“I will slaughter your entire coven and rid the world of your taint once and for all, and then kill the remaining rabble from the House of Karth in the bargain. Even better, you will deliver Isabel into my hands and give me the power to exact my vengeance against my dear cousin here. And the most delicious part of it all is that you have delivered the means to accomplish all of this simply by coming here.”
Clotus looked alarmed, even through the pain of Phane’s torture.
“Once again, you and your sisters have failed to fully think through the potential consequences of your actions, preferring to believe that your plans will unfold flawlessly. Even young Alexander here isn’t so foolish.”
“What are you talking about, Phane?” Alexander said.
He looked up, smiling warmly. “A doppelganger spell creates a link between two people, a link that I can use to locate Isabel, and a number of my enemies with her. So you see, the Sin’Rath have unwittingly played right into my hands. Soon, I will send a force of adequate strength, one uniquely suited to this very purpose, to eliminate the offspring of the Succubus Queen Sin’Rath, end the line of Karth, and collect my future bride.
“With Isabel at my side, you will fall and those you protect will have no choice but to kneel before me or be crushed. Come spring, my Lancers will break your father’s defensive line and swarm into northern Ruatha leaving nothing but blood and fire in their wake. This war will soon be over and I will assume my rightful place as the Sovereign of the Seven Isles.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Phane,” Alexander said as he faded back into the firmament, reappearing next to Isabel. She was curled into a ball, struggling to breathe.
“Don’t give in to it, Isabel,” he said. “Phane is just trying to make you angry so Azugorath can exert greater influence over you. You have to fight it.”
She nodded tightly.
“I wish I could stay with you.”
“Go,” she managed through clenched teeth.
“I love you,” he said as he vanished.
He opened his eyes and sat up gasping from the pain, immediately feeling for blood dripping from his nose and ears. Finding none, he eased back into his bed and closed his eyes, willing the throbbing in his head to subside.
Chapter 17
Later that evening, Alexander went in search of Ixabrax and found him hiding in a cave accessible only through a deep fissure in the glacier north of Whitehall. The dragon was coiled up, sleeping fitfully. He was injured, deep gashes oozing blood along his side.
“Ixabrax,” Alexander said, after his projection appeared.
The dragon opened one catlike eye and stared at Alexander.
“You have made a fatal mistake, Human,” Ixabrax said. “I’m hungry and in no mood to hunt.”
Faster than a blink, he snapped at Alexander, his fangs passing through the illusion and falling on empty air.
“What wizardry is this?” the dragon said, looking about warily.
“I’m Alexander Reishi. My sister freed you from your bondage and now she’s in need of your help.”
“And here you stand before me without standing before me,” Ixabrax said. “While I am in her debt, I’m in no condition to help her.”
“How were you injured?”
“I tried to free my sire,” Ixabrax said. “I bit down on his collar with all my strength and yet it held. He did this to me, though he could have done far worse. Even as we fought, I knew he was resisting the power of his collar with all his might.”
“If I can help you heal, will you help me free Abigail?”
Ixabrax’s eyes narrowed. “How would you heal me?”
“In truth, I’m not sure yet,” Alexander said.
Ixabrax chuckled, a deep rumbling coming from his belly.
“Another honest human,” the dragon said, “you and your sister are indeed cut from the same cloth. If you help me heal, then I will help you free your sister but only if you give me your word that you will then help me free my family. Her sword can cut the collars that bind them. I know of nothing else that can.”
“Bargain struck,” Alexander said. “Look for my people within the week.”
“How will I know them?”
“They’ll call you by name,” Alexander said, fading into the firmament.
His head hurt when he returned to his body, but less so. As he’d hoped, practice and experience were beginning to expand his ability to project an illusion over such vast distances.
By dark, his headache had subsided entirely. Not long