Cassius stood behind the throne on the right-hand side of the King. He clasped his hands behind his back, his chin slightly elated, steel-grey eyes scanning the gathered crowd of petitioners with cold assessment. The peasants are bickering, as usual, he thought with annoyance.

'My King!' The man in old but sturdy clothing fell on his knees before the throne. 'Only half of the new seeds provided by the Church took roots and bore the crops. The rest of the fields are dead! We can't pay the full taxes! I have family, my lord! We will starve!'

'Maybe you were lazy and didn't work hard enough?' the King said, his voice bored and disinterested. He was not even looking at his subjects but fidgeting with lavish rings on his fingers.

'No, your highness! I swear! We worked day and night! Even the youngest children. But without enough sunlight, it's almost impossible for anything to grow.'

'Is it my fault our Lord Sun lost his power?' the King growled, his voice sharp, eyes focusing on a man in front of him for the very first time. The monarch was an older man known for his hot temper, but after the failed Ritual, he got more dejected.

Cassius scoffed soundlessly. He was always a weak fool, even before this whole disaster. A man who inherited the throne by his bloodline but lacked the spine necessary to rule the country. But he had to admit that the King made his job much easier. He was a perfect puppet. Cassius sensed a wave of anger and annoyance rising inside of the older man like a tide. He still showed some resemblance to the hot-headed man he used to be in his youth.

The Grand Inquisitor looked at the cowering peasant and smirked. The man was desperate. He knew his family wouldn't survive winter if they had to hand over all their crops to the Church as an equivalent of due taxes. He would never muster the courage to come here and beg the King otherwise. But he wasn't brave enough yet to say what was needed. Cassius gently pushed the dark wave of despair further, enhancing it, giving it more power. The peasant suddenly felt that there was no way out for him. He either convinces the King to lower the taxes, or all his family will perish.

'No, Your Highness! But the whole country is suffering from this plague! If you don't relieve the taxes, you will ruin all of us! There would be nobody to pay your taxes next year because we will all be dead!'

The murmur raised from the gathered crowd when the man said bold words. Uncertainty, fear, hopelessness, desperation – Cassius sensed all those feelings engulfing people like a thick fog. He prodded it with his mind. Just a little bit was all he needed.

The King stood up abruptly, his wrinkled face contorted in anger. 'You insolent fool!' he bellowed, his voice shaking with hatred. 'How dare you address the King in this manner!'

The peasant realised he was doomed. He fell into the bow, his forehead touching the cold stone floor. 'Forgive me, Your Highness!'

'I will not tolerate it! Guards! Take this man away and put him into the dungeon! Maybe a week without food will teach him some respect!'

The peasant shrieked in protest when two guards dragged him out of the audience chamber. The crowd murmured and shifted nervously.

The King sat back on his throne, breathing heavily. 'Would anyone else like to discuss taxes?' he growled. 'Are you taking me for a fool? You all know that we need to keep an army of Inquisitors to keep the Shadows away from your precious fields, don't you? Or maybe you would like to fight off those creatures by yourselves?'

The silence was deafening. The crowd was looking at the floor. No one dared to raise the eyes to an enraged King. Their despair chased away all thoughts of protest.

'Yeah, I thought so,' the King scoffed. 'So, I suggest you all go back home and get to work instead of wasting my precious time!'

Cassius cleared his throat. 'My liege if I may....'

'Of course, Grand Inquisitor, go on,' the King replied, his voice suddenly lost all its edge and became submissive.

Cassius stepped forward and faced the crowd. 'If you are struggling to meet the quota for your taxes, there is a way to... lessen this burden.' He let his mind lose its grasp on the invisible cloud of despair hanging around the crowd. The faces suddenly lit up a little, grasping the tiniest scraps of hope. 'There are still Mages hiding from the Inquisition's sight. The Church will reduce your taxes by half this season if you provide us with reliable information regarding Mages' whereabouts. If your word leads to the outlaws' capture, of course.'

The crowd murmured, their whispers brimmed with excitement. People are such fools, Cassius though. They consistently choose the easiest way out. And if you push in the right places, they will sell out their loved ones to save their precious selves. It's child's play.

