Sovereign of the Seven Isles 7: Reishi Adept by David A. Wells Page A

down into the ravine, Alexander dismounted, signaling for silence.
    “Send me your mind ,” Chloe said.
    Alexander gestured for everyone to hold their position and obliged his familiar without a word. Humphrey was speaking to a tradesman, a man with questionable colors.
    “If Nightshade wants the Stone, he has to move now,” the mayor said. “The pretender plans to leave soon.”
    The man nodded, handing Humphrey a pouch. “I’ll deliver your message. Are the strike preparations on schedule?”
    “Yes. With the silver you’ve provided, we’ve been able to get nearly half of the shipwrights on board, but we won’t be able to keep them if the supply ships from Ruatha get through.”
    “ We’ll take care of that,” the tradesman said, stepping back into an alley and disappearing into the shadows.
    “Follow Nightshade’s man, Little One.”
    “I will, My Love.”
    “Looks like I was right about Humphrey,” Alexander said, looking down into the ravine with his all around sight. Yasim’s men were well hidden but they were also boxed in. They had only two directions to retreat—up the ravine or down the ravine. Even better, they didn’t seem to be aware of Alexander and his men.
    “ Any idea what Nightshade’s up to?” Jack asked.
    “Short term, he’s organizing a strike. Long term, I suspect he wants to rule Andalia . But we’ll deal with him later.”
    “What do we face, Lord Reishi?” Kiera asked, a hard edge in her voice.
    “Yasim is a necromancer mage. Some of his men are very skilled assassins. The rest are killers for hire. I suspect all of them are far more comfortable stabbing people in the back than they are in combat. A few have magic, but Yasim is the only wizard in the bunch—and he’s the one I want dead the most.”
    “He’s the one who wounded the wyverns, yes?” Kiera said.
    “Yes. I suspect the Babachenko sent him to make sure that I don’t leave Andalia.”
    “What’s your plan of attack, Lord Reishi?” Jataan asked.
    Alexander opened his Wizard’s Den and retrieved Luminessence. “We move quietly. The archers will attack by surprise from the high ground, then we’ll engage the rest. I suspect Yasim’s magic will fail under my light, but he’s still dangerous. He wears enchanted armor and his dagger is dark and powerful.”
    They set out, moving slowly down the steep slope, sacrificing speed for stealth. Every ten steps or so, Alexander stopped and looked through the trees, checking on Yasim and his men. They seemed to be preparing for battle, yet didn’t appear to be aware of Alexander’s presence.
    When Alexander and his people reached a point just a hundred feet above the secluded camp, they could see Yasim and his men setting out toward the town, traveling single file along the little stream that had carved the ravine. Alexander looked to his Rangers—all had arrows nocked and ready.
    H e lifted Luminessence and raised its light, harsh and glaring to his enemies but illuminating and revealing to his allies. Arrows sailed through the trees a moment later, catching many of the hired killers by surprise, killing more than a few.
    Yasim and his assa ssins quickly found cover, avoiding the rain of arrows falling into their midst. It didn’t take the remaining mercenaries long to gather their senses and seek refuge behind the stout trees growing along the stream banks.
    Alexander shouted , “I just want Yasim! The rest of you are free to go if you leave now!”
    One man stepped out from behind a tree, showing his hands, looking at Alexander with suspicion and hope, furtively glancing down the ravine.
    “Run,” Alexander said. The man turned and ran, but a moment later an arc of inky blackness leapt from behind the tree where Yasim had taken cover and struck the man square in the back, blasting him forward onto the ground. His skin turned dark as his colors faded.
    “Th at looks like eight dead, Yasim!” Alexander shouted. “Surrender and put that collar around