Joshua floated in an endless void. There was nothing around him; there might not even have been a where around him. It was a hard thing for him to wrap his head around. How do you describe where you are when you have no reference point?

  He thought that time passed, but he couldn't be sure. He did not need to breathe. He could not move his arms or legs. His heart did not even beat. The only thing he could do was think.

  He could think about magic, at least that would be interesting, but he couldn't let the bitter taste of betrayal leave his mouth. He wanted to know where he went wrong in his attempt to convince Richard and Logan. If only he had done something different, just one thing, he might have succeeded.

  He should have just killed them and then been done with it.

  There wasn't any point in regretting it now. He could not go back and change things. He could only float in the nothingness, and hope that one day another mage might open the seal. Then maybe he could reenter the world.

  Shining lights distracted his eyes for just a moment, flickering across his vision and then disappearing before he could understand what they were. He wanted to turn his head to see, but his neck refused to move. There had to be a way to break the spell that held him.

  He concentrated with all his might on the nothingness around him. He tried his hardest to pull the magic out and to force it to change the void. His head ached as he tried to imagine the tendrils again forming from his back.

  With the numbing lurch of a sleeping arm finally moving, a single tendril shot forward. It froze in the air before his eyes, waiting for a command. Joshua turned his will to his body, throwing the magic through every limb, through every muscle. It burned in his blood as he forced his hand to rise.

  There was power in the void. It rushed up and supported him. He was spending enough magic to tear his soul in two, but it wouldn't deplete. It was as if he was in a nexus of magical energy. It felt truly bottomless.

  He reached down as deeply as he could and pulled the magic into his body. Finally, he was able to move. He thought to pull himself up, but quickly realized that there was no up. He searched the void around him, looking for the bright lights.

  He found them quickly, marring the black dome beneath his feet. They were like stars glowing dimly in the night. He started toward it, floating through the void, but they only seemed to fade. No matter how close he came, they merely went further away.

  He stopped himself and searched the void again. It was the only point in the endless void that had any light. He had to figure out a way to it. He had to find a way down or up there. He forced himself to sit down on nothing and stared at the lights.

  He realized that he was looking at the problem wrong.

  He stretched out the lines of magic from his body, making them impossibly thin and long. He sent them out toward the hole in the void, until they grabbed hold of the edges. Joshua pulled them taunt, gathering the threads in his fingers.

  He pulled them to him with a tug, and the lights expanded from the small hole until they surrounded him. Joshua would have gasped if he were breathing. Like a ball turning inside out, he was suddenly out of the void.

  Bright lights burned all around him. They were brighter than even the stars now, almost as bright as the sun. Joshua covered his face with his arm. In time, his eyes adjusted, and he could see again.

  He turned around to find where he had entered, but the hole was gone. Either it was impossibly small, and he could not see it, or it had disappeared once he had walked through. He turned his eyes away from the spot and focused on the stars.

  There were thousands of them, more than thousands of them. He couldn't even count them all. There was a whisper of knowledge in his mind, from the recesses of memories he had gained when he had merged with the savod.

  He was beyond the Veil now. It was the place where every world was connected. There was no name for it in the savod's tongue. Joshua marveled as he looked at the bright lights. How many forms did magic take on all those worlds? How much power lay hidden beyond the Veil?

  A fire licked at him as he took it all in. It was getting warmer and warmer, as if he was approaching a great bonfire. Joshua turned to find the source, and saw the green flame approaching him. His soul shook at the sight.

  His first thought was to run, but where could he go? He still had not mastered movement in the strange world. When he was sure that there was nothing he could do, he turned toward the light and waited.

  He did not have to wait long.

  Sarrack came to him like a fireball streaking through the air. Joshua was sure that it would consume him. Why would a being of such terrible power stop for him? He covered his face with his arms as the fiery god came closer.

  ‘You are a being of some power.” The voice of a god ripped through Joshua’s mind.

  Before Joshua could fully process the god’s words, tendrils of magic wormed their way through his body. They coiled around his soul with a serpentine grip, almost tasting him. The god was testing him.

  ‘Quite a brilliant mind as well,’ the god said, but his voice was less grating. ‘You were able to take control of the savod mind without losing yourself.’

  Joshua tried to speak in vain.

  ‘You haven’t even figured out how to speak in this world yet.’ The god laughed at him coldly. ‘Let me impart that lesson onto you.’

  Stinging fire raced through Joshua’s spine, but with it came knowledge. New runes forged across his skin, the sizzling sensation bringing new life to his limbs. He could feel the flow of a different kind of magic, older, greater than before.

  ‘Amazing.’ Joshua’s thoughts finally reached across the void. ‘It’s almost like speaking.’

  ‘There are many things you could learn from me.’ Now the god’s voice was almost quiet.

