Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2

by Brian Wilkerson

  “H-hey, C-crimson K-Killer…”

  Mr.15 blinked and stared as if for the first time acknowledging her existence.

  “What is it, girl?”

  The sharp tone made her jump and she wanted to run, but she remembered what Eric taught her about the Third Law of Magecraft. She drew strength from it and blurted, “I want you to teach me magecraft!”

  “I beg your pardon, girl?”

  “I-I…I…uh…I heard about people disappearing from Deimos and other places! They were estranged from their parents and wanted to learn magecraft! Did they come here!?”

  “Zettai! What are you doing!?” Nolien hissed.

  “No need to shout, girl. Yes, they came here. I teach souls brave enough to enter this Fog Cloud the true secrets of magecraft; not that rubbish Dengel Dopes spread around.”

  Zettai laughed nervously. “Oh well, so, if I enter the Fog cloud, will you teach me?”

  He extended his hand to Zettai.

  “Little Mage, I’m impressed by your desire to learn and your fearlessness in the face of overwhelming power. Come with me and I will give you power that does not rely on this Cloud. You will be the greatest mage in this country, after me.”

  Bright eyed and with a broad smile, she took her place at his side. He watched the other children retreat and debated whether or not he should pursue them. It was brief. His nephew could snap out of his funk at any moment and, without his own Bladicraft, he could not win such a fight. The boy would have to return eventually for his student and, in the meantime, he had a new apprentice.

  He put his arm around her and said, “Let us go, my little mage. I have much to show you.”

  The Mana Cloud of Mount Helios hosted an alien landscape. The mountain's cliffs and caves had long since been transformed into bizarre shapes of semi-living rock. The footfalls of golems were ever-present and random patches of ground bore carnivorous grass, algae, and trees that snapped up nearby life forms. Monsters more powerful than anything a civilian would see in their lifetime flew, walked, and slithered in the shadows of the Fog. All of this was shrouded by the Fog itself. Zettai was soon lost and clutched her protective mask to her mouth. Mr.15 ripped it away.

  “Breathe deeply, my little mage. All around you is the essence of power and you can never control power if you fear it.” He took a deep breath himself and the glow of his eyes shined through his mask. “That is your first lesson.”

  Throwing caution to the wind, Zettai took a third breath of the Fog. This one was deeper than either of the previous with Basilard. It filled her lungs and soul to full capacity. Her eyes shined, her aura flared, and she threw up her hands in excitement.

  “Hahahaha! This is wonderful!”

  “That’s the spirit! This is power; this is life! Breathe it in and harness it!”

  From out of the Fog stepped a seven-foot and bipedal lizard. The three heads on its neck and stomach licked their five jaws in anticipation of the coming meal. Its right arm stretched twice its length to grab Mr.15 by the waist while the razors on its withered left clashed repeatedly. Zettai gasped.

  The Bladi man crushed its wrist in his own right hand and then dashed forward to plunge his left through its chest. He ripped out something resembling a water-stained book and the monster withered into jerky.

  “This is the second lesson: Power is to be controlled. Once controlled, it must be directed to greatest effect.” He bit off a piece of the monster's heart and offered it to her. “This applies both to combat and to consumption.”

  Hesitantly, she accepted the sticky, slimy, still beating thing and nibbled it. The taste was horrendous, but the meat was so invigorating that she took a bigger bite and continued until it was gone. Mr.15 looked upon the young girl smeared with blood and gorging herself on raw meat and smiled.

  The pair continued up the mountain. There were twisting paths that shifted beneath their feet and thin crevices that droned of the lives they witnessed and ended. Zettai plugged her ears with her fingers, but Mr.15 pulled them out.

  “Lesson three: See everything, hear everything, and experience everything. Never shy away from the deepest darkness, nor the most horrible sounds, nor the possibility of grievous harm to mind, body, or soul. Only the boldest push the limits and only the bravest achieve greatness.”

