By the following morning, Vaelrith's warning had turned the Compound's rarely used council room into something considerably more serious.
Alexandria had made its move.
And this time—
Jax wanted everyone important in the same room.
The Compound had been designed with meetings like this in mind.
A long polished table dominated the center of the room.
Maps covered one wall.
Another held several large boards Jax occasionally used for planning.
There were no teleportation gates inside the Compound.
Jax had deliberately kept those in Solmere's transportation district, surrounded by warehouses, shops, restaurants, and the infrastructure needed to handle travelers and cargo.
Anyone arriving through the gate network entered the city there.
Then they came to his home like everyone else.
Today—
They came.
In person.
The Vixens sat together near Jax.
Aurabelle.
Llandra.
Zee.
Nyxian.
Kaelor Fangmere represented the Adventurers Guild.
Mayor Halvren represented Solmere.
Alden had traveled from Burrowlane, increasingly becoming the voice of the Rabbitkin community as the town moved toward formal cooperation with the United Kingdoms.
Other military, political, and trade representatives filled the remaining seats.
At the far end sat King Thalorien Silverthorne.
Beside him was General Soren Nightclaw.
The Catkin General was lean rather than massive, with gray fur broken by darker markings around his face.
Nothing about him screamed General.
No elaborate armor.
No ceremonial weapon.
No chest covered in medals.
Just dark leather.
A short blade.
And golden eyes that seemed to notice everything.
Where Vaelrith specialized in information gathered through generations of contacts, favors, relationships, and informants...
Soren specialized in military intelligence.
Enemy movements.
Counterintelligence.
Sabotage.
Supply routes.
And finding people who weren't supposed to be there.
Vaelrith stood at the front of the room.
"The executions in Alexandria have ended."
Nobody spoke.
"At least for now."
Jax leaned back in his chair.
"How many?"
"We don't know."
That answer immediately changed the room.
Aurabelle's ears lowered.
Zee stared toward Vaelrith.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Alexandria has suppressed casualty reports. Some of our contacts have disappeared. Others have gone silent."
Soren folded his hands on the table.
"We know thousands of soldiers were arrested after returning from Crescent Moon Canyon."
Aurabelle's eyes widened.
"The soldiers we released?"
"Many of them."
The room became quiet.
Vaelrith continued.
"Some were executed publicly."
Zee stopped moving.
"Executed?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Soren answered.
"Treason."
Zee stared at him.
"They surrendered."
"According to Alexandria, surrender was the treason."
The healer said nothing.
Vaelrith continued.
"The Empire's official account claims portions of its army conspired with the enemy before the battle. Their surrender is being presented as evidence that they participated in the destruction of Imperial forces."
Alden frowned.
"That's ridiculous."
"Yes."
"They lost."
"Yes."
"And now they're executing their own soldiers for losing?"
Soren looked toward him.
"They're executing their own soldiers because admitting they lost would require admitting someone defeated them."
That silenced Alden.
Vaelrith continued.
"The accusations spread beyond the soldiers."
He placed several reports onto the table.
"Families were investigated."
Another report.
"Property seized."
Another.
"Businesses confiscated."
Another.
"Citizens who protested the executions were arrested."
His expression hardened.
"Eventually protests became riots."
Aurabelle looked horrified.
"And Alexandria's blaming that on them too?"
"Of course."
Soren leaned forward.
"The Imperial position is that the riots prove the conspiracy existed."
Jax almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the logic was so perfectly backwards.
"So they execute people for being traitors."
"Yes."
"People protest because they think the executions are wrong."
"Yes."
"And Alexandria says the protests prove the people they executed were traitors."
Soren nodded.
"Essentially."
Jax leaned back.
"Convenient."
"Extremely."
Zee hadn't spoken.
Her eyes remained fixed on the table.
Llandra noticed first.
"Zee?"
Zee looked up.
"The wounded."
Vaelrith understood immediately.
His expression softened.
"Some."
That single word hit harder than the rest.
Zee remembered them.
Not an army.
People.
Men lying in the dirt.
Blood covering her hands while she closed wounds.
A soldier crying because he thought he would lose his leg.
