by Anna Lewis
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.
There was a jolt as the Necromancer was sent back into the spirit plane—this time, for good. Nessa took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding relentlessly. There was no time for pausing. Charlie and Ra needed her. She ran, Phoenix Blade blazing in her hand, toward the two dragons. The walls had caved, and yet the two fought on, large claws scrabbling at each other’s golden scales, causing sparks to flare up. Blood from both of them was splattered everywhere, steaming where it landed. Nessa paused. She didn’t know what to do.
“Ra!” She yelled. “Stand back!” Ra heard her. He leapt back from the other dragon. She recalled Charlie’s words from back on the spirit plane. He had thought that his brother would be the one to kill him. And yet—it would be her. She felt sick to do this. The dragon faced her down. As it did so, the black orbs changed—for a second, she was staring at Charlie. He nodded at her.
The demon’s black orbs returned. The chest thrummed as the dragon prepared to let forth a large bout of flames at her. She could feel the intense heat as it rose within him. She held up the blade, hurtling toward Charlie at a run. She watched as the blade plunged into Charlie’s golden chest. Hot blood sprayed at her, burning her skin. She pulled the blade out of his chest, its flames extinguished. The demon in Charlie roared in pain and dismay as the enormous golden body fell to the floor. The castle shook with the weight.
Ra was running past her, back in his human form. He was naked as he knelt down beside his brother, who was changing back into his human form. Nessa ran to Charlie’s other side. He was breathing heavily, in pain as he looked up at the both of them. His eyes were their normal deep, sparkling blue. He smiled up at them.
“You did it,” he said weakly. “You won, Nessa.” Nessa began to sob.
“You can’t die,” she said. “Not now.”
“It’ll be okay,” Charlie promised her. “You’re the Necromancer, baby. Just bring me back.” He closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. She looked at Ra.
“Heal him,” she said.
“What?” He exclaimed. Tears were running down his face. But when he looked at her, his eyes were filled with sudden hope.
“I’ll go and get him. We have to work quickly,” she said. Ra nodded, beginning the incantation to heal the sword wound in Charlie’s chest. Meanwhile, Nessa let herself shift over, between planes. She let herself leave her body. She found herself in the dark mist, standing over Charlie’s body. Ra was completing the incantation, watching as the skin knit back together. She looked beside her, to find Charlie, walking away from her as he began his journey over to the spirit plane.
“Charlie!” She called out. “Wait!” He turned to look at her. He s
miled in recognition.
“It’s time, Nessa,” he said. He turned to look. “Look at it. It’s beautiful.” Nessa glanced over in the direction that he was looking. There was a brilliant light that shone brightly. It felt warm. She could hear voices, speaking, calling out to Charlie. She grabbed his hand tightly, feeling her powers anchoring his spirit.
“Not yet, Charlie,” she said. “Come back.” She closed her eyes, feeling herself fall back into her own body. She was grasping Charlie’s hand, whispering, “Come back, Charlie, come back.” She opened her eyes. Charlie was looking up at her, grinning.
“You did it, Nessa,” he said. “I knew you could.” Ra was grinning at them both.
“Our first Court Necromancer,” he said.
“Agh, that sounds like Court Jester,” Nessa groaned. “No titles for me, thank you very much.”
“As you wish,” he replied, shrugging. She got the feeling that it was going to stick. She could see the princely determination in his eyes.
“You two can fight about this later,” Charlie said, closing his eyes. “I need to sleep some.” As Charlie drifted off, Nessa and Ra sat back on the marble floor and glanced around at the wreckage, some of which was still steaming. Nessa looked to her side, picking up the Phoenix Blade. The flames had stopped, but it shone with a dark light. She looked over at Ra, who was looking at it jealously.
“No,” she said. “This one’s mine. You go find your own.” They both laughed.
“Fine,” he shrugged. He raised his finger, pointing at her. “You have to come with me to recover it, though.” She raised her eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“Yes. I’ve read about it quite extensively, Professor,” he said. “It is supposedly kept in the crypt of a certain Dragon King, out in a certain jungle.” Nessa groaned.
“That crypt is cursed,” she said angrily. “I’m not going near it.”
“Oh, but you will, my dear,” he said, taking her hands in his. He looked deep into her eyes, then down at himself. “I mean, look this body. You want it, don’t you?” He smiled at her crookedly as he arched an eyebrow suggestively.
“Are you trying to bribe me with sex?” She asked, outraged. He looked away, then looked back at her again.
“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not.” He got up off the floor, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He leaned in, whispering in her ear. “Shall we, while my brother the prince sleeps?”
“Who is going to take care of him?” she asked. He smiled.
“We will, of course.” Ra set her down on her feet. He picked up his brother easily, carrying him off. Servants began to appear as they walked Charlie to his tower. They bowed before Ra in deference, all calling, “Long Live the King.” It had gotten around that the queen was gone.
Ra set Charlie down on his bed in the tower. Charlie’s breathing was soft and even. Nessa sat down on the edge of his bed. She pulled the comforter over him. She took his hand. She could feel his power. It was softened.
“He’s exhausted,” she commented.
“Yes,” Ra replied. “Being possessed tends to take quite a bit out of you.” She nodded. “Let’s let him sleep, dear.” She stood up, climbing into his arms.
“As you wish, my King,” she said. He carried her down the tower steps. He nudged open a door that was close by. Inside, the room was covered in red wallpaper—the bed had red silk sheets.
“In my mind,” Nessa said, frowning, “In my mind, this was where we were.”
“Oh?” Ra asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “Charlie saw it.”
