The Shadowed Manse by David Alastair Hayden, Pepper Thorn Page A

with all her power, could no longer communicate with us — nor could I find her. We assumed that Quintus, Arthur, and even the Manse itself were gone … until today, when the device over Arthur’s heart was broken, sending a clarion call to Aetheria. I contacted him immediately, and arrived here as soon as I could.”
    “So it was like a cloaking device?” Morgan asked.
    Ylliara nodded. “It hid Arthur from Aetheria and Entropy. Neither my people nor the shadows could find him. I assume this was his father’s way of keeping him safe. I have no idea why the device was placed on Arthur. I have never heard of such technology before in my life, but I can guess at who made it.”
    They looked at her expectantly, but she didn’t say anything further about the device.
    “So, I’m not safe anymore, am I?” Arthur asked.
    “No, you are not. The Manse is filled with shadows.”
    Ylliara walked over to the doorway below the loft and traced her hand over the glowing, three-armed symbol. The triskelion, which had started to fade, began to glow brightly again. “You fought against a few shades summoned through a crystal. They are nothing compared to the wraiths and the warlock I sense deep within. Something allowed these dark forces in the house. Whatever it was, my mother tried to prevent them from taking over — hence the glowing sigil you see hovering in the doorway.”
    Ylliara turned and gazed at Arthur with a look he hated, for he knew it well. It was the same look Dr. Dickinson gave him before punishing him: the I’m-sorry-I’ve-got-to-do-this-to-you look.
    “With my mother gone, there may be no way to know for certain what happened,” said Ylliara. “It is possible that the computer systems in the Manse retain the information … but I doubt it. Someone, Quintus I presume, went to a lot of trouble to hide what was happening here, just as he went to a lot of trouble to hide Arthur from both Aetheria and Entropy. It was good fortune that the device broke, and I could find you. There is hope again, little as it may be. The Manse would have disintegrated within a year, even if it had remained stationary, for the shadows within are eating away at the life force of the Manse.”
    “So my father is dead …”
    “That is why you were called, Arthur. To take your father’s place. There can only be one Multiversal Paladin. That is the way of things.”
    Arthur choked back a sob. He’d always known his father had to be dead. Why else would he never come back for him? But that didn’t make it any easier to hear. “When … when did he die?”
    Ylliara shrugged. “I would guess when we lost contact, but we cannot know for certain unless he left a message behind for us. Your father was behaving in a strange manner when last Aetheria communicated with him. Mother assured us everything was okay. Clearly, she was wrong.”
    “Or she lied,” Morgan stated.
    Arthur was worried Ylliara would be offended by Morgan’s statement, but she merely shrugged and said, “Possibly. But if she did, I am certain she did it for good reason.”
    “So what happens now?” Arthur asked.
    “Obviously, Ylliara will give up her life to power the house again,” Morgan said, “just as her mother did.”
    “Miss Apple is correct,” Ylliara said. “Only the soul of an Aetherian can power the Manse. That duty has fallen to me. It is my terrible honor.”
    “Why not take us home and return to your world instead?” Arthur said.
    “Would you truly rather return home than serve the light and battle evil throughout the Multiverse?”
    “No, but I don’t want you to die, either.”
    “For me, this is not a true death; my spirit will live on. The cause could not be any nobler. And besides, as your skill increases, you will be able to commune with me in the Inner Sanctum.”
    “You know I’m just a kid, without any useful evil-fighting skills … right? I don’t even have a clue what a Multiversal Paladin is.”
    “Of course, of course