Shadowborn

by Katie MacAlister

  “It is a spirit version of the physical realm, yes, but there are differences,” Exodius said, shooing me again, going so far as to give me a little shove forward. “You’ll simply have to find one of the entrances yourself. I have no time, no time at all to help you, not if Nezu is here. If he has met with the thane, then he must be planning to…” He stopped talking and simply spun around on his heel and marched off toward the large hall, the little dog trotting after him.

  “He’s helping the thane kill someone called the All-Father,” I yelled after him, frustration uppermost in my mind. In an odd way, I relished the sharp, uncomfortable emotion, since I realized now that ever since I’d entered the spirit realm, my emotions had been dampened, almost as if they, too, were being slowly smothered. “Do you know who that is?”

  Exodius waved a hand in the air, his voice drifting back as he continued to walk away. “You must leave, else all will be lost. Thorn can’t do it by himself, after all. Return to your arcanist, and bring that big friend, the one with the red death inside him. Only together will you succeed.”

  “I cannot tell you how annoying I find it when people drop mysterious comments like that, and then expect me to just go on my way as if I understand,” I grumbled, glaring at Exodius when his figure disappeared into the hall. “It’s irritating, and if I didn’t want to stay annoyed so I don’t forget Hallow again, I’d go right up to the old coot and smack him on the back of his head with the hilt of one of my swords.”

  “He’s…odd,” Mayam agreed, and followed when I spun around, my hands on my hips as I carefully nursed my anger. “Where to now, do you think?”

  I hesitated a second, drawing a mental map in my head of our journey through the spirit realm. “We’ll keep going east,” I said finally, glancing up to align myself. Although there was a hazy layer of clouds over the spirit realm, filtering the light of Kiriah Sunbringer, it wasn’t oppressive and impenetrable as it was on Eris. I started forward, determination burning in my blood. “We haven’t been that way yet. There has to be an exit somewhere. It’s just a matter of being comprehensive in our search.”

  “I think it’s going to take a bit more than comprehensiveness,” Mayam said softly when I pushed my way through the greyish foliage, and struck out on a path that appeared to meander eastward through sparsely forested land.

  I had a horrible feeling she was all too right.

  Chapter 7

  “I’m sorry, Hallow—I know you want your wife back, but if this attempt doesn’t work, I’m going to have to take a break. Just a short one, I promise. My mind is so muzzy with lack of sleep that I feel like my head is filled with treacle,” Tygo said, his round, earnest face drawn, clearly showing he was at the end of his strength.

  “We’ll all take a break if this doesn’t work,” Hallow answered, his shoulders slumped with fatigue, sorrow, and worry. Although he managed to keep his mind focused on the spells to be cast, the runes to be drawn, and the words of the invocation to summon Thorn into the staff that stood before the three arcanists, he, too, was exhausted. “Goddesses willing, this will work.”

  “Arcany is a demanding mistress,” Aarav said from his point on the triangle, his hands dancing in the air while he sketched the runes of power that would be imbued into the staff itself. “You must give her your all, Tygo, or she will have none of you. Complaining that you are tired and want a rest is the sign that you will never be a master arcanist, such as Hallow.”

  Hallow stopped worrying about Allegria for a few seconds to register irritation at Aarav’s rejoinder. For one thing, they had all been working almost non-stop for three days, with only brief snatches of rest when they were ready to drop. It wasn’t fair for Aarav to chastise Tygo. He reminded himself that although something about Aarav rubbed him the wrong way, he didn’t need to give in to the urge to tell the other arcanist to keep his mind on his magic, and not to worry about what anyone else was doing. “Just two more spells to go. Aarav, you have the focus runes drawn on the bird?”

  “Aye, and I’ve placed the blessing of the stars into the head of the staff, where the bird rests. Tygo ought to have done that, but since he has spent all his time on the Bellias-stone, I felt it best to do it myself so that we’d be sure it got done.”

  There was an unspoken accusation that it was this lack on Tygo’s part that had caused the summoning spell to fail the past two times, but Hallow was simply too worried to do more than say, “The consecration of the Bellias-stone is of the greatest importance, so I’m happy to have him ensure it receives the goddess’s approval before he places it.”

