The Necromancer's Knives

by Jen Kirchner

  Through the tiny window, I watched Luucas’s face contort through a range of emotions as he processed my summary. Finally, his eyes widened. He sounded alarmed. “Secure settlements by force? How?”

  “He’s probably going to make a big demonstration with my magic so human governments back off. We need to find out where they are and switch my magic back before he murders a bunch of people.”

  “Kari, these are serious allegations against a senior officer of the Immortal State government. You need to be more specific and provide evidence.”

  “Okay, well, the Scholar helped Norayr—”

  He cut me off. “The Scholar? Kari, the Scholar isn’t real. I’ve looked into it.”

  I sliced my hand through the air, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Yeah, we’ve been told that. I met the Scholar. Very real.” I jammed a thumb over my shoulder. “Gave me that stupid pool cue. Anyway, the Scholar was somehow able to duplicate a necromancer ability that reveals the powers I’d recently activated. One of those powers is lethal, and the Scholar showed Norayr how to activate it. If Norayr uses it, and I’m pretty sure he will, he won’t know how to control it like I do. He could kill a lot of people.”

  That was putting it mildly. It had taken me a long time to figure out how to set parameters around different magic powers. I wasn’t even sure that Norayr would want to work out parameters. If he was going to do anything, he was going to make a huge statement.

  Luucas said nothing. I watched the thoughts churn behind his eyes, but it didn’t take him long to figure it out. His eyes popped so wide that they seemed to take up the entire window.

  “I told you the Sneeze spell sucks! Go get Lumi now.”

  “No way. Uncle Rick’s here, and if he catches me, he’ll probably drag me back to the hideout, and then I’ll never get my magic back. We need to find Norayr right now. We think there’s some kind of Intelligence office or secret site where they’re meeting with the Council, and I need you to find out where it is.”

  “I have a few guesses, but first you need to go get Lumi.”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t risk it. “Get away from the door. The spell won’t hurt you, but the odor is really bad, and I don’t want to have to smell you for the next couple of hours.”

  I turned off the flashlight, set everything on the floor, and raised my hands. Energy gathered to me. I could feel the tangle of spell strings forming over my head. Smoke roiled around my legs. I heard the sizzle in the door, smelled the pungent odor of rot and death. Luucas continued yelling at me, because that’s what he does best. Then he gagged.

  Behind me, Mom tapped the pool cue softly on the ground. “Hello, Lumi. It is good to see you.”

  The voice that responded was strong and colored with a heavy Asian accent. One octave lower than her usual tone, which I knew as her cop voice. Stern. Authoritative.

  “Hello, Isadora. You look well.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I froze like a deer in the headlights. Luucas looked relieved. I grabbed Miss Sparkles from between my legs but left my bag on the floor. I backed up until I could see what was around the corner.

  Leaning against the cells, with her arms across her chest and a “Gotcha!” expression on her face, was Luucas’s right hand and my uncle’s training officer, Lumi. Uncle Rick stood behind her, a full head and shoulders above Lumi’s short, muscular frame. His fists were on his hips, and even with his dark goggles on, his fury was obvious.

  “Hi,” I said, waving Miss Sparkles at them. “I didn’t know you were down here.”

  “Your necromancer senses don’t indicate depth,” Lumi said, like she had to explain it to me.

  “Yeah.” I waved at Uncle Rick. “Hey.”

  His frown deepened.

  Mom started tapping the stick again, and then humming to the beat. I took one of her hands in case that helped her remember where she was. She blinked and looked at me.

  Uncle Rick pointed at my mother. “Explain.”

  “Why I’m here?”

  “Oh, I’m not surprised to see you here. Explain what Isadora is doing here.”

  “She stowed away in the back of the car. I didn’t know she was back there until I was away from the cabin.”

  Uncle Rick and Lumi stared at me, expressionless, like they didn’t believe me.

  “Yes,” Mom said helpfully. “I climbed out of my window and into the back of Heraclitus’s car. It is not her fault.” She paused. “Stealing Heraclitus’s car and leaving Brad and Heraclitus behind—that is her fault. She did not know I was hiding in the back seat, though.”

