Adam held the sharp, red glass dagger high in the air. The dark blood magic inside the blade pulsed with intense heat. It smelled like burning copper. Adam stood directly over Catherine. The young noble girl was kneeling on the beautiful blue carpet. Tears streamed down her dirty face. She looked up into Adam’s dark, dead eyes. She remembered the freezing, empty graveyard inside his soul. She was terrified. She did not know if the human boy was still in there, or if the cold machine was going to cut her throat. Inside Adam’s mind, the "Grave of Kings" protocol screamed. “Kill the Duke. Kill Valerius. Eat the room.” The pressure against his fragile disguise was absolute torture. His head pounded. If he dropped his mask, the entire room of possessed nobles would attack him at once. He and Catherine would die. But if he kept the mask, he had to murder an innocent girl. Adam tightened his grip on the dagger. He bent his knees slightly. He calculated a desperate plan. He was going to

Marquis Valerius smiled a terrible, knowing smile. He looked down from the black stone altar, staring directly into Adam’s eyes. "It seems the ghost decided to wear a new mask today," Valerius’s grinding voice echoed through the massive cavern. The heavy, dark disguise fell away from Adam’s shoulders. He stopped slouching. He stood perfectly straight. The mercenary named Aethelred was gone. Adam Cook, the Sovereign of the Void, looked back at the ancient monster. High Inquisitor Malakor stepped backward, his face completely pale. He realized his secret plan to use Adam was ruined. The hundreds of possessed nobles drew their weapons. They prepared to attack. But Valerius raised his hand. "Stop!" the Marquis commanded. Valerius looked at the massive silver door. The ancient runes on the metal were still flashing with pitch-black, buzzing static. The door was reacting violently to Adam’s dark soul. "The Key is here, but the lock is too hot," Valerius whispered, his yellow eyes nar

The heavy oak doors of the bedroom were securely locked. Adam Cook stepped away from the tall glass window. Outside in the snowy valley, the massive Royal Army was marching toward the Frost-Spire. But Adam’s cold, hollow mind turned back to the immediate danger inside the dark room. He walked over to the hidden compartment in the obsidian wall. The blue communication crystal sat there, humming quietly. Adam closed his eyes for a tiny fraction of a second. He focused his mind and used his heightened magical perception. He looked closely at the black stone walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Earlier, he had used tiny, surgical pulses of pitch-black Void magic to eat the dangerous inner threads of the blood magic. He had carefully left the outer shell intact so the castle guards would not notice. But as Adam stared at the remaining magical shell with his hyper-focused vision, he realized a terrifying truth. The glowing red runes carved into the stone were not just designed to act as a

Adam turned his body to sprint out of the dusty archives. His human panic took over. Catherine was falling down a pitch-black chute toward a deadly machine. He had to catch her. "Wait!" Kaelen shouted. The old mage lunged forward and grabbed Adam’s arm. Adam’s dark brown eyes snapped back to the old man. "Let go. She is falling.""If you just jump into the chute, you will die!" Kaelen cried out. "The Deep-Freeze is filled with absolute zero magic! It will instantly turn your blood into solid ice. You cannot catch her if you are frozen!"Adam stopped. His hollow, logical mind quickly pushed the human panic away. The machine in his brain calculated the math. The central chute was one mile long. Catherine was falling fast, but the air pressure inside the pipe would slow her down. He had exactly ninety seconds before she hit the bottom. "Show me the weak points," Adam commanded coldly. He stepped back to the glowing magical map on the wooden desk. Kaelen wiped the sweat from his wrink

Inquisitor Draven opened his mouth to shout. He held the black, glowing Truth Prism in his hand. He was going to call the entire Royal Army to capture Adam. But Adam did not give him the chance. Before Draven could take a single breath, Adam moved. He did not use a drop of dark magic. He used pure, blinding physical speed. Adam’s heavy iron boot stepped forward. His right hand shot out like a striking snake. Adam struck the exact nerve on the side of Draven’s neck. It was a perfect, cold, surgical hit. Draven’s eyes rolled back. The veteran Inquisitor fell completely limp. Adam caught Draven’s falling body with one arm so his heavy armor would not crash against the icy ground. With his other hand, Adam snatched the Truth Prism out of the air. He crushed the glass into gray dust. "Come on," Adam whispered to Catherine. He dragged the unconscious Inquisitor into a deep snowbank, hidin