A phantom pain ran through Valtan as he paced in his private library. It wasn’t physical pain, but a tremor that ran through the ether. The tremor held a unique pitch, one he’d felt only once before, when his former love, Karonin, had been chosen to make the transformation to an Arcane Lord.
How he wished he could have gone back and stopped her from agreeing to the offer. Or better yet, never making it at all. He hadn’t fully understood what the transformation meant. After he saw what it did to the sweet, eager young woman he’d fallen in love with, Valtan knew the engine could never be used again. It was then he’d begun planning his ultimate betrayal. The horrors his fellow Lords had committed before he figured out how to stop them had only driven home the importance of his act.
And now someone else had assembled both pieces of the engine. Otto Shenk was moving far faster than he’d ever dreamed possible. It seemed like the young man had a single thought and it drove him every moment of every day. How well Valtan recognized that drive. Every great wizard had it.
Now all he needed was the final piece of the puzzle. Once he got that, only a miracle would stop Otto from becoming the most powerful wizard in the world. And there would be no one capable of sending him to the netherworld. He would rule for all time, slowly becoming the worst sort of despot. Valtan had seen it all before. Somehow, he had to keep the past from repeating.
And the only tool he had, Eddred and his companions, wanted to give up the fight. Well, Eddred did anyway. Uther wanted only revenge, but in its own way, that was as problematic as Otto’s quest. Hate, anger, revenge, all they brought was suffering.
Valtan drew himself up to his full height and projected his consciousness into the ether.
A moment later he formed an illusion of his body in the center of a modest village on South Barrier Island. He found Eddred puttering in an early spring garden. A pair of little girls crouched beside him, pointing and asking questions. The former king smiled and answer, seeming happy.
The girls spotted Valtan and fled toward a nearby cabin. Eddred turned and his smile faded. “Lord Valtan. Have you come up with a new strategy? It’s been nearly a year.”
“No. But Otto has returned and completed the Immortality Engine. He’s closer than anyone has ever come since I banished my former comrades. In another year, he’ll be unstoppable. Will you help me stop him before then?”
“Can he be stopped? We’ve tried everything you suggested and only made matter worse. Maybe it would be better to stay out of it and see what happens. He’s only one man in the end. He can hardly destroy the world on his own.”
“Do not underestimate the power of an unbound Arcane Lord. He may lack the power to destroy the world, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make life miserable for much of it.”
Eddred stood. “What do you suggest?”
“Go to the City of Coins.”
Eddred turned away in disgust.
“Hear me out. Hire mercenaries and travel into the desert. I have magic you can use to keep the undead at bay. I know where he’s going. You can beat him there and seize the item he seeks. It will buy time at least. Bring it to me and I can protect it. If you can kill him, so much the better.”
“If you knew where to find the artifacts, why not send us to find them to begin with?”
“Knowing where they are and claiming them are two very different things. All of them are protected. The danger is immense. If there were any other way to stop him now, I would gladly try. But this is the best I can come up with. Will you go?”
After a long pause Eddred said, “Very well, but after this I’m done. I want to live out the rest of my life in peace.”
“Thank you, Eddred. The whole world would thank you if they knew the threat they faced. I will prepare a map and transport it to your ship. The sooner you leave the better.”
Valtan vanished before Eddred had a chance to change his mind. If this worked, it was only a half measure. But a half measure was better than nothing. Deep inside, he feared he was only sending the king to his grave.
Even so, the chance had to be taken.