  Lumi pushed herself off of the wall and came toward me. It was dark, but I could hear the jingle of keys as she pulled them from her pocket. To my surprise, she walked around me and went straight for Luucas’s cell. She slid a key into the lock, then jiggled it. The lock strained and made a loud squeal before unlocking.

  They must not deal with too many people who require maximum security.

  “You’re letting Luucas go?” I asked, throwing the T-shirts and towels back over Miss Sparkles. “Does that mean you’re going to help me?”

  Lumi turned and looked past me to Uncle Rick, who looked just as surprised as I did. “Rookie, what do the laws state about Miss Rendon’s allegations?”

  Uncle Rick hesitated, and his arms dropped to his sides. “Well, murder is against the law.”

  “And?”

  He thought for another minute. A smirk perked up at the corner of his mouth. “You could argue that Norayr’s demonstration might endanger the lives of attending Council members. That’s a big no-no.”

  “That’s correct.” Lumi looked back inside the dark cell, where I could hear shuffling sounds. “I already know about the Council meeting with Norayr Hakobyan. We were coming down to tell you and find out what you want to do about it. In the last two hours, half of the Council has shown up at the Buffalo and Toronto airports, with their entire entourages in tow.”

  She rolled her eyes. “They aren’t the most discreet. They’ve been calling around for accommodations and making demands for their VIPs. So, of course it’s getting back to conservators. We’ve even gotten a few complaints.”

  Luucas stepped out of the cell. He looked rumpled in an old red T-shirt and faded jeans, and had a small black bag hanging over his shoulder. “What do you know about the meeting?”

  “I sent a couple of people to the airports and had some of the Council members followed. Looks like the meeting is in an office park on Grand Island, near the Canadian border. I checked it out, and I’m pretty sure it’s being used by Immortal Intelligence. It has roofs that aren’t caving in, the plumbing all works, and it has a nice little grass park.”

  “Bastards.” Luucas pushed the cell door shut behind him. He directed his irritation at me. “You’re sure Norayr is planning to demonstrate that Sneeze power?”

  “Yeah,” I said, “but without any of the safety measures I put into it.”

  Luucas ran a hand through his hair. “The evidence involves testimony from people who aren’t entirely credible, so we’re going to have to be careful how we handle this. If we attack a building full of Intelligence agents and Council members, our reasoning and evidence has to be airtight, or we’re going to end up in even bigger trouble than we’re in now. It would be Norayr’s word against ours, and we’re the ones who would look like fools.”

  “Are we going or not?” I demanded.

  He gave me a sideways glance. “Define ‘we.’”

  It was just after 5:00 p.m., and from our secluded parking spot, it looked like everyone who worked in the expansive office park was calling it quits for the night. The sun was only just starting to fall behind the tips of the trees, and entire floors inside the various beige buildings were shutting off. Office doors were being locked, and people were heading to their cars. If I had to work in these identical, bland buildings, I’d keep strict banking hours, too.

  Luucas had directed me to park far from where Nor
ayr was meeting with the Council, in the far corner of the office park. Now that Death Radar had become almost neutered from the magic switch, I couldn’t detect Norayr or any Council members, but I could just detect Luucas, Lumi, Uncle Rick, and twenty other conservators who had parked two blocks away. They’d been gathered in a group for the last thirty minutes and hadn’t moved.

  The plan was for Luucas and Lumi to sneak into the building where the meeting was taking place and wait for Norayr to do something illegal. The SWAT team of conservators would then move in. Luucas would locate the girl and come out to get me so I could switch my magic back.

  I was getting antsy. According to Lumi’s reports, the meeting was supposed to start within the hour, and yet Luucas and Lumi hadn’t moved. It was likely they knew something about the meeting that I didn’t.

  I needed a closer look—at the very least, I wanted to follow everything on Death Radar. But I couldn’t get this nerfed version of Death Radar to work from all the way back here.

