Shadowcast: Ascendant, #2

By Connor Peterson

Shadowcast is the follow up to Book One: Deathspell
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No one who knew him would accuse Christian Richardson of being the sort of person who took the easy road.

Stranded in the Moorlands in fifteenth century England, Christian must come to terms with the aftermath of his quest for vengeance. Embracing the gifts passed on by his father has put everyone he cares for in danger, and any hesitation to face the road before him could cost someone he loves their life. In no position to be choosy, he finds himself working with a secretive new ally who is more than what they seem. First, they must locate Christian's brother, Jeffrey, and from there everyone's safety will depend on getting the scroll his father had left them as far away as possible.

Between them and their goal is a sect of magicians with a vast network of spies bent on claiming ownership of the scroll. Some are vicious creatures that make even Christian's assassin blood run cold, and leave him with no doubt that the Luminaries are both patient and deadly when it comes to dealing with their enemies.

Learning the reality of his father's past shatters the idolized memories Christian kept tucked in his heart, and forces him to contemplate a soul-deep sense of betrayal. His desire for vengeance is replaced with a urgent need to protect the things that had mattered to him, even if that means confronting the shattered remnants of the life he left behind. Feeling as though there is always some secret waiting around the corner, he struggles to offer words of comfort while wishing he could receive some of his own. In the wake of such life-changing revelations, only two things ring true.

He loves Paolo with everything his has.

Life would never be the same.

Shadowcast was previously published under the author name Peter Dawes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Casual Disaster Press
• Release date: Jan 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393708865

Book preview

Prologue

‘K eep looking, Christian, there’s more. You didn’t see it all the first time, but you need to. ’

I resisted the compulsion to wake, feeling like I had both slept for years and hadn’t rested a day. A comfortable darkness surrounded me, making it difficult for me to open my eyes, as if doing so would force me to confront a reality I couldn’t face yet. My lips produced a moan, devoid of the sensation of air escaping my chest; my form both heavy and weightless at the same time.

What do you want me to see? I asked, my voice soft. Weak. Who are you?

‘You know who I am, but you never truly knew me, either,’ he said. ‘I apologize for lying to you, Christian. I might have eventually confessed your birthright, but now isn’t the time to discuss that. I need to show you a few things and I don’t know how long we have. Neither of us belong here.’

Where is here? Consciousness ebbed toward me like an unwelcomed guest who wouldn’t be ignored. Regardless of how much I pushed against it, it shoved back, taking my hand despite my objection. Who are you? I don’t recognize your voice.

‘Because you hear the younger man I was, not the older one I had been when I left you. Talbot told you my name. Henri d’Avignon.’

Father?

‘I need you to step into my feet for a moment. Don’t fight what happens, no matter how unsettling it becomes. It’s beyond me to change things, but you still can.’ After a brief pause, he added, ‘I’m sorry, son. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me.’

The words I wanted to snap back at him fell flat, existing only as vague concepts of protest and grief before being snatched up and tossed to the side. The darkness fell away in a violent manner, throwing me into a corporeal form again, in the still of night with a host of stars shining down. A soft breeze blew past, upsetting my hair and the ends of the crimson cloak which hung from my shoulders. I surveyed what looked like a small monastery in the distance before the sound of rustling on the ground directed me to the fields surrounding where I stood.

My gaze shot downward. A comely woman with fear in her eyes peered up at me, bringing the faint reminder that she and I had been engaged in conversation no more than moments ago. Knots still twisted my stomach from our discussion, in fact, and when I lifted a hand, I swept away the remnant of tears on my cheek. While the woman had undoubtedly been the source of the rustling I had heard, she remained still now. Her gaze left the impression she thought me unstable.

She had good reason to suspect that. My mind felt awake and exhausted at the same time, as though I had waded out of a deep, long sleep and been left to figure out how I had arrived there. They don’t have all of you yet, Henri, the woman said, delivering the crescendo to whatever words of pleading she had spoken beforehand. Don’t let them win. Stop this now while you still can.

Henri? I asked, furrowing my brow. The designation brought my attention back to my cloak for some inexplicable reason, leading me to shift my fingers to touch the flame-within-a-circle embroidered above my heart. As I struggled with the notion that I did indeed inhabit the shoes of a Luminary – of my father – the sound of a horse approaching in the distance distracted me, prompting me to search the horizon for its source. The sound of the woman shifting again became louder, at the exact moment I spotted the rider headed toward me, and in my indecision I allowed her to come to a stand and sprint in the opposite direction.

My body twisted to face her. ‘Stop her,’ a part of me thought. ‘The Master will be angry if you let one of them escape.’

