Alexander played over the problems he faced as they marched. He had so many threats to deal with that he couldn’t seem to focus on one long enough to arrive at a satisfactory solution. Always in the back of his mind was the threat building within Isabel. He reminded himself to focus on the solution lest the problem plunge him into despair.
As a means of distraction, he deliberately returned to his many other problems. Even with the immediate dangers of the Reishi Isle and the more distant, yet all too insistent, dangers of Phane and Zuhl, the shade and the Nether Gate remained the gravest threats to the Seven Isles. Phane had one of the keystones and he knew the location of the Nether Gate itself.
There were still two keystones out there and Alexander knew right where he had to go to find one of them. He’d been trying to avoid thinking about that conversation. He remembered how impossibly powerful Tanis had seemed, aloof and detached from the petty concerns of humanity.
Bragador, no doubt, held similar opinions. If Alexander couldn’t persuade her to help him, he wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to get the keystone from her. A direct confrontation against one dragon was suicide, never mind a whole mountain full of them. That left stealth and thievery. He wasn’t sure if that was acceptable either. He was sworn to the Old Law—its champion and protector. How could he justify stealing the keystone from Bragador?
He puzzled over the dilemma for several days as they made their way toward the relative safety of Commander Perry’s regimental encampment around the Reishi Keep. He finally decided that he would have to find another way to stop Phane if Bragador wouldn’t help him. He simply couldn’t justify stealing the keystone. Bragador hadn’t violated the Old Law. She was living in her home, minding her own business and making a deliberate effort to avoid the conflict consuming the Seven Isles. Although Alexander knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever, he decided that he had to respect her decision.
He was acutely aware of Isabel’s condition as well. She had been mostly silent since they emerged from the Wizard’s Den, no doubt struggling with the darkness working to overpower her free will. He wanted to console her, to sweep away the danger, to protect her, yet he felt helpless, helpless in a way that led to despair. When the dull haze of hopelessness descended on him, he struggled to remind himself that he was doing everything within his power to protect her. When that didn’t work, he distracted himself with one of his many other problems.
The brief and contentious conversation between Jinzeri and Selaphiel also puzzled him. He played it over in his mind several times in an effort to extract all of the salient facts. He gathered that both Selaphiel and Jinzeri had been present when the vitalwood forest died. From the sounds of it, Jinzeri had played a role in its destruction.
“What can you tell me about the death of the vitalwood forest, Little One?” Alexander asked Chloe silently as they walked.
“It was a very sad time, My Love,” she said in his mind. “The death of the vitalwood led to the extinction of many beings that used to inhabit the Seven Isles. For thousands of years the world was home to a wide variety of different creatures, many drawing their vital essence from the realm of light. The vitalwood forest was the conduit through which the Maker shared his life-giving light with the world. When the forest died, many of those creatures could no longer survive. Many died.”
“When did it happen?” Alexander asked.
“Several thousand years before I came to the Seven Isles,” she said. “It’s hard to be more specific because time means less in the realm of light.”
“What would happen if the last vitalwood tree were destroyed?”
“It’s hard to say for sure, but I believe many of the creatures that rely on the light for sustenance would whither and die.”
“Would you die?” he asked.
“No, but my longevity would be diminished,” she said. “Fairies have a natural connection to the realm of light that is the source of our long life, but the presence of the vitalwood adds to the light we bring to this world and makes us effectively immortal.”
“So that’s why so many of the creatures you spoke of died.”
“Yes, their life spans were no longer extended by the presence of the life-giving energy of the vitalwood forest. Over the centuries that followed the death of the forest, most perished.” She hesitated, as if trying to decide to continue. Alexander waited patiently. “In some ways, the death of the forest brought about the rise of mankind. Humans are short-lived because they are creatures of the world of time and substance with only a very limited connection to both the light and the dark. When the forest was destroyed, there was a sudden die-off of other creatures, which freed up vast space and resources. Humanity flourished.”
