Calling All Wraiths

Summoning and grounding the tower proved to be quite easy since we had the ashes from the Archmage. Ian was still uncomfortable with the idea of me being in the tower since I had been chained and tortured there. He and Aiden seemed to fear I might have some residual trauma from the event, and in actuality I think I might. I watched as Alathea went around each level of the tower, flicking her hands and opening up windows that had been sealed shut so that light poured in.

I stood in front of the wall there I had been chained and stared at the bindings there, remembering the feel of the cold metal on my skin. A shiver ran down my spine. I ran my hand over my arm where Romijeer had sliced into my skin and found myself trembling.

Are you all right? asked Voice.

I will be, I told him.

This place you are in, it looks familiar. You have bad memories here. His tone was hesitant.

It was the first time Voice seemed to have a connection to this world. Very bad memories actually.

Are you safe? he asked with concern.

Yes, the Mage who captured and tortured me here is now dead. His tower now belongs to us. My aunt is taking ownership of it, I explained.

Why are you there? This is obviously traumatic for you. I’m so sorry you were tortured. Just thinking about that makes me feel anger like I have never known, he said.

I felt myself shrugging even though he couldn’t see the motion. It’s over now. We are here to find my father, who is a Wraith, and hopefully remove the curse.

Be careful, Voice told me.

“Alizeyah?” called Aiden.

I snapped out of my trance just as Ian closed a hand over my shoulder. I jumped and spun around to face Ian and Aiden. “Yeah, sorry.”

“You’re shaking,” said Ian, looking from me back to Aiden.

Aiden pursed his lips together. “If it is too hard for you to be here it’s all right. You can go back to the castle and get some rest. I think Alathea will only need blood from one of us.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I think I just need to get away from this wall.”

Both Aiden and Ian looked at the wall, finally understanding. Ian took my hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm and led me away from where I was standing. At the far side of the chamber Alathea had opened windows, letting natural light shine in, and with flicks of her wrist she cast spells that cleaned away the grime, blood, and memories.

We finished exploring the tower slowly as Alathea insisted on spreading light, cleaning, and then performing a cleansing ritual on each floor before we moved to the next. The tower was much bigger than I remembered. When we reached the top with its dozens of doors, I paused. Alathea lit all the lanterns between the doors and performed a cleansing ritual before strolling to the center of the room where a large desk sat.

“Here,” she announced, removing her bag and pulling out its contents to place them on the desk. I watched with curiosity as she set things up. The last piece was a scrying bowl made of black shell. She poured blessed sea water into it, then held up a dagger and made a small cut on her finger, letting the drop of blood fall into the bowl. “Next?” she said, turning to Aiden, Ian and I.

Aiden and I followed suit, but I was surprised when Alathea waved over Ian, who took the dagger and also added a drop of blood to the mix. I looked at Alathea questioningly. She nodded understanding. “You are half Darkling because you are Dragon, but I’m not sure that will have a strong enough pull on the shadow. I asked Ian before we summoned the tower if he would participate so that we could get a stronger connection to the shadows the Wraiths hide in. This is a Darkling ritual and so it will be a Darkling that will have to cross the void and retrieve the Wraith.”

She lifted the bowl and began to chant. As she did we followed closely as she circled the room. Finally we stopped in front of a door that seemed to glow with a dark purple Aura. “Here,” she nodded at the door. “This is the gateway to the land where the Wraiths are banished between worlds. Ian, are you ready?” she asked

It was in that moment I understood what was happening. I grabbed Ian’s arm. “If you’re going, so am I,” I told him.

He shook his head. “You’re not fully Darkling. It’s not safe for you,” he explained.

“I lost Hue when I should have protected him. If I lose someone else, I really won’t survive,” I explained, not lessening my death grip. Aiden reached out to pull me free but Ian shook his head.

“It’s fine. She can come with me.” He looked down at me, searching my eyes. “Tie her into the rope,” he directed.

Aiden pulled a rope free of the bag and looped it around my waist and then Ian’s. “If either of you tug twice I will begin pulling you back,” he explained.

Taking Ian’s hand, I allowed him to lead me through the doorway and into the darkness. My sight was enhanced enough I could see shadows and shapes around me in the pitch black. “If I shifted, could I see better?” I asked.

Ian paused. I could feel his hesitation. “Can you do it without the fire?”