The heaviness in my soul, however, kept me weighted where I stood.

I watched her leave, still confused, caught between the thoughts of the man whose body I occupied and that part of me which had retained a sense of self. The two blurred together while the voice which had first roused me repeated, ‘Don’t fight what happens, Christian. No matter how unsettling it becomes,’ before quieting again. Whatever urge remained for me to resist faded. As I drowned in the undertow, a host of bitterness and anger surged into my chest, finding its origin with Henri when he and I became the same person.

All of the conflict she’d inspired swelled to a point where I feared it might split me apart. I had chosen the wrong moment to question my duty, on the cusp of a long-fought victory while standing on this side of the battle lines. The pounding of hooves on the dirt reminded me of the rider and as Henri took over altogether, I shut my eyes and sighed, weighed down even heavier when I realized I had woken in time for my rival to catch me releasing one of Talbot’s enemies.

"Mais putain, tu fais quoi, là?" he called toward me once he’d reached within earshot. My mind translated the French seamlessly – What the fuck are you doing? – as his horse slowed to a stop, the rider alighting onto the ground and marching toward me. I pivoted to glance in his direction, seeing a dark-haired man of my years – the same one who would eventually kill Henri – in a more human form. The beast Marcus led followed willingly, calling to mind that the least of my current concerns included where I’d hitched my horse.

My temples throbbed as the youthful, dark-haired man glanced toward the fleeing figure. This time when he spoke, I understood his native tongue like it was my own. Do you want me to go after her? Marcus asked.

"Non. I barked the word faster than I should have and winced in response. The other man’s focus snapped back and as he scrutinized me, I looked away. Whoever that woman had been, she had amassed a sizeable distance between us in a short period of time. Slowly, I allowed an air of cold indifference to wrap itself around me, wearing it to mask the amount of turmoil churning in my chest. We’ve killed the rest of them and found their collection, I added. There’s nothing else she can do."

"The Master said mercy will not be tolerated. He lifted a hand to point toward the woman. I will tell him you directly disobeyed an order by allowing an enemy of the Luminaries to escape."

Tell him. I strode closer to him, tilting my chin to make up the discrepancy in our heights as I stared at him. For as much as he loomed over me, he had never felt threatening, not ever and especially not now. I knew that fact alone bothered Marcus. Coupled with Talbot’s preference for me, it had to have left a bitter taste in the other man’s mouth. I assume you rode with the others?

Yes, they are setting up camp as we speak. The way he evaluated me shifted, the look in his eyes suspecting subterfuge without having evidence to present the accusation. He yanked at the reins and received a terse whinny from his horse in response, one he chose to ignore. This is where they keep their treasures? he asked, nodding in the direction of the monastery.

It is, I countered. The Master should be pleased enough not to care about one girl.

He opened his mouth to respond, but I disregarded him, turning my back without any further ceremony. Whether the inspiration originated from a need to shake him loose or protect the thin wall preventing me from wearing my emotions, walking away became a dire need the more I indulged it. I needed to find where I had left my horse, I told myself, though the truth surged to prominence before I could stop it. I had sustained a crippling blow and already, Marcus could tell.

While my eyes scanned for a hitching post, my thoughts compromised how much focus I could give the effort, consumed by the words still echoing in my ears.

"Haven’t you ever loved something? Is your heart so cold that you would defile the earth all for the sake of vengeance?"

I clenched my eyes shut against the onslaught of more emotion, screaming internally at not merely the one who had delivered the question, but its effect on me. Pausing beside the monastery, I attempted to gather myself, railing against her now as much as I had when she was still here. ‘So what if Talbot wins? Even if Avignon burns instead of being given to me, that would still be justice as far as I’m concerned.’

‘And the rest of France? England? The whole world? It won’t stop with Avignon. It will spread everywhere and your hands will be stained with the blood of innocent people. Surely that isn’t why you embraced magic. Surely there was a time when it brought you happiness instead of making you into a monster, Monsieur.’

Shut up, I said out loud, leaning against one of the walls and inhaling a shaky breath. Grief settled on top of me, so heavy I thought my knees might buckle. I fought against the glassiness which settled on my gaze, wanting to repeat the rehearsed lines once more, not just to silence her, but to convince myself again. Our cause was right. Talbot was my teacher. My master. The one who had collected me from the streets where my family had cast me. The more I recited these adages, however, the more I realized how many times I’d stated them to silence what remained of my conscience.

Sentiment had dug its talons into my heart and made me bleed once more.

