The Temple of Heart and Bone

by Evren, S. K.

  “Let me ask you this, Poson: how many times have you called him ‘Master?’ You gave him of your own power to create this army, to become this Necromancer, and each time you called him ‘Master,’ even in dissemblance, you added to that power.”

  Poson stared hard at the old man and raised his own hands as if to unleash an arcane attack. He never noticed the fallen form of Troseth right itself. He didn’t hear the scrape of the rusty dagger as Troseth picked it up off the ground. He couldn’t even scream as the dagger pierced his spine to emerge brightly from his throat. Troseth’s corpse stepped aside, one step behind and to the right of the Necromancer.

  Poson stared in amazement at the old man as he reached for the handle behind his neck. He pulled at it, but it would not move. The old man closed his hand, obviously causing him a great amount of pain, and the dagger would not move. There was a grim satisfaction on the old man’s face as Poson’s eyes rolled back into his head.

  “You are sending him to the Maker?” Kitti asked the Necromancer. The old man turned to face her.

  “No,” he replied. “I will keep him here with me, I think. It was his own curse that coursed through that dagger. It was his idea that certain blades be tainted to bind souls to undeath. He will now enjoy the fruits of his labor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Whether he be of mortal or immortal origins, that curse will hold his spirit prisoner to that now-dead body.”

  “Interesting,” Kitti observed. “Why?”

  “For the suffering. For the pain. For retribution. This creature has caused the deaths of thousands, in the past and in these recent years. For every citizen of my fallen Empire, for every barbarian death in this new era, I will make him suffer.

  “I have carried the pain of my bones for centuries, and I have learned to share it. To a degree, I carry the pain of every soul I hold suspended. I can share that, as well. Poson, Nekatethesis, whatever this creature is called, he will suffer.”

  “Then you will stop?” Kitti asked.

  “Not until my task is finished,” the Necromancer replied.

  “So you intend to leave.”

  “I do. Do you intend to stop me?”

  “I’d like to bargain a trade.” Kitti said.

  “I am listening, but I will not release Poson to you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of asking you. Release the woman, Li, from your bonds. In turn, you take Poson and leave in peace.” Kitti offered.

  “This only you ask?”

  “For now, this is enough.” Kitti answered.

  “I release you, child, from that which is holding you. Continue your journey, return to your Maker in peace.” Li’s body lurched on the ground and a gasp escaped her lips.

  “Thank you,” Kitti said, simply.

  “You are welcome.” The old man paused. He lifted his head and closed his eyes. Moments later a gilded red wagon clattered into the square behind a team of horses. “I will miss you and your brother.”

  Kitti smiled. “You were always a very perceptive man.”

  “Not perceptive enough to have known that you were much more than a cat.”

  “We’re very good at becoming other things.” She looked at Poson. “Well, most of us are, anyway.”

  The old man nodded.

  “Go in peace, Necromancer.”

  “I… I will try.” He boarded his wagon while the blank-eyed Troseth and Poson took places in the drivers’ seat. The wagon left the square unopposed.

  “Is it wise to let him go?” Drothspar asked.

  “I don’t know.” Kitti replied.

  “Then why do it?”

  “Because I don’t know what he remembers.” She sighed. “He was once the most powerful mage in an era filled with magic. He remembers some of it, I know. If he remembers enough, well, many of the living here would have fallen, even if I had prevailed.

  “It was also a good way to free your wife.” She smiled.

  “Li is alive now?” Drothspar asked.

  “Not in the sense that you mean, my friend, but why don’t you ask her for yourself?”

  Chance let go of Drothspar as he walked over to Li’s body. She held the child close in her arms and her eyes were blinking open.

  “Drothspar?” she said, her voice dreamy.

  “You recognize me?” Drothspar asked, amazed.

  “Of course, my husband. Why wouldn’t I?” She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “You’ve been busy, haven’t you?”

  “A little,” he admitted, shocked to be talking to the woman he thought he had lost.

  “A lot, I would say,” she told him, smiling into his hollow eyes. “You’ve made me so very proud!”

  “You know what’s been happening?”