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I focused only on my inner Dragon. I felt my scales rise to the surface of my skin and the shift in my bones and muscles. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see how much more detail the world around me had. Everything had an eerie silver glow, but I could see it as if it was all lit by moonlight. Ian stared at me, a deep rumble in his chest. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

He shook his head, turning away, and continued to guide us through the new realm. We were in a castle and I could sense people all around us. They seemed to be moving at super speed. Then, all of a sudden, a hand closed over my shoulder. I jumped and spun around with a yelp. Ian stepped in front of me with a growl, knocking the hand away from me. Just as Ian pulled back his fist I realized what was going on.

A tall Elf with golden hair, large green eyes, and golden skin stood in front of me. “Ian, wait!”

The Werewolf caught himself and studied the man, then dropped his fist. “Your Majesty, we’ve come to retrieve you,” he explained.

Leonide shook his head. “Leave me and get Alizeyah out of here. It isn’t safe for her to be here. She glows and the others will come.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

It was with the motion of his had that I noticed the three of us were not alone. “Other Wraiths are drawn to you because of you light.”

“Then we will save them all,” I offered.

Leonide shook his head. “Some are banished to this realm for punishment. You must escape. I will slow them down.” He shoved myself and Ian back the way we had come.

“I’m not leaving without you,” I told him.

Leonide looked at Ian for help. “I have to agree with her, your Majesty.”

With a look of anger and outrage at being told no, Leonide grabbed my hand and started dragging me back in the direction the rope had come from, causing both Ian and I to run at a breakneck speed. As the other Wraiths started getting closer, I managed to grab the rope on the ground and give it a good, hard double tug. As promised the rope grew tight with tension and I found we were being pulled faster and faster towards the exit.

Finally we could see the glowing doorway and my brother and Alathea there. We rushed through the door and Alathea slammed it shut as we exited. I looked around me as she sealed and warded the lock. We had not arrived alone. Along with Ian, Aiden, Alathea, Leonide and myself stood two others: a Dark Elf with a long blue braid that fell down her back, and a young boy who looked no more than ten.

The Dark Elf was panting but quickly dropped to her knees before us. “Thank you,” she mumbled weakly.

The boy, who had appeared cute at first, now smiled at us with a sinister green grin, revealing a row of pointed, jagged teeth. “Yes, thank you,” he said in a voice that could make paint peel.

“No!” screamed Leonide as he faced the boy, but it was too late. In a cloud of red smoke the boy disappeared. He turned to look at Alathea with an expression of loss. “You’ve released the Aka Manto.”

“The what?” I asked.

“A Demon from the Human realm of Tarell. It finds victims to torture and kill,” Leonide said with an element of defeat.

“And it’s here in Everbloom?” asked Aiden.

Leonide and Alathea shook their heads. “The Wraith plane was the only place that could hold it. It can skip realms at will, and now it is free to terrorize the world again. Why didn’t you leave me like I told you too?” Leonide asked firmly.

Aiden placed himself in my path. “Because we wanted our father back.”

Leonide paused and looked from my brother to me. Then he reached out and wrapped his arms around Aiden, tugging on my wrist to fold me into the hug as well. “My children, my beautiful children,” he sobbed. “You found the door to my freedom. I don’t care if I have to spend a lifetime tracking that monster – it is worth it to hug and hold my children.”

After an hour of hellos we were calm enough to discuss what was happening. “I never thought I would find the door. I thought I would wander the plane forever,” Leonide explained.

“How did you reach me before?” I asked, remembering him in a shadowy form.

“I was lucky enough to find the tower again,” he explained. “When I discovered the Mage held you, I knew I had to get you to safety.”

“If I hadn’t been here, would you have found the door?” I asked, heartbroken that he would have given up his torture had it not been for me.

“Stop thinking like that,” he said, eyeing me. “I would lay down my life for you or your brother. Staying in that plane was nothing when compared to preventing you from finding that fate.”

“How did you come to be there?” asked Aiden. “You died in battle?”

“I thought I did, but I awoke chained up in this cursed place with the life slowly being drained from me. I was bonded with Lady Jura and so a small bit of Darkling flowed through me. Romijeer’s potions couldn’t drain that last bit of life from me because the blood was dark, so he left me to the Wraith plane to suffer.”

Before we left I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a permanent marker Dani had given me. I climbed on a chair and on the stone above the door wrote the words, “Wraith Plane.”

We gathered up and took my father Leonide and the new Dark Elf Ashe back to the castle. The first of the doors was labeled.

I’m coming for you Hue, I promise, I thought to myself.