The sound of a horse whinnying knocked me from my thoughts. I glanced in the direction from whence the noise originated, seeing the mare I had ridden to Moulins. Wiping at fresh tears, I cleared my throat and strode toward the fence, finally locating the post where I had secured the creature. She eyed me with a level of uncertainty which suggested she, too, knew the mental breakdown I had sustained. I sighed at her, trying desperately to find the callous man I had become, feeling the less jaded Henri seep through the cracks formed in my resolve.

Time to face the Master, I murmured, untying the horse’s reins and mounting its saddle. The beast carried my weight with some reluctance, forcing me to tighten my hold and dig myself deeper into the saddle. Peering back in the direction where Marcus had ridden from, I nudged the mare, grateful when she resigned herself to her fate and carried me onward. Somewhere along the short ride, I found my composure, enough indifference rising back to the surface for me to get my wits about me.

As I approached a camp filled with men and women, erecting tents and entrenching itself into the area, I slowed my horse and alighted from her, pulling her with me through the sea of people. Toward the center stood two men taking counsel with each other, one I recognized as being Marcus. The identity of the man he addressed came as no surprise. Of course my rival followed through with tattling to the Master, I told myself. I should have expected little else.

Youthful, with light brown hair and cerulean eyes which pierced through me when they shifted in my direction, the man I called Master greeted me with a paternal smile, his expression sobering only so that he could nod thanks to Marcus and dismiss him. The part of me still Christian recoiled at the sight of Talbot while Henri steeled himself, attempting not to wear his nerves on his sleeve. I admired the ageless being and paused when he motioned to approach. It has been done as you asked, Master, I said, bowing my head in reverence toward him. We won’t have any further delays.

I should hope not, he said, pausing in front of me. I looked up again to meet his gaze, feeling it heavy upon me, and felt my stomach knot again at the way he examined me. I sent my best lieutenants to resolve the matter, after all.

And we have done our best to serve you.

Have you, Henri? He arched a brow, the quiet which followed his question enough for him to finish whatever assessment he had made of me. When I failed to respond, he nodded, assuming a place at the side of me opposite of my horse. I fought against tensing when his hand settled on my back. Come. Walk with me. It’s been some time since you and I have spoken.

As you wish, Master. Tugging along the mare, I strode in time with Talbot’s steps, assuming the same sedate pace the other man did. My horse mirrored our rhythm and while the silence which settled over us bore some level of ease and comfort, it could not erase the presence of secrets and hidden motives. I spent the walk embroiled in a debate, wondering how much Talbot knew simply from looking at me.

Were all of them disposed of? he asked once we were clear of the encampment, leaving the presence of idle chatter and flickering torchlight at our backs and wading further into the fields of Moulins.

I frowned. I let one go, I said. Undoubtedly Marcus told you.

He did. Though I try not to indulge him often when he has a complaint against you. Jealousy has no place among my lieutenants. His hand fell from me, settling at his side again. I glanced at him in time to see him sigh, clasping his hands behind his back. I thought you said we’d have no further delays.

I saw no challenge in the girl. She’s lost the entirety of her order. I nodded in the direction of the monastery. This should contain everything we’ve sought.

"But to say we won’t have any delays isn’t truthful. With even one of them still out there, seeking to undermine us, we could have an unpleasant surprise. His steps paused, forcing me to stop as well and turn to face him. While Talbot failed to look at me, he kept me in his periphery all the same, never fully glancing away. Monsieur d’Avignon, I took you in because I saw great things in you. I believe I’ve told you that before."

And have I not lived up to those expectations, Master?

Oh, you have, but all the same I hardly expected you to be the one given over to a bout of mercy. What happened out there tonight?

His gaze shifted back to me. This time, mine was the one which wavered. I let someone who bore no further threat to us scurry away.

Have you stopped believing in the cause?

Immediately, I looked back at him, unable to control how shaken his question made me. Does letting one girl escape lead you to believe my conviction’s wavered? I asked.

The need to question an inquiry is the first sign of doubt, he quipped in response. For as much as I expected him to scowl at me, perhaps even challenge me further, his expression evened, becoming paternal once more. No man who sets upon a path fails to doubt it at some point, Henri. I’ve told you that before.

I never thought I’d doubt it once I devoted myself to you.

At one time, I said the same thing to my Master. He stepped closer to me, reaching out to touch my cheek. It slipped under your skin, didn’t it? Marcus told me many people fell under the weight of your sorcery in Bourges. It’s frightening, to gaze into the depths of your power and see how savage it can make you.

