their arrival,” Alexander said.
“That’s more likely,” Perry said. “My apologies, Lord Reishi. Until now, these men have proven to be two of my best sergeants.”
Alexander turned his attention back to the man before him. His severed hand still gripped the dagger meant for Alexander and the stump of his arm oozed blood, yet the man didn’t whimper or cry, though he was trembling.
“Are you a spy or an assassin?”
He didn’t answer, but his colors shifted.
“Both then, huh? A spy until the right target presented itself.”
He looked at Alexander, shaking his head slightly. “How did you do that? Get out of my head!”
“Was it just you and this other guy?” Alexander asked, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.
The man didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to, his colors told enough truth for Alexander to know the answer. He nodded to himself, sighing slightly before he took the man’s head with a flick of the Thinblade. The room fell silent, all eyes on him. He cleaned his sword and put it away before returning to his chair.
“It was just the two of them, at least as far as he knew,” Alexander said. “Commander, would you have them removed, please?”
“You knew they were dangerous, didn’t you?” Anja said.
“I did.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.
“I was trying to see if I could use them to deliver bad information to Zuhl—make him do a little dance for me.”
Jack started laughing as he scribbled in his notebook.
Anja huffed. “War should really be more about fighting and less about lying.”
He shrugged helplessly.
As the corpses were carried from the room, all eyes turned to Alexander. He spent the better part of an hour detailing the state of the world as he knew it. While much of what he had to say was already known by many at the table, and not all of his report was relevant to the immediate operations they were planning, Alexander felt it was important for the witches in particular to be as well-informed as possible. Given their mobility, they could easily find themselves fighting in any of the many battles yet to be fought all across the Seven Isles. The better their understanding of the strategic threats and objectives on each isle, the more effective they would be.
Abigail spoke next, recounting in terrifying detail her running battle with Peti and how she’d been pressed into assisting Zora. Listening to her account of the negotiation she’d had with the dragon, Alexander couldn’t help but smile. In many ways, Abigail had just turned the tide against Zuhl. A dragon as a willing and motivated ally was formidable beyond words. Two dragons could win a war.
When she finished, Alexander nodded to Commander Perry to deliver his report.
“The wall is complete and the Keep is mostly cleared, except for the inner and lower chambers which are still inaccessible due to the tentacle demon.
“My scouts tell me that Zuhl has massed a sizable force near the Nether Gate with more soldiers arriving daily. We’ve spotted a few of his scouting parties near the Keep but they withdraw when challenged.
“Additionally, he has another smaller encampment on the northern coast which appears to be a staging area. His ships arrive periodically to unload men and supplies, then leave immediately.
“We’ve developed good relations with the indigenous people. While Rentu still insists that Lady Reishi should have remained here, he and his people have been very helpful in providing information and acting as guides for my scouts.
“About a week ago, I received a report that another group expressing an interest in the Nether Gate made contact with Rentu’s people. Their leader is named Trajan and apparently he isn’t entirely mentally stable. I’ve sent scouts to search him out and formalize an alliance, but he’s proven to be quite elusive.”
“I’ll bet,” Alexander said. “I know who he is, and from what I know about him, he isn’t likely to respond to reason.”
“Should we continue to search for him?” Perry asked.
“No,” Alexander said, shaking his head as he considered how to best use Trajan Karth and the cursed bone that was driving him to madness. “If I had to guess, I’d say he came here to destroy the Nether Gate, and I’m inclined to help him do that, but sending soldiers to find him will just push him deeper into the shadows. I’ll talk to Rentu and see if he’ll act as an intermediary for us.”
“Very well,” Perry said. “I’ll leave him to you. I’m concerned about Zuhl’s soldiers. He already outnumbers us by a large margin and more men continue to arrive. Eventually, I fear he’ll turn his attention to the Keep.”
“I suspect that we’ll have to fight him over the Nether Gate first,” Alexander said. “I’ll have Erik and Duane bring their legions here as soon as they finish up with Rake’s men. That’ll bolster your security and provide us with the force strength we need to mount an attack.”
“Which leads me to my next concern,” Perry said. “The periphery of the Keep is secure, but the inner chambers are still inhabited by the tentacle demon. While it hasn’t shown any interest in venturing forth, it has killed a number of men that got too close to the throne room.”
