When I pulled my disappearing act, I had hoped that they’d think I shadow stepped away. And, in a way, it would have been the truth. I stepped into the shadows and disappeared. I just didn’t step back out. Instead, I moved through the fluctuating realm with great care, taking up a position from which I could observe the people I had just left behind.

  The idea was that they would talk about the events and my allegations, giving me some indication of whether they believed me, or if I had to prod them in different ways to make them accept my words. However, contrary to my expectations, they didn’t discuss the strange events in depth. Instead, they exchanged a few words of confusion and uncertainty, none of them willing to confidently state anything regarding my words before the group broke apart. Murray, Daniel and Samantha stuck together, moving in one direction and talking quietly, something the rest mirrored. None of the newly formed groups was bigger than four people, making it difficult to get a decent idea about their impressions, especially as the setting sun caused the shadows to shift and morph rapidly, making it difficult to remain stationary within the Realm of Shadows.

  So, after a few moments of consideration, I sped through the shifting realm, rapidly making my way out of their little town and into the surrounding area until I reached the ruined town and its buildings. There, I found a nicely hidden position and stepped back out of the shadows, still slightly unwilling to linger within them. Sure, I had never felt the slightly creepy presence watching me I had sensed on Mundus, but I couldn’t be certain that the shadows were empty here. Nor could I assume that everything that might dwell within would be benign, certainly not after we had come across those Shadow Hounds a while back. I wasn’t confident that those dogs would be unable to catch me in the shadows; they might even have an easier time of it. I simply didn’t know and wasn’t too interested in finding out.

  Standing in the shade for a few moments, I wondered if there were more communities I could approach and warn away from Lorgar and his friends. Groups who lived nearby, mulling over the things I had heard from my students, trying to recall if one of them had mentioned a place I hadn’t visited. When my considerations came up empty, I simply shrugged and started to think about my next move.

  Returning to my tower was an option, as was looking for Lia. My dear daughter had taken to wandering the ruined city during the nights she wasn’t busy tormenting the Blessed City or working on her alchemical skills, and I had a niggling feeling that her wanderings were far from random. No, after speaking to Samantha and her friends, I was pretty confident that Lia wasn’t over that particular relationship and the mess the situation created.

  Maybe it was time to speak to my daughter about my worries regarding the bond between us. I would have to tell her that I might have bound her in a way I hadn’t expected and might be unable to remove, effectively enslaving her in perpetuity. It was a conversation I dreaded so much that I could barely bring myself to consider it, and yet I was well aware that it was a necessity.

  After thinking for a moment, I pushed aside the uncertainty. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in the middle of the ruined city. It was something I wanted to have in a space where we both could feel safe. Maybe with Silva and Luna nearby, so we’d both have a bit of support when it almost inevitably went south, I would have to consider it later. For now, I simply centred myself and stepped into the shadows, reappearing moments later, quite some distance away.

  The Nexus Tower was still the quiet bastion of solitude it had been when we left. Silva barely cared to move into the upper reaches of the tower, preferring to remain near the bottom where she could head out easily. So, it was no surprise that the only sound I could hear was the wind blowing around the tower, and even that felt slightly less intrusive than usual.

  Instead of stepping through the shadows again, I started to walk downstairs, not even trying to move quietly. Even the soft sounds of my movement were enough to attract Silva’s attention, and she came bounding over to investigate. When she spotted me, she didn’t even try to slow down; instead, she sped up, deliberately angling her approach to bowl me over. I tried to dodge, creating a brief but somewhat amusing contest of anticipation as she predicted my dodges and I was trying to predict her predictions. That ultimately led to decision paralysis on both our parts and, eventually, a collision that sent me sprawling while Silva stood over me, her tail going a mile a minute.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” I asked her, as my hands were combing through her thick fur, enjoying the sensation. “You know, you are a little too big to try being a lapdog,” I reminded her, only to have her ignore my words and flop down, her body pinning me to the ground as she tried to be comfortable on my lap. Not that it would ever work, there was just a little too much dog to fit in my lap, even with the growth I had experienced since the change, but that had never stopped Silva from trying.

  And, if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t mind one bit. There was something deeply therapeutic about sinking my fingers into her fluffy fur and just petting her, especially when we were in a safe place and could relax. The Nexus Tower was one such place, maybe the most secure of them all, thanks to its remote location, the heavily enchanted walls, the wards and general obscurity. If nobody knew the tower existed, it was pretty challenging to raid it.

  Eventually, I wanted to add stronger magical wards to the tower’s defences, but given that those would have to be directly linked into the Nexus and draw power from it, that project was still being worked on. I was confident I would manage it at some point, but, for now, the tower only had the usual protections, which weren’t weak by any means.

  Just not on the level I wanted them to be at.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I quietly admitted, still letting my fingers comb through Silva’s pelt, slowly removing loose hairs as I petted her. “Back when I restored Carnelia’s soul, I may have made... “ I paused, uncertain what to call it. Could I call my actions a mistake if those actions were what had created Carnelia as she currently was? Wouldn’t it mean I considered Carnelia’s current existence a mistake? I couldn’t rightly separate the actions I took back then from her current existence, simply because I had no idea if I would have succeeded if I had done things differently. But I was confident that Carnelia wouldn’t be the same person she is now if I had done things differently back then.

  So, could I call it a mistake? I just didn’t know.

  “I made a something,” I chuckled softly to myself, only to have Silva let out a quiet, amused huff at my eloquence.

  Still, Silva was an excellent listener, so I continued to explain the issue to her, getting the occasional growl, huff or chuff in response. By now, I was able to parse those noises and sounds into actual responses. However, they weren’t all that elaborate, mainly along the lines of approval, disapproval, requests for clarification and the suggestion that I was being an idiot. Sadly, it felt as if she was making the last sound more than any other, but she was still giving me good advice, despite our linguistically limited conversation.

  Eventually, my tale was done, and I noticed that the entire area was covered in canine fluff, making me giggle softly to myself. I had continuously combed through her fur, and now, there was enough fur all around us to make an entire new dog out of it, or a giant pillow.

  “You know, you are one furry monster,” I laughed, my words making Silva look around the room and take in the mass of fluff and dander spread all around us.

  Then, she jumped up with a bark of approval and started to zoom around, the movement and her continuously wagging tail, spreading the fluff even further and covering me in it even more than I already had been.

  “You are doing this on purpose, you monster,” I complained, before using a bit of magic to syphon all the hairs into one giant ball and encasing it in ice.

  “I might make a pillow out of this, you know? Just have to wash and clean it, who knows what was stuck in your pelt,” I told her, getting a few happy growls in return. Maybe this was exactly what I needed to get out of my funk.

  “Would you mind coming with me to the south so that we can have that conversation with Carnelia?” I asked, “I’d like you to be there, just in case things go south,” I admitted, getting a huff in response, but Silva moved over to stand next to me, accepting the request in her own, canine way.

  Moments later, we were gone from the Nexus Tower.