  ‘I know who you are,’ Joshua said.

  Fire erupted in winding arcs around the god’s body. Joshua could feel his burning anger through the void when he spoke those words. He felt it inside himself as well. Someone had betrayed the god, just like Logan had betrayed Joshua.

  ‘I am now called many things in many tongues.’ The god’s words shook through the void. ‘Some simply call me Destroyer and Chaos. Some call me the Eternal Flame. On some worlds, I am known, as He Who is the End. However, to all, I am the end of all they hold dear. I am the end to that pitiful woman’s creations. I am Sarrack.’

  ‘Sarrack.’ The name shook Joshua’s core.

  ‘What do you know of me?’ Sarrack’s voice boomed. ‘Do you know of the pain I felt when I was betrayed by her? Do you know of the power she stole from me? I am the rightful god of this world.’

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  Joshua wasn’t sure he could believe that. Truly, the god was a powerful being, but it was a creature of magic. Even now, he could see the lines of magic that ran over his fiery form. It was almost like the savod’s magic, but it burned too bright for him to see clearly.

  ‘I know what the savod know,’ Joshua said. ‘You destroyed their world.’

  ‘They stood in the way of my purpose,’ Sarrack said. ‘If they had merely given me what I asked, I would have given them greater power than they could imagine. They could have joined my army and marched upon Rinah.’

  Joshua recognized the name from somewhere, but it quickly faded before he could grab hold. All that mattered to him was the magic that swirled before him. With this thing, he might be able to find true power.

  ‘I have need of ones like you, Joshua.’ Sarrack’s eyes turned upon him, piercing through him. ‘Those who have the will to grab what should rightfully be theirs, those who know the pain of betrayal.’

  ‘What would we do?’ Joshua asked. ‘We’re bound beyond the Veil. There’s no way back to Nelim, there’s no way for me to get revenge.’

  ‘In time,’ Sarrack said. ‘You have much to learn about this void. It seems an impenetrable barrier. It seems to lock you from all the worlds. In truth, it does not. This void is a source of power far greater than you have ever known. Just surviving it makes you stronger.’

  ‘Then you will teach me,’ Joshua said.

  ‘Yes.’ Fiery tendrils shot out from Sarrack’s body, pulling Joshua closer. ‘Come with me and I shall give you power for your revenge. I will teach you all that I can. You will be my harbinger on a thousand worlds and announce that my glory is coming.’

  ‘Harbinger,’ Joshua whispered as Sarrack’s knowledge filled his mind.

  Joshua would never be sure how much time passed as Sarrack passed his knowledge to him. He learned so much in such a short time. Words he had never heard before filled his mind, the Watchers, space, warp, and Earth.

  His body changed with it. Green and black fire burned away the darkness as Sarrack’s power flowed into him. It was just a taste of what the god could do, but quickly he was a creature of magical flame.

  Golden armor materialized over the flames, giving him the visage of a knight. A golden helm, topped with a horned crown formed over his head. A spear molded out from his hands and shone in the same golden light.

  When it was complete, Joshua was no longer human. He was no longer Joshua either. He had gone too far beyond what he once was. He looked down at his hands in wonder as Sarrack released him.

  ‘How does it feel?’ Sarrack asked.

  ‘Unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.” Joshua’s voice quivered. ‘It’s like a thousand suns inside of me.’

  The words came unbidden. His new knowledge was not a complete part of him yet, but the words did not need his aid to work. He could see the runes of another people in his mind, explaining the source of his power. He could not understand it.

  ‘What now?’ Joshua asked.

  ‘We will continue my work,’ Sarrack said. ‘There are many worlds in this universe, and Rinah keeps creating more. We must stop her before she uses up all of my power.’

  Sarrack reached out and plucked one of the stars that rested around him. With a tap filled with magic, the star opened up until it was Sarrack’s height. The god pointed through and asked Joshua to follow.

  Joshua stepped through the portal, and onto the solid ground beyond. For a brief moment, he was in three places at once, where he started, where he was and in between. The feeling faded before he could think about it.

  “Behold,” Sarrack said as he stepped behind Joshua. “This is my vengeance!”

  The horde before Joshua was greater than he had ever seen before. Abominations of impossible dimensions stood rank and file before him. There were beings from a million different worlds in the army.

  “I want you to command them,” Sarrack said. “Be my Harbinger and carry my banner to a million more worlds. Give them the ultimatum, join me to destroy the false god Rinah, or perish in flames.”

  Joshua’s heart swelled as a great cheer rose up through the ranks of the army. Their voices shook the air, and their stomps shook the ground. He tapped his spear against the dusty land beneath him.

  “I will accept this,” Joshua said, his voice booming unexpectedly. “I will command your armies Sarrack. I will carry your message across the worlds. I will bring your fire to those who do not submit.”

