“Wren will die tonight.”
Isabel closed her eyes, pretending to shut out Phane and his assertion, but really linking her mind with Slyder and directing him to Lacy’s balcony. Relief washed over her when she saw both Wren and Lacy sitting on the bed talking softly. After Wren saw Slyder and retrieved the message, Isabel broke the link and returned.
“… no choice in the matter,” Phane was saying.
“There’s always a choice,” Isabel said.
“Not for you,” he said. “Enu assures me that his spell will allow Azugorath to gain control, even if only for a few moments.”
Isabel just glared at him.
“We’ll revisit that topic after Enu and Wren arrive. There are other matters I wish to discuss. My expedition to retrieve the Goiri bones has failed.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“I don’t imagine that you are, especially since I suspect you and your beloved had something to do with the ambush that killed my people.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Phane.”
He stared at her for several moments. She glared right back.
“Fortunately, the expedition was not a total loss. Those few who survived captured part of the ambush party. Most were Karth family soldiers, but one man in particular stood out. I believe you know him … he said his name is Hector Lal.”
Isabel closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Hector had already been through so much, lost so much. She had no idea what Phane might do to him.
“Good … you do know him. I thought we might have a chat, just the three of us,” Phane said, snapping his fingers.
Both doors swung open, revealing Hector, beaten up and broken-spirited, flanked by two soldiers.
“Come in, sit down, have something to eat,” Phane said jovially.
Hector moved woodenly, as if he was just going through the motions. He sat and ate without looking up.
“Tell me, Hector, was it you who sent that stalker demon after me?” Phane asked, leaning in with interest. “It caused quite a bit of excitement, killed almost a hundred of my soldiers.”
Hector looked up, his eyes sunken, heavy dark bags underneath them.
“Honestly, sending that demon to kill you was an afterthought,” Hector mumbled. “It wasn’t really about you at all.”
Phane’s eyes flashed with anger, he started to raise his hand toward Hector, but then reined in his ire, taking a deep breath before speaking again.
“If killing me wasn’t your purpose, then what exactly did you hope to accomplish?”
“I wanted to kill Hazel the same way she killed my brother,” Hector said.
Phane sat back, smiling boyishly. “Ah … vengeance. Now we’re getting somewhere. I understand vengeance.” He looked at Isabel meaningfully. She ignored him.
“So you sacrificed the witch and commanded the demon to kill me just as she had sacrificed your brother to kill whom, exactly?”
“One of the Sin’Rath,” Hector said. “I don’t know which one.”
“And all of this took place in Siavrax Karth’s ancient fortress at the center of the swamp, yes?”
Hector nodded.
“Where you assisted Lady Reishi in retrieving a bone from the long-dead Goiri.”
“Don’t tell him any more,” Isabel said.
“Don’t be foolish, Isabel. Can’t you see, he’s a broken man. He knows what will happen if he resists.”
“Don’t listen to him, Hector.”
“I’ve already lost everything, Phane. Why don’t you just kill me and have done with it?” Hector said, his voice a monotone, devoid of emotion.
“You see there, Isabel? Broken,” Phane said, holding out his hand toward Hector as if he were introducing him for a speech.
“What if I could help you get back some of what you’ve lost?” Phane asked, leaning forward with genuine excitement.
“You can’t,” Hector mumbled.
“Oh, but you’re wrong, Hector. I’m an arch mage. I can do many things.”
Hector looked up, frowning, a spark of hope and interest in his eye for the first time since he’d arrived.
“Don’t listen to him, Hector,” Isabel said, leaning forward and putting her hand on his forearm. “He’s a liar. No good will come from bargaining with him.”
Hector’s brow fell and he looked down at the table again.
“That’s quite enough from you, Isabel. I’d like you to sit there quietly now. Can you do that for me?”
“What do you think?”
Phane smiled insincerely, raising his hand toward her, pressing her into her chair with his magic and binding her wrists and ankles to the arms and legs of the chair. She tried to protest but found that she couldn’t speak-she could try, but no noise came out.
“Now, isn’t that better?”
She struggled in vain for several moments, finally stopping because Phane was enjoying it too much.
“Now, where were we? Oh yes, I can help you, Hector. If you help me.”
“Horace is dead,” Hector said with a shrug.
“I just so happen to know a thing or two about death,” Phane said. “For example, most people believe that death is final … and yet, it isn’t. For the right price, anything is possible, even bringing back the dead.”
Isabel wanted to scream, to shout, to shake Hector, but she couldn’t move or speak … she could only watch, horrified by what was taking place right before her.
“You could bring my brother back?” Hector asked, a spark of hope now fully ablaze in his eyes.
“Yes,” Phane said.
“How? How is that even possible?”
“As with anything involving magic, it’s possible because we will it to be possible and reality bends to our will. The real question is, do you have the will to bring your brother back from the dead?”
Isabel felt sick as Hector leaned forward, all vestige of his malaise replaced with blind and reckless hope burning in his eyes.
“I’ll do whatever you ask.”
Phane smiled like the sunrise.
“Good, let’s start with a conversation. Tell me about your experiences in the swamp and the fortress. Take your time; don’t leave anything out.”
Isabel closed her eyes in defeat when Hector started recounting their journey together, step by step, in detail. He told Phane everything from Hazel’s hidden sanctuary to the threats they faced along the way to how the fortress was laid out, where they entered and what they found within.
Phane was particularly interested in the crystal chamber, questioning Hector extensively about it. He took note of the cave-in blocking the room with the Goiri bones and the traps in the black-and-white room.
He seemed especially pleased to learn that Trajan had taken a large Goiri bone and was hiding somewhere in the jungle.
After Phane had thoroughly questioned Hector about every aspect of the journey, he sat back and took a few moments to digest what he’d learned.
“Here’s what I propose,” he said, smiling at Hector. “You will accompany an expedition force of adequate size to the fortress, where you will help them retrieve the remains of both your brother and the Goiri. When you return, I will raise your brother from the dead.”
“Bargain struck,” Hector said, standing and holding out his hand to Phane.
Isabel fought back tears as Phane escorted Hector to the door and saw him off, patting him on the back on his way out. After he’d gone, Phane released the spell holding her in the chair.
“You bastard!” she shouted, surging to her feet. “You lying bastard!”
“Really, Isabel, what do you expect? He was so ripe for the picking,” Phane said, chuckling. “People are never more susceptible to deceit than when they’re desperate. Did you see the moment? The moment when he turned? His eyes came alight and he suddenly had perfect clarity. It was … delicious. Soon, Isabel, you’ll have that kind of clarity as well.”
Isabel had never felt so powerless in her whole life. She wanted to kill Phane where he stood, strike him down without mercy, but she couldn’t and she knew it. Worse, from the look on his face, he knew it too and reveled in it.