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5 | His Risk

Zayne

Together, they shifted. The Shades moved. The horde attacked the wrong ship.

This wasn’t right. They were supposed to wantme. My plan depended on that.

Ignoring me, the pillar shifted, expanding with arms that moved toward the merchant’s ship. Shades dropped onto the deck. The crew and mercenaries fought, but that horde…

Searching for a reason, I slipped into the surface of the Underworld, bringing forth the lens of death. I reached for deadened minds. I sought the Gray General.

It was dark in the Underworld. I floated in the void, a subtle current pulling me downward, deeper toward final death. A light, distant like a moon, cast a gray gradient from life above.

While I lost perspective of the Living Realm, the Shades became easier to see. They formed a mass, dark phantoms overlapping and condensing, a web of control linking the individuals to the single Gray General. Threads bound them tight.

A stronger connection rose from the Gray General, disappearing into the distance. It was like a rope, woven from weaker threads. Presumably, it connected Inarus to the Gray General, but since the necromancer was far away, the cord would have limited impact. The Gray General would rely more on old commands than direct control.

They simply pursued the being with the most magic first. Which should have been me.

Except… there was something or someone brighter, bolder. They were like a star, pulsating with the power of their light, outshining me.

The Shades weren’t pursuing me because I wasn’t the best target. There was someone else, and they lured the Shades to the merchant’s vessel.

My heart raced. Good people were aboard that ship, and too many had already died at Inarus’s hand.

And Ayla.

She had made me laugh.

At least she had the handkerchief. She seemed strong and clever. Would it be enough? I couldn’t afford to take the chance.

I rose to join the living and pointed to the ship. The Shades. “Pursue them.”

“Looks pretty monstrous to me,” Vanessa replied dryly, obeying all the same. “For the record, I think you’re insane.”

“It’s possible.”

We stared at the kraken formed from Shades. I had only seen the Shades on land, while in Gloom. I’d failed to imagine how terrifying they would be at sea.

Vanessa’s eyes were wide. She had seen this before and had tried to describe it, to warn me. “Different day, same tricks,” she mumbled.

“Looks like an effective tactic.”

“Unfortunately. So what’s your plan?”

“Move us as close as you safely can. Watch my body. I’ll be away, commanding them from the… the…”

“The Underworld?” she asked.

I nodded. It was still hard to say. To acknowledge what I was.

“I’ll take care of the ship,” she replied with uncharacteristic seriousness.

I sank into the Underworld, committing myself to the vision, and the details sharpened. Dark tentacles flowed, the undead moving in unnatural synchrony, tugging the ship into the kraken’s embrace.

I located the Gray General. They were easy to spot in the center of the web. They shifted from the base of the pillar, riding upward. Soon, they would board the ship.

I sought the bright light again, scanning for the source that drew the Shades to the merchant’s ship. It belonged to one of the archers—