  “Almost done,” Tygo answered in a distracted manner. His eyes narrowed as he wove spells of arcany around a glittering bit of blue-white crystal, one that had fallen to Genora several hundred years ago when the stars burned across an ebony night sky in blazing streaks of light. “It’s just a matter—Bellias blast the thing, it won’t fit where it’s supposed to go—it’s just a matter of placing it at the apex of the spell …there.” The last word was spoken in a sigh of relief as the crystal snapped into place, held by the power imbued into the staff.

  “Very nice. Very pretty,” a smooth voice said from behind Hallow. He half-turned, unwilling to stop drawing the last of the wards on the spell that were needed to protect the inhabitant. A handsome, smiling man sat on an elegant white horse that picked its way carefully through the debris of rock and sparse vegetation, giving the impression that the ground sullied its glossy, polished hooves. The horse was not only pristine despite the ever-present grey dust of Kelos, but even its barding of silver stars and moons on a field of midnight blue looked as if it had just come from the hands of a groom. Both it and the horse positively sparkled. “I particularly like the focusing runes at the top. That should make for a very powerful weapon, very potent. I will enjoy wielding it against my foes. Ah, but the famed Thorn of Kelos is not inhabiting it yet?”

  “This staff belongs to the Master of Kelos,” Tygo said quickly, before Hallow could decide on the best way to respond to such provocative statements as the stranger had seen fit to offer. “Only he can wield it.”

  The man halted next to Hallow, making a show of looking around, the expression of distaste that crossed his face almost exactly mirroring the one borne by his horse. “Blessings of the goddesses,” he said politely, continuing to layer on the last ward. “It’s not often we have visitors to Kelos. Not ones who are alive, that is. Who might you be?”

  “I might be anyone, but I am, in fact, Lyl of Starfall. Well…” The man made a face, then slowly got off the horse. That’s when Hallow noticed that a company of at least two score followed the man; the sounds of the horses’ hooves were muffled by the dusty air. From the corner of his eye, Hallow saw the captain of the guard materialize, his hand immediately going to the hilt of his sword. “I was Lyl of Starfall. Now I am Lyl, Master of Kelos. You are Hello?”

  “I’m afraid you are confused about more than just my name, which is Hallow of Penhallow. I lead the arcanists, and head the guild. But I believe I’ve heard of you,” Hallow said, finishing the ward and turning to face the man fully. The staff glowed with a soft white light, accompanied by a drawing sense in the air that made the hairs on Hallow’s arms prickle. All that needed to be done was for the three arcanists to speak the words of summoning, which would hopefully pull Thorn from the spirit realm to this one. “You serve Darius, do you not?”

  “I serve no man but myself,” Lyl answered, eyeing the tower behind Hallow. “That appears to be the only standing structure. I assume that is my quarters? Trulane! Have the arcanist’s things removed, and the chambers made ready for me.”

  A tall, willowy man ran forward on Lyl’s command and bowed obsequiously, although he shot Hallow a wary glance. “It shall be as you command, my lord. But…er…there appears to be a spirit guarding the door.”

  The captain of the guard did indeed stand with his back to the door that led in
to the tower, his shield and sword in his hands. Lyl considered this for a moment with pursed lips.

  “I don’t know why you are under the delusion that you have been named Master here, but I can assure you it is not so. Not only was Exodius quite clear when he named me as his successor, but I’ve worked hard to bring the Arcanist’s Guild to order. Or as much order as one can impose on arcanists,” Hallow said in a mild tone of voice, one that belied the anger he felt. It was already beginning to waken the chaos magic inside him. The quirky side of his mind, the one that found humor in odd situations, had him adding, “And I just don’t know how my chaos magic is going to manifest itself if Allegria isn’t here to be the recipient of its attentions. I dread having to explain to her that I was forced into seducing you simply because you annoyed me.”