“If all goes as planned, it’ll be dead by sundown tomorrow,” Alexander said.
“You intend to confront it?” Magda asked.
Alexander nodded. “We’ll go in at dawn, kill the demon, and find the library. From there I can claim control over the Keep. I’m hoping that once I do, I’ll be able to use my clairvoyance within the fortress islands to figure out the best way to get to Ixabrax.”
“Are you certain that you can defeat this demon?” Cassandra asked.
“Not really,” Alexander said, shaking his head.
“Maybe one of the arrows Kelvin sent me can kill it,” Abigail said.
“I wouldn’t mind having that as a backup,” Alexander said.
“I would urge caution, Lord Reishi,” Perry said. “The few soldiers who have survived encounters with it report that it is frighteningly formidable.”
“I’ve been face-to-face with it, Commander, so believe me when I tell you that I’m not making this decision lightly.
“The day after tomorrow, we’ll rendezvous with Bianca and her flight. The day after that, we’ll assault Zuhl’s fortress island. Our first priority is to free the dragon. After that, we’ll kill Zuhl’s simulacrum, sink his ships, take the island and kill his troops, or as much of that as we can manage anyway.
“If we’re successful, his soldiers at the Nether Gate will be cut off and we can start thinking about a plan to eliminate them as well. Does anyone have anything to add?”
“I’ve just received word that the young woman named Wren has arrived safely at the fortress island with Kiera,” Cassandra said.
“Isabel will be happy to hear that,” Alexander said, pushing away from the table and standing. “Oh, Wizard Jahoda, I’d like you to return to Ruatha to help with the excavation of Blackstone’s ruins. Your talents with stone make you the ideal person for the job.”
“I’ll be ready to depart at dawn,” Jahoda said.
“Good,” Alexander said, turning to Abigail and opening his Wizard’s Den. “I’m going to have a look around and maybe talk to the sovereigns. After that, I thought we could catch up. It feels like I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
“I’d like that,” Abigail said.
“May I ask a favor?” Magda said, a bit hesitantly.
“Sure,” Alexander said.
Magda produced a figurine of a wyvern. “This is my st
eed, Taharial. He was transformed into this paperweight by Peti. I’d like to change him back but I don’t know how. Perhaps the sovereigns might have some insight that would spare me months of research.”
“I’ll ask. I’m sure they’ll be able to steer us in the right direction.”
Chapter 24
Alexander thought of Isabel and found himself floating over one of many enclosed wagons in the center of a legion of soldiers traveling toward the coast of Karth along a well-trodden jungle road. He moved inside the wagon and found Isabel alone and staring out the window. The look of worry creasing her brow tugged at his heart. He wanted to take all of her angst and fear away, but was powerless to do so. He appeared in the seat across from her.
“Hi,” he said.
She forced a smile past her anxiety.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, struggling to hold back tears.
“I know how you feel.”
“I’m afraid, Alexander. So much has happened. It feels like we’re losing.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks.
“Isabel … you’re a prisoner of the enemy and he only tells you what he wants you to know. Of course it looks like we’re losing from where you’re sitting, but we’re not.”
He held her eyes firmly, willing her to find her courage. She sniffed, wiping her cheeks.
“Talia is mounting an invasion of northern Andalia, and our fathers have chased the Lancers back into Warrenton. Rake is dead, and your brothers have his men on the run. Abigail has managed to convince a dragon to fight with us, and I’ve buried the Nether Gate under a thousand tons of rock. Also, Wren has arrived at the fortress island … she’s safe.” He didn’t mention the invasion of Fellenden, the destruction of Blackstone Keep, or Peti’s usurpation of Zuhl’s army. Isabel had enough to fret about without him adding to her worries.
She nodded, detaching herself from her emotions, her colors changing subtly as she refocused her mind.
“That’s all good news, but Phane’s been busy too,” she said. “He’s figured out how to use lesser wraith to power his wraithkin so he can free up Azugorath to focus all of her energies on me, and it’s working. I can feel her strength growing and her attacks are becoming harder and harder to resist. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time. And that’s not the worst of it.”
Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept Page 27