Sovereign Stone (29 page)

She was trembling but still breathing. He shook her and tried to wake her, but she wasn’t there. Curiously, the demon’s colors weren’t there either. Alexander wasted no time. He gently laid her down and sat next to her, taking her hand in his.

“The darkness has her,” Alexander told his friends. “I’ll be back with her or not at all.”

With that, he closed his eyes and ruthlessly schooled his mind. He had become better at it but it still took longer than he wanted. Once he was floating in the firmament, he immediately coalesced his awareness above himself and plunged into Isabel.

This time he knew exactly what he was doing and where to look for the portal within her mind. He found it easily and lunged into the darkness, leaving a thread of light to follow back to the world of time and substance.

The netherworld was cold and lifeless, a place of unrealized potential where souls could imagine all of the possibilities life had to offer but never create anything more than a fleeting dream of what could be. It was a place of frustration, despair, and rage. The broken and hateful souls that swirled in the murky darkness lusted for life—to exist in that world or take it from those who rightfully lived there.

This time Isabel was much easier to find. She was struggling with a creature of darkness and malice. Alexander saw at a glance that it was the grimthrall. She had somehow drawn it into her, and it had drawn her through the portal to the netherworld.

Now they were locked in a mortal struggle. Worse, there were a number of other broken souls stirring in the darkness, alerted to the prospect of feasting on the fear, despair, and hopelessness of a living soul unfortunate enough to have been cast adrift in the darkness.

Alexander wasted no time. He willed himself toward her and focused on his love of life and his love for her. In this place, light was the greatest weapon he had. His living soul was the source of it, and his love for Isabel and his own life were the fuel that powered its brilliance.

He joined the battle with fury, crashing into Isabel’s soul and once again joining with her in a way that was more profound and complete than words could ever convey. She embraced him and flooded into every recess of his being. He opened himself to her without hesitation. In their joining, they magnified each other’s light and the demon fled with a soundless shriek.

Alexander took hold of Isabel’s soul with his will and traced his path back toward the place where they had both entered the netherworld—the portal within Isabel’s mind.

But even as they fled the darkness, the darkness gave chase.

They burst forth from the netherworld into the confines of Isabel’s psyche and turned as one to face the portal. She needed no guidance this time. She saw it as a door and stepped toward it to slam it closed, but before she could reach it, three shadows of despair emerged from the darkness.

In that moment, Isabel’s eyes snapped open and Alexander slammed back into his body. She gasped as the three shades escaped through her psyche and swirled into the sky. With a shriek that could freeze a man’s heart, they vanished into the night.

Alexander had seen creatures from the netherworld before but never anything like this. These three demons were darker and more hateful than anything he’d ever witnessed. And they were loose in the world.

He turned back to a panic-stricken Isabel and took her in his arms as she wept.

“What have I done? Oh, Dear Maker, what have I done?” she cried.

Alexander tried to console her, but for a time she could only say those words over and over, so he just held her and let her cry. When she stopped, he held her at arm’s length and looked closely at her. Her eyes were as clear and piercing green as ever and her colors were strong and bright, yet somehow deeper and more complex than before.

“Are you all right?” Alexander asked, looking at her with deep concern. Lucky was kneeling next to him, scrutinizing her eyes.

“I’m safe, Alexander,” Isabel said with a sob, “but I fear I’ve doomed the world.” She started crying again.

“Shhh . . . it’s all right,” he said, taking her in his arms again. “Tell me what happened.”

“I made mental contact with the grimthrall when I attacked the cat,” Isabel said through her sobbing. “I’m not sure why I even tried it. I guess I was hoping I could push it out of my mind. Instead the darkness of the netherworld drew it in. As it passed through me, it took me with it into the darkness.

“We fought, but this time I was more prepared. I remembered the last time and I focused on our love to create light against the darkness. I fought against the demon for what seemed like a long time, and then you were there and you brought me back again.”