Alexander thought about everything she had said for as they walked through the forest.
“What would happen to humanity if the vitalwood forest was reborn?”
“That’s hard to say,” she said, “but I suspect people would live longer, healthier lives with more interest in love and life than power and death. That’s why the shades waged a war to destroy the forest. As long as it was present in the world, the darkness couldn’t find purchase here.”
“So the vitalwood forest eliminates evil?”
“No, evil is a choice, born of free will,” Chloe said. “The vitalwood simply encourages us to keep our better nature in mind.”
He knew that the potential for evil was a necessary result of free will, but then he remembered how warm and safe he’d felt in the presence of the tree. It was as if he’d found his way back to a home that he never knew he’d lost. He couldn’t imagine conceiving an evil thought while in the presence of such life-affirming energy. And it wasn’t as though the tree had altered his mind or his thinking so much as it had reminded him of the truth of his nature, reminded him that life is a thing to cherish, that beauty abounds, and that love is worthy of reverence.
He had spent countless hours puzzling over the dilemma of evil and he still wasn’t sure he understood it, yet he was all too certain of its existence in the world. It always felt like those who chose evil were missing some piece of essential information. Perhaps the vitalwood could provide it for them.
At dawn of their sixth day of travel, Isabel reported that they were only a few hours from the Keep. They were all tired and anxious for a safe place to sleep without all of the unsettling noises that haunted the night on the Reishi Isle. Alexander had kept the Wizard’s Den closed. Even though it would have been a safe place to sleep, he didn’t want to subject Isabel to the trauma of the darkness insinuating itself into her over and over again. She was struggling enough as it was. As they broke camp, they heard the roar of the beast from the general direction they were traveling.
Alexander looked to Isabel as she tipped her head back and linked her mind with Slyder. She opened her eyes and pointed off into the forest.
“The beast has Rentu and his men cornered about half a league that way. Looks like they’re in trouble.”
Alexander sighed, shaking his head. “All right, let’s go help them.”
He ignored the look Hector and Horace gave each other as he hoisted his pack and set out through the forest.
As they neared a clearing, they could hear grunting and growling intermingled with frightened shouts in an unknown language.
Alexander sent his mind to Chloe as she floated through the aether. When she cleared the treetops, Alexander saw the beast gnawing and clawing at the base of a large tree that Rentu and his men had climbed for refuge. Parts of three men were scattered about at the base of the tree, remnants of the beast’s breakfast.
Alexander grasped the hilt of Mindbender and visualized dozens of wild boar racing through the clearing, squealing and snorting as they ran. The beast stopped and spun to face the commotion. It looked torn between Rentu’s men and the boar, but then it abandoned the tree and charged into the forest in pursuit of easier prey. After a moment, Rentu and his men clambered to the ground and vanished into the
forest. Alexander called Chloe back to him and they set out toward the Keep with haste.
Several minutes later, they heard a roar of frustration somewhere behind them as the beast realized that both of its intended prey had escaped. Alexander picked up the pace. The beast was stupid enough to be deceived but still dangerous in the extreme. He didn’t want to risk a confrontation.
They stopped for a moment on a little hill to get their bearings and catch their breath when they heard shouting behind them. Rentu and his men had spotted them and were closing fast. Alexander looked out across the forest at the Reishi Keep looming in the distance and calculated that Rentu would probably catch them before they could reach it. He sent up a whistler arrow to alert Commander Perry, and then they started running. Alexander set a grueling pace. His whistler arrow had alerted everyone and everything, including the beast, to his position. He only hoped Commander Perry would understand and send help in time.
They could hear the primitives racing through the forest behind them, moving through terrain and territory that they were familiar with and accustomed to. They were gaining ground as Alexander and his companions were becoming exhausted and slowing down. It was only a matter of time before they would reach the end of their strength. He slowed the pace, knowing full well that doing so would ensure that Rentu would catch them, yet also knowing that they would need some of their strength for the fight that might result.
