Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept (4 page)

“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.”

Commander 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.

S
everal 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 be
lieve 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 w
hat 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 bett
er 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 sai
d, 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 t
o 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 everyon
e 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,” Alexand
er 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.”

A battle raged in Alexander’s mind. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to accept it. After Mithel Dour fell, he thought he finally had the advantage, that he could choose his next move without his hand being forced by one of his many enemies.

“What would Lady Reishi have you do?” Balthazar asked quietly.

Alexander put his face in his hands as his resolve hardened. She would never forgive him if he let New Ruatha fall just to save her. And deep down, he knew that he wouldn’t forgive himself.

“
It’s always something,” he said.

The table fell silent for several moments.

“I’m concerned about Zuhl’s intentions with regard to the Nether Gate,” Balthazar said.

“Me too,” Alexander said, pulling his thoughts away from Isabel. “Is there a chance he could open it without the keystones?”

The sovereigns turned to Malachi.

“How should I know?” he said with an indifferent shrug.

“You built it,” Alexander said. “Is it possible? Could he open it?”

“Possible? I suppose, but I couldn’t tell you how. I was very careful to bind it to the keystones.”

“Could he be doing something else?” Alexander asked.

“He may be trying to replicate it,”
Constantine said. “Or more probably, he may be trying to replicate the underlying spell.”

“He’d be a fool to try,” Malachi said with a snort.

“Why?”

Malachi
hesitated before answering. “The Nether Gate combines a number of spells: one to open a portal to the netherworld; another to command forth a desired demon while preventing others from coming through; and yet another to bind the summoned demon to the will of the one who opened the Gate. Each of these spells alone would be useless at best or disastrous at worst.”

“Your descriptions of Zuhl seem to indicate an abundance of caution and greater
-than-average patience,” Balthazar said. “Given that, it’s doubtful he would make such a reckless mistake.”

“He may be pursuing some goal that we haven’t considered,” Darius said.

“In any case, it might be prudent to detonate your weapon,” Constantine said.

“I agree,” Balthazar said. “Whatever his intentions, he cannot be allowed to succeed.”

The other sovereigns nodded agreement … even Malachi. Alexander eyed him suspiciously.

“What? Zuhl is as much Phane’s enemy as you are,” he said. “Any harm you do
to him will serve my son.”

Alexander snorted, shaking his head. “There’s one other thing,” he said. “I got lost in the firmament.”

The table fell deathly silent, all six sovereigns looking at him with a mixture of alarm and awe.

“Lies!” Malachi spat. “You’d be dead.”

Alexander shook his head slowly, then he carefully recounted everything he remembered from the experience—the depths of the firmament, the profound sense of peace and connection to all life, how Chloe had helped him find his way back. They sat quietly in rapt attention, hanging on every word until he finished and then still they stared at him silently as if they were trying to process a new understanding of the world that contradicted everything they knew to be true.

“I’ve never heard of such an account,” Demetrius said.

“Nor have I,” Balthazar said.

“That’s because it’s impossible,” Malachi said.

“Do you have any advice?” Alexander asked.

Again the table fell silent.

Finally, Balthazar said, “Proceed with extreme caution. I wish I could offer more, Alexander, but this is uncharted territory.”

“Perhaps you could re
-create the experience in a more controlled way,” Constantine said. “You must have some sense as to how deep within the firmament you traveled. If you set out to explore those depths in a much more limited way, it may reveal new insights, or help you develop greater control and awareness.”

“It would also be wise to have your familiar ready to call you back after a predetermined period of time,” Darius said.

“You said that as you descended, you lost your attachment to worldly concerns,” Balthazar said. “Did this detachment come on all at once or was it gradual?”

“It was gradual, but once I’d passed
a certain point, what remained of my worldly concerns seemed to vanish very quickly.”

“Then I would recommend stopping
while you still retain some measure of attachment to the world of time and substance,” Balthazar said. “Hold there and attempt to contact Siduri. Perhaps he will hear you.”