  “I had a chance to catch up before I was released,” she explained.

  “What do you mean?”

  “While I was… unconscious… someone came to visit me.”

  “Who?”

  “He never said his name,” Li explained. “But he had black hair, and green eyes, and he looked very much like your friend over there.” She nodded her head at Kitti.

  “Why did you come back?”

  “He told me about a few things I have left to do, my Love,” she told him, touching her hand to his skull.

  Drothspar helped Li to her feet and she walked over to Vae. She handed Vae the baby.

  “I cared for her the best that I could,” Li explained. “She’s a beautiful little girl.”

  “How?” Vae asked, tears streaming down her face.

  “It seems that you have my husband to thank for that,” Li told Vae with a gentle smile. “We share a bond of love, and as long as he remained under his own control, a part of my soul did, as well.” Li touched a hand to Vae’s tears. “Thank you for bringing them all to my rescue,” she said simply.

  “T-thank you,” Vae cried, embracing Li fiercely.

  “Captain,” Li said, turning to face Cardalan.

  “My Lady,” Cardalan replied, dismounting and kneeling on the ground.

  “You have done your commission proud, Captain, and recovered its honor from your predecessor. Tell my father that I am well pleased with you.”

  “Of course, my Lady,” he replied crisply, though his eyes softened and his lips quivered.

  “And Captain?”

  “Yes, my Lady?”

  “You have done well to release your hatred for the East.” She looked meaningfully at Vae. “Your reward is well earned.”

  “Reward, my Lady?”

  She smiled at him mysteriously and turned away.

  “Kelton?” she called to the corporal behind Cardalan.

  “Yes, my Lady,” he said, kneeling before her.

  “It’s okay, Kelton,” she said gently, “it’s all okay.” She reached her hands down and urged Kelton to stand. “You didn’t fail us. We are exactly where we should be, and you have done very well.”

  “My Lady, I’m so sorry,” he cried and broke down into tears.

  “Let it go, Kelton,” Li told him, embracing him as he cried. “Let it all go. It has no place inside you anymore. The time for sorrow is passed, and the time for healing has come.” Cardalan came over and put a strong hand on Kelton’s shoulder. Li kissed Kelton’s cheek and wiped away his tears on her sleeve. She smiled at him and made the sign of the Maker on his forehead. Kelton looked astonished for a moment, and a slow smile dawned across his face.

  “Petreus,” Li said, turning to the old priest. “Get off your horse and give me a hug,” she demanded.

  “Y-yes, my Lady,” he said, slipping from his mount clumsily and walking over to her unsteadily.

  “I love you, old man,” she said warmly, and hugged the old priest fiercely.

  “I love you, too, Li,” he told her, his words choked with tears.

  “Then give me another hug,” she told him with a smile, embracing him yet again.

  Li released Petreus and turned to Drothspar. “Would you introduce me to your fri
end, Dear?” she asked him softly. Drothspar turned to Chance, who had walked over to Kitti and stood, hiding, behind her. Kitti stepped to the side, exposing Chance to the couple.

  “Li,” Drothspar said, “this is Sasha.” He turned to Chance. “Sasha, this is my wife, Li.”

  “My Lady,” Chance said, her voice on the edge of breaking.

  “Hello Sasha,” Li said warmly. “Don’t be afraid, Dear, I have so looked forward to meeting you.”

  “You have?”

  “Of course, Dear,” Li replied with a gentle laugh. “You have cared for my husband and come with him to rescue me—and to rescue him.”

  Chance’s eyes widened.

  “Darling girl,” Li continued, “you have met love for the first time in your life, and you are afraid that it might be taken from you. Don’t be afraid. Love is not a thing to fear, but a joy to cherish.”

  “You don’t mind?” Chance asked, interrupting.

  “Of course not, Dear, I understand perfectly. I fell in love with him, too.” She smiled kindly. “There is something you will have to do for me, Sasha, and I know that my trust is well placed in you.”

  “What is it?” Chance asked.