  There was a whisper in his heart that told him that something was wrong, but Joshua brushed it aside. There would be no room for doubt here. He knew now what he had been born for. He knew why he had taken hold of magic.

  “I am your Harbinger.”

  “Then go forward my Harbinger,” Sarrack commanded. “Go forth and conquer.”

  Harbinger slammed his staff down, sending a fiery orb into the air. It exploded as a flare, and the army rallied to him. He began their march, leading them toward the portal that still lay open behind him.

  Let all the worlds beware Harbinger.

  Logan stalked through Nethas’ streets as he searched for the source of the feeling. It had rippled through him like a pebble thrown on a pond. Even now, he could barely feel the tiny waves of magic that had felt so wrong.

  He had only left the temple when he was sure that the entire Order would not revolt against Elaine. What she did was a terrible risk. To tell a lie that grand meant that the consequences would be just as great.

  That wait might have been for the worse, the magic told him. There was a faint queasiness wrapping around his stomach. Something terrible might have happened in the precious moments he had wasted.

  He couldn’t let himself abandon Elaine, though.

  He shrugged off the thought quickly. That would be something to think about later, but not now. He focused in on the wrongness he felt and turned down an alleyway to the poorer areas of Nethas.

  It was there he found it.

  It was once a man, but no longer. Much like the creatures he had first seen when he found Talan; darkness covered the man. It stood over another man, raising its dark claw high.

  Blood stained the claw.

  Logan didn’t hesitate. He drew his sword and charged. The dark wispy magic surrounded his blade as he brought it down on the man’s arm. There was no cry of pain from the once-man, but Logan expected that.

  With two more swings, he finished the creature. Shadows faded into nothing as his body fell to the ground. Logan made himself look down at the corpse. There was no longer enough of him left to make a full human being.

  He knelt to examine the man who the savod had attacked, but he already knew he was too late. No breath rose in his chest, and a long gash down the man’s chest had already stopped bleeding. Logan cursed.

  There shouldn’t have been any more of the creatures left. Talan had fixed the seal. The seal held all the savod again. Why were they still walking around in Nethas as if nothing had happened?

  The ripple started again.

  Logan ran on, this time sprinting through the streets. Night had long since fallen, and there were few people walking around in the cold night. He did not have to dodge around carts or throngs of people in the markets.

  As he burst into the forges, he saw the savod. It stood motionless in the fading smoke of the day. It did not even seem to notice him as he slowed and ducked behind a cart. He peeked over the edge at the savod.

  It was like the one that had attacked him in Nethas. It was as tall as an ogre was, and had long arms that nearly reached the ground. It looked up to the sky through closed eyes. There was something almost sad about its gaze.

  Logan stepped out cautiously, getting closer to the creature. It still hadn’t noticed him as he stepped behind it. He held his sword ready, but he didn’t release any magic into it. He was within its arms reach when it turned.

  Logan jumped back as the arms raked across the air where he once was. In an instant, the savod turned into a berserker. It clawed at him. It carved grooves through dirt as it struck the ground every time Logan dodged.

  Logan called the magic to his sword and struck.

  Three slashes carved the head and arms from the savod. It fell to the ground with a heavy thump before it started to dissolve away. Logan sheathed his sword as he watched it. There was something wrong with it.

  The savod was acting like a rampaging animal. There was no intelligence left to it. It hadn’t sought him out specifically, like the ones from before Talan fixed the seal. It hadn’t even noticed him until he had arrived.

  “They are still here,” Logan whispered. “But they aren’t connected to the others anymore.”

  That was it. The savod beyond the seal were no longer connected with those inside. They were still dangerous, Logan was sure of that, but they were no longer following a plan. They were just animals.

  Nearly indestructible animals that could kill a man with one swing, he reminded himself.

  Logan looked down at his sword, and willed the magic to fade. Someone had to do something about the savod that remained beyond the seal. Someone would need to find them, and eliminate them wherever they hid. Otherwise, Nelim would never truly be safe.

  There might be other creatures like the savod as well, hidden in Nelim’s past. There should be people that watched for them, prepared Nelim to face those dangers. There should be people who could fight back against the dark.

  Logan knew that somebody was him.

  He started back toward the temple, but stopped himself. Elaine had enough to do. She had just taken control of the Order. She wouldn’t be able to help him.

  He started back toward the northern districts of Nethas. He would need some help with this, someone who could get the word out. Coins jingled in his pocket as he thought. He would need to get word to the Crows first. They were well equipped for fighting dark things. There would be others as well.

  He pulled his cloak tight around him as the cold wind blew. He wasn’t sure he would be able to do it, but it needed to be done. He stepped down an alleyway again. Darkness grew around him as he walked into the shadows.

  There was so much that he had to do.

  Nightsea Outlaw.