Alexander nodded, considering the suggestion even as fear fluttered in his belly. He’d never felt such peace and contentment as he had in the depths of the firmament. When he thought about it
, he longed to return. Even the knowledge that death resided in that place of calm contentment wasn’t enough to erase the allure of such profound belonging and stillness.

“Perhaps there is another course of action,” Darius said. “This state of mind you have labeled as
‘the witness’ is similar to the detachment necessary for a wizard to cast a spell. Without it, we would be lost. Yet we must also be acutely aware of our worldly purpose in the moment that we release our will into the firmament. This duality of mind is the foundation of a wizard’s magic. Perhaps you should revisit some of the more basic lessons taught to apprentice wizards in order to better develop this faculty.”

“And once again, we’re reminded that you’re not even a real wizard,” Malachi said.

Alexander ignored him. “I wish I had more time.”

“
Or …” Balthazar said. “Wizards develop detachment because it’s essential to spell casting. Witches use emotion to accomplish the same effect—resistance to the pull of the firmament. If you cultivate a strong emotion prior to delving into the depths of the firmament, it may provide you with the duality of mind necessary to both experience and resist such primordial power.”

“I hadn’t considered that.”

“I only suggest it because strong emotion is much more easily generated than detachment, though it cannot be sustained for nearly as long, so be cautious with this approach,” Balthazar said.

Malachi laughed. “You think you’ll defeat my son by learning magic like a woman? If only he could see just how desperate you
truly are.”

“
Magic is just a tool,” Alexander said. “In the end, Phane’s absence of conscience will be his undoing. His magic can’t save him from that.”

“Conscience is nothing but a hindrance to those who seek power … a luxury that a ruler cannot afford,” Malachi said. “You’re a child playing an adult’s game. In the end, your conscience will stay your hand when you should strike. In that moment, Phane will kill you.”

Demetrius shook his head sadly. “How could you have strayed so far, My Son?”

“If I hadn’t been betrayed, there would have been no war,” Malachi spat.
“Clinging to outdated moral principles would have led to my doom.”

“You were betrayed because you turned away from the Old Law,” Demetrius said.
“Your doom was self-inflicted.”

Malachi started to respond but Alexander silenced him with a raised hand.

“Thank you, Gentlemen,” he said, walking away from the table.

***

Alexander returned from his visit with the sovereigns and stretched, still sitting on his meditation table.

Jack looked up from his notebook and said,
“So how’re we doing?”

“Abigail says hello,” Alexander said.

Jack smiled. “That’s good to hear. I miss her.”

“Me too
.”

Alexander
stood up, rubbing the soreness out of his nearly healed leg, and took a seat at the table. He spent the next half hour detailing the state of affairs in the world to his friends.

“Sounds like our enemies have been busy,” Jack said.

“A little too busy. I wasn’t expecting the Sin’Rath to move to Ithilian and it never crossed my mind that Rake would actually get into the Bloodvault.”

“So what are we going to do?” Anja asked.

“As much as I want to go get Isabel, I’m worried about Rake.”

“Rake is a thug,” Jataan said. “He’d like to believe that he’s the smartest man in the room, but he rarely is.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. With Phane pulling his strings, there’s no telling what kind of damage he can cause.” Alexander looked down, shaking his head helplessly.

“She’ll understand,” Jack said.

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier,” Alexander said. “It feels like I’m abandoning her, and it doesn’t help that I can’t tell her what I’m doing.”

The table fell silent until Jataan cleared his throat.

“I feel that I must apologize, Lord Reishi. I assigned Hector and Horace to you, and Hector has betrayed you.”

“You couldn’t have known how things were going to turn out. Losing his brother broke his spirit … his reason failed next. Hector’s lost to us, if he’s even still alive.”

“I should have judged his character more carefully,” Jataan said.

“I can see better than you can, Jataan, and I didn’t see this coming either.”

He nodded, but his colors roiled with inner turmoil.

“So, what’s the plan?”
Anja asked.

“We leave for
Ruatha at dawn,” Alexander said, removing a small metal tube from his pouch. He unstoppered it and dumped a little pebble onto the table. He looked at it intently, weighing his decision before drawing his dagger and crushing it with the pommel.

“What was that?” Anja asked.