  I turned to Mom, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to me and humming a tune. She was wearing the huge pair of sunglasses that she’d found in the glove compartment, and she’d knotted her hair on top of her head. Her lips moved; she was whispering something to herself. A smile passed over her face, and she whispered again. At least it seemed like a happy conversation.

  I touched her arm. “Let’s go, Mom.”

  She turned to me, wearing a bright smile. Her eyes were a little glazed over. “Oh, yes. Let’s!”

  She said it like we were going to have a spa day.

  I grabbed my bag with Miss Sparkles and Rambo. We got out of the car. I came around to the passenger side and took Mom’s hand, then led her to the sidewalk.

  The buildings were all identical beige rectangles with only their business signs showing any personality. Narrow white sidewalks crisscrossed the office park, allowing employees to get from their cars to the buildings and back again. Sparse shrubs dotted the landscape. Everything was dull but clean.

  Luucas and the conservator SWAT team had gathered a couple of buildings ahead. As long as we stayed behind a building and kept a safe distance, Mom and I wouldn’t be seen. I glanced around, saw no one, and pulled Mom across the narrow lane to the next building. We speed-walked down to the end. I crept up to the corner and stuck my head out for a peek.

  There were twenty men and women—not including Luucas, Lumi, and Uncle Rick—gathered between black vans with tinted windows. Even if I didn’t have my necromancer senses, I would have known they were immortal because they were all wearing dark goggles to protect their sensitive eyes in case there was a fight. Some third-channel magic can be very bright. They were all clad in black ballistic vests and black pants with heavy tool belts. Some of them had shields. I doubted they had guns, but they probably all had tasers and batons.

  Luucas was standing in the middle of the huddle, wearing similar garb. His hands waved as he talked. We were too far to hear what he was saying. I assumed it was a tactical discussion. Lumi stood next to him, holding up a large map.

  He talked for a few more minutes and then gestured to Lumi. She handed off the map to someone and started pointing and shouting. Her instructions slipped past me like whispers on the wind. Behind me, Mom started tapping the pool cue into the soft dirt. Tap… tap tap.

  Luucas and Lumi jogged off away from me. They disappeared around the next building. Uncle Rick and the conservator group stayed behind. I guessed they were waiting for Luucas’s signal.

  Tap… tap tap.

  Tap… tap tap.

  I turned around and grabbed Mom’s hand. She lifted her head, and the stick paused. I didn’t bother telling her what was going on. Something about her tapping that stick seemed odd. The more she tapped, the less she seemed glued to our reality. I chalked it up to my imagination.

  Following Luucas’s and Lumi’s signals, we cut through the bushes, using them as cover as we headed to the back of the office park. Death Radar filled with signals—Norayr Hakobyan and at least fifty others. They were inside a long office building. The windows were blacked out, and there was only one sign, which read WIZARD TAX AND ACCOUNTING, LLC.

  Five signals patrolled around the outside of the building, and there was one more, stationary, in the back: Ronel van Niekerk.

  Mom and I huddled in the bushes together, watching the patrols pass around. Once. Twice. Using Death Radar, I could tell there was a gap forming in the patrol that would leave the east side of the building unguarded for a couple of minutes. Luucas and Lumi hadn’t needed Death Radar to figure that out.

  As soon as the coast was clear, they sprinted to the east wall. Lumi’s hand moved in the air. A white symbol appeared above her, and I felt a faint energy pulse. The spell ended and she yanked the door open. They both disappeared inside.

  Mom and I looked at each other. At least, I thought she was looking at me. It was hard to know if Mom was in the same dimension.

  Death Radar showed Luucas and Lumi move toward the large group in the center of the building. Just before their signals joined the group, they stopped. I assumed they were hiding and watching out for wrongdoing.

  Mom and I watched the patrol go around the building four more times. It looked like the gap in the patrol was closing. Luucas and Lumi were still inside the building, doing nothing. The conservator SWAT team was also doing nothing.

  I was tired of doing nothing.

