Sparks flew from the hoofs of the steed as it abruptly stopped in the inner courtyard of castle Ildemar. Like a flock of birds, servants rushed out to welcome their master. What ensued was organized chaos. Horses were neighing, men were shouting and running around. And above that thundered the voice of the duke himself.

“Healer! Bring me a healer! Call the elders! Where is elder Tikotse? Elder Marishka? Anyone?”

“My lord, right now, all six elders are taking care of lady Shana.” A servant bowed and answered quickly, while another was bringing the restless steed away.

“What?” Noah’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong with Shana? Is she hurt?”

“I don’t know, my lord. They are not letting anyone enter her chambers.”

An uneasy feeling spread in the man’s chest. All of a sudden, Lorelei’s weight in his arms seemed to double. Something must have happened to Shana! She had used soul-projection and defeated that nightmarish creature. She had saved his life, all their lives, by risking her own. And now, something was wrong with her. Otherwise, the six binshi elders would not have locked themselves up with her.

Noah swayed a bit but quickly pulled himself together. Nothing in his expression revealed that right now he was shaken to his very core. This was neither the place nor the time to give in to his emotions. The precious seconds he was wasting could mean life and death for Lorelei

Looking around, Noah saw sir Lucas dismounting nearby. He gave him a sign and the young man came running.

“Take the lady to her chambers.”

Noah carefully placed the unconscious Lorelei in the other man’s arms. For a second his eyes lingered on the gray marks left by the wraith. They looked almost beautiful, like ash flowers blooming on her marble-like skin. But Noah knew better than to trust their beauty. She was dying. And he had to leave her side. His heart was tearing, but the man knew that she was in good hands.

“Make sure the servants clean her wounds and tend to all her needs until the elders come. And Lucas, guard her with your life.”

“I will, my lord.”

Throwing one last glance behind, Noah stormed off for Shana’s chambers.

The castle’s corridors seemed endless. With every step he took, the duke felt his fear growing. His mind drew pictures, one more horrid than the other. He lost his balance and almost tripped but continued forward, until he reached a tall white door. When he was a step away, some unknown force repelled him, pushing the man a few meters back. A barrier! Someone had surrounded the entrance with an invisible wall. Why? What were they keeping from him?

Without hesitation, Noah drew out Red Dawn. The blade sparkled scarlet and silver as he lifted it ready to strike down the hex barring his path.

“Wait! Stop! You’ll cause more damage like that.”

A tired, urgent voice came from behind. The man felt a hand on his shoulder as Gerash stood beside him.

“Good thing I came in time. How could you leave me behind and simply storm off?”

“You and the twins need treatment.”

“We are fine. But you almost chopped into pieces the barrier that my father and grandmother have put up. Do you have any idea how dangerous that might have been? For both sides!”

“Shana is there.” Noah slid Red Dawn back in the sheath and ran a hand through his hair. “I need to get in!”

“Well,” the young binshi shrugged, “let’s enter like we are supposed to, without killing anyone in the process.”

He lifted his right hand and drew a complicated symbol in the air while his lips moved silently. At a first glance, nothing much happened. Only Gregor’s face became even paler. He heaved a sigh of relief and beckoned to his friend to follow.

Stepping through the barrier was strange. The air was somehow dense and sticky, and it felt to Noah as if threading across a marsh. As they approached the door, the pressure increased, until every step was a struggle. With a final push, the two crossed the threshold, entering into a small anteroom.

Immediately, the men were met by the shining blade of a glaive. On the other side was a sturdy, middle-aged woman with snow-white hair and a determined look. Several paces behind her, two other binshi sat on the floor in the middle of the room with crossed legs and tightly closed eyes – one middle-aged man of formidable stature and a woman well into her late years.

“Karusa!?” Noah was taken aback.

“Mother! Lower your weapon!” Gregor too was visibly surprised.

Instead of complying, the woman gripped the handle of her glaive even tighter.

“Prove yourselves,” came the cold reply.

The two knights exchanged a confused look. Gregor dug under his collar and pulled out two leather straps. On the first one hung a green twin-drop, and the other bore a finely carved bone amulet. With a snap, Gregor took of the little piece of bone and laid it flat on his palm.

“I am Gerashgor of Wolf Mountain, son of Karusa and Tikotse, turgan of the Wolf Mountain clan.”

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Before he even finished speaking, a faint glow appeared over the amulet. For a brief moment, it took on the shape of a wolf and then quickly faded away.

“Indeed, you are, in body and soul,” proclaimed the woman and pointed her glaive at Noah’s chest. “What about you?”

Noah hesitated for a second. He was not a binshi, so he didn’t possess any convenient amulets that were soul-bound and could prove his identity. The command token he carried as Duke Norden was most likely not enough to convince the woman since in the binshi’s eyes it was nothing more than a piece of metal. So, the only option he had was…

Apparently, he contemplated for a bit too long. Agile like a snake, the blade of the glaive sprang to life. With uncanny speed, it targeted his throat. But Noah was even faster. He dove under the attack, his hand reaching for his sword. With a clang, Red Dawn met the shaft of the binshi’s weapon.

“I am Noah Lux Norden, son of Gulfidan, duke of the lands of Norden, wielder of Red Dawn.”

“No soul aiming to harm the blood of Star-path Valley could touch Red Dawn.” The binshi woman retrieved her glaive and nodded. “Indeed, you are lord Norden, in body and soul. Forgive me for attacking you.”