Opening my mouth to respond, I found myself unable to. Unwilling to admit how much I had peered inside myself and seen the darkest of hearts. My gaze strayed to the ground while Talbot slipped closer. We aren’t the kindest of men, Henri, he continued, his words soft and reassuring. You’re still human. If your heart held no compassion, I’d do you the favor of ending you now before you became something worse than a monster.

‘Before I became a threat, you mean.’ The observation made me wince, my mind spiraling away from the urge to be soothed. I didn’t know what inspired the thought, except to say it bore more conviction to me in that moment than any cause. You think I doubt because my hands are bloodied? I asked, attempting to play the part I had been trained to embody.

No, I think you’ve finally seen death at its cruelest, he countered, a subtle smirk crossing his lips when I looked back at him again. I wish I could say this is the last time you’ll see its cruelty, but I’ve lived too long to convince somebody otherwise.

I’ve seen the cruelty of death before.

But were your hands the ones doing its bidding?

No. My frown deepened. I suppose not.

Henri… Talbot encroached further upon me still. The way he drank me in as he caught my gaze unnerved me, plunging into me in a manner I found both disturbing and exciting. I could not find the wherewithal to step away. Instead, I tensed and shut my eyes when his hand slid to the back of my neck, only a breath between our bodies with his tone of voice low, his breath hitting my ear when he whispered in it. You have been an asset to me. Are you aware of how much so?

I wanted to groan when I felt his other hand splay across my back. You tell me so, I murmured.

The time is at hand for you to make a decision. His mouth shifted, lips hovering above my pulse point while I felt the sharp tips of his teeth against my skin. It prickled in response, an impulse racing through me like quicksilver making me want to push him up against me. He chuckled, as if aware of his effect on me. I want to bring you across the veil. To make you immortal at last. Would you allow me to be your eternal master?

Oh gods, I wanted it. Something about my communion with nature darkened again, swirling into an abyss of longing and emptying into a void. I imagined myself silencing these last pangs of humanity stopping me from realizing the force of destruction I could be, if I only allowed myself to submerge. That thought alone both frightened and tempted me. For as delicious as the offer tasted, the heaviness in my heart had not lightened enough for me to swallow it down. I’m not sure, I said, summoning as much resistance as I could through a rapidly forming haze. What would I do with eternity?

Rule as a prince, Henri. Become something far greater and more terrible than anything you could have been otherwise. I felt the coolness of his lips touching my warm flesh and as his teeth cut channels, rivulets of blood ran down to my cloak, my hold on the reins of my horse almost releasing so I could throw myself at Talbot in sacrifice. I groaned while that same resistance warned me of who held me in his thrall, guarding me even when he sucked at my neck and pulled away.

Consider it further, child, he whispered against my skin. So many of your brothers would beg for the offer I have extended to you.

Is it poor of me to need to consider it? I murmured.

"No. In the end I will have your loyalty, Henri. You will give it over in full surrender because, on that day, you will want it more than the air you breathe. I have no doubt you will prove my trust in you a worthy investment."

I exhaled a shaky breath when he stepped away from me again, my attention snapping to him at once as he presented his back to me and paced toward the camp. Find the girl while I have Marcus search through their treasures, he called toward me. And when you’ve brought her back to me, you can show me what you would do to our enemies as my immortal son.

Talbot dismissed me with a flick of his hand, breaking me from a trance and restoring my senses enough for revulsion to surge through me, a foreign reaction to my own dance with decadence. For as evident as it was that his ministrations had affected me, I felt violated, lifting a hand to wipe away what remained of the blood on my skin before consummating my departure. The chill in the air bore more of a bite to it when I climbed onto my horse and rode away. Find the girl, he had said.

I sighed, pointing myself in the direction my quarry had run.

The scene jostled, knocking me aback. Day turned to night and night into day again, until the sun lowered one final time into the horizon, two days into the future. While our camp often held a tempered bustle, it was surrounded by chaos and cacophony, fellow Luminaries coming and going with broad smiles and congratulatory wishes dancing on their lips. I furrowed my brow, finding myself mounted atop a horse I lowered from before handing over her reins to one of the underlings. The amount of revelry surrounding a bonfire had me at a loss, confused enough to wonder what I had missed.

A man stumbled past I recognized as one of our acolytes. I clutched onto his arm to stop him, furrowing my brow as our eyes met. What happened? I asked. Have we descended into madness?

The red-cloaked man barked out a laugh, another step closer almost causing him to list into me and assaulting my senses with the odor of his drunkenness. His loss of balance only provoked more laughter from him. "Ah, Henri, where have you been?" he asked.

Doing our Master’s bidding. Lifting a gloved hand, I pointed at the bonfire. Why are we celebrating?

