Tereus took Maddie to a small house on the outskirts of the Temple district. It was a single room with a fireplace, a cot, and a few chairs. The real prize, however, was a small backyard, well-fenced and hidden from the neighbors.

“We'll train here. We only have a few days, so we'll start right away.”

First she demonstrated the things she knew how to do. She could access the smoky magic at her core and sometimes cause it to come out of her skin. She could walk through shadows, but she was reluctant to do it. When Tereus managed to get her to step into that smoky void, she backed out right away. She sensed that he was being patient with her; logic dictated that shadow walking would be important to their plan.

Tereus also led her through basic weapons training. Maddie balked at that, but Tereus explained.

“Taking a life, or even injuring someone, is never easy. But if it came down to hurting an enemy or losing your friends, which would you choose?”

“Hurting an enemy.”

“Right. Now you don't have to kill someone you're fighting, but you do have to make sure they won't get back up and stab you in the back.”

They practiced fighting with knives for hours at a time. At first Maddie could barely last a few minutes, but as they kept going she could feel some of the strength she had tapped into when she tried to run from the Academy. Tereus noticed her improvement and pointed out the smoke coming out of her pores.

“You have to tap into that magic. It will not only help your stamina, but you'll be able to hide from your enemies.”

They switched to swords. “Not that you're likely to need it, but you never know what will come in handy.” Tereus was a soldier; if he had his way Maddie would learn to fight with every weapon possible. As he pushed her harder and harder he exhorted her to tap into the power that had allowed her to run faster and longer than a normal human.

When Tereus was ready to take a break, Maddie almost collapsed on the floor. When she looked up she saw the sun coming up through the windows. They had trained all night.

“Rest. I'll wake you up in three hours. We don't have a lot of time to waste, but you'll need to be rested for the next part.”

Maddie collapsed on the cot, fully dressed. She had a dream. She was standing in that shadowy void and a girl about her age was standing in front of her. The girl had long black hair and the pale complexion usually found only on nobility. She wore a simple red dress with gold trim. She ran to Maddie and wrapped her arms around her.

“My child! You're here!”

“Where are we?”

“Right now we're in the place of dreams. But you've also drawn very close to the place of shadows. I needed to talk to you.”

Maddie looked at this young girl. Though she looked nothing like the statue in the temple, Maddie knew this was her mother.

“I'm sorry, but I prefer this form. I know I don't look very motherly, but I needed to warn you. You must not trust Tereus. He has his own agenda and is merely using you. You are my daughter and you are much stronger than that. Don't be his pawn. Stand for yourself.”

Maddie felt the god's strength flow into her, but it faded almost instantly.

“I'll try. I have to save my friends. That's more important than my own life.”

The goddess looked at her daughter, tears staining her face. She kissed the girl on the forehead.

“Be careful. And remember that I love you.”

With that the dream faded.

Tereus woke Maddie what seemed like only a few minutes later. She felt surprisingly well-rested despite the lack of sleep. After a rushed breakfast, Tereus continued her training. He lit the fire and worked it until it was a roaring blaze. It cast flickering shadows on the walls.

“Now we get to the most important part: using your shadow abilities.”

She spent several more hours learning to use her magic. It was more exhausting than the weapon training, because her enhanced stamina didn't help her here. She melded into shadows, surrounded herself with shadows, and finally tried walking through shadows again. This time she was able to detect the shadows in the room and exit nearby. Tereus couldn’t hide his glee at her progress.

“Just a little more and we’ll be there. That key will be ours and we’ll bring the Druids to their knees. And rescue your friends, of course.”

Maddie was too focused on her abilities to really listen to him. Unlike the months of trying to access her magic or the unpleasant pulling of Corentin’s mental assault, using her shadow abilities just felt right.Shadows seemed to make sense to her. It was like the whole world was connected.

A cold fear hit her: is this what Shadow Walkers feel? They were beings of pure evil, assassins who could appear anywhere and killed indiscriminately. Many times they had been sent after a single target, only to massacre whole families, or even whole towns. Maddie turned with her back to the fire and stepped through her own shadow. It was the easiest to access right now. It was then that the little nugget of information she had been trying to remember. As she stepped out of Tereus’s shadow it dawned on her: Shadow Walkers didn’t cast shadows. It was one of their defining features. They could walk through them and, the stories sometimes said, control them, but they didn’t cast them. If they did, they’d be unstoppable, able to go anywhere. No place would be safe from their evil.

“Tereus, how come I cast a shadow. If I was really turning into a Shadow Walker, wouldn’t my shadow disappear? It seems like mine has grown stronger.”

And indeed it did. Just like that day in the sun, the more she walked through it, the darker and sharper her shadow became. She could fuzz the edges and lighten it to the point of almost disappearing -- if she concentrated -- but when it came back it was clearer than before.

Tereus smiled grimly. “So, you noticed that, did you? The corrupting influence of Shadow takes many forms. Not everybody becomes a Shadow Walker. There are different soldiers of the Darkness. You will become one of them, just wait.”

Maddie sat down on the cot. Was it worth it?

“I think you need a reminder of why you’re doing this.”

He made another bubble in the air. It showed Gaius and Cleo in a room, being talked to by Elouan. Their hands were tied and they were covered with bruises. Rather than the kindly old man that Maddie had met, this Elouan was a monster. He towered over the two children, a look of rage on his face. He stomped back and forth, ranting silently. Cleo said something and Elouan advanced on her. Gaous struggled against his bonds, trying to get between her and Elouan, but he couldn’t move. Elouan smacked Cleo across the face hard enough to cause the chair to rock to the side. Cleo looked down, tears streaming down her face from the pain. Gaius shouted at Elouan, who gave him a similar blow, this time actually knocking him to the floor. Students with red sashes righted the chair. Elouan continued to rage. Maddie clenched her fists and held back tears, this time of anger. She studied the image, looking for a shadow to step through.

“No. Do not go up against an Arch-Druid. You will not survive.” The image winked out.

“I have to save them!”

“And we will. We simply need the right tools. The key to the city will be a sufficient bargaining chip.”

“And they’ll let my friends go? Are you sure?”

“We’ll make sure.”

Maddie practiced her shadow magic for a while more, then Terus started going over the plan of attack. The key was to be theirs before morning.