The tension dissipated a bit. Karusa waved her hand. Five other figures, who had previously been hiding in the niches around the walls, stepped forward. Noah couldn’t help but be impressed. He hadn’t even sensed their presence. And above all else, Gerash’s mother and the people surrounding them were not shamans like the Shadows his friend commanded. Their stealth had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with training and fighting experience. These were the most elite warriors in the Wolf Mountain tribe.

“I will escort you to kush-turgan Shana,” said Karusa and instructed her people to take her place at the entrance.

As they were passing between the two sitting binshi, the old woman on the left suddenly opened her eyes.

“Tch, your entrance was so sloppy that we mistook you for enemies. You need to practice your hexes more instead of running around and swinging swords like a limerian. You have become a weakling.”

“You are not fair, baba! This is a barrier made by two elders,” Gerash turned red and threw a look at his grandmother. “And I am not in the best of shapes.”

“Don’t talk back, unfilial child! You should have been here, protecting the Star-gazer, not chasing after some limerian girl.”

“Enough! Keep your mind on the barrier, mother.” Gregor’s father abruptly cut her off. “You two, go to lady Shana. We’ll discuss everything later.”

Leaving behind the grumbling old woman, Noah and his friend followed Karusa through the adjacent doors. The strange feeling of ants crawling on his skin told Noah that they were passing through another barrier. And indeed, on the other side of the door, another group of warriors was protecting two more elders. Behind them stood a familiar four-pole bed with a small figure lying on top. The last of the six elders were kneeling at the head and foot of the bed with incense-burners at their feet. A low, unintelligible chant filled the air.

“Shana!”

Noah jumped forward, reaching the bed in three large strides. He slumped down, scooping the tiny hand of the girl in his palm. The slow rising and falling of her chest showed that she was at least alive, but the look of her almost translucent skin and pale face pierced the man’s heart.

“Starlet!” He kissed her cold forehead. “I am back, my starlet! Wake up! Please, Shana, wake up.”

There was no reaction from the child. Without letting go of her hand, Noah turned to Karusa.

“What’s happening to her?”

“We don’t know,” answered the binshi. “The elders felt major disturbances on the Spirit Plane. Then suddenly lady Shana was engulfed in white light and fainted. We suspect that she has started to awaken as a Star-gazer, but it is way too early. She was supposed to awaken in a year, so no one was prepared. Elder Marishka and elder Kotrag are searching for her soul on the Spirit Plane right now.”

Noah threw a glance at the old man and woman at the bedside. Their foreheads were beaded with sweat while their lips moved in unison, whispering the hex.

“Your highness,” Karusa rested her hand on the man's shoulder, “they will find her. Every binshi, even the Star-gazer, goes on a journey to the Spirit Plane when they awaken. It was just too sudden, so it caught us by surprise.”

“She soul-projected some ten kilometers away,” whispered Noah. “Are you sure she’ll be fine?”

“What!?” Karusa’s fingers dug into her lord’s shoulder. “But she hasn’t performed the ritual to unlock her powers! What happened?”

“She saved us from a dhrowghost,” answered Gregor and leaned on one of the bed-posts.

“Mother Above!” With a loud clang, Karusa’s glaive fell on the floor. She hurried to her son and grabbed his face in her hands. “Are you alright? Are you injured? Did it infect you?”

“I am fine, mama.” Gregor hugged his mother. “Lady Shana destroyed it and purified us.”

“Almost all of us.” Noah’s face distorted. “Karusa, the purification didn’t work on the duchess. We need one of the elders to tend to her.”

“Impossible. Protecting the Star-gazer is our first and foremost concern. If lady Shana did indeed fight a dhrowghost, her spirit is most likely exhausted. She might be in danger if we don’t find her soon. And we can’t weaken the barriers, since this is the time the Star-gazer and the elders looking for her are most vulnerable.”

“Please, Karusa!” Noah’s voice betrayed him and trembled. “Don’t make me chose between their lives! Please, I’m begging you!”

“I am sorry, duke Norden, but if the powers of a Star-gazer couldn’t purify the duchess, the elders can't do much more either.”

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck him. Noah's vision clouded. His ears rang as if a large hammer was hitting on an anvil. It was all his fault! This was a curse! Everything he touched, everything he held dear, was robbed from him, drowned in blood and ash. Everyone he loved died – his mother, his sisters, his friends. And now the Gods wanted to take away his wife and daughter too. This wasn’t fair! If this was a punishment for his sins, why were others dying and he was remaining alive?

An unexpected gust of wind ruffled his hair. The man felt someone kneeling beside him and turned his head around. Two night-black eyes filled with a myriad of stars looked down on him from Gregor’s face. A slender hand touched Noah’s brow.

“You surely overdid it this time. Your body is on the verge of collapsing. Rest now, little brother. When you wake up, everything will be fine.”

“G-Gerash…” Noah felt his tongue thick and sluggish. His eyelids fluttered as he was trying to fight the hex.

“Sleep, little brother! The child will be fine, and so will be the lady of your heart.”

But Noah didn’t hear his friend’s last words. Defeated by the hex and the piled-up fatigue, he sank into a dreamless sleep.

Gregor stood up and rubbed his neck.

“Not exactly hale and hearty either, this one.” He turned around to his mother and the rest of the guards, who had all dropped on the ground, heads pressed to the floor. “Keep a good eye on them while I’m gone.”

“As you order!” came the chorus reply.

Gregor just nodded and with a quick step left the room.

Noone noticed that right at that moment two red, tear-shaped amulets on Shana's chest were giving out faint silver light.