Using her magic, Kiana fired several energy daggers at the scorpion. But the magical blades bounced off the scorpion’s hard, armor-like shell.
The scorpion attacked again, using both claws at once. Kiana jumped over the first claw and landed on top of the second one as it closed around the air below her. She then jumped off the claw, spinning through the air, narrowly avoiding the scorpion’s stinger as it sliced through the air.
Kiana frowned as she hit the ground. The scorpion was fast. She’d been able to avoid the creature’s attacks so far, but all it would take was one of the creature’s oversized claws getting ahold of her and she’d be done. She needed to think. The last time she’d been out in the desert, part of her training had involved scorpions, but they’d been tiny little ones, the size of the end of her pinky, not a giant one the size of a bear with a ten-foot tail and claws the size of her body. She remembered the last time she’d been in the desert, trying to sneak up on an enemy encampment, when she’d encountered a scorpion. That time the scorpion had been small but she’d been trying not to move a muscle while removing the scorpion. Back then she’d been disappointed that she hadn’t studied enough magic to do a levitation spell.
Kiana looked at the giant scorpion. Could she use a levitation spell now? The giant scorpion was huge, but the large stones she’d helped move when building the walls outside Elderwood had also been incredibly heavy. Maybe that was exactly the spell she needed.
The scorpion attacked again and Kiana slipped between the claws again. This time when the scorpion tried to attack with its stinger, Kiana didn’t jump away, but dove underneath the belly of the scorpion. Once underneath, Kiana started casting her spell. The scorpion started to rise into the air. It was working!
But once it was six feet in the air, Kiana looked around. What to do next? Once the scorpion was back on the ground it would resume its attack.
Kiana looked up. What if she just kept lifting the scorpion into the sky? How far could she lift the scorpion before her magic ran out? Not seeing any other options, Kiana focused her energy on raising the scorpion even higher.
Like a balloon, the scorpion floated up into the sky, the wind started carrying the floating scorpion away. Kiana struggled and got the scorpion even higher; it was now hundreds of feet up in the air, far enough away that it looked small. Kiana’s magic started to fail and the scorpion started to float back down. Instead of trying to fight it, Kiana stopped using her magic altogether. The scorpion fell straight down.
Exhausted by the use of magic, Kiana went back to the wagon. She took a moment to calm down Ellie May, and then jumped back in the wagon. If the scorpion had survived the fall, it would take it a while to get back to the ravine. Kiana didn’t intend on being anywhere near the spot when the scorpion returned.
12
Envee
“You think Quinton would want roses at the ceremony? I know they aren’t a traditional burial flower, but I just love them. I think Quinton would too.”
Torun grimaced. Envee Oke was driving him nuts with her constant drivel. The woman was clearly deranged and her obsession with Quinton Bayson was beyond unhealthy, it was amazing that she’d gone this long without doing something crazy like kidnap him to force him to love her. If he didn’t need her help so much, he would’ve gotten rid of her before leaving Venecia, but he had no intentions of underestimating Kiana Clairmont, and having a second mage, even an annoying one like Envee, was worth the hassle. How long he’d feel that way was a different question. There was only so much a man could take. “I think roses are fine. Perhaps white roses.”
“Oh, that is a lovely idea. White and red roses to symbolize our eternal love and friendship. Quinton would want that.”
Torun tuned out Envee and focused on the scout, Eddie Kurr. Whatever faults the man had, and Torun was sure the list was long, he was a fine scout. He’d found the wagon trail and was able to follow it even when the desert winds cancelled out any tracks. Eddie had knowledge of the local terrain, the local watering holes and how people thought. Skills any good predator had. Perhaps he’d be of use beyond just tracking down the girl.
“What in the seven hells is that,” Eddie said as he stopped jogging.
Torun pulled his horse up beside Eddie. “What are you looking at?”
Eddie pointed into the sky. “That.”
Envee brought her horse up beside them. She squinted. “That is strange. Is that a flying horse?”