  Li took Chance slightly away from Drothspar and spoke to the young woman seriously. Chance’s eyes widened several times and she objected fiercely at one point. Li put her finger over the woman’s lips and stilled her objection. She asked Chance a question softly and Chance nodded her head. Li embraced the girl warmly and brought her back to the gathering.

  “Drothspar,” she said, taking her husband’s hands, “it was a long night’s walk, wasn’t it?” He started to apologize, but Li put her finger to his mouth, just as she had with Chance. “We are long past that night, my Love, and I have loved you all this time. I have never been sorry that I married you. I have never been sorry to love you. You have made my life more than I could have asked for, and shared with me a love beyond any I could have known.

  “You believed that night to be a mistake, a fatal mistake from which we would never recover. Everyone makes mistakes, my Love, and life is a constant state of change. Do not fear your mistakes, nor dwell on them beyond their due. Learn from them, accept them, and move on. That night, so long ago, is over. We have recovered, even if not in the way we expected. There are other challenges ahead, other successes and failures, more mistakes to make, learn from, and recover—at least for you…”

  Drothspar looked at her sharply.

  “I am going to leave you now, and where I am going, you will not yet follow.”

  “But—”

  “You could choose to leave if you so desired,” she told him, cutting off his objection. “I know you, husband, and you will not.” She looked over at Chance who was watching them with wide, worried eyes. “You have others who need you, here, in this place, and I know you will not abandon them.” She saw a pain in his eyes, eyes that no one else could see. “You don’t have to worry about me, Droth,” she smiled reassuringly. “I will be fine where I am going.” She touched his skull softly. “It is a wondrous place, my love, and my love for you will be ever-lasting.” She embraced her husband fiercely, pressing his bones into her flesh. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you,” he said softly in his hollow voice.

  “There is one more thing I need to tell you,” she said, stepping back but still holding his hands. “That night, the night you were drunk and your friend was killed. It wasn’t you,” she said quickly.

  Drothspar stared at his wife and felt shock flash though his being and his bones. Seeing her, holding her, and now hearing that he had not committed the terrible crime he had so long feared was too much for him. He prayed with all his soul that he would be allowed to cry. He let his head fall forward toward his chest.

  “Drothspar!” he heard Li gasp in surprise and felt her touch his skull.

  He lifted his head and looked at her face. Her eyes were filled with wonder. He looked at her finger and saw something glistening on its tip. He touched his skull where Li had. His finger was wet; he was crying.

  Li caught him up in another fierce embrace. She kissed his skull and stepped back, her hand lingering in his.

  “I have to go now,” she said, “my time here is over.”

  Drothspar fell to his knees, holding Li’s hand. “Please… don’t go.” His tears fell to the ashen dirt of Æostemark.

  Li looked to Chance, who came to stand behind Drothspar. “Thank you,” the women said, each to the other. Tears streamed down both their faces. Chance rested her hand on Drothspar’s shaking shoulder.

  “Give my brother—” Kitti started to say.

  “Your love,” Li finished for her. “I will, though he hears you even now.”

  “I know,” Kitti replied. “But still…”

  “I understand,” Li said.

  The sun slipped from behind a cloud and brilliant rays of light flashed down into the center of Æostemark.

  “I love you, Droth,” were the last echoing words that Li said as she stepped into the light.

  Chapter 40 – Dust to Dust

  Time passed and the sun began to set on Æostemark. Cardalan’s soldiers were the first to stir, clearing bodies from the square and working on setting up an encampment within the ruined city. Petreus issued a few orders and the brothers joined in to help.

  As evening settled on the encampment, the time for explanations had arrived. A cheery fire glowed in the center of town, driving away the shadows and bringing warmth and light to those gathered. Petreus explained how he had “appropriated” horses for his men from one of Ythel’s cavalry regiments. He had told the Duke that his men would come in handy when facing the skeletal minions of the enemy. He just hadn’t mentioned when he was planning on having them come in handy. By Petreus’ estimates, Ythel, tied as he was to his supply chain, would arrive at Æostemark by sunrise. He winked at Drothspar and explained that he and the brothers hadn’t been willing to wait.

