Supreme Magus

The Courts wanted her as an ally, not as their master, so they had turned down her ’generous ’ offer. The act had enraged Veeza and left them Erlik as their only hope. He had contacts in all the three Courts, so it didn ’t take him long to find the best man for the job at hand.

After the huge fiasco in Othre, Kaelan the vampire had lost everything because of Lith.

The death of his chosen, of Count Xolver, and his failure in the negotiations with the Griffon Kingdom, had led the Night Court to strip Kaelan of his rank, turning the centuries-old vampire into a social pariah.

After months of mockery and humiliation, he had abandoned the Court, becoming an Outcast. It was the only way to achieve his revenge without being restricted by the rules of undead society.

He had attempted for over a month to find Lith, but the task had proven to be a nightmare. Lith moved as fast and silent as a ghost. No matter how much Kaelan spent to corrupt his sources in the army, the Ranger was never where he was supposed to be.

The vampire had no idea that thanks to Solus ’s new powers, the position Lith provided in his reports was purely nominal. He would have the army amulet scan a location in the north just to Warp with his tower back in the south of the Kingdom.

Infiltrating Belius had proved to be impossible. No matter how rich he was, the city ’s security measures were so strict that he couldn ’t get in. Among the city arrays, there was one able to detect the undead.

The Crown spared no expenses to keep the Courts out of nerve centers of the Kingdom. It made Kamila untouchable for him, just like the Queen ’s Corps units outside Lith ’s house made kidnapping a member of his family suicidal.

Kaelan could have killed one of them from a distance, but his thirst for revenge couldn ’t be quenched by such an impersonal act. He wanted Lith to know who was the architect of his misery and why he was being punished.

”What do you want, Erlik? ” Kaelan ’s spite for the Draugr was only second to the one he held of the Courts.

”You ’re already capable of staying awake during the day. Remarkable. ” Erlik didn ’t care for respect as long as the other party kept their end of the bargain. ”Are you interested in regaining your position in the Night Court, if not in rising even higher? ”

”What ’s the deal? ” Kaelan knew that Erlik had no authority in the Courts. He was their golden boy, but that was it. At least until his plan succeeded. After that, the Draugr would become a leading figure, if not the leader of all Courts.

Alas, between saying and doing, there were a lot of people to slaughter.

”My plan was going smoothly, but in the last few days, I ’ve run into a few complications. I hoped you could help me deal with them. ” Erlik explained to Kaelan his current situation.

”I need you to buy me just a few days. Past that point, unless the Council or a Guardian intervenes, the events that I ’m going to set in motion will be impossible to stop. ”

”How exactly am I supposed to do it? I can ’t enter Laruel and even if I could, I couldn ’t move as freely as your thralls and undead plants. ” Kaelan replied.

”I don ’t need you here. I need you to deal with those bothering me. No matter how powerful a warrior or how cunning their mind is, the heart will always be their weak point.