"Father, along with Caleb and Lazarus, you must start gathering them," Bianca said. "Push them to a deserted place inside Zor'gan. Once you gather them, call me."

The way she said, Daryn knew what had to be done. He looked at Caleb and he nodded. They had to trap the Shadows with their sorcery. "Do you think you will be able to extract the remaining Shadows from the palace's underground? Sedora won't really leave you." Daryn shuddered as he said that. "I would like to accompany you."

​​

Bianca looked at the large horde of Shadows who were looking like critters, ready to eat anything that fell in their way. And they were coming towards them. She had very little time to act. "No Daddy. You must go with Caleb and Lazarus. Just round them up."

"Okay Bia, but what about you?"

"I am going to meet Nusgroth. I hope he has found a way through Zor'gan to the palace."

Daryn trotted his horse near his daughter and picked her hand in his. "I am so proud of you baby. I want to enjoy a long time with my child whom I got after my prayers were answered by Skadi. So be careful. Don't worry about the Shadows that we are going to hold in a circle because both Caleb and I can hold them with our sorcery." He closed his eyes for a while, savoring his daughter's feel in his hands. When he opened them, he whispered, "I want you back Bia. Be careful."

She smiled. "Yes Father. Don't worry." She wanted to hug him but she knew that she would do so once this thing is over… "Now go!" She looked in front of her. A huge sea of Shadows was coming near them. Journey to Zor'gan had been bitter and hard. They had slogged and fought, and now she was waiting impatiently to meet and kill the woman who was the crux of this fiasco.

Daryn nodded and turned his horse to the Shadows who were coming towards them. None of them had bright red eyes. Caleb and Lazarus split and they surrounded the Shadows on the northwest and east side while Daryn, along with his horde of souls attacked them from the north.

The kings and the souls were relentlessly cutting and attacking the Shadows and burning them. For every one Shadow killed, numerous emerged. It was as if they had attacked a hornet's nest. They continued to come one after the other.

Daryn and Caleb yelled at the souls to gather them all in the center of Zor'gan. They had already breached the perimeter of the kingdom.

Kar'den was smart. He knew that his winged warriors couldn't harm the souls, so he didn't leave any of them there. He went with what Sedora told him to do—he attacked Ileus, Dmitri and Brantley's combined army.

"How do you plan on rounding them up?" Lazarus shouted to be heard over the blood-curdling screams.

"I am going to encircle them and fight them as I push. Join me from the sides and don't leave gaps," Daryn replied. "We can only create a trap like that."

"The circle cannot be too big for our sorcery to work," Caleb bellowed. "So kill as many as you can." With that started killing and scorching the Shadows with increased fervor.

Lazarus had started to push them inside and so had Daryn, but Caleb was finding it tough to drive them inside.

Bianca, along with her team went inside the tunnel, which Nusgroth had dug and which led to the palace. As she descended it, two Cadvals walked to her side. Since no one could see Bianca and the spirits, the presence of Cadvals indicated that she was there. Bianca saw that the dwarves had done a great job in digging the tunnel because Kar'den hadn't been able to discover it. What should have been a few days journey, became a fifteen minute journey to the place where Nusgroth was waiting for her.

As soon as he saw the Cadvals, he knew that she was there. Light zapped and snapped and buzzed out of her sword every now and then indicating her presence. He bowed to her and said, "We have built two more such tunnels. The other two open directly in the palace. Only this one opens in the chamber where Sedora works." He pointed at a peephole through which they could see. He beckoned her to see the chamber. When he felt icy chilliness next to his body, he knew she was there.

Bianca got down of Izar and walked up to the peephole. And when she peered through it, she thought she was lucky not to be in her bodily form, for she could have puked and puked.

The chamber was nothing short of a horror chamber. There was so much blood and stench out there. Trays filled with cut out eyes were placed in piles. Cut limbs, wings and horns of all those who had become Shadows were strewn around. The gray stones of the walls were smeared with symbols in blood of the dead. Most blood had caked but some was still flowing. Only a person as deranged as Sedora would go to this extent. She was indeed insane. Bianca was so ashamed of her heritage that she was repulsed by herself. Her grandmother wasn't dark. She was evil.

"I want to go in!" she said, as an urge to kill her rose to her chest like her need to breathe.

The Cadval conveyed this message to Nusgroth.

"We have been keeping a close watch on her for the past two hours ever since we reached here. She came in only once to convert a dead body into a Shadow. But she is mostly going a level below. So I have concluded that there must be something at that level that is keeping her busy," said Nusgroth. "If you breach this wall, I am afraid that you won't find her. So if you want, you can wait for us to build a route to a level below."

"No!" She turned to him, her sword zapping with intensity. "Break it here!"

When the Cadval conveyed this message to Nusgroth, he pursed his lips. "Okay." He looked at the other dwarves who were standing with their weapons. They came forward and with two blows broke the wall.

Bianca entered and behind her were the Cadvals and the spirits. Anxiety gripped her. There was no one in the chamber. Loud shrieks could be heard from a level below mixed with an ancient language, which she recognized immediately.

Bianca dismounted Izar, patted him and said, "Stay here." The horse hooved the air and nuzzled his head in her as if trying to say 'stay safe.' She looked at the spirits and put her hands up asking them to stop. She asked the Cadvals to follow her. Locating the exit of the chamber, she started climbing down the narrow winding staircase. The noise of the shrieks became louder. Sedora was performing some dark magic, which was affecting her.

"Dolazim, Sedora…" said Bianca. 'I am coming, Sedora…'

And the shrieks stopped.

A rustle of clothes and metal instruments falling to the floor.

Silence.

A frantic laughter. "Dodi, cekam té!"

Bianca knew that Sedora was waiting for her. A chill ran through her. She was shocked beyond words as soon as she entered the chamber.