colors, he could see the darkness, but he couldn’t warn Aedan.
Rankosi approached the shapeshifted dragon, smiling.
“I’ll tell you where she is,” he said. “All I ask is that you spare my life.”
Alexander felt a sense of chilling helplessness penetrate his entire being. Rankosi took a step. Then another. One final step and he was close enough. He reached out and touched Aedan, clutching at his arm.
The dragon frowned with sudden anger, reaching for him, but it was too late. Rankosi flowed from the crewman into Aedan.
Alexander watched an epic struggle transpire in the colors of the two beings, but the shade won out, finally subjugating Aedan’s free will and possessing the dragon completely.
He looked up at Alexander and smiled wickedly. “Oh, this is much better,” he said, grabbing the frightened crewman by the throat, lifting him off the deck and leaping onto the railing before launching into the air over the ocean, transforming into a dragon in moments. Still holding the crewman by the throat, he flipped the man’s legs into his mouth and bit them off at the waist before casting his screaming torso into the ocean.
Aedan, possessed by Rankosi, gained altitude and distance from the ship where Lacy Fellenden was being held captive.
Alexander slipped back into the firmament, then returned to the Wizard’s Den.
“Little One, will you tell Bragador that I have grave news.”
“Yes, My Love,” Chloe said, floating up and kissing him on the cheek before spinning into a ball of light and vanishing.
Bragador arrived several minutes later.
“Thank you for coming,” Alexander said.
“What news?”
“Aedan has been possessed by the shade Rankosi,” he said.
“Impossible!” Bragador said.
“I just watched it happen,” Alexander said.
“You are mistaken,” Bragador said, “and I intend to prove it.” She turned on her heel and left.
***
“I’m not sure if I can do this,” Alexander said, more to himself than anyone.
“I believe in you, My Love,” Chloe said.
“You said the sovereigns were only speculating about Mindbender’s power transferring to you,” Jack said, “and even then, they didn’t know if you’d develop the same abilities the sword gave you. Maybe you’re trying to do the wrong thing.”
“Or maybe I just can’t make it work because I’m stuck in this bed,” Alexander said. “I just can’t seem to make myself believe I’m in a fight enough to project an illusion.”
“You’ve been trying for days, My Love,” Chloe said. “Maybe you should just rest for a while.”
“Maybe you’re right. I’m not getting anywhere, anyway,” he said, closing his eyes and relaxing into the bed that had become his home since his injury.
He relaxed his body and cleared his mind like he had so many times in the past prior to slipping into the firmament, but this time he simply let his mind wander, allowing the images to play across his mind’s eye. He thought of Isabel, trying to remember exactly what she looked like, her chestnut-brown hair, her piercing green eyes and her perfect smile. He missed her terribly, but after seeing her nightmares, he’d come to terms with her decision. She was trying to protect him even though it hurt her as much as it hurt him.
He was looking at her in his mind’s eye, seeing her in perfect detail, dressed in her riding armor, wearing her sword, the medallion of Glen Morillian around her neck, when he heard Jack gasp.
Alexander’s eyes snapped open, and for just a moment, barely a blink, Isabel was standing in the room looking at him … then she vanished. Alexander swallowed hard, his mind working furiously to comprehend what had just happened.
“Did you see her, too?” he asked.
Jack nodded.
“Lady Reishi appeared for just a moment, then vanished just as quickly,” Hector said.
“But she didn’t have any colors,” Alexander said, realization flooding into him. “She was just an illusion.”
“I don’t understand, My Love,” Chloe said.
“I’ve been going about this all wrong,” Alexander said. “I’ve been trying to make illusions the same way I did when I had Mindbender, but the sword depended on my mindset—I had to believe I was in a fight for it to work. What if that mindset was only necessary because the power was bound to a sword, a weapon?”
“So you’re saying you just projected that image of Isabel,” Jack said.
Alexander nodded. “I was thinking about her, trying to see her in my mind, and then she was here.”
“So you’ve just been doing it wrong,” Jack said.
“Seems so,” Alexander said. “I’m going to try again …” He looked to the door. “Anja’s coming.”