lessons, teaching her how to fly, hunt, fight, speak, and think like a dragon. Alexander encouraged her to spend time with her mother and the rest of the dragons whenever possible. He’d grown so fond of her, but he also understood with painful clarity that she would have to remain on the dragon isle when he left, for her own good as well as his.
Once Alexander had mastered a static projection of himself, he started working on a moving projection. That was much more difficult at first, there was so much to think about, so many parts to focus on, until he discovered the secret. It wasn’t about seeing each part and coordinating them together, it was about visualizing the whole and seeing it clearly in his mind’s eye. After that, he started to make progress much more quickly. Within a few weeks, he could create an image of himself that was indistinguishable from his real body, make it walk, talk, and behave as if it were really him.
He tried several other images, but found that each required such focus that it would take just as long to master them as it did to master an image of himself. While an illusion of a dragon or a revenant might be useful, he decided to start with something more simple for his next illusion—a ball of light. He reasoned that being able to produce light would be the most useful illusion he could learn, even if it wasn’t terribly frightening.
On many occasions, he tried to project his illusions while in a normal frame of mind, but he simply couldn’t envision the necessary detail to create a projection unless he was in a meditative state. His newfound power wouldn’t be very useful in a fight, but he was sure it could be put to effective use, especially if he could learn how to project his illusions while using his clairvoyance.
He didn’t speak of it openly, mostly out of a superstitious fear that voicing his hopes would prevent them from coming to fruition. He didn’t even try for the longest time, until one day, he realized that he hadn’t looked in on Isabel for days. She was nearly to Karth the last time he’d visited her, but that had been some time ago.
He’d gotten so caught up with his own work that he’d forgotten to check on her. With a feeling of terrible guilt, he slipped into the firmament and went to her. When he found her traveling through the jungle, unarmed and guarded by soldiers of Karth, it was such a shock that he slammed back into his body.
It took almost an hour to calm himself enough to reenter the firmament and go back to her. He followed her for an hour, periodically trying to manifest an illusion of himself and failing each time. She was talking with the leader of the unit of soldiers about the jungle, trying to learn everything she could about the new environment she found herself in.
The leader’s tone was respectful, yet firm. Mostly, his colors reassured Alexander that his wife wasn’t in any immediate danger, at least not from the soldiers she was traveling with. The jungle was another matter.
When he returned to his body, he lay staring at the ceiling for several minutes, trying to decide how to proceed.
“Isabel’s been taken by the House of Karth,” he said.
“What do they want with her?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know, but I get the impression she’s not in any immediate danger, although that could change once they get wherever it is they’re going.”
“Maybe she’s trying to form an alliance,” Jack said.
“Probably, but Karth has been ruled by tyranny for centuries on both sides. The man she’s traveling with is honorable, but I doubt the people he answers to are.”
“She’s resourceful,” Jack said. “Remember how she turned her capture by the Reishi Coven into a triumph. She could do the same here.”
“I don’t doubt her,” Alexander said, “not for a minute, but she’s all alone in hostile territory. She had Abigail at the fortress island.”
“Did you try to project an illusion through your clairvoyance?”
“Yeah, but I failed,” Alexander said. “Although, I think with some practice, I’ll succeed. In the meantime, I’m going to send her some help. Hector, Horace, prepare to leave for Karth.”
“But who will protect you, Lord Reishi?” Hector asked.