"Who?" Brantley's question was a mere whisper. His body tensed and blood from his face drained. It can't be happening so soon. He just got married. He hadn't even shown Bianca all of Aztec. They haven't enjoyed their marriage.

Daryn looked at him and without blinking, said, "You know it Brantley."

​​

His jaws clenched.

"Sedora…" said Daryn.

Everyone in the room became dead silent. Bianca's breath stopped in her throat. So the time had come? Sweat trickled down her spine and she could feel Brantley's clammy palms.

Daryn continued, "My theory is that Sedora has somehow amassed an army of such Shadows. Rather, she has created this army. They are corpses with filthy, dirty, stinking bodies who can't be killed… because they are already dead. They are demons and are created for the mere purpose of destruction. You could use a dozen swords against them, but it wouldn't matter. Basically, you can't kill them by using steel or iron."

Bianca froze, as she turned pale like a ghost. Sedora had created an army of Shadows? And according to the prophecy, she was meant to kill Sedora? Her mind stuttered. Was she even a match to her Grandmother?

Hair on her neck rose and Dawn rubbed her neck to settle the ominous feeling. "Have they attacked us in numbers?"

"They have attacked us in large numbers," said Caleb. "Since we are sorcerers, Sedora has made sure to attack her own people because we are the greatest threat to her Shadows. Her army has started attacking small establishments on the outskirts of Ixoviya and so most of my people have fled from there and are pouring in the capital in throngs. We have started building tents for them for temporary stay. But it doesn't stop here. Our food stock may go down soon!" Caleb exhaled heavily. "Though that can be managed. We will buy it from the human realm, but the problem is that Sedora is trying to cut that lifeline by sending Shadows on that side of my kingdom! The Shadows have overwhelmed the entire south and west boundaries of my kingdom." He shook his head as he looked down at his hands in his lap. "They have devoured people and left their bodies to rot. Those who manage to survive, to get out of their clutches, have fled to the capital." His face was strained.

"So how do we stop them?" asked Bianca.

Brantley's Adam's apple bobbed. He shook his head. "I am not allowing Bia to go there. She is too young. She doesn't even recognize her magic. She can't handle it!"

Daryn looked at him and bit his lip. He kept his elbow on the table and rested his face on it. Closing his eyes, he just stayed quiet as if in agony. Dawn got up to drape her hands around her daughter. She kissed her on her crown. Even though she had readied Bianca all the years for the inevitable, she found herself shivering at the thought. Bianca patted her mom's hands softly. Then Dawn walked to Daryn and sat besides him. She looked up at the ceiling, exasperation visible on her face.

"We have to first stop the Shadows," said Daryn. "And we need to kill them."

"Kill them?" said Darius. "They can't be just killed! You mentioned that!"

Caleb took a deep breath. "They can be killed but for that we need to do something extraordinary."

Everyone in the room except Daryn had their eyes on him.

"It isn't going to be an easy thing…" he said in a low voice, as if battling to reveal it.

"What is it, Uncle?" Bianca asked.

A knock on the door disturbed their conversation.

"Who is it?" asked Brantley in an irritated voice. "Come in!"

The guard opened the door and stepped inside. "Your Highness, we have another guest."

"Who?"

"Your Highness, Nusgroth from the kingdom of Yardrak is waiting for your permission to enter the castle. Once you permit, we will open the portcullis."

Dawn shuffled in her seat when she heard that name. "The dwarf?" she rasped, suddenly remembering her experience with him in Ulfric.

Brantley nodded. "He can come in," he said to the guard. The guard closed the door behind him.

"I never liked that Yardrak!" said Dawn. He hadn't allowed her to go out of the tunnel, which led to Ulfric. She rubbed her neck.

Daryn held her hand and said, "You know that he was instructed by Brantley, right?"

Dawn looked away, as Brantley couldn't hold his chuckle. "Well, I instructed him not to let you away. He was good at his job."

"Come on Brantley!" Dawn flared. "He made my life hell by keeping a close watch on me and Daryn. And he was nasty."

Daryn started laughing. The tension in the air eased a little bit.

"I have no intentions of allying with him even if you put me under a rock and crush me!" Dawn grated.

Brantley, Caleb and Daryn started laughing as Darius and Bianca watched them with puzzled expressions.

"Those were the days!" Caleb joked. "Poor Dawn!"

The other two men guffawed.

Dawn waved her hand in disgust at them. "Don't expect me to say hello to that dwarf!" How could they find humor in this situation? Men!

Brantley tilted his head and looked at her. "He is a strong ally and a very useful one. Even if you don't approve of him, he and his people can stay on the fringes and help us."

"How can Yardraks help us?" asked Darius.

"They can dig tunnels under the ground at rapid speed!" Brantley informed him.

"Wow!" The siblings said in unison.

The door opened and the guard announced his arrival. Nugroth walked in and everyone except Dawn rose to his or her feet to greet him. Bianca and Darius were totally amused at the dwarf. Wearing a purple coat, which was tight and black breeches, the man looked like a warrior. A sword hung from his belt, which was sheathed in expensive leather. Nusgroth bowed to Brantley.

"What brings you here, Nusgroth?" asked Brantley as he waved his hand for him to join them at the table. The guard ran to pick up two more cushions to place them on the chair he was going to sit.

After he was seated comfortably on the chair, he said, "Thank you for seeing me on such a short notice, dragon rider." His eyes went to Dawn. She averted her gaze. So he focused on Brantley. "There's been an untoward situation and from what I heard, it is affecting you too—the Shadows!"

There were wrinkles on Brantley's forehead. "How are you affected by them?" He couldn't imagine that the Shadows would attack his people. They lived in caves under the ground.

As if understanding Brantley's suspicions, he said, "Some of my people are always on the ground. We are in the construction business of the Lore, so we are called for that work very often. Over the past three days, several of my people have been attacked and eaten by the Shadows. They just eat!" he shuddered. "They leave the bodies out in the open. It is… frightening. My people are scared. We tried to kill them, but they don't die. They simply come back in more numbers, like fleas. They are like plague. If we don't contain them, we are going to be eradicated!" He looked at every one of them. "And they are Sedora's army."

"I know!" Brantley said in a breathy voice.

"I have held meetings with other kingdoms. Except a few, all of them are ready to assist us!"

"Who isn't ready?" asked Caleb.