They reached the tree line and stepped out into the gently sloping grassland that surrounded the Reishi Keep just as Rentu and twenty of his men emerged not fifty feet away. At the same time, a hundred men on horseback were thundering toward them from the Keep.
Rentu’s men spread out, arrows at the ready, but hesitated as the company of soldiers approached. The soldiers fanned out, surrounding both Alexander and Rentu’s men. Commander Perry rode through his cordon of men accompanied by Wizard Dinh.
“Lord Reishi, what are your orders?”
“Release these men unharmed and escort us back to your encampment,” Alexander said with a sigh of relief.
Commander Perry snapped several orders to his subordinates and they shifted their cordon to surround Alexander and his companions, leaving Rentu and his men looking unsure of what to do next. Rentu started complaining loudly, pleading to be heard and pointing at Isabel. Alexander couldn’t understand what he was saying, but he knew what he wanted. He stepped in front of Isabel, shaking his head.
Wizard Dinh dismounted. “Lord Reishi, I can allow you to speak with him if you wish,” he said.
Alexander looked at the wizard for a moment, once again struck by wonder at all the possibilities magic had to offer, before nodding his consent.
Wizard Dinh motioned for the soldiers to clear a section of ground and then began muttering a spell. Several moments later the grass flared brightly and burned away to reveal a perfect magic circle drawn in charred lines.
“Both you and he must stand in the circle,” Wizard Dinh said.
Alexander nodded, stepping into the circle, then pointing at Rentu and motioning for him to approach. Once Rentu cautiously stepped into the circle, Wizard Dinh began casting another spell.
Alexander felt the familiar tingle of magic race over his skin as the spell took effect.
“You may speak and be understood,” Wizard Dinh said.
“Hello, Rentu,” Alexander said.
Rentu frowned and cocked his head to the side for a moment before he spoke.
“How is it that I can understand you?” he asked.
“Magic,” Alexander said with a smile. “Like the dream, but different.”
Rentu thoughtfully nodded his acceptance of the explanation. “Please let us take your wife,” he said. “She is a threat to everything. We will keep her safe and care for her well. You can have her back when the threat of darkness passes.”
“No,” Alexander said firmly. “She’s my wife.”
“She will betray you,” Rentu said. “The dreams don’t lie.”
“She won’t betray me,” Alexander said. “The darkness within her may overpower her free will and use her against me, but she will never betray me. More to the point, I won’t betray her. She stays with me.”
“You risk everything,” Rentu said with dismay.
“Perhaps, but the future isn’t set,” Alexander said. “You said as much yourself—the dreams are only future possibilities.”
“But she betrays you in most of the futures we saw,” Rentu said.
“I remember,” Alexander said, but before he could continue, the beast charged out of the forest several hundred yards from where they stood and roared in fury and triumph.
Alexander’s focus narrowed in an instant. He scanned the surroundings for an advantage as the beginnings of a plan formed in his mind. The wall surrounding the Reishi Keep was more than half finished on the side opposite from where they stood.
“I need a horse,” Alexander said to Commander Perry.
Perry snapped at the nearest soldier, who dismounted immediately and handed Alexander his reins.
“Stay here and don’t let Rentu take Isabel,” Alexander said as he mounted.
“Lord Reishi, let us help you,” Hector said.
“There’s no time,” Alexander said as he drew Mindbender and wheeled his horse toward the beast.
First he formed the image of a cliff face running through the open field, creating an illusion of a hundred-foot rock wall behind him but in front of the others. He wanted the beast to see only him. With his illusion in place, he called out to the beast in challenge and turned his horse toward the Reishi Gate. The beast gave chase, bellowing in rage.
Alexander spurred his horse into a wild gallop, charging across the field with all the speed he could muster, but the beast was faster, gaining with each stride. Alexander focused his mind once again on the image of his desired outcome and released his illusion into Mindbender. An area surrounding the beast suddenly went dark. Not the darkness of the netherworld, but the simple darkness of an absence of light. A cloud of magical blackness surrounded the beast and blinded it, causing enough confusion to slow it down, giving Alexander precious distance from his pursuer.