  To everyone’s surprise, Kitti stayed with them in the encampment. The brothers stared at her in awe and she seemed to enjoy smiling at them and watching them flinch. Taking a break from scaring the brothers, she told the story of the bond she shared with her brother, and the unique communications relationship they had afforded the Necromancer. The better, she said, to keep track of him. Poson, she explained, had been aware of her and her brother’s presence, but since the siblings had been with the Necromancer back in the days of Empire, he hadn’t been able to move against them. She adamantly refused to tell anyone Poson’s name and admitted that she, herself, didn’t know the Necromancer’s.

  “It’s one of those things I seem to have actually forgotten,” she told them. No one even tried to ask her about her own.

  Drothspar watched the burgeoning relationship between Cardalan and Vae. Chance explained that the Captain had lost his wife during the same invasion in which Drothspar had lost his life. She told him how Cardalan had nursed a hatred for all Easterners since that time.

  “How did you learn all this?” Drothspar asked.

  “Kitti and Vae tried to comfort me after you—,” she punched his arm, “left me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing his arm to see if she’d splintered anything. “I just was afraid—”

  “I know, I know.” Chance interrupted him. “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about that later.” Her eyes flashed alternate scenes of compassionate understanding and impending doom. “As I was saying, they were trying to comfort me, and Vae told us about Cardalan’s past.”

  “How did that help?”

  “’Men aren’t the sharpest swords in the rack,’ I believe were her exact words—and her overall point.”

  “How did Vae find out? About Cardalan, I mean?” Drothspar asked, trying to steer the conversation in a better direction.

  “Apparently, they had words a time or two along our journey.”

  “Ah,” he said simply.

  Drothspar began to understan
d how much of a trial Vae’s presence had been for the captain. That trial, however, appeared to be over, and Cardalan was as solicitous of the Eastern woman’s welfare as he could possibly be. Vae, focused mainly on her daughter, still managed to appreciate the Captain’s attention. She smiled often and warmly at Cardalan, and the officer melted like a block of ice under the summer sun.

  Kelton walked around the camp with Sergeant Glement, making sure that all was in order. There was a look of peace in his eyes that spoke volumes to Drothspar. Kelton had found forgiveness, and, moreover, found that forgiveness had never really been necessary. He had done all that he could, and he had finally realized that had been enough. The corporal looked at Drothspar as if he had heard the skeleton’s thoughts. Kelton smiled and saluted and looked away quickly before the tears came again.

  Petreus and Steadword scrounged up a few bottles of wine to help the evening pass more smoothly. They brought Chance a tin cup from a ration kit and filled it with a deep red wine. She smiled and accepted it, but refused to chase tin after tin with the tipsy priests. After a quickly mumbled conversation, the two descended on Kitti and offered her a tin cup of her own. She smiled and accepted. The two priests, shocked, sat down to drink with the Rebel Fallen. After all, they argued, how often would a chance like that come around?

  After a short night’s rest, everyone woke to the sound of the King’s forces arriving at Æostemark. Ythel was in the lead, his eyes everywhere, his commands crisp. He spotted Petreus holding his head in his hands, and shouted furiously at the hung over priest. Drothspar decided to help his old friend and distract the Duke.

  Ythel leapt out of the saddle when he saw Drothspar. Several of the Duke’s soldier’s became uneasy when they saw the skeleton, but what really shocked them was their Lord’s behavior. Ythel ran up to Drothspar and embraced the skeletal figure. Tears ran down Ythel’s cheeks and he laughed merrily. He held Drothspar close for a long time, and his soldiers repeatedly heard their Duke call the skeleton “son.”

  Li, as it happened, had stopped to say goodbye to her father before making the last leg of her long-overdue journey. She told her father of the happenings at Æostemark, and of the reunion with her husband. She had also told her father how she had died, fatally wounded by a soldier she had killed as he broke into the cottage. Though wounded, she had made her way to the lake and the little boat that had been tied to the pier. She had rowed out into the lake in an attempt to escape Troseth’s men. She had died in the boat, which had, itself, expired—swallowed by the lake in the storm that followed.