  At last, he stopped at a large mound of rock. It stretched out for twenty feet in all directions. Algae spread over it like a green-orange net. He placed his hand over a protrusion and said, “We have arrived at the door to the future.”

  To Zettai's surprise and amazement, a spell diagram activated under Mr.15's hand. It glowed and its many inner circles rotated as he unlocked the entrance. The door slid open soundlessly.

  “You wonder how I use magic, do you not?”

  Zettai nodded.

  “Spirit and Blood. Through my spirit, I control immediate reality and, through my blood, I bypass that which seeks to control me. Come along now. You must meet those with whom you will live for the foreseeable future.”

  Inside was a similarly foggy maze of corridors. Fog was the only decoration. The walls were bare and so were the rooms she peeked into. Compared to the outside, it was dull. Suddenly, she tripped over something.

  Looking back, she realized it was a human face down in the Fog. She nudged the woman five times before provoking a response: a snarl from a non-human throat and a swipe from partially formed claws on one hand. She stepped back and tripped over someone else. The man flipped over and hissed at her, reptilian eyes wide. Zettai scrambled to her feet and clung to Mr.15’s pants leg.

  “These are my customers. Please don't disturb them.”

  “Customers?”

  “I accept payment in life energy.” Mr.15's left hand glowed with ethereal black light. “Days to decades in exchange for safe passage to and from this safe and pleasurable haven.”

  “Then I bet you put Eric somewhere nasty, right?”

  “I did indeed. Do you mind?”

  Zettai crossed her arms and looked away. “No. He was going to abandon me. I’m glad he’s here. I want to show him that I found a better teacher.”

  Mr.15 laughed and ruffled her hair. “You can see him later.”

  “Really!? I mean, do I have to?”

  “Yes, in the laboratory, as I determine how Otherworlders mana mutate.”

  “Ah…that’s a…um…a waste of research material.”

  “How so, my little mage?”

  “Um…he has this skull thing…in Dengel’s Lair…it has lots of stuff about this ‘blessed with monstrosity’ thing. Only he can bring it back. And he has darkness stuff too, so….”

  Mr.15 laughed again and she trailed off.

  “Very well. I’ll allow you to visit him as a reward for good behavior.”

  He led her through more corridors and they encountered more customers. All of them sniffed Zettai but backed off when they noticed Mr.15. As dangerous as they were, none of them compared to him. The more monstrous they were, the less likely they were to realize this, and the greater the odds that he would kill them. He did so without pity. At last, he stopped at a door bigger and grander than any other. Turning around, he handed Zettai a red choker decorated with a black rose.

  “Before we go any further, you must swear to me that you will be my loyal apprentice and heir until your death or I say otherwise.”

  Zettai gulped. This guy scared her more every minute, but it was the only way she could save Eric. As soon as she found him, she could free him, and then he would get them both out of here. They could walk out the door, perfectly invisible, just like he did when he saved her at the gallows. All she had to do was play along until then. She put on the choker.

  “I-I swear.”

  Mr.15 snapped the choker in place. A column of ethereal black light encompassed her and a burning sensation ran up and down her body, centering on her neck. It was hauntingly similar to the noose she had worn two week before.

  “You are free to betray me, if you wish, bu
t know that it will cause your immediate death.”

  Ignoring her shock, he turned back to the stone and placed his hand on it. A section of runes and magic arrays lit up on contact and a full minute passed before the door slid open. Inside was an immaculate laboratory.

  To either side, cabinets were carved into the stone, and between them were two aisles. Along the length of both were vials of liquids and solids of many textures and smells. Zettai examined all of them with delight. Many of them possessed blood, but others the glowing green liquid she recognized as Mana Juice. Some of them contained flesh and others sinew and still more dirt, which she assumed was saturated by the Fog. It was a frightful place, but she was too fascinated to care.

  “Your interest pleases me, my little mage.”

  “Does this stuff have to do with mana mutation?”

  “That, and other things. I am the leading expert on many subjects, including mana mutation. The elves may have more advanced technology, but their methodology is ancient and primitive. Only my research and my methods will lead to reliable and effective treatment.”