Another thanking her repeatedly because she had stopped the bleeding.
She had ignored uniforms.
Ignored kingdoms.
Ignored which side they had fought for.
She had saved whoever was placed in front of her.
Some of those men had made it home.
And their own kingdom had killed them.
Zee lowered her eyes.
"That's..."
She stopped.
Jax reached beneath the table and squeezed her hand.
She squeezed back.
Nothing else needed to be said.
Not yet.
Vaelrith allowed the silence to remain for several seconds.
Then continued.
"Unfortunately, Alexandria isn't finished."
That got everyone's attention.
Soren stood.
"We've known for years that the Empire maintains intelligence assets throughout United Kingdom territory."
Halvren frowned.
"Spies."
"Yes."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"Solmere?"
"Yes."
Halvren looked around the table.
"You know who they are?"
"Some."
"Then why haven't they been arrested?"
Jax answered before either intelligence officer could.
"Because we know who they are."
Halvren looked at him.
Jax shrugged.
"Much easier to keep an eye on the spies you know than start looking for the replacements you don't."
Halvren opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Then slowly nodded.
"Okay."
Soren gave Jax a small approving glance.
"Precisely."
Vaelrith began listing locations.
"Solmere."
"Hairbro."
"Oceanside."
"Several smaller trade communities."
"Crystalshire."
Nyxian raised her hand.
"The scientist?"
Vaelrith looked toward her.
"Yes."
Nyxian shook her head.
"I hope they speak Nerd, or they won't understand a word he says."
Llandra smirked.
"Maybe Jax can lift the ban on human experiments now."
Several people around the table looked toward the two women.
Confused.
Neither explained.
Jax rubbed his forehead and shook it off like it was a joke, in which he thought was only partially true in Nyxian's case.
Vaelrith continued as though nothing had happened.
"Most of the activity remains concentrated around trade routes, dimensional gates, warehouses, military infrastructure, and Adventurers Guilds."
That brought Kaelor into the discussion.
The Guild Master leaned forward.
"I can help there."
Soren looked toward him.
"How?"
"Adventurers talk."
Kaelor smiled slightly.
"A lot."
"Especially when drinking."
A few people chuckled.
"Guild Masters hear things. Bartenders hear more. Receptionists hear everything."
Jax nodded.
Kaelor continued.
"I can contact Guild Masters I trust."
"No accusations."
"No arrests."
"But anyone asking questions they shouldn't be asking gets reported."
Soren considered it.
"What kinds of questions?"
"Jax."
Kaelor pointed toward him.
"The Vixens."
"Portal schedules."
"Military movements."
"Warehouse security."
"Who comes and goes from the Compound."
"Questions about weapons."
"Abilities."
"Anything that doesn't feel like normal curiosity."
Vaelrith nodded.
"A list of people of interest."
"Exactly."
Kaelor's expression became serious.
"Being on the list doesn't make them guilty."
Soren nodded.
"It merely makes them interesting."
"That's the idea."
Jax smiled.
"Do it."
Kaelor nodded.
"Done."
The meeting continued for another hour.
Security.
Trade.
Military preparedness.
Counterintelligence.
But importantly—
Nobody panicked.
Nobody started arresting suspicious merchants.
Nobody closed the gates.
Nobody gave Alexandria any reason to believe its intelligence network had been compromised.
Eventually, the larger meeting came to an end.
Alden returned to Burrowlane.
Halvren left for his office.
The other representatives departed for the transportation district and the dimensional gates that would carry them home.
Aurabelle stood and kissed Jax.
"Don't stay in here all day."
"I won't."
Nyxian walked past.
"He's lying."
"I know."
Zee hugged him briefly before leaving.
Jax held her a little longer than usual.
She didn't object.
Soon—
Only seven people remained.
Jax.
Llandra.
King Thalorien.
Vaelrith.
General Soren Nightclaw.
Kaelor Fangmere.
And Brannic.
The Dwarf sat comfortably at the table.
Vaelrith looked around the room.
The mood had changed.
This wasn't a political meeting anymore.
This was intelligence.
Jax closed the door.
"This doesn't leave this room."
Nobody objected.
