Shadow and Wild Magic
Chapter 13

What a great idea that had been to steal a rhinoceros wagon! They had a vehicle to move quickly, but now, they had to escape a squad of sithrax guards riding rhinos. Ezra leaned to the side and looked over his shoulder. The guards were gaining on them. They didn’t seem to have any trouble galloping in the sand. But his wagon did.

Alright, he needed to think quickly. To act quickly. He had nothing in his hand but a scimitar. All his potions and scrolls had been burned or taken away. Think, Ezra, think! It would have been so great if, right now, right at this instant, they had Master Khan. A mage could have done something!

But wait... He had Shadow.

Alright, if Shadow had magic, it was now or never the time to show it.

Ezra caught the black cat’s wrist. “Alright, mister! Time for you to do what you did in the Pig’s Pen.”

Shadow turned to Ezra with a look of wonder. “What?”

“Let’s skip the formalities, we both know you did that! Breaking news, you have magic, Shadow, Master Khan knew it, and so do I now. Whatever you did then, you have to do it again!”

Shadow seemed frozen for an instant. “But how?”

“I don’t know! Think. What did you do? What did you feel?”

“I...I was angry.”

“Good! Anger is good. Now, what did you do?”

“I don’t know!” Shadow shouted. He looked over the wagon’s roof, then he turned back. “I just wanted it to stop. I wanted them to stop.”

Ezra inhaled deeply. “Okay, I have no idea how this shit’s supposed to work but think. Focus and think. You want them to stop. Focus.”

Shadow looked over the roof again. He was holding on to it even if he didn’t need to anymore. The wagon had slowed down to the point that it’d soon stop. He had to act now.

The black cat closed his eyes. He was mumbling something to himself. “I want you to stop. I want you to stop. I want you to stop,” he repeated over and over again.

Nothing was happening.

“The anger, Shadow!” Ezra shouted to encourage him. “Focus on it, then let it out!”

Shadow kept on repeating his phrase. His voice amplified by the second. And then, just like that, he fell silent. Actually, everything around them had fallen silent.

For a moment, Ezra thought he’d given up. It was as if time stood still, but Ezra could still think. And he could hear something soft, something distant. Whispers so far away they were almost inaudible. But Ezra knew those whispers came from Shadow, and they sounded like chants from a different realm. The amulet around Shadow’s neck was glowing red.

Shadow’s eyes snapped open. They were entirely black.

Between the wagon and the squad of guards was a sea of sand. But as the silence continued, the sea slowly morphed into a maelstrom. The sand whirled and whirled, the vortex growing larger and larger. Eventually, the sea opened into a sinkhole with jagged teeth. The guards and their beasts were dragged into the maw and swallowed by whatever was underneath.

Whatever Shadow was, it was powerful. Ezra had seen magic many times before. Pyromancy, healing magic, mysticists who could read minds, never anything like this. He thought of something he’d said before. Sindurs never cease to surprise him. Although this time, he might have to admit that he was more afraid than surprised.

They traveled many hours through the desert without food or water. They couldn’t afford to make camp, they had to keep going. They had to cross the Barrier, now or never. Ezra knew of the jungle on the other side. There was even a river. They just had to cross the Barrier, and they’d make it. And they would finally sleep.

“Are you alright in there?” Ezra asked the sindurs in the wagon.

“Yes. Alive and well,” the old sindur said from inside.

Ezra looked at the red sindur driver and smiled. “You have mad skills, mate. I don’t even know your name.”

Shadow, who stared at the road ahead, translated with a faint voice. He still seemed shaken by what he’d done.

“His name is Mielo,” Shadow said. “He says he was a driver for a warlord in Sstoa. The old lynx is Ten Zin, and the female is Khaleen. She was a servant in Salek. And the cub is Sno.”

“What about you?” Ezra asked. “Where are you from?” It looked like talking did Shadow some good.

The black cat closed his eyes. “I told you I’m from the capital. I was born there. My parents are servants of the Kingpin.”

“The drug lord?”

“Yes. You know a lot about Rallis for a human.”

Ezra chuckled, and so did Shadow. “I did my share of research before coming here.” He paused for a brief moment. “Master Khan saw something in you. He was going to take you to the Magi Academy of Avahs after you guys crossed the Barrier.”

Shadow opened his eyes wide. “Magi Academy? Avahs?”

“Avahs is the capital of Vanhaui. That’s the land beyond the Barrier. Listen, Shadow, I’ve never seen magic like yours in my entire life. And believe me, I’ve seen a lot of things—”

“What does Collector mean?” Shadow interrupted, taking Ezra by surprise. “I heard the pale lizard call you Collector.”

“That’s one of my old titles.” Ezra shrugged. “I traveled the world for many years collecting items. Some magical, some very expensive, some even scary. Lately, I’ve just been searching for one.”

And Ezra had scoured the Lahok archives for it. He’d been caught, thrown into the dungeon of Stahl, escaped it, but there was something else he had done. Something he hadn’t told anyone but would have to in a couple of days. Because the Hauian Princess he’d done this mission for would most certainly like to know. Ezra had found what he’d been looking for in those archives. Well, not exactly, but he’d found a reference to the item he’d been searching for. Now, Ezra had a concrete clue of where this item could be. This weapon destined to change the world. Soon, Vanhaui would definitely need it. Ezra wanted to tell Shadow all about it, but he’d need an entire night to tell him the whole story. He didn’t have that amount of time because up ahead, the dark sky was already turning red. That could only mean one thing: the Barrier was just in reach.