Roake's rotting smile was grim but his words were more chilling. "Oh no, it's worse than that. The time of the Embrace is over."

"I don't understand," said Alyssa. "I thought the Forsaken wanted people for their Embrace."

"They do, but the Embrace was only temporary. It was an incubation period while the parasite grew to maturity."

Tammy could see Alyssa was afraid to ask but they had to know. "What happens next?"

"The balance of power will shift and the outer shell will be remade."

"Into what?" whispered Alyssa.

Roake shook his head. "I don't know and I pray we never find out."

CHAPTER 38.

As Balfruss walked through the empty streets of Voechenka he found himself thinking about the Warlock.

Long before the war, the Warlock had been a young man named Torval who was driven by a thirst for knowledge and then later, a hunger for power. He'd claimed to have visited every country in the world during his travels, but Balfruss knew this to be a lie. Torval had never spent time across the Dead Sea living with the jungle tribes. But he had come to Voechenka and studied under the tutelage of Kaine, who'd taught him dangerous magic that should have remained lost.

During the war the Warlock had felt no guilt about anything he'd done and Balfruss suspected Kaine would feel the same way. They both did it because they could and they wanted to. To them it was just that simple. The consequences didn't matter. In their minds they were the centre of the world and everyone else was less important.

While the world turned Kaine had been lurking in the shadows of Voechenka, delving into the darkness and uncovering magical Talents few would want or even consider. Not content with damning himself, he had taught others and sent them out into the world. Each Flesh Mage had been responsible for many deaths and the Warlock had helped drag most of the world into a war where thousands had died.

Kaine shared the blame for each of those deaths, for every warrior killed on the battlefield and every friend Balfruss had lost fighting the Splinters. He had to pay for all of the innocent blood that had been spilled.

Balfruss also wondered about the nature of the Forsaken. The parasites were not natural and even Kai had said as much. It seemed plausible that Kaine was also responsible for summoning them. Perhaps he had opened a rift to somewhere beyond the Veil, just as the Warlock had done. If so then there was even more blood on Kaine's hands than Balfruss had realised.

The old rage, the legacy from his father, was still there simmering under the surface. Long ago he had learned to control it and had sworn it would not be his master, but in this city it was becoming more difficult by the day to rein it in.

As he normally did when he needed to calm his mind Balfruss traced the fine tattoo on his wrist. He ran a finger over every whorl and twist, over and over, the design forming an eternal chain that could never be broken. Not by distance or death. He pushed away his fury and buried it deep under layers of control where it wouldn't interfere with what had to be done.

Reaching out, Balfruss delved deep into the Source, then cast a fine net across the city, stretching it as far as he could in all directions. Now that he and Kaine were the only two people able to touch the Source, Balfruss hoped it would be easier to find the other Sorcerer. Despite their differences, Balfruss could not deny Kaine the honorary title and all that it entailed. They had both become more than weapons, more than Battlemages.

The battle between them would not be one of raw strength. It would be a complex game of attack and counter-attack, feints and tricks intended to catch the other unawares.

Balfruss had no idea if a simple echo net would help him find Kaine, but it was the easiest approach. After that he would have to try more elaborate means to locate him.

Much to his surprise Balfruss felt an echo almost immediately. Kaine was very close. He tightened the net to a narrow area ahead and to his left, while using more magic to amplify his senses. It was far too easy. He suspected a trap and moved forward with extreme caution. When he entered Debrussi square and saw Kaine sitting on a pile of rubble it merely confirmed his suspicion. It would be madness to idly sit out in the open and wait for the enemy.

Balfruss paused at the edge of the square and carefully studied each building for traces of magic. Using the finest filaments of power he could manage, narrower than a human hair, he crawled through every window and doorway with his senses. A first pass revealed nothing, but he knew that some magical traps could be crafted so that they remained dormant until triggered. If Kaine had noticed his presence he showed no signs of alarm and seemed content to doze, chin resting on one hand.