  Lyl looked startled for a moment before composing his face into an impassive—if somewhat haughty—expression. “Your lustful urges are as dirt to me, arcanist, although your interest in seducing me is duly noted. Trulane!”

  “Aye, my lord,” the ingratiating man said, quickly scribbling with a stub of a pencil in a small journal. “It is so noted.”

  Hallow sighed to himself and wondered how his life had gone so wrong in the course of just a few days.

  “As for my delusion, as you refer to it, I fear it is you who are mistaken. I was Exodius’s apprentice, and when he departed the mortal realm, it is I who should have taken up the mantle of Master of Kelos. I was busy elsewhere, so naturally, he sought a temporary replacement.” Lyl put his hands on his hips as he glanced around again. “But I have returned to Genora, and now that the Starborn throne is secured, I can turn my attention to my rightful place here. Trulane, why are you not attending to your duties inside the tower?”

  “The spirit—” Trulane bleated, gesturing toward the captain of the guard.

  “Is dead. Dissipate his form, and do as you are ordered. The rest of you—spread out and round up any spirits who are hiding. A new reign has come to Kelos, one of order and structure, and I would have everyone present learn their place in it.”

  “I don’t have time for this foolishness,” Hallow said, hastily casting a spell on the tower before turning back to the staff, intent on conducting the summoning despite Lyl’s appearance and his deranged attempt to take over. “Tygo, Aarav, are you ready?”

  “Aye,” the men replied in unison.

  “Then let us proceed.” Hallow didn’t like having Lyl present while they had to focus on the delicate spell of summoning, but he’d be damned if he forced Allegria to wait even a minute longer in the spirit world than was needed. Besides, there were only forty or so soldiers—driving them from Kelos wouldn’t be easy, but not impossible, especially with Aarav and Tygo to help him, along with the spirits who resided around them. He cleared his mind of worry about Allegria, the fear that the chaos power was growing in strength, and annoyance at Lyl.

  “You, sergeant.” Lyl beckoned at one of the soldiers, who hurried forward. “Tell the rest of the company to take shelter around the ruins as best they can. I realize the accommodations are not at all what the Starborn army is used to, but it is important that we squelch any problems that may arise with my ascension to power.”

  Hallow, his hands already drawing in arcane power from the stars, as well as the energy that had been absorbed by the plants and living things around them, glanced at Lyl, his eyebrows rising as he realized the company of men with Lyl was not his entire force.

  “What army?” Aarav asked with a sniff. “When last I was in Starfall, there were only a handful of Starborn who’d survived the purging by the Harborym. If you think to disturb us with two score men, you will soon see the folly of such a plan.”

  Lyl smiled, a gesture that made Hallow’s gut tighten uncomfortably. “Which is why we were happy to welcome to Starfall the ranks of Harii who had been driven by famine from their land. We have named them Starborn, and they show their gratitude by filling out the Starborn army. Five legions will join us soon.”

  Aarav and Tygo slid almost identical glances toward him. Hallow continued to struggle with the red rage that wanted to break free of his control. Dread filled him, firing the chaos power until a pool of red formed at his feet. He struggled to control it, beating down panic at the thought of the army no doubt even now heading their way. There were just too many of them, and too little of him.

  Lyl would be in the position to take from him the one hope he had of freeing Allegria.

  “Kiriah will never rise on the day when I let my heart go without a fight,” he swore under his breath. All the same, there was no way the three of them—even with the assistance of the captain of the guard and the spirits of Kelos—would be able to fight off the entire Starborn army once its full force arrived. If only Deo hadn’t left…but he stopped that train of thought before it had done more than form in his mind. Deo would have helped, but there were limits to his power as well.

  “Master Hallow?” Tygo asked, his gaze moving from Lyl to Hallow, clearly asking whether or not they were going to stop the summoning in order to attend to the threat of Lyl’s army.

  “Stay focused,” Hallow told Tygo and Aarav. He noticed the latter sketching protection runes covertly over his chest and tried to ignore the sounds and sights of the Starborn company moving into Kelos. Behind him, he heard the shout of the captain of the guard, and the sound of the captain’s all-too-corporeal blade striking another. He closed his eyes for a moment, whispering the spells, picturing Thorn inhabiting the staff.