“Can’t be a horse, look at the tail,” Eddie said.
Torun didn’t know what the object in the sky was, but it was coming towards them, and it was coming from the direction they were following. Had Kiana Clairmont spotted them and was now using her magic to slow them down? The sight of a beast floating through the sky seemed unlikely to be anything but an attack from the girl from Elderwood.
As the object floated towards them, it was still hundreds of feet in the sky, but it was getting easier to see.
“It’s a scorpion, a really big one,” Envee said. She sounded excited to have discovered what the creature was.
“Oh, that is not good,” Eddie said.
“Why?” Envee asked.
Before Torun or Eddie could answer the creature fell to the ground, only a few dozen yards from them.
“That’s why,” Eddie said as the giant scorpion landed in a dune.
Torun cursed under his breath. The soft sand had cushioned the creatures landing. If it hadn’t hit the dune it would’ve probably died on impact, instead it was looking around for something to attack, and they were the nearest thing. It charged out of the dune towards them.
Eddie pulled out his axe and a dagger and took a defensive position between the horses and the scorpion.
Torun’s horse wanted to bolt, but he kept a strong hand on the reins, allowing the horse to shift to the left. He yelled at Envee to do the same. “Spread out, get wide enough that you can fire without hitting Eddie.”
Envee tried to follow his lead but the animal she was riding was particularly skittish and it started bucking. It threw Envee off and started running away. The pack horse, which had been tied to Envee’s horse also bolted.
Torun conjured a fireball and sent it at the scorpion, but the creature lifted its claw and the fireball struck the hard shell, doing no damage.
After pulling herself up, Envee used her magic to blow sand into the face of the scorpion.
It wasn’t a powerful attack, but it did obscure the scorpion’s view.
Torun aimed another fireball at the scorpion. This time the fireball struck the scorpion in the face.
The scorpion shook off the attack and came forward at Eddie. It tried to strike him with its stinger, but the scout dove out of the way, slicing the scorpion’s tail with his axe as he dove.
Envee tried to push more sand into the scorpion’s eyes, but this time the beast spun around to avoid the sand.
“Do it again,” Eddie yelled.
Envee pushed the air again, cause the sand to rush towards the scorpion. As the scorpion turned away from it, Eddie jumped under the creature and used his axe to slash the hind legs of the scorpion. He then attacked the middle legs, but the scorpion realized what was going on and started to sit down on top of him.
Eddie scrambled out from under the scorpion just in time, as the scorpion dropped to its belly.
Torun fired another fireball while the scorpion was trying to cut Eddie down. The fireball hit it in the face again.
The scorpion slid backwards. Torun could tell it was hurt. He fired several more fireballs, and Envee fired her own, smaller, fireballs as well.
Finally, the giant scorpion stopped moving.
Eddie warily walked up to the scorpion and gave it a kick. Satisfied that it was indeed dead, he returned to the others. “Well, that’ll wake you up any day of the week. I’ve been attacked by one of those ugly bastards before, but I’ve never had one fall out of the sky on me.”
“It was that Kiana, I’m telling you. Nathan Sto
neblood and Quinton taught her and the rest of us at the school levitation to move giant blocks of stone for the main outer wall and to build the castle and magic school. She tried to kill us with that scorpion!”
Torun nodded. It did seem likely that the young lady was responsible for the scorpion attack. Perhaps after all his precautions he’d underestimated her? Lifting a large creature like the scorpion so high into the air would take a significant amount of magic, and to nearly drop it on top of them, from such a distance? An impressive feat. It was a good thing he hadn’t succumbed to his desires to kill Envee. If Kiana Clairmont was that powerful, he was going to need his annoying companion’s help, same with the scout Eddie. He too would need to be part of the attack.
Walking up to the dead scorpion, Torun cut the stinger off of the scorpion’s tail. The poison in the stinger might be the weapon they needed to defeat the girl. He’d show her a thing or two about sneak attacks. He was already annoyed by the entire process of chasing down the girl, and almost dying wasn’t making him any happier. The sooner he killed her, the sooner he could get back to Lord Zellox and get his just reward for killing one of Nathan Stoneblood’s companions. It was too bad that that fool Raze had gotten credit for the kill already.
