The Necromancer's Rogue

by Icy Sedgwick

  “I should be the one commanding the Honoured One, not you! You’re just a boy with a pet freak and a mistress too stupid to know her time is over!” Mr Gondavere leered at them each in turn.

  “None command me,” replied Hari-Ma’hara. She stood stock still beside Jyx, but a fragment of her heart rolled across the floor into his hand. He glanced down at it. Did she mean for him to have it? She’d intervened once, but he wasn’t sure if she’d do it again. No, he and Vyolet would need to do something about Mr Gondavere, especially given his insults.

  Jyx conjured the sigil he needed in his mind’s eye and superimposed it over the fragment of rock.

  “You see, Honoured One? He does not even defend himself, or others. He merely plays with stones. He is not worthy of you. But I? I can offer you wondrous things in return for your help,” said Mr Gondavere.

  Jyx glanced up at Hari Ma’Hara. Was that his imagination, or did the statue just roll its eyes?

  “These silly children need to be taught their place,” said Mr Gondavere.

  Jyx threw the stone before he’d even taken aim, his magick correcting its flight. It sailed across the room and struck Mr Gondavere on the forehead. The rock hit his oozing cut dead centre and sent a fresh stream of blood towards his eyebrow.

  “You little bastard!” Mr Gondavere screamed and lurched towards Jyx. He stepped into the shadows swirling across the floor and howled. Another howl answered, distant yet strangely familiar. Jyx willed Validus and Fortis to return. He’d need their help before the night was through.

  Vyolet’s shadows turned deepest black where they touched Mr Gondavere. They swarmed upward, licking at his clothes as fire might consume wall hangings. He twisted to escape but the shadows held him fast. Jyx turned his head away but the statue planted her hand on his scalp and forced him to watch.

  “It is in such moments that you will find yourself, young mage. Do not look away when you inflict pain on another, even if that other deserved it,” said Hari-Ma’hara.

  The shadows reached Mr Gondavere’s waist, obscuring all view of his lower half. He plunged his hands into the mass, trying to push it away, but the shadows caught him and pulled him deeper. Jyx glanced at Vyolet. She stared, open mouthed.

  She’s not even controlling them anymore.

  The shadows gave a final pull and Mr Gondavere’s screaming form disappeared beneath the black waves. The darkness bubbled and frothed for a moment.

  “What….what was that?” asked Monte.

  His voice broke the spell. The shadows dropped to the floor, empty and diaphanous like cobwebs in morning dew. They flowed along the flagstones, following cracks to the walls. Mr Gondavere was gone. The fragment of Hari Ma’Hara’s heart lay on the floor where his feet had been.

  “What an odious man. Tell me, gravedigger. How did you come to be in his employ?” asked Hari-Ma’hara.

  “It’s a long story, and I fear there are more important things afoot, m’lady,” replied Monte. He reached out and placed a hand on Vyolet’s shoulder. She continued to stare at the spot where Mr Gondavere had stood moments earlier, but curled her fingers around Monte’s hand.

  “You are wise, gravedigger. Mage, I would know your business with me,” said Hari-Ma’hara.

  “Please help us, m’lady. My mistress, Eufame Delsenza, is out in the corridor – she came to seek your aid. The Cities are at war, and she’s tried to do her best to hold everything together but the Crown Prince is trying to get rid of her so he can clear the Underground City out. He thinks it’s a slum and oh, my family live down here and we’re not bad people really, but I don’t know how to stop the City Above and their council,” said Jyx. The words tumbled over one another in a hurry to be said.

  “The youngest Delsenza? She is here?” Hari-Ma’hara gazed down at Jyx. He twisted and looked up into her face. The statue wore a fierce expression, and he could see what the flagstones meant earlier. She would have truly been a fearsome sight in her chariot, thundering along the boulevards of the original City.

  “Yeah, but I don’t know why she hasn’t come in,” said Jyx. “I’m worried about her.”

  “Your concern for your companions is touching, young mage,” replied Hari-Ma’hara.

  Jyx looked up at her, convinced he would see sarcasm or disdain on her stone face, but the corners of her mouth flicked upwards.

  “They’re my friends,” replied Jyx.

  “It has been many years since I involved myself with the affairs of humans, but you make me curious. I will see the youngest Delsenza and have her explain herself.”

