Chapter 36: An Uneasy Start (Part 2)
Ghosts in the Shadows
Snow continued to fall across the Agares estate, draping the landscape in ghost-white serenity. But beneath the calm, Volundr's world was stirring.
He sat alone in his war room—an unused guest chamber now covered in layered maps, aged documents, and glowing sigils pulsing with faint devil magic.
On the center table rested an enchanted globe, and around it floated miniature illusionary markers—each representing key locations near the Tepes territory.
He rolled up another report and tucked it into his growing dossier on the Vladi estate.
"High magical interference," he muttered.
"Barrier density equal to mid-tier tactical wards. Staff rotation locked to bloodline. Single tower locked magically and physically... for over six years."
He sat back, brow furrowed. It was a prison dressed as a noble estate.
Earlier that day
Volundr had visited an old, one-eyed devil named Raffon, once a scout under the Bael military. Now retired and half-drunk in a sunlit pub within the territory, he still remembered the edge-walks near Tepes.
"The Vladi family? Eh… they keep to themselves. Always have,"
Raffon had grunted.
"But about a decade back, they shut their gates. No reasons, no letters. Just wards flarin' and servants leavin' with bruises and silence."
"Did you ever see the boy?" Volundr asked.
"Once," Raffon had said, voice dropping.
"Pale thing, like mist in a window. Big red eyes. He waved at me… and I lost time. Ten seconds, maybe twenty. I wasn't even close."
He'd downed the rest of his glass then, muttering, "Some powers are better off untouched."
Volundr disagreed. Some powers just needed a better guide.
Back at the estate, Seekvaira entered the study unannounced. She wore a simple green winter coat, her expression unusually serious.
"You're still obsessing," she said, eyeing the scattered maps.
"Preparing," Volundr replied.
"Same thing, different hat," she said, leaning against the desk. "I spoke to Clarion—my… very odd informant."
"The gambling fanatic?"
"The same. He said there's a noble betting circle that's started placing odds on whether the 'Vladi Wraith' will survive the next three years."
Volundr's eyes narrowed.
"He's not a wraith."
"No, he's a child with a power no one understands. And in the world of devils, that's even worse," she said softly. "Be careful. The Tepes don't like anyone sniffing around Dhampirs they didn't authorize. And if they feel someone's trying to 'claim' one, they'll retaliate."
"I'm not trying to claim him," Volundr said. "I'm trying to save him."
She paused, then nodded once. "Then save yourself first."
That night, Volundr sat cross-legged within his personal ritual circle. A rune-sphere floated above his palms, lines of Devil Script twisting in the air.
The mutated Rook piece sat nearby, sealed and inert… until now.
Thrum.
A vibration echoed across his circle. The air shimmered. Then came the vision—uncalled, but potent:
Darkness. Then stillness. Then a whimper.
Red eyes blinking in endless stasis. A child alone in a silver cage of time.
He looks up. And in that moment—he sees Volundr.
A hand reaches out. Not to attack. Not to threaten. But to beg.
Volundr gasped, breaking the connection. The ritual faded. Sweat trickled down his brow.
The piece on the floor shimmered faintly with faint, reactive magic.
He's awakening. His Sacred Gear… it's growing restless. His power is crying out.
Volundr stood slowly, moving to the giant map pinned to the far wall. One location pulsed faintly—an energy tag he'd secretly attached to a leyline tracker near the Vladi estate.
He placed a hand on it.
"You're not alone anymore, Gasper."
His voice was low but certain.
"You're calling out. And this time, someone's going to answer."
End of Chapter 36