Because we have triumphed! He lifted his arm as I let it go and draped it around me. Marcus returned to camp just this evening with the news.

Just this night? My pulse quickened as my gaze shot back toward the crowd. Murmuring something dismissive to my compatriot, I pushed him away in favor of searching for our leader. Near the far edge of the camp, I saw him, frowning when I noticed Marcus standing beside him as well. They both examined something placed atop a table, candlelight flickering in the wind as they seemed to relish the sight of whatever they had uncovered.

"They don’t have all of you yet," she had said to me.

My steps regained some sense of surety, despite the knots forming in my stomach again.

Talbot faced me as I approached, the smile on his face broad and predatory. Henri, he said, walking past Marcus as an afterthought and pausing a short space away from the table. Please, indulge me a moment. Tell me, what is our mission?

I stole a glance at my rival, too much at a loss to acknowledge the look of derision which originated from him. To restore the prestige and the power of the Eternal Luminaries, I said, looking back at my Master. Why do you ask?

The reasoning hardly matters. It’s an indulgence, and you’re exactly correct. He waved me closer and I followed accordingly, assuming a place beside Talbot. Did you find the girl? he asked.

No, she slipped away. I saw the remnant of a battle encampment and assume she followed it. I thought I might ask first before pursuing the matter any further. My gaze stole to the space where Talbot had occupied, eyes immediately taking in the sight of a parchment rolled open on top of it. I fought against the impulse to frown. What did we discover, Master?

Talbot laughed, wrapping an arm around me and drawing me close. Together, we walked toward the table again, forcing Marcus to step away and grant me passage. I didn’t bother to look at him. This, my future Child, is a map which leads its way to an important key. This is what those beings have hidden away from me for three centuries and now, I have the power to summon it.

What sort of key? I asked, cursing myself for the comfort of his protective embrace.

The key to our control over this world. He sighed, wistful. Think of it. We puppeteer the humans from the shadows and bring nobility to their knees in secret, but what if we didn’t have to hide any longer? When he glanced at me, his gaze looked almost apologetic. Forgive me. You might not grasp the concept. For those of us who’ve had to weather all of this time in the darkness, it is a bright light shed upon us at last. We have been too long at their mercy.

Whose mercy?

"It doesn’t matter. With this, we will make all of our enemies fall to our feet."

Master, Marcus interjected, causing Talbot to relinquish his hold on me while pivoting to face my rival. The look they exchanged suggested some unfinished business, prompting Talbot to excuse himself and lead Marcus away so they might talk. I looked from them back to the parchment, which bore a few spells scribed in runes – five, to be exact. At first, the framework of what it seemed to be evoking caused me confusion. Nothing about the incantation bore a kinship toward keys, but I sensed something more to it; something hidden beneath the surface. Lifting a hand, I used it to touch the parchment, and whispered a few words under my breath, asking for revelation.

A sixth set of runes illuminated before me. My eyes widened at the sight, and as I jumped, I felt a chill settle in the air beyond that of any I had ever felt. Whatever it sought to summon, the sixth rune bore a form of magic I had never touched; a perversion to the kinship I felt with nature. A blasphemy against the world that had enraptured me from my first dance with magic. I held no delusions. I knew these men – this group of sorcerers with whom I had become entangled – worshipped their own permanence more than they did the earth below their feet. It had never bothered me. Had seduced me, in fact. Until that moment.

Her words echoed in my ears again.

My skin crawled and I felt the compulsion to run.

Clumsily, I stepped back from the table, knocking a medallion from atop it that I bent to pocket. My gaze remained fixed on the scroll as though it might disappear if I looked away. Beside it, a dirty, jewel encrusted cylinder laid open, its gems glistening despite the grime of being buried in the ground. I drew a shaky breath and realized the temptation that had made itself manifest.

What did I truly want? The question came from Henri, but it found Christian as well, challenging me to answer it. Henri found his resolution much easier than his son did.

We thought of girl and the jarring effect of her warning. We thought of the Luminaries themselves and flashed back to facets of his training which should have bothered him along the way. He allowed flattery and bitterness to enchant his young ears and now, the decadence he once craved became a poison on his tongue. He had relished Talbot’s temptations. We had shivered against his offer. At some point, Henri had sold his soul and on the table, we saw the final straw. The final damnation. Our last chance to turn away from this path before we became something sinister, something truly evil.

Glancing toward Talbot, I saw him still engaged in discussion with Marcus. With both preoccupied, I rolled the parchment up, my eyes never leaving them while my hands worked swiftly. I reached blindly for the cylinder