A muted knock on the thick, ironwood door of the prison cell broke Ah'Shan's concentration. He shouted, "Peace! I am not to be disturbed."

The door creaked open anyway and the Kestrel assigned to guard the outer door poked his head through. "I apologize for disturbing you, master, but the ruling council is already assembled and they demand an update. A servant named Remiel is here on orders to speak with you."

Ah'Shan groaned and sat back in the simple wooden chair that made up the sum of all the furniture in the small, square room. The cell was situated in the deepest level of the dungeon, its walls reinforced with magic that blocked access by any outside power.

Those magic-enhanced walls also served another, more important purpose. They slowly drained away the Sthenic energy from Tanathos's body.

The Shadeleech floated in his glowing prison. His right hand and face were free of the prison's restraint, but Ah'Shan had blocked his ability to talk to prevent him from speaking a forbidden word and triggering a mind trap to kill himself.

Remiel was a young, dark-haired man dressed in the palace livery of Hallvarr instead of the emperor's personal colors. Instead of delivering the council's request, Remiel pointed at Tanathos. "Look!"

Tanathos was writing on a parchment that floated in the air next to his hand. Ah'Shan frowned and stepped closer.

As expected, Tanathos had refused to write any responses yet. Ah'Shan hadn't expected to proceed with the interrogation until the room drained the Shadeleech's powers that still shielded his mind. At that point, Ah'Shan could batter through Tanathos's mental shields and begin the delicate process of searching for cleverly hidden mind-traps that protected the vital information he sought.

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Tanathos finished writing with a flourish. Ah'Shan snatched the parchment and read the short message.

In time, you will breach my defenses, but we both know that will take days. However, leave me in solitude for two hours and I will reveal information you do not yet know enough to seek.

Ah'Shan glanced up at Tanathos and stared into the roiling blackness that still concealed the Shadeleech's gaze. "Why make this offer?"

Tanathos gestured for the parchment and wrote, Secrets one of us yearns to conceal will soon be revealed. This is not done lightly. Time is needed to prepare for the course that must be set.

Ah'Shan frowned. "Double-speak does not serve you now, Shadeleech." He turned to hand the parchment off to Remiel. The young man was staring at Tanathos, his face white, terrified.

"Don't worry, lad," Ah'Shan said. "He cannot hurt you."

Remiel took the proffered parchment, glanced at the written words, and his hand began to shake. "I'm sure you're right," he said in a trembling voice.

Ah'Shan turned back to Tanathos. "I will grant your request. You have two hours to prepare your mind." He paused and added, "Willing or no, at that time you will reveal your secrets to me."

Ah'Shan left the cell, followed by Remiel. The Kestrel assigned to guard the cell sealed the door with a wave of one hand. At his gesture, spikes grew out of the steel frame surrounding the heavy door and bored into the thick wood. No key could open the door, and it would take a man with an axe an hour to cut through the dense ironwood.

Ah'Shan said to the servant Remiel, "I will report to the council personally. You are dismissed."

The young man bowed and scampered away. Ah'Shan hoped future messengers showed a little more backbone. To be so unnerved by a captured Shadeleech, what would the man do when faced with a real emergency?

"What of the two Pallian Stalwarts, master?" the Kestrel asked.

"Let them join you here. That should satisfy Leander for a time."

As he began the long trek up to the emperor's council room, Ah'Shan prepared his strategy for assaulting Tanathos's mind. He welcomed the challenge. He expected the man to prove exceptionally well protected, and little pleased him more than breaking a worthy adversary's mind.

Things were working out extremely well. With the glory he would reap from breaking Tanathos, he would be positioned to take the next bold step forward.

The man Kevlin would not long bear the stone.