The rattling of bones called my attention back to the ground, where the tendrils slowly pulled the bones of the original army back together over the distances that they'd been separated. All of the skeletons that had their bones scattered were put back together and rose for a second battle. The decomposed zombies, some of which had been splattered in multiple chunks of flesh and acid, were spliced back together via the dark magic.
And just like that, the undead army was not only put back together again, it was doubled, and the intimidating act of using their own against them was working in the necromancer's favor. Orcs were distracted by having to fight their own, and made mistakes that quickly got them killed. The ogre, however, remained unfazed. He shambled forward, swiping his trunk-sized club across his path, scattering a handful of the dead, exploding boils of zombies and scattering bones. The giant's attention was on the man, and the undead minions knew this. As orc after orc was slaughtered, the dead moved in to protect their master, rushing the ogre in such a way that any creature with a brain would know was suicide. Skeletons hacked away at the ogre's shins with orc weapons, and even the zombie with no leg from earlier had a hold on the giant's foot, gnawing with gusto at his heel.
The ogre paid no mind to this. With his eye on the collection of undead before him, he raised his club for another swipe. And then, the necromancer pulled another surprise out of his hat.
He thrust his left hand toward the group of undead, just as the club was in its downward arc toward scattering them all. A glowing, clearish-white orb surrounded each of them, just before the impact of the club. This time, the club hit, but was met with such resistance that it might as well have hit a stone wall. The skeletons and zombies stumbled back a few feet from the impact, but were otherwise unharmed, and continued to fight.
He's shielding them. I was outrageously confused. That was impossible. Wasn't it? Shielding was a life spell. The necromancer had clearly used death magic, and now he was using life magic.
In all my studies at the Seran University, I'd never heard of such a thing. Life and death magics were the rarest of the elemental magics. It was rare enough for someone to have access to one of them, and I'd never heard of a mage who could wield both. Of course, I supposed that even if they could, they wouldn't. Given that necromancy was banned, if a healer could also wield death magic, he or she may never know it.
Either way, now that I knew this mage was a dual caster capable of both life and death magic, I was both intrigued and terrified. He just may as well have been unstoppable. Now, I almost felt sorry for the ogre. It had no chance.
The necromancer continued to shield his minions with an outstretched left hand, before holding his right out toward the ogre, and beginning to leech from the giant. The creature swiped at the undead again and again with its club, but became frustrated as it got nowhere. For each swipe was mostly negated by the shield, and its own life energy was being used against it, being sucked away from its body just to fuel its enemy's defense.
The minutes dragged on as the giant refused to give into its fate, despite becoming fatigued. By this point, the fight had lasted the better part of an hour, and one would have never have figured it, given the energy of the man clad in black. He hadn't lost a thing. He'd regained everything he had lost through smart use of his magic.
He would be an amazing ally. Despite knowing I shouldn't feel such a way given the law of the land, I did. And as the ogre began to sway, as if light-headed and weak, I stood in the forest, my legs screaming with aches from maintaining the same crouched position for so long.
“Silas,” I said, watching the fight before me come to a close. “Loose an arrow.”
Silas stood up just in front of me. “At which one?”
The question amused me. I understood why he'd asked it. “The giant.”
Silas took a step toward the edge of the forest, so his arrow would be free of any obstruction in the form of trees. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, raised his bow, and nocked his ammunition. Eyeing the ogre in the field ahead, he tilted the bow upward.
The arrow flew, making barely a sound as it arced toward the giant. Silas's aim was true; the arrow pierced the skin between the ogre's spinal cord, instantly paralyzing him. The giant stiffened and began to fall. The necromancer and his army scattered around the corpse's trajectory. When the ogre hit the ground, dirt clouded upward from the edges of its body, coating the nearby skeletons in brown dust.
The necromancer stared at the ogre's back, and took note of the pearl-white arrow that stuck out from it. He glanced toward us, his face cast in shadow. A wisp of pure black hair waved slightly from the bottom of his hood. The minions still nearby turned their attention to us, but they made no move to attack. None of them made any move at all.
Stolen story; please report.
I walked forward on aching legs, emerging from the forest to show myself and try to establish trust. I heard the others behind me warning me and cursing me in hushed tones, but I paid no mind. I was taking a chance on this man not being as insane as some of the necromancers of legend. I was all too aware that despite being unable to see him, he was able to see me. He knew what I looked like, and if he didn't kill me here, he could find or follow me, and I wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a crowd.
But it was a chance I felt I needed to take regardless.
I walked slowly toward him, stopping a few meters away. Skeletons standing around the mage watched me curiously from empty eye sockets, their chests rising and falling with low creaks as if the bodies still had need of air.
Most interesting, though, was the man. Even at this short distance, I could not see his face, just his chin and the top of his neck. He was pale. As a necromancer, I wouldn't have assumed anything else. His black cloak hung over light leather armor that was colored black. His armored leggings had all manner of sheaths and belts, straps and silver buckles. Blood dripped heavily from the sharp edge of his scythe. His black boots were thick and worn. Silver rings adorned each of his fingers, some of them etched with arcanic symbols. One was shaped like a skull, which I found fitting.
