Warlock Apprentice

Shadows?

Angor was surprised. Turning into a living dead could still be caused by some kind of virus, but losing one’s shadow was definitely something supernatural.

No wonder Leonrick asked him.

Before Angor could ask something else, he suddenly heard something.

“What was that?”

“Pardon me?” Leonrick seemed confused.

“Someone’s laughing?” Angor carefully listened and released his spirit feelers.

Without giving it any time to react, a gray-feathered bird lashed out from Angor’s pocket and rushed at the black figure immediately.

The shadow jumped again and began to chant something in a strange language.

It managed to create a small door that was only large enough for itself to get through. Before Toby could get it, it jumped into the door and closed it.

Toby failed to catch anything. The door vanished.

Angor kept sensing and did not register any energy residue.

“Damn. I let it escaped so easily!”

He calmed down and tried to recall what he just saw. That thing mostly looked human-ish. Maybe something that resembled humans. Yet he couldn’t be sure.

What he could determine was that the strange laughter had to have been made by that shadowy thing, since those chants sounded exactly the same.

Angor sighed and looked around, only to find both Leonrick and Cyndia watching the ruckus with widened, terrified eyes. They seemed to want to talk, but they couldn’t.

Angor snapped his fingers and recovered the trace of the nightmare illusion that was hanging around the couple.

“I sensed something. I had to mute you both to ascertain its location. But I… still let it slip,” he explained.

Leonrick gulped. “Mi-Mister Mask, oh god, whatever was that thing? Did it do this to Margot?”

“I don’t know whether it’s connected to the shadowless condition. But I assume it has something to do with it. There must be a reason for it to show up in your daughter’s room at the moment your daughter fell ill.”

He thought about the small sack. Could that thing contain the lost shadows?

Leonrick looked down. Even if they learned about the true culprit, mortals couldn’t do anything to something with obvious supernatural abilities.

“Can you save Margot, Mister Mask?” Cyndia tried to ask. Her eyes looked both desperate and hopeful.

Angor moved closer and inspected Margot. It seemed her body was fine, and her soul was still intact.

“I do not know,” Angor said in the end.

It wasn’t a sure answer, but it was enough to break Cyndia’s last hope. The woman sat on the floor and sobbed sadly.

Angor looked at Leonrick next. This man looked equally sad, but at least he still retained his ability to reason.

“This is your request, right?” Angor shook his head. “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”

Leonrick smiled painfully. “It… It’s okay. I understand, sir.”

“I can’t cure your daughter, but I still want to look into the small shadow. Can you show me the other patients?”

Leonrick’s eyes brightened up again, and he quickly nodded.

“But of course! Shall we go there immediately?”