Page 103 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
The drawing was a blueprint of the layout from a bird's-eye view. The building looked like those simple drawings of Christmas trees, three triangles stacked. The top, the point of the structure, was marked as the main entrance. There were two dark circles at the center of the blueprint and four red marks in the corners created by the overlapping triangles.
“When did they build this?” Raymond leaned over the table, examining the map.
“Not too long after you left,” Cufio sighed, “Talkeen did a money grab. He claimed all the resources for himself while Klougus was busy trying to figure out what happened to his brother. By the time everything came to light, this place already existed.”
“What are the dark circles in the middle?” I asked.
“Shadow cores,” Cufio answered.
“He has shadow cores?” Raymond looked concerned. “How?”
“I wish I could answer that.” Cufio chewed his lip. “It’s been centuries since we even heard of one.”
“What’s a shadow core?” I looked around the room, and I was the only one who looked confused.
“Something we banned a long time ago.” Raymond spoke through a tightened jaw. “They’re made of stolen power from fallen shadow walkers.”
“You mean—” I started.
“He killed a lot of people to make that happen.” Cufio nodded. “That’s the only way to do it. Kill them and extract their power before their last breath. Do it enough, and you create a core. It makes your own power a lot stronger.”
“Well, that takes away any hesitation to remove his head from his shoulders.” Raymond’s hand tightened into a fist on the table.
“When we’re inside, make sure you don’t touch that thing.” Cufio pointed at me. “It’s like an alarm system, but it will also suck you in and steal whatever magic you possess. It’s not just limited to shadows.”
“Got it.” I nodded. “And what about the red marks?”
“That’s where we enter,” Noville said. “We’ve done some testing. Those are the weak points, actually created by the shadow cores. There are nosecurity details there because his people are afraid of getting too close to the core for long periods. Also, the barrier is weak, with thin walls and loose soil. It will make it easier to get in.”
“How many people do we have?” Metice asked. “We need to figure out who goes where, and we should enter from all points, spread out and split up their forces.”
“Less than fifty, but it should be enough. Most of the guys who are joining us are a lot stronger than the average man.”
“He built an empire of weaklings.” Cufio scoffed.
“It makes sense when you consider the kind of man Talkeen is.” Raymond nodded. “They’re all desperate, probably can’t fend for themselves, and none of them are strong enough to do to him what he plans to do to Klougus.”
“Okay, so we have a plan. We’ll meet here.” Noville pointed at a spot just beyond the building. There were what looked like coordinates written there. “I’ll let the others know we move at first light.”
“Sounds good.” Raymond threw his locs over his shoulder. He’d let them free of the bun for the first time since we left Earth.
“Everyone rest up.” Metice stood, and Piko hopped down from the seat and shot a glare at Olian.
“Going to get your girlfriend?” Olian asked.
The question got her a serious growl from Piko while Metice said nothing. A moment later, they were both gone. The rest of them, Cufio, Noville, and Olian, left out the front door. I think it was because Cufio wanted to make sure Olian didn’t linger and make things even more awkward than she already had.
“That was fun.” I smiled at Raymond after he locked the door.
“Fun?” He sighed. “You have a sick sense of humor.”
“It had to make you feel good, though, right?” I pointed behind him at the door.
He glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Watching her poke the bear and get no response. She’s obviously still in love with Metice.” I tapped my finger on my temple. “Any time she could bring up his new girl, she did. And the dog thing, Piko, was ready to bite her for getting too close to Metice.”
“Interesting. I honestly didn’t notice,” he said, and from the confused look on his face, I believed him.
