Merryn's hair whipped past her face, and the wind chilled her cheeks and arms. She blinked away the annoying wetness forced out by the force of the wind. They placed the portal above the city! I can't believe this! The roar of the wind, only outdone by her heart rate as it slammed in her ears.

Overly ornate trees peppered the city below. She flattened her arms against her body and aimed for the tallest one below. I'm going to be so much as a smear on the street; easy does it...

Seconds later, she fell into it and crashed through several branches, and managed to catch the last one. The small pack on her back slid and bumped the back of her head. Her fingers slipped, and she stumbled onto the cobblestone walkway. Only a few scrapes, am truly lucky today. Maybe this mission will go as planned.

A deep tremor wracked her body; she collapsed in the shade of the tree and waited for it to pass... Shouldn't have let the elders talk me into this. Switching from a priestess of light to a dire thief will send my soul to the hells for sure.

The people who passed, ignored her, as if on a set route they couldn't deviate from. Every face empty and void of light, as if they were clay golems pretending to be people. The hairs on her neck raised, and she rubbed the spot until the sensation went away. Why wasn't I told this? She edged away.

She pulled a map out of the pouch on her hip. Now, where was it again? The port and the book were at opposite ends of this city. Yes, it's off ahead, near the northern district.

On the left side, an old stone-carved staircase leaned against the wall. The steps, broken and crumbling, but still managed to bleed of status and wealth, what with the carvings and flaking gold trim on the edges. I could maybe go inside if it's abandoned and scope out the best street to take to avoid them. She chewed on her nail.

She passed the stairs by and crept forward. The broken-paved jade streets and stained marble-lined walls towered overhead. Every person nearby that passed, their footfalls clunked together as one. Didn't they say I needed to hurry, as the runes on the book wouldn't hold much longer?

Her skin tingled with each breath. Magic had been cast here only a while ago. I can't just slip in there and take it, even if they did steal it from us. Should I call an ancestor and summon Kage the Veiled?

Merryn squeezed through a narrow passage and out into a silent backstreet. This was as good a place as any. “Feared Kage, protect me from view and let me walk unseen,” she whispered.

The street grew darker still, and the wispy spirit gradually arose above it.

“You pledge to be bound by the pact and accept the cost?” His voice, almost a suggestion of tone; carried on a breeze.

Whatever the cost, I will not fail. I must not. “Yes.” Generally, the cost was exhaustion, but knowing and experiencing this were two different things. She swallowed, her throat became a little dry.

His touch spread a coolness that flowed over her body, gradually, her skin became opaque and transparent.

He curtly nodded, then flipped back, fading down into the street.

Not much was known about this spell, as it wasn't used much; maybe I should stay in the shade? Luckily, the trees provided ample cover. She edged away into the dark, up against the rough stone wall of a large house, crouching down as she worked her way further into the city.

Some of the cherry trees' petals floated down; many long brown with age, their short time at an end, piles of them carpeted the streets. Even with the ample soft grass there, nobody sat resting. On closer inspection, people's eyes had a glazed, milky film covering them. It's started already, the poor humans stood no chance, not with the gods' powers taking from every living creature near it. I hope I'm not too late.

Twenty or so feet close to the weapons district, the light gray shadows on the buildings soundlessly crept on their own and down the streets. They followed behind people and merged with the real ones. The god, this has to be its doing! Little time to help them, if any; was left now. She shook her head. The king never should have taken the Omega tome, it's not meant for human hands.

A few streets later, the area opened into a large and highly decorated plaza, again empty. In here, the shadows became a thick mass that stretched out before slipping into a crack. She followed it, her breaths slow and shallow. It thinned out and became harder to see, and still on the move as it continued to the back end of the city. The castle should be there, just a little further.

She shivered. The humans couldn't see them, that must be why nobody had run away. It had to be awake, the horrid god was awake. If I'd known this, I would have asked for help.

The closer to the castle, the more decorated and larger the houses became. The elites and nobility must live here. Grand, colorful paintings in fine detail of the gods. While most houses had murals of Olenus, this one paid tribute to the Goddess of Light, Elaema with her long, wheat-colored robes draped modestly on her muscular frame. In one hand she held out a sun with rays, and in the other, a closed book. As usual, that stern look about her, as if daring anyone to cross her. Strict but kind, her laws were easy to follow—even for me.

Merryn touched it. Give me strength. Only a few more feet now... she padded closer, crouched low, and sprinted to the next house.

She held back a gasp and forced her breathing to become quiet. A group of sickly women walked past, their once-long hair balding and thin, open sores seeping from random spots on their skin. She turned her face away. It's not just escaping; it's draining them! A tight knot worked its way into her stomach. Don't panic. Hold it together. Can't help them if I don't stop this.

There it is. A modest castle by human standards, from the size of it, maybe fifteen rooms at most, nobody said where it was but that any heavily guarded room was the obvious choice. The line of shadow extended in here further inside, out of view.

As soon as they passed, she tiptoed across the street and scooted close to the castle wall. A barrier blocked the entrance gate; the barrier gleamed faintly in the light. I'm lucky again! The rest of the castle had no barrier, most likely because the barrier stones were expensive to craft.

A lone, healthy guard stood before the gate outside the barrier, his spear even longer than the ones back home. Why wasn't he sick like the other citizens? Well, I can worry about that later; first, get inside.

Her steps nearly silent, she turned the corner, stopped, and slid off the pack. A few failed attempts later, the grappling hook and rope combo clanked on the edge of an open air window, and she climbed up and dropped through the window.

