Blood of the Earth (14 page)

“You’ve caused so much suffering, so much pain, so many lives lost and all for your petty self-importance. Be silent. Nobody cares what you think anymore.”

Malachi sat back, brooding with rage, but said nothing.

“Have you examined the weapons responsible for her condition?” Balthazar asked.

“Mage Gamaliel has. He reports that the dagger acts as a conduit for the darkness within the wraithkin rather than causing the taint itself.”

Balthazar frowned. “Dark magic is insidious. When I first became aware of its potential, I began to study the netherworld but quickly discovered the cost of such magic. Once I realized how dangerous it was, I stopped my studies, destroyed all of my research, and forbade all Reishi-trained wizards from pursuing any form of dark magic.

“Unfortunately, it would seem that my precautions have rendered me ignorant of the capabilities and workings of netherworld magic. I’m afraid I can’t offer any insight into the nature of the taint within Isabel. I’m sorry, Alexander.”

Alexander nodded slightly as his gaze fell to the table. He needed something—anything to help Isabel. The men at this table had more collective experience and magical knowledge than Kelvin’s entire guild. If they couldn’t offer a solution, or at least a line of reasoning that might lead to a solution, then no one could.

His eyes came up quickly when the thought occurred to him. He turned toward Malachi with a humorless grin.

“You know something about this, don’t you?”

Malachi’s face contorted with rage but he answered nonetheless.

“Of course I do, you simpleton! Who do you think taught Phane the dark arts?” Malachi spat with open derision. “His knowledge is so far beyond you that I could explain it to you in minute detail and you still wouldn’t even understand it, much less be able to help your wench.”

Malachi started to laugh at the look of smoldering anger clouding Alexander’s face.

“She will die badly, which I suspect is Phane’s plan. He was always one for making his enemies suffer before he dispatched them.”

Alexander reined in his anger to clear his mind. This was no less a battle than any sword fight he’d ever been in. The world faded away and the details of the battlefield came into sharp focus. He needed the information that Malachi possessed but he was quite certain that the Sixth Sovereign would resist at every turn, offering him no information that he wasn’t specifically asked for and Alexander had no idea what questions to ask.

As he thought over his dilemma, a smile spread across his face.

“Malachi, I command you to answer fully and truthfully any and all questions posed by any of the other sovereigns at this council table.”

Malachi snarled a curse as Alexander turned to Balthazar.

“Question him and obtain the information necessary to offer me a solution to Isabel’s condition. Take all the time you need and be thorough in your interrogation.”

Balthazar smiled, openly appraising Alexander for a moment before turning to Malachi.

What followed was nearly incomprehensible to Alexander. The five sovereigns loyal to the Old Law interrogated Malachi for several hours, extracting esoteric and complex magical concepts from their reluctant subject, asking questions in multiple ways to ensure they had a complete understanding of the idea they were attempting to understand before discussing each concept amongst themselves.

Alexander was patient, even though his emotions bubbled under the surface. The complexity and intricacy of the ideas these ancient arch mages were discussing simply surpassed him. He would need a lifetime of study and experience to begin to grasp the concepts being bandied about, let alone employ them in any meaningful way, and that was assuming he had the necessary calling in the first place.

He began to feel a weight of despair settle on him as he realized the magnitude of the magic that created the taint working within Isabel. At first, the five sovereigns struggled to understand the principles of dark magic they learned from interrogating Malachi, but after some time and discussion they began to seem more sure of their understanding.

While Alexander didn’t comprehend much of what they said, he tried to follow their line of reasoning as much as possible. The despair he was feeling began to morph into a kind of visceral terror as he realized that Isabel was once again at risk of being claimed by the darkness, not simply killed but taken heart and soul.

He pieced together a few details but reserved judgment because he was out of his depth. He trusted Balthazar and the other sovereigns. If there was a solution to the threat Isabel faced, they would find it.

The interrogation ebbed and flowed, sometimes the sovereigns peppered Malachi with questions one after the other, other times they discussed what they’d learned, piecing it together with what they had already surmised.

After they were confident that they had drawn all of the necessary information from Malachi, they began to discuss options for healing Isabel of the netherworld magic. Alexander listened with rapt attention. They argued and debated possibilities until they finally had a working theory.

The table fell silent and Balthazar fixed Alexander with a firm but empathetic gaze.

Chapter 12

“I must preface what I’m about to say with the caveat that this is all speculation, albeit quite informed speculation.”

Alexander nodded for him to continue.

“We do not believe that the wraithkin could exist and function as they do in the world of time and substance without an active connection to a creature of the netherworld … specifically, a wraith.

“Wraith are insubstantial creatures that feed on the life energy of their victims. It is for this power that we believe Phane has summoned a wraith and bound it to his will to be used in the creation of his wraithkin. How he has accomplished such a thing is beyond our understanding, but one thing is certain, the taint of the wraithkin’s magic draws its dark power from the presence of the parent wraith within the world of time and substance. Eliminate the parent and you will undo both the wraithkin and the taint they’ve left through their daggers.”

“How do I destroy it?” Alexander asked.

“Much like a shade, it cannot be killed, only banished,” Balthazar said. “There have been many spells created for just such a purpose but most require the power of a mage to be successful.”

“Where can I find a banishing spell?”

“There were three variations contained within the private library in the Reishi Keep,” Demetrius said.

Malachi chuckled but said nothing.

“Why do you laugh?” Alexander demanded.

“I moved all of the spells capable of combating dark magic out of the Keep and into my Wizard’s Den,” Malachi said with a smirk. “You have exactly what you need dangling from your neck and yet it’s quite beyond your grasp.”

