Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept (33 page)

Conner looked a bit confused, more from the abrupt change of subject than anything else. Finally he said, “Of course.”

“She made a bargain with a dragon. After w
e help this dragon free her mate, she’ll help us kill Zuhl and the Sin’Rath. We aren’t abandoning Abel. Peti knows his value; she won’t harm him.

“I know you want to save your father, but that task is not
for you to do. Your duty is to lead the army south with all possible speed and defend the people of Fellenden.”

He looked lost, his spirit momentarily broken by the conflict raging within
him. Shaking his head, he put his face in his hands.

“Will you do your duty, Conner?” Alexander asked after a few moments.

He hesitated, still torn, but nodded.

Alexander turned to Dax and
Sark.

“How’s the army?”

“Worn out and strung out,” Dax said. “The Ironwood is thick and difficult to traverse. We’re moving slowly and I fear we’re losing men in the trees.”

“Any sign of pursuit?”

“Thankfully, no,” Sark said. “Our scouts tell us that twenty legions have taken Irondale and are beginning to rebuild the shipyards.”

“Huh,” Alexander said. “So the witch has adopted Zuhl’s strategy.”

“It would seem so,” Dax said. “While tragic for Fellenden, it does give us some time.”

Conner
looked up, his eyes filled with worry and brimming with tears.

“We’ll get Abel back
,” Alexander said.

He nodded, guilt shining brightly in his colors.

“There’s nothing you can do to help him, Conner. Focus on the people you can help.”

“How do you do it?” Conner aske
d. “How do you make the decisions you do knowing that your choices might hurt the ones you love?”

Alexander hesitated, fresh concern for Isabel welling up within him
, followed quickly by renewed guilt.

“I remember a lesson my father taught me a long time ago: Be driven by emotion, but ruled by reason. You’re allowing emotion to rule you. Step back from your emotions and think. You can’t beat the Sin’Rath and neither can I, but Abigail and the
Coven can, especially with the help of a couple of dragons. Leave that to them. Focus your efforts on the enemy you
can
defeat.”

Conner nodded.

“I need to hear you say it.”

“I’ll return to the army and lead them south,” Conner said.

“Good man. I’m going to hold you to that.”

He nodded as Alexander vanished.

With a thought he was floating over the horde surrounding the Gate in central Fellenden. They were digging in, building fortifications and organizing their encampment as if they intended to stay for a while. Supply trains were arriving by torchlight from the cities that had already been sacked. At least the bulk of the enemy was staying in one place, Alexander thought, shifting his awareness to the Reishi Isle and Zuhl’s encampment near the Nether Gate.

They
had built a wood-and-earth bulwark around the entire mountain meadow where the entrance to the mountain fortress had been. A string of empty wagons rolled into the freshly cut passage leading into the mountain while another string of wagons filled with dirt and rocks rolled out. Zuhl’s soldiers were trying to dig a passage to the Gate chamber.

He moved to the beach on the north coast of the Reishi Isle and searched for a few moments until he found Zuhl’s landing site.
He saw over a legion of soldiers encamped there and more being offloaded from one of their five remaining warships. Alexander idly wondered if Zuhl was aware that his army had been purloined. He suspected not, given his continued attention to this front. The moment he learned the truth, he would probably direct all of his power to regaining control over his army. A prospect that had Alexander concerned. Peti didn’t seem to be too interested in consolidating her hold on Fellenden. If Zuhl regained command, he’d probably disperse his army across the entire isle, making his conquest of Fellenden virtually unchallengeable.

Alexander returned to his body and touched the Sovereign Stone, convening the Reishi Council
.

“I opened the box,” he said. “It contains three acorns from the vitalwood
tree.”

The table fell silent, until Balthazar started chuckling softly.
“It would seem that Mage Cedric was truly intent on repairing the damage done to the Seven Isles by so much war.”

“I plan on taking them to Ilona,” Alexander said.

“That would be my suggestion as well,” Constantine said. “She’s best suited to nurture them to maturity.”

Alexander nodded, happy to have his intuition confirmed.

“One of the Sin’Rath transformed a wyvern into a figurine. Is there any way to change it back?”

“Certainly,” Demetrius said. “In fact, there’s an entire section within the library dedicated to transformation spells.”

“Good … that brings me to my next question,” Alexander said, turning to Malachi. “How do I kill the tentacle demon?”

“With a banishing spell,” Malachi said, offhandedly. “Oh, wait, you’re not an arch mage. You can’t cast a spell of sufficient power to banish such a demon.”

“Will Luminessence destroy it?”

“How should I know?”

Alexander shook his head, silently wishing that he could kill the long-dead sovereign.

“I suspect that the brightest light from Luminessence will harm or perhaps kill it,” Demetrius offered.

“Failing that, Demonrend is almost certain to destroy it,” Balthazar said.

Alexander nodded, looking down at the table
and feeling a little flutter of fear at the question on the tip of his tongue. So much depended on the answer.

“Will Luminessence kill Azugorath?”

Malachi shrugged with a malevolent grin.

“She poses a greater problem because she has no corporeal form,” Demetrius said.

Alexander nodded again.

Malachi chuckled, shaking his head.
“You are a child,” he said, dismissively.

“How do I kill her?”

“You can’t,” Malachi said. “She’s already dead.”

“If you didn’t have a banishing spell and you had to defeat her, what would you do?”

Malachi clenched his jaw.

“Answer me
!”

“If I had your staff, I would
attempt to banish her with that.”

“No, there’s something else,” Alexander said, leaning in. “Tell me.”

