by Anna Lewis
Nessa made to walk toward her body. The queen looked directly at her, her eyes catching Nessa’s shade. That’s strange. She can see me. The queen saying nothing, turned back to Charlie. Nessa wondered if the queen had seen her. Maybe she had imagined it. Nessa waved her hand in front of Ra’s face. She began to scream at Ra. But he didn’t hear her, he was still sobbing over their bodies. Nessa looked at herself and Charlie. She suddenly realized that her chest was rising and falling. She was alive. She was still alive.
She stepped forward, letting her spirit fall into her own body. Everything went dark. And then she sat up, inhaling sharply, her lungs filling with air. Ra looked at her in relief. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.
“Nessa! You’re okay,” he said. Nessa looked over his shoulder at the queen. Her face was twisted in anger.
“What have you two done?” the queen screamed. “What did you do to him?” Her perfect porcelain face was turning bright red.
“He went too far, mother,” Ra said, appearing every inch the crown prince. “We all knew that this would be dangerous. It was bound to happen to at least one of us.” The queen closed her mouth. She looked deflated.
“I’ll go get a healer,” she said softly. Beside her, Charlie began to cough. They both turned to him. He opened his eyes, but this time, they were two black orbs. The queen began to run, her shoes clacking on the wooden floorboards. She began to yell for help as she reached the stairs.
“Nessa,” Charlie said, his voice rasping.
“What, Charlie?” she asked. He looked at her, and it seemed as though he were looking through her.
“Save me,” he said. “Save me. She gave me to him… the demon.” He began to have a seizure, his body convulsing wildly.
“Quick, mother!” Ra yelled. “A healer!” Nessa looked Charlie over as Ra tried to hold his head still to protect it. Ra began an incantation to calm the rapid energy that was flashing through Charlie’s brain. He placed his lips next to his brother’s ear, whispering the incantation. Nessa took Charlie’s hand, the one that had grasped her wrist. She noticed smeared lettering across the palm. She opened it flat. It was an incantation. It was spirit magic, which was delineated by a series of triangles with lines marked along them. Nessa had learned them from a book that she had read several years before—it was an illegal book. It had been in with her parents’ belongings when she’d cleaned out their house after the “accident.” She hadn’t questioned it at the time—her parents had been academics themselves, and prone to having strange books. However, now she knew that they’d meant for her to have it, so that she could learn the hereditary craft. She had burned it. What a mistake that had been.
Her heart paused. She memorized the incantation, then licked her finger and wiped his palm clean.
***
Nessa and Ra stood outside of the palace healer’s rooms. It was silent in the hallway. Late afternoon sunshine slanted through the open windows. Various plants were set on the window sill to catch the light. Nessa stood, her arms crossed over her chest, absent-mindedly identifying the plants. They were overflow from the healer’s chambers. Ra paced frantically in front of the door. His eyes were blazing golden in his agitation, his irises black slits. Smoke was curling out of the corners of his mouth.
“It’s the visions,” he said desperately. “They’re killing him. He’ll die soon if he keeps it up.”
“When I was in the spirit plane, the Necromancer told me that he was with the demon,” Nessa said softly. Ra paused, looking at her in shock.
“You spoke with her?” He gasped.
“And my parents,” she whispered. “Things have progressed farther than we’d thought.”
“Did you ask them about our incantation?” Ra asked.
“Actually, Charlie solved it,” she replied. “He had it written on the palm of his hand.” She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. On it, she had neatly written the incantation out. “I think this will work.” Ra took it from her and looked at it.
“Okay,” he said, handing it back to her. “We’ll have to go in as soon as possible.” The door to the healer’s chambers opened, and the healer peered out. He was an elderly man, with a long grey beard. He wore the white robes of a healer.
“He’s sleeping,” the healer said in a hushed voice. “But you can come and see him now.”
“Will he be alright?” Ra asked. The healer looked at him gravely, gesturing for them to come in.