Alexander felt frustration begin to build within him again, but he shoved it aside with ruthless severity. He needed to remain calm and focused.

Be driven by emotion but ruled by reason.

“How long before I can access the Wizard’s Den?” Alexander asked.

“That I do not know,” Balthazar said. “It has been different for each of us, but in each case it required a period of several months after bonding with the Sovereign Stone. You will know the time is near when the Stone begins to pulse with light. Within a day after it first pulses, the Wizard’s Den will open spontaneously. You will be able to control it at will from that point forward.”

“How long does Isabel have?”

“We cannot know,” Balthazar answered. “The taint could work very quickly or take years to do its damage. Much depends on Phane’s intent when he created the wraithkin. Most likely, the taint will advance more quickly if she uses her magic and especially her link with the realm of light.”

“Is there any way to cure her without destroying the wraith?”

“Perhaps, but it will require much and may not work in the end,” Balthazar said.

“Whatever it takes.”

Balthazar nodded with understanding. “I believe a potion could be concocted that would banish the darkness from within while preserving the flesh. In the past, most such potions have failed, killing the subject in the process. In Isabel’s case, given her unique connections to the light and the dark, it is impossible to know how such a potion would affect her.”

“I’d rather banish the wraith but that may prove impossible,” Alexander said. “I have no doubt that Phane’s taken precautions against such an attack and I’m no match for him.”

“I’m not sure I agree,” Constantine said. “With Mindbender, you may be able to defeat Phane in a direct confrontation. However, I doubt he would ever risk such an engagement.”

“Regardless,” Alexander said, “I need to be prepared for the possibility that I can’t banish the wraith. What do I need to create this potion and why is it so dangerous?”

“Darkness is insidious,” Balthazar said. “When it invades a person, it works its tendrils into their very soul. Power great enough to rip it free and cast it away is also powerful enough to leave the victim’s soul in tatters and their consciousness scattered in the firmament. However, it has been done.

“As I neared the end of my reign, a distant cousin of mine, Reishi-trained and quite powerful, began dabbling in the dark arts. I discovered his treason and destroyed him but not before he tainted one of my nieces with darkness. She was young and innocent, which is, I’m quite sure, why he chose her. Darkness loves nothing more than to corrupt the pure of heart. His curse didn’t allow a demon to possess her but instead opened a passage into her unconscious mind through which voices from the darkness could whisper to her.

“I was able to restore her through a very potent potion. The ingredients are quite rare and difficult to obtain, and the risk is great because the nature of the darkness within Isabel is undoubtedly different, as is her nature.”

“Ultimately, the decision will be hers, but I want to give her every possible option,” Alexander said.

“Very well, you will need a quantity of Wizard’s Dust equal to the amount necessary for a single mana fast,” Balthazar began. “You will need a generous pinch of fairy dust and the powder from one pouch-like blossom of a deathwalker flower. You will need three drops of nectar from the flower of the vitalwood tree and you will need a single drop of blood of the earth. The remaining ingredients are commonly available.”

Alexander blinked and then frowned.

“I have the Wizard’s Dust, deathwalker powder, and the fairy dust, but I don’t even know what a vitalwood tree is and I’ve never heard of blood of the earth.”

“That’s understandable,” Balthazar said. “Both are closely guarded secrets of the Reishi Sovereigns. We’ve only revealed the existence of each to the next sovereign through the Stone, and then only at great need. We never told Malachi, and he didn’t suspect enough to ask.”

Malachi scowled. “I discovered the vitalwood tree without you.”

Demetrius smiled and cocked his head. “Did you meet the guardian I placed there for you?”

“You did that?” Malachi said incredulously.

“Of course, my wayward son,” Demetrius said. “I saw the darkness growing within you even then. My greatest failure was not killing you before I died. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“That’s too much to ask of any man,” Balthazar said, “even a sovereign.”

“Where is this vitalwood tree?” Alexander asked. “And what is the guardian?”

Balthazar deferred to Demetrius.

“The vitalwood tree is located in the northwest mountains of the Reishi Isle,” Demetrius said. “It grows on a small island in the center of a deep mountain lake surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs. It’s only accessible by flight or through a maze of caverns that pass beneath the mountains.

“As for the guardian, I summoned a Lord from the realm of light named Selaphiel and beseeched him to guard the vitalwood tree. He was charged with preventing anyone from entering the grotto where the tree grows. I revealed my fears of Malachi to him and he agreed to protect the tree.”

“Do you think he’ll still be there after all these years?” Alexander asked.

“Of course. He is a being outside of time,” Demetrius said. “He does not need to remain at the location of the tree in order to be aware of its surroundings and prevent any from approaching.”

“How will I get past him?”

“That may be difficult,” Demetrius said. “He is a kind and gentle soul but surpassingly powerful. If he is not moved by reason, then I fear you will have little chance to reach the tree.”

“Why is this tree so important?” Alexander asked.

“It’s the last of its kind,” Balthazar said. “The fairies tell tales of the forest that used to blanket the Reishi Isle. It was alive and sentient, not in the same way as people are but self-aware nonetheless. The vitalwood forest was said to be the birthplace of many magical species that inhabit the Seven Isles. It was under the shelter of these great trees that the first dragons were spawned. It’s said that the fairies chose to leave the realm of light itself and take mortal form so they could frolic under the magical beauty of these trees.

“The vitalwood tree naturally draws Wizard’s Dust to it and concentrates it within its trunk, limbs, and bark. But more than that, it’s a natural conduit to the realm of light. It’s been speculated that the vitalwood are the means through which creatures native to the realm of light can exist indefinitely within the world of time and substance. The vitalwood trees live forever unless killed and are a potent source of magic.