'But remember,' he added gravely, silencing the crowd. 'If we find out that anyone is hiding Mages, they and their whole families will be executed as traitors, together with the outlaws.'

The thick fog of fear bloomed around the crowd, and Cassius pushed it farther, letting it fill all the fibres of people's bodies. Fear was such a fantastic way to keep people in line. There were no whispers now. Everyone was looking at the floor, shivering under his cold gaze.

'I believe the audience is over,' he said casually, looking at the King. The monarch only waved his hand to the guards, who started pushing the scared crowd out of the room.

***

Cassius sat at his desk in the Inquisition's headquarters, going through the reports when the knock on the door shook him out of focus.

'Come in,' he said, not even lifting his eyes from his papers.

There was a sound of dragging feet and clank of armour, then a brief silence. Finally, the nervous knight cleared his throat.

'Grand Inquisitor, there's been an incident,' the man said, his voice a bit shaky.

Cassius put down his papers and looked up at the man. He was young, one of the recruits probably. He was nervously shuffling on his feet, his eyes darting every which way, a sweat pearling on his brows.

'What kind of incident?' Cassius asked calmly, his voice cold, his eyes piercing.

'The Mage seized in the Whitshire escaped during transport.'

The Grand Inquisitor raised his brow. 'What do you mean, escaped? How?'

'The escort got ambushed in Rowdeen Woodland. Five knights were killed, and the cage was empty. Our patrol found them this morning.'

'Did they find signs of magic usage?'

'Yes, my lord. The lock on the cage was melted, and some of the knights had burned flesh.'

Cassius was silent for a moment. He put down his quill and looked at the knight. The bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, but he was standing straight, too afraid to move. Fear was clouding around him in a thick fog. No one liked the bearer of the ill news.

'What's your name, Inquisitor?' Cassius asked.

'Caleb, sir!'

'Tell me, Caleb. How is this possible that one Mage, escorted by five armed Inquisitors, escaped?'

The young man shuffled on his feet nervously. 'I don't know, sir. She must have some help from outside.'

'Yes, that's the logical assumption. And that relief force included another Mage. Now, tell me, why do we have Mages running around freely on our territory, Caleb?'

'It... it must have been Rebels, sir,' the knight stuttered.

'And how are we doing with tracking down the Rebels' hideout?'

The silence was suffocating. The knight gulped, searching desperately for the right words. Suddenly, Cassius slammed his fist onto his desk. The young man jumped startled, and a soft whimper escaped his lips. He was shivering. The cloud of fear was now so thick it was suffocating the man, making breathing hard. The Grand Inquisitor didn't even use his abilities. There was no need.

'I asked you a question, soldier,' he growled.

'We haven't found any traces yet,' the knight said. 'Each time we followed them, they vanished in thin air.'

'Incompetent fools.' Cassius closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He felt a piercing pain at the back of his head. Another visit in the dungeons was due soon. 'They keep vanishing in the forests, is that correct?'

'Yes, sir. Our forces encountered them in different plains, but the trails always lead back to the forests.'

'It seems that the forest people must be involved in this,' Cassius mused. 'That inconvenient. Do we have a garrison close to the Ancient Woods?'

'Yes, sir. We have an outpost of twenty soldiers there.'

'Good.' Cassius took a clean parchment and started writing. The knight was waiting patiently while the Grand Inquisitor finished his letter and sealed the scroll. 'These are orders to the commander of the Ancient Wood Garrison. Let them make a few rides to the wood. Set on some fires. Let the forest people know that we do not appreciate their interfering with our affairs.'

'Yes, sir.'

Cassius handed the scroll to the knight. 'That's all for now. Dismissed.'

When the knight left the room, Cassius put his papers back in order and stood up, wincing at the pain pulsing in his head. He left his office, walked toward the East Wing of the fortress and took the stairs leading into the dungeons. When he reached the guardroom, three knights stood up straight and saluted.

'Grand Inquisitor!'

'At ease,' he said dismissively. 'How many Mages do we have left?'

'Five, sir.'

'How are they faring?'

'All but one are reasonably healthy. The child got sick last night and has a high fever now. I don't believe he will survive without a medic, sir.'

