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“The glass sphere,” Aiden breathed, realizing the orb he held in that cave years ago was the partner to the sphere being shown before him now. He unconsciously reached for the shard hanging around his neck, but to his surprise, it wasn’t there.

Your possessions remain with your body, the dragon remarked, confusing Aiden more than he already was.

“But I’m standing right here,” he insisted, patting himself to be sure.

You are seeing what I want you to see, the dragon explained. Your real body is not here, unfortunately, as it was too damaged to hold your spirit any longer.

Aiden thought about that for a moment, and then came to a shocking realization. “Do you mean that I’m dead?” he asked dumbly.

After a fashion, yes. An unfortunate accident separated you from your body. You were wise to keep the shard of the scrying device with you, Aiden, for it was through it that I was able to witness your demise and retrieve your energy from the Aether.

“You’ve been watching me?” Aiden inquired.

In a limited fashion. The shard you carry around your neck carries only a fraction of the power required for a more direct link between us, though it was this that allowed me to intervene and bring your spirit here.

“So … I’m not really dead after all?” he asked, with a sliver of hope in his voice.

No, I caught you on your way past. I shall return you to your body and mend it enough to restore you to life. It is a shame that you broke the sphere, Aiden. Had it remained intact, we could accomplish great things together. As it happens, you will have to do this alone.

“Do what alone?” Aiden hedged, not liking the direction this conversation was heading, even as he was relieved to know that he was going to be all right.

You have many questions, Aiden, but your time here is nearly up. I cannot leave this place, yet there are important matters you must take care of for me.

Time works differently here than it does on the mortal plane. If you stay any longer, I fear your companions may not survive. Suffice to say, I serve a purpose here, and my time, too, is running short.

You will travel to Fairloch and find a man named Desmond. Speak my name, Salinder, to him, for he will have means of contacting me again.

“Wait, what do you mean—” Aiden began, but the scene before him was fading even as he spoke. His vision began to swim, and he felt fainter as each second passed. The dragon and the ground upon which it lay faded into the violet storm surrounding them, until both vanished altogether.

Aiden felt a sensation of falling a great distance, and the ground began to coalesce around him once more. This time it was much darker and far, far colder.

* * *

Aiden jolted awake, a throbbing pain in his head and a burning sensation upon his chest. He reached a hand up and pulled away the shard from its contact with his skin, for it was glowing red hot, leaving a small burn mark.

Glancing around, he was dismayed to see it was completely dark. A bitter wind howled across the frozen landscape, chilling him to the bone. His mind was still addled from his bizarre experience, but the memory of his demise was coming back to him faster than he would have liked.

Reflexively reaching a hand to his head, Aiden felt the place where he had been struck by the axe, only to find the weapon had been removed and the wound closed. His momentary relief was immediately overwhelmed by the realization that he was lying amidst a pile of bloodied corpses, half-covered by the snow, and his friends and allies were in trouble somewhere nearby.

Aiden slowly began to rise, keenly feeling the cold through his body. He wrapped the winter cloak tightly around himself and checked to make sure his gear was still intact. His armor was gouged in several places, but it would serve for the time being. His sword was gone, which didn’t come as a surprise, but made Aiden’s task that much more difficult.

Reaching into his backpack, he frantically fished around for anything that might come in useful and pulled out the strange pair of lenses, fixed to a leather strap. He remembered what they were, and recalled the night he had gone through the treasures of Ferrumgaard with Sayana.

A momentary feeling of dread overcame Aiden as he realized she too had been captured, despite his assuring her that he would protect her. She might well be suffering the most of them all. He quickly pulled the lenses over his head and was instantly able to see across the land around him, as if it were lit by a full moon.

The first problem solved, Aiden then rummaged around and pulled out the ornate enchanted scepter. If he’d remembered he had it, he might have chosen to leave it behind to save weight; but just as well, for now it might turn out to be the thing that saved them.

Setting aside the scepter, he retrieved the arcane scroll cases and opened one up. The lenses that allowed him to see in the dark didn’t provide light, however, so he couldn’t make out what was written on the scrolls. He briefly considering lighting a torch, but didn’t want to risk being spotted.

Girding himself for the journey across the frozen wastes, Aiden could see the heavy footsteps of over a dozen people in the snow, and knew he was on the right track. Yet the prospect of facing hundreds of Akoran warriors in order to free his friends weighed heavily on his mind.

Chapter Eighteen

He traveled for an hour and more across the snowy ground, with the bitter mountain winds assailing his every step. Tiny dots of light began to appear at the edge of Aiden’s enhanced sight — the campfires of the Akoran horde. There were at least thirty of them, and more appearing by the minute. He began to worry that Colt and the others had been taken into the middle of a vast encampment, yet as he continued on, the trail veered to skirt around the camp.