  Jyx led Hari-Ma’Hara out of the chamber. The grinding of stone on stone set his teeth on edge. He didn’t dare remind her that she’d left her heart behind. They might have stopped Mr Gondavere from using it, but he was still far from persuading her to help the Cities.

  The Eufame shard in his mind gave a sharp tug, and Jyx winced. His mistress wasn’t happy. He just hoped she wasn’t hurt.

  Jyx peered into the shadows up ahead. Vyolet squealed and ran past him, dissolving into darkness. Jyx broke into a trot and followed her up the passage.

  He gasped. Eufame lay on the floor of the corridor. She was half propped up against the wall, and a huge chunk of rock lay across her legs. Dust covered her bloodied hands and arms. Her hair hung around her face, now even paler than usual. Vyolet knelt on the floor beside her, running her fingers along the edge of the rock.

  “Ah, Jyx. There you are. I don’t suppose you could help me out?”

  “What happened?” Jyx ran up the corridor and knelt beside Vyolet. Up close, it looked even worse. The rock had missed Eufame’s torso but her legs must be shattered beneath it.

  “That idiot tried to bring the ceiling down. He only managed a chunk but it was enough to keep me stuck here. I watched what happened through your eyes, Jyx. I’m very proud of you both.” Eufame looked at Vyolet, a ghost of a smile hovering around her lips.

  “We can talk about it later, we need to get you free.” Jyx didn’t want to think about how much pain she must be in.

  “The young mage has some talent with geomancy.” Hari-Ma’Hara caught them up. She leaned over Jyx to look down at Eufame.

  “The Heart of the City herself,” said Eufame.

  “I am Hari-Ma’Hara. My heart remains in the tomb for now.”

  Jyx ran his hand along the chunk of rock. He pushed against the stone with his consciousness, searching for its pulse. The rock offered no resistance or answers. He drew a sigil over the rock and tried again. The scent of dead flesh that had clung to Mr Gondavere wafted up from the stone. A knot formed in his stomach.

  “I don’t think I can move this. It’s too heavy for me, and it won’t be able to move on its own,” said Jyx.

  “What do you mean?” asked Vyolet.

  “Most stones pulse with some sort of life force, like they’re just waiting for someone to start a conversation. Like the ones in the chamber,” said Jyx.

  “And this one?”

  Jyx couldn’t answer. The rock pinning Eufame was utterly silent. He looked at the necromancer. Maybe she had a plan, or she’d be able to work out a way to get her free. She shook her head. Jyx’s bottom lip trembled. Eufame may have once sentenced him to the Perpetual Death, but she’d done a lot for him. She’d trusted him, and now he couldn’t help her.

  Jyx did the one thing he didn’t want to do. He burst into tears.

  32

  Chapter 32

  “Oh, come now, Mr Faire. There’s no need for tears,” said Eufame.

  Vyolet’s own bottom lip trembled but she bit down hard on it. Shadowkin didn’t cry. Shadowkin got things done. If she could make Mr Gondavere disappear, she could help the necromancer.

  She looked up at the goddess. Hari-Ma’Hara leaned over Eufame, concerned etched into her stone features. “Can you help her, m’lady?”

  “I cannot. Not in my current state,” she replied.

  A howl, long and triumphant, echoed through the ruined City. Its dying
notes drifted along the corridor towards them.

  Vyolet broke out into a grin. “I know two mighty warriors that can help!”

  She jumped to her feet and broke into a run, dissolving into the shadows to move more quickly along the passage. She flew past the tombs as though her feet had wings. Vyolet burst out into the City. Patches of blood glowed in the dark, splattered across the stone floor and the walls across the street. A dead Bloodhound lay in a heap in the gutter. Vyolet resisted the urge to spit on it as she passed.

  She listened to the shadows as she ran. One of the Wolfkin howled again, louder and more forceful this time. The darkness told her to head east, so she threw herself in that direction and kept running. Spatters of Bloodhound blood formed a loose trail to follow.

  The Wolfkin rounded a corner and jogged towards her. Vyolet phased out of the shadows and into a more solid form. The Wolfkin stopped when they saw her. Fortis had a mess of nasty scratches across his muzzle and Validus moved with a limp. Both of them were covered in cuts and bites, but they were alive.

  “Quick! Quick! You have to come quickly!”

  “Who howled earlier?” asked Fortis, his paws forming the sign language.

  “Mr Gondavere. It’s a long story, but you have to hurry. Eufame’s hurt,” said Vyolet.

