Free Keeper of the Eye (The Eye of the Sword Book 1) by Mark Shane

that be?”
    “There’s an alliance of warlocks known simply as the Brotherhood. They’re bent on releasing the Soulless One.”
    “Madness!” Baldwin exclaimed. “They actually want to usher in Armageddon? What do they intend to gain?”
    “Power, riches, prominence; it doesn’t matter. They believe the Soulless One will reward them beyond their imagination. They’re evil men with evil desires. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
    “And how does this Brotherhood plan to free the father of darkness?”
    “Throughout the world there are certain places where magic is concentrated, wells of magic if you will. It’s from these wells all creatures capable of wielding magic draw their power. Some wells are small, some big. The potential of the well is proportionate to its size. They plan to use the well at Dalarhan to rip open the veil between this world and the underworld.
    “Why Dalarhan?”
    “It rests on the greatest well accessible to man. The Eye was created to protect it. If the well in Dalarhan is breached, the Soulless One might be released and the world will be torn limb from limb.” There were other wells of similar magnitude. Fortunately, each was in a remote location guarded by extreme weather conditions. Or worse.
    “Perhaps they have already succeeded,” Baldwin said.
    “No, it’s a small rift or we would be dealing with far worse than nightstalkers.”
    Max took small comfort in the belief that Aleister was unaware Michael existed. When he first realized nightstalkers were in the area, he believed Michael was their target. Now he was certain they would have faced much more than a handful of hellhounds if that had been the case. Still, it was no coincidence the nightstalkers appeared the same time Falon did. So, did they catch up to her by happenstance when she arrived in Whitewater’s Forge or were they tracking her with specific instructions to kill any magichae she made contact with? Were nightstalkers that intelligent? Hellhounds steered clear of light and civilizations so Michael could have been a target simply because he lived outside of town. Perhaps the power emanating from him proved too great a draw to resist. Aleister might not even know whom Falon was searching for, but it was better to assume he was well aware his former teacher was alive. All conjecture, every bit. No one had come face to face with nightstalkers since the Warlock uprising in Balshar three hundred years ago. All he had to go on were his studies at the Wizard’s Keep.
    More importantly, did this pack have a warlock linked to it? If so, then there was a warlock out there aware the beasts were destroyed by a magichae. It was unlikely Aleister would personally bother with a smaller well when he had the one in Dalarhan to focus on. Someone under him must have breached a well somewhere else. But where? And how many magichae did Aleister have working for him? So many questions and no answers. Max wanted to grind his teeth. He brought himself out of his thoughts, looking at General Baldwin.
    “I’m sure the rift closed shortly after being opened. Keeping a tear open would be like trying to keep water separated with your bare hands,” he continued. No doubt wherever the rift was, Aleister’s lackeys were not far away working to reopen it.
    “The prophecies claim the fall of Shaladon will be the start of Armageddon. Is this the beginning?” Garen asked.
    Max shook his head. “I don’t think we’re there yet. The prophecies tend to be paradoxical and conflicting. One of the oldest prophecies states the Keeper will regain Shaladon. Does that mean he will defeat the Soulless One to regain Shaladon or does it mean Shaladon will fall and be regained prior to Armageddon? Many a heated debate have sprung up among the prophets and scholars over this very topic. I think Shaladon’s current condition is not ‘the fall’, but it could be if we do not act. Which leaves us little choice.”
    “Little choice?”