The instant he touched it, Ruger sensed the difference too.
These dark doors had a basic safeguard against accidental opening, clearly the most elementary precaution the old wizard had put in place. Knocking something over by accident-a bookshelf or a chair, for instance-and having it crash into a dark door would not open it. Only living beings with mental power flowing through them could push them open.
Was this the old wizard's idea of a sick joke?
He had guarded against genuine accidents while giving curious young apprentices and wizards who wanted to snoop around without permission a fright. When the old wizard was at the academy, it would be a fright. If someone opened a door without permission while he was away, however, it could become a lethal crisis.
Ruger bared his teeth and glared, the clattering of chains ringing endlessly in his ears. One hand clawed desperately at the doorframe, making him look like a menacing wraith crawling out of a seal.
The poor shadow servant's body was being devoured, injury piled upon injury, leaving it even more mutilated.
Clatter!
With a desperate wrench, Ruger broke free of the doorframe and immediately waved a hand to recall his shadow servant.
In this mangled state, it would probably take a long time to recover, but at least a seed remained. Less than half its torso and its arms were left, and its ugly head was still more or less intact. As long as it had not died completely, everything else could be dealt with.
Click!
As he pulled away, the door closed on its own.
Ruger raised his head and glanced toward the two figures in the distance.
Especially the tall male wizard. In that instant, he had sensed that the man's mental power was not particularly strong, nowhere