  Validus and Fortis broke into a run. Vyolet dissolved into shadow and propped herself under Validus’s arm to support him. His gait hitched on one side from his limp and Vyolet didn’t want him hurting himself further. They retraced her route and she spotted two more dead Bloodhounds on the way back to the tombs.

  They tore down the corridor, but Vyolet hid behind Fortis. Maybe she had been gone too long. Maybe the broken necromancer would have gone beyond the Veil by the time she fetched help. Maybe –

  “Ah, my dear associates! I can’t begin to express how glad I am to see you both!” Eufame’s voice wavered, but Vyolet broke into a grin to hear it.

  “Wolfkin! Oh, it has been an age since I have seen Wolfkin!” Hari Ma’Hara’s statue broke into a wide grin.

  Validus paused to bow, but Fortis knelt at Eufame’s side. Jyx stepped back to move aside. He looked at Validus, who nodded at him.

  “Validus says he thinks they can move the stone,” said Jyx.

  “Hang on a minute!” Monte suddenly ran back along the corridor towards the Heart’s tomb.

  “What on earth is he doing?” asked Eufame. Annoyance knitted her brows together.

  Validus and Fortis ran their paws along the seam between the rock and the floor. They wriggled their toes but neither could get their claws into the gap. It was too small.

  “Right! This might help!” Monte reappeared clutching Hari Ma’Hara’s shield. He waved it at the goddess. “I hope you don’t mind, m’lady.”

  “Not at all. Anything to help.”

  Monte shoved the edge of the shield into the gap. Vyolet rushed around to his side of the rock. Monte, Vyolet and Jyx pushed down on the shield, and the rock lifted an inch. Fortis and Validus dug their toes into the gap, lifting the stone higher as they worked more of their paws into the space. Eufame wiggled her fingers and a thin veil of white light spread along the underside of the rock.

  Monte stepped onto the shield, throwing his weight down hard. The rock lifted higher and the Wolfkins’ muscles strained. The rock rose a foot, and then two. Hari Ma’Hara stepped forward and offered Eufame her hands. The necromancer took them and the goddess pulled her out from beneath the rock. Eufame’s feet were clear when the Wolfkin dropped the rock. The crash reverberated along the corridor, and it pitched Monte off the shield. He stumbled forward into Jyx and Vyolet’s open arms. Hari Ma’Hara set Eufame down on the floor.

  “Ah, that’s better,” said Eufame. She rubbed her thighs and winced.

  “Is it painful?” asked Jyx.

  “Yes, but with four older siblings who have a taste for torture, I’ve endured worse.”

  “Will you be all right?” asked Vyolet.

  “I may need some assistance.” Eufame looked up at the Wolfkin. They nodded, and ushered Vyolet, Jyx and Monte aside. Fortis laid his battered front paws on Eufame’s left leg, Validus on her right.

  A deep, low humming filled the air. The hairs on Vyolet’s arms stood on end, wafting to the faint music swirling at the heart of the humming. The two Wolfkin swayed in unison. A white glow beneath their paws chased away the shadows around Eufame. She lay back against the wall, her eyes closed and a half-smile playing about her lips. The hum grew louder, matching the growing intensity of the white light. Monte slipped his hand into Vyolet’s and she yelped. The Wolfkin ignored the interruption. Vyolet looked up into Monte’s face. Terror and wonder fought in his expression.

  He’s never really seen real natural magick before. Come to think of it, neither have I.

  She knew her own dark shadow magick, and she’d seen what Jyx could do, but this simple display of something ancient and primal by the Wolfkin captured her heart. Her soul danced with the Wolfkin, and she longed to join in.

  A moment later, a third voice joined the chorus. Vyolet looked at Jyx. His face bore the same serene expression as Eufame, and he swayed in time with the Wolfkin. Green tendrils snaked from his fingers towards the Wolfkin’s paws, staining the white light a pale mint colour. Vyolet peered at his hands. The green light came from Hari Ma’Hara, her hand on his shoulder and pouring energy into Jyx from deep inside the stone.

  It’s all connected. They’re all joined. Ancient stone and Wolfkin lore.

  A tear escaped from Vyolet’s eye to be excluded from the magick. It rolled down her cheek and fell. It hit the stone floor and a peal of thunder rumbled around the Ruined City. Jyx and the Wolfkin howled together and the light faded. Vyolet looked down at Eufame.