  “What do you do?”

  “Control of the body through blood and control of the spirit through mana. You will help me do this, and it will be the greatest magical achievement of the modern era. Come and see.”

  He took her hand and guided her to the far end of laboratory. Here, a cauldron simmered over a black fire. Inside was a bubbling red-black liquid. A light radiated from it like Mana Juice. The smells of iron, sulfur, sage, dirt, and more wafted up and into the lab. They made Zettai gag.

  “What the abyss is in here?”

  “My masterpiece in process. I have been exiled from the degenerate Bladi clan and my birthright has been sealed. However, it is not impotent. All I have to do is figure out how to release it.”

  Mr.15 plucked a syringe from a tray and plunged it inside, filling it to the rim. When it was full, he snapped his fingers and a trio of clones walked in behind Zettai. They made her nervous. Anyone standing behind her made her nervous, but these gave her a sense of impending doom.

  “You gain my knowledge and so become an extension of my mind.”

  The boys grabbed her arms. She expected this and avoided them momentarily, even pulling out of their grip, but the two of them together held her in place. The girl tilted Zettai’s head to the side to expose her neck. Between all three of them, she struggled in vain.

  “For that reason, you must become an extension of my body.”

  Mr.15 placed the syringe against her neck.

  “To the rebirth of the Bladi Clan! As the founder was given new life, so do I, the new founder, grant you new life. May your blood forever run strong and your heart never falter.”

  He injected the potion into her neck and fire gushed into her veins. Her skin bleached from the point of impact outward. She thrashed and screamed, but the trio held her still.

  “I promised you power independent of this Cloud, did I not? Once my blood has replaced your own, you will possess power held by a chosen few; less than 0.0001 percent of the world's population.”

  Blood flowed from her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, and all the while, she screamed.

  “Children, take her to her room and dress her appropriately for her new role.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  They dragged the tormented girl out of the lab. Mr.15 cast her from his mind and returned to work. In addition to mana mutation treatment and unlocking of his curse, there were other projects. The simulacrum for someone in Najica, made in the same fashion as the student clones, for one. Then there were designer poisons for interested parties in Façade, Death Rose chokers for troublesome women in Anich, and the Bottled Fog he hoped to finish. There was a market for that everywhere.

  “Hmm…I wonder if that shadow has woken up yet?”

  Eric was bound to a chair. His wrists and ankles were shackled to the chair legs as well as his arms and legs. A magic canceling collar was locked on his neck and a thick gag tied between his teeth. Four floodlights shined on him from four directions. There was not a single shadow in the room.

  “Wake up, my little shadow. I wish to speak with you.”

  The first thing Eric noticed was a groggy feeling preventing him from truly waking up. The second thing he noticed was that his neck was cold and his mouth was stuffed and dry. His wrists and ankles were stiff and immobile. So this is what Kasile felt like...

  He breathed through his nose and high concentrations of mana flowed into him. It revived him. He hadn't tasted mana like this since he was in Roalt and it made him more alert than he'd felt in two weeks. Then he opened his eyes and saw Mr.15. At once, he tried to disappear, but the floodlights shredded his Dark Veil immediately.

  “I see you appreciate the lights I've provided you,” Mr.15 said affably. “These are not mere mana-powered lamps but genuine light-elemental energy. Your pesky darkness will not work in here.”

  Eric tried, but the darkness was out of reach. Even if his mana wasn’t trapped by the collar, he wouldn’t be able to hide his pinkie, let alone his whole body.

  “One for each crime against me.” Mr.15 stood at Eric's upper left corner. “The first is for capturing Dark Staff: the traitorous bitch sold me out to the Bloody Daggers.” He stepped to the upper right corner. “The second is for having the gall to invade my lair.” He stepped to the lower right. “The third is for learning under that despicable child, Basilard.” He stepped to the lower left. “The fourth is for attacking my precious children. A prison of light for a creature of shadow. What do you think?”

  Eric couldn’t reply, but Mr.15 acted as though he had.

