Shadow Clone Sorcery (Book 1 complete!)

El-Four hated his job. Keeping watch while everybody did something useful and exciting bothered him. El-Prime was off at the auction, and all of the other clones were either waiting outside City Hall or had infiltrated. Meanwhile, he sat on a perch outside of the Nightingale's Rest, watching as Penelope, Bass, and two squads of Shadow Seekers entered the high-end brothel.

Nothing happened for the first handful of minutes. All was silent, and El-Four's heart pounded out of his chest. The suspense made him want to descend and follow the others in. At least then he'd be useful. He'd do something good and helpful.

Then, all the lights went out. It wasn't just Nightingale's Rest that went dark, but also all nearby structures. EL-Four was sure that a spell was responsible. Chaos broke out within the building soon after. He heard weapons clash, spells fire, and people scream.

"Well, that's a relief." The clone sighed. Everyone hadn't just walked into a trap and died. He had worried that there was a chance of something of the sort happening. El-Prime had discussed the possibility and tried to offer solutions, but only the people involved in the operation were included in the planning.

He imagined Big Mouth—the summoner who assisted during El-Prime's Shadow Seeker entrance exam—assisted in trap detection. Apparently, his golems were good for more than just wildly attacking targets. They didn't contain soul fragments, and their deaths posed no danger to Big Mouth.

The Shadow Seekers likely had other means of getting by the arcane defences. Snake apparently had a long career of hunting and killing errant, criminal mages, and especially witches. His shard abilities and skill set made him nearly undetectable to their senses, allowing him to sneak in and take out dangerous spell-slinging targets. El-Prime desperately wished to see the man at work and learn his secrets. It wasn't that he intended to embark on the same career, but rather to figure out defenses against such assailants. They would likely pose the greatest threat.

El-Four channelled Shadow Sight while simultaneously using El-Prime's newest sensory technique. Despite the stalker specialty and close link to shadow magic, using both spells simultaneously resulted in compounding mental strain. Things weren't nearly as bad after Spell Weaver. The clones enjoyed the increased mental fortitude and gained the ability to sense spell threads, but lacked the ability to manipulate them. The clone was perfectly comfortable using two spells and the technique simultaneously. Since the ambient magic in the area was low, he still had to deal with a minor drain, but there was no strain.

The darkness ceased being as dark. El-Four saw hints of movement through the windows on the ground and first floors. The flashes were brighter, and he sensed the magic behind them as energy dispersed through the environment. Penelope and Esther's hypothesis proved correct. There were multiple witches.

"One of the biggest threats when facing a coven isn't just their ritual magic, but when they are in close proximity, they can pool their magic, firing more spells and empowering them," Esther had explained when El-Prime asked about the archetype of magic users. "They are naturally good at group casting spells, sharing the burden. A more experienced witch can carry the burden of spellcasting while her apprentices or juniors provide the fuel."

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An explosion rocked the neighborhood. People from the other finer brothels flooded onto the street, watching the chaos. The smart few ran. A couple got struck by stray abilities and spells that escaped the window. Many retreated. Others seemed far too enchanted to take self-preservation into account. El-Four scanned the crowd, looking for any witches hiding among them. Shadow Sight and the sensory technique did their job.

A shadowy figure escaped through a shattered first-floor window. It appeared somewhat bestial for a moment but metamorphosed into a woman in a flowing, body-hugging dress within moments of landing. As she straightened up, she didn't look like the other workers of the red light district. The way she dressed, carried herself, and moved was considerably different. Much like the woman they had seen at the docks, everybody seemed to forget her within seconds of seeing her. But El-Four was outside the range of her ability, and he stayed that way as he followed.

The arcane signature radiating from the witch was weak. The clone couldn't tell whether she was suppressing herself or the fight and transformations had drained her significantly. Either way, he didn't want to risk it. El-Four ceased channeling Shadow Sight and the sensory technique, focusing all of his magical ability on Silencing Shadows. El-Prime and the other clones had focused significant effort on refining the spell and practising it ever since it failed. Now, the clone felt more confident wandering closer to the witch.

I'm sure she's spent.

The woman's composure faded as she moved. Despite the chill, beads of sweat ran down her face and her bare neck. She was tired and probably terrified. So, El-Four pushed his luck, closing the distance between himself and the target. The progress was gradual. She seemed too focused on escape to go on the offensive or waste energy on much besides suppressing her own presence. Every now and again, the witch looked over her shoulder, looking for anyone trailing her. Her eyes only scanned the streets, ignoring the rooftops.

El-Four waited until she stopped to catch her breath. The witch slumped in an alley. She sat on the ground, drew her knees in, and tucked her face into them before breaking down. Tears flowed as she sobbed loudly. Her fist banged the stone wall behind her.

It was tempting to go for her straight away. But El-Four worried it was a trap. There was a chance she had detected him or another pursuer and was using a fake moment of vulnerability to draw them in. At the same time, it was possible she was having a genuine breakdown. The witch appeared young. She still had the cherubic cheeks of someone who had not long left their teenage years—or was still in them. As tears washed away her makeup, pimples, and acne scars became visible.

Esther said witches use magic to make themselves more beautiful. Either she is more inexperienced than I thought, or she is reverting to how she truly looks after overusing magic.

The clone made his move. He leaped from his perch and launched a right hook at the side of her head. The witch detected his approach, but was much too slow. Her hands lit up with violet flames, but the blow struck her lower jaw before she could use them, knocking her to the floor.

The Shadow Seekers unarmed combat trainers had drilled proper form and technique into El-Prime and the clones over the past months. It didn't surprise El-Four when the witch tried to rise, but wobbled and fell on her face. He shaped Shade's Mantle, extending a pair of twisted tethers and wrapping them around the woman, binding her arms and feet. Once he was sure of the bindings, the clone wrapped sashes over her mouth and eyes. The twisted chords solidified into steel, but the rest of the bindings remained soft and pliable.