A faint light streamed through the small window, but it didn't do much to help in the almost completely dark room. Warmth settled in her eyes as the night vision activated, all things in the dark now had a faint gray outline. All clear. She hugged the wall, working her way out into the hallway.

The guards that patrolled hung their heads and shuffled their feet. Their pale complexions were sallow, and they breathed with effort. A chill ran laps up and down her back. I can run away right now, and, and, and—be a complete coward. She sighed. I'd rather die. She slipped past them, her back pressed against the cold wall, A blond one came right up beside her. He stumbled and leaned against the far wall, staring ahead into nothing.

She eased around him, backtracked and went off to the left.

Rubble crunched underfoot, the floor titles destroyed from some long past battle. She avoided stepping in the sharp broken tips of weapons and shards of glass mixed in there. Further down the long hall, a room was graced by a crumbling ancient archway with four pillars flanking both sides of the wall. And, others behind them all the way to the back of the enormous room. The shadows moved as if alive, they curled around them, framing the doorway.

Purple sealing runes hovered above a glass case in the middle of the room. The shadows condensed here, and through a thin crack, they connected to the book. As she went closer, the ancient words sparked with embers as it uncoiled like a burning parchment scroll:

Turn back now! They who break the seal of these ancient texts will wish for a swift death and know only torment, their bodies know not decay nor know of release, the soul bound forever between both worlds.

A curse! Didn't they bother to check if anything had changed? She screeched inside her head. If I go back, I'm a coward, and the elders die. If I get the book, I'm dead. Can't see any third option. She turned around and hid behind a pillar, knelt down and placed a hand on her heart. The other on her forehead while praying. No help for it, maybe my corpse will bring it back. She let out a faint chuckle, while rubbing her arms.

She rummaged through the pouches strung on her belt and pulled the handkerchief out, leaned over, and dropped it in the case. Here goes...

The handkerchief exploded into flames the moment it neared the runes. A keen alarm shattered the silence. It rose in into a searing, pitch that vibrated through her body. “Garg!” She covered her ears, and thrashed her head from side to side.

The case rattled and the glowing runes pulsed and grew. A thunk from below vibrated through the floor, followed by a grinding rattle. The pillars rumbled and sank back to the walls, they disappeared into the open slots that appeared.

Each ward exploded, and the heat singed the sides of her face and burned her nose. She yelled and stumbled, then fell onto her back. I'm so corked! The air in her lungs whooshed out, and a light fantastic sparked blinding her. Shedding her eyes with a hand, she tottered with an arm outstretched feeling about for obstacles. Forget it there's no time to use the thieves' tools. Everything is a mess now! The heck with it, what does a little more noise matter anyway? Pressure built in her forehead and temples and burned behind her eyes. Sweat trickled off the sides of her face.

More rumblings, another low clank, and a whir that came from the far end wall. The alarm finally shut off. The wall launched forward several feet.

And again.

With a burst of speed, her silver daggers rang out of their sheaths. She whirred them hilt side up and the glass case shattered covering the book. She wrapped the cape around an arm and swept the away.

She crammed the thick Omega Tome inside her leather vest. The shadows separated from the book, took on a faint humanoid form.

A soft, scratchy voice filled the room.

“You walk so readily into the end of things; what is light becomes of shadow when ages pass and nothing but the emptiness is left before you. You think to destroy me, mortal? Try it. This is nothing.”

With that, the shadow of the god condensed around the crystal tear-shaped pendant and merged with it; the pendant turned gray, and the insides a swirling tempest.

Stumbling backward, she landed on her side, she held it up the soft glow it gave off, brought back thoughts of the will-o'-wisp in the swamps of Merti. Few ever left once inside.

Pages of the book fell out of the vest, and all the rest turned to dust.

They said nothing about this! It wasn't the book they really wanted. It was him! Why? Merryn twisted and vaulted back out into the hall, her heartbeat erratic and her palms sweating. "Olenus, help me."

Young elvin, understand me now. You will help me, or I will kill you, and then you'll do my bidding as a rotting corpse. Forever. The voice came from within, slithering around and repeating itself.

She screamed. She ran, but still couldn't get away. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

She crawled out of a window, climbed up the side of a nearby house, then jumped onto the edge of the city wall. Her throat burned, she sat there and pulled in gulps of air. Got to calm down somehow. Can't breathe.

A blinding beam shot out from the middle of the city and lit the sky; the force of it pushed apart the clouds in the middle.

“Why is this happening? Where is this energy coming from?”

You have it backwards, it's energy leaving. For five hundred years, they used me to block it. They experimented on what should have been left alone...

The hair on her arms curled from the heat. She ran further away until she stood on a hill near the kingdom road for a good hundred feet, maybe more.

A multitude of finely pitched, shrill screams rode on a wave of scorching hot air. The beam widened and engulfed the city. There are still people alive!

The shrieks and screams rang in her ears as their ghostly faces tilted up to the sky, the most prominent one of Narfi his spiked crown tilted and misshapen. The spirits vanished into it. The city swirled down into a cavernous hole in the earth.

She stared at where the city had been. Her body shook, and several tears came and went, dripping off her chin.

Where the road met the city, a small group of soldiers stood on horseback. They stood, locked in place. The one in the lead wasn't a soldier. His glare burned far hotter than what came from the city.

Maxwell.

His features, now contorted into hard lines of hateful darkness, the once warm and gentle eyes cold as a rusted blade.

“I warned you. You fool!” He bellowed across the field, and the staff's fierce waters swirled in the dragon claw hand.

She bolted away, following the north path. A deep ache welled in her chest. He'll never forgive this. The human King Narfi was dead; his friend.

Maxwell and the men came straight at her at full gallop.