'Fine, bring him to the chamber then,' he ordered and moved toward a sturdy steel double door. 'Open it.'

The knights hastened to open the heavy wings, grunting with effort. Cassius walked into a massive, oval chamber. The thick stone pillars supported a dome-shaped ceiling. The torches hung in regular intervals on the walls, but it wasn't enough to lighten the whole room, full of dancing shadow. Cassius felt his pain intensified but only gritted his teeth. He stopped in the middle of the chamber, waiting for his soldiers to bring in the prisoner.

He let his eyes get used to the gloom. Right before him, the shadows were flickering in motion. The air itself seemed to be moving in waves like in extreme heat. But the room was cold. Much colder than the adjacent guardroom. His breath came out in a cloud. After a few seconds, he heard the clank of shackles and shuffling feet. One of the knights dragged a small figure and tossed it on the floor at Cassius' feet.

'Now leave,' he commanded and waited until the door closed with a loud thud. He looked at the tiny body in front of him. The boy couldn't be older than ten. He was pale and shivering, his eyes unfocused and burning with fever. But Cassius steel eyes could also see an intense light deep inside the child. The light that even a thick cloud of despair and fear could not snuff out. But it didn't matter. This radiance was the only thing Cassius needed from the boy.

He saw it in the periphery of his vision —the glimmer of red. Eyes were looking at him from the shadows.

'Hungry... ssso hungry...'

It seemed like whispers were coming from all sides of the room, a choir of many voices combined, pushing its way deep into his mind. He clenched his fists at a flare of pain behind his eyes.

'You made us wait for ssso long....'

'There is a limited number of Mages,' he said calmly. 'You'd do well if you learn some patience, creature.'

There was an angry hiss as if a herd of wild cats stalked around him. 'Do not tessst usss, human! We could devour you and your little Church in a blink of an eye!'

Cassius scoffed. 'Go ahead then, do that.' The ominous presence hissed again but did not say anything. 'Right, you can't do that. Spare your empty threats, then. I brought you a meal.'

'It'sss sssso sssmall. It won't sssatisssfy us for long, Inquisitor.'

'It will do for now. Soon we'll gather more.'

'How sssoon?'

'Soon enough,' growled Cassius.

'Remember our deal,' came the voices. 'If you don't bring usss enough essssence, we won't be able to break free, and you will lossse all the power we've given you. And without it, you will perisssh...'

Cassius grunted when the pain in his head exploded, blinding him for a few seconds. He took a deep breath. 'Soon,' he repeated. 'We are close now. Let's not waste more time and take your essence.'

He looked at the child at his feet. Boy's eyes were wide as if he finally had a lucid moment and felt the otherworldly presence. A thick fog of fear covered his inner light almost completely. Cassius stretched out his hand. Tendrils of black smoke started to pour from it, slowly making his way toward the boy. He screamed, terrified, and tried to crawl away, but the shadows were already engulfing his legs, slowly making their way toward his face. Once the tendrils reached his head, they dived into his mouth and nose, muffling the boy's screams. His eyes turned black, and his whole body convulsed violently. The Grand Inquisitor raised his hand and ripped out a ball of blinding radiance from the child's body, which now laid motionlessly on the cold floor. The light slowly flowed toward Cassius' outstretched fingers. He looked at it for a second, marvelling at the beauty of the human soul. And then he closed his fist, and the light disappeared like a snuffed-out candle.

The pain behind his eyes disappeared immediately. There was a low humming sound, resembling a noise of a satisfied animal after a big feast. He looked at the body at his feet - his eyes were still wide open, but there was no spark in them, his face the mask of horror. Cassius stretched his neck and turned on his heel to leave.

'Don't let usss wait too long again, human,' whispered the voices around him.

'You'll wait as long as it takes,' he snapped.

The Grand Inquisitor left the chamber and nodded to the knights. They would clean the mess now. He hated dealing with this creature, and yet it was a necessity. For his plans to succeed, he needed power, and that was something the Shadow could provide. There were costs involved, of course. Sacrifices that had to be made. Everything in this world had a price. Cassius was willing to pay it to achieve his goals. 

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