David Wells - Cursed Bones

“What if I shapeshift into a woman again?”

“You’d be even more vulnerable,” Alexander said. “Anja, I’m going to war. The moment I can walk without a cane, I’m going into enemy territory. As a human woman, you would be far too vulnerable, and I would be far too worried about your safety to do what I need to do.”

“Alexander, I can’t stand the idea of you being in harm’s way while I’m safe,” Anja said. “Please don’t put me through that.”

“I’m sorry, Anja, but I’d rather put you through that than see you get hurt,” Alexander said.

“I’m a dragon, I can take care of myself,” she said, withdrawing from the Wizard’s Den and launching into the evening sky.

Jack returned a few moments later, looking rather sheepish. “I’m sorry, he said.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Alexander said.

“But I do,” Jack said. “After all we’ve been through together, I have no cause to doubt you. I know you’d move the world to save Abigail. I just feel so helpless here.”

“I know,” Alexander said, “but I’m really glad you’re here.”

Jack smiled and sat down, nodding. “Me too. So what’s next?”

“Isabel. It’s about time I got back to helping her,” Alexander said.

“Hi, Isabel,” Alexander said.

She opened her eyes and rolled out of bed.

“How’re you holding up?”

“I’ve been better … but I’ve been worse, too,” she said, not wanting to tell him how bad it was getting. All of this time spent alone was making her doubt her sanity. She spent far too much time scrutinizing her thoughts, always wondering if any given thought was planted by Azugorath.

The Wraith Queen was becoming more cunning, taking the circuitous route into Isabel’s psyche by inserting ideas that led to very dark places. All too often, Isabel would be well down the path Azugorath had laid out for her before she realized she was chasing a ghost within her own mind. That’s when the real attack would come, swift and powerful, Azugorath would bring her full strength to bear, attempting to subvert Isabel’s free will and gain control, even if just for a moment.

“What’s happening? They won’t tell me anything.”

“Quite a lot actually,” Alexander said. “Phane used the link between you and the witch Clotus to locate this place. He has a sizable force headed here as we speak.”

“I’m not sure what good that’ll do him,” Isabel said. “All of the men here are completely charmed by the Sin’Rath. I don’t see why Phane’s men won’t succumb just as easily.”

“Because he’s sending women,” Alexander said. “Except for three wraithkin, the entire force, five hundred strong, is all women, very well trained and very well equipped women.”

“Oh … that changes things,” Isabel said.

“They’ll be here in a week or so, and when they get here, the Sin’Rath are going to have their hands full. I also spoke with the sovereigns about them. They’re a lot more dangerous than I thought. Turns out they’re descended from the union of a demon called a succubus and the last Wizard King of Karth, a man named Siavrax. He led the Isle of Karth during the Reishi War, but it doesn’t sound like he was much better than Malachi.

“Apparently, Siavrax turned to the netherworld in an attempt to even the odds against the Reishi. Malachi called him the second most powerful necromancer in the Seven Isles, after himself, of course.”

“Of course,” Isabel said.

“Siavrax specialized in creating hybrid creatures to use as weapons against the Reishi. He’s actually the one who created the gorledons.

“In one of his more desperate moments, he summoned Sin’Rath, the Succubus Queen, to use against Malachi, but Siavrax succumbed to her seductive charms instead. Sin’Rath bore him a half-breed daughter, then vanished into the swamp for decades. Once his half-breed daughter matured, mother and daughter returned to kill him.

“This is where it gets interesting. When his daughter killed him, she consumed his link to the firmament and became the first witch of the Sin’Rath Coven. Worse, she inherited her mother’s ability to charm men. Malachi immediately saw the threat they posed and sent none other than Prince Phane to banish Sin’Rath.”

“But why didn’t she just charm him, too?” Isabel asked.

“Azugorath,” Alexander said. “Malachi summoned the Wraith Queen and used her in much the same way that Phane is using her, but instead of giving Phane unnatural abilities, she simply protected him from the influence of other demons.”

“That explains how Phane got the idea for his wraithkin,” Isabel said.

“Yeah, and it worked then, too. Phane banished Sin’Rath, but her daughter got away,” Alexander said. “Her descendants are the Sin’Rath witches of today. After a bit of prodding, I got Malachi to offer some speculation on the matter. He thinks the Sin’Rath want to kill Phane and consume his link to the firmament, so they can summon their mother.”

“As much as I like the killing Phane part, I don’t want these crazy witches to have his power,” Isabel said.

“No,” Alexander said. “So here’s where Siavrax might have saved us. After his failure with Sin’Rath, he supposedly created a creature he called a Goiri.”

“The thing the witches were talking about,” Isabel said.

Alexander nodded. “Malachi says the creature was rumored to nullify magic anywhere in close proximity. Unfortunately, it also proved to be completely insane and uncontrollable. So much so that Siavrax sealed it up in the hidden facility where he created it, and left it to die.”

“So how does that help us?” Isabel asked.

“Apparently, Malachi believes that the power to nullify magic was bound up in its bones. I found the fortress, but when I got close to the chamber where I think it died, I was suddenly back in my body on Tyr. I believe the Goiri’s bones are still there.”

“We could kill Phane,” Isabel said, suddenly excited.

“More importantly, we could destroy the Nether Gate,” Alexander said.

“That too. So what’s the catch?”

“That mountain is crawling with all sorts of unnatural creatures,” Alexander said. “The people of Karth say the swamp surrounding it is haunted, but it’s really just full of things that Siavrax created and abandoned when the Goiri didn’t work out.”

“So it’s dangerous,” Isabel said. “This is our chance, we have to take it.”

“Even if you can escape this place, you can’t go alone,” Alexander said. “I want you to find a place to hide until I can come for you. We’ll go together.”

“I don’t think there’s time,” Isabel said. “Phane knows where I am. I won’t get a better chance to escape than when he attacks. After that, I’ll be on the run. I’m not sure I’d be able to hide until spring. Also, Azugorath is eating away at me. It’s getting harder and harder to hold out against her, especially after the torture.”

Alexander nodded, sighing with resignation. “Hector and Horace are on Karth. I spoke to them a few days ago and told them where you are. They’ll be here within the week. They know Karth. With their help, you can find a place to hide.”

“Alexander, if I told you how to kill Phane and destroy the Nether Gate, would you sit on your hands for the next two months? All the while worrying that you might be possessed by a demon and turn on your friends?”

He said nothing.

“Me neither,” she said.

“I almost withheld this information from you because I knew exactly what you’d want to do.”

“But you didn’t because you also know exactly how important this is,” Isabel said, smiling. “I told you things would become clearer as I got closer to my target.”