Bet nodded grimly, then held up the book so that Evin could see. He could see a painting of a skeletal wizard in flowing robes, cradling an orb of blue magic on the aging parchment.

“I don’t think Sefron’s plan was just to unleash the monsters upon the kingdoms,” Bet whispered as Evin and Jorick studied the page. “I think he plans to wipe out all of the humans and lord over the kingdoms with its new inhabitants: the deadly creatures that are now freed.”

Bet looked at them, her face pale. “I think he’s going to become a lich.”

Chapter Thirty

The hatch that led to the roof of the keep creaked as Evin opened it, and he ducked down, certain that Sefron had heard the noise and would come running. Behind him on the spiral staircase, Jorick and Bet stayed hushed, waiting.

Evin swallowed the lump in his throat and pushed the hatch all the way open. He peered up over the edge of the roof and took in the scene.

Ahead of him sat some strange contraption that Sefron had apparently been constructing, illuminated by the light of the full moon.

The crystal spear’s long shaft, flooded with the bright red blood that had once belonged to Hennea, was connected to a glass tube that curved down toward a large, transparent alchemist’s pot set in an iron frame above an open flame. The blood seeped into the pot and boiled before dripping out of a spout into a cauldron.

Sefron loomed over the cauldron, his yellow eyes not leaving its contents as he stroked his goatee. To the south, in the skies over the lands that were once surrounded by the dome, Evin could see the darkened form of winged beasts soaring to their freedom.

Looking down at his companions, he placed a finger over his lips and climbed silently onto the dark roof. He crept near the crenellated wall that surrounded the top of the keep as Jorick and Bet followed.

Sefron smiled, his eyes now on the crystal shaft jutting up through the grating.

“It’s all done now, my sweet,” Sefron called as he kneeled down and picked up a vial from his feet. Evin saw dozens more bottles of various sizes there, all empty. “You can come join me now.”

He stood and uncapped the bottle. Taking in a deep, savoring breath, the evil wizard turned the bottle over and dumped its contents into the cauldron. As the dark liquid met the mixture, a poof of smoke rose into the air. Evin heard the distant sound of anguished screaming.

“Now,” Bet hissed behind Evin. “We can’t watch anymore. We have to move now!”

“Hennea?” Sefron called, spinning to face their direction.