“Sometimes, he can add things to things,” Ra said sagely. Nessa leaned in, covering his lips with her own. It was like in the waltz—Ra lead. He placed her on the bed. As he lifted her shirt, he trailed kisses along her skin. It wasn’t like with Charlie, where the electricity of his power caused her skin to flush red, but it was different—his kisses caused her to go warm. She panted as his tongue circled her nipple. He pulled off her pants, her panties. He knelt down in between her legs, his tongue sliding into the slit of her vagina, teasing her clit, causing her to cry out. He looked up at her, grinning.
“Come here,” she purred, pulling him close to her. He picked her up by the hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, finding the tip of his penis at her opening.
“You’re dripping wet,” he said, his nose against hers, his mouth just touching hers. She could taste her own juices on his lips as they kissed. She moaned as he slowly lowered her onto his penis. He moved her up and down, leaning her against the wall. He moved her faster and faster as they both began to cry out.
Spent from first fighting, and then fucking, they lay on his silk sheets. Ra wrapped his arms around her, drifting off to sleep. She extricated herself from his grasp. The King, she thought with pride. He would be a good king. He was strong and fair and confident. She wasn’t sure how the public would handle the king and his brother sharing a woman. A woman who was a Necromancer, no less. She kissed Ra on the cheek. In his sleep, he smiled.
She wrapped herself in a blanket and left his room, making her way back up the tower steps to check on Charlie. He was awake, sitting up in his bed. He smiled when he saw her.
“You’re not wearing your gloves,” she said lightly. He smiled.
“No,” he replied. “I think it’s lessened.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, frowning in concern.
“Ever since you brought me back, when I died,” he said. “It’s less than it was.” They sat in silence for a moment.
“You know the first time that we kissed?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“You asked me to put my hands on you,” he said, looking at her, pain in his eyes. “I never wanted to do something more.”
“Do it, Charlie,” she said. She stood up, unwrapping the blanket from her body. His eyes travelled hungrily over her skin. “Touch me.”
He placed his hands on her abdomen. The electricity was gone, or held in check. As he ran the flat of his palms over her skin, it raised goosebumps over her flesh. He leaned forward, kissing her on the sternum, trailing kisses in between her breasts. He pulled her closer to him. He looked up at her, smiling.
“I love you, Nessa.”
“I love you, Charlie.” He pulled her onto the bed with him, and he leaned over her.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked.
“Make love to me,” she said. He did—it was slow, therapeutic. They kissed deeply, passionately. When they both came, it was heady, causing her to writhe in pleasure beneath him. He let himself down beside her, wrapping his arm around her abdomen, placing his chin on her shoulder. She tilted her head to the side to look at him.
“What’s next?” She asked.
“Ra becomes King,” he said.
“Already happened,” she said. “You slept through it.”
“Ah, well,” he shrugged. “I suppose we begin to study Necromancy. We need to see what your powers can do.”
“And then what?” Nessa asked.
“We live happily ever after,” he whispered.
“Sounds good,” she said, covering his lips with hers. She could feel him letting his power loosen a bit, a vision emanating from him. She smiled.
Epilogue
Nessa and Charlie stood to the side of the throne. Ra sat upon it, the large golden crown being set upon his head by the court herald. He held in one hand, a sword—not the one from the cursed tomb, a ceremonial one. In his other hand, he held a massive, jeweled scepter. He was dressed all in gold, except for the deep crimson cape line in ermine. As the court herald stepped away from him, he bowed. He then turned to the large gathering of the court.
“All Hail King Imrahil,” he pronounced.
“All Hail the King,” the court intoned. Nessa and Charlie looked over at Ra. He looked stern as he glanced out over all who were gathered. He glanced over at them and grinned widely. They smiled back at him. Charlie reached out and grabbed
Nessa by the hand.
“Are you wearing your gloves again?” She asked.
“Never know if someone is going to try to shake me by the hand,” he said wryly.
“Well, he’s going to be insufferable,” Nessa mumbled.
“He was always insufferable,” Charlie replied.
“What will we do with him?” Nessa asked.
“Go get him his cursed sword,” Charlie said, and they both laughed. Ra stood, walking down from his throne. He was surrounded by well-wishers. Charlie offered Nessa his arm, and they walked among the crowd.
“You look beautiful,” he said. She looked down at her golden gown, which had a tight bodice and sleeves covered in seed pearls. The skirts were voluminous, as requested, since there was to be dancing again.
“Thank you,” she said. “You don’t look so bad, yourself.” He smiled. He was wearing a simple black suit. Charlie hated ostentation. Ra was the one who loved it. They were passing a group of female courtiers, all dressed in silks and brocades, their faces painted heavily with makeup.
“There she is,” one of the women stage-whispered. “Evidently, she’s sleeping with both of them.” The women all gasped. Nessa froze. Gossips. The thing that she had dreaded.
“Nessa,” Charlie said, drawing her out of her horror and embarrassment. She looked over at him. He raised his hand to her cheek and kissed her passionately, in front of the whole court. The women gasped scandalously. Nessa smiled as she kissed Charlie back. She pulled away, then whispered in his ear, “Thank you.” He nodded.
“Nessa! Charlie!” Ra bellowed, coming toward them. He had heard, as well. He grabbed Nessa by the shoulders, kissing her on the lips. He whispered in her ear, “That will keep them talking for ages. But wait, watch this.” She looked at him, eyes wide as he grabbed his brother by the shoulders, and kissed him on the lips as well.
“Disgusting,” Charlie said, and both brothers began to laugh hysterically. Nessa shook her head. The ladies were all talking. Nessa glanced over at them. They all stopped, eyes wide. She smiled and waved at them. They commenced gossiping.