Fatigue crushed him - soul essence exhaustion.
Silas’s corpse twitched. Its fingers curled. Its limbs bent at unnatural angles.
The corpse rose into the air and hovered. Soon it was upright. Its twisted limbs straightened. It stood on two feet. Fingers straightened and curled again. Its neck wound hung open until the surrounding folds of skin grabbed at each other. The skin fused. A faint scar remained.
Kai’s soul thrummed. A deep, unbreakable soul bond formed.
He released a heavy breath. Shadow padded over and nudged him with his furry head.
“Need any help?” Rusk asked.
Kai raised his hand. “I’ve got it.” Exhaustion was clear in his voice, but his suit began refilling his soul essence. A heavy weight encumbered his limbs, but a wide smile spread across his face.
He did it. He’d raised his first undead minion! If he had the energy, he’d jump for joy. But he had a new problem - how to hide this from Alira or explain his ability to raise the dead.
Better to hide the truth from an uncertain ally.
He whispered under his breath, but Rusk likely heard him. “Kharon, how do I…” He searched for the right phrase. “Store him somewhere?”
A sigh entered his mind. Kharon’s voice followed.
Kai reached toward the revived corpse, then halted. He whispered again. “How do I do that?”
Kharon scoffed.
Kai cleared his throat and shambled to his feet. He locked eyes with Silas’s corpse and spoke.
“I command you, return to my Soul Palace.”
Nothing happened. Rusk’s muffled laughter reached him. He glanced over and caught him with a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking up and down.
His gaze returned to the walking corpse. It walked to him, bowed, then pressed its forehead to Kai’s chest. Before he could react, the corpse’s head sank into him. The rest of its body followed. Silas had left the physical realm.
A shudder ran up his spine.
He had absorbed Silas into his soul. As Death God’s heir - he’d have to get used to this.
Kharon’s voice returned in his mind.
Kai shook his head. He focused, attempting to pinpoint Alira’s position, but his spatial senses were blurry, incomplete. Even with the suit’s reserves, he had little essence left. He needed rest.
But first, he had to search the camp for anything useful. Alira’s feud with the Ashvales wasn’t over. Best to gain information in case she dragged him into more of her squabbles.
Alira was no fool - she’d question the disappearance of Silas’s corpse. But Kai was no stranger to massaging the truth.
Rusk’s boot prodded a severed head. He looked confused.
“Enjoying yourself?” Kai said.
Rusk shrugged and sighed. “The fun parts were over so fast. I thought we’d have more trouble.”
Kai glared at him. “Did you miss the part where my eyes melted and I almost became a pile of ash?”
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Rusk furrowed his brows and gestured at Kai. “You look fine now.”
Kai opened his mouth to spill a litany of curses, but thought better of it. His jaw clenched. “Follow me. Let’s see what we can find before we run into more fun.”
He staggered toward Silas’s singed tent. He’d expected it to be in worse shape - it must’ve had some sort of fire protection. Made sense. Rusk and Shadow followed behind. A blue gauntlet pushed the tent flap open, and Alira emerged.
“Find anything?” Kai asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing useful. He must have burnt any orders from Prince and communication with the other Ashvales.”
Kai heard what she didn’t say. “So you found something useless?” He tilted his head, attempting to peek into the tent.
She waved a stack of papers at him. “A few letters about a new Dusk supplier.”
Kai’s eyes widened. Mobs controlled Dusk, oversaw the Darkshard mines, and processed shards into powder. The government took its cut of Darkshards to maintain infrastructure and technology.
Why would nobles need a Dusk supply? To pacify citizens? Whatever the answer - it couldn’t be good.
“Dusk supplier?” he asked.
Alira shrugged. “Someone took out their old supplier, became their new one. Not much use to us.”
She spoke as though nobles buying Dusk was common knowledge. How many secrets did Renzo keep from him?
The new guy who took over the competition - could it be…?