“It looks like a coma,” he said in an undertone as Nessa and Ra closed the door behind them. “But he’s been possessed. I can’t get the spirit out. It’s something far more powerful than I am. Something old. It requires the work of a Necromancer to get it out of him. The process may kill him.” Ra nodded. He looked over at Nessa, who had sat down on the bed beside Charlie. She was watching the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest.
“We have to act now,” Ra said. She nodded. He looked to the healer. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” The healer nodded and they exited, leaving Nessa alone with Charlie. She looked at him. His skin was pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. His breathing was labored. She ran her hand over his forehead. He was frowning slightly.
“I’m coming, Charlie,” she promised. She opened the folded paper with incantation on it. She could feel the power emanating from it. She didn’t know where it would take her. She had known that it wasn’t a weapon, like Ra expected and assumed. It was a path, one that she could not take Ra on. She had realized what her choice needed to be. She needed Ra to stay here. His duty was to the country. She needed to save Charlie. Her duty was to the spirit plane. She needed to purge it of the evil. In doing so, she would free Charlie. Not for her sake, but for his, and his goodness. Her answer for the Necromancer: she would choose neither. She began the incantation, feeling the power well up in her—spirit magic manipulated for the first time. It was a rush through her own blood. Her skin tingled, as if electricity was running across it in a protective layer. It was as strong as Charlie’s magic. She had been right—they were equals in strength.
“Reveller. Iter. Lamiae. Scillae. Spiritus.” As she finished uttering the words, the room exploded with a bright white light. She looked at Charlie, and his eyes were open a crack, revealing the dark black orbs. He was grinning maniacally—completely unlike himself.
“You’ve freed me.” The voice came from Charlie’s mouth, but it was not his own. It was gleeful, triumphant. It wasn’t human—it sounded neither male nor female. It was the demon’s, she realized with a start. Just as Nessa felt herself being pulled away to the other plane, the door burst open, and Ra entered. She held out her hand and he took it, just as they were pulled away to the other plane. They heard the demon in Charlie laughing as they went.
***
Nessa clutched at Ra’s hand as they stood among the shadows. They seemed thicker than before. Nessa could hear voices, all around them, as if thousands of people were speaking at the same time. She frowned and looked around. She saw no one.
“What were you thinking?” Ra exploded in anger.
“I couldn’t take you,” she said. “You are needed on the other plane. I was going to come and return Charlie, and then face both the Necromancer and the demon.” Ra looked at her in surprise and laughed.
“On your own?” He shook his head. “Professor, you’re good. But not that good.”
“What do you mean?” She glared at him.
“You need us,” he said, raising his hand to her cheek. “Both of us.” He pulled her to him, kissing her on the lips. Her heart beat wildly as she kissed him back. “We love you.”
“And I you,” she said. “Both of you.” He nodded.
“So, this is the spirit plane?” He asked, looking around. “It’s quiet.” Nessa frowned. She heard so many voices around them, they had begun whispering in a frenzy as she and Ra had kissed.
“Don’t you hear them?” She asked Ra, looking at him.
“No,” he replie
d. “I hear no one. What do we do now?”
“The demon is in the material plane, with Charlie,” she said. Ra looked worried. “We have to get back.”
“How?” Ra asked.
“We reverse the incantation,” she said.
“I thought that was a weapon.”
“It was. A weapon against us,” Nessa explained. She glanced around as she thought. Someone was evanescing in the dark mist around them. “Dad.”
Her father smiled at her as he looked at her with his dark, empty sockets.
“What do we do?” She asked him, desperate for advice. As she asked him, though, she suddenly realized that her parents had been the ones to point her to the incantation on Charlie’s hand. Her father grinned and Nessa felt an overwhelming sense of doom.
“You stay here,” he said, beginning to laugh. All around them, the voices stopped as they all began to laugh. Nessa’s heart was pounding. She clasped Ra’s hand within her own. Ra began to run, pulling her along with him. But they had nowhere to go. All around them, it was just more of the same. Dark shadows, black mist, disembodied voices.