“Leave me at peace, and no harm will come to you.” His voice was low, with the natural rough edge to it few men had. The sound of it traveled pleasurably down my spine on a shiver.
“I promise you, I mean you no harm. I witnessed the—”
“Serans mean me nothing but harm. Just admit you are here for the bounty your father put upon my head, and be done with it.”
My heart stopped, before it tripped over itself to beat doubly as hard to make up for lost time. I wore nothing that would let strangers know I was Seran, let alone an heir of royalty. Slowly, over the span of a few seconds that crawled through molasses, my brain caught up to my gut.
Black hair. Pale skin. Wields life. Knows who I am. Lives just a fortnight away from his home.
“Cerin,” I said. It was a statement of bewilderment and relief, all rolled up into one word of confusion.
“You could be an actress, Kai. You sound surprised.” He tilted his head, slightly. I caught a glimpse of a full lower lip before it was hidden again in shadow.
“I am surprised. I'm shocked, actually.” I hesitated, before my eyes widened. “By the gods, it all makes sense now.” Cerin said nothing, and he didn't move. Finally, I added, “You must have practiced necromancy at the college. They caught you, didn't they?”
There was a huff of amusement that came out from the hood. “I have no time for your act. Get it out of your head that you're going to capture me, or prepare to die. I have no plans to return to Sera.”
“Neither do I,” I replied. I heard the others approach me from the forest. Perhaps they figured this would all go downhill, quickly, at Cerin's threatening words. I couldn't pretend I wasn't hurt by them.
“Like hell,” Cerin retorted. “They welcome you there.”
“They used to welcome me there, before I refused my duty and escaped. Don't begin to pretend you understand who I am today, Cerin, when you haven't seen me in years.” It was risky to get an attitude with such a dangerous man, but I was more than able to handle myself if things were to come to blows. I hoped it wouldn't ever come to that. I wasn't sure how I expected things to go if I were to ever see my childhood friend again, but it certainly hadn't been anything like this.
“You're right. I don't know who you are, and you don't know who I am.” There was a hesitation. Cerin's skeletons watched me with just as much curiosity as they had moments ago. “Humor me, then. Why are you here, if not for my bounty?”
“I am not even here for you. I am headed for Whispermere. I have reason to believe I have biological family there.”
Cerin was silent a moment. He had been one of the few to know I wasn't Sirius's daughter by blood, because I had told him that in school years ago. I also realized that admitting this to him meant that Theron was now clued in to our true purpose. “I have been to Whispermere,” he finally said. “If you have family there, you may not like what you find.”
A thick ache seized my gut. “You were there? Why?”
“I move around,” he replied, vaguely. “I was there. They wouldn't let me in, but they didn't banish me like most. They allowed me to trade with them outside the gate, and sent me on my way.” A pause. “It's neither here or there. The fact remains that you are on this personal mission, and yet you stopped to speak to me. Why?”
“Because I just witnessed one man single-handedly demolish an army of orcs and come out of it no worse for wear,” I replied, as if it were obvious. “I like to surround myself with capable people. I wanted to ask you to join us.”
“Kai, you must be jesting,” Silas interjected, stepping forward to grab my arm. “Former friend or not, he is a necromancer. You would doom us all.”
“You forget that I am a necromancer as well,” I retorted.
“In name only,” the elf replied. “You do not practice.”
“As I'm sure Cerin wouldn't if he would ever be discovered,” I reasoned. “And besides, I am already on the run from my father. It is not like I'm still on the good side of the law.”
“You are on the run from him because you disobeyed his orders and fled recruitment to his army. A much lesser charge than harboring a necromancer!” Silas was exasperated.
“I told you weeks ago, Silas, that you were no longer under my father's rule. If you disagree with my decisions, feel free to cut your ties with me and go.” I stared at my former lover, defiant. His green eyes softened, before he looked away, hurt and defeated.
“Do what you must,” he murmured, his voice conflicted. I felt the pain on his tone, and instantly regretted my sharp tone and words. Now was not the time to talk with him over that, however.
I turned back to Cerin, who had listened to our whole argument with interest and in silence. He turned his head to face me directly. Finally, the angle allowed the sunlight to reach his face, albeit barely. Piercing silver eyes met my gaze for the first time in years. There was a curiosity in them, despite their distance. I swallowed hard at seeing him fully again, after all this time. It was Cerin, all right. Six years older and carrying plenty of tragedy.
“Join us,” I said. It was a plea, but my tone did not betray this.
“What do you offer?” He asked.
“A cut of the money we make, all loot we acquire. Work. Adventure. Friendship.” The last word had slipped its way out. It sounded so pathetic once it was out, but I couldn't take it back. And I did mean it.
One side of Cerin's mouth raised in an amused smile. “You must think I am so quick to trust.”
“No, I can see you're not. That hurts me, given our past.” I watched as an emotion flashed through his eyes, before he blinked at me, getting rid of it. I went on, “I do accept it, though. I will earn your trust. In the meantime, if you ever suspect anything in the slightest, you are free to leave.”
Cerin watched me for a moment. His eyes also flickered over to my ragtag group of companions, before he lifted a hand at his side, waving it quickly through the air. Just like that, all of the skeletons and corpses nearby collapsed, dispelled.
“Very well,” he agreed.
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