Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

Both Enin and Baannat responded in kind, though with far different emotions. Enin revealed uncertainty and surprise. Baannat hissed with hatred as well as concern.

"From you?"

Ryson ignored the ghoul. He spoke instead to the essence of the wizard.

"You told me the magic was a part of me, part of being a delver. I think that's why I have form here, just like him." He nodded to the ghoul still trapped in his hold. "The magic stayed with me when I came across because it's who I am. That's what I thought would happen when I stepped into the portal. That's what I believed would happen. I wanted to bring it here for you."

Enin considered the point.

"Yes… yes! The magic is part of you. You are born with it and you would die with it. You do not cast it out in spells and you don't absorb it from the land. It is not simply part of your body. It is part of your essence."

"That means it's here, and if it is, that means you can use it."

Enin wasn't so sure. His mind reflected upon the intricacies of magical energy, his current state of existence, and the properties of the space he occupied. He began to speak openly of the situation, as if it was some elaborate puzzle.

"Can I? I'm not so sure. My essence is here, but my link to the magic remains with my body. There is a clear separation. Still, you have brought magic with you. If you allow me to siphon energy from you, I might be able to channel some of the power into something useful. I don't…"

"Enin!" Ryson shouted. "This isn't the time to ponder what is and isn't possible. Just try it!"

Realizing that was indeed the best course of action, the wizard cast aside his doubts. He reached out to Ryson, just as he reached out to Linda, but with the delver, he grasped for something more than a simple link of understanding and compassion. He searched for the energy that was part of the delver. As he probed Ryson's inner essence, he felt the familiar pulse of powerful magic and he attempted to seize it.

Ryson felt the wizard's presence within him. It felt almost as if something was tugging at his very core. Even as he fought to restrain Baannat, he allowed Enin access to the energy within his spirit. He battled the slink ghoul with one side of his consciousness and reached out to the wizard with the other. Without struggling, he let the magic flow out of his being and into his friend.

The delver didn't need to hear it from the wizard, he knew it was working. Without hesitation, he demanded Enin use the power to save Linda first.

"Open the portal on this side and get Linda out of here! Send her back!"

Agreeing with the intention, if not the implementation, Enin focused his renewed power on revealing the portal that he knew still existed. The shadow rift had never been closed. It just remained hidden. He did not have to open the portal, he simply had to find it.

Using a mere fraction of the magic now available to him, Enin created a magnetic like force that would pull at the vibrations of magical energy. The portal would radiate such energy, and thus, it would call to him through the shadows.

Baannat could sense the spell and knew it would point out the one true exit. He burned with rage and fought furiously against the delver's hold. He pushed and pulled, and although he gained momentary success, he could not break completely free. Every time he managed to loosen the delver's hold, the ghoul found his arms grabbed and yanked back into place or his legs knocked out from under him. He could overpower the delver with strength, but he simply could not compensate enough for Ryson's speed and agility.

At first, the space around Enin did not react to his spell. The gray emptiness remained still and unbroken, but Enin pressed forward. Within long moments, he sensed a light pulse. He latched upon it and forced the magical energies to reveal themselves. The shadows around the portal eventually parted, revealing the gateway, and Enin willed his essence right to the brink of the rift.

He did not go through, not completely. He would not be the first to escape. Instead, he held himself at the very edge, spilling just enough of himself through the shadowed veil that he could see into the dark realm. Standing in the portal, in the thinnest of space between existence and nonexistence, the wizard focused first on his body. He knew that's not what Ryson intended-the delver wanted his wife sent to immediate safety-but Enin had sound reason for delaying.

The wizard did not wish to take anymore of Ryson's inherent magic for he could not be sure what consequences that might hold. He had taken enough to find a path to freedom and it was now time to regain the magical power that was beyond the prison rift. He reconnected to his mortal being just enough to once more retrieve a portion of his magical abilities. He created a clear link to power that he could now pull into Baannat's realm. The separation was ended.

Reenergized, Enin also took silhouetted shape in the gray shadows. His body still remained in the dark realm, but his connection to it solidified his spirit. He called on all the magic available to him. Without further delay, he cast a spell to remove Linda's essence from Baannat's plane and to place it back into her body.

In the dark realm, Linda stirred. She felt stiff and sore. Her movements were forced. Even her breathing felt heavy and uneven. Trembling uncontrollably, she recalled the past horrors of the shadowed existence with Baannat. Her memory of the event remained crisp and clear. Instinctively, she checked her arms and chest for wounds from claw slashes. She found nothing, but even as her body remained unmarked, her mind would always carry the scars of torment. She pulled herself up to her feet and stood before the shadow portal. She looked into its center and she could actually make out the outline of Enin's form.

"Stay where you are. I will bring Ryson to you shortly," the wizard offered in a mental message that Linda could hear, but not with her ears. It was more of a distant memory that suddenly came into the forefront of conscious thought.

It was going to be alright. She knew it. Ryson had found a way to save them… to save her. Despite what she had gone through, she realized the world was not as dark as it could have been. There was hope even when none should have existed.

Back within the gray emptiness, Ryson retained his hold on the slink ghoul. He fought against every move Baannat made. Even as the ghoul would break free, it only lasted for the slimmest instant. With deliberate quickness, the delver would regain his grip and bind Baannat to his person.

Despite the struggle, he managed to take several glimpses at the glowing form he knew to be Linda. When he saw that light fade out of the shadows, relief rushed over him, but he had to be sure.

"Is she safe?" Ryson called out.

"She is," Enin replied.

"And we can still get out of here, right?"

"Of course."

If he could have exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, he would have, but his essence did not retain sufficient physical existence. Instead, Ryson released Baannat with a heavy shove and then stood ready to react to any attack the ghoul might throw at him.

The ghoul did not respond. Instead, Baannat crouched, waiting for his foes to make the next move.

"What do we do about him?" Ryson demanded. "I don't want him to ever get away with anything like this again."

Enin understood and agreed, but with the magic flowing freely through him, he gained a greater insight into their situation. He had thought Baannat had cheated death, but now he believed he saw a clearer picture. The powers of good and evil fought a constant battle. There was both a place for angels as well as demons, but the emptiness of Baannat's creation served a new purpose. The dark realm had its monsters. Uton had its heroes. The inhabitants of both realms chose their paths and met their destinies. Now there was a final home for those that chose a life of pure evil.