Page 13 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
Loren did the opposite of smile. “It is a myth, isn’t it?”
“Is it?”
“Isit? By the Goddess, it isn’t, is it?” He stared at the creature, his voice a breathless rasp. “Surely he’s not… No. They’re supposed to be like ghosts. You can’t touch them, but they can touch you. They’re invisible. Practically invincible. He can’t be one of them.”
“He is.”
“But you can’t trap a wraith in a cage. According to the myths—which you’re saying aren’t even myths—they’re completely intangible unless they choose not to be.”
“All true. Except for this poor wraith, who got permanently stuck in his corporeal body.”
Loren stared. “How?”
But the tall man had shared enough for one night. He dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “We’ll use him as a side attraction at the circus for the final week of performances in Allegra.”
If anything, this bewildered the human even more than the possibility of a corporeal wraith. “How!”
“We’ll keep him in this cage. Paint a sign. It will say ‘WRAITH’ in big letters across the top.” The tall man spread a hand through the air as though creating the sign right then. “‘Invisible. Invincible. The most dangerous killer in existence. Myth or reality? The answer lies within…but enter at your peril.’”
“Wow.”
The tall man’s eyes glinted again, full of loathing as they stared into the cage, and the creature took deep breaths to fight down the violent killing urge surging inside him. It did him no good in his state, and if he were to fly into a rage while trapped, he’d only hurt himself.
“Get started on the sign tomorrow. Tonight, I need you to make a trip back to the Underground. Find someone from the Ouroboros gang and get word to their leader that there are Elemental flesh traders in their district. The snakes will deal with them accordingly.”
“The Underground is Elemental territory. Are you sure they’ll talk to me?”
“Tell them I sent you. They’ll talk to you.” The tall man flung a hand toward the tent’s entrance. “Now go. I need to get to work enchanting the cage. It’ll take me all night to make it impenetrable.”
“Sir…what if he escapes?”
At this, the tall man smiled again. “Then he will surely kill us all. Best hope I know what I’m doing.”
…
The enchantments on the cage were completed the following day. The tall man had spent the night and half the morning working on it, careful to remain out of his prisoner’s reach while his concentration was engaged.
Plans for his enemies’ painful demises kept the creature occupied. Before the enchantments had foiled him, he’d begun weakening one of the bars at the top of the cage during the long trip. Soon it would have been loose enough to pry apart, and then, while the traders slept, he would have moved among them, as silent as a shadow, slitting their throats with his claws as he’d done before when—
When…what? When could he have done such a thing, and why?
He mulled over what the tall man had said the night prior. He’d called him a wraith. Some type of powerful, incorporeal being trapped in his physical form.
He tried the word out, but it seemed as unfamiliar as his own body had felt when he first awoke in the desert. But that feeling was distant now too. His body felt like part of him, not burdensome or confining.
By nightfall, he’d been fed three full meals and given access to as much water as he wanted. His shredded sarong was replaced with a pair of loose trousers—hardly respectable attire compared to everyone else, but certainly an improvement. A bucket, rag, and towel were provided for him to wash, and he dragged his fingers through his tangled hair.
After the evening meal, when the scents of food coming from the nearby meal tent had faded, the blond human came back into the tent. He was carrying an oil lamp and a bucket of painting supplies, dragging a big piece of wood behind him. He leaned it on the edge of the tent and spread out his brushes.
“Here to make your sign,” he muttered. “Boss’s orders.”
The creature tilted his head but didn’t rise from where he sat, leaning against the bars in the corner of the cage.
Loren glanced up and then recoiled. His face was a mask of repugnance, but he couldn’t seem to look away. “By the Goddess, your eyes are unnerving.”
The creature growled low. It wasn’t like he could do anything about his eyes. He’d already changed the rest of his appearance for the loathsome humans. If this one didn’t like it, he could leave.
“Have to paint the sign in here,” the human said as if hearing his thoughts. “Salizar doesn’t want people to know about you yet, though I doubt he realizes how much gossip there’s been already.”