“We should get moving,” Eddie said.
“What about my horse?” Envee said.
“Probably halfway back to Pailtar by now,” Eddie said. “I doubt we can catch it.”
“Take my horse. I’ll run with Eddie.”
Eddie nodded. “At least we know which way to go.”
Torun sighed. The one benefit of the scorpion rising out of the distance to attack them. “I hope for our sakes that there is a water hole near there.”
“Yes, and I know a shortcut to that watering hole. We’ll gain time now as long as you can keep up.”
Torun grinned. He was no soft city mage; he’d trained for far harder expeditions than this. “Count on it.”
13
Kiana
Kiana arrived at the Burhonah water hole after dark had already started to claim the desert.
She’d been confident that she could find it, but what she hadn’t expected was for there to be someone there when she arrived.
Sitting at a small campfire was a cloaked figure.
“Hello the camp,” Kiana said as she approached. Yelling out was risky, but not yelling out would signify that she had ill intentions. It was one of the customs of the desert to always announce yourself before approaching a stranger’s camp.
“Come on in, and water your mule. It has had a long day,” said the person at the fire.
Kiana frowned. How had the person known she had a mule? Obviously, they’d been watching her for a while if they knew what type of animal was pulling her wagon. Warily, Kiana got down from the wagon. She freed Ellie May and led the horse to the watering hole. It was a two-minute walk from the campfire to the watering hole. Whoever the stranger was, they knew enough to make their camp away from the watering hole so that the desert critters could access the water without crossing the camp. When Ellie May had her fill, Kiana returned to the camp fire.
She stood across the fire from the robed stranger.
The stranger lifted their head. Kiana saw that it was an old woman. Her silver hair and heavily wrinkled face hinted at her true age while her voice seemed much younger.
“I’m curious as to why you’re here,” the woman said. “Not many know of this watering hole.”
“I’m looking for someone,” Kiana said.
“Is that right? Who were you expecting to find out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Kiana paused before answering. Was this woman who she was seeking? Or maybe this woman was an enemy of the person she was seeking? She knew so little about the necromancer that anything was possible. All she knew was the riddles given to her by the crazy Julie Bones. Come to think of it, this woman had a striking resemblance to the psychic from Pailtar. “Julie Bones sent me. She said to find the rain in the desert at the Burhonah water hole.
The woman broke into a smile. “Julie Bones eh? She still peddling herself as a seer? What a waste of talents. But I see she hasn’t lost her sense of humor. I’m Rayne Bones.”
Kiana laughed. “Seriously? Thank goodness. I thought I’d have to wait out here forever for a rainfall. How’d you know I was coming?”
“I didn’t. I was at home in my camp minding my business when I saw a giant scorpion floating through the air. Only a powerful magic user could achieve such a thing. And I didn’t feel like waiting in my camp to see if that person was coming to me. When I saw that you were driving Morton’s mule, I thought you must be associated with the Thieves’ Guild.”
“I am, or I was. I’m Kiana Clairmont.”
“Ah, Lilliana’s child?”
Kiana nodded. “Yes, she was my mother.”
“Was is a terrible word to use when describing your mother. Even in death she’s still your mother.”
“Yes, I suppose that is true.”
“And who do you have in the wagon?” Rayne asked.
“Quinton Bayson. How’d you know?”
“I’m a necromancer. Speaking to spirits is what I do. Speaking of spirits, it seems Quinton isn’t alone. Another spirit has chosen to assist Quinton, that will make things easier.”
“Really?” Kiana said, as she looked around.
“Yes,” Rayne said before closing her eyes. “Ah, this makes sense. Quinton’s father is his companion. Rayne then stood up. “I shall help you. Normally, I would suggest that bringing back the dead is a bad idea, and nearly impossible. However, this is a unique situation, and since my sister suggested you come to me, that means it is important to bring young Quinton back to the world of the living. We shall see if he feels the same way once he learns the cost of coming back to life. But first, we should leave this watering hole. My camp is nearby.”