Jax looked toward Vaelrith.
"You said following a trained spy is difficult."
"Very."
Soren nodded.
"Anyone can follow someone once."
"But repeatedly?"
He shook his head.
"They eventually notice."
"They double back."
"Change routines."
"Watch reflections."
"Enter crowds."
"Use secondary exits."
Vaelrith added quietly.
"And sooner or later, one side makes a mistake."
Jax nodded.
"What if the person following them wasn't a person?"
Soren's eyes narrowed.
Brannic smiled.
"Oh."
Everyone looked toward him.
The Dwarf leaned back.
"We're finally getting to the fun part."
Jax stood.
"Brannic already knows some of this."
Thalorien looked toward the Dwarf.
Brannic shrugged.
"Someone tried to kill me."
Jax looked toward his shadow.
"Come out."
The darkness beneath Brannic moved.
A black-armored figure silently rose from the floor.
Violet eyes glowed beneath its helmet.
Soren was immediately on his feet.
Kaelor's hand moved toward his weapon.
Thalorien stared.
Vaelrith didn't move at all.
Brannic raised his mug toward the Shadow Soldier.
"He's the reason I'm still alive."
Vaelrith looked toward Jax.
"You can conceal your summons inside someone's shadow?"
"Some of them."
"For how long?"
"As long as I need."
"Can they observe?"
"Yes."
"Listen?"
"Yes."
"Follow someone?"
"Yes."
Soren stepped closer.
"Can they move between shadows?"
Jax nodded.
Silence.
That answer changed everything.
"Show me," Vaelrith said.
Jax smiled.
"Okay."
He looked toward Thalorien.
"Come out."
The Elf King's shadow moved.
A second Shadow Soldier rose behind him.
Thalorien's eyes widened.
Soren's shadow moved next.
Then Kaelor's.
Then Vaelrith's.
Four more soldiers silently emerged into the room.
Nobody had detected them.
Not the Elf King.
Not the Guild Master.
Not two of the most experienced intelligence officers in the United Kingdoms.
Vaelrith slowly looked toward the soldier behind him.
Then toward Jax.
"How long?"
"A while."
"Define a while."
Jax smiled.
"No."
Vaelrith stared at him.
Then slowly nodded.
"Fair."
Llandra looked down.
Her shadow remained perfectly normal.
She waited.
Nothing.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why didn't a shadow ninja come out of mine?"
Jax looked toward her.
"I don't have one in yours."
Llandra placed a hand against her chest.
"You don't care about me enough to protect me?"
Jax knew that tone.
She was playing with him.
Mostly.
"I didn't think you needed protection anymore."
Llandra raised an eyebrow.
"And..."
Jax took her hand.
"I'm almost always with you."
Her expression softened.
"And I always will be."
Llandra smiled.
"Oh."
She squeezed his hand.
"That is so sweet."
Behind her—
The darkness moved.
Jax saw it.
A black helmet slowly began emerging from Llandra's shadow.
His eyes widened.
He immediately pointed downward.
The Shadow Soldier stopped.
Jax made another sharp motion.
Down.
The soldier looked at him.
Then Llandra.
Then Jax.
Jax pointed again.
The Shadow Soldier slowly sank back into the floor.
Llandra remained completely unaware.
Jax smiled innocently.
Across the table...
Brannic had seen everything.
So had Vaelrith.
Neither man said a word.
Vaelrith's mouth twitched slightly.
Jax narrowed his eyes.
Don't.
Vaelrith looked away.
Jax would remove that shadow later.
Quietly.
Because despite her performance—
He knew his wife.
She would jokingly complain that he didn't care enough to protect her.
But discovering that an invisible soldier had potentially accompanied her through every private moment of her life?
That would produce an entirely different conversation.
Jax preferred warm bodies over cold shoulders when he slept.
Soren remained focused on the important part.
"Can these creatures be interrogated?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They don't talk."
Llandra looked toward Jax.
"One does."
Jax sighed.
"Don't remind me."
He looked around the table.
"The ones I sent don't talk."
Vaelrith caught the wording.
"Sent?"
Jax looked toward him.
"Yes."
