Shadow Honor - Book 1 of The Trial

Shadow Honor - 4

"These are the six pillars we should focus on, based on their location," Fasha explained, pointing out the positions on the map of Pentalus with his finger. He had painstakingly made his way through Pentalus over the past few years, making sure that he knew the location of every single pillar of air, and only now was that knowledge finally coming into play. As much as Maxthane didn't care for his father's assassin, Fasha did have his uses.

It had been two weeks since they had freed, then enslaved the demon, and their time had been filled with planning how to go about doing the same to more of them. They had reached a consensus as to which method they would employ to avoid detection, as well as which of the magi could be trusted to learn the rituals, but they had yet to settle on which pillars or even how many they would target.

"I'm a bit concerned about our ability to pull off six at once, though we will know more after today," Salidar replied as he looked over the pillars that Fasha had selected. They had narrowed it down to twelve potential targets the day before, and only four of those were among the ones that Fasha had chosen now. It seemed to be a constant issue with him, being indecisive about which targets were prime and which weren't, but for some reason Salidar trusted him to make the decision. Maxthane had never understood the relationship between his father and Fasha, though he also knew that Fasha had been in Salidar's life for longer than Maxthane had. Whatever had started their friendship came from a past that Maxthane could not relate to.

"Trust me, these six are the ones we want," Fasha replied firmly. Only Fasha was allowed to take such a firm tone with Salidar and get away with it. Maxthane gritted his teeth as he watched the exchange, unhappy that his father seemed to be nodding in agreement.

"I don't have enough men for that many targets," Salidar said, returning Fasha's firmness. Maxthane was glad that his father hadn't given in so easily. "If they are to be battling knights at the same time that they are trying to control the demons, I highly doubt we'll succeed. Besides," he went on with a grimace, "We don't actually know how strong the demons are. That one we brought down two weeks ago wouldn't have been taken so easily if we hadn't had Prism show up."

"I'm normally not one to side with Fasha, but I doubt the knights will be a problem," Captain Rega, the towering man to Salidar's right said with a grin, "What with the arrowheads that we procured from Sabreeza we'll cut through the eagles like light pierces the darkness."

Rega was a contrast to Fasha that Maxthane appreciated, and he was always a welcome addition to the meetings as far as Maxthane was concerned. Rega was tall and broad shouldered, and the strength he could put behind his sword was nearly legendary. On top of that he could move as quietly as a mouse if he needed to, and few had a keener eye with a bow. He was revered as one of the greatest fighters in all of The Shade, with few other names ever raised to challenge that distinction. But none of that mattered as much to Maxthane as the fact that Rega knew all the troops under his command as captain of Salidar's forces, and exactly what all their capabilities were.

"On top of that," Fasha added with a grin, "I have influence with a very powerful person in The Everbright City, one who could keep the knights from immediately coming after us. All you will need is time, yes? Time to get the demons under control?"

"Who do you know in the Everbright City?" Salidar asked, but then shook his head in disbelief as if being hit by the reemergence of a memory long forgotten. "Never mind. Do you really think you could make that happen?"

"Yes. I know that I can," Fasha said without a trace of doubt.

"If he can keep the knights away then I am sure we can manage," Rega agreed. "Still, six is a large enough number that we will have our forces spread out quite far," he went on thoughtfully as he leaned over the map to analyze the terrain of the city. Pointing down at the largest marked pillar, Rega added, "But perhaps if we can figure out a way to employ the Elroks at the largest pillar . . ." He was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door, and the group turned as one to look at the young servant poking his head through the entrance.