Movement could be seen amongst the campfires. Aiden surmised that only a few unlucky souls were forced to keep watch during the winter chill, which was the sort of good news he had been hoping for. His sight was better than anyone’s, and he was able to move around and keep the enemy at the edge of his vision, remaining undetected.

Aiden peered through his lenses at the scene before them, seeing two Akoran warriors huddled against the cold at the mouth of a cave. Several torches lit the area, and a large brazier flared with fire to help keep the two men warm. The heavy tracks Aiden had followed all this way led directly into the cave.

Aiden crept in closer, confident he was invisible to the guards for the time being. Getting past them would be a different matter, but thinking of invisibility gave him an idea. He retrieved the arcane scrolls he had found at Ferrumgaard from his pack and unfurled them as delicately as he could, being careful not to tear the ancient parchment. The light from the nearby fires was barely enough to read by, and he quickly scanned the contents.

His pulse quickened as Aiden leafed through the collection. The old wizard from Ferrumgaard had accumulated an assortment of incantations that would transform Aiden into a devastating combatant — for about fifteen minutes. Strength, armor, speed, and yes, even the power of invisibility was his to command.

The only problem was, he’d never tried this sort of thing before. Although he could read the cryptic language that guarded the secrets of wizards, one tiny slip-up could have disastrous results.

But first, he raised the scepter and once more practiced the odd inscriptions upon its length. He’d encountered most of the arcane markings in his research over the years, and it proved to be an easy study.

Much like the glove he had found in the mountains, the scepter was activated by a single command word, at which point interesting things would happen. What, exactly, he wasn’t sure.

With that out of the way, he took a deep breath and read out the incantation on the first scroll. The words sounded strange and exotic, but were infused with an essence that was difficult to describe, let alone understand.

As he reached the end of the scroll, the inscribed runes vanished from the parchment, which dissipated through his fingers into a pile of smoldering ash at his feet. Aiden assumed that was supposed to happen and continued with the next one.

He was halfway through reading out the arcane script when the parchment itself ignited with a flash, momentarily blinding him and causing an eruption of flame.

Aiden dropped the fiery parchment and flattened himself to the ground. He had definitely mispronounced something in that convoluted incantation, and might well have given away his position to the Akorans as a result. The guards nearby were looking around, as if unsure what they had seen; but they held their positions, which was both a good thing and a bad thing, as they were sure to be even more cautious now.

Aiden waited for them to relax back into their routine once more and went back to reading the scrolls one by one. After three more successful attempts, he looked down and noticed he couldn’t actually see his body anymore. He lifted his left hand in front of his face, yet it was completely transparent.

With rising confidence, he stood and began softly creeping towards the cave entrance. His heart thudded in his ears, for although he was truly invisible, the prospect of passing within a few feet of the two fierce guards set him on edge. He briefly thought about the footprints he was leaving behind, but it was dark enough that they wouldn’t see them until sunrise.

Aiden quickened his pace, keeping tight to the side of the hill into which the cave entrance was set. The Akoran guards were watching the darkness intently, no doubt keeping an eye out for any reoccurrence of the strange flash of light. Aiden was thus able to move past them without their noticing and over the final few yards, he held his breath in case they might hear his breathing.

The gusting wind must have helped cover any noise he had made, for he managed to get inside the cave without being noticed. Carefully drawing breath once more, he noticed a thin piece of torn white cloth on the ground and recognized it was part of one of the winter robes Pacian had gotten for them all.

The cave extended inward for ten yards beyond the entrance before branching off. There was no further sign of Akoran guards as yet, something Aiden was silently grateful for. Torches were placed every few yards along the length of the tunnel, making the place seem as bright as day to his enhanced sight.

He crept to the junction ahead, and after checking for signs of life, moved to the right. Perhaps it was the result of the terrible cold outside, or an after effect of the near-death experience he’d gone through, but he could barely stop shaking.

Gathering up his courage, Aiden delved deeper into the complex, battling the urge to rush inside before the power of his magic was played out. He had a distinct advantage, for while they couldn’t see him, Aiden was able to see everything around him as clear as day. Expecting some sort of rough-hewn cave, he was surprised to see the tunnel was more like a purpose-built underground complex, with walls made from some kind of metal which showed no sign of rust.

Storing this information away for later, he kept moving through the tunnel. He was growing uncertain as to whether this was the correct path when a faint echo of a woman’s scream could be heard to his right. With a feeling of dread, Aiden followed the sound through the twisting tunnels, certain that he would have become lost without it.

The air in the cave was becoming thick with smoke and the smell of roasted meat. Turning a corner, he spied several warriors in a large alcove, lounging around open fires in stone pits, and cutting chunks of meat from a deer carcass hanging from a spit over the flames.

