'Ebenfar was the ancient kingdom ruled by Verraketh, the Shadowking,' the mage explained. 'Think of the words spoken by the two ghosts. The shade of Talek Talembar warned that a new king would rise to take the place of the old. And Kera's ghost warned Mari not to let Caledan ascend a throne.' He smoothed a wrinkle from his long purple vest. 'Now that he has the Shadowstar, Caledan will journey to Ebenfar, to rule as the new shadowking from Verraketh's throne.'
Mari shivered. 'If Caledan's transformation won't be complete until he sits upon Verraketh's throne, then he isn't a shadowking yet,' she said fiercely. 'I'm going a him, to stop him before he reaches Ebenfar.'
'You will not go alone,' Morhion said solemnly. 'But there is a problem.' He took a deep breath. 'I do not know where Ebenfar is. We can follow Caledan's trail, as we have been doing, but we have little chance of reaching Ebenfar before him.'
Mari's heart sank. Morhion knew so much-she simply assumed he would also know the location of Verraketh's ancient kingdom. She shook her head in despair. Now what were they to do?
A chill gust of air blew through the chamber, ruffling the tapestries and causing the chamber's oil lamps to gutter crazily. In the center of the room, a dark figure materialized out of thin air. It was a man, clad in ornate armor as black as polished onyx. Clearly, he was not alive. His eyes smoldered like hot cinders, and Mari could see dimly through the vaporous substance of his body.
'Serafi!' Morhion choked on the word.
Mari stared at Morhion. Serafi-that was the name the dark spirit with whom, years ago, the mage had forged a pact to save Caledan's life. The others gaped at the dusky spirit in horror, except for Kellen, whose gaze was calm and interested.
'Why have you come to me?' Morhion said hoarsely. 'Why here, and why now?'
The spectral knight seemed to absorb all the light in the room. 'I have come because it is clear you are far too stupid to complete your quest without my help,' Serafi hissed. 'And complete it you must, so that I can claim my due.'
'How can I possibly afford any more of your help, Serafi?'
Morhion sneered. 'Oh, indeed, you cannot,' the spirit intoned with sinister mirth.
'So, in my generosity, I will give it to you freely. The lost kingdom of Ebenfar lies in the center of High Moor. Journey there. I will come to you from time to time, to guide you. Now go. And remember, I will always be near.' With a blast of charnel house air, the spirit vanished.
A last, a rattled Cormik spoke. 'What, in the name of all that's holy, was that?'
'The spirit Serafi has little to do with holiness,' Morhion replied darkly. He cast a glance at Mari. For a moment, she thought she detected fear in his eyes. Then his face grew cool and impassive, his mask in place once more. 'I will explain later,' he went on. 'Right now, we must ready ourselves for our journey to the High Moor.' Purple dusk was upon them as they gathered with their horses outside a tent-stable on the edge of Soubar. They dared not wait until morning to leave. Ferret had see the Shadowstar in his treasure room yesterday. That meant Caledan was only a single day ahead of them. With the help of the eerie Serafi, they might have a chance of beating him to Ebenfar. Once there, Mari was not certain how they would get the Shadowstar away from Caledan. But get it they must, so Kellen could cast the spell Morhion had discovered in the Mal'eb'dala and stop Caledan's horrible transformation.
Ferret threw a saddlebag and bedroll onto the back of a skittish roan stallion and mounted alongside the others. Morhion gave him a piercing look. 'Just what do you think you're doing?'
'Going with you,' Ferret replied nonchalantly. Caledan is my friend, too, you know.' A sharp light glinted in his beady eyes. 'Besides, I imagine there's all sorts of lost treasure in Ebenfar.'
Both Cormik and Jewel were flabbergasted.
'But you can't simply leave your business like this!'
Jewel protested. 'An underworld empire doesn't run itself, love. Surely you know that.'
'I truly hate to say this, but Jewel is right,' Cormik added. 'Who's going to take care of all your operation while you're gone?'
'Actually,' Ferret said matter-of-factly, 'I was rather hoping you two would.'
The effect this had on the two crime lords was astonishing.
Mari had never before seen either of them at loss for words. When at last they found their tongues, it was to protest vehemently, but Ferret refused to take no for an answer. At last the two agreed, not entirely with reluctance. Clearly they were more than a little excited by the notion of running someone else's thieving empire.
'Think of it,' Cormik said with relish. 'All the fun without any of the responsibility!'
'Don't get carried away, love,' Jewel said dryly. 'I'm sure Ferret would like it if some of his empire actually remained intact by the time he returns.'
'Oh, bother!' Cormik said petulantly. 'I can see you're going to be a stick-in-the-mud. Well, my dear, sour shrew, I'm not going to let you spoil my fun.'
'We'll have lots of fun,' Jewel countered dangerously. 'As long as we do things my way, my sweet, bloated simpleton.'
The two fell to eager scheming about which duties would be whose. Ferret guided his horse toward Mari, nodding toward Jewel and Cormik. 'So how long have they been in love?' he asked softly.
Mari gaped at him. Love? What was Ferret talking about? Yet even as she was about to dismiss this as an impossibility, she realized the truth of it. She had been so caught up in the search for Caledan that she had been blind to what was happening in front of her eyes. Now, as she looked at the two crime lords, it seemed comically obvious. They bent their heads near as they spoke, touching hands, and even as they hurled caustic insults at each other, their eyes glowed with affectionate mischief. 'I'm not certain,' Mari murmured. 'But I'm glad they found each other.'
It was time to go. They bid a warm farewell to Jewel and Cormik, then turned to ride into the gathering gloom. Suddenly Mari raised a hand. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. 'Get back into the tent,' she hissed. Such was her tone that the others did not argue. Mari watched through a thin gap in the canvas as a lone figure appeared on a distant rise, moving toward the sprawling tent city. Even before she saw his face, she guessed who he was. When he drew near enough for her to catch a glint of two glowing amber eyes, there could be no doubt. Her heart contracted in terror when the tall, leann man paused. He seemed to sniff the air. Then, swifly, he loped toward the heart of town, disappearing from view.
Mari breathed a sigh of relief.
'I was afraid this would happen,' she whispered. 'You were afraid what would happen?' Morhion asked. She swallowed hard. 'The Harpers have sent one of their Hunters after us. Or perhaps after Caledan. It doesn't really make a difference.'
'A hunter?' Ferret asked. 'Maybe he can catch a few pheasants for our stew pot.'
'He's not that kind of hunter, Ferret,' Mari replied darkly. 'People are his usual prey, not animals. I've heard of this particular Hunter. His name is K'shar, and he's a half-elf. I've also heard that no quarry has ever escaped him.'
'And just what does he do when he catches his quarry?' Ferret asked nervously. 'Use your imagination.'
'Oh. I was afraid you would say that.'
'It looks as though this K'shar is just arriving in Soubar,' Cormik said. He turned to Jewel. 'What do say we arrange a few interesting diversions for him, make certain that he doesn't leave town quickly?'
'A wonderful idea, love,' Jewel purred. 'I have a few ideas you might find interesting…'
Despite her new worries, Mari managed to smile. It was clear that the rotund crime lord and the older, sultry masterthief were going to make an effective-and deadly-duo.
'Let's go find Caledan,' she said.
Morhion, Ferret, and Kellen followed her out of the tent, into the deepening night.
Hooves clattering against loose scree, Mista scrambled the last few feet out of the rocky defile and onto a windswept ridge. Caledan pulled gently on the reins bringing her to a halt.
'There it is, Mista,' he said quietly. 'The High Moor.'
The mare snorted softly. A vast wasteland stretched before them, marching toward the distant horizon in