Before Alexander could speak, she put a finger to his lips and continued, “But this time, something followed us. They were waiting for us there, waiting for us to lead them here. The shades are loose in the world, Alexander.”

He felt his blood run cold and saw the despair and dismay in her beautiful green eyes.

“When they passed through me, I learned their names: Shivini, Rankosi, and Jinzeri. Oh, what have I done?” she said.

“You survived,” Alexander said firmly. “What of the portal? Is the doorway closed?”

She nodded. “It’s not just closed, it’s gone, except I feel like I could bring it back if I tried to.”

“Well, don’t,” Alexander said. “I can’t see the taint of darkness in your aura anymore, so maybe you’re safe.”

“I may be safe, but I’ve let loose three of the most terrifying creatures imaginable,” she said with utter misery.

“No, you didn’t,” Alexander said. “I did.”

She looked at him with a hard frown. “What do you mean?”

“Could you have found your way back without me?” Alexander asked.

A look of realization ghosted across her face. “I don’t think so.”

“Isabel, I’m the one they needed. You were just the bait,” Alexander said. “What’s more, they were waiting for us. They were waiting for you to get pulled through into the darkness and for me to come in after you. This isn’t your fault. In fact, I’d wager that the shades were the ones who pulled the grimthrall into the netherworld in order to draw you in.”

“What do we do?” she asked with a small voice.

“We press on to the Fairy Queen,” Alexander said firmly. “I’ll see if I can warn the wizards. If Phane can see my presence during clairvoyance and if I can manifest within your psyche, maybe I can use my powers to communicate with one of the wizards somehow.”

“In the meantime,” Lucky interjected, “I must caution you all. Do not say the shades’ names aloud; they can hear you. The old stories say they will come as if summoned when their names are invoked aloud three times in succession.”

“What else do you know about them?” Abigail asked.

Lucky shrugged. “Most of what I know is from legend and story. The last Reishi Sovereign learned their names and discovered a means of summoning them to do his bidding. For a century during the Reishi War, the shades terrorized the world at the behest of Malachi Reishi. He used them to spy on his enemies and assassinate them when he felt it was necessary.

“Mostly he used them to sow the seeds of fear and distrust. The shades can possess people and even some magical creatures. One of the greatest instances of poetic justice in all of history is the death of Malachi Reishi at the hand of a creature from the darkness that he first introduced into the world.”

Isabel interrupted. “Why didn’t they possess me? They were already in my mind.”

“They are said to be limited in that regard,” Lucky said. “They can only possess by surprise or invitation. Since you were in the midst of a battle, your guard was up, as was Alexander’s.”

“What do you mean by invitation?” Jack asked. “Why would anyone invite a demon into themselves?”

“The word invitation has a very specific meaning in this context,” Lucky said. “The shades are drawn to the darkness within a person. If you act in a way that is contrary to your conscience, with malice, deliberate hurtfulness, or self-destructiveness, they see those character traits as an invitation.

“In short, if the darkness is great within you, they find it much easier to enter and take possession. A person of pure heart cannot be possessed because the light of their soul repels the demon. However, the shades are very cunning and manipulative. During the Reishi War, they often worked to sully the integrity of their ultimate target and lead them into corruption and evil. Those who are good of heart and stray from convictions they hold dear are the most vulnerable to invasion by a shade.”

“Since they’re loose in the world without a master, what are they likely to do?” Alexander asked.

Lucky sighed, “That I cannot say. Only two are known to have summoned a shade: Malachi Reishi and Nicolai Atherton. Malachi used them to great and terrible effect during the war and there is no record of him ever losing control of his summonings.

“Nicolai Atherton summoned a shade to kill Malachi Reishi and place the Sovereign Stone beyond reach by pushing him bodily into the aether, which resulted in Mage Atherton’s death, as you know. Left to their own devices, I suspect they’ll cause harm when and where they can.”