He raced on toward the Gate. The beast broke through the illusionary darkness and renewed its charge, but Alexander had gained the time and distance he needed. He dismounted at a run, stumbling and nearly falling from the momentum, but regaining his balance and racing for the little map of the Seven Isles on the side of the Gate.
He touched the outline of the Isle of Karth. The Gate shimmered for an instant before it opened to a walled courtyard surrounded by a heavily fortified military encampment. Soldiers started shouting and bells started tolling. Alexander ignored them and focused his mind on creating another illusion.
He sent an image of himself through the Gate into Karth, yelling a challenge for the beast, while obscuring his true position. The beast dutifully charged toward the illusion and into the midst of a thousand enemy soldiers hastily making ready to repel an assault. Alexander touched the Gate again and it closed behind the beast.
He was sitting on the edge of the Gate platform, deliberately willing the anxiety and tension of the previous moments away, when his friends rode up.
“Well done, Lord Reishi,” Commander Perry said as he dismounted.
“I’ll say,” Jack said. “Did you send it to Phane or Zuhl?”
“Phane,” Alexander said with a chuckle. “I just hope he can’t make a pet out of it.”
“There is that,” Isabel said. “At least it won’t be a problem around here anymore.”
Chapter 31
After retiring to the command tent for a hasty lunch, Alexander asked Commander Perry for a report on their status.
“The wall is just about halfway complete,” Commander Perry said. “I’ve lost one hundred and twelve men to the Reishi Isle and have sixty-eight men injured. The beasts come in the night, most from the wilds but some from the Keep itself. Since we’ve fortified our enca
mpment, the number of casualties has diminished greatly, though some of the creatures still manage to penetrate our defenses.”
Alexander swallowed hard. He knew the mission to secure the Reishi Keep was going to be hazardous, but he hadn’t expected to lose so many men.
“I’m sorry for your losses, Commander. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to ask you to remain and complete your mission. The contents of that Keep may prove to be decisive in the battles to come. I’ll send reinforcements and ask Kelvin if he can spare another wizard.”
“We’ll get the job done,” Commander Perry said.
“Maybe we should go in right now and take a look around,” Isabel said. “We might find something we could use.”
“We might,” Alexander said, “but we might just waste time.” He shook his head. “We have more pressing matters to attend to right now. As much as I’d like to take a look at the sovereigns’ library, we can’t spare the time.”
“If I may, Lord Reishi,” Commander Perry said. “How would you like us to deal with the natives that were pursuing you?”
“With respect and courtesy,” Alexander said. “They may prove to be important allies in the near future. They’re not bad people … we just have a difference of opinion. After lunch, my companions and I will be returning to Ruatha. Expect reinforcements tomorrow. And Commander, the Nether Gate is on this island and Phane knows it, so be ready for anything.”
“Understood, Lord Reishi,” Commander Perry said.
Over lunch, they discussed all of the beasts that had attacked them during their time on the Reishi Isle. Alexander listened carefully and offered suggestions for combating the creatures that he’d fought in the past. He had expected to hear about the tentacle demon, but much to his relief, it hadn’t ventured forth from the Keep.
Commander Perry had fought gorledons, nether wolves, and ganglings, as well as a number of other things that they had no names for. His men had done well in the face of all they’d encountered, but they’d also paid a heavy price.
When he was ready to leave for Ruatha, Alexander asked Wizard Dinh to cast his translation spell again so he could speak with Rentu before he left. After a contentious discussion, Rentu agreed to help Commander Perry and his men. Rentu was adamant that Isabel should remain with them, but Alexander flatly refused. Aside from that point of disagreement, they were able to come to an understanding. Both wanted the same outcome, they just disagreed on the best way to get there, and Rentu had to admit, he was grateful that the beast was gone.
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