Ahead of them, they saw a bright light. They ran toward it. In the middle of the light, a figure sat, legs crossed, back to them. They both slowed as they approached.
“Charlie,” Ra gasped, out of breath. Charlie turned to them. He smiled.
“You found me,” he said. He studied their faces. “Don’t worry. It’s really me. The demon is in my body right now. We have to get back before he meets up with the Necromancer on the material plane. Not that that will be difficult for them.”
“What are you talking about?” Nessa asked.
“The Necromancer is mother,” Charlie said. “If the demon’s in my body, then they can declare you dead, and run the kingdom. That gives them access to an army and other various resources over the living. Also, my powers. Those could be… well, catastrophic.”
“How do we get back?” Nessa asked him.
“Take my hands,” Charlie said. “I think I can get us there by manipulating the fabrics. I don’t know if I can take my body back, though. That’s going to be a bit tricky. I’ve never fought a demon before, you know.”
“What do we do?” Ra asked.
“Nessa will have to fight mother,” he said. “She has the Phoenix Blade, so... yeah.” Nessa and Ra glanced at each other. “They think that we’re all stuck here. We do have the element of surprise on our side, though. You’ll need to shift as soon as we get back, Ra. You might have to fight the demon in my body. He’ll definitely shift as soon as you show up.” They all nodded.
“One thing, Ra,” Charlie said.
“Yes?”
“You might need to kill me,” he said.
“I can’t do it, brother,” Ra shook his head.
“You’ll have to,” Charlie stated firmly as he got to his feet. “It might be the only way to save the kingdom. You’re the one who needs to come out of this alive.” Ra stepped forward and hugged his brother. They slapped each other on the back. As they moved apart, Nessa stepped forward, kissing Charlie on the lips. He whispered in her ear.
“Love you, Ness,” he said.
“Love you, Charlie,” she responded, her voice breaking as she almost burst into tears. He smiled at her.
“You were right, by the way,” he said.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. We are evenly matched,” he laughed. “We could destroy worlds if we wanted.”
“But we don’t,” Nessa said. He reached up and wiped a tear off of her face. He looked her in the eyes.
“No,” he agreed. “We’re both forces of good.” He smiled at her, then looked at Ra. “And Ra’s the King.” They all grinned at each other. Charlie exhaled.
“Ready?” he asked. Ra and Nessa nodded, both thinking about how much they were going to fight to save Charlie. They all clasped hands. The spirit plane faded away, and they found themselves in the throne room. Charlie’s body was sitting on the throne. His eyes were black orbs. But he suddenly fell forward as Charlie’s spirit entered his body again, fighting the demon for control. He snarled and began to convulse. Ra shifted into his dragon form, the sound of bones and sinew and skin snapping and stretching. Nessa found herself looking at a golden dragon, his flapping wings, hitting the massive chandelier with the sound of thousands of crystals clinking wildly.
Ra was breathtaking. He had a magnificent, noble head that was long, like a horse’s. His neck was long and articulate, and a line of sharp golden spines ran from the nape of his head all the way down his back, and along his long tail. His eyes were golden-red fires that looked down upon his mother, who was dressed as the necromancer in her black dress and Death’s Head mask. At her hip, she wore the sword in its sheath. She stood her ground, placing her hand on the hilt of the Phoenix Blade.
By the throne, Charlie’s body was at war with itself. He began to shift into dragon form, the shift as wild and uncontrolled as Charlie was. As he filled out into an identical golden dragon, he let loose a roar. It sounded both desperate and belligerent, articulating both of the presences at war within the large, golden body. Ra glanced at Nessa. She nodded toward Charlie, indicating that she would handle the Necromancer. Ra leapt toward his brother, who was the demon at the same time. When Charlie opened his large, fanged mouth, a cloud of thick black smoke came out. His eyes were still the black orbs of the demon. Ra landed on him, and the wall was knocked out into the hallway. Nessa strode toward the queen confidently. The queen smiled at her, unruffled and unthreatened. Nessa looked at the Death’s Head mask.
“You don’t frighten me, Ms. Kant,” the queen said.