Balfruss's second and third searches revealed nothing as well, which only made him more nervous. It would be unwise to underestimate Kaine. There could be elaborate traps hidden in ways Balfruss couldn't even begin to imagine.

Finally, after weaving a dense shield around himself and with his heart beating loudly in his ears, Balfruss set foot in the square.

Nothing happened. Kaine continued dozing and nothing sprang at Balfruss. It was only when he scuffed his boots against a loose pile of rubble that Kaine woke with a snort, glancing around with bleary eyes.

"Ah, there you are. I thought you weren't coming."

Balfruss ignored him for a moment. There had to be something he was missing.

"There's no one else here," added Kaine. "You killed all my pupils."

"You left me no choice when you broke into their minds. You took away their free will."

Kaine waved a hand dismissively. "They were idle children who had no ambition. I forged them into something useful for my purpose."

The Warlock had said almost exactly the same thing when he'd created his Splinters. They were men and women born with the ability to wield magic who'd never had the opportunity of being trained at the Red Tower. The Warlock had hollowed out their minds and made them nothing more than walking puppets who fought with magic at his command. Kaine's invasion of his pupils' minds had been worse, as they still thought they had free will. They had been living in a prison they couldn't see or feel and yet they had been enslaved by him.

"Do you know how many people died because of the Flesh Mages or the Warlock?"

"No, but does it matter?" asked Kaine.

Balfruss forced himself to stay calm. It wasn't just that Kaine lacked empathy for the dead. He seemed to be completely without a conscience. Even so he couldn't accept that Kaine would do all of this for no reason.

"Why do any of this? Why spend so many years delving into mysteries if not for some purpose? Why send Flesh Mages out into the world? What is it that you want?"

Kaine sat upright and seemed to focus on Balfruss for the first time. "That is the right question."

When the silence between them had stretched out for a while Balfruss realised he wasn't going to get an answer. Kaine was looking straight at him but he was completely motionless. "Are you waiting for me to guess?"

"No. I considered telling you, but really, I don't see the point. You're stuck in the past, in the old way of thinking. You still belong to the Red Tower. I can see their thumb resting firmly on your head, Battlemage."

"And you? Who do you belong to?"

"To the future. I will create it here, in the shadows. I will build my own Tower if I must. A Black Tower."

Balfruss laughed and shook his head sadly. "With what? Rubble and corpses? That's all this city has to offer. You have no pupils, no resources, nothing but your arrogance and your mania."

Kaine shrugged. "I can always find more pupils. The Red Tower is broken and a lot of children never find their way there."

"That's changing. It's being rebuilt."

"It will fail. The Grey Council are gone and cannot be replaced."

Balfruss was growing tired of Kaine. The more he talked the more Balfruss realised there was no changing his mind. He had lived this way for decades and no matter what Balfruss said he would never accept reason. There was nothing that would make Kaine reconsider his decisions.

"Did you wait here for me just to argue? Or do you want something?"

Kaine smiled and Balfruss readied his shield. "I want everything."

There was a subtle shift in the air and Balfruss felt something brush against his skin. "Everything?"

Kaine stood up and his air of nonchalance faded. "I know all about your travels to the desert kingdoms. I know about what happened during the war and how you defeated the Warlock. I even know about the years you spent across the Dead Sea with your father. I want every scrap of knowledge that you've picked up, every Talent, every drop of it."

A wall of force lashed out across the square so fast Balfruss barely had time to brace himself. It collided with his shield and the power behind it was so great he was thrown backwards. He flew several feet through the air and collided with a wall that collapsed as he landed. Stumbling to one knee, trying to catch his breath, Balfruss shook away the black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"Give it to me!" said Kaine, reaching out with one hand and making a sharp twisting motion.

