Free Blood of the Earth by David A. Wells Page A

see if I can find this killer based on his activities rather than his identity.”
    “I won’t pretend to know how your magic works,” Anatoly said, “but I’m willing to give anything a try at this point. I don’t much like the idea of a killer loose in the Keep, especially with all of our allies coming here for a war council.”
    When they arrived at his quarters, he stopped in the middle of the room with a frown.
    “I need a magic circle,” he muttered, turning around, just as Adele came into the room.
    “Is there anything you need, Lord Reishi?” she asked.
    Alexander smiled and said, “I don’t suppose you have a magic circle handy.”
    “Of course,” she said, happy to be able to help. “When I took responsibility for furnishing your quarters, I consulted with Mage Gamaliel to see if there were any items you would require. He was most helpful.”
    She bustled through the room to the door opposite the archway leading to the dining room. It opened to a hall lined with several more doors.
    “You have a study, a personal library, a meditation chamber equipped with a suitable magic circle, and a training room stocked with an assortment of weapons.”
    She motioned to each door as she spoke.
    “Thank you, Adele, your efforts are greatly appreciated,” Alexander said with a warm smile. He hardly knew this woman, but she had taken it upon herself to provide all of the little things that he didn’t have the presence of mind to think about until they were needed. He reminded himself how important it was for him to succeed against his enemies so that people like Adele would be spared the pain, suffering, and death that Phane, Zuhl, and the shades represented.
    She smiled at his praise and her colors swelled with pride.
    “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you to your duties, Lord Reishi.”
    He went into his meditation room. It was a simple square room with windows on one side covered with heavy curtains. A brass lamp stood in each corner, and a ten-foot-diameter magic circle inlaid in gold and silver was set into the floor. In the center of the circle was a cushion. Otherwise the room was empty.
    “I have to go for a while, Little One,” Alexander said to Chloe.
    She buzzed into view in a ball of light and flew in an orbit around his head before coming to float a few feet from his face.
    “I know, My Love. I’ll watch over you. Hurry back—I get lonely when your mind is elsewhere.”
    Alexander sat down and cleared his mind. As he’d done so many times in the past, he acknowledged each stray thought and then let it go until his mind was quiet. Then he was floating on the firmament. He could feel the collective angst of the world in the limitless expanse of the present moment as it unfolded in countless lives across the Seven Isles.
    He narrowed his focus and thought of the murderer loose in the Keep.
    Nothing happened.
    When he tried again, he still couldn’t focus on the person he wanted. It seemed he needed a name or at least a passing acquaintance with his target in order to find him. So he decided to focus on his worst fears instead. A single man acting alone would be a nuisance but not a significant threat. He was far more worried about creatures from the dark.
    He focused on Jinzeri. He felt a sensation of impossible speed as his awareness coalesced in a large cave. There was ample light in the natural cavern from several clusters of glowing crystals jutting from the ceiling. Along one wall was a jet-black fragment of stone, uneven around the edges but polished to a mirror sheen on its face. It stood about twelve feet tall and was eight feet wide at the base.
    The Nether Gate.
    Twenty feet in front of it was a magic circle surrounding a stone pedestal cut from the same jet-black stone.
    Sitting with his back to the pedestal was Rexius Truss.
    He was possessed by Jinzeri and he was eating a rat—bones, fur, and all.
    Alexander watched for a moment until Jinzeri turned and looked directly at