Sworn To Transfer

that the Emperor had pointed to.

“Do you mean...?”

“They burned the men until they were nothing but ash and then tied their souls to the remains. I called in the Ashlord to confirm.”

At that name Maree turned pale as snow; the Ashlord was one of the most feared men in existence, a necromancer with command over the dead and dying.

“I thought he was ordered to the battlefields of the North.” A question that was really a statement. As close as she could get to reprimanding the man who ruled the entire empire.

If the emperor noticed the reprimand, he didn’t say anything about it. “Extraordinary circumstances,” he said in a voice that was too quiet.

Pursing his lips, the emperor continued, “Furthermore, the Ashlord was quite clear: he’d never encountered anyone with the power over the living and dead like this. Other than himself.”

“There’s another with the power to reanimate the dead and their souls?”

The emperor shook his head. “As far as we can tell, this person is only able to manipulate souls. They are living dead only in the sense that their souls have been trapped in the ashes of their corporeal forms.”

A quiet pause as Maree Amber took this in. “Are you saying a Shadowwalker has risen?”

“I had hoped otherwise, but—”

“Is this a killer that you wish the Shadow Council to remove?”

“Rather a systematic murder that I wish you to solve. All of these bodies come from the village of Borden ten miles west of the Ameles Forest,” he said.

“May the heavens protect us,” she whispered.

“They were sent as a warning from the kith that if the killings among their people don’t stop, the deaths of humans will continue.”

“Does anyone else know about this?” she asked quietly.

“I’ve brought my son here. He will go with you to the Ameles Forest. This must end before more blood is shed.”

She nodded, and as he turned away she asked, “Sire, does Sebastian know? About the Shadow Council?”

He gave a heavy sigh and replied, “Not yet. It will be time soon, but that time has yet to come.”

*****

In the palace the Prince Heir in question was staring down at a book on the legends of the kith. For centuries researchers had learned what they could about the inhuman races that lived in the empire, but most were reclusive creatures and preferred to keep their secrets. The books held drawings, diagrams, and written backgrounds on all those who had been catalogued but he had yet to find a creature who killed in the manner of the ‘shadow man’ described in Meres Kinsight’s missive.

Perhaps if he could see the wounds up close it would be easier to diagnose. Perhaps they were wrong and it was a form of mass hysteria; there were more than enough potent flora and fauna in the Ameles Forest to cause such a disturbance. Shutting the book with an angry sigh, Sebastian rubbed his tired eyes and sat back. He’d been at this since dawn, when his father had shown him the human village that had been massacred and given him the letters to read.

He knew full well that if the kith murders weren’t solved soon, then this could blow up into another mage-kith war. In fact, he was surprised news had yet to get out about deaths of all of the villagers in Borden. It had been an act of retribution, and the only reason he thought hysteria hadn’t spread was because the bodies had been dumped on the emperor’s doorstep—literally. The guardians on watch had been smart enough to secure the scene and await orders from the commander of the Imperial Guard. It had only taken one look to assure the Imperial healers than every person in that courtyard was long dead, and then the remains had been whisked away underground until it could be determined where the bodies came from, who they were, and why they were sent.

Now it was up to Sebastian to figure out how to stop it. His father was deploying a regiment—ostensibly to guard the Prince Heir outside the capital of Sandrin, but really to ensure that no skirmishes erupted between the human settlers and the kith. He packed up a book and grabbed several maps of the region. It was time to meet with the regiment commander.

As Prince Heir Sebastian was heading through the palace into the military barracks, the regiment commander was making some decisions of his own.

*****

Regiment Commander Gabriel Somner stood at the head of the table poring over a map of the empire of Algardis. It was richly detailed with depictions of natural occurrences, major villages, and cities, as well as the largest thoroughfares. To his left stood Stephanie, a nervous look on her face. To his right stood Christian, his younger brother.

“Even if I wanted to take you with me, what’s so important that the two of you need to come on an official Imperial visit to the Ameles Forest? Hell, there’s nothing out there but trees and kith.”

“Perhaps I just wanted to spend some quality time with my brother,” Christian said, giving him a winning smile.

“I have seventy-seven dead men, women, and children, plus a regiment of men heading into uncharted territory,” he replied with no warmth.

Christian dropped his pretenses. “We have someone inside—a girl named Ciardis Weathervane. And quite frankly we fear her powers might erupt just when they aren’t needed.”

“Curious,” said a voice from the doorway. “Many people, including a certain dragon, have Ciardis Weathervane on their minds recently.”

Three heads snapped up from the map, and instantly Gabriel Somner leapt out from behind the table and stood at attention in front the Prince Heir to the realm, Sebastian Athanos Algardis. Sebastian acknowledged him with a quick, “At ease, Commander.”

“The question is why you are so interested in Ciardis?” Sebastian said with piercing green eyes fixed on Christian.

Taking a deep breath and once more ruing the responsibility that came with being an older brother to a headstrong man like Christian, Gabriel said, “Forgive me, sir. This is Christian Somner, my brother, and beside him stands Stephanie Copier.”

Christian gritted his teeth just before he spoke. There was no good way to tell the Prince Heir that the mage who’d saved his inheritance was being set up as the conduit for a war, particularly if the Prince Heir was also sixteen and just entering a growth spurt. Young boys never tended to react well. It would help if he knew if the boy was infatuated with her or simply interested in her as a powerful ally. Half the courts couldn’t figure out their relationship, and the betting odds in the parlors said infatuation.

Christian wasn’t so sure.

Deciding that there was no time like the present, Christian tested the waters. He told the Prince Heir of their adventures, of the girl’s actions in court, and of the dragon’s interest in her as sarin. He watched as the Prince Heir’s face revealed no emotion. He waited for surprise to kick in.

But he was the one who was surprised.

“And?” asked Sebastian crisply. “All of that is very nice, but a good portion of that can also be attributed to an inept mage-in-training. Particularly one with Ciardis’s powers. Why would her small pushes start a war?”

Sebastian was eyeing the man with keen interest. He could see Christian Somner sizing him up like all of his opponents and allies did. They usually came away with the conclusion that he was young, excitable, and foolish. They were always wrong.

“Milord,” said Gabriel Somner solemnly, “I apologize; my brother has woven quite a tale, but I’m sure nothing of the sort is happening.” Gabriel had his private doubts on the matter, but nothing of substance that he could bring as evidence to the Prince Heir’s attention.

Stephanie cleared her throat. “If I may speak?” All three male heads turned to the woman who up until this moment had been silence incarnate.

Stepping forward at Sebastian’s nod, she leaned over the map spread out and pointed at a town on the