Kiana hooked Ellie May back up to the wagon and followed Rayne Bones as she started walking west. “Should I double back and remove any tracks, in case anyone was following me?”
Rayne didn’t look back; she just waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. The beetles will take care of the tracks.”
Kiana turned around. Behind the wagon thousands of little beetles were moving the sand. No tracker would be able to follow their trail now. Shaking her head, Kiana was in awe of the power Rayne used. To communicate with not only the dead but with animals. Rayne Bones was obviously a powerful magic user.
14
Quinton
After an hour of traveling, Rayne stopped in front of a large sand dune with a bunch of dead brush against it. She moved the brush, revealing a cave in the dune.
“Unload the wagon. We’ll take the body inside,” Rayne said.
Kiana removed the tarp and straps and then used her levitation spell. Moving the crate-turned casket seemed easy after having lifted the giant scorpion. With the casket floating behind her, Kiana entered the cave.
The cave was surprisingly large and homey, stone brick walls with colorful blankets used as art on the walls.
Rayne noticed Kiana’s appraisal of the blankets. “My sister’s idea. She says even a reclusive necromancer needs color in her life. I’m not so sure, but they do add a touch of humanity to the place. Whenever Julie visits, she brings me a new blanket from some exotic corner of the world. I think the ones from Mykoznia are my favorites. They are the most vibrant and colorful.”
“Where do you want the crate?” Kiana asked.
Rayne moved one of the blankets, revealing a second room. “In here.”
While the big main room was warm and colorful, this one was cold and functional. There was a large stone table in the middle of the room and wooden shelves along the other walls. This was the workplace of a mage.
“Open the crate and place his body on the table,” Rayne instructed.
Kiana did as she was told. It was strange looking at Quinton’s body. It was in a magical stasis and looked exactly the same as when
he’d died. She was glad to see that the body hadn’t gone through the stages of decomposition normally equated with death. Once Quinton’s body was on the table, Kiana looked to Rayne for further instructions.
“Just stand in the corner dear. I’ll prepare the magic and then it will be out of our hands.”
“What do you mean?” Kiana asked.
“To bring Quinton back to life, we need a source of magical power. I can’t revive Quinton the way you would a person whose heart or lungs stopped working. Quinton’s body needs a new source of energy for his spirit to stay with him. Do you understand?”
Kiana paused. Her friend Hanna Halfblood had spirits, including a demon spirit that shared her body. Was this similar? “Quinton needs a demon to survive?”
“A demon would work. It isn’t the only type of spirit that would work, but yes. He needs a powerful magical being from the seven hells willing to bond with him.”
“Is that hard to find? A demon willing to bond with a human?”
“No,” Rayne said as she poured salt on the floor in a circle around the table. “There are plenty of demons that would gladly do anything to move from their places in hell to live on the mortal plane. The problem is finding one Quinton’s soul is comfortable with. There has to be balance. Too strong or dark of a soul, and it won’t be a sustainable union. Too weak a soul and the magic won’t be sustained. What I’m going to do is open a portal connecting the seven realms of hell. Normally, if I was trying something like this I’d call directly on a demon and ask it if it was willing, but in this case, Quinton has his father with him as a guide. They will make the choice.”
“Does Quinton know that?” Kiana asked.
“Of course, he does,” Rayne said with a smile. “He can hear everything I’m saying. He can’t hear you, but by the nature of my answers he can figure out what questions you’ve been asking.” She waved her hand and several candles around the room lit themselves. “You’ll need to be quiet during the rest of this ceremony. I need to concentrate and make sure any unwelcome demons don’t force their way into his body. As a young and strong magic user, his body will be particularly intriguing to many demons who won’t want to just go along for the ride, they’ll try to take his body by force.”
Necro Mage Page 6