Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

"That may not be up to us," Enin admitted.

"I don't like that answer," Ryson responded with gritted teeth.

"What would you have me do? Kill him? We tried that once before and it didn't work. I'm not even sure we could kill him here. He's not really alive."

Baannat snarled but otherwise remained quiet. He could sense that Enin had regained a substantial portion of his magical powers. There was little he could do.

"You can't just obliterate him?" Ryson asked.

It was not a foreign concept to the wizard. He even attempted it once before, before the war had started, but he was surprised the delver would offer it as a possible solution. He wondered if Ryson understood the significance of the request.

"I could try, but is that what you want?"

Ryson honestly considered the question. He remembered the shags he himself killed, how hundreds of them lay dead in the desert. They died at his hand. It caused him more than simple regret. It left a heavy burden of guilt within. He didn't want to kill, but the decision was forced upon him… by Baannat. The delver thought of all that Baannat had done, the terror he caused. For him, the answer was clear.

"Absolutely."

"That may be, but is it wise? Wanting something done is not the same as accepting the wisdom of a decision."

"Leaving him around isn't that smart."

Unable to disagree, Enin stepped up to Baannat and peered into the depths of the ghoul's essence. He saw the horrors of pure evil. It pained the wizard to see such inherent cruelty. Unfortunately, he saw more. The ghoul was beyond life and death. His evil soul festered into the remnants of what was left of his physical presence. The line between mortal and immortal had been blurred to a point of no return. Enin saw eternity within the core of Baannat's existence. He didn't understand how such an entity could exist, but he couldn't deny the truth of the situation.

"I'm afraid he is beyond obliteration. He is here to stay."

The thought left Ryson cold. Even in a place of nothingness, he felt the icy dread of leaving the slink ghoul capable of further havoc.

"We can't just leave him here. He'll just start it all over again."

With that said, Enin looked around at the gray shadows of nothingness. He sensed a growing connection between the emptiness and the slink ghoul. They were becoming intertwined, and Enin knew it. With that knowledge came a possible answer.

"I'm not so sure."

"You have an idea?" Ryson pressed.

"Not an idea, more of an understanding."

Baannat finally questioned the wizard.

"An understanding of what?" the ghoul hissed with a mocking disgust.

"Something you might not yet see yourself, but you will."

"And what is that?" Baannat demanded with a sneer.

"This place that you have carved out for yourself…it is becoming a part of you… and you a part of it. In essence, you have chained yourself to this emptiness."

"Is that supposed to concern me, brother?"

Enin would not accept that title, certainly not any more.

"I never have been, and never will be your brother. Even you will eventually admit that. You used to talk of the similarities between us. They will all end when I leave here. You, however, will not be so lucky."

"You think I'm trapped here? Then go ahead and leave. I will see you again soon."

Ryson didn't quite understand what Enin was saying, and he pointed out his own assumptions.

"He's right. This isn't a prison. He was able to leave before. He showed up in Uton disguised as Lief. He was in the cave in the dark realm."

"And he still can penetrate the outer worlds," Enin confirmed, but then he quickly offered a shred of hope, "but there are limits. This plane was created when you destroyed the vessel he made to capture his evil magic. He dwells in it as a sanctuary from true existence, but he is also now bound to it. He can never exit this place completely. He is, in fact, chained to this place forever. When he reaches beyond, he can influence, but he can't directly assault. It may not be the perfect prison, but it will be sufficient."

"How can you say that? He took my sword away from me in the cave."

"He used magic on a magical artifact. That was all. Did he cast any spell of power against you? Did he cause you any direct harm?"

"He did in here. He tried to fry me with his magic."

"That was here. I'm talking about limits on what he can do outside this realm."

"He was able to send an army of dark creatures into Uton. They captured Linda and threw her in here. He ordered them to attack the algors. He'll do it again."

"No he won't"

Without explaining further, Enin released more of his magical power. White energy crackled about him and then poured out of the shadow portal.

"What did you do?" Ryson asked.

"I altered the portal that links the dark realm to our home. He used that portal to send his minions against us. I will not allow it to be used in such a way again."

"You lie!" Baannat screamed. "You have no power over that portal. It is mine now."

"Not anymore. I made the mistake of creating a rift in the echo of Heteera's incomplete portal. You were able to usurp that portal since you stood in a realm of nonexistence, but I stand here as well. I now have infinitely more power than you, and I reclaimed the spell and removed its flaws within reality. The portal is still open, but it is fully under my command, not yours. It no longer moves in and out of existence. We shall use it to leave this place, and then I shall close it for good."

"Can't he open another one?" Ryson wondered aloud.

"No, he can't, and he knows that. He could possibly convince others to do so, but I am not quite done."

Enin cast out even more energy, and once more magical waves flew out of the rift and throughout the dark realm.

"What did you do now?" Ryson asked.

"You worried about Baannat's influence over the dark creatures. I have just restricted that influence. I brought awareness to the creatures of the dark world. Limited awareness to be sure, but a new understanding nonetheless. Baannat didn't control any creatures with his magical energy. He confused them into believing he had something they greatly desired. I just cleared the shadows of their minds to give them this one revelation. The realm of Baannat will no longer hold any of their desires. In fact, every creature that is born to the dark realm or to Uton will inherently know of Baannat and the truth of his territory. Even monsters will shun this place. They will know the truth. This place is more painful than the dark realm. This is not a sanctuary. This is a place for the condemned."

Enin then turned his glare upon the slink ghoul.

"It is a suitable home for you, and so you shall remain here. We both know your power to leave here is limited, and now even the dark creatures know of your treachery. You will be cursed by all. Those who you will be able to influence will be the lowest of the low. That is your fate. I hope you can accept it."

"So you make me king of nothingness?" Baannat hissed. "What if I refuse?"

"You can't."

Enin then called for Ryson.

"It's time for us to leave."

As Ryson stepped to the portal, he heard Baannat scream in rage. He turned just fast enough to see the ghoul lashing out at him. He ducked under the strike and used Baannat's own momentum to redirect him deeper into the gray shadows.

When he followed Enin through the shadow rift and back into the dark realm, he could hear Baannat shouting curses, but the echoes of the shrieks simply faded into the emptiness.

Linda rushed to Ryson's side, helped him from the ground, and then threw her arms around him. She pulled him to her as tight as she could. For all the agonizing moments she spent trapped-unable to move and unable to speak-in a plane of nonexistence, she found more comfort than she could imagine in that first embrace. She did not want to let go.