  I took Mom’s hand again. This time, she barely acknowledged me. I could have left her in the car to wait, but she was so ditzy and unpredictable that it didn’t seem safe. All I needed was a peek. When the patrol disappeared around the corner, giving us a few seconds—

  I pulled Mom out of the bushes and dragged her at full speed toward the metal door. It was still unlocked from Lumi’s spell. I yanked it open, pushed Mom inside, and closed it behind us.

  The lights were off, but the emergency exit signs gave me just enough light to see. The building’s interior hadn’t been updated since it was built. The carpet was an unfashionable checkered pattern in olive, faded yellow, and brown. The walls were paneled in dark wood.

  We were at the end of a long hallway. At the opposite end were double doors with small circular windows. Norayr was just beyond.

  Shouting erupted. It didn’t sound angry. It was what I imagined the stock market floor sounded like: a multitude of voices, urgent and excited. Energy swelled in the air. Before the spell could come to fruition, it stuttered and died.

  Death Radar indicated that Luucas and Lumi had followed a hallway that broke to the right just before the double doors. I went straight ahead toward the mass of signals.

  I turned to Mom and put my finger over my lips. “Shh.”

  She nodded. When I crouched, she also crouched. Unfortunately, the pool cue did not crouch. She carried it vertically and periodically tapped it on the carpet. Tap… tap tap.

  We snuck down the hall, passing five closed doors on alternating sides. I parked Mom against the wall and crept up to one of the windows. Slowly, I stood up just enough to see.

  Inside was a large reception area in the same ’70s decor as the hallway. Couches and chairs surrounded a large desk, but hardly anyone was sitting.

  Everyone was watching Norayr Hakobyan and an immortal named Marilou de Hoyos.

  A cylinder of dark gray shadow slid up from the floor, enveloping Marilou. She went deathly still, as if frozen in time. A golden cord sprouted from her chest, circled down and around her body, and disappeared into the carpet. A startled hush fell over the room.

  A painful jolt of shock and alarm shot through me.

  Rambo was wrong—there was another way to transfer my magic.

  The Scholar had lied to me.

  Norayr had stolen my magic.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  I backed away from the window, unable to watch more. The feeling of defeat was overwhelming. The heartbreak was absolute. I had no idea what I was supposed to do now.

  I crouched
down next to Mom. “It’s over,” I whispered. “Somehow, Norayr Hakobyan has my magic. The Scholar must have lied about their transaction. We’ll have to wait for Luucas to take it from here.”

  That is impossible.

  I tried not to be mad at Miss Sparkles, even though a lot of this was technically the knife’s fault. Getting mad about it wasn’t going to help. “Your necromancer is nowhere to be seen, and I just watched Norayr send someone to The Floor. He can’t do that without my magic.”

  Rambo chimed in.

  I hate to agree with Sparkle-puss, but it is impossible. Only I can transfer your magic. Any attempts without me would fail, and your magic would be lost.

  “I know what I saw.”

  The knives didn’t respond. I didn’t doubt that they believed what they were saying.

  What else could it have been? I know my own magic when I see it.

  Desperation was my sole motivation as I swung around on my knees and crawled back to the doors. Mom crawled up next to me and squeezed my hand. Slowly and together, we stood up just enough to peek through a window.

  The immortal woman was still shrouded in a gray tube. Norayr thrashed and flailed, struggling with the hand commands that would return her to her body. Nothing was working. I could tell he was doing it incorrectly; his fingers were all wrong. Why wasn’t Stubby telling him what to do?

  I frowned and glanced around the reception area, then back at Norayr. Come to think of it, I didn’t see Stubby anywhere. Weird.

  Norayr flapped his hands again. Clearly embarrassed, he turned his back to the group and took a step to the side.

  A thin, gray cord of magic ether followed him, trailing away from his body. It disappeared through the opposite wall.

  Norayr’s frustrated cry could barely be heard over the excited voices in the room. “How do I reverse this?”

  The gray tether connected to Norayr pulsed thick and hot, making me want to vomit. Norayr relaxed. His hands worked again, this time with marginally more fluid and accurate movements. Once, twice—and the immortal woman returned to her body.