Death, and the cold chill that accompanied, were old acquaintances, but not a friend to the Betrayer. Darkness, shadows, silence: this place held the whispers of madness. The Betrayer strained hard against the ringing silence, his composure slipping. The porous stone walls made of black and red flecked granite were as cold as sheets of ice. What little light was granted to the Betrayer failed to keep the claustrophobia at bay. The lack of fresh air didn’t help, either. If he didn’t get out of here soon, he’d lose his mind. He relished the thought of leaving, deprived of the suns and the chirps of birds for a moon turn.

A little over a month ago, the dark lord sent him as his emissary to the Clan King of the vampires in Shadow City. His duty: to voice Xilor’s displeasure at their lack of commitment to the fallen lord. At first, his presence was taken as a joke. Only when the sheol showed up did the vampires stir from their languid slumber. When the sheol quickened, everyone took it as a sign Xilor wasn’t far behind.

The Betrayer paced his small and windowless room. A cot nestled against the far wall beside a table with a washbasin. A nondescript and unflattering mirror was the only other decoration in the room. One candle burned, striving in vain to hold the intense darkness at bay.

The mirror swirled in a yellow-green fog, an expected transmission. When the swirling subsided, an image of eyes came into view, familiar, cold, peculiar. The Betrayer plastered a smile on his face and prostrated himself on the floor. “My lord, this is a pleasant surprise. Is stage one complete?” he asked, trying to mask his true feelings.

“Yes, my faithful servant. Your switching of the books in the non-magical realm turned out to be your best accomplishment yet, including your memory charm on the girl. The flawless plan worked; even the great Lakayre was caught unaware. But your future may be forfeit because now they must know another Betrayer is among them. Instead of you, they hunt my apprentice. I cannot permit this.”

“Have they caught him, then?” the servant asked, almost hopeful. If the newest minion Xilor placed inside the walls of Ralloc was caught, that would effectively retire the Betrayer from his vile service, and the Dark Lord would have to start over. He prayed to whatever gods existed the day would come soon.

“No, they haven’t. But you should heed my words and watch your back, for they’ll catch on and come for you. If they capture you, I’ll have no need to keep them alive.”

Dear Spirits, not the children. Anything but them.

“As long as the trilogy with your blood is back, the risk was worth it, my lord.”

“Yes.” Xilor paused, scrutinizing the man. “What of the vampires? Have they allied themselves yet?”

“Yes, my lord. The clan king of the vampire will set out tonight to meet you. He’ll arrive in a few days.”

“And what of the sheol? Have they also aligned with me? Did they not sense my presence and power growing stronger?”

“They are ready for war, but I’m not certain they can be persuaded. They’re aware that without them, we would be hard pressed to win. If they don’t fight for us, then all is lost.”

“Not lost, no. I’m never without a fail-safe. Even if my demons of death do not side with us, they will when they sense the power shift.”

“Yes, but I think they might already ally with us after the attack on Lakayre. That almost seals their fate with us.”

“The staged attack on the Other Side? My apprentice took the opportunity to try to eliminate you and Judas on the Other Side. His foolishness tipped our hand early. I didn’t command him to do so. He’ll pay for his transgression. But the act might work in our favor. If the sheol think some of their rank have sided against Ralloc, perhaps more will come to the cause. You’d think the creatures I created would be trustworthy; however, spending much time with them as I, one learns they can never be trusted completely. Their agendas are their own.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Perhaps they won’t pledge allegiance to either side of the struggle and mean to finish off whatever side wins when they’re at their weakest,” the Betrayer mused out loud.

“Careful, turncoat. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve figured that was your idea all along!”

Shades of the Underworld!

The Betrayer blushed and bowed low. “No, my lord, I’d never turn against you!”

“How do I know? You betrayed your kind, your blood.”

“My lord, why would I turn against the dark tide when it drowns out all light in the realm? I’ve been foolish in the past to think such conservative actions are the true display of power; I know that to have power, you must demonstrate it with full might!”

“I can see into your soul. Much hatred burns within you, but for whom? Me?”

If you only knew the truth.

“My lord, the hatred is the fuel to my power, and you know who it burns for. I hate mentioning his name.”

“Judas Lakayre?” the voice sneered. It slithered like an oily creature breathed to life.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good, then you’ll have no problem killing him when the time comes!”

“My lord.” Betrayer bowed, showing reverence.

Do I want to kill Warlock Lakayre?

“My lord, wouldn’t you want the pleasure of killing the person who destroyed you?”

“Yes, I would. Nothing would please me more than to kill him; however, nothing would show me more loyalty than if you took Judas’s life!” The Betrayer bowed low again, lower than before to hide his face, giving him time to compose his mask.

I can’t kill him. I’m no murderer.

He looked up. “I’m honored, my lord! Do you know where he is?”

“Yes, my other spy, my apprentice, said he saw him in Ralloc earlier today. Two betrayers are better than one, don’t you think? And three, well, I believe in redundancy.”

“As always, my lord, your wisdom is boundless,” the Betrayer bowed a third time, his face grimacing into the ground and out of view.

“Good. Enough of the not-too-distant future; how’s the Clan King getting here?”

“Given that no one can teleport across the Corridor of Cruelty, he’s going to use the journey-stone I gave him to teleport outside the Corridor. He’ll fly through under the cover of night. Once out the other side, he’ll use the journey-stone to teleport to the Ruins of Sheol. Once night falls, he’ll complete the journey to Gryzlaud.”

“Very well,” Xilor said from the mirror. “Your next assignment will be to sway the trolls. Go to the Ruins of Sheol. Incite an uprising, have them attack Wizard’s Pass. There’ll be a small window of time. It’s a test of loyalty.”

“My Lord, the Ruins of Sheol are through the Corridor of Cruelty, in another realm—”

“I do not allow you to live to question my wisdom!” the acidic voice boomed from the mirror. It almost vibrated out of its framing.

The Betrayer fell to his knees, hunched over with his face to the ground. Scrotum of gods, don’t kill me! “My Lord, forgive me, I was foolish to think—”

“You are foolish! You think your feeble wizard skills are even close to fathoming my understanding?” The eyes narrowed to slits, but when he spoke again, his voice grew quiet though still harsh. “If you think you can outwit me or betray me, think again. I may not be in physical form, but my source of power is vast, if not endless, and I’ll crush you if I perceive the slightest inclination of treachery.”

He’s insane!

“Forgive me, Lord, I didn’t mean—”

“—But you did.” Xilor’s acidic voice turned back to the familiar cold, clammy voice. “Otherwise, you would’ve said nothing. I’ll give you five days to complete the negotiations. Five days! Or you won’t be around to witness my return to glory.” Before the Betrayer uttered another word, the eyes in the mirror faded in a green swirl, the communication severed.

The Betrayer sagged with relief when the communication terminated. He trembled with exhaustion. He almost wished he’d said ‘no’ to the Dark Lord all those years ago. But how could he? How could he throw away the lives of two innocent children by not answering the dark lord’s call? He threatened their death every chance he got, to remind the Betrayer where he belonged. It was a tough choice to make: betraying everyone and everything he had known, or the death of innocents. Both choices were horrible and each held distinct consequences. But he’drather betray his heart than suffer the deaths of those children. Still, he needed to find a way to escape, utilizing every bit of guile and ingenuity he could muster. The time had come for him to corner the dark lord, to outmaneuver him. He just hoped he could come away unscathed.

“Five days …” he muttered to himself. A near-impossible feat. He needed to find a journeyman and purchase a porting stone. The candle of time burned quickly. Five days to prove his usefulness, loyalty, and reliability.