  “Send half of your men to the north side,” Lyl ordered, now striding about, flinging orders in all directions. “Seal the crypts so that no more spirits may rise. Those of you with talismans of the dead may use them at will. This place has long been overrun with ghosts, and I intend to prune away those who do not have anything to offer. Trulane, stop wasting time with that guard. I want to get into the tower. Exodius would have taken any valuables away with him, but I wish to have his archives at hand. Sergeant! Take the staff the arcanists are working over. I will finish it to my own specifications.”

  Hallow pushed down his fear and worry, and pulled hard on the arcany that surrounded him even when Kiriah was at her brightest in the noon sky. The chaos magic fought his intentions, filling him not with lust this time, but with the desire to destroy the living beings around him. Hallow worried for a moment that since chaos was the magic of death, it would taint the summoning, but the runes on his cuffs held true, allowing him to concentrate, filling the triangle holding the staff with pure arcany.

  He pretended he didn’t see the runes on his wrists glowing a deep, rich red rather than their usual blue.

  “Don’t make me repeat myself!” Lyl yelled, cuffing one of the men on the back of the head when he pointed toward Hallow and the others. “Get the staff! Has that spirit been removed yet? I want that door to the tower opened in the next ten seconds, or I will call down the wrath of the twin goddesses upon you!”

  Hallow’s eyes were the merest slits as binding words tumbled from his mouth. Three men had started toward the staff. Aarav and Tygo’s mouths moved as well, no doubt also intoning their parts of the summoning spell. A separate part of his mind sent a prayer to Bellias to give them just a few more seconds to finish the summoning, just the time it would take to bring Thorn forth.

  And what, that part of his brain asked, will happen if the summoning fails again?

  He had no time for such thoughts. He threw all of his love and fear into the words that slipped over his lips to fly immediately upward, spinning and twirling in the air like leaves in the autumn. The staff itself broke free of its stand, lifting a foot off the ground, its runes glowing with a white-blue energy that cracked and snapped.

  “Take it!” Lyl shrieked when the nearest men hesitated at the outer edge of the triangle, obviously hesitant to reach inside to grab the staff. “Don’t be such a fool! It can’t hurt you! I demand th
at you bring it to me now!”

  Just as the last word of the summoning was spoken, the soldier reached into the circle, and it seemed to Hallow as if the whole of Alba held its breath, waiting for the space between heartbeats to see what would happen.

  The light from the runes glowed brighter, blinding Hallow. For a moment, the light formed the shape of a woman, and then the blaze of bluish white faded, and a familiar voice sounded in his head.

  It’s about time! But I told you this form was too big. Although the wing size is nice. And that’s an interesting tail you carved for me. Hmm. I could get used to this. Sparrow hawk, is it? Yes, yes, I see now that it has possibilities. Mind you, it’s no swallow, but—

  “Thorn, as Master of Kelos, I order you back into the spirit realm,” Hallow shouted, just as the guard snatched the staff from his hands. “Find Allegria. Help her! Bring her back to me!”

  What? The priestling is in the spirit realm? Why? Is that Lyl standing back there screaming about something? Thorn gave a disgusted snort. What is he doing here? Why is he taking the staff?

  “Thorn, obey my command!” Hallow shouted over Lyl yelling at the soldiers. The chaos magic surged inside him. He doubled over, pain lacing his body, stabbing into him with the sharpness of a honed blade while he struggled to keep the magic from simply exploding out of him.

  Someone has grown a fat head in the time I was away, Thorn said in a huffy voice. Fine! I’ll go fetch the girl, but I will have a word or two to say to you when I get back!

  Hallow dropped to his knees, his arms wrapped around his chest, agony riding him, but before the red haze consumed his awareness, he managed to whisper, “I don’t think you will, no.”

  It took some time before he was able to stand and face a furious Lyl. He felt shaken, as weak as a kitten, and ready to sleep for at least a fortnight, but at last all the magics that lived inside him were once again subdued.