  “Yes, it was difficult preparing this room, but given that you are a special guest, it was the least I could do. You will remain here until I finish discussing business with your superior, at which point, I will give you to Nulso. You may or may not be alive at that point.”

  Mr.15 grasped his chin and tilted it up. All Eric could see was a large pair of blood-red eyes. They were twin pools of pain and terror. They pulled him under and suffocated him. When Mr.15 broke their gaze, Eric was weeping.

  “Perhaps I was wrong. At least as far as Evil Eye, your training is flawed. Fighting with personal pain is stupid because there will always be someone more unfortunate than yourself. True power lies in primordial fear – the Universal Dread – and its source in spiritual strength.”

  He released Eric, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room. At the door, he paused.

  “Speaking of the Universal Dread…I hear you're interested in mana mutation. How about first-hand experience?”

  Tsilear’s mutation rushed to the forefront of Eric’s mind; a corrupted and hideous body that he could not control. He remembered the desperation on Patrick Lumberson’s face at the final stage of transformation. The last of his identity was erased by a mindless and nameless savage. It was a fate as good as and worse than death.

  “As an Otherworlder, you would make an interesting specimen. I might have to chop you up into tiny pieces so I can conduct as many tests as possible.”

  The door closed and locked. Eric was alone in the blindingly bright room. Bound as he was, his only escape from it was to close his eyes and, even then, he could see it.

  Over the last five months or so, he had come to feel comfortable in darkness. As a child, he had been absolutely terrified of it and would do anything to avoid dark areas, but after returning from Tariatla, that fear was gone. Night was calm, night was quiet, and night was soothing. Darkness was like balm to his spirit. So much intense light all at once was agony, and it agitated the terror of Mr.15’s Evil Eye.

  All he could do was trace letters on the chair arm with his fingers and hope a certain someone was vain enough to notice it. Sure enough, a golden-haired and pointy-eared asshole appeared before him. The only thing more infuriating than his casual expression was the shades on his eyes.

  “You called, my bestest friend?”

  Eric mumbled offensive th
ings until Tasio pulled the thick gag out of his mouth.

  “Okay, Tasio, you’ve made your point. Now get me out of here.”

  “What point might that be?”

  “I was arrogant, over-confident, and I shouldn’t have told you to stop bothering me. Please get me out of here.”

  Tasio snapped his fingers and a flash of light obscured his form. When it dimmed, his clothes had become both tight and futuristic. They had a red and black color scheme with a gold pin attached near the shoulder. There were no pockets of any kind.

  “What makes you think I am either inclined or capable of terminating this encounter?”

  “Abyss take it, Tasio! What do you want me to say? That I’m frightened, inadequate, or that I need you? Fine! I need you.”

  To his surprise, Tasio put the gag back in his mouth and said, “That wasn’t as difficult an admission as I feared it would be. I’ll make some arrangements.”

  He disappeared amidst a stream of curses Eric had learned from Margret’s crew. After a minute, Eric examined his confinement as well as he could. Given the floodlights, there was little he could see, but experimental struggling told him he wouldn’t be moving without help.

  Abruptly, Tasio reappeared. He was still wearing the pocketless uniform. “By the way, what do you think of my cosplay?”

  Eric death-glared. Tasio pouted.

  “You are no fun at all. I bet you don’t even recognize the scene we just re-enacted.”

  Tasio disappeared once more. Instead of waiting in the chair, Eric retreated within himself. His mind traveled to the place between his mind and Kasile's. He made himself at home atop the statue of his bridge house and discussed possible escape attempts with Grey Dengel.

  There was little to work with: the collar on his neck sealed his magic, the shackles restricted his movement, and with the gag in his mouth, he couldn't even spit. After exhausting those options, Eric brought up the mana claws Kasile used when she was kidnapped. Grey Dengel pointed out that he didn't know how to use them, and if he could, he would not be able to maneuver them to cut himself free. Eventually, Kasile herself appeared, looking smug and pleased with herself.