He had to know. Kai hid his surprise behind a straight face. “The letters mention who the new guy is?”
Alira sighed. “Some man called Renzo.”
He raised his hand. “Wait. Why do the Ashvales need Dusk?”
Alira looked at him as if he’d grown another head. “Why does anyone need Dusk?”
She sighed again, this time with more pity than disappointment.
“Ah, I forgot about your unfortunate upbringing.” She flashed a pitying smile. “First, Darkshards fuel almost everything. You know that, right?”
Kai gave a hesitant nod.
Alira clapped her hands, papers flapping. “Good! You’re not completely clueless. Two reasons why nobles need Dusk. One: some use Dusk for recreation and making a few shards. The second reason’s why each Noble House maintains mob connections and a constant supply of Dusk crossing the Gate.”
Kai frowned. “Dusk can pass through the Dark Gates?”
Alira massaged her forehead as if frustrated with a young child. “Things from Earth vanish when passing through the Gates. But things from the Darklands pass through to Earth without issue. Where do you think Darkshards come from?”
Pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Darkshards came from the Darklands, obvious in retrospect - it was in the name. The Darkshards had infected the Earth somehow, creating veins underground.
Alira continued. “And anything originating from the Darklands—”
“Can return,” Kai finished.
“Exactly,” Alira said, nodding.
Rusk leaned forward. “What’s the second reason?”
Alira glanced at him. “The second reason’s simple. They experiment with it to enhance their Gifts.”
Kai’s thumb stroked the silver ring covered by his glove. Enhance their Gifts… Gideon was stronger than any Marked should be. His brother too. Dusk use explained all the sniffing.
Who else had figured out the process? Was it a change in the Dusk supply, or something the Ashvales discovered?
Alira’s shoulders slumped. “But nobody’s figured that out yet…”
That didn’t explain why Alira’s abilities surpassed the average Marked.
Her eyes widened as she made the connection. “Those dirty Ashvale swines! No wonder Prince is going on the attack. He’s got a secret weapon!”
She shook her head, a heavy tone creeping into her voice. “This destroys the balance between the Houses. Things are even worse than I’d thought.”
Rusk smiled. “That’s it! When we get our hands on this Gift-enhancing Dusk - we’ll be rich!” He slapped Kai’s back. “I knew I was right to follow you!”
The world was larger than Kai knew. The mobs served both the government and the nobles, but he’d had no idea how important the mines were.
Now it was clear. Control the Darkshards, control the Dusk, control the world.
He locked eyes with Alira. “Which mob supplies your House with Dusk?”
Alira frowned. “None. We’re the weakest, poorest, and most underestimated. Ever since…”
She released a long breath and gazed at the letters. “I guess these letters were useful after all. Silas was planning to meet the new supplier.” Her fist clenched. “If we can find him, if we can learn the process, the secret, whatever it is - everything changes.”
Renewed vigour spread across her features. “Kai, do you know where we can find a mine on Earth?”
“I do,” he said.
She gestured to the ravaged camp. “Look at what we accomplished with only three of us. We can corner the market if we work together. Raise an army without my father’s approval. Nobody could stop us.”
Money and an army opened the gateway to real power. Kai nodded. “We can use Nivis Village as our base of operations in the Darklands. Taking a mine will be harder…”
She grinned and slapped his shoulder. “We can do it. Didn’t I say we make a good team? Persuading father to appoint you steward was the right move.”
Kai looked forward to meeting Renzo again. Trusting Alira was risky, but she appeared sincere. He’d have to pay the favour he owed, but her noble connections would prove useful. If she tried to betray him - he had an undead minion that countered her Gift.
Killing Renzo would gain him the mine in Serpent territory. Rusk was the best enforcer a boss could ask for.
He’d never planned past his revenge. Shouldn’t an heir have a kingdom?
A smile crept onto his lips.
Alira looked past him, brows drawing together. “Where’s Silas’s body?”
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