Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

"Only part," the ghoul laughed in delight. "Don't jump too far ahead. You don't have the entire picture yet. You see, I was still not whole. Parts of my body existed within the creatures of this dark realm-those creatures that feasted on me-and my consciousness resided in the magic of a sorceress. I had to reconnect them, but how? Care to guess?"

"The spell to recall Lief Woodson," Enin stated sadly.

"That was certainly an opportunity I couldn't resist. It was almost too good to be true. The foolish woman called on a spirit to help her, the spirit of an elf legend, but she has no control. It was easy for me to utilize the spell for my own needs. The spell gave me the power to exist outside of her magical reservoir. I took the form of Lief Woodson as she saw it in her memory and the rest was child's play."

"You convinced her to open a portal to the dark realm."

"Of course I had to get my body back, but I lacked the power to kill dark creatures. I could find the ones that fed on my corpse, but what then? I needed a way to kill them and regain what was rightfully mine. I also needed a way to collect the magic that also belongs to me. I had Heteera cast a spell that took care of both problems. She reanimated the remains of dead goblins and turned them into the vessel required to collect my body and my magic."

"And then you needed Ryson to destroy it."

"Not destroy it. Open it up for me. And you sent him to me. How ironic is that? You all did exactly what I wanted you to do. It's like I wrote the script and you all willingly played your parts. This is not the first time I've accomplished that, so don't be so surprised."

Enin shook his head.

"So you say, and that might explain much, but you know I can't trust you."

Baannat's smile twisted into a hateful sneer and he willingly revealed the full measure of his desires.

"No you can't, but trust no longer matters, brother. We are now at war."

"That war is over. Ryson won."

"Yes, he did," Baannat admitted with another hiss, but with no further humiliation. "You often talked of destiny and how it was the cursed delver's fate to meet me in battle-to defeat me. Well, as you said, he won, but that was him. The war with you, however, goes on."

Enin sighed. He saw Baannat not as an equal, not even as an enemy, but as a shell, and an incomplete one at that.

"And what am I at war with? You're not a spirit, of that I'm now sure. You're not the ghost of Lief Woodson. You're not even the full spirit of Baannat. You are a slink ghoul, only partially whole, alive once more, but not fully. It's almost as if you exist and don't exist, much like Heteera's portal."

"Very much like her portal."

"Which means you lack the power to defeat me in any kind of war. Even with all the magic you usurped from the dark creatures through your vessel, you still cannot match me."

"Not true," the ghoul said with great confidence. "A war is made up of battles. We battled once before, I made a mistake. I tried to fight you on my own, but you brought allies. You wouldn't face me alone."

"That's because it was Ryson that was destined to defeat you."

"And he did defeat me, as I've already acknowledged. That destiny is complete. I no longer have to concern myself with battling a fate already decided. Now we face a new beginning. I now have my own allies, an entire realm of them."

Enin looked about the hills, cliffs and ravines. He could see some of them, but he felt almost all of them-a multitude. They were vicious and cruel creatures and the wizard could sense their willingness to please Baannat. They would follow the wishes and desires of the ghoul. Somehow Baannat had gained control of this realm. It was no trick. The link between them all was as clear to the human wizard as if he could pluck them like guitar strings.

He then saw more, saw what was to come, what was inevitable. The ghoul was going to use these monsters, use them to wreak pain and agony, cause havoc of unimagined proportions. He couldn't allow it and he had the power to stop it, but he had to act at that moment.

There was no time to consider the moral implications, no time to offer Baannat a chance at redemption. Enin believed he could stop untold suffering, but the path was narrow and alternatives nonexistent.

Without hesitation, he threw his hands together and brought forth the vast magical power that was his to command. Two large circles of white fury encircled his wrists. It was his intention to obliterate the ghoul, to snuff Baannat out like a candle and be done with him, to end the suffering before it began.

There was no finesse in his spell, simply power. He cast it at the ghoul in the blink of an eye, without warning, without any way for the monster to defend himself.

A mighty crash exploded on the cliff ledge. A clap of thunder echoed in every direction, yet the ghoul remained.

Enin stood mystified at the results.

"Another miscalculation," the slink ghoul grinned, "but this is one I will not explain. You have time to consider it, for this is but the first battle, and I believe it will end in a draw. Still, we will have to see. You have taken your shot, it's time for me to take mine. I will not attack you directly. As you have so perceptively stated, I lack the power. Instead, let us see what my minions might accomplish."

The gray skies quickly filled with winged creatures of every shape and size, and they began their assault on Enin from every direction.

The wizard quickly cast another spell. From his being exploded an ever expanding and repeating wave of fury, as if a large stone fell upon the water and created many rings of disturbance that swelled outward on the surface. The force of the spell was directed at the skies and drove the flying creatures backward. They could not fight the power, and just as one ring passed, another one threw them back even further. The skies were cleared in mere moments.

"Nicely done," Baannat congratulated. "As I said, I believed it would be a draw, but I needed you to see. That was but a small contingent of the forces I can call from this realm, and I will call them all. Not to attack you here and now, that would be a waste. I have a better use for them. I will send them into your world, and do you know how?"

Enin did not reply. He stared with icy indignation at the ghoul.

Baannat smiled, but continued.

"I have no problems explaining this, for you can't stop it now. I'm going to use the very portal you created. Oh, I know you'll try to close it, but it's too late. You won't be able to. It now serves my purpose, so in effect, maybe I did win this battle."

"You won nothing. Do you think I'm a fool? If you are Baannat, you can open your own portal."

"You would think so, but for some reason I can't. Maybe that explains why your spell didn't affect me. Think about it."

With those words, the slink ghoul faded out of sight. Enin wondered if it was nothing more than a spell of invisibility, but he could not detect the ghoul anywhere nearby.

"Blast."

With nothing else to accomplish, Enin willed himself back through the air and to his portal. He crossed back into his natural plane of existence and then focused on closing the rift.

It was a small task. The gateway was of his creation. All he had to do was reverse the spell, child's play for a spell caster of his power. And yet, resistance occurred. He could touch the magic, but it defied his purpose. The rift would not close.

From across the dimensional gap, he heard a laugh.

Enin ignored the slink ghoul. He focused on the magical vibrations of the portal. It remained as he made it. The spell had not been tainted, at least he sensed no stain of evil. And yet, it now defied him.

Uncertain of what to do but unwilling to leave the portal open, Enin focused on a new spell. While he could not close the gate, he could at least seal it. He focused his energy to create a powerful shield that covered the small portal.