Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney Page B

anything and we might have no defence against him.
    Destroying Talkus might well be the key to defeating the Kobalos. I needed to find out how that could be done.
    ‘What part did you play in his birth?’ I asked.
    ‘
Through magic, through belief, I shaped him and gave him substance. A god is born when enough believe; when enough desire; when an architect shapes their thoughts. I was that architect.
’
    I was stunned. It had named itself the
architect
. Was I facing the Kobalos who had planned and created this new darkness that we faced? If so, Abuskai was a god-maker.
    I realized that there was a potential for great danger here. Such a powerful mage, although a ghost, might be able to do us serious harm. We were dealing with the unknown. I would need to be careful not to anger it. I glanced sideways at Jenny. She seemed calm and was staring at the mage, who hadn’t acknowledged her presence in any way. Perhaps it was because she was female. To a Kobalos she was a purra, no better than a slave and unworthy of engaging in conversation.
    I hoped that was all and Jenny was not in danger because she was female. For all I knew perhaps the ghost found her presence offensive. I was glad I had warned her to leave the questioning to me. It might not tolerate any interruption from my apprentice.
    ‘So what happened? How did you die? Why are you trapped here?’ I asked.
    ‘
Kobalos mages constantly form and re-form their alliances. Within Valkarky, power shifts. Alliances conspired against me, seeking to subvert what I was shaping to their own ends. I was betrayed and murdered. Soon afterwards, the king was also slain and a Triumvirate formed to rule in his place; they continued my work and brought the god Talkus into being, modifying my design and utilizing my magic for their own purposes. I have been cast aside without honour, slain and imprisoned here.
’
    The Triumvirate was the group of three powerful High Mages who now ruled the Kobalos – I’d heard of them already. But Grimalkin had told me that it did not always contain the same three mages – she had slain one of them on her visit to Valkarky – though it had not changed their policy of seeking to make war upon humans. No doubt it had only increased their enmity. But next time it might be different. Slay one, and the arrival of a replacement might well cause a new Triumvirate to change its way of thinking. Could the war be halted by changing those who ruled the Kobalos? I wondered.
    The ghost began to flicker and became insubstantial again, making me fear that it was about to depart. I needed to concentrate and keep the conversation going and speculate later.
    Suddenly, despite my instruction, Jenny asked a question. ‘In one of the other attics in this castle there is a dangerous daemonic entity. What is it, and how can it be destroyed or driven away?’
    The ghost gathered substance rapidly and looked solid enough to touch. Emotions flickered across its face: incredulity and anger. She really did need to listen to my instructions. I’d never have disobeyed my own master in that way. The ghost looked appalled at what she’d just said, and I grew afraid for her.
    But the moment of danger passed. When it replied, it ignored Jenny and spoke directly to me. ‘
Anyone who tries to destroy the thing your purra speaks of is a fool. It would seize and annihilate both his body and his soul. It is a being called the “Targon”, which guards the gateways of fire that lead to the domain of Talkus.
’
    ‘So the well in the room is a portal to your god?’
    ‘
Yes – one of the three doorways that I created!
’ The ghost’s eyes gleamed with pride. ‘
This is the room where I studied and planned. The portal chamber is where I crafted and created the future.
’
    ‘Is there any danger that it could leave the attic and kill people outside?’ I asked.
    The ghost shook its head. ‘
It is a guardian and cannot venture more than six feet beyond the gateway that it