The Shadowsong Conspiracy

Chapter 15

"You've tortured my sister and my brother," the young man said and put the balaclava on the table. "I don't like snot-nosed aristocrats who abuse honest, working folks just for the fun of it."

"Let it be, Seán," the high-voiced man said calmly. "You know his battle is our battle."

"What, you're a Para and you're an Aristo?" Sawyer said. "I thought this was an Aristo organization."

"No." Seán smiled victoriously. "The Scouts are a mixed organization. If that's a problem, the stairs are over there. Be my guest."

Sawyer bit his cheek and looked at Christian, who was vigorously making a 'suck it up' face.

"Fine," Sawyer said. "I'm not ashamed to admit that we need help. I've been attacked twice by now, once by a Wraith and once by a strange bloke who looked like a psychopath."

"He was probably Wraithing," the high-voiced man said and came over to the table. "I'm Perry, by the way."

Sawyer inclined his head, but Piper stared at Perry with his mouth open.

"Wraithing?"

"That's what we call the process of becoming a Wraith. You gradually lose your identity and your blood, and consequently, your body and especially your eyes begin to reflect that. Outsiders often think that the person is going mad."

"You lose your blood?" Piper blurted.

"Yes. Blood is important to Shadow. Not blood as in heritage, mind you, but actual blood."

"You mean he's a vampire?" Christian asked with a grimace.

"Not exactly. He doesn't have fangs and he won't slash your throat." Perry sat in a chair and nudged Seán to pour him some wine. "But when you open your mind to him, he will suck out the blood from your circulation little by little, drop by drop. Blood is the elixir of life, and whenever Shadow gets to devour another follower's blood, two things happen: the blood strengthens Shadow's soul and turns poisonous. After it has given its power to Shadow, it becomes one of his most vicious weapons: cursed blood. If you get any of that in your eyes, it worms its way into your heart and rots it. And you can guess how hard it is to shield your eyes if a shower of blood hits you."

Piper shuddered.

"How fast does the whole Wraithing process work? I haven't been able to find much information about it."

"It varies a lot. Some people Wraith for years or even decades, others turn into full-fledged Wraiths within weeks. It depends on your personality and mind, things like that. A mind with a lot of fear and hatred changes more rapidly."

"So, how do you fight them?" Sawyer asked.

Seán turned around and clicked his fingers at the two unnamed men sitting by the wall. The taller one picked a bag from the floor and brought it to the table.

"There's a fundamental concept you must understand before you can block Shadowsong." Seán took out several sheets of paper. "How much do you know about Shadowsong?"

"We have The Chronicles of Shadow, so we know that it originates from Shadow," Sawyer said and examined the papers Seán had laid out in front of him. "I figured that since Sono is the creator of Silversong and Speaksong, he plays into this somehow."

"True," Seán said. "According to Book of Sono, Sono created Silversong and Speaksong to be a natural part of the Magi, a vessel of help in everyday life. However, Shadow's followers claim that Shadow wants to empower us, and that's why his chant language is much more powerful. But in reality... Perry?"