“I imagine not,” Nessa agreed. She stood before the queen, hands clasped behind her back. She felt poised and confident, as though she were going into an academic debate.
“You may be a Necromancer, but you have no practice in the art of spirit magic,” the queen said. “You know nothing of it. It’s really a shame that it’s illegal. It would have been the one thing that could have saved you.”
“Doubtless,” Nessa responded. She smiled. The queen seemed taken aback.
“Are you prepared to head back to the spirit plane forever?” the queen said. In the background, the twin dragons were grappling with each other. Flames spouting from one’s mouth (Nessa guessed Demon-Charlie) lit the room a reddish orange.
“No,” Nessa replied, shaking her head. The queen laughed, pulling the Phoenix Blade from its sheath at her hip. As the blade came free, it lit on fire, green-gold flames licking the edge of the blade.
“Impressive,” Nessa commented lightly.
“It is the only weapon that can kill a dragon,” the queen said. “It is also the only weapon that can prevent a Necromancer from returning.”
“It was you,” Nessa said.
“What was me?”
“In the 1880’s,” Nessa said, beginning to walk in a wide circle around the queen. “You just came back somehow.” The queen smiled.
“You’re very smart,” she said. “It’s a shame that you have to die.”
“Tell me how you did it,” Nessa prompted. “I’d love to know.”
“I took the queen’s body,” the Necromancer said. “Right after I killed the king and your parents. It was quite simple, really. I got them to come to the spirit plane. Then, once I’d killed them, I had the power to manifest here. I just needed a body. So, I took the most advantageous one.”
“That’s brilliant,” Nessa remarked. Flattery will get you anywhere. It seemed to be working with the Necromancer-Queen.
“Then, I waited until Charlie and his powers matured. He’s stronger than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. Belial was delighted of course,” the queen who was the Necromancer looked over at the fighting dragons. The walls around them were caving in. Nessa could see it out of the corner of her eye, but she dared not look. No distractions. Focus here was key.
“How did you get the blade?” She asked. The Necromancer laughed.
; “Your father brought it to me,” she said. She paused, studying Nessa’s face. She grinned. Clearly, Nessa’s poker-face had evaporated. “Yes. Your parents are not the people that you thought them. They wanted to bring Necromancy back. They wanted to plant you at the university in a position of authority.”
“They were at the university…why?”
“They were adjuncts,” the queen said. “They were going to advocate an illegal magical practice. They had no chance. So, they brought me back.” Nessa wasn’t sure whether any of this was true or not. She just needed the Necromancer to let her close enough. “This time, for good.”
“But in the vision… they were fighting you,” Nessa said.
“They needed to stand with the King until he was dead,” she replied.
“You betrayed them, though.”
“Of course,” the Necromancer said. “Their powers helped me to take over the queen and stay on the material plane.” Nessa nodded. She just needed to get a few steps closer. She enacted a spell that caused the paper with the demon’s incantation to burn, turning it to ash in the palm of her hand. She was an adept, so she didn’t need to speak the spell aloud.
“How?” Nessa asked, circling closer. The Necromancer stepped away a little. She noticed, Nessa thought in frustration. Nessa stepped away, as well. She had to get the queen to let her guard down. Nessa was the one without the sword, after all.
“I stabbed them with the same blade they gave me,” she said smugly. Her eyes traveled the length of the flaming sword. This was it—her chance. Nessa lunged forward, and, bringing her hand to her lips, blew the ashes of the incantation onto the Necromancer. It hit the bared skin of her chin and neck. The skin crackled and began to bubble. The Necromancer raised her hand. She began to cough, black smoke coming from her mouth as she began to disintegrate. She dropped the Phoenix Blade with a clatter. Nessa lunged forward and grabbed it by the hilt. The Necromancer tried to get away, but the demon’s incantation was causing her to go into the spirit plane. Nessa now knew the way to keep her there, by the Necromancer’s own admission—she stabbed with the Phoenix Blade, hitting the Necromancer in the heart.