Something began to claw at the edges of Balfruss's mind, like a rat trying to burrow its way into his skull. He felt a growing pressure against both temples as if ghostly fingers were trying to dig their way through his flesh to get at his brain. The power of the attack was strong, but the method was crude, relying on brute force and surprise. Now that he knew what Kaine wanted Balfruss reinforced the shield around himself with one hand while weaving a net around his mind. He started at his heart and again mimed pulling something over his head like a cowl, covering his eyes and nose. The pressure against his skull faded as he blocked Kaine's attempt to break into his mind.

Steadying himself against the broken wall, Balfruss pushed himself upright. For a moment Kaine seemed surprised that the fight wasn't already over, but then a sneer twisted his face. Removing what little heat remained in the air, he created a shower of icy needles, which he flung at Balfruss. The icicles shattered against his shield and fell to the ground with tinkling sounds like breaking glass. Balfruss retaliated with a globe of light, which he hurled into the air above Kaine. He quickly turned around and covered his eyes as the globe exploded into a hundred burning spores as bright as the sun.

Behind his back he heard Kaine howl in pain and surprise. Whipping round, Balfruss saw the Sorcerer stumbling about, one hand rubbing his red and watering eyes. The blindness wouldn't last for long and Balfruss needed to press his advantage.

Trying to outmuscle an opponent with brute force was something he'd done as a pupil at the Red Tower. They'd tested their strength against one another and the old adage was true about their always being someone stronger. Since then he'd learned many subtle and cunning ways to unbalance another magic user.

The earth beneath their feet was dead. Nothing grew in the soil, no seeds lay dormant waiting to grow and no insects crawled. As Balfruss lashed out with his magic he saw Kaine's shield flicker as it refracted a meagre burst of sunlight. Instead of targeting him directly Balfruss directed his will at the stones, bedrock and soil beneath Kaine's feet.

Moments later the surface collapsed, an eight-foot-wide sinkhole ripping through the square. Kaine dropped out of view without a sound.

A pregnant silence filled the square and Balfruss waited. The fall wouldn't have been deep enough to kill Kaine, but it might have broken his legs. As the seconds stretched on, Balfruss wondered if Kaine was actually dead. After all that he'd done, it would be a mistake to assume anything. Balfruss would only believe Kaine was dead when he looked into his lifeless eyes and not a second before. He inched a little closer until he could look over the lip of the sinkhole.

The air temperature turned noticeably colder and Balfruss felt a dull throb of pain in his finger ends and other extremities. A funnel of cold air was sucked down into the sinkhole in a whirling cloud of ice. Slowly Kaine emerged from beneath the ground, walking up a set of icy stairs he'd crafted, spitting and cursing.

When he made it back onto the street he was limping badly on his left side and shaking with anger. In contrast Balfruss felt calmer than ever before and faced his enemy with an icy detachment. Without realising, Balfruss found himself smiling, not at the injury he'd inflicted, but at the ghosts of yesterday. Finally he would be rid of the Warlock's shadow that had lingered, long after his death. With the death of Kaine there would also be no more Flesh Mages. Others might rise in time, but the root of so much pain and suffering would at last be at an end.

Kaine raised a hand to the sky and started to summon a storm, pulling wisps of clouds together from nothing. With a negligent flick of his hand Balfruss severed the skyward threads of power, quickly dispelling the clouds. When he tried to summon more ice Balfruss nudged over a nearby wall, sending it toppling towards Kaine. With a squawk of surprise he dropped the ice shards and focused all of his energy on reinforcing his defences. The slabs of stone shattered against Kaine's shield and blue sparks erupted on impact. The weight of the wall drove him to his knees, burying him up to his shoulders. Once the stones had settled he emerged again unhurt, though covered in dust and dirt.

Balfruss was surprised at how ineffective Kaine's attacks had been so far. They were more like those of a student than someone who the others had called Master.

"Enough games," spat Kaine. With one hand he started to weave something small in the palm of his hand while the other maintained his shield. Instead of reinforcing his own, Balfruss focused on the air immediately surrounding Kaine's shield.