  “I say, that was a stellar working!” The necromancer broke into a smile, and for the first time she was radiant with pride and gratitude. Vyolet couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Did it work?” asked Monte.

  Fortis stood up and steadied Jyx. Validus stood and held out a paw to Eufame. She bent both knees and raised one leg, then the other. Still grinning, she took the outstretched paw and stood. “I’d say that worked, wouldn’t you?”

  “I’ve never seen magick like that before,” said Vyolet. She looked at the floor.

  “We’ll talk later,” said Eufame. A sharp nod marked an end to the conversation.

  “I have never seen such loyalty. Not in many long years,” said Hari Ma’Hara. Her grating stone voice echoed in the corridor. “I have missed so much.”

  “I can show you what you’ve missed, if you’d like?” asked Eufame.

  Hari Ma’Hara nodded. “I cannot help you until I know what needs to be defeated.”

  “Then let’s go somewhere we can make ourselves more comfortable.”

  33

  Chapter 33

  The Wolfkin led the group out of the tombs and across the boulevard to a ruined building. A night tree grew out of the floor, its branches erupting through the remains of the shattered roof. Eufame stepped over the corpse of the Bloodhound and clambered over the broken wall into what must have once been a shop. Empty floral baskets littered the floor. Perhaps it was once a florist, purveying blooms and offerings for the nearby tombs.

  “You’re moving well,” said Jyx.

  Eufame laughed. “I’d hope so, after the magick you lot did.”

  Validus and Fortis helped Hari Ma’Hara over the wall. She knelt on the floor in the centre of the room, and Eufame sat cross-legged in front of her. Vyolet and Monte stayed outside in the street. Jyx perched on the edge of the hole in the wall.

  “I don’t let just anyone into my head, but I can’t exactly refuse a goddess, and you need to see what’s been going on in your absence,” said Eufame.

  Hari Ma’Hara nodded. They both leaned forward. Hari placed her stone hands on either side of Eufame’s face. Eufame repeated the gesture, resting her long fingers on the goddess. They stared into each other’s eyes.
/>   The Eufame shard in Jyx’s mind wriggled. A shadow cut across his vision and he yelped. He could see Hari Ma’Hara and Eufame on the floor in front of him, but at the same time Hari Ma’Hara swam in front of his eyes, as seen from Eufame’s perspective. Her stone face leaned close, her eyes impenetrable. The shade cloaked his sight and Jyx plunged forward into a velvet cloak of darkness.

  For a few moments, nothing happened. Jyx floated in time and space, and his memory strayed to his time spent beyond the Veil. The Perpetual Death at least equipped him for the weightless, and powerless, sensation currently keeping him afloat. His buoyancy held panic at bay, though his mind cycled through the sigils he knew for conjuring light.

  Before he could use any, figures melted out of the darkness. Dim light brightened his surroundings. The edges of buildings solidified and Green Dragon Alley appeared, hazy behind the gauze of Eufame’s memory. A small figure curled on the ground among the detritus, scrawny legs visible between two tall men. Clad in the blood red uniform of the council guard, they laid into the figure with a flurry of kicks. A low rumbling, like stone on stone, rolled around inside his head. Jyx cried out and the picture faded.

  A new image appeared. Council guards herded Night Ladies and young servant girls into a warehouse near the Golden Lamb. The Night Ladies strutted and preened, tossing insolent looks to the guards, but they wrapped their arms around the servant girls as they disappeared inside. Terror burned in their eyes behind their brave expressions. A handful of council guards rubbed their hands together and exchanged lascivious glances. They followed the girls inside. The doors slammed shut behind them, and the image faded.

  More pictures followed in quick succession. A journalist spying on the Crown Prince enjoying a tryst with a woman who was not the Princess. The Crown Prince ordering the execution of the journalist before his exposé could be published. Council guards beating up more inhabitants of the Underground City. Guards stealing stock to take to the City Above before torching the ruined businesses. Eufame arguing with council members. More violence against women and elderly people. A Wolfkin in shackles, pelted with fruit in the grounds of a City Above mansion. Money changing hands between Dean Whittaker at the Academy and a council member. Gentlemen from the City Above visiting the Underground City to gawk at its citizens. The Crown Prince demanding the presence of the Royal Line at his coronation. Shadowkin sent to the House of Correction without trial.