Malachi seemed to struggle against some unseen force before blurting, “I would contain her.” He looked away, his face contorting in anger.

“How?”

“A phylactery.”

Alexander frowned, his mind racing.

“Like the thing you were going to put your soul into to become immortal? Like the thing you described in the lich book?”

“Yes,” Malachi snapped.

Alexander sat back. “Where do I find one?”

Malachi scowled, shaking his head defiantly even as he said, “
In the library.”

“What does it look like? Where is it in the library?”

“It’s a silver bottle, etched with gold runes,” Malachi said, deflating a bit. “It’s in a secret compartment in the back wall near the right corner.”

“How do I use it?”

“Speak the word for ‘death’ in Old Reishi. It’s inscribed on the bottle.”

“Then what?”

“Then it will draw in the nearest disembodied soul … provided it works,” Malachi said. “Of course, that means that you’ll have to be close to her.”

“How close?”

Malachi shrugged. “It isn’t designed for this. I made it with the intention of speaking the word a moment before I plunged a dagger into my own heart.”

Alexander stared at him. He felt like his sanity was unraveling in the face of such madness.

Malachi smiled mirthlessly. “I can see from your expression that you still don’t understand. Nothing in this world is free, power least of all. You can’t achieve immortality without risking death.”

“What stopped you?
” Alexander finally asked, after taking a moment to process Malachi’s words.

“Fear … and then death,” Malachi said, gesturing to the council chamber.

“Maybe you’re not as insane as I thought you were.”

“You’re too kind,” Malachi said with a mocking
nod.

“You misunderstand me. Insanity might have explained your evil.”

Malachi snorted.

“I would urge caution, Alexander,” Balthazar said. “This phylactery that Malachi speaks of is a thing of darkness and malice.”

“I agree,” Constantine said. “Luminessence will serve you far better.”

“You’re probably right, but I’m afraid that it won’t be enough.”

Demetrius frowned deeply, leaning forward with a sigh. “My son may be attempting to deceive you,” he said.

Malachi clenched his jaw but remained silent.

“How so? He’s bound by the Stone to tell me the truth.”

“Yes, but he’s not bound to reveal information that you do not ask for,” Demetrius said.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Alexander asked, turning back to Malachi.

“Many things
… you’ll have to be more specific.”

“I see what you mean
,” Alexander said, taking a deep breath. “Malachi, is the compartment containing the phylactery trapped or warded?”

Malachi scowled. “Of course it is, you fool.”

Alexander shook his head, reminding himself that every interaction with Malachi Reishi was a battle, and that even after death, the Sixth Sovereign was dangerous.

“How do I retrieve the phylactery safely?”

“You can’t. Only an arch mage can cast the proper spell.”

“What w
ill happen if I open the compartment?”

“Most likely, you’ll
die,” Malachi said.

“But then the Sovereign Stone would be lost within the library. Phane would never be able to retrieve it.”

Malachi shrugged. “You’d still be dead and he’d rule the Seven Isles unchallenged.”

“A tyrant’s rule is never unchallenged,” Alexander said, turning to Darius.

“Once I claim control over the Reishi Keep, will I be able to use my clairvoyance within the fortress islands?”

“Yes, once the Keep has recognized you, the fortress islands will as well,” Darius said.

“That’s a bit of good news, at least,” Alexander said. “Thank you, Gentlemen.”

He returned to his body, stretching before he stood.

“Any news?” Jack asked.

“Not really,” Alexander said, taking his seat at the table. “Except that I should be able to see into the fortress islands once I take command of the Keep. That’ll be useful.”

Magda nodded thoughtfully.

“You want to go in quiet?” Abigail asked.

“Initially,” Alexander said. “If a few of us can get inside undetected and free Ixabrax before they know we’re there, we can hit them from the sea and air while we search out Zuhl … or his simulacrum. The larger attack might serve as a distraction. We’ll come up with a more thorough plan after I’ve had a look.”

“Did the
sovereigns have any suggestions regarding Taharial?” Magda asked.

“Yes, apparently there’s a whole section of the library devoted to transformation spells.”

“That’s encouraging. Thank you, Alexander.”

The table fell silent for a moment.

“I’m worried about Anatoly,” Abigail said softly.

“As am I,” Magda said.

“I know how you feel,” Alexander said. “I wish there was more we could do. Conner’s not even close and Torin’s even farther away. As much as I want to go help him, we can’t pass up the chance to kill Zuhl. Besides, I don’t want to back out of the deal you made with Zora.”

“No,” Abigail said, shaking her head. “She was pretty clear about the consequences of betraying her.”

“We could go with the Sky Knights after we free Ixabrax,” Anja said.

Alexander shook his head slowly.

Anja frowned.

“We have to go to Karth. I need to
kill Azugorath. I just hope Luminessence is powerful enough.”

Anja’s frown deepened. She seemed to be struggling to fin
d words to express her thoughts, but her colors revealed her conflict. There was a battle to be fought and she didn’t understand why they weren’t going to help.

“Isabel got her light back, briefly. She and Lacy managed to get a blade into Phane … again.
The truth is, she’s right where she needs to be. If I can eliminate the Wraith Queen, Isabel will have one more chance.”

“Huh,” Anja said. “So you’re not just trying to save your wife, you’re trying to kill Phane.”

“Exactly. I can’t beat him in a fight. He’ll kill me the moment he sees me coming. But Isabel is already standing right next to him and her Maker’s light spell can get through his defenses. She’s the best chance we’ve got.”