Summoning more power from the Source he drew moisture and heat from the air, drawing it towards his outstretched hands. As the energy accumulated, an icy dome began to form around Kaine. He screamed something but his words were swiftly cut off as he was sealed inside and disappeared from view.

Balfruss pulled more heat towards him and the ice prison around Kaine changed colour from white to a deep ocean blue. Blue fire kindled around Balfruss's hands and arms as the ice continued to grow in thickness. He kept drawing energy from the Source, taking all of the heat from the surrounding air until his breath frosted and a localised shower of snow began to fall in the square.

Finally he released the Source and waited to see what happened as the magical fire around him began to disperse. As the seconds ticked by, he wondered if Kaine was already dead as the ice prison around him would be air tight. After another few minutes, Balfruss ventured closer, but not before he wove a dense shield around himself so that he wasn't caught unawares.

A loud crack rang around the square and a tiny fissure started to run up the ice from the bottom. As Balfruss backed away the ice split further until it was covered with a network of tiny veins. With a loud detonation, a section of Kaine's ice prison burst open and he slumped forward and slid to the ground.

Lying on his side Kaine glared up at Balfruss and unleashed the full force of his will. It was fashioned as a crushing force that sought to squeeze the life out of Balfruss and rip his body apart at the same time. It seemed as if Kaine had run out of tricks. Now he had made it into a simple battle of willpower. Balfruss tried to force away Kaine's attack while he set about trying to strangle the life out of his enemy.

The two stumbled back and forth, gasping and choking, while flinging each other around with jerky motions like puppets with severed strings. All thought of Kaine's crimes were driven out of his mind as Balfruss fought to keep himself whole. There was no time to think, or even get angry. All he could do was hold on to the image of himself as he struggled to pull Kaine apart.

Drawing more energy from the Source Balfruss clamped his teeth together and pressed forward, stretching himself to his absolute limit. Kaine was straining to keep him back, but very quickly Balfruss felt him begin to buckle under the strain. They balanced on the edge of the razor together for a second, with Kaine teetering towards destruction. With a final surge of effort it was over. Kaine's scream was lost as Balfruss's will crushed him under a massive hammer made of pure force.

Kaine was driven into the ground and flattened as if he'd been stepped on by a giant. His skull cracked open, his brains leaked out and both eyes burst like grapes. Ribs were compressed and driven into his internal organs, which exploded from the pressure. He had no time to scream and was dead in an instant. The only noise in the square was a quiet trickling sound as a slow river of blood began to spread out across the stones from the flattened corpse.

CHAPTER 39.

Zannah watched as Balfruss shuffled down the street, slowly making his way back to the winery. When he eventually made it to the gate she threw down the rope but he just stared at it for a minute in silence. Eventually he gripped the rope with both hands but made no attempt to climb. When he looked up at her from the street below she saw fatigue etched into his features.

"Hold on. I'll pull you up," said Zannah, and he nodded, as if speaking was too taxing. Balfruss wrapped the rope around his waist and held on with both hands. Working hand over hand she pulled him up the wall by herself. The others on the wall watched in silence but made no attempt to help until he reached the top. Then two women pulled him over the lip and supported him down the stairs, one under each arm.

A few minutes later Monella came up the stairs to the top of the wall. She stood a short distance away from Zannah and just stared out at the desolate city.

"The Sorcerer is exhausted. He practically fell asleep standing up." She spoke quietly, as if talking to herself or praying, and didn't turn her head. It wouldn't do for others to know she was talking to Zannah. "Do you know what happened?"

"No," said Zannah, which made Monella frown, so she added. "He went hunting another wizard. Maybe he found him."