"Sent where?"
Jax paused.
"Alexandria."
Nobody moved.
Thalorien leaned forward.
"You already have shadows inside Alexandria?"
"Thirty."
Silence.
Even Brannic looked surprised by that.
Llandra stared at him.
"When?"
"Crescent Moon Canyon."
Her expression changed.
"The soldiers."
Jax nodded.
"When we released the survivors, I hid shadows with thirty of them."
Llandra's eyes widened.
"Is that why you let them live?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"I let them live because they surrendered."
He paused.
"But it was part of the reason I wanted them to go home."
Vaelrith slowly smiled.
Soren didn't.
But the look in his eyes changed.
Jax had done this before either man knew there would be an intelligence war.
Thalorien leaned back.
"Thirty separate entry points into Alexandria."
"Originally."
Soren caught the distinction.
"Originally?"
Jax nodded.
"They don't have to stay with the person they entered with."
Vaelrith understood immediately.
"A soldier enters the city."
"His shadow moves to a guard."
Soren continued.
"The guard enters a military compound."
Jax nodded.
"Move to an officer."
Vaelrith's eyes narrowed.
"Officer to commander."
"Commander to noble."
"Servant."
"Merchant."
"Courier."
"Government official."
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Thirty soldiers had entered Alexandria.
But thirty shadows didn't necessarily remain thirty soldiers' shadows.
Soren looked genuinely impressed.
"How much have they learned?"
Jax's expression changed.
"That's the problem."
Vaelrith frowned.
"What problem?"
"I don't know."
Soren stared at him.
"You have thirty infiltrators inside Alexandria."
"Yes."
"Who can move between targets."
"Yes."
"Without detection."
"Apparently."
"And you don't know what they've learned?"
Jax pointed toward the soldiers standing silently around the room.
"They don't talk."
Llandra stared at him.
"Then how were you planning on getting the information?"
Jax opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He thought about it.
"Eventually?"
Llandra blinked.
"Eventually?"
Jax shrugged.
"I saw an opportunity."
"And you took it."
"Yes."
"Before figuring out how they would report back."
"Yes."
Llandra rubbed her temple.
Then stopped.
"Warden."
Jax looked at her.
"What?"
"Summon Warden."
"Why?"
"Because apparently one of your shadows understands your shadows better than you do."
Jax considered that.
"That's..."
He paused.
"Probably true."
Darkness gathered beside him.
"Come Forth."
Warden emerged.
Black armor.
Heavy shield.
Long cape.
Violet eyes.
He immediately lowered his head.
"My liege."
Jax gestured toward the Shadow Soldiers.
"I have a question."
"Of course, my liege."
"The shadows I sent into Alexandria."
"Yes."
"How do I get their reports?"
Warden looked at him.
"You ask me."
Jax stared at him.
"What?"
"I possess their reports, my liege."
Silence.
Jax slowly lowered his hand.
"You have their reports?"
"Yes, my liege."
"All of them?"
"To my knowledge."
Jax looked toward Llandra.
She looked back.
Then toward Warden.
"How?"
"The Shadow Network."
That phrase didn't help.
Jax blinked.
"The what?"
"The Shadow Network, my liege."
Vaelrith leaned forward.
"What is the Shadow Network?"
Warden looked toward him.
"The Shadow Network."
Vaelrith waited.
Warden waited.
Brannic coughed into his fist.
Jax intervened.
"Explain it like we don't know what that means."
"Of course, my liege."
Warden turned toward him.
"Shadows remain connected."
"Connected how?"
"I do not know."
Jax frowned.
"But you can communicate with them?"
"Yes."
"Anywhere?"
"Distance does not appear relevant."
That got Soren's attention.
"Can you give them orders?"
"Yes."
"Follow someone?"
"Yes."
"Change targets?"
"Yes."
"Protect someone?"
"Yes."
"Kill someone?"
"Yes."
The last answer changed the room slightly.
Warden said it no differently than the others.
A task.
Nothing more.
Jax folded his arms.
"Can you Shadow Swap?"
"No, my liege."
"So that's still mine."
"Yes."
Jax nodded.
"Good."
Then another thought occurred to him.