They chuckled at the sounds of suffering from further in the complex, adding to Aiden’s growing rage. He longed to strike from the shadows and cut them down, but couldn’t risk being overwhelmed in a fight. He had to press on.

The sounds of men and women in distress grew closer as he turned a corner, setting Aiden’s neck hairs on end. Fearing the worst, he ran forward and bowled headlong into someone who had been crouched in the darkness.

Aiden recovered and brought his scepter up high, almost lashing out before he noticed familiar blond locks on the man’s head. Pacian, confused and bedraggled, also regained his footing. He looked around in near-panic, trying to figure out what had just hit him, with a dagger gripped tightly in one hand.

His leathers were torn, and he’d discarded his white cloak so he could hide in the darkness. He shivered in the freezing cold of the tunnels.

“Pacian,” Aiden whispered harshly, chafing at the delay. “Relax; it’s me, Aiden.”

Pacian turned pale and steadied himself against the wall. “Aiden? No, it can’t be,” he breathed. “I saw you die. Wait, are you a ... ghost? Are you haunting me?”

“No, I’m alive, just invisible,” Aiden assured him. “To keep a long story short, I found some magic back in Ferrumgaard.”

“Invisible? How … right, magic,” he muttered, clearly not thinking straight. “Look, the others are being held in cells about thirty yards further down this passage.”

Fear and exhaustion colored Pacian’s voice. “I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how to get past and break everyone out, but there are too many of them. Sneaking past a couple of cave guards was one thing, but I think there’s fifteen or so down there.

“The other men sent here with Duncan are down there as well, but they’re not moving.” His voice cracked and it sounded like he was at the end of his rope.

“Don’t worry Pace, I’ve got this,” Aiden whispered with growing confidence. “Follow me carefully, and when you see my signal, attack.”

“What signal?”

“I suspect it’ll involve bright light, and possibly some fire,” Aiden explained absently, not entirely sure what his scepter would do.

Another scream echoed along the tunnel, followed by what sounded like an axe cutting into flesh, prompting the boys into immediate action. Aiden took the lead, hoping that Pacian could figure out where he was and avoid accidentally stabbing him in the back.

The passage opened out into a larger chamber, with half a dozen torches positioned around the walls and cells with barred metal gates set on either side. There were five warriors standing outside one of the cells, two of them heaving the body of someone wearing the garb of a militiaman through a barred door. The flickering torchlight lit up the bodies of many other people lying dormant inside the cages, and a cold anger surged through Aiden’s blood.

Raising up the scepter, he aimed for the nearest warrior and spoke the command word. A brilliant beam of yellow light, as bright as the sun, sprang forth, striking the warrior’s back and cutting straight through to the other side. With the scepter’s light lighting him up like a bonfire, Aiden suddenly realized he was no longer invisible, but he had no further need of it anyway.

The scorched and blackened body of the Akoran warrior dropped to the ground, and the rest of his comrades stood there gaping at the grisly sight. Aiden spoke again, this time moving his arm in an arc to the left, catching all of them with the beam.

Their furs caught fire, and their howls could be heard echoing down the tunnel. One of them dropped to the ground, but the rest recovered from their momentary shock, drew their weapons, and charged at Aiden, who summoned his force shield and stood ready to meet their attack.

He took the first warrior’s axe on his shield while the other two moved to either side, swinging their axes with all of their strength. A layer of protective spectral armor Aiden had conjured with one of the scrolls flashed with blue light, absorbing most of the force behind the impacts.

Aiden brought the scepter down upon the exposed right arm of a warrior with a satisfying crack, and followed through by smashing him across the face with tremendous force, shattering the man’s cheekbone and dropping him to the ground. With the power of the strength incantation surging through his body, Aiden was as strong as three men.

Along with Pacian’s help, the fight was very much one-sided. Aiden discarded finesse and simply bashed through the defenses of his outmatched opponents and within seconds, most of them were on the ground, bleeding from a series of fatal injuries, while Pacian stabbed and slashed as he darted about in a manic fury.

Two of the men who had dropped bodies into a cell emerged, outraged that their comrades had been cut down so easily. Aiden held his ground as one of the brutes drew a sword — Colt’s massive sword — while his comrade hefted Sayana’s vythiric axe and moved to flank him.

Aiden kept his scepter leveled at the big man before him, making sure he had the warrior’s full attention. Along with the presence of his glowing shield, the Akorans seemed rattled, afraid of the presence of powerful magic.

When they were fully clear of the cell, Pacian crept up from behind and with one quick move, jumped on the larger warrior’s back and slit his throat. The giant staggered about, gasping for breath, while the other warrior turned and took a swing.

Pacian was too quick for him, though, already on the move. It gave Aiden a chance to smash him on the back of his head and drop him to the ground, while his companion slowly choked to death on his own blood a few yards away.