Monella harrumphed, spat over the wall and turned to head back down the stairs. Their eyes met for a second and Zannah was surprised to see a mix of emotions behind the old woman's remaining good eye. The cloudy one told her nothing, but the other showed glimmers of anger and hate, which were familiar, but also something new and alien. Regret. Monella was gone before Zannah had a chance to say anything.

With little activity during the day to interrupt her thoughts Zannah sometimes lost track of time. Hours would pass by unnoticed as she stood and stared and thought about the past. If not for the unpredictable nature of the nights, her whole life could have been a reflection of this moment; standing atop the wall at her post, waiting for something to happen.

It was some time later when Alyssa, Tammy and the mercenaries returned. A ragged figure walked with them and it wasn't until they came closer that she recognised the stranger. Roake. There had to be a good reason he was with Alyssa, let alone that she was speaking to the creature, but Zannah couldn't think of it. Zannah wanted to ask Alyssa, or shoot Roake full of arrows to drive him away, but instead she said nothing and threw down the rope.

Alyssa climbed up first and then the mercenaries, one by one, until only Tammy and Roake remained in the street. Some of the others on the wall had noticed him too and were visibly disturbed by his presence. As if Alyssa sensed the unasked questions, she moved to Zannah's side.

"We need him," was all she said, and the clench of her jaw told Zannah that nothing would change her mind. Roake's arms were so weak they lacked the strength to climb the knotted rope. "Haul him up," commanded Alyssa. For the second time that day Zannah dragged someone up the wall by herself, but this time the burden was far less. Roake weighed little more than a child as there was so little meat left on his bones. His skin was rotting and discoloured in places. It was as though he were already dead as the stench was like an open grave. When he reached the top of the wall no one rushed to help him over the top. Some of the defenders even moved back or covered their noses and mouths because of the smell.

As Alyssa descended the stairs Monella came into the courtyard. Surprise and horror warred on her face at the sight of Roake. "What is that creature doing here?" she asked.

"We need him and he's our guest. Find him somewhere to sleep." Alyssa's voice carried to everyone on the wall and once more her tone was commanding.

"You cannot let that inside the building," argued Monella.

"Then find him an alternative. That's your job." Alyssa went inside without another word, leaving the older woman staring at the grinning corpse. In the end, one of the storage sheds in the courtyard was cleared out. One of Monella's people swept the room and covered the floor with a couple of colourful blankets. The woman shoved another into Roake's arms and quickly fled, gagging at the smell.

"Was it something I said?" he asked. Monella wasn't amused and just pointed at the shed. With a grisly sneer Roake obediently shuffled inside and closed the door, reducing the fetid cloud in the air.

An hour after midday and another bowl of rhubarb stew, Alyssa joined Zannah on the wall. Her eyes were red, probably from crying, and she said nothing for a long time. Other people wanted her favour, but they could see she wanted to be left alone and for once they honoured her wishes.

"We visited the remaining camps," said Alyssa, running a hand over her freshly shaven scalp. "Another fell in the night and there was nothing left. It was as if no one had ever been living there."

It was just as they'd experienced in the past. Long before coming to the winery, they'd seen buildings hollowed out and every person living inside seemed to just vanish. No one had known where they'd gone or had seen any strangers in the area. They had just disappeared. When it began to happen more frequently, one house at a time and then whole streets, the survivors started grouping together.

The early camps had been little more than enclosures with temporary walls made from overturned carts. For a short time, the semblance of normal life continued within these small cities. But when guards started to vanish at night they knew it wasn't enough. Fortified areas followed but then fighting broke out over food and fuel to get them through winter. Separate camps followed shortly after, but over and over again they were driven from safety by a growing number of Forsaken.

The winery and any remaining camps were the last line. Everyone knew they would not fall back to a new base this time. The whole city had become like a carcass picked clean of meat. The stones would not feed or keep them warm. This was the end.

"I appealed to those who were left to join us, but I have my doubts they'll listen. Pride, or perhaps taking orders from a woman, stops them. They can see what's happening and still they ignore it."