“I’m not sure what good that’ll do him,” Isabel said. “All of the men here are completely charmed by the Sin’Rath. I don’t see why Phane’s men won’t succumb just as easily.”
“Because he’s sending women,” Alexander said. “Except for three wraithkin, the entire force, five hundred strong, is all women, very well trained and very well equipped women.”
“Oh … that changes things,” Isabel said.
“They’ll be here in a week or so, and when they get here, the Sin’Rath are going to have their hands full. I also spoke with the sovereigns about them. They’re a lot more dangerous than I thought. Turns out they’re descended from the union of a demon called a succubus and the last Wizard King of Karth, a man named Siavrax. He led the Isle of Karth during the Reishi War, but it doesn’t sound like he was much better than Malachi.
“Apparently, Siavrax turned to the netherworld in an attempt to even the odds against the Reishi. Malachi called him the second most powerful necromancer in the Seven Isles, after himself, of course.”
“Of course,” Isabel said.
“Siavrax specialized in creating hybrid creatures to use as weapons against the Reishi. He’s actually the one who created the gorledons.
“In one of his more desperate moments, he summoned Sin’Rath, the Succubus Queen, to use against Malachi, but Siavrax succumbed to her seductive charms instead. Sin’Rath bore him a half-breed daughter, then vanished into the swamp for decades. Once his half-breed daughter matured, mother and daughter returned to kill him.
“This is where it gets interesting. When his daughter killed him, she consumed his link to the firmament and became the first witch of the Sin’Rath Coven. Worse, she inherited her mother’s ability to charm men. Malachi immediately saw the threat they posed and sent none other than Prince Phane to banish Sin’Rath.”
“But why didn’t she just charm him, too?” Isabel asked.
“Azugorath,” Alexander said. “Malachi summoned the Wraith Queen and used her in much the same way that Phane is using her, but instead of giving Phane unnatural abilities, she simply protected him from the influence of other demons.”
“That explains how Phane got the idea for his wraithkin,” Isabel said.
“Yeah, and it worked then, too. Phane banished Sin’Rath, but her daughter got away,” Alexander said. “Her descendants are the Sin’Rath witches of today. After a bit of prodding, I got Malachi to offer some speculation on the matter. He thinks the Sin’Rath want to kill Phane and consume his link to the firmament, so they can summon their mother.”
“As much as I like the killing Phane part, I don’t want these crazy witches to have his power,” Isabel said.
“No,” Alexander said. “So here’s where Siavrax might have saved us. After his failure with Sin’Rath, he supposedly created a creature he called a Goiri.”
“The thing the witches were talking about,” Isabel said.
Alexander nodded. “Malachi says the creature was rumored to nullify magic anywhere in close proximity. Unfortunately, it also proved to be completely insane and uncontrollable. So much so that Siavrax sealed it up in the hidden facility where he created it, and left it to die.”
“So how does that help us?” Isabel asked.
“Apparently, Malachi believes that the power to nullify magic was bound up in its bones. I found the fortress, but when I got close to the chamber where I think it died, I was suddenly back in my body on Tyr. I believe the Goiri’s bones are still there.”
“We could kill Phane,” Isabel said, suddenly excited.
“More importantly, we could destroy the Nether Gate,” Alexander said.
“That too. So what’s the catch?”
“That mountain is crawling with all sorts of unnatural creatures,” Alexander said. “The people of Karth say the swamp surrounding it is haunted, but it’s really just full of things that Siavrax created and abandoned when the Goiri didn’t work out.”
“So it’s dangerous,” Isabel said. “This is our chance, we have to take it.”
“Even if you can escape this place, you can’t go alone,” Alexander said. “I want you to find a place to hide until I can come for you. We’ll go together.”
“I don’t think there’s time,” Isabel said. “Phane knows where I am. I won’t get a better chance to escape than when he attacks. After that, I’ll be on the run. I’m not sure I’d be able to hide until spring. Also, Azugorath is eating away at me. It’s getting harder and harder to hold out against her, especially after the torture.”
Alexander nodded, sighing with resignation. “Hector and Horace are on Karth. I