Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff

wizard, made a conscious decision in his search for ever more power to turn to the darkness and, in return for that power, accept its mantle.”
    â€œThe mantle of darkness?”
    â€œYes. It sounds like the title of a bad fantasy novel, doesn’t it?”
    A sudden grin. “I didn’t want to say . . .”
    â€œHe had a name once, but he came to be called the Shadowlord.”
    The grin disappeared. “He’s found the gate and he’s followed you through.”
    Arra blinked. That was unexpected. “Has anyone ever accused you of leaping to unwarranted conclusions?”
    â€œUnwarranted?” Tony’s eyes narrowed and Arra found herself surprised by the intensity of his emotion. She had expected astonishment, wonder, even, in spite of all he’d seen, disbelief. Perhaps fear when he finally realized what her story meant. But rage? No. She’d forgotten that anger was the first response of the young; the gods knew she’d seen the evidence of that often enough in the past. His left hand raised, one finger flicked up into the air. “You opened a gate from another world where . . .” A second finger. “. . . you were fighting an evil wizard called the Shadowlord and, hey . . .” A third and final finger. “. . . the shadows around here are suddenly Twilight Zoned!” All three fingers folded into a fist. Not threatening, but definitely challenging. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
    Was there any point in denying it? Maintaining a carefully neutral expression—her emotional responses were hers alone—she picked up a pad of drawing paper and pencil. “Not entirely, no. He hasn’t found the gate. It only remained open for a brief time after I arrived. He’s used the research I left behind to reopen it. And the Shadowlord himself hasn’t dared to cross over. He’s merely sent shadows—minions—through the gate to see what he might find on the other side.”
    â€œMerely? There’s no merely!” Anger pulled him up off the chair. “Nikki Waugh is dead!”
    â€œAnd there’s nothing you can do about it. Rage will not return the dead to life.” The pencil moved over the center of the page with enough pressure to indent the lines into the paper. “Neither will sorrow.” The lead broke and Arra laid the pencil down, exerting all her will to keep her hand from shaking. When she finally looked up, it was to see Tony staring down at her. “Neither will guilt,” she continued as though there’d been no pencil, no pause. “Trust me that I know this, Tony Foster.”
    â€œAll right. Fine. You know.” He whirled around, walked three steps away, whirled again, and walked two steps back, hands opening and closing by his sides. “What are you going to do to stop it from happening again?”
    Ah, yes, the sixty-four thousand dollar question, unadjusted for inflation. “There’s nothing I can do.”
    â€œWhy the fuck not? You’re a wizard !”
    He said the word like it was an answer. Or a weapon. Stretching out an arm, she scooped a square art eraser up out of the clutter in her desk drawer. “Weren’t you listening? We lost. The Shadowlord cannot be defeated. Now he has tasted this world. The next shadow he sends will have more purpose.” The pattern she’d been doodling began to disappear. “It will find a host and use that host to gather specific information.”
    â€œA host? What does that mean?”
    â€œExactly what it sounds like. The shadows are his spies, his advance scouts. They’re simple creations at first, but he uses the information they bring him to make each successive sending more complex. Nikki Waugh’s death will allow him to tailor a very complex shadow indeed.”
    Tony’s brow furrowed. “He can make a shadow that can take over a person?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œA person