“What are the chances they’ll join forces with Phane?” Anatoly asked.

“That’s hard to say,” Lucky said. “Phane knows much more of them than I do. He may be able to bind them to his will.”

A terrifying thought occurred to Alexander like a lightning bolt. “Can the shades retrieve the Sovereign Stone?”

Lucky nodded gravely. “I believe they could if they wished to. A shade can move into the aether from this world and back again at will. If they stay for too long, they will be drawn back into the netherworld but they can shift back into the world of time and substance. If they went to the spot where Malachi Reishi was shoved into the aether, they could shift into the aether, grab the Sovereign Stone, and shift back.”

“Dear Maker,” Alexander whispered. “Phane has failed at the Temple of Fire. It seems that a family of dragons has taken up residence there and they weren’t too happy when he arrived. If he learns of the shades, he may try to enlist their aid.”

Marla frowned in confusion. “Perhaps it isn’t my place to ask, but how could you know such a thing?”

Alexander smiled. “It’s complicated. Suffice it to say that I’m capable of clairvoyance. I can project my awareness anywhere I like and watch what’s happening. When I was meditating earlier, I was looking in on our friends and enemies.

“In short: My father has Headwater under siege; Rake has fled into the northern wilds with Duane in pursuit supported by a regiment of cavalry from Buckwold; Erik is busy stocking and organizing the Keep; P’Tal is a day behind us and he’s lost a large number of his men, apparently to a dragon attack.” Marla smiled at that. “And Phane is stuck in a magical room floating thirty feet off the ocean about half a mile from the coast of the central island of Tyr. It looked like he was waiting for something, and it also looked like there were several very unhappy dragons watching him like a hawk.”

“A magical room?” Abigail asked.

Alexander nodded, “I believe it’s a Wizard’s Den. It’s a portal frozen in space thirty feet above the water. Beyond the doorway is a small room with Phane sitting in a chair looking out his front door. There’s an open portal to a similar room in the topmost level of the central tower of Blackstone Keep. Kelvin said it was Mage Cedric’s Wizard’s Den.”

Lucky nodded to confirm Alexander’s assessment. “A Wizard’s Den is a constructed spell of great power and profound complexity. It’s said that only an arch mage is capable of casting such a spell. It creates a space separate from the world we live in—sort of a pocket reality. Once inside, the wizard can close the door and he’s beyond the reach of any magic or power known to exist. He is no longer in this world, although he can open the portal at will from either side and step through like you or I would walk through a common door.”

“With a few angry dragons watching over him, it might be a while before he can get back to his mischief,” Anatoly said.

“True, but he might be able to enlist the aid of the shades from where he is,” Alexander said. “If so, we could have a problem. We have to hurry, and I have to send a warning to the wizards at Blackstone Keep about the shades. We can’t afford to have them caught off guard.”

It was fully dark and Alexander was beaten up and bloody from the attack by the mountain lion. He was exhausted but felt a desperate urgency to warn the wizards about the shades. Maybe they would know how to defend against them.

He struggled for longer than usual to find that place of empty-mindedness where he could slip into the firmament but eventually found his awareness floating on the ocean of possibility. He didn’t spend much time listening to creation’s song but instead coalesced his awareness in a room with Kelvin.

The Guild Mage was busy working over a hot oven, pounding and shaping a breastplate from the dragon scales they’d found in the aerie. He was focusing intently on his work. Alexander could see the flow of magic burning brightly in his colors as he added his will to the heat of the fire. Sweat dripped from his brow and soot stained his bare arms while he worked in the low light of the smithy.

Alexander cautiously moved his awareness closer to the big mage and gently pushed through his aura and into his body, but all he saw were Kelvin’s innards. It was an unsettling experience. He moved around and tried to make contact with him but had no luck. After trying for several minutes, he floated out of the smithy and down the hall toward the library wing in the Hall of Magic, where he found a number of wizards.