"Why haven't you shared any of these reports with me?"
Warden considered the question.
"You did not ask me to."
Jax stared at him.
"I didn't know you had them."
"Correct."
"How would I ask for something I didn't know existed?"
Warden paused.
"I do not know, my liege."
Nyxian should have been here for this.
Jax rubbed his forehead.
"Anything important I need to know?"
Warden paused.
"Define important."
Jax stared at him.
Warden continued.
"Would the preferred fruit within the fruit salad of an Alexandrian noblewoman be considered vital intelligence?"
Nobody spoke.
Jax slowly looked toward Vaelrith.
Vaelrith looked toward Soren.
Soren looked toward Warden.
Brannic finally broke.
A deep laugh escaped him.
Even Thalorien covered his mouth.
Jax closed his eyes.
"No."
"Understood."
"Why do you know that?"
"One of the shadows observed it."
"Why did it report it?"
"You requested information."
"I didn't request fruit salad information."
"You did not establish exclusions."
Jax opened his eyes.
"We will talk after this meeting, Warden."
Warden bowed his head.
"I look forward to that, my liege."
Llandra smiled.
Apparently Warden had just discovered bureaucracy.
Jax didn't merely have thirty infiltrators.
He had the beginnings of an intelligence network.
One Alexandria didn't know existed.
Warden looked toward Jax.
"One additional matter, my liege."
"Yes?"
"Several reports indicate the Empire has prioritized your businesses and the women identified as the Vixens."
Jax's expression changed.
"Prioritized how?"
"Current discussions include sabotage, kidnapping, and assassination."
Silence.
Llandra stared at Warden.
"You could have led with that!"
Warden turned toward her.
"My apologies, my lady."
Llandra threw both hands into the air.
Jax pointed toward Warden.
"That."
"My liege?"
"That's important."
Warden nodded.
"Understood."
"Anything involving someone trying to murder, kidnap, poison, stab, explode, imprison, torture, or otherwise seriously harm someone I care about—"
"Important."
"Very."
"Understood, my liege."
Jax stared at him.
"We are definitely talking after this meeting."
"I look forward to that, my liege."
Jax dismissed him.
Warden disappeared into darkness.
For several seconds...
Nobody spoke.
Finally Brannic leaned back.
"Well."
He scratched his beard.
"That seems useful."
Soren looked at him.
"Useful?"
Brannic shrugged.
"I'm a blacksmith."
Vaelrith smiled.
"An exceptionally good one."
Brannic nodded toward him.
"And you're an exceptionally good spy."
There was no hostility between them.
Only respect.
Both men understood exactly what the other brought to the table.
Soren stood and approached the map of Alexandria.
"We need structure."
Jax nodded.
"Agreed."
"We cannot have every observation reported."
"Especially fruit salad."
"Especially fruit salad." Llandra seconded.
Brannic chuckled.
Vaelrith joined Soren near the map.
"We establish intelligence priorities."
"Imperial military movements."
"Political leadership."
"Intelligence operations."
"Supply lines."
"Plans involving the United Kingdoms."
Kaelor added another.
"Adventurers working for them."
Vaelrith nodded.
"Good."
Thalorien looked toward Jax.
"And your businesses."
Jax nodded.
"If they're targeting them, yes."
Llandra added quietly.
"And us."
Jax looked at her.
She smiled.
"I'm not worried."
"I know."
"But I'd still like to know who's planning to kidnap me."
"Reasonable."
Kaelor would coordinate information coming through the Guild network.
Vaelrith would manage his established civilian intelligence contacts.
Soren would coordinate military intelligence and counterintelligence.
Brannic's merchant connections would provide another set of eyes through trade.
Thalorien could quietly coordinate with trusted leadership throughout the United Kingdoms.
And Warden...
Warden would become the bridge between them and something no intelligence service in the world had ever possessed.
The Shadow Network.
They wouldn't arrest everyone who asked suspicious questions.
They wouldn't shut Alexandria out.
They would watch.
Catalog.
Verify.
Follow.
Learn.
And when necessary...
Act.
Jax sat quietly while the others discussed the logistics.
Llandra watched him.
A pen had somehow found its way into his hand.
She didn't remember him picking it up.
It rolled across his fingers.
Index.
Middle.
Ring.
Back again.
Smooth.
Effortless.
Jax wasn't even looking at it.
She had noticed him doing that before.
Usually when he was thinking.
Really thinking.
The discussion around the table continued.
How much false information could they safely provide?
How much true information should Alexandria receive?
Could known spies be allowed access to harmless information intentionally?
Could the shadows identify their handlers?
Could one Imperial network be traced into another?
The pen continued moving.
Then—
Stopped.
Jax looked up.
"It's time to hit back."
The room became quiet.
Soren studied him.
"How?"
"Not with an army."
Jax placed the pen between his fingers.
"Not openly."
Vaelrith smiled slightly.
He already liked where this was going.
Jax stood.
"Alexandria knows about me."
He walked toward the map.
"They know about the Vixens."
"They know about my businesses."
"They know about the gates."
"They know I have unusual abilities."
He tapped Alexandria.
"But they don't know enough."
Thalorien watched him.
"What are you proposing?"
"Confusion."
Jax looked around the room.
"Confusion is our ally."
Nobody interrupted.
"If we attack them directly, they know exactly who their enemy is."
He pointed toward Alexandria.
"So we don't."
"A shipment disappears."
"Maybe us."
"Maybe thieves."
"A corrupt officer gets exposed."
"Maybe us."
"Maybe one of his enemies."
"An intelligence agent vanishes."
"Maybe us."
"Maybe another Imperial faction."
"A resistance group suddenly knows where weapons are stored."
"Maybe us."
"Maybe someone inside their own government."
Vaelrith's smile slowly disappeared.
Not because he disliked the plan.
Because he understood how dangerous it could become.
Jax continued.
"We don't need them to believe we're responsible for everything."
"We need them to wonder."
Soren nodded slowly.
"Paranoia."
"Exactly."
Jax tapped the map again.
"They know enough about me to know I can do things they don't understand."
"But they don't know where those limits are."
He looked toward the others.
"We become the God of the Gaps."
Thalorien raised an eyebrow.
Jax smiled.
"Anything they can't explain..."
"...they wonder if it was us."
The room remained silent.
"Every accident."
"Every missing shipment."
"Every failed operation."
"Every spy who disappears."
"Every rebellion."
"Some of it will be us."
He shrugged.
"Some won't."
The pen started moving through his fingers again.
"But eventually..."
It stopped.
"...they won't know which disasters belong to us and which ones belong to themselves."
Vaelrith looked toward Soren.
Soren nodded once.
Thalorien leaned back.
Kaelor smiled.
Brannic rubbed his beard.
Llandra simply watched her husband.
A year ago...
Jax would have solved the problem by punching something.
He still might.
But first—
He was going to make an Empire afraid of its own shadow.
Literally.
That evening, a merchant walked through Crystalshire.
Human.
Middle-aged.
Forgettable.
He stopped at a fruit vendor.
Purchased three apples.
Complained about the price.
Then continued toward the government district.
He changed direction twice.
Stopped once to inspect a shop window.
Watched the reflection behind him.
Nobody followed.
Several streets later, he entered a narrow alley.
Waited.
Listened.
Nothing.
Satisfied...
He slipped through the rear entrance of a warehouse.
The alley became quiet.
Empty.
At least...
It appeared empty.
The merchant's shadow stretched beneath the warehouse door.
For the briefest moment—
Two violet eyes opened inside it.
Then disappeared.
Alexandria believed its spies were watching Jax Darquebane.
They were.
They watched his businesses.
His allies.
His transportation network.
Even the strange scientist in Crystalshire whose work seemed increasingly connected to him.
What they didn't know—
Was that someone was watching them.
And unlike the Empire's spies...
Jax's didn't need to follow from across the street.
They didn't need disguises.
They didn't need safe houses.
They didn't even need to hide.
They simply lived in the darkness beneath their targets' feet.
Alexandria had sent spies into the United Kingdoms.
Jax had thirty shadows inside Alexandria.
And now both sides had begun to move.
The Shadow War had begun.