With the sounds of their battle echoing through the tunnels, it was inevitable others would come, and they arrived only moments after the big one stopped twitching. The newcomers had no idea what they were facing, and when six of them charged into the room, they were met with the blazing light of Aiden’s scepter, which almost cut them in half.

With the situation under control for the moment, Pacian grabbed the cell keys from one of the fallen men and rushed to the cells to release their friends. “Oh my god,” Aiden breathed as he stepped into the largest of the cells and saw a pile of at least ten bodies, all men from Bracksford and Coldstream who had been captured before the arrival of Aiden and the others.

His stomach tightened at the sight of several people he recognized lying dead, with their bodies showing signs of severe beatings.

“Is that Gavin from town?” Pacian choked, holding his forearm across his mouth. The young man who had stepped up to help protect Bracksford had apparently volunteered for this dangerous assignment, and along with his companions had been captured, beaten and killed.

Turning away from the grisly scene, Aiden saw Nellise in the same cell, chained to the bars and huddled in a corner with a look of horror on her face. Pacian dashed to her side and quickly unlocked the manacles holding her in place. Her body was wracked with sobs and after Pacian had freed her, he held her tightly.

Her gaze appeared locked on the face of another fallen guard, Claudia from Bracksford, who, like Gavin, had shown such courage in joining up.

“She was so brave and sweet,” Nellise said, barely able to speak as her body was wracked with turmoil. “How could they do this? How?” she asked, receiving no answer to her question.

On the other side of the cell was the prone form of Sayana, and for a heart-stopping moment, Aiden thought she might have met the same fate as the others. Quickly, he checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive, and was relieved when she groaned and stirred at his touch. He took off his heavy winter cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.

A “clang” against the bars drew his attention, and he saw Colt in the next cell, stripped to the waist and chained to a solid wooden chair which was now leaning against the bars, looking like he had been beaten within an inch of his life. Aiden set Sayana down against the wall and rushed to free the bloodied man from his imprisonment, grabbing the keys from Pacian on the way past while watching the entrance for sign of reinforcements.

“I don’t know how you survived that blow, Aiden,” Colt struggled to say through his broken and bloodied lips, “but you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

Aiden rattled the keys in the lock until it opened, then raised his scepter and brought it down hard on the rusty chains binding Colt to the chair, allowing the ranger to slump forward, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand.

Shrugging off Aiden’s attempts to help him up, the big man managed to stand, then staggered outside and kicked one of the Akorans lying on the ground.

Across the chamber where more bodies lay, Colt looked at two in particular. Both had been stripped and beaten during the course of their interrogation, and it wasn’t a pretty sight, but no one took it worse than Colt.

“Duncan, you poor bastard,” he groaned, recognizing his fellow rangers. Duncan was almost as large as Colt, and was lying next to a small woman with red hair. “And Sally — she deserved better than to go this way. She was too young to be on the front lines, the poor kid. None of these kids should have been here.”

“What happened to Sayana?” Aiden quietly asked.

“She tried to burn them when they brought her in,” Colt grunted, leaning up against the cell door as he wiped blood from his face. “Then they saw the tattoos all over her body, and knocked her out before she could do anything else. But Nellise, well, they shoved her in that cell and made her watch as they butchered our men, one by one.”

In the cell, Pacian was holding Nellise in both arms as she cried, clutching at the tiny halo-ringed sword of Kylaris hanging around her neck for support. It was then that she looked up and noticed Aiden for the first time, and suddenly held her breath, thunderstruck at his apparent return from the dead.

He wanted nothing more than to get them all out of here safely and never return, but there was only one way they were going to make it out alive.

“We have to finish what we started, or their lives will have been lost for nothing,” Aiden stated quietly.

“What are you going to do?” Pacian asked.

“End this,” he replied coldly. He was certain the enchantments he had invoked had a limited duration, and time was rapidly running out. At that moment, he felt like he could take on an army.

“I’m going to cut the head off this monster. Do you have any idea where Erag might be?” Aiden asked Pacian, who shook his head in reply.

“I know where to go,” Sayana whispered. “I will take you there, so that I may strike down Erag myself.”

“I too, will go,” said a deep voice from a nearby cell, across the way. Aiden turned and saw a heavyset figure standing there in the darkness, having watched the entire time. Aiden moved in for a closer look, unafraid of practically anything at the moment.

“Are you Morik Far-Eagle, the deposed chief of this band of savages?” Aiden asked, the insult intentional.

“I am, though I take no pride in their actions this day,” Morik replied sadly. “I wish to see Erag dead as much as you, though I doubt you believe me at this moment.” Aiden casually glanced behind him at the rest of his companions, conceding the point. “Erag is not the real problem, however,” Morik continued. “To free my people, you must eliminate our elder shaman, Tald Black-Tiger.”

“We met him,” Colt grunted.