Chapter 38 The halls of the Westing Mansion hung thick with unnatural blackness.

It was darkness created by so much more than the mere absence of light.

It was the creeping, impenetrable shroud of fear and ignorance that lived within the heart of every

man. It was the primal terror of the night that had its birth

a million years earlier, as huddled proto-men gazed from their caves and waited desperately

for each new dawn. It was an inky tomb of black that Ageri Shah pulled from the minds

of those cavemen's descendants and drew about himself like a cloak. He cast his spell

throughout the great house deeper and stronger than he had ever cast it before, and in what

remained of his heart, he knew it would not be enough. He was breathing hard now, the pain in his

arm burning like a knife of fire. He was as dangerous as a wounded

animal, but he was not finished yet. Shaw hissed sharply as he pulled in a long, slow breath

and focused his mind to dull the pain. He might have only moments. Suddenly he heard it, rising like a tide all around him, that laugh. There was no joy in it

this time, not even cruel mockery. It was an announcement, a clarion bell.

Hello, Shaw, the Red Panda's voice rolled in like a whisper, How's the arm? Shaw started. It had been

many days since he had been approached by stealth. He saw the eyes of his enemy now glowing like

two merciless beacons, cutting through his own shield of darkness, but he felt nothing there. Only the same

cold nothingness his foe felt from him. The two of them stood together their minds hidden from

one another, but only one could be the true master. Shaw rose to his feet and tried not to favor his wounded arm. The eyes were joined by a gleam

of a wide grin as the Red Panda's face resolved itself from the shadows.

"'She beat you, Age,' the Red Panda said through his smile. "'And it looks like she hurt you in the

process. How is that possible?

Shaw could tell by the smile that his enemy knew the answer well enough. You wanted to feel her

...