General Kirigan was standing at the edge of the wall, observing in the darkness while one of his Grishas struggled to drive another person into a corner and pin him down. They were all in an alleyway between fairly small houses, though large enough that they bathed the whole path in shadows. The torches of the lanterns had not yet lit, for it was still daytime, even if the blue sky and the sun seemed as if they were far away. Through the dim light, one could only guess the individual colours of the frocks, and yet it was obvious that it was a matter of life and death. The inhabitants of the surrounding houses had closed their windows without hesitation as soon as the masters of the small sciences had arrived. And still their fear did not primarily derive from the presence of the Squaller and the two inferni, but from the man leaning on the wall, the man in the shadows. The man who could summon the shadows.

But the one who was called General Kirigan took no part in the fighting. His cloak brushed lightly over the stones beneath him and became one with the darkness as the man himself. The general did not have to intervene. His gaze lay calmly on the fighters and his face showed no movement. They would be able to handle the situation without him.

In the last few days, he had learned from his spies that one of the Grishas, a squaller, was secretly working for his enemies. The thought that someone could betray the Grishas and put them all in danger caused a surge of anger to rise inside him, which the General struggled to suppress. All he wanted was to give in to that rage now and allow the darkness to sink in and then ram it into the heart of this Grisha who no longer deserved to be one. He had done everything for them, they had been chased all this time and had been forced to hide, and this squaller would hand them over to the enemy without hesitation and jeopardise all that.

"General."

Kirigan was abruptly pulled away from his thoughts and reluctantly had to take his eyes off the battle in front of him. Next to him, a Corporalki stared at him from the side, eyes wide. He swallowed audibly: "Is there anything I can do?" He had his collar turned up as if in a defensive posture and his hands twitched. Kirigan raised an eyebrow, wondering where this uncertainty came from. At the same moment he regretted that Ivan had an assignment this time and could not stand by his side.

Then he noticed how the fight had also gradually slowed down and the fighters had adopted the same look as the Heartrender beside him. The Squaller's hands were almost clasped together and he was about to send a storm at his opponents when he paused in his movement. His opponents, the two inferni, tried to send everything they had towards him and encircle him with their flames. But their flames suddenly had no more power, seemed suffocated, smothered by darkness. Kirigan tilted his head slightly to look up at the sky. The blue of the sky had disappeared, it was as if night had taken hold and wrapped the moment in a cloak all at once. Kirigan let out a breath barely noticeable and closed his eyes. The fear of the Heartrender beside him had been well founded, actually. Somehow he seemed to have lost control and his emotions were harder to suppress than he had thought. This rage...

The shadows stopped dead in their tracks, and he felt them flood him again, the power slipping through his body like new breath, the shadows flowing through his veins.

You listen to me, I have you under control.

For a brief moment he let the darkness waft into his mind and spread coldness there. The clarity he needed now slowly returned. Then he opened his eyes and raised his hands. The shadows paused. It was as if he had planned all this.

"Enough." His voice cut a wedge through the shadows and reached the fighters abruptly, though it was not loud.

Artyom, the heartrender, who still could not move from where he stood next to the general, saw how the shadows stopped around him. But it did not make him calm down, not even a bit. He had seen general Kirigan before and had heard stories about him and his power and still… to see those powers in reality and so close was almost too much to bear. When he had received the order, he had been proud to be at the side of the great general who had been protecting the Grishas for a long time. Everything the Grishas were, they owed to General Kirigan, or so he had been told. But just now, when he felt his power so vividly, felt how the cold grew around him and could suffocate him at any moment.

Artyom could feel his fear growing stronger and stronger; at that moment it was hard for him to believe that such a dark man could have done so much good. The shadows now hovered in the air and somehow seemed to wait, but it only took one movement, just one thought and they would all escape from life. Only cautiously, did Artyom dare to turn his head and look at the general. He seemed focused and his gaze rested calmly on the squaller. The traitor. This Grisha, of course, had to be caught somehow and punished for his actions. But the shadows around Artyom gave him the dull feeling that this punishment would be different than he had thought. And in the general's eyes he now could not see any feeling at all, none of the lightness he had shown at the beginning of this journey.

The Inferni had somehow regained their composure by now and grabbed the squaller, who now had no chance. They held him by his arms and pushed him down on his knees. General Kirigan walked slowly towards him and looked down at him. Artyom was slow to move and had to force himself to follow him in case he was needed. It was now only fear that weighed on his mind that made him move forward as if mechanically. The general's eyes had taken on a dangerous glint and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He was seemingly making little effort to hide its contempt for the traitor.

Kirigan raised his head slightly in a way that made him look even taller. As if the darkness did not make everyone around him seem like powerless creatures anyway. His clothes seemed to melt into the shadows that followed him and suddenly he seemed more like a ghost to Artyom. A demon, never like a saviour.

"How could you turn against Grisha?" The General let his voice bounce against the walls and yet it was like a silent sword.

Artyom held his breath and tried not to close his eyes. His heart was beating so hard in his chest that he hoped the shadows would not inevitably choke him to death.
The Squaller had obviously regained his composure, for he was now staring at the General with such hatred as if he wanted to vanquish the shadows with it alone.

"Well?" Kirigan twisted one corner of his mouth and continued to stare calmly down at the man. Almost too calmly.

The squaller tugged at both his arms as if to test the Infernis' grip and then focused on Kirigan again. "I am not afraid of you and your power" His words blew out of him like a storm equal to his strength. And at the same time the words behaved like a fire. He seemed to have shed his fear completely. Artyom flinched unavoidably. Kirigan remained silent.

"I have served you long enough and you can spread nothing but darkness." The Squaller straightened as best he could. "I will not follow anyone who can only bring us ruin, Aleksander. Kill me if you must."

Artyom's gaze swung over to the General again. There was something strange about it. The way the squaller had said the words, the utter conviction in his voice. It probably wouldn't have mattered to him if Artyom hadn't seen the Shadow Summoner's power with his own eyes. But at that moment, he no longer was sure about anything.

Kirigan's expression had not changed, but the air around him began to stir again. Barely noticeably, the shadows continued to creep forward. The Heartrender tried to suppress the rising fear again. The general's wrath was not for him. Not now.

The shadows grew thicker and thicker, so that the Inferni now also retreated and the squaller was able to free himself from their hands. He would not gain anything from it now anyway. His fate was sealed.

As if to finish Artyom's thought, the General raised his hands into the air, binding all the power unto himself.

"So be it."

Following his movement, the shadows bound together into a kind of sword that sped mercilessly through the cold. Artyom could barely avert his gaze fast enough before the Squaller was gone. Cut in half, without him ever having had a single chance.

Artyom would have sunk to the ground if he were able to. All the blood had drained from his body, while he had thought he had control over it. No, the only one who controlled everything was the General. And he had decided to kill. A death that no one could escape. The shadows would always follow him, devouring everything in his path. Artyom still stared at the parted body. Where there had been doubt before, there was now certainty. He believed the dead Grisha. ...who can only bring us ruin...

Kirigan straightened to full height again and let his hands slip under the cloak. He needed the shadows to follow him. They were the one thing that had always stood by him all these years. If he wavered his control now, he would never reach his goal. He could not allow the darkness to become something that was beyond his reach. He was the shadow summoner. All his power was needed to save this world as he had always wanted. Kirigan still looked at the Squaller who had just lost his life to the same darkness. It was the Darkling's work, his work. He had killed one of his own because he was obligated to. There was no other way. Or maybe there was, but it would just cause as much pain.

He lowered his head and for a moment a different kind of shadow threatened his conscience. The kind of shadow he would be never able to control. Guilt? Doubt? As soon as he tried to grasp it, it was gone again. That spark could never ignite the cold calmness in his heart.

Why had the squaller mentioned his name Aleksander? It was a clear sign of disrespect that he had to punish anyway, so there was nothing to question here. And still... there was more behind it. A glimpse of a vague notion flooded his mind, but it was gone as soon as the darkness surrounding them had all disappeared again. While the streets were not exactly brightened, they had returned to their dim light.

No, after all he had done for this country the Grisha's death was only justified. He turned around and nodded to his fellow Grishas to follow him. As the inferni lost their fear and looked determined and kind of relieved that the problem was solved now, the heartrender hesitated for a second that only Kirigan could see. The General blinked and casually stroked his cloak. He had to pay more attention to this Grisha. Kirigan could not afford another traitor in his midst.

But there was a problem he needed to